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fly-pow-bye · 4 years

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ThunderCats Roar - “Driller”

Co-Executive Producer: Victor Courtright

Supervising Producer: Nate Cash

Producer: Marly Halpern-Graser

Story by: Victor Courtright

Teleplay by: Marly Halpern-Graser

Directed by: Jeremy Polgar

Is it killer, or is it filler?

This episode begins with Panthro doing repairs on that mighty ThunderTank. I never really talked about its looks, as this is one of the first good clear shots of it. This ThunderTank looks even more like a cat than the original, with a big red nose and a cat-like mouth, and it has a perpetually sticking out tongue. It's not as fierce looking as its original counterpart, but considering this is more of a comedy than an action show, it's fitting.

Panthro finishes the job, as indicated by the ThunderTank shining, and he talks to himself about how it must have been so long since he didn't have to fix something. He really must like to tempt fate with that one, that kind of saying is usually followed by everything breaking at the same time.

Surely enough, everything starts to break, all at the same time, and it's all because of his teammates. Cheetara broke the ThunderTread by exceeding its maximum speed it can handle, and the ThunderKittens broke the ThunderFridge trying to get that sweet ThunderCake.

Even the ones that are usually more competent than the others are involved with this massive breakage, as Snarf, the robot cat-dragon-thing with an intelligence level of 20 according to the first episode, is messing around with some wiring like it's a ball of yarn. Panthro doesn't even know what it is, and one thing I'm thinking of is that I'm surprised they didn't pull out a "samoflange" joke yet. As for Tygra, the usual straight man, he's just the victim of a falling ThunderSecurity Camera.

Suddenly, Sadako shows up, calling out to Panthro, presumably telling him that his 7 days are up, and he has to pay for that one month of Youtube TV whether he likes it or not.

No, that's just Lion-O drawn with much longer hair than usual for the sake of the Sadako gag, and he needs his blowdryer fixed. Not a ThunderBlowdryer, just a regular blowdryer. For a second, I thought he was melting, too, but that's actually his fur. They are cat people, after all.

All of the other ThunderCats come in, and Panthro tells them that he'll get to work on all of those problems, and the only repayment he'll need from his teammates is the appreciation he gets for doing everything. Que Lion-O throwing that fixed blowdryer to a wall, breaking it immediately! Get it, because Lion-O is selfish.

It's quite clear, even with Panthro's assurance that it was a easy mistake, that this is getting to him. It doesn't help that he hears something else breaking just outside. He assumes it must be yet another one of his teammates...except they're all here.

The alarms go off, and Lion-O knows what the ThunderCats should do in this situation as their great leader.

Lion-O: The lair is under attack! ThunderCats...PANIC!

(everyone panics)

See, it's funny because this isn't normally what happens! All of the ThunderCats search through various rooms, seeing that someone has been drilling through all of it, leaving giant holes everywhere. Worst of all, whatever is causing this has taken Lion-O's cake! Tygra shows up to tell Lion-O that he found it. No, not the cake, much to Lion-O's chagrin, as he'll never know the truth about that. Alas, poor ThunderCake.

The drilling came from this new robotic man with a drill for a lower body, named, appropriately, Driller. This was a character who first appeared in the eighteenth episode of the original. In the original, he was a mercenary who accepts diamonds as payment, which he will use to sharpen his mighty drill. At the very least, he confirms his want for diamonds in the first minute of his appearance, as the first thing he does is scan if those strange cat people have them.

Tygra tries to stop this new potential threat with a "stop right there, miscreant" and an all important pointer finger, and the miscreant just says no and continues drilling. He doesn't say "no" like a villain would say "never", just an uncaring "no".

There are higher stakes. According to Panthro and what looks like a portable video game console, Driller is heading towards the lair's Thundrillium core! If that gets destroyed, the rest of the lair goes with it. This comes much to the shock of everyone...except for Lion-O, who has a stupid face on throughout this speech. Lion-O only seems to care when Panthro clarifies that it's his stuff that's on the line, too. Get it, because Lion-O is selfish.

So they all try to fight him, but it's no use. Even with his need for diamonds at the time, his drill is still powerful enough to spin both Cheetara and the ThunderKittens out of the way. It takes Panthro's super strength to do any kind of stopping, but Tygra tries his best to be useful with his special ability to have a bola whip. I could take this as confirmation that they just got rid of one of the ThunderCat's special powers, though I doubt disappearing would have helped this situation. It almost seems like all is lost and Tygra is about to get a hole in the head, all until the Bola whip eventually makes his drill stop.

They take him in for questioning, and he properly introduces himself as Driller, and he drills. One point that ends up being a sticking point for Lion-O is that he's trying to get diamonds so he can sharpen his drill, which he uses to drill for more diamonds, and even his tiny little brain can admit that is an unending cycle with no real point.

He compares this to shampoo, which has the specific instructions to lather, rinse, and repeat, but one shouldn't repeat forever. Nice to see that blowdryer scene is relevant to the rest of the episode; he seems to know his hair products. He knows enough to know that shampoo is pointless, just like drilling just for the sake of drilling.

While the former is certainly wrong, as Tygra points out, Driller does not take that advice too well. He looks at the diamond on top of his head, which pops out instantly, and he tells himself that he is pointless. He lies down on the ground, clearly saddened of this realization, and this makes everyone else sad too. There is one exception, who boasts that he is glad to help. Here's a hint: it's funny because he's selfish!

Panthro tries to calm his senses, saying that his life is also an endless cycle: he fixes things, his teammates break them, he fixes them again. Driller then gives him his own bit of foresight.

Driller: So Panthro is pointless too?

I always wondered what that guy from that one Radiohead music video was talking about. And yes, Lion-O never gets this, either. Even in the end, he just kind of gets told to do the right thing eventually.

One week passes, and the Lair is still just as holey as ever. Tygra decides enough is enough, and something must be done about it, but Lion-O is happy about this new home arrangement, as he can jump straight from his living room to the kitchen in one jump. The ThunderKittens are happy too, as Lion-O made them a toy out of the shower curtain to cover up one of the holes, a...

JUMP PAD!

Yes, with a choir, too. It doesn’t work too well, though, as it eventually breaks, and we get this overly long joke about how they have to wait for WilyKit and Kat to hit the ground. Lion-O assures the rest that they have to hit the ground sometime. Don’t worry, they turn out to be okay, because nothing has to make sense in this wacky comedy.

Even Lion-O admits that something has to be done. The problem is that Panthro is still depressed and feeling pointless, and he doesn't want to do anything. They do bring up one thing they've been ignoring until now: what about the Ro-Bear Berbils? They built this whole lair from scratch, certainly they would be available to re-build the lair without having to do anything!

Unfortunately, they're busy working on Castle Plun-Darr. Interesting diversion from the original, and it's also interesting to watch this after the episode of the original that explained the origins of that series' Castle Plun-Darr. At least this species is okay with being slaves, because that means they can build something. They didn't want payment from the people who would pay them.

...actually, come to think of it, they probably wouldn't have any Third Earth money, and it wasn't until this episode where they realized they had diamonds. Hmm, let's let something else distract from this, shall we? Cheetara manages to find Panthro, who was literally under her feet, but he's still depressed and unwilling to just fix what will eventually be broken. Even when our favorite baby king begs him to, he won't budge, so he makes a great plan.

To finally give him a point, Lion-O decides to trash the one room of the Lair Driller didn't destroy: that room with the Thundrillim in it! Now he can fix everything he broke, including that unimportant circle thing he was told would blow everything up! Admittedly, that one wasn't intentional, and Lion-O finally has an expression other than pure happiness over the silly things he does. It might have been more than alarm than anything else, though.

See, as he's basically a kid, he only seems to feel remorse whenever something really goes wrong. The original Lion-O had the excuse that he was a kid. Roar Lion-O is just a really, really silly character in a really, really silly cartoon.

They go to Driller, who is eating popcorn, watching an episode of Building with Berbils. They are really using those Berbils this episode; they must be making up for their lack of appearances since the first episode. Also, how is he even enjoying that popcorn? Is that an alternative fuel source? Whatever.

Panthro, having dots for eyes for no real reason other than they didn't want to finish drawing the ThunderCats, begs Driller to drill, as only drilling can solve this problem somehow. Lion-O tries to handle it, because that worked so well for the rest of the episode, with a speech about drilling.

Or, since Driller is a robotic being, Panthro can just rewire his positronic brain to bypass all of his emotions. Thanks to this rewiring, Driller stops caring about anything, being happy all the time, and he doesn't mind this at all because he's always feeling good. See, all we had to do was essentially brainwash the guy to be good. That's what heroes should do!

To make a long story short, Panthro fixes everything, just as he always does. To make a short story long again, he has the unwillingly-happy Driller drill directly to the core, and then pushes his "Reverse" switch. Somehow, for reasons that are surely different than "this episode needs to end", this stabilizes the core. Even the show is aware of how silly this is.

Lion-O: He stabilized the core by unstabilizing it in reverse!

Tygra: That's how science works!

SCIENCE!

It's no Respek Knuckles. At this point, I honestly expected a scene where Driller goes backwards, somehow causing the holes to disappear. Maybe that's what happened, but they didn't animate it.

In the end, Driller becomes his...

NEW FRIEND!

Oh hush. As payment for helping him find his point again, not only does he accept his new head rewiring, he offers to fix Panthro's head wiring with his head drill! I guess that's one bit of comeuppance, even if he never gets to do it.

Lion-O reassures Panthro that he will continue to have a point too, as he broke everything already, and the rest of the ThunderCats and Driller laugh at how he has learned nothing. Driller then teleports, and Cheetara asks what was the point of him even being here. I don't really get it.

How does it stack up?

The creep factor of this episode's solution aside, this isn't a terrible episode. Most of it is just Lion-O being silly and not really being that funny outside of maybe a handful of jokes, and the rest is unnotable at worst. It's adequate. Three cats.

Next, unicorns! Yup, they did exist in the original, believe it or not. Honestly, I'd be surprised if they didn't exist in a universe with cat people in it.

← Prank Call 🐈 Secret of the Unicorn →

#fpb tcr #thundercats roar #fpb reviews #cartoon network

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coloursflyaway · 7 years

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I've been working my way through your AMAZING fic and saw you take prompts? I'd love a brotzly fic where they have to go under cover as a couple to a wedding or similar

First of all, thank you so much, I am glad you enjoy it! ♥ And then, yes, of course, here you go, although it turned out a little bit different that the prompt… I hope you don’t mind too much.

Seal My Fate

Pairing: Dirk Gently/ Todd Brotzman

Rating: T

Words: 3.777

Or: Todd Brotzman wouldn't know a date if it bit him on the ass.

„Cominghere was really the most splendid idea, Todd“, Dirk tells him for the thirdtime that day, and Todd can just so resist rolling his eyes. “It wasn’t really an idea”, he tells the other, stuffs his hands into thepockets of his suit. He hates wearing it, the fabric too stiff to feelcomfortable, but back in the days when Amanda was still speaking to him morethan for the occasional quick text or call, she had assured him he looked good init. Or rather, hot as fuck, big bro,in her words. “I just got an invitation.”

“Still.”Dirk, as always, is absolutely undeterred by his words, smiles to himself andfollows Todd through the pews. He looks different today, his leather jacketreplaced by a grey suit with some kind of subtle plaid pattern on it, the onlysplash of colour a tie that reminds Todd vaguely of someone killing a flamingoand wrapping it around Dirk’s neck. All in all, he looks, for his standards, atleast, normal. “You decided to bring me, which I am certain the invitation said nothing of,and that was very good thinking on your part.” Dirk looks happy enough withthat explanation and Todd knows protesting won’t change anything, but stilltries. “It did say “plus one” so…” He shrugs, and Dirk stops for a moment, obviouslythinking, then his face lights up again; he’s found the solution to a problemthat really isn’t one. “You could have brought Farah!”, he exclaims, looking more satisfied than agrown man should possibly be allowed to. “But you didn’t. A very wise choice,really. Oh! Who knows, we might find a case here! Or rather, the case mightfind us! We should try and blend in, very sneaky, so they don’t notice –“

At thispoint, Todd does what he does more often than he’d ever admit (amongst otherthings; there are a lot of things he would never admit, most of them having todo with Dirk), he stops listening and instead ponders something Dirk has saidbefore. Farah. He could have brought her, absolutely. She would have been the logical choiceto take with him to a wedding, a gorgeous, witty, if strange woman, who couldhave protected him from any and all kinds of attacks, such as unwanted smalltalk or those tiny mayonnaise-covered shrimps the waitresses keep offering him.Dirk is useless at that, talks to everyone who just looks in their directionand has eaten his body weight in hors d’oeuvres before the actual ceremony haseven started. And yet, he didn’t even consider asking Farah, but had gone to Dirk straightaway, had basked in the glow of the other’s smile when Todd asked him to come.

Heremembers that smile well, the way it had made Dirk’s eyes shine even morebrightly than usual, the exact pitch of the other’s voice when he had agreed,the – Todd shakes his head slightly, banning the thought from his mind. Thereare some things that he won’t ever admit, but even more things that heabsolutely refuses to think about.

Fortunately,he doesn’t have to, is saved by two people he didn’t think he’d ever see againjust three weeks ago: a lanky man in his late twenties with hair of the mostboring shade of brown imaginable and more freckles than should fit on a singleface, but an impossibly kind smile, and a woman with dark skin and hair dyed somany different, clashing colours that it looks like Todd imagines Dirk’scloset. Andrew, former bassist of the little known, but still very good Indie band The Mexican Funeral, and hissoon-to-be-wife and former band member, Mindy.

“Todd”,Andrew greets him, smiling a smile Todd does not deserve. “I’m glad you couldmake it.”Mindy nods and smiles at him as well, although this is a smile he does deserve– polite, but not very pleased. It’s not hard to figure out who insisted oninviting Todd. “Me too. Thank you again for the invitation, I didn’t – well. You know.”He sounds as awkward as he feels, which at least seems to please Mindy; Andrewpretends that he doesn’t notice. To say something, anything, really, that isn’tan apology, Todd gestures to his right, to Dirk, starts, “This is Dirk Gently,by the way. He’s –““I’m his date”, Dirk finishes the sentence for him, extends a hand, his smileso bright Todd can hear it even over how utterly dumbfounded he is. Date? “And I am so glad to meet you.Todd doesn’t really speak much about anything to do with The Mexican Funeral, so it’s great to meet someone who might do soinstead. I am terribly interesting in, oh, anything to do with his past,really. And such a joyous occasion as well! I truly do wish you all the luck inthe world.”

The couplein front of them looks as confused as Todd feels, but Andrew is the politestperson Todd has ever met, so he takes Dirk’s hand and shakes it. “Dirk, uh, good to meet you too. I didn’t know that – well, I suppose it’s beensome time. Anyway. We’ll see you two around, alright?”Todd nods, not sure if he remembers how to speak, and they leave; the word date still echoes in Todd’s mind. Adate? Could this be considered a date? Of course, they dressed up, and Toddsupposes that a wedding could be considered romantic, but - He doesn’t get any further with that train of thought, because his brainsupplies him with a memory that clears everything up instantly: Dirk talkingabout a case, about blending in, being sneaky. And of course, that is all it isand can be. Explaining that he is a holistic detective who is looking for a mystery tosolve would cause a commotion, most likely, and definitely be the end ofblending in and being sneaky. But there are couples all around, so what betterdisguise to use?

Todd looksover at Dirk, all spruced up, with his hair perfectly coiffed and his tie alittle bit crooked, and tries to ignore that his heart feels like it’sbreaking.

They taketheir seats and the wedding begins, Mindy and Andrew both glowing withhappiness, stumbling and stuttering and sobbing out their vows, and, unknown toanyone but himself, Todd suffers from a series of heart attacks when somewherein between, Dirk reaches out and laces their fingers together.

“So how didyou meet?”, Dirk asks and almost bodily pushes some other felicitator out ofthe way to sidle up to Mindy and Andrew. The two of them are sharing a flute ofchampagne and a piece of cake, and are apparently too deliriously happy to mindTodd and his not-date intruding. “At band practice”, Andrew answers, hardly missing a beat, which is quiteimpressive. He turns to his wife, beaming at her like he is seeing her for thevery first time. “Because of Todd, actually. He had put an ad in the paper and theboth of us showed up. I was sure that Mindy hated me at first, until I figuredout that it was just all that eyeliner that made it seem like she wanted tomurder me.”

“I wasstaring at him the whole time, that’s what he means”, she butts in, soundingmore content than Todd has ever heard her, even after being in the same bandfor nearly three years. He might not have any right to do so, but Todd stillfeels happy for them. “Couldn’t believe that someone so cute wanted to even bein the same room as me, let alone smile at me and try to make incrediblyawkward jokes.”“She laughed at them though!”, Andrew clarifies with a chuckle, presses a kissto Mindy’s cheek. Todd’s own cheek aches jealously. “What about you? How didyou meet?”

There is amoment in which Todd panics, proper, vicious fear clutching at his throat, butDirk just smiles his most charming smile and doesn’t notice that Todd almostdies right on the spot when he takes his hand once more. Through the fog ofpanic, longing and confusion, Todd registers that Dirk’s thumb is softlybrushing over his knuckles. “Oh, it’s quite a different story, that!”, Dirk replies easily, like he has toldthe tale a hundred times already. “I broke into Todd’s apartment one night – Ihad… seen him before, and I just had the strangest hunch that he’d beimportant. It wasn’t the most conventional way of courting someone, I have toadmit, but it worked. And I was right. He turned out to be the most important thingthat ever happened to me.”He turns to face Todd, who wishes he could just close his eyes, because seeingDirk like this is almost painful. His eyes are blue and gentle, filled with somethingTodd can only describe as devotion, love sparking from them; he looks soearnest Todd could almost trick himself into believing him.

Who wouldhave thought that Dirk Gently was any good as an actor?

He stillhasn’t looked away when Andrew chuckles and saves him, ruins the moment. “I would say that is quite romantic, if strange… and possibly illegal”, hecomments, and Todd finally turns to look at him, feeling his cheeks heat up tothe point where he’s fairly certain he’s running a fever. “Oh, Todd, there’s no need to be embarrassed”, he continues, obviously noticinghis discomfort and interpreting it horribly wrong. “We always kind of suspectedthat – well. It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Now that you’ve found eachother. I’m happy for you.”Andrew sounds genuine, and even Mindy is smiling at him, and the thought hemight have earned just the slightest bit of their forgiveness feels too good toprotest, or say anything at all. So Todd just nods, swallows thickly, and wonders why Dirk keeps stroking hisknuckles when no one will see.

“Do youwant to dance?”, Dirk asks suddenly, and Todd isn’t quite certain how manymetaphorical deaths it will take until he really, actually dies, but ratherconvinced he will find out before the day is over. Dirk is standing next to him, the fairy lights decorating the garden aroundthem making his eyes shine, his skin glow golden. He isn’t beautiful, becauseit’s still Dirk, and Dirk is skinny and awkward, just handsome instead ofirresistible, but he doesn’t have to be, because he knocks the breath right outof Todd’s lungs anyway.

And thereit is, spelt out so clearly in the pounding of his heart that Todd cannotpretend he doesn’t see it anymore, a truth: he might only have known DirkGently for a few, short months, but sometime along the world, Todd has givenhim his heart.

“Yeah,okay”, he mutters, and Dirk beams at him, extends a hand, and for the firsttime since they got here, it’s Todd who clasps his fingers around the otherman’s; the fluttering, uneasy feeling in his stomach is the same.“Oh, good. I thought that it would probably be the appropriate thing to askyour date, judging by everyone around us.” Dirk grips his hand tighter andpulls him onto the dancefloor, where, he is right, at least a dozen couples areswaying to the music, Andrew and Mindy in the middle of them. And there it is again, that word, unprompted and without anyone else to hear,and Dirk’s fingers intertwining with his so easily, that Todd can’t help buthope that maybe, just maybe..

He doesn’tget to finish the thought, and doesn’t really mind it, because Dirk pulls himcloser, looking down at him and not for the first time, making Todd aware howmuch taller the other is. Usually, he’d mind it – being short is nothing he isproud of – but with Dirk, it really doesn’t seem to matter. Especially when Dirk puts his other hand on Todd’s shoulder, his stance farfrom perfect.

The music is slow, sweet, and they don’t haveto talk about it, just start moving. It’s hardly enough to deserve being calleddancing, rocking back and forth a little bit, occasionally taking half a stepto let some other couple pass, and yet it feels more intimate, more subtlyerotic than full-on grinding against each other could ever be. This time, when Todd feels breathless, he doesn’t really mind it.

Time passeswithout Todd really noticing, a song changing to another to another to another,and then, Frank Sinatra crooning about only having eyes for that one person inthe background, Dirk leans in. Fairy lights and the bit of champagne they hadbefore are illuminating his face and Todd knows he should close his eyes, andyet can’t help but watch, mesmerized, and wonder how Dirk’s lips are going tofeel against his.

“I thinkI’ve found our case”, Dirk whispers.

The caseends up being a woman – some obscure aunt, Mindy tells them later – systematicallystealing the catering company’s silverware, and Dirk is ecstatic about havingsolved their seventh case together; Todd feels like someone has ripped hisheart from his chest, sliced it into little pieces and stuffed glass wool intothe vacant space to keep him from collapsing. He’s tired, impossibly so, tells Dirk that much, but can’t convince the otherto stay behind while he leaves, no matter how much he tries. Andrew and Mindy tell him to call sometime, which he probably won’t, and then Toddis left with an overly-concerned holistic detective in his car, instead of in acab on his own, where he’d like to be, trying to figure out how much of the shatteredpieces that once made up his heart are still salvageable.

“And youare certain that you are fine? You don’t look fine”, Dirk asks for the fifthtime when they have finally pulled up at the curb in front of the Ridgely. Hesounds genuinely worried, which would be sweet, if sweet didn’t just serve to crushTodd’s heart into smaller splinters still. Hoping, he decides, is always theworst course of action.“I’m okay, Dirk”, he tells the other, ignores the puppy eyes and gets out ofthe car. He should wait for Dirk – they do live in the same building after all– but right now, he just doesn’t have the strength to do so. Instead, Todd walks, makes it up the few steps to the front door before a handwrapped around his wrist causes him to stop. It’s the same hand he knows sowell by now, and it still makes Todd’s skin burn and tingle with want.

“Are youmad at me?”, Dirk asks with the quietest, most forlorn of voices, making Toddlook up at him although he really, really doesn’t want to. “Have I donesomething wrong? …again?”“…no.” The word takes more strength to utter than Todd thought he had leftinside him, but it makes Dirk smile again, and therefore, is worth it.“Oh, thank God”, the other answers, so very obviously relieved that Todd almostexpects him to start awkwardly patting his shoulder. Instead, Dirk’s hand stayswhere it is, around Todd’s wrist. “You had me worried. I would always mind itif you were upset with me, obviously, but I’d mind it a lot more tonight, Ithink. I enjoyed the wedding a lot. Thank you for taking me.”

Dirk looksalmost shy at his admission, even if still like he is burning up withhappiness, like solving this one dumb case really made all the difference tohis world, and Todd manages half a smile. “No problem”, he tells him, “Thank you for coming. It would have been a lotmore awkward without you.”The not-even-praise makes Dirk light up, and Todd wants to reclaim his wrist sohe can go back to his flat and get as drunk as he possibly can with whateveralcohol he has left, but he’s not fast enough; Dirk speaks first.

“I guessthat’s good night then”, the other says, and sounds nervous, looks like he isblushing. “This is – I mean, I think it’s appropriate to – oh, bugger it.”There is a split second that Todd spends wondering whatever the hell it is Dirkis speaking about, and then. Well. He doesn’t think anymore at all.

Dirk’s lipsare as soft as he thought they would be, clumsy as they kiss him, leaving thetaste of champagne on Todd’s mouth when the other pulls back, and the faintsensation of his heart mending itself in his chest. His own eyes haven’t closed the entire time, his brain to shocked to evenblink, but Dirk’s only flutter open after he has straightened again, like he isunwilling to let the moment pass completely. Todd is impossibly glad for thehand around his wrist, preventing him from doing something stupid like touchinga finger to his lips, hoping to feel Dirk’s kiss on them still.

“…so thiswas a date?”, Todd finally says, and of course, it is the stupidest possibleresponse anyone could have thought of, not only effectively ruining the moment,but also wiping the blissful happiness clean from Dirk’s face. “Yes? Wait, wasn’t it? Was that what I did wrong?”There is something like panic slowly creeping into Dirk’s eyes, a look thatsuits him far less than contentment, and although Todd usually is only good atruining things, not fixing them, he manages to do so now. “I was – I mean, no, it wasn’t, but not because – not because I didn’t want itto be. I wanted it to be a date. More than I realised at first, even, I really wanted it to be a date. And itwould have been a great date, too, even with the stealing aunt, if I had justnoticed that it was one.”He tries to give Dirk a smile, which works far better than it did just momentsago; his heart, now fully functioning again, realises what is happening andpicks up its pace. The other, though, still looks shaken, so Todd adds, “I thought it was adetective thing. A disguise to blend in, you know? But the point is that I’dlike it a lot better if it wasn’t any of that. Just a date.”

Todd’swords seem to finally catch up to Dirk, make the shock and pain melt away atlast. “Oh”, he breathes out and there aremore relief in that one syllable than should be possible. “Oh, good. That wouldhave been horribly awkward – not to mention, utterly devastating, really,because I really enjoyed it. The date, I mean. And – and kissing you. I reallyenjoyed that too.”There is a faint hint of pink tinting Dirk’s cheeks, the tips of his ears, buthis eyes are bright with something Todd has seen before, just hours ago; loveshining out of them with an intensity that makes it hard to breathe. “I – “, Todd starts and doesn’t know to finish the sentence, doesn’t even knowwhat he could have wanted to say, but one single thing. “Me too.”

A smilegrazes Dirk’s lips, the kind that Todd knows would bloom into a fully-fledgedbeam grin soon, if it had the time. It doesn’t, because Todd gets up on histiptoes and this time, his eyes flutter closed even before he kisses Dirk,shutting out the world around him so it’s just the two of them. The other’slips are curved against his, allowing themselves be coaxed into kissing back byTodd’s hand coming up to cup Dirk’s cheek, trailing calloused fingertips overhis skin. The kiss is soft and slow, almost lazy, the kind you don’t mention in any storyyou tell but sometimes think about at night and feel your lips tingle; whenTodd draws back, his chest is aflame with affection, maybe even love.

Dirk looksawestruck somehow, eyes glazed over when he opens them again and his cheeks thepink of his tie. Before he speaks, he clears his throat and yet his voice isstill slightly hoarse when he speaks, lower than Todd is used to. “I liked that one even better.”“Me too.”

It’s not arisk when he leans up and steals another tiny kiss, and that alone is enough toamaze Todd, who expected to go to sleep with a broken heart and now can tasteDirk on his lips, can feel the other’s breath against his skin. Has Dirk lookat him like he is the single most beautiful person he has ever seen, the mostimportant thing that ever happened to him. Can finally put a name to hisfluttering, adoring heart without fearing what that could change. “You know”, Todd says, and feels said heart beat a little faster, like it isjust warming up for later. “You could come in. With me.”Dirk loses a bit of the glow surrounding him, brow furrowing slightly inconfusion, somehow making him look younger than he is. Innocent, almost. “Butdidn’t you say you were tired? I don’t want to keep you up. Well, want to, yes,but –““Dirk”, Todd interrupts, says the other’s name like it’s a term of endearmentand finds that to him, it is. “I’m definitely not too tired for that.”

He stepsjust the slightest bit closer still and watches the blush of Dirk’s cheeksdarken as he begins to understand what it is Todd means. “A-Alright”, he finally replies, voice breathless and nervous and excited; thegentle warmth and affection spreading through Todd’s body turn into somethinghotter, more anticipatory. “I’m fairly certain that I’d like that even better.”

This time,when Todd kisses him, there’s more heat in it, his tongue darting out to tasteand drawing the faintest moan from Dirk, a sound Todd knows he’ll treasureforever. He only pulls away when continuing would put them dangerously close topublic indecency territory; Dirk isbreathing hard, lips kissed pink and eyes dark, a look Todd would never haveexpected to see on him and yet wants to keep there for the rest of his life. Stepping away at last, Todd turns his hand so he can grasp the one Dirk stillhas around his wrist, and gives him a smile that most likely only looks half asseductive as he wishes it would, but seems to work on Dirk anyway. “Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure of it.”

#dirk gently's holistic detective agency #dghda #dirk gently #todd brotzman #brotzly #i had so much fun writing this and i am so sorry it's a bit hurried #but unfortunately uni demands part of my time #ugh #Anonymous

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