(A/N - one shot Lock/Shock fluff ^^ Just a little something I wrote off the
top of my head for all those who liked my Seven Days fic ^-^ I'm still
thinking about doing a sequel for Barrel and Melicia, but for now, this
will suffice. Enjoy :)

(.PS - I don't own The Nightmare Before Christmas, the story, or the characters (blah, blah, blah) ^^)

In between forced back sobs and throttling Barrel Lock was shouting every naughty word he knew. Shock grabbed a broom from behind the couch and whacked Lock in the side of he head, sending him sprawling off Barrel and rolling over his injured tail - the start of the whole mess.

RECAP

After an evening of slinging rocks at the gargoyle to see who could knock him off the lynching tree, Lock, Shock and Barrel returned home to feast on stale pizza, flat pop and their candy stash. Shock wasn't too sure HOW it happened, but as they were entering their tree house, barrel managed to slam the cage door as hard as he could on Locks tail. In less than a split second it had fallen limp at the devils side and Lock had jumped Barrel like a rabid hyena.

"God dammit you son of a bitch! Why can't you take your head out of that fat ass of yours for two seconds and pay attention to what you're doing? Is that so freaking hard? Stupid piece of shit-"

*WHAM*

Enter Shock with the broom and back to the present.

She swatted Barrel for good measure and sent him sulking away to his room, rubbing his neck. Lock pushed himself up on his elbows and glared at Shock.

"What did you do that for? Now my tail AND head hurts!"

"Suck it up - you're not bleeding. Come on." Lock wrapped his tail haphazardly around his leg and reluctantly followed Shock in to their kitchen.

"Is it broken?" She asked, dumping all the ice from the freezer into a pail and setting it on the table. Lock jumped onto the table and placed his injured appendage among the numbing cold.

"No, just banged up." He cast a look of disgust towards Barrels room. "Idiot."

"Well, this should bring the swelling down enough to bandage it up. Shock regarded her counterpart for a moment. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Oh yeah, I'm peachy. I think Barrel killed any feeling I had in my tail and I'll never be able to move it again. But I'm fine. Couldn't b better." He snapped back.

"Oh Lock, you're tail isn't dead." She gave it a hard poke through the ice causing Lock to cry out in pain. "See, you still have feeling in it."

"Crazy bitch!" he hissed through clenched teeth. She shrugged.

"More of the later I think." There was a moment of silence between the two friends. Lock removed his tail from the ice bucket and inspected it close to his face. The swelling had gone down, though most movement was hindered due to numbness. Shock left his side momentarily and over to the cabinets. She leaned down below the sink in search of the dusty first aid kit. Lock cocked an eyebrow and watched as the bottom of her dress slid up her legs and swished back and forth at the base the toned skin and muscle that was her ass. Suddenly the pain in his tail didn't mean all that much to Lock and he struggled to peel his eyes off of Shock.

"Lock - where's the bandages?" She asked, not bothering to turn around. Lock grinned and flashed a set of pearly white canines.

"They're in the back of the cupboard. Behind the Drain-O." Shock gave a muffled curse and leaned down more, allowing the dress to slide up further, exposing the outline and lace trim of her personals. Lock felt his breath catch in his throat and forced himself to turn away, blushing furiously. He felt his insides begin to stir and knew what was going to happen if he didn't get his mind out of the gutter. The last thing he needed was to try to explain to an angry Shock why he had a hard-on at a time like this. Thinking fast - he brought his tail up and thwacked it against the side of the table biting down on his lips as not to cry out aloud. The warm wetness of his blood slid down his throat and he grit his teeth together.

"What was that?" Shock turned to face Lock. She was holding the dusty first aid kit in her hand. "Lock? Why are you bleeding?"

"I..uh..bit my lip." Shock rolled her eyes.

"Good show. I swear, I have the dumbest cohorts in ALL of Hallowe'en Town."

"No one's holding a gun to your head, Shock."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means if you hate us so much why don't you leave?" Lock spat. Shock clenched her fist and felt her nails bit into he palm. She tried to keep the expression on her face as neutral as possible and to keep her voice even.

"Because f I wasn't here, you and Barrel would starve or kill each other. And I never said I hated you two - I just wish you put a little more thought into your actions." She retorted. Lock rolled his eyes and licked the trail of blood that strayed to his lips.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wouldn't want you to leave and I doubt Barrel would either. You're handy to have around."

"Handy?" Shock asked, opening the white box and taking out the roll of gauze.

"Yeah, handy." Lock winced as Shock took his tail gently in her hands and began to bandage it with the soft cloth. She glanced up at him.

"Sorry. I'm being as gentle as I can."

"It's alright, you're doing fine. A lot better than I would have done on my own." Lock replied grinning slightly. Their eyes held each other's gaze for a few seconds and Lock cleared his throat, looking down hastily. A few stray hairs fell out of his trademark horns and hung in his eyes. Shock brushed them back and sighed before going back to bandaging her friends' tail. Lock watched as Shock's thin delicate fingers held the injured appendage and worked the gauzy fabric around his tail.

"That should do it. Try not to bang it into anything."

"Yeah..I guess I should steer clear of Barrel."

"Oh, leave him alone, I'm sure he's sorry." Shock protested. She looked over her work. "I guess I am handy to have around."

"You have no idea." Lock replied absently. Shock fixed him with a quizzical look before bending under the kitchen cabinets again. Lock's eyes flew to her legs once more. He remembered the day she returned from Skellington Manor with the new dress Sally had made her for her Bitter-Sweet 16. Shock's plain, girly dress had been replaced with a shorter, form fitting, more mature garment in the same shade of lavender that reminded Lock of early dawn, just past midnight. Shock always wore it with her high black boots, which made her legs look like they went on forever. Lock felt the familiar stir within his stomach and regrettably forced the thought from his mind seconds before Shock turned around and returned to his side.

"Are you going to be alright now?" She asked. Lock nodded, as his ability to speak was hindered by the giant lump of cotton that now resided in his throat. Shock turned to leave but Lock reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her dangerously close to his slightly trembling body.

"Lock-? What are you doing?"

"You never gave me the opportunity to thank you, Shock." The words were strained and came out in soft gasps with his breathing.

"Lock..?"

"Don't say anything." He whispered, standing from the table and bringing his face to hers. Shock didn't protest as his lips caressed her mouth, rather she felt her body sway and had to grab a hold of his shoulders for leverage. Lock wrapped his arms around her slim form and held her tightly against his chest as their timid kiss deepened and Shock felt the warmth of Lock's tongue stroke her bottom lip. They explored each other's mouths hungrily, tongues probing every inch and dip before meeting and playing with carefree lust and passion. Lock emptied every emotion and feeling he had for Shock into that one perfect embrace as Shock's tiny figure melted and became one with that of the taller boy before her. A soft moan trickle from her mouth and she tangled her hands in the short curls of Lock's fiery hair. The kiss softened and became so tender it almost brought the sting of tears to Shock's ebony eyes. They parted lips and stood locked in each other's gaze and arms. A blush spread across Lock's cheeks and he bit on his lip instinctively. Shock reached up and brushed another strand of hair from he love's face. He seized her hand and pressed it to his lips once more, never breaking sight with Shock.

Sunset crept into Hallowe'en Town and the haunting melodies from the town band floated through the air like the translucent wraiths that lurked in the alleyways. Shock placed her cool palm on Lock's cheek and smiled as his hands played with her soft midnight coloured hair, for sometimes words were not necessary to describe certain feelings or actions one or two may partake in. Sometimes love is far to great a thing to express verbally and needs the aid of an unfortunate accident, and a lavender dress.

~ Fin ^-^