The floor was cold, but I could hardly complain. I only had to go out in bare feet. Teddy would have to go out wearing nothing but briefs and boots. But this was what we had wanted, so we were willing to make the sacrifice.

I glanced at myself in the mirror. I was surprised by the quality of my costume. I'd spent a while looking for a good red plaid shirt and suspenders, then I'd had to rip them up a little bit to make them look proper. Unfortunately I wasn't as bulky as the character I'd modelled myself after, but that could wait.

Behind me, in the mirror, I saw my boyfriend appear, half naked, wearing only a pair of red wrestling briefs and boots. He'd shaved recently, so he had a fake beard attached to his face, and had drawn X shaped scars on his shoulders and upper legs. He flexed his arms, and I turned, smiling at him.

"Not bad. You're a regular Russian bear." I said, half laughing as I went over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You're not looking too bad yourself." he said back. "Plaid looks great on you." He pinched a bit of my shirt.

"It's a shame I'm not any bigger." I looked at my hands. "Couldn't we have just put on the tie and chain?"

"There's no fun in that, hun." He reached a hand to my chin and we looked at each other. "Besides, we're more of a couple this way, don't you think?"

"I guess so." We kissed each other quickly. "Speaking of which, do you think something like that will happen...with..."

Teddy scratched his head. "Well...When we put on the tie and chain, it happened almost instantly. I've been wearing this for about 5 minutes. I'd say no."

"Are you going to be okay out there?" I asked him. "You're mostly skin."

"Hey, I'm a Russian bear, da?" He grinned. "Besides, if anything, you're going to get hypothermia with those bare feet."

"It'll be fine." I went over to the dresser nearby and grabbed my sweets bag. Digging a hand in in, I pulled out a lollipop wrapped in plastic. "A bit early, isn't it?" I heard Teddy say behind me as I unwrapped it.

"You know I have to eat as much as possible." I responded. "Thought I might get a head start." Dumping the plastic in a small bin, I took a lick of the multicoloured swirl. "You want some?" I offered it to Teddy.

"Sure, why not. Won't hurt." He smiled at me and took a lick of the lollipop. "Love you, Ralph."

"I love you too, Teddy." I smiled back, and put the lollipop in my mouth, and as I clenched my teeth down on the candy, I felt a shock go through my body.