"Fine," he says, possibly too cheerily.

She giggles.

Theo leads her upstairs, goes into his room, and says, "Sorry, Kero. We're kicking you out."

Kero is 3/4 through his cake. "What? Why?"

"You're a smart toy, I'm sure you can guess."

And then, to make the point even further, he kisses Sadde.

She giggles and returns the kiss.

"Ew!" he says, and floats his cake out the window.

And so they are actually risking it.

... Well, it's not much of a risk unless his dad comes straight up to his room to see him.

Yes, not that much of a risk, all things considered! So, let's see if she's accurate in her expectations, yes?

Theo has no complaints. Exactly zero complaints.

Good! Zero is the best number of complaints.

Theo agrees! So much agreement, right here.

Perfect.

So, will she be proven correct in the assessment of her own skills?

She will be. She will be shown to be very accurate in her assessment. Theo's knees might be a little weak.

Good! Very good. She likes being correct.

"You are great," he says, then kisses her. "Have I told you that?"

"Probably, but I like hearing it anyway!" And she kisses him back, maybe pressing him against the wall a little bit.

Theo: is totally okay with that! Look just how okay he is with that.

She knows. It's why she's doing it.

Sadde might be able to hear the front door open from where they are. Theo doesn't notice it.

She pulls away to say, "Your dad's home."

"Ugh," he says, making sure he's presentable.

"Your fly's open."

(It's not.)

He looks down to check, then gives her a look. "Ha."

She giggles and kisses him again.