All Is Fair In Love And War

Chapter 30

 The longer they walked, the closer they got to their destination, the more uneasy Douxie felt. He didn't like this. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to stop, to turn back and take Carter far away from here. He ignored it, though. He knew better than to run... like last time. Carter would never forgive him if he did it a second time. Besides, he wouldn't leave his friends.

"Where exactly are we going?" Steve asked with a grumble.

"My dad's antique shop." Laura said. "He uh... has a lot of interesting artifacts."

"Interesting how?"

"Ugh, she probably means magic, Steve." Claire said.

"Right you are, my fair lady Claire." Laura shot her a wide grin.

Claire frowned. "Please don't start."

Douxie stifled a laugh. He glanced up at Carter, who was looking around at the trees and frowning. "What's eating you, love?"

Carter's hands dug into Fenris' thick fur. "I feel like we're being watched."

"Aren't we always?" Douxie sighed. He gently put a hand on his calf, squeezing softly. "It's going to be okay. I have a plan."

Carter looked down at him, brow raised. "Oh, do you?"

Douxie flashed him a confident smile. "Doubt me much, beautiful?"

Carter rolled his eyes, but was unable to hide his smile. "Never."

"Good." Douxie squeezed his leg again. "You're going to hate it."

"That's nothing new." He nudged Douxie in the ribs with his foot. "What's your plan?"

"Call it a diversion." Douxie looked up at him, locking eyes. "How do you feel about transference spells?"

Carter opened and closed his mouth. "Like... body swapping?"

Douxie huffed. "I hate it when people call it that."

"That's what it is, dear heart."

Douxie frowned at him. "Okay, fine. Body swapping."

Carter continued to stare at him. "You and me?"

"Yeah."

He pursed his lips and looked away, brows furrowing and nose scrunching in that cute way when he was thinking. "Well... it's the least terrible of your plans, I guess."

"Wow." Douxie deadpanned. "I feel so loved. So appreciated."

"Drama queen." Carter accused light-heartedly. He let out a breath and gently put a hand on Douxie's head. "It could work, my love. As long as nothing goes absolutely terribly wrong, that is."

Douxie looked up at him again. "It won't. It... it can't."

Carter gave him an encouraging smile. "Then we won't let it."

Douxie's smile returned. "I could kiss you, right now."

Carter grinned. "Save it for after we kick my dad's ass."

*~*

"Welcome to Matthew's Antiques!" Laura said proudly as she let them into the shop. "Now, this is really important, guys. Don't touch anything. My dad will kick all our asses if we break anything."

"Noted." Toby said.

"Come on. Let's head to the basement. That's where all the fun stuff is!" She said with a grin, opening a trap door that was hidden under a rug.