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Ratigan: So you're posting this in the stead of those anniversary stories?

Me: Please don't remind me. You're worse than my mother.

Ratigan: Ironic, considering I'm a father in your stories.

Disclaimer: Ratigan and Basil belong to Eve Titus (who is no doubt turning in her grave) and Disney, while the original characters (not Dawson) belong to me, along with the words written here.

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#1 - Comfort: Basil hesitated, then let his head fall against Ratigan's chest, the former Professor smiling as the shivering detective slowly relaxed.

#2 - Kiss: In an instant, Ratigan had slipped in through his emotional defenses, and now he was a wreck, all because of one kiss.

#3 - Soft: "That's a good answer..." Basil murmured, rubbing her face against the pillow; Ratigan smiled faintly, glad he thought so.

#4 - Pain: Ratigan doesn't say anything as Basil sets the wing so it can heal, but the latter knows it still hurts from the way his body tenses and the unbroken wing's twitching.

#5 - Potatoes: "There must be a million ways to prepare these things-", Basil grimaced as he and Ratigan peeled the aforementioned roots in the kitchen, Basil using the conventional peeler, Ratigan deftly using the laser pen; "-And two rodents stuck doing the dirty work", Ratigan finished.

#6 - Rain: "Here", Ratigan muttered, lifting his cape so it sheltered Basil from the downpour, "you'll need this."

#7 - Chocolate: Basil instinctively rose with the intent of warning Ratigan to not take the bandages off as the latter almost tore through the bandages covering his dark brown torso.

#8 - Happiness: A smile spread across Basil's face as he listened to Ratigan explain the plot of "The Princess Bride" with an expression of solemn eagerness that he used whenever he was talking about something he had researched in Veeken's company; Both men were glad that the future had its good points along with the bad.

#9 - Telephone: Basil jerked as if he'd been punched in the stomach at the sound of his arch-foe's voice: "Ratigan?"

#10 - Ears: "Heh", Ratigan chuckled, showing Basil the skull-shaped jewelry, "Once mutilating your person was a bad thing, now it seems to be all the rage. What's next, organ piercing?"

#11 - Name: Whatever Basil had expected, it certainly wasn't Ratigan turning to face him with a look of awe on his face. "That was your name once, wasn't it... James?"

#12 - Sensual: "Oh, really?", Ratigan asked, gently tilting the detective's smirking face towards him, "You could've fooled me..."

#13 - Death: Basil was speechless; There was nothing he could say, as the gravestone in front of them placed the last piece into the puzzle of Ratigan's past: /Broderick Ratigan; 1834-1882/.

#14 - Sex: Overall, it had been a painful experience, and the few claw marks Ratigan had accidentally left would seem suspicious if anyone saw them, but the course of love never did run smooth or so the Bard said.

#15 - Touch: The material of the Deerstalker was slightly rough to his bare hands after holding his top hat, but it reminded him of halcyon times past, and that was enough.

#16 Weakness: "It makes sense", he thought as Ratigan examined the wing braces, calculating what it would take to break them; All his life, he considered Ratigan's giving in to his dæmon half a sign of failure, but Ratigan had merely become stronger, and this "failing" had led to the former detective's final downfall.

#17 - Tears: The only sign of his mourning were the tears on his face as he moved farther away from the city, the blend of emotions and images jumbling together until none made sense; and it was only when he was away from Basil and London's borders that he let himself break down entirely.

#18 - Speed: The mouse darted through the streets, the remembered taste of bile, vomit, and blood still fresh, and he knew time was of the essence, imagined danger or not.

#19 - Wind: The two stayed near each other as they flew, the former making certain that the latter didn't fall, but the feeling of gliding on the breeze was incentive enough for both of them to deal with it.

#20 - Freedom: The tan mouse could only watch as Ratigan moved away through the forest, half-panicking and half-celebrating, because Ratigan was free.

#21 - Life: "Listen, I know you wouldn't want to talk about this with Dawson or the rest", Ratigan snapped, "but you can't go on like this and pretend the whole incident never happened!"

#22 - Jealousy: There were rare moments when Basil was jealous of Ratigan's closeness to the girls that had brought them together, but then they are together again, and that doubt is erased.

#23 - Hands: Ratigan's grip was firm as his lips pressed against the detective, his face flushed and eyes shut taut in embarrassment.

#24 - Taste: It hadn't been a matter of opinion in the slightest, because their minds and psyches had been bonded at an intimate level, and that was enough to shake anyone's views of each other.

#25 - Devotion: "Well", Ratigan thought, eyeing the bell on the mantle, "it is loyalty, no matter how peculiar."

#26 - Forever: It seemed an eternity to Basil after Ratigan had left him, stung by his vicious rejoinder, but then he heard the utterly bestial cry of agony that seemed to stop London in its tracks and wrenched the spike of guilt further into his heart.

#27 - Blood: Ratigan smiled grimly as he saw his own blood dripping in Basil's mouth, the detective's expression entirely animalistic. "So, it seems you are capable of bloodlust as well..." He grimaced as the wound healed of its own accord. "It seems I'll have to take this seriously, then..."

#28 - Sickness: Ratigan shuddered, but he managed a smile; "You came back", he whispered through the fever, "I knew you would."

#29 - Melody: Tala laughed as the two rodents sang along with the Aerosmith song: "/I don't wanna miss one smile; I don't wanna miss one kiss/..."

#30 - Star: Silver light floated in through the window of the underground chamber, casting faint light on the tired lovers as the world passed by...

#31 - Home: "Home?", Ratigan asked, laughing bitterly; "No, Basil, London is no home for me, thanks to your so-called 'justice'..."

#32 - Confusion: Basil... /pregnant/...; /Statement does not compute/... /must reboot brain/... /error/... /error/...

#33 - Fear: He yelped at the hand on his shoulders, automatically jumping into Ratigan's arms in a cartoon-like manner; "Don't do that to me...", he started to rant before realizing who he was being held by; "Er... oops."

#34 - Lightning/Thunder: The room was briefly illuminated and when it faded, the electricity was gone as well; "Oh, bugger", Ratigan muttered.

#35 - Bonds: There wasn't a day when either man didn't remember their days from college, because it was where they had first made acquaintance with each other, and said link had remained, no matter how fragile.

#36 - Market: Basil and Ratigan often preferred Smarty Mart to the upper-class stores when it came to food shopping; The prices were cheap, and no one was likely to shoot any "Would you like any cheese" insults their way.

#37 - Technology: "Oh, and they wanted me to give this to you", Ratigan said absentmindedly, placing the communicator in Basil's hands.

#38 - Gift: "While I will admit it did save us both", Ratigan sighed, "it's a talent I'd rather like to do without on some days."

#39 - Smile: It wasn't one of Ratigan's usual patronizingly toothy grins that Basil was used to seeing, though he'd seen it when they were both at college; but it seemed strange after so many years of being enemies.

#40 - Innocence: "And I suppose this is the part where someone naively walks in and finds us like this...", Ratigan mused as his pulse settled again, "But, then again, I could be wrong..."

#41 - Completion: "It's done", Ratigan grinned as the fluid turned clear; "It's done", Basil repeated.

#42 - Clouds: He eventually found Ratigan's dirigible hidden near Big Ben (somewhere he never expected to see it again), shielded well enough so that only people who knew where it was and air could pass through it; and as he approached, Ratigan glanced up from where he lay, muttering "Was wondering when you'd get here, Basil..."

#43 - Sky: "Do you really think there's intelligent life up there, James?", he mused; "I hope so", Ratigan sighed, "because it seems some days that there's very little down here.

#44 - Heaven: In the end, it was being together without being forced to kill each other that made things worth it.

#45 - Hell: "Ratigan, I know this will sound absolutely cliché, but I must speak; I don't care if we're going to Hell because of this... I love you."

#46 - Sun: "I don't understand", Basil muttered, watching Ratigan recline against the beach blanket, "why you insist on doing this, even though the chances of you burning or tanning are strictly nil."

#47 - Moon: He paused, smiling faintly up at the pale white orb, and the image of Basil's face flickered through his mind as a wolf's howl pierced the night air.

#48 - Waves: Basil fought hard not to laugh as Ratigan broke through the water, sputtering in indignity.

#49 - Hair: Ratigan smoothed his hair down, embarrassed, as he muttered "Well, maybe a little trouble..."; Basil merely sighed, "Thought so."

#50 - Supernova: He found himself smiling faintly, glad for his old tutor's company as they continued their pilgrimage under the color-stained night sky.

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#8: Yes, the movie, not the book.
#32: Ah, the joys of technologically-inspired male pregnancy.
#36: All right, this is basically my KP/GMD x-over world, though only in reference.
#47: Just for reference, Basil's main alternate animal is a wolf, while Ratigan's is a lion.

Ratigan: Joy.

Me: Oh, shut up.