“Oh, hurry up!” Bexley complained under her breath, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she waited impatiently for Jack to return home from (what felt like) an excruciating long day at the diner. She was wearing a shirt with an open back that connect around the neck and waist, leaving room for her wings, and a pair of jean shorts; as much as she hated wearing the clothing, she was doing her best to get herself into the habit of wearing it. She glanced up at the clock and then shifted her gaze back to the door, chewing on her bottom lip. The bat had been off work that day, so she’d spent it setting up a nice, relaxing surprise for her boyfriend: a movie night, complete with plain salted popcorn and all the cuddling he could take. She could tell that he had been stressed lately, what with filling in for people at work almost every night and letting her feed more than usually thanks to her increased appetite.

Her ears perked up when she finally heard the familiar footsteps on the stairs outside her apartment, and she couldn’t help but bounce a little. They’d been together for months and she still got so excited when he came home. The door had barely opened all the way before she ran forward, jumping into the arms of the 7’5” panda and covering his face with little kisses. Jack responded with a soft grunt of surprise, followed by a warm chuckle as he lazily tried to catch her lips with his.

“Hello to you, too.” He greeted her, his lips still so close to hers that they brushed against them as he spoke. She giggled and raised her head to affectionately nuzzle her cheek against his.

“Welcome home.” Bex replied cheerfully, before slipping out of his arms and beaming up at him. “I have a surprise for you after you get out of your uniform.” Jack gave her a curious look, but she just made a zipping motion against her mouth with her fingers and practically bounced away.

“Aren’t you hungry? You usually are when I get home.” He asked as he headed to the bedroom to change, his voice getting louder the farther he went so that she could still hear him.

“Not yet!” Bexley set the TV up, turning on their modified Wii and finding the movie she’d picked out for that night. It was a recording of The Phantom of the Opera play, one they’d watched together probably a hundred times, but they both enjoyed it so much that it was usually their go-to for movie nights. Once she had it on the title screen, she went into the kitchen to put the bag of popcorn in the microwave and grab a couple of sodas from the fridge. By the time she got back to the living room, Jack was coming out of the bedroom in a T-Shirt and sweats.

“Is that popcorn?” He asked curiously, quirking an eyebrow at the bowl Bex had in her hands. The bat nodded and set the bowl down on one arm of the couch, then went back to Jack and took his paw, leading him to the couch and sitting next to him.

“I was thinking we could have a movie night. You’ve been so busy lately, and you haven’t had much of a chance to relax. I thought it might be nice.” She explained as they settled down on the cushions together. “I’ve got Love Never Dies, too.” Jack suddenly looped an arm around her and pulled her into his lap, and she looked up to see that he had a wide smile on his lips. It must’ve been contagious – she found herself smiling back at him as she settled against his immensely fluffy chest.

“You’re too sweet.” Jack cooed, raising one paw to toy with Bex’s lavender hair while the other rested comfortably on her hip. She couldn’t help but giggle again and kissed his cheek before turning around so that she was facing the TV, reaching for the popcorn and starting the movie at the same time. After setting the bowl in her lap, she leaned back against Jack and wriggled a little to make herself comfortable. One of the panda’s arms snaked around her waist to pull her closer.

Bexley didn’t pay much attention to the movie, focusing more on Jack. She ran her fingers over his arm and through his fur, occasionally laid her head back against his shoulder to press a loving kiss to his neck or cheek, and kept one hand over his paw affectionately. About halfway through the movie, she ended up turning herself around again so that she was facing him, straddling his waist and resting her head on his chest. She found herself sitting like this a lot, mostly because it was the most comfortable place to be.

Another chuckle rumbled in Jack’s chest and she felt his paw on the back of her head again, toying with her hair like before. It was something that was always guaranteed to put her to sleep and she had a feeling that was exactly what he was plotting. Bexley’s eyes slowly slid shut, a yawn escaping from her lips, and she felt herself begin to drift off despite her best efforts to stay awake.

“You’re gonna put me to sleep…” She complained halfheartedly, to which Jack simply responded by pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Bexley huffed, but instead of protesting more or getting up, she buried her face in his fur and gave in to the drowsiness.

When Bex woke up, the credits were rolling. Jack must have fallen asleep at some point as well because he head his chin resting on the top of her head, and he was snoring softly. The bat giggled softly and very carefully slipped out of his lap to shut the TV off, then gently shook the panda’s shoulder.

“Jack? Jack, we fell asleep.” She whispered. The panda slowly blinked his eyes and yawned so big that they watered a little, then reluctantly let Bexley pull him to his feet and lead him to the bedroom. They collapsed into the bed together, and she could barely hear him mumble a sleep-filled “I love you.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek, softly responding with “I love you, too.”