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Meanwhile…
Mister Bean allowed himself a contented sigh as he placed the dustpan and broom back in the gym’s storage closet. “That cleanup went a lot faster than I expected it to.”
“The students here have always been very helpful about tidying up after school events,” Principal Celestia replied with a grin. “I, for one, am just happy that this event did not involve any literal she-demons.”
“I dunno. Sunset Shimmer’s costume was pretty convincing,” Bean pointed out. “It’s little wonder she won the contest.”
“I personally thought Bulk Biceps had the best one, but no matter,” she said as her eyes wandered over him. “Perhaps we should have a staff contest next year. Your costume is quite remarkable and authentic.”
“You think so?” Bean asked, and he reached back to pull the edge of his blood red cape in front of his face. “But vould you expect any less from ze feared Count Dracula? Blah, blah, blah!”
“I suppose not.” Celestia giggled. “Where did you find that costume, anyway?”
“I actually found everything at the local thrift stores,” Bean said with a tug on his sleeve. “I did have to add the ruffles to the shirt, though.”
“That is quite resourceful. Maybe I should have you assist me with my costume selection next year.”
“Oh, yours is not all that bad,” Bean offered with a cough.
“You’re cute, but you’re also a horrible liar,” Celestia said as they walked towards the exit. “This was the last thing available when I went to the store. I totally forgot to buy something else sooner.”
Bean took a quick moment to look over Celestia’s costume, and it was obvious she was telling the truth. He had seen hundreds of similar cheap rabbit costumes in nearly every store he’d been to over the last two months, but this particular one was about three sizes too big for her frame. The thing was nothing more than a dull swath of dingy polyester ‘fur’ with oversized feet that looked like clown shoes.
The worst part of it was the hood of the costume, because the deformed and badly-stitched face could send small children screaming in fear. The packages proclaimed that after the holiday, the ensemble could be worn as pajamas, but Bean had no idea why anybody would subject themselves to such torture.
“I’m sure we can find you something better together,” Bean offered, but then he shrunk back slightly. “Um, that is, if I’m still around next year.”
“I don’t see why you would not be. I am most pleased with your performance so far,” Celestia replied with a wink. “You handle your job well, too.”
Bean felt his cheeks ignite, but a pleased grin came as he stammered out a ‘thank you.’
“Well, I suppose we should return to our homes now,” Celestia continued. “This costume is extremely itchy, and I would like to get out of it as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, I guess we should.” Bean pushed open the gym door and allowed Celestia to exit first. “Good thing tomorrow is Saturday, eh?”
“Indeed.” Celestia patted the front of her costume where her pockets would usually be, and then glanced down with a frown. “Oh, right. I left my keys in my office. Mister Bean, could I ask a favor of you?”
“Go get your keys?” he quipped.
“Actually, I was going to ask if you would escort me to my house. The trick-or-treaters always tend to be a bit crazy, and my neighborhood is full of them. You don’t have to, of course, but…”
“I can walk you home, no problem.” Bean said with a thought forming in his head. Maybe there was a way to ask Celestia to join him for a late-night run to Sugarcube Corner, or perhaps they could go see one of the old B-movie horror flicks that were playing at the local theater. He didn’t really care what they did, just as long as he could spend a bit more time with the insightful and beautiful administrator.
Any time spent with Celestia was time well invested, in his opinion.
“Thank you,” Celestia said as they walked to her office. “I appreciate your kindness.”
Bean scoffed with a bashful grin. “It’s my pleasure, entirely.”
The two chatted a bit about next month’s meal plans as they made their way to the office, but the information shared was nothing more than a confirmation of what had already been decided. Once there, Bean waited out in the main lobby while Celestia went after her keys, but he did take a moment to swipe some of the chocolate caramel balls from the bowl on Wysteria’s desk. The dutiful secretary would chide him for it later, but her threats were impossible to take seriously when she would start grinning like a Cheshire cat halfway through any of her rants. Besides, she had said she was trying to watch her weight, so he was really helping her, in the end.
“Mister Bean?” Celestia called out. “Did you happen to see that report on last month’s milk usage?”
“Yeah, I did,” Bean replied as he picked up the framed picture of Wysteria and her boyfriend and tried to remember his name. Quillpoint, wasn’t it? “I didn’t realize chocolate milk would be so popular. I’ll make sure to double the order next time I send it in.”
“That should solve the problem.” Celestia jingled her keys. “And I’m ready to go.”
“Hey, I know this is kinda last minute, but I was wondering if…” Bean froze when he turned and made eye contact with Celestia.
“Wondering what, Mister Bean?”
Bean was now wondering if he would melt, combust, or simply have a massive nosebleed.
Somehow, in less than a minute, Principal Celestia had discarded her horrible rabbit costume for something far more revealing. The dingy, dull pajama jumper had been replaced with a white corset and black nylon hose, the oversized clown feet swapped for a pair of elegant white pumps, and the horrible hood was long forgotten as Bean stared at the white bunny ears that playfully protruded into the air.
Celestia took a moment to fluff the cotton tail on the back of her new costume, straighten the pink bow tie and collar that hung snugly against her neck, and then toss her multihued tresses with a shake of her head. She then offered Bean a nervous smile, and both hands went to her hips in an awkward attempt at a pose.
“There. This is much better, wouldn’t you agree?”
Bean tried to jam his head into any forward gear, but Celestia’s costume prevented him from stepping on the clutch pedal. It did occur to him that the only way Celestia could have changed so quickly was if she had been wearing this bunny costume under her other bad costume all night long.
That revelation did not help his thought processes.
“You know, I hate to have the evening end so soon,” Celestia said, one hand gently folding over the other. “My sister did say she was going to host an after-school party, and she wanted me to bring a friend if I came. Would you care to accompany me?”
“Why on earth are you dressed like that?”
It wasn’t an intelligent question, nor did it appear to be a question that Celestia wanted to hear. Almost instantly, a bright crimson flared across her cheeks, and she began to wring her hands as her gaze went to Bean’s shoes.
“Well, I thought you might like… I mean, I was just trying to… I’m sorry, Mister Bean. Give me a minute, I’ll change back.”
When Baked Bean had been on the long distance track team in high school, his coach had explained to him that the greatest success could be had by knowing when to hold back and when to sprint. It was a tricky thing to master: sprint too soon or too much, and you would not have the energy needed for the end of the race, but hold back for too long, and you would never be able to make up your deficit. It had taken an immense amount of practice, trial, and error, but eventually Baked Bean had mastered the craft and taken first in the state championships.
And at that very moment, Baked Bean realized he had but a few precious seconds to act. If he held back now, his relationship with Principal Celestia would suffer, and it would be nearly impossible to regain the ground that would be lost.
“Woah, hey, wait a minute.” Bean sprinted over to Celestia, and he grabbed her hand before she could retreat fully into her office. “That did not come out right, and I’m sorry. You just caught me by surprise, that’s all. I think you look wonderful.”
“You don’t have to lie to save my feelings, Mister Bean.” Celestia attempted to pull free, but the lack of real effort indicated she wanted Bean to continue.
“I’m not lying. I really and truly think this is an amazing costume, and that’s why I blurted out that question. We haven’t been dating for very long, and yet you’re comfortable with dressing like this for me?”
The principal hesitated, but then she took a step towards Bean. One hand moved up to pull some stray hair from her face, but her eyes still remained on the floor. “Well, yes. Luna suggested the idea, but I felt like you would appreciate this small treat from me.”
“It is rather bold,” he said while trying his hardest not to look down.⁽*⁾ “But you must have a great deal of trust in me to do this.”
⁽*⁾For very long, at least. There was far too much distracting cleavage at that level.
—
Bean shuffled slightly to properly hold both of Celestia’s hands, and he offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile as she glanced up. “This is the best treat I’ve ever gotten. It makes all the candy I ever got as a kid look like a giant pile of cauliflower, and when a chef makes that comparison, that’s really saying something. Thank you for trusting me enough to share it, and I apologize most profusely for hurting you.”
Celestia giggled a bit as Bean pulled another stray bit of hair out of her face. “Thank you, Bean. I was really hoping you would like this. I felt so ridiculous when I put this on this morning, you know. This is the kind of stunt my students pull on each other.”
“Honestly, I like a good surprise every now and then. You’re a lot more mischievous than I expected.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” Celestia asked with a small grin.
“It’s a very good thing. To answer your previous question, I was going to ask you if you would care to join me in some late-night activity, and this party of Luna’s does sound like fun. I would love to accompany you, if the offer still stands.”
“It does,” Celestia replied as she stepped in and hugged Bean, “and thank you. This really means a lot to me. I appreciate your honesty.”
Bean slowly wrapped his arms around the scantily-clad principal, but despite the wild beating of his heart, he found that he rather liked having Celestia this close. It was almost like having a cup of perfectly heated hot chocolate to sip during a cold winter’s storm while being bundled up in a fluffy, silky blanket, but yet so much richer and fuller.
“This is nice,” Celestia softly whispered into his ear as her cheek came to rest on his shoulder. “I’ve never been hugged like this before. It’s like I’m wearing the world’s most comfortable sweater.”
Bean’s heart broke a little to think that Sombra had never held her like this. How could someone be so cold and emotionless? Day by day, and moment by moment, Bean found his heart growing ever fonder of this surprisingly tender woman. To hurt her in any way was simply unthinkable, even inconceivable to a degree.
After a few moments of this delight, Celestia slowly pulled away and smiled brightly. “We should get going. Luna will send Star out to find us if we take too long, and we’ll never hear the end of it if he catches us like this.”
“You know, I don’t think I’d care,” Bean said. “But I do have a question.”
“Oh?” Celestia took Bean’s hand in hers, and together, they moved towards the main exit. “What’s that?”
“Well, you had this bunny costume on under that bad rabbit this whole time, and Luna’s clown costume was pretty hideous, too. Does that mean…”
Celestia giggled and playfully bumped him with her hip. “I believe Star’s reaction to Luna’s new Harley Quinn costume will be similar to yours. There is only one way to know for sure, however.”
“Oh, I have got to see this,” Bean said with a snicker.
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