A Cup Of Desire (Cuphead x Reader)

Chapter VIII - Dinner and a Dance

Just as we we're about to head out for the night, Elder Kettle, Cuphead and I all stayed downstairs, waiting patiently for Mugman to finish getting ready. Elder kettle wore a classy black bow under his chin while Cuphead wore his usual outfit, except he brought with him a fancy red jacket that he wore over his shirt. It took a little while longer than we expected, but we finally heard Mugman come out of his room and start to head down the stairs.

'Why did he take so long?' I whispered to Cuphead.

'He has to make sure he looks good for his "girlfriend".' Cuphead quoted loudly.

'H-hey, she's not my g-girlfriend!' Mugman stuttered, a vibrant red blush spreading all over his face.

'Not yet, anyway.' Cuphead smirked at his brother as Mugman wandered over to him with a serious look on his face.

'Golly, I wonder who this girl is.' I pondered out loud.

'Her name is Cala Maria.' Cuphead explained, 'She's half mermaid, half human. And Mugman has the hots for her as you can tell.' With that, Mugman steamed up through his head and anger appeared hot and heavy on his face, death staring at his brother. Cuphead laughed with a playful nudge as his brother continued to get all bubbly over the remark Cuphead had made about his crush. Elder Kettle broke off the tension, guiding us out through the front door and locking it.

We then headed off, making out way through Inkwell and reaching Isle Three. The four of us walked around town until we stopped in front of a large, fancy building that read 'The Swing Bar' with lights flashing all around it. Elder Kettle proceeded inside and the three of us followed him as he led us to the receptionist. As we entered the room past the receptionist, we were greeted with bright lights, jazz music, cheerful banter and the sweet smell of food. Elder Kettle continued to lead us through the room until we came across a large table full of civilians already seated there. I got a little nervous seeing just how many were there and hid a little behind both the brothers.

'Aye fellas, you made it!' an elderly man said, standing up from the table and walking over to say hello to Elder Kettle. I could see in front of Cuphead and Mugman that everyone at the table was smiling and seeming eager to start a conversation with the boys. They individually got up from their seats and walked over to us with everyone noticing me and wanting to introduce themselves to me. Cuphead helped me out with feeling comfortable around them and also helped me introduce myself to everyone. So far, they were all nice and they all greeted me with a welcoming smile and a handshake or hug. I noticed that some of them were just like me, while others were a talking animal, plant, object, etc. Regardless, it wasn't strange to see a large crowd of different creatures all act like civilised people. In fact, the whole room was full of different creatures, with a mix of sizes, shapes, colours and everything in between. After all the friendly welcoming's I'd received and getting to meeting everyone, we we're all shuffling through a crowd of people to get to our chairs. The first thing I noticed was Mugman sitting next to a 6 foot tall woman with snakes for hair, which I could recall was Cala Maria from her friendly introduction. I sat next to Mugman with Cuphead sitting on the other side of me. Elder kettle sat next to him as well as the elderly man who first spoke to us. As soon as we we're seated down, I looked out and saw a dance floor with a live band playing music. It was so wonderful listening to the music they played and watching as many people danced with not a care in the world.

The place was also a restaurant and bar, so we had food being delivered to our table every now and again. We would all grab a bite to eat when we wanted to and some of us got up to leave the table and dance with each other on the dance floor. As the night grew on, more and more people started to get up and dance along to the music, laughing and tapping their feet away to the many melodies the band played. It was so enchanting to watch as everyone danced with ecstasy, though it made me really want to get up there and dance with them. The problem was that I'm too shy to dance by myself or anyone else other than the brothers, and Mugman was already up on stage dancing with Cala Maria. It was so adorable seeing how shy and flustered Mugman became whenever he held her close as his face blushed and he kept glancing down and then back up at her. Still, I couldn't help but let my thoughts get carried away to the sound of the music. It made me really want to get up and dance with someone and join in the crowd of other dancers on the wooden floor, but the only person I felt comfortable enough to dance with is Cuphead, and he really didn't seem that interested in dancing... or so I thought. I sighed, resting my head in my hands as my eyes glanced around the room with a big cheery smile on my face, watching everyone with happy grins face their partners, tap their toes to the rhythm and dance the night away.