How To Woo A Panda

Chapter 1

“Pan Pan!”

Grizz couldn’t contain the volume nor the level of excitement in his voice, as usual. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he even attempted to lower either of the aspects, simply letting his emotions speak full throttle. This was no different now, as he came barging through the front door of his cave which he called his home. Well, barging in was subtle in comparison to reality, which was kicking open the door with a DVD case clutched in his paws held above his head. A big, goofy grin was plastered on his face.

“Ah!” Panda’s voice exploded in shock.

The sight that greeted him didn’t shock him per say, but it was obviously something not really left up for interpretation. The sight Grizz saw in the dark room illuminated only by the glow of the television was one of both Panda and Ice Bear on the couch together. If Grizz hadn’t in fact come into the room guns blazing he would have assumed that the two were cuddling, a split second of Panda laying on Ice Bear’s chest in his vision with their lips awfully close together. In fact he was positive they were touching before Panda’s first reaction was to hit his front paws as hard as he possibly could down onto Ice Bear’s chest to propel himself up and off the bear. Panda began falling off the couch in a tumblr while a bowl of popcorn exploded and debris fell around the living room. He ended up dragging the blanket with him, ending up on the floor covered in popcorn and tangled up in a blanket, the room silent for the next several moments.

Ice Bear lifted his paw silent for the remote and paused whatever was on the screen. It froze on a screen of what looked to be some sort of asian kung-fu movie by the subtitles on bottom and strong looking man with his fist a second from punching another man in the face.

“Ice Bear will get broom.” Ice Bear commented before standing up and walking away from the situation before even looking to Grizz.

“Grizz what the heck?” Panda exploded, as if suddenly reality hit him. He began flailing his arms and rolling on his back with clear frustration and anger in his voice. “D-Don’t just burst in like that!” He finally managed to roll up to a sitting position before stumbling to his feet. “O-Oh look at this big mess. Don’t scare me like that!”

“Hehe, sorry, Pan Pan,” Grizz chuckled and instantly moved the DVD to behind his back. He closed the door behind him by kicking at it with his leg and then happily ran up to Panda. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your little date. You two don’t get that cuddly when I’m around, huh?”

“S-Shut up!” Panda pushed at Grizz’s chest lightly and looked away, clear embarrassment painting itself onto his face. “He just pulled me onto his chest like that, I don’t do that unless he wants it.” He stepped on a piece of popcorn and then looked to the floor before shuddering. “Oh, this place is a huge mess now!”

“Somebody’s still blushy, aw aren’t you a big cutie,” Grizz giggled again and felt Panda’s paw hit his arm again. His white cheeks were starting to tint in a blush. He crossed his arms and seemed to avoid looking Grizz directly in the eye. “Did I see some tongue in there? You don’t do that with me, do ya?”

“G-Grizz c’mon,” Panda shook his head and placed his paws on either side of his head. “D-Don’t say it like that! It’s really weird hearing it.”

“Hey bro, no sweat,” Grizz took a step forward just a bit too close to Panda and craned out his neck, briefly pressing his lips down to Panda’s cheek. Panda stumbled back in surprise, but didn’t let out a cry this time, though he nearly tumbled back onto his rump in the process.

“Grizz what the heck?” Panda’s paw went up to his cheek and began to rub. Grizz could feel his smile tug for a brief moment when he watched Panda rub the spot he kissed in the light of the television. “You’re being all weird again.”

“Hey, I like kissing my little Pan Pan just as much as Ice Bear does,” Grizz tried his best to keep chipper and bright. “I thought you liked it when I did stuff like that?”

“I-I do, but…” Panda looked away for a brief moment and began fiddling with his paws.

The room suddenly illuminated, and Grizz saw that behind Panda in the hallway stood Ice Bear holding a long red broom handle and dustpan, his paw on the lightswitch.

“Ice Bear requests you move. Or else you will be swept.” He lifted a broom and took several steps forward before pressing the back of the broom into Panda’s back and batting on it a few times to force the bear forward.

“O-Ow, okay we’re moving!” Panda whined and stumbled forward out of Ice Bear’s reach. Grizz followed quickly and moved to the kitchen behind Panda. Panda’s eyes lingered on Ice Bear for a few moments, his gaze captured and teeth biting down on his cheek. Grizz felt his smile threaten to falter again, his claws digging a bit into the DVD still behind his back. Panda glanced to him, and finally to his paws. “Hey, what do you got there?”

“O-Oh, this?” Grizz shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing just… I-It’s dumb, I didn’t know you had plans and you and Ice Bear are having a whole bunch of fun.” He watched Panda lean over to see what was behind his back, so Grizz turned his body more.

Panda reached out his paw and snatched at Grizz’s backside. Grizz took a step back and felt his body hit the fridge, where he chuckled nervously and knew very well that it didn’t reach his eyes. Panda crossed his arms and made a strange grunting sound as if his annoyance was only being tested.

“I uh… since we didn’t get to go to the movies today, you seemed pretty bummed out. I went to a video store and…”

“Wait, you found a video store?” Panda raised his eyebrow. Grizz slowly pulled the DVD out from behind his back to reveal a bright pink cover with a girl and a guy intertwined in each other’s embrace. “Where on earth did you find a video store? Didn’t they all go out of business? Me and Ice Bear just streamed our movie?”

“O-Oh I took a bus, but see, I got your favorite movie!” Grizz put his index claw on the title. “Heart Flutters. This is the really sad one where the chick has a heart condition when she gets excited, right? You’ve cried a bunch of times over this movie!”

“Y-Yeah, I have,” Panda rubbed at his arm and away from Grizz. “Grizz you hate romance films. Y-You tease me when I cry over it.”

“Yeah, but it’d be fun watching it with you.” Grizz held it out to Panda, who took it with hesitant looking paws. Out of the corner of his eye Grizz saw that Ice Bear was nearing completion in cleaning up the mess that he had indirectly caused. “I won’t make fun of you this time, I promise! I’ll even hold your paw or… cuddle or something, y’know. Sappy stuff,” He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t know you and I.B. were gonna do stuff tonight though, my bad.”

“Grizz I stream this movie all the time,” Panda chuckled. Grizz could feel his face grow with warmth. The way Panda smiled at him made his own heart begin to flutter. Holy cow he is so cute, Grizz thought. He swallowed a lump in his throat, nerves taking over him. “Thanks though. Sorry you had to go so far though. Could have at least bought yourself some dinner… W-We went out, sorry.”

“No prob, bro,” Grizz chuckled, “I’m a big bear I can make my own food.” Panda took a step closer to him and giggled. Christ he was so adorable. His heart beat faster… faster… Oh boy he couldn’t hold it back any more.

Grizz pressed his lips to Panda’s and reached up his paws to touch Panda’s shoulders. Panda didn’t pull away instantly, but he sure didn’t let it last long. He took a step back but still let Grizz’s paws fall to his sides slowly. He wiped at his mouth with the back of his paw, Grizz’s heart sinking at the sight of it.

“Geez, Grizz, you’re sloppy,” Panda shook his head and chuckled, though it sounded much more forced than before. Grizz felt his ears shrink and seem to press to the top of his head.

“S-Sorry.”

“Ice Bear has cleaned up other bears mess.” Ice Bear called. He came into sight of Grizz and Panda, the latter squirming out of Grizz’s paws. Grizz frowned and crossed his arms before letting a whiny out of his lips.

“H-Hey, Grizz, we can watch the movie another time, alright?” Panda asked. He reached out his paw and grabbed Grizz’s arm and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “You wanna come watch this movie with us? I’m not mad about the popcorn anymore.”

“Ice Bear is irritated about popcorn,” Ice Bear stated.

“Hey, shut up!” Panda whined and hit Ice Bear’s arm with his paw.

“Ow.”

“C’mon, Grizz, it’ll be fun,” Panda tugged on Grizz’s arm.

“Naw,” Grizz shook his head and put on his best fake smile. “I don’t wanna be a third wheel. Ice Bear is a bit of a ball hog on a court, don’t want to know what he’s like with a cutie like you. Naw I’ll just go to my room for a bit and use the laptop.”

“Alright,” Panda frowned. He walked to the table and set the DVD down slowly before looking to Grizz. “Hey, Grizz, you know you’re not a third wheel or anything right? I mean if you wanna watch with us we can. We missed our date earlier and all.”

“No, it’s seriously fine, just gonna grab some chips and,” Grizz said while turning around and walking to the cupboards, opening one up. “Have Ice Bear glare at me for not eating that great of a dinner. But naw, I’m good. I got my good night kiss, remember?”

“Pfff, shut up,” Panda giggled. So cute, Grizz thought. Even the sound of his voice drove Grizz’s heart nuts in his chest to the point he had to grab it to make sure it didn’t fly out.

“Ice Bear wants to resume cuddling.”

“Be blunt, why don’t ya?” Panda snapped. He heard Panda’s paw hit Ice Bear’s arm again and another “Ow” from Ice Bear be spoken before the two walked away. Grizz forwned and continued facing the wall when he heard the two walk away. The light from the other room dimmed and Grizz stared at his shadow while crinkling the bag of chips in his paws. The couch creaked and Grizz grumbled something under his breath before opening the bag.

He was hesitant to take a bit of the first chip, afraid that the taste of Panda’s lips against his own would fade. He heard Panda giggle, though deep down he longed for it to be closer to his ears. He shoved a pawful of chips into his mouth and crinkled the bag loudly before keeping his head down and turning for his bedroom.

He needed to find his headphones, and fast. Maybe that would block out Panda’s giggling.




Chapter 2: The Gift


Breakfast was bland. To say this was rare was an understatement. He chewed until the steak and eggs in his mouth were nothing but mush, but still he could barely focus on the flavor. Normally he loaded his eggs with so much hot sauce his breath felt like fire, and today was no exception. He felt the pain, but the flavor was still dulled somehow. Maybe it was the unusually cloudy weather outside that distracted him, or the way that he woke up an hour earlier than usual and had to wait shivering in the hallway while listening to Panda sing some korean pop song at the top of his lungs thinking nobody could hear him.

But, and this was just a hunch, maybe what was distracting him so much was the fact that Ice Bear was standing with a plate of food held high above his head, his eyes locked firmly before him to the Panda in front of him standing on the tips of his toes reaching up trying to reclaim his stolen dish.

“C-C’mon, just give me my breakfast alright? G-Grizz already embarrassed me by listening to me in the shower like a creep!” Panda whined and Ice Bear simply held the dish higher. “You didn’t used to make me do this!”

“Ice Bear did not hear you say good morning.” Ice Bear blinked his eyes. Grizz stared at his face and scanned it for any sort of expression, yet found none. He ended up biting on the inside of his cheek, the food in his mouth still a mushy pile of nothing.

“Ugh, you’re so difficult!” Panda groaned and placed either of his paws on Ice Bear’s sides and began raking his claws up and down slowly. Panda’s expression turned downright devilish for a moment before raising his brow and drifting a claw to Ice Bear’s raised armpit. “Do you wanna give me my food noooow?”

“Ice Bear is a wall of steel. That is to say he is not ticklish,” Ice Bear stated.

“C’mon, Grizz is right there,” Panda whined and crossed his arms before turning away. “It’s weird you two always staring when I do stuff like this!”

“H-Hey, if you’re feeling a little stage fright I won’t look,” Surprised to hear his name at all Grizz was quick to respond. He was beginning to feel a strange turn in his belly the more the two absorbed themselves further and further into their almost non argument.

Grizz dropped his fork and knife with a clatter onto the table and covered his eyes with both paws. He heard an audible sigh, and almost instantly the brown bear broke his promise. He peaked through his claws to see Panda very quickly and very briefly press his lips to Ice Bear’s before proceeding to hit him in the arm. The plate rattled slightly, but the polar bear’s expression did not change.

“Ow.”

“Aw, c’mon I didn’t even see any tongue!” Grizz teased. He lowered his paws instantly and shook his head. Panda’s eyes widened and his face clearly turned a shade or two closer to pink.

“You said you wouldn’t look!” Panda growled and crossed his arms when Ice Bear placed the plate of steaming noodles and eggs down before him. “Stupid bears and their stupid kisses.”

“Hey, hey,” Grizz knocked on the table. He remembered hearing a statement somewhere, knock on wood. It was supposed to be for luck or jinxing yourself, or something along those lines. “Where’s my morning kiss, Pan Pan? C’mon get that cutie caboose over here.” He patted on his lap and chuckled, his heart fluttering at the simple idea of Panda actually listening to him.

“Morning is over. We’re having an early noon today and no more good morning kisses,” Panda rolled his eyes and began to slurp up his noodles while looking away from the two. “You two are obsessed with embarrassing me, aren’t you?” He grumbled.

Grizz curled up his paw into a fist, careful not to dig his claws into the table. Stupid superstitions, he thought.

“Ice Bear knows you enjoy kissing,” Ice Bear commented and finally he let a brief smirk hit his face. It faded fast of course, but not before Panda caught a glimpse of it. Grizz let a whiny past his lips and felt his ears droop a bit, but he tried his best to keep a smile up when Ice Bear glanced to him.

“H-Hey, Pan Pan’s right,” Grizz hit his paw against the table and let out a loud laugh, far too loud. It sounded so unbelievably fake that Grizz felt his face grow warm. “We’re pushing him around a lot. I-If we had a swear jar for kissing him we’d have a pretty big rainy day fund, am I right?”

“Uh… Right,” Panda mumbled. He glanced at his phone briefly and continued to look away from the bears. The irritation and embarrassment still lingered on his face, but he tried his best to hide it behind the screen of his phone. “Can we just have a normal breakfast? I’m just still sore from… n-nevermind…” He pressed his paw to his cheek in a brief attempt to disguise his ever obvious blush, but it did little good to do so.

Grizz felt his ears perk up at the sound of that last part. He opened his mouth, as if to ask what Panda meant, though he caught a smirk from Ice Bear. The white bear was washing his paws in the sink, though at the mention of Panda being sore he seemed to be unable to hold back his smile. Something in Grizz’s heart ached at the sound of it, though he ended up stuffing another bite of steak in his mouth, along with a second and third. He didn’t want to think about it, but the seed was already planted.

“Hey Grizz, what are we gonna do today?” Panda asked, looking up from his phone for a brief moment.

“Huh?” Grizz asked, mouth spilling with tiny bits of egg and meat that Panda glared at and even covered his face with his paw to shield himself from. Grizz quickly chewed up his food and swallowed far too big of a mouthful before wiping his lips. “Uh, nothing I guess?”

“Nothing?” Panda asked with a slight tilt of his head.

“I just… don’t really wanna do anything today,” Grizz shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of steak. He didn’t bother swallowing before talking. The smile he had been trying so hard to keep up finally began to tug with an aching pain. “Basketball court’s probably not gonna have anybody if it rains.” He nodded to the window with a sky full of nothing but grey puffs. “O-Oh, we could go to the mall if you want. That little shop you like is open, right? We can go get lunch too if you want in a bit.” Grizz smiled a bit and looked down to his plate.

“N-No lunch,” Panda shook his head. His paw suddenly went to his belly and his lips formed a frown. Ice Bear seemed to pick up on this, it was subtle, but his ear lifted and he turned to Panda. Grizz rolled his eyes and looked away from the polar bear and back to Panda.

“Oh c’mon, I’ll paaaay!” Grizz tried to sway Panda to his side.

“Not feeling very hungry today, Grizz,” Panda mumbled. Grizz shrugged and let the meal part of the idea slip away.

“Well, okay, but we can still head to the mall!”

A strange thought hit Grizz’s head. It was the idea of Panda grabbing his paw and pulling him through the mall. It was an odd, spontaneous thought, but a nice one.

“Ice Bear needs to visit weapon store.” Ice Bear was shaking his paws slowly and reaching for a towel hanging from the handlebar of the stove to dry off with.

“Huh?” Grizz looked over to the polar bear. “You… you want to come?”

“Ice Bear wants ninja stars.”

“Don’t you already have like six of those?” Panda asked with a mouth full of food. Ice Bear walked over and placed a paw on his chin and pushed it up to force it shut. Panda was blushing again when Ice Bear shook his head.

“Ice Bear needs more. In case of danger.”

“You’re weird,” Panda squirmed out of his paw and Ice Bear did it again, that tiny smirk that Grizz had to admit he was beginning to despise. Well, maybe despise was a strong word. He thought about it for a moment while watching Panda slurp up his noodles and eggs, stuffing more food into his mouth. He didn’t know if it was possible to hate one of his brothers, a sickening guilt hitting his belly at the thought of it.

“F-Forget it,” Grizz shoved another large bite of meat into his mouth. “Let’s not go, staying home sounds better.”

“Aw, really?” Panda asked. Grizz stabbed his fork down to his plate and heard it clatter. Nothing was left but the liquid remains of his yolk and drops of hot sauce. His belly was full, but the desire to fill his mouth still grew. He clutched his stomach and frowned deeply at Panda’s words. “Way to dash my hopes, Grizz.”

“S-Sorry Pan Pan,” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so… pitiful. But it still came out as such. Ice Bear was staring at him, his eyes like daggers with his emotionless gaze. The polar bear came over and picked up his dish and brought it over to the sink. Grizz stared at Panda, who went back to scrolling through his phone.

Things were silent for a while, Panda casually eating his breakfast bit by bit, Ice Bear washing Grizz’s dish. It wasn’t until the first drops of the rain outside beat down against the window to their cave did Grizz break his stare from Panda. The clouds looked a bit darker than they had several moments before. Maybe a bad storm was rolling in.

“Oh!” Panda hit his paw to the table, his explosion of excitement suddenly breaking the silence. “T-Titanflake’s livestream is starting! I commissioned him! He’s gotta be drawing my piece!” He began tapping rapidly on his phone with wide, excited eyes and a grin so innocent and genuine that Grizz forgot for just a moment that it ached his heart to see it. Well, that was over dramatic. Panda smiling always made him happy.

“O-Oh crud!” Panda whined and stood up from his seat. “I can’t watch it on my phone! Grizz you had the laptop, right?”

“Y-Yeah, I…”

Ice Bear walked over slowly and grabbed Panda’s paw and pulled him back down to his seat and pushed his plate forward.

“Don’t waste food. Or Ice Bear will get revenge for tickling.” Ice Bear narrowed his eyes and pushed the plate closer to the squirming, over excited Panda.

“W-Wait, what? You said it didn’t tickle!” Panda whined and looked down to the plate of half finished food. “What kind of rule is that anyway? You never make me finish!”

“Ice Bear does not let first blood of battle go unpunished.”

“Ugh!” Panda whined and grabbed his fork before shoving the rest of his food in his mouth in a mouthful far too big to swallow. A noodle hung from his mouth before he nodded his head in thanks and nearly stumbled to his knees he was so quick to squirm out of Ice Bear’s paw that had previously been holding him down to his seat.

Grizz for whatever reason tried to stand up when Panda came rushing past him. He wasn’t positive what he wanted to say or even do, perhaps maybe try asking for another kiss. But Panda was already long past him before he managed to stand up. He heard the door to his bedroom slam shut before he let a frown hit his face.

“You’ve never had that rule before,” Grizz mumbled with a shrug of his shoulders.

Grizz slumped to the table and rested his face on his knees with a dissatisfied groan and watched Ice Bear grab Panda’s plate and bring it over to the sink. When Ice Bear passed the garbage, Grizz couldn’t help but notice the can was starting to overfill. Nothing else could possibly fit into it. Ice Bear was slowly washing the plate when a thought dawned onto Grizz.

“Hey, I.B., did you make Panda eat all his food because you didn’t want to change the garbage?”

Ice Bear seemed to freeze and stare straight ahead. A moment of silence came and went before the bear came up with a response.

“Ice Bear will not let you go unpunished if you tell.”

“Just wondering, cool yourself,” Grizz chuckled and got up from the table to walk over to the polar bear. “We all have a few skeletons. I mean you know I still cry from nightmares and I know you… uh…” Grizz put his claw to his lips for a moment. “I know you just didn’t want to take out the trash! There, got one!”

“Ice Bear does not enjoy his secrets being spilled.” Ice Bear began drying the plate slowly, eyes glaring at Grizz.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Grizz shrugged and leaned onto the counter and out the window. “Still, you know I would've eaten it if Pan Pan didn’t. Bottomless pit right here, hehe.” He chuckled and watched Ice Bear do his work for the next several moments. He set Panda’s plate on top of Grizz’s own and reached for the towel two once again dry his paws.

“Ice Bear thinks that Panda isn’t eating enough.” The bear mumbled and began folding the towel neatly. “Hasn’t finished more than half his food in a week.”

“Huh?” Grizz raised his brow. “What are you talking about? He’s not feeling sick is he? He always tells me when he’s got an upset tummy.” Grizz put a paw to his chest. The idea of Panda being sick was suddenly… striking… it upset his stomach more than any talk about kissing had. “I don’t gotta run and get medicine, do I? Oh man I am freaking out what do we d-”

Ice Bear lifted a paw and placed it over Grizz’s mouth. The grizzly bear spent a few seconds mumbling muffled words before silencing himself and letting Ice Bear lower his paw. The polar bear shook his head slowly and began taking off his apron, folding it neatly as well. His expression was blank, making it next to impossible for Grizz to read it. The brown bear began to squirm impatiently.

“C’mooooon, tell me!” Grizz reached out both his paws and put them on either of Ice Bear’s shoulders. He bounced like a little kid who had had far too much sugar. “Tell me tell me!”

“Ice Bear thinks Panda doesn’t like his body.” Ice Bear let just a faint glimmer of emotion flash across his eyes when he glanced away from Grizz for a brief moment. “Not eating much.”

“What?” Grizz raised his brow. He bit the inside of his cheek and stood in silence for a moment. The thought was… difficult to comprehend. “But… He’s got a cute little belly! I-I love his belly, don’t you?” Before Ice Bear could answer Grizz shook his head and growled. “Wait didn’t he make that popcorn last night?”

“Ice Bear ate most of it,” The polar bear shrugged. “He wouldn’t let me touch his belly. Got sensitive when asked. Many frowns from both parties. No fun.”

“But that’s just a hunch, right?” Grizz asked with a frown on his face. He felt his stomach twist more and begin to knot. “He didn’t tell you, did he? H-How come you picked up on that stuff but I didn’t? I’m his… y-y’know… too!”

“Boyfriend?” Ice Bear tilted his head.

Grizz bit on the inside of his cheek and crossed his arms. The word still sounded strange. The thought of actually referring to himself as Panda’s boyfriend was still… new to him. He thought about it more and more and realized his mouth was slowly going dry. He couldn’t bring himself to say it outloud, but somehow he managed a nod. He looked at the rain pattering against the window.

“You got all that just from watching him?” Grizz questioned. He tried to think back, but he never paid attention to the food at breakfast, only his brothers and the ideas that swarmed in his head begging him to go on adventures with his brothers big and small. Missing something so small yet impactful seemed to… hurt him… He grabbed at his chest with his paw and squeezed gently. “If you’re right then… You think he’s doing this because we’re his boyfriends now? Cause of this whole Polygon thing?”

“Polygamy.”

“R-Right, that,” Grizz nodded his head.

“Ice Bear thinks he might have done with with any girl too.” Ice Bear opened one of the cabinets under the sink and crouched down. “Ice Bear ordered chocolate from Korea online. Figured it would be a good gift to talk to him about it with.”

“A gift?” Grizz felt his eyes widen. A sudden shot of adreneline kicked into his system and he jumped up straight and began hitting his paws rapidly into Ice Bear’s chest. “OH! oh oh oh, idea!”

“Ow.” Ice Bear stated after every jab, though no emotion hit his face.

“I’ll go get the cutie a gift too! I’ll tell him that I love his pudgy little belly and we’ll cuddle, right?” Grizz asked. He didn’t wait for a response from Ice Bear before nodding his own head enthusiastically. “He needs to hear it from both of us, right? Oh this is gonna be so good! The bigger the gift the more I care, right? Did you just get him the one bar? I’ll get him fifty! W-Wait no, this isn’t a contest, it’s to make him feel better.”

“Ice Bea-”

“Oh who am I kidding I’m gonna kick your butt, I.B.!” Grizz gave his brother a big, truly grizzly hug and twirled around in place with a stiff bodied Ice Bear in his arms before setting him down. He plopped a large, we kiss on the polar bear’s cheek and smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me know me Pan Pan was so down, buddy. I’m gonna make him the happiest bear in the cave, you’ll see!”

“Ice Bear requests only his boyfriend kiss him from now on.” Ice Bear took a step back the moment Grizz released him from his large, strong arms. His eyes were a bit wider than usual, though he kept his face emotionless when he touched his cheek and shuddered for just a moment. “You are far too sloppy.”

“I’m going to the mall!” Grizz seemed beyond oblivious to Ice Bear’s words at this point. He had already turned his back and was running straight to the living room to search for his wallet. He was blinded by excitement, lust, and most importantly the thrill of competition. All he had to do was make Panda smile. Just one smile all to himself that Ice Bear couldn’t take from him. Just a moment where Ice Bear couldn’t hog Panda was all he needed to make his boyfriend happy. Just one little tip was all he needed to show Panda he could be just as good a boyfriend as Ice Bear any day. No more poorly scheduled dates or overlapping movie nights, he was going to be a good boyfriend even if it made him broke.

“There!” Grizz found his wallet and lifted it into the air. It was under the couch next to a card from fifty two pickup that they never found. Obviously. He looked to Ice Bear who had walked from the kitchen to the living room to stare at him. Grizz flashed an excited, wicked grin his way. “Gotta go! Be back later! Woo!”

“Ice Bear thinks that you shoul-”

Once again, he was cut off. But it wasn’t by Grizz this time, more like the door he slammed when he ran out. Ice Bear blinked, and then looked over to the window. The clouds were getting steadily darker, and his ears perked up when he heard a crash in the distance. Thunder, it had to be thunder.

“Ice Bear takes no blame.” Ice Bear spoke aloud to himself.