Step City

Bonnie finishes up her look for tonight. She dabs her usual scent behind her ears and on her wrists. She applies her lipstick carefully in the usual colours: dark cherry on her upper lip, nude pink on her bottom lip. She looks back at her reflection appraisingly. Good enough.

“What time will you be back?” asks Kip behind her.

Bonnie caps her lipstick, turning to look at them. “Oh… pretty late, bug.”

Kip hangs off the edge of the bathroom door, rocking back and forth. They look sullen. “Both of you?”

“Yep! Benson will be here any minute.”

“Can I come with you?” It was the second time they’d asked her that today. Bonnie goes over to her child and kneels in front of them, smiling reassuringly.

“Sorry, bug. It’s grown-ups only.”

Kip sighs, looking at the floor. “I see,” they say, dejected.

Oh, no. Bonnie feels her heart break a little. She squeezes their shoulder. “We’ll all hang out together soon. Promise.”

Kip nods, still pouting. How to comfort them?

“Benson and I need to spend time together once in a while, just the two of us.”

“Oh,” They blink. “Like a date.”

“Like a…date,” agrees Bonnie, nodding slowly. “But for friends. Friend date.”

So she assumes. Benson didn’t… specify what he meant by “date”, back when he asked her during the whiteout. The two of them had been out dozens of times together over the years, as friends, dressing to the nines for the sake of looking cute. Granted, it had been a long time since they’d had a mutual night off… months, maybe even a whole year ago. But still, there was no reason to assume this time was any less platonic than it had always been between them. Right?

“And you get to spend time with Ms. Choi!” says Bonnie excitedly, referring to the elderly neighbour who was watching Kip tonight. She was Bonnie’s go-to sitter. “You can play chess together. You always like that.”

Kip continues to look at her expectantly. Bonnie leans forward and kisses them on the forehead, feather-lightly so she doesn’t smudge her lipstick.

“I’ll make it up to you. You and I can spend all day together tomorrow. We can do whatever you want.”

“…okay.” Kip nods, looking a bit less sullen. “By the way, you look very handsome, mom.”

“Oh, do I?” asks Bonnie with a cheeky smile. She poses and turns for Kip, which makes the corners of their mouth turn up into the tiniest smile.

She'd found this black-green crushed velvet pantsuit hiding in the back of her overstuffed closet. She’d never had an opportunity to wear it before. She paired it with a white silk blouse and gold accessories. She was still undecided on which shoes to wear.

“C’mon, let’s go wait on the couch. Who do you think will show up first, Bunny or Ms. Choi?” says Bonnie, nudging Kip playfully. She follows them to the living room, glancing at her phone for any new texts. Her palms were a bit… sweaty? She tried not to think about what that meant.

Pick up pick up pick up Benson shakes his phone as he scrambles around his bathroom.

—

He gets a text back instead.

---

EIGHT: What. Benson. You know I work.

Benson: EB I don’t know what to wear! I don't know if I was clear and I'm not sure if I should dress more traditionally ...

EIGHT: Slow down. Why am I always giving you advice?

EIGHT: What is the date? Are you scamming someone out of some food or ...?

Benson: Bonnie!

EIGHT: Oh that, you usually have no issues dressing up for girls nights.

---

Eight waits for a response.

---

EIGHT: OH! Benson, finally???

Benson: Maybe? I don’t think I was very clear when I asked ... Bonnie bought me a dress.

EIGHT: Then you should wear the dress?

Benson: Yes. But we always have friend dates and I don’t know how to make it not that.

EIGHT: Benson I don’t know how to tell you this but it doesn't matter how you dress up or do your make up. Ya’ll have known each other for years it’s going to be fine either way. Do your best.

EIGHT: Oh my boss is here I have to go. You will be fine Bonnie is your friend.

---

Benson looks to the clock in the corner of the screen- if he wants to make it in decent time he needs to be gone now. He pulls on the dress over his corset and some layers to curve his shape a bit. Does a couple antsy loops around his house before running out the door with his shoes in hand. Sending Bonnie a string of emojis-

"🐇 💨 ⏰ !!!"

—

He arrives just barely after the designated time and has to take a moment to breath and fix his hair before knocking.

… then he realizes he’s still holding his shoes in his other hand and starts frantically trying to get them on before the door opens.

Kip is the one to answer the door. Their eyes pop open in delighted surprise as they take in the sight of Benson’s outfit, even as he struggles to put his shoes on.

“Woah. Uncle Bunny.” They flash him a thumbs up and an approving nod. “Nice.”

“Oh, you made it,” says Bonnie from somewhere in the apartment. She rushes up behind Kip, stopping short when she sees Benson.

...O-oh. Suddenly her face feels very warm.

“Y…! You look so good!” she exclaims, her voice a bit more high-pitched than usual. She wastes no time and rushes up to give him a hug, hoping to hide her slight loss of composure.

She'd settled on loafers for shoes. With her in flat shoes and Benson in heels, he towers even taller above her than usual.

“Thank you Kip~” He beams brightly. Eyes darting up then to Bonnie looking stunning, panic. Luckily she was first to embrace him.

“Sorry I’m a little late- I should plan better for getting ready.” Benson smooshes the side of his face against Bonnie’s head in the hug. He was practically tall enough to put his chin on her head with the heels.

“You look good too. I don’t think I’ve seen this suit before- It really… suits you.” He chuckles at his own joke. Trying to diffuse his own nerves.

Bonnie turns the hug into a squeeze, hoisting Benson by the waist just enough for his heels to lift off the ground. It lasts just a second before she sets him back down.

“Nothin’ to be sorry for,” she says, smiling easily, cool composure regained. “The night is young and you look cute as hell."

At the compliment to her outfit, she slips her hands into her pants pockets, rocking back and forth on her feet. “Why thank you! I quite like it myself.”

"So what do you have planned for us tonight? Or is it a surprise?"

Benson flushes, his hand coming up over a coy smile at Bonnie modeling for him.

“Well, there’s a lovely dance club that does swing nights not too far from my theater. It’s attached to a cute bistro that has a table for us later on.”

It was much more planned than his usual go with the flow style. He shrugs his shoulders with a bit of mischief in his tone. “Then, who knows? dessert maybe?”

“Oooh, sounds lovely! I’m excited to dance with you, honey. I’ve been practicing my swing.”

The sitter, Ms. Choi, arrives then: a feisty little old woman with a chessboard tucked under her arm. Bonnie goes over the usual details with her: Kip’s routine for the night, number to reach her at, how long they’ll be out… Ms. Choi waves Bonnie away.

“Go, go have fun. I’ll stay all night if I must.” Ms. Choi turns to Kip, holding up the chessboard. "Kip owes me a rematch."

Bonnie’s smiles, seeing the competitive glint in her child's eyes. “I-- ok, then. Have fun, Kip! I love you!”

Kip waves goodbye to her - and gives Benson another thumbs up - before following the sitter back into the apartment. Bonnie sighs.

“They’re upset that they’re not coming with us tonight. Hopefully I can make it up to them.” She turns to Benson. “You’ll have to come over again soon. They keep asking for you.”

“Anyway… shall we?”

Honey!! His eyes dart sheepishly away.

“Oh! Best of luck Ms. Choi. You're gonna need it.” He returns a thumbs up towards Kip. Destroy.

He clutches his chest as if being shot through the heart. “Kippo.” He looks back with big dramatic saucer eyes, other hand pressed to his forehead. “I’m so sorry sweet child. I will drop anything to come over and hang out with Kip~”

Benson nods sadly as they leave.

He laces his fingers into Bonnie’s hand as they start down the sidewalk. “We can have our own little dance with Kip another day…” He thinks out loud.

Bonnie smiles, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. So sweet.

"Family dance night sounds great. Kip's learning all sorts of things in school. I bet they'd like to show off their new moves for you."

As they walk along hand in hand, she keeps glancing at him, under the guise of inspecting his outfit. She looks at his face - his nervous eye contact and his softly flushed cheeks - and bites her lip to tamp down a huge, stupid grin.

"Your hair. Did you curl it?"

“Oh- yeah I did!” He swings their arms, beaming at her. “It never likes to stay that way though, so I will see if it holds up.”

He wonders what kind of face he’d been pulling as they walked. The funny grin she had wasn’t lost on him. “You’re going to mess up your lipstick if you bite your smile like that. This is a giggle safe space.”

“Speaking of, you should show me how to do mine that way.” Staring at her lipstick a little too long wondering how she gets them so kissab- A visible shiver runs up his ears. “A-ah the venue is just… over there.”

"Ack, you're right," she laughs, flashing her probably-lipstick-stained teeth. Then she fusses at the teeth with her tongue, hopefully wiping away any stray makeup.

She doesn't miss the way he looks at her mouth and shivers. An image comes to mind - her holding Benson gently by the jaw as she outlines his lips with lipstick. "...I can certainly help you with that sometime."

"I was just thinking... well! We're going to have so much fun tonight. Thank you for asking me out, honey." She throws on the term of endearment as they approach the venue.

“Y-yes it’s going to be fun! This place is really cute. I’ve been here a few times and they always dress it up-“

Benson turns his attention up, waving to the staff at the entrance. They recognized him and casually waved the two through. One in particular narrows his eyes at the rabbit which is met with what can only be described as an apologetic smile.

The dance floor is already hopping, there’s a live band on a stage towards the back and the venue playing a mixture of classic swing with modern flare. The walls and break areas are dressed with seasonally appropriate flowers, ribbons and other decorations.

“Ah- cute,” remarks Bonnie, though she’s probably not heard over the music. She looks around at all the red, pink and white decorations, the band in full swing, and the groups of people dancing. Still holding Benson's hand, she gives it another squeeze, and she looks to him to follow his lead.

Benson nods to her but waits a moment for the current song to switch over, some dancers taking a break and others jumping in.

He gives a light tug to her hand leading her onto the floor. "Let's go!"

[Simple things https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNXCuGZcDBE ]

Bonnie lets herself be pulled to the dance floor and falls into step with her partner. There was something to be said about swing, how easy it was to just fall into the rhythm. She took both his hands and pulled him into a lindy hop, following the tempo of the horns section.

~

Bonnie follows Benson’s energetic moves, stumbling maybe once or twice (she really was out of practice dancing on her flat feet…) but sure enough, he caught her by the hand and lead her back. His joy was infectious. She couldn’t help but smile along with him as they shuffled their feet and swiveled their hips to the big band.

After three songs, the blazer came off. She was working up a sweat.

“Phew! Think I need a drink. What would you like?"

Benson was a light with excitement having lost track of time. A well of energy, but it is probably good to catch a break- He keeps a bounce to his step as he moves to the side with her to a small seating area with a bar.

“I suppose water would be responsible after the work out.” But he looks at an overhanging menu of special drinks. “But also… this looks cute, it comes with strawberries.” His eyes sparkle at a rotating sign that flashes a pink fruity drink.

“Hmm, that’s true… I don’t particularly feel like being responsible tonight, though.” she says conspiratorially, with a wink. But still... water would be good to avoid any kind of hang over tomorrow.

Bonnie goes up to the bar, requests some water and orders a couple “Cupid’s Bow” cocktails. She’s normally not one for sweet drinks, but… what the heck. She pays for the drinks, tips the bartender, and brings them back to their table, easily balancing all four glasses between her fingers.

She settles down across from Benson, blazer draped over the back of her chair, shirt sleeves neatly rolled up to her elbows.

She takes a tiny sip of the drink. The first thing she tastes is the sweetness, but it’s not overly sugary – strawberries and… citrus? Lemon, that’s it. So it’s like a boozy strawberry lemonade. She raises her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, that’s nice.”

Benson puts his chin in his hand, a smug look at the responsibility comment. She might be more allowed than he is, however. He stretched his arms as he sat there- or rather struggled to sit there. Vibed up and jittery.

He is relieved when she comes back to join him. He does a taste test before almost finishing the thing- it takes some restraint to put it back down in his current state. As in he actually uses one hand to hold the other hand down. Energy built up and idly swaying, he didn't think this through. “It’s really good!! Thank you for the treat Bonbon.”

She notes his antsy demeanor and quickly downs the water.

"Ok, I'm good to get back out on the dance floor. Do you want to finish mine?" She motions to the unfinished cocktail.

Benson, embarrassed, finishes the rest of his own first. “Actually I was wondering if you-” He stops abruptly. What time is it? He pats himself and pulls his phone from the top of his dress.

“O-our table is ready if you would like to move somewhere quieter?…”