Masked (A Hat In Time)

Treasured, Troubling Memories

I'm not heartless!

Every so often I sneak into some other fanfic and steal fluff, then deliver them to my readers. That way it's almost like someone cares about them!

In all honesty, I care about you guys so much. That's why I've written fluff chapters, so everyone can be happy together until the angst rips us apart again!

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Hattie and Bow, holding either hand of the prince, brought him into their spaceship via teleportation. He looked around their large, bright room, his eyes wide. "Whoa," he gasped under his breath. His hands slipped away from theirs as he turned in a circle, taking it all in.

Hat Kid giggled. "You like it?" she asked. "This is our room, but there's plenty more!"

The prince managed to tear his eyes away from the room and looked back at the two kids. "There's more?" he asked. His yellow eyes were bright.

"Yeah!" Both kids took his hand again and pulled him out toward the hallway. The doors whooshed open around them.

They took him on a tour of the rest of the ship. In the grand main room, they introduced him to Rumbi and had to tear him away from the large window with the view of space. They showed him the kitchen, where Cooking Cat still was, working on making a steak (apparently she was still trying to figure out how alien appliances were used). They showed him the machine room and the gallery (he didn't understand the technology at all, but the paintings made him laugh). They took him into the disastrous engine room and the much nicer laundry room. They took him up the elevator into the attic and showed him the small library (they had to pull him away from that room), then gave him a quick look at the science lab and storage room.

"So?" Bow Kid asked as they made their way back to the girls' room. "What do you think?"

The prince had stars in his eyes. He looked absolutely awestruck. "I-I-I...." he stammered, speechless as well.

The kids shared a grin. It was a success for them!

When the prince finally had a moment to gather his wits, he smiled down at them. "To be honest, it wasn't what I was expecting," he admitted. "When you said spaceship, I was picturing...well, something more like a water vessel. But this..." He took in one last look at the main room. "This is marvelous!"

This, for some reason, overjoyed Hat Kid. She didn't know why the prince's fascination with their home made her happy. But it did. And she didn't really need an explanation. It was good to be happy. With a huge smile on her face, Hat Kid hugged the prince.

He gasped a little, surprised. Hattie could feel Bow Kid's arm reaching around the prince as she too joined the hug.

After a moment, the prince hugged them back. Hattie looked up to see that he was smiling widely. She smiled more.

They stood like that for a moment, just hugging and feeling comfortable and warm.

"Hey, guys?" Bow Kid asked. "Weren't we supposed to give the prince a place to stay since there's no other place?"

"Oh, that's right," Hat Kid said, her eyes growing wide. She pulled away from the prince, feeling a little embarrassed. Of course, they'd gotten distracted.

He looked a little embarrassed, too. His face was a slight shade of red.

Was he blushing? Wait, but wasn't he a doll? Did that mean that since he had blood, he could still bleed? They already knew he could feel pain from their fight. Hattie shivered. This wasn't something she wanted to test if it meant hurting him.