Love was in the air, more than usual, as Valentine's Day swung around again in Hotel Transylvania.

Monster and human guests alike were joining in the annual festivities held at the hotel for the occasion, the most notable being the actual Valentine's Day Bash that was held in the ballroom. The space had been decorated the night before by the zombie bellhops and witch maids, with a large assortment of white, pink, and red decorations all around the room.

Balloons, streamers, flowers, and ribbons hung everywhere, along with a huge banner hanging above the stage that read 'Zing Thing,' the theme of the bash. The lights were dimmed to a romantic glow and soft music was being played by the Zombie musicians - Zombie Mozart, Zombie Bach, and Zombie Beethoven. Couples entered into the ballroom arm in arm and smiling lovingly at each other - Frank with Eunice, Wayne with Wanda, Griffin with Crystal, Murray with his girlfriend, and Mavis with Johnny.

"Woah!" Johnny exclaimed with awe. "Your dad always throws the best parties. I can't wait to deejay!"

Next to him Mavis giggled. "In time, honey. You know dad always likes to kick things off, and he should be here any moment."

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know." His attention was turned to his son who came running in under them with his wolf friend tagging along.

"No!" Dennis cried. "I'm too young to zing!"

But Winnie only giggled and continued after him. "Zing, zing!" she cried.

Mavis chuckled at the sight as she and Johnny seated themselves over at one of the tables near the stage. She checked the time on her phone. Things were going to start in about twenty minutes, and, knowing her dad, it would be right on time. He always liked to be orderly, so there was absolutely no doubt about that.

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Count Dracula in the meantime did not need a mirror to know that he looked his finest.

He made sure to take a little extra time to do himself up, sleeking back his dark hair, shining his fangs, and spritzing on the best cologne there was on his neck and shoulders. Satisfied, Drac put on the same casual clothing he had worn on the cruise ship nearly half a year prior - a black-and-orange Hawaiian shirt and some long white pants. Drac gave a nod as he did up the last of the buttons and slipped on his white loafers. He knew the effort was worth it very much this year. Because this time, Dracula wasn't going to be sidelining on the activities and supervising. This time, he was actually going to be able to be a part of them, thanks to the lovely woman who was now his wife - Ericka.

He blushed even thinking about her. With her bright blue eyes, and short, curly platinum locks, and that adorable little giggle when she laughed... he just could never get enough. He felt so lucky to have her in his life, and he knew she felt the same way. That being said, the man couldn't wait to give her his present for Valentine's Day.

Double-checking that his clothes were smoothed down, he stepped out of his chambers and began to make his way toward the hotel attic where he had kept his gift stowed away.

The attic was a cluttered space, but after a quick search, he pulled out the small red box that he had kept stowed away inside of another cardboard box. He examined the gift for a moment, knowing she would love it, right before a soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What's my Prince of Darkness doing, sneaking up here in the attic?"

Dracula whirled around, finding Ericka standing at the doorway with her arms crossed, a playful expression on her face. The man yelped, hiding the gift behind his back.

"Oh, ho ho... eh, nothing my sweet little tarantula. Just grabbing a little something before I head down to the party..."

Dracula trailed off, noticing her outfit for the first time. She wore a fiesta type dress, her signature choice of white but also with accents of red, yellow and orange. Voluminous frills adorned the sleeves and off-the-shoulder collar. To top it off, she wore a soft red rose behind her right ear. She was stunning, and Dracula felt a familiar fluttering in his heart as she approached him and waited for his opinion.

"Soo... what do you think?" she prompted.

"You're... ravishing," Drac whispered. Then he let out a sigh. "I doubt you even need this." He pulled out the little box he was holding behind his back and opened it. Inside was a lacy black choker necklace, trimmed with gold and with a shiny red ruby in the center.

Ericka smiled. "It's beautiful," she said. Then she turned around so that the back of her neck faced him. "Put it on me?"

Drac nodded and moved it, carefully placing the choker on her slender neck and latching it on. He stepped back to take another look at her and his breath hitched.

"Oh who am I kidding," he said to her. "I know I said you looked ravishing, but... oh, honeybat, ravishing can't even begin to describe you," he murmured, a little half-dazed.

She blushed, fixing the rose behind her ear. "And handsome is too much of an understatement for you."

Dracula straightened, and smoothed back his already immaculately-kept hair. "Well, there's a reason they call me the Dark Prince Charming, " he joked.

Ericka raised an eyebrow. "Do they, now?" He was about to continue, but she strolled up to him so that they were face-to-face. All confidence he had vanished as she gazed at him intently and placed her hands on his vest shirt. "It suits you," she said in a low voice.

She ran her hand sensually down his chest, and he bit back a groan. The feeling was amazing. Dracula became so lost in it that he almost was unaware as her hands continued to venture lower. And lower. He snapped back to reality when they reached the rim of his pants.

"Ericka!" he tried to say with assertion, though it came out more as a squeak. "We are going to spend time together later, remember?"

She gave a short laugh in reply. "And who says I can't steal my own husband away for just a few minutes?"

Dracula opened his mouth to argue, but the feel of her fingers delicately stroking the outline of his jaw quickly shut him back up. A lump formed in his throat. Four months of being married to her and he still felt like a bundle of nerves whenever she displayed affection to him. The same could not particularly be said for Ericka. Despite having been unaccustomed to intimacy before Drac, he found she was a fast learner, and the days of timid inexperience were soon far behind her. She knew exactly what turned him on, and she was using it to her advantage.

"Ericka," he said a little more urgently, gently pushing her hands away from the now undone belt buckle.

She sighed. "Fine, I'll hold off on that. But at least give your wife some attention." She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, kissing him lightly on his flushed cheek. She continued, leaving a trail across the sensitive skin of his neck and weakening his resolve all the more. He shuddered involuntarily, feeling the familiar tingle of arousal blooming fervently within him. It was too much to resist, and he knew it. Finally, he gave up trying to fight with reason. With a growl, he cupped her face in his hands and promptly crushed his lips to hers, all else forgotten.

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Mavis in the meantime, checked her phone once again for the time. There was only a minute left until midnight. The event was supposed to start, and her dad was still nowhere to be seen. Looking out among the crowd, she noticed that no one else really seemed concerned at the wait, the couples invested mostly in each other as would be expected for a Valentines event.

Next to her, Johnny noticed her apprehension and offered some words of comfort.

"Chillax, Mave, I'm sure your Dad's on his way! Maybe he's, you know... occupied."

Mavis considered his words and nodded. "Yeah... I mean, big hotel, so there's bound to be something that came up. Maybe another clogged toilet, or a burst pipe."

To her surprise, Johnny chuckled. "That's not quite the occupied I was thinking about," he said.

Mavis looked at him quizzically, but then shrugged. "Well, regardless, I'm going to go look for him."

Johnny nodded and stood up. "All right, but I'm going to get things started over here." He eagerly made his way up to the DJ booth, slipping on a cap backwards on his head and facing the crowd.

"Who's ready to jam out with DJ Johnny?!" He called out.

Excited roars and shouts rang throughout. Johnny beamed at their enthusiasm. "All right! Let's get this party started then!" Quickly sifting through his playlists, he chose an upbeat song and started to play it over the speakers. The room was soon booming with music and couples raced to the dance floor to start boogying.

But Mavis tuned it out as she got up and began walking out of the ballroom. Her dad was never late to events.

Where could he be?

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Dracula was... distracted. The source of his distraction came in the form of his wife, her lithe form pressed against his as he captured her lips hungrily. He felt her kiss back with equal fervor, her delicate hands moving from their place around his neck and traveling up to his smooth hair. Her fingers combed through the silken black strands, tugging softly each time he pulled away as her own subtle reminder for him not to leave her lips absent for too long. She was overwhelming to his senses - her sweet taste better than any blood he might've drank; her intoxicating aroma, fresh and floral; her touch as gentle as a feather's; the melodic sound of her voice as she gasped out in pleasure; the sight brilliant blue eyes, that were full of love that was reserved only for him. He sighed in bliss, and could do no more than continue closing the short distance between them again and again.

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"Dad?" Mavis called once again, and, once again, she received no response. She crossed her arms and got pensive. He wasn't in his room. He wasn't in the kitchen. He wasn't tending to some suite in disorder. She frowned. So then, where is he?

Then, she heard a sound coming from further upstairs that interrupted her train of thought. It was long and low, and she soon came to recognize it as a moan. While moaning was a common thing for ghouls and ghosts, it wasn't particularly a thing for other monster types, vampires included. Was her dad sick? Was he in pain? Worry gripped at Mavis as she followed the sound up to what ended up being the attic. Wasting no time, she threw the door open in haste.

"DAD!" she gasped in surprise. As Johnny had suspected, he was indeed occupied and with Ericka, though catching them now was much different than the last time she caught them, with Ericka having pulled the axe from his head. In fact, Mavis would have preferred to see that than what she saw now. The two were pressed closely together, lip-locked and making out without a seeming care in the world. Her sudden shout had broken the spell.

"Mavis!" he cried, pulling apart from Ericka in an instant. He tried to stand up straight in a manner meant to look dignified, but his appearance was anything but. The hems of his shirt were wrinkled, his hair an unruly mess, and his flushed face was covered in lipstick marks. He stared at his daughter with widened eyes and an expression that relayed how startled he was to see her.

Mavis was simply appalled. Her dad was usually so composed, so dignified and professional. To see him like this was a shock. He looked no better than a teen in his hundreds!

Before either could speak up, Ericka, who had thus far remained quiet and poised, broke the awkward silence. "Sorry Mavis," she said, "I was keeping him all to myself. Whatever he needs to go do, he can do it now."

Mavis stood, eyes wide and lips zipped tight. She didn't know what to think of this situation. This I-didn't-have-to-see-this-but-that's-how-things-are-now kind of surprise. Struggling to move on from what she saw, she tried to respond.

"Right... uh... The, um, Valentine Day Bash already started. Well, err... I mean, Johnny kicked it off, but it hasn't been too long. They should be starting the ballroom waltz soon."

Ericka's eyes lit up. "Great! I'll come with you now, and your dad can have a minute to arrange himself before he comes."

Mavis nodded and opened her mouth to address her father again, but quickly shut it again at the sight of his dissarayment. Ericka instead addressed him.

"I'm expecting a dance in a few. Don't be late." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and turned away, tugging a grossed-out Mavis along with her. Dracula stared after his wife with a lovestruck look in his eyes and a dopey grin on his face, garbled gibberish being his only response.

"Ali-boo-boo....!"

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A/N: Happy Valentines Day 2023! ❤️