#((to hint at any hidden depths: he really is just a vain and selfish asshole!))

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

Fortunately, Erika didn't ask for another go-around with the Mad Tea Party the way she did Dumbo, instead mostly wanting to go on the more leisurely, more relaxed rides, such as the Storybook Land Canal Boats and the Casey Jr. Circus Train, both of which she alternated sitting with her parents and her grandfathers, and thoroughly enjoyed herself in both instances. It seemed like, slowly but surely, her shyness was being chipped away at, becoming more and more comfortable in August's presence. It was slow progress, of course, but progress nonetheless.

And that progress came to a head when they all disembarked from Peter Pan's Flight: Randall was quite surprised to see a sleeping Erika in her great-grandfather's arms, her little head resting on his shoulder as she slept rather contentedly.

"She just...dozed off!" August was smiling from ear-to-ear, trying to keep his voice down, lest he wake her, but there was no denying the joy in his voice, clearly over the moon to see that Erika felt comfortable enough around him to fall asleep beside him. He was suddenly awash with memories, remembering holding June when she was that young, carrying her into the house in the evening after a long day of playing...

Speaking of his daughter, she was just arriving with the others in tow, Lon similarly crashed out in Callahan's arms, and looking positively cherubic from his place in his granduncle's embrace: He was as energetic as Randall and Emily had predicted, but though he put up a valiant effort, he'd dozed off just as they pulled into the station after finishing their ride on Big Thunder Mountain.

"Oh...what a pair of little angels!" Josephine cooed, as Colin smiled, "Ah, reminds us of how Willy used to fall asleep after a long day on the farm-Cal and I used to take turns carrying him off to bed; he was as rambunctious as Lon here, but boy, once he hit his limit, he dropped like a sack of bricks!"

"This was a perfect night," June smiled, leaning against Wilhelm as the family began their walk back to Gracey Manor together, the adults quietly enthusing over the evening's events, while Lon and Erika continued to blissfully dream on their family's shoulders.