Hi, all! I finally got some inspiration, from the new WordGirl episode Cherish is the Word, so I wrote this.

It's another post-episode oneshot (although hopefully I'll start my first multi-chapter soon), just after the episode ended and WordGirl is taking Tobey home –a deviation from her normal calling-the-cops to get him. :) This is also my first fluff attempt, so I'm sorry for any OOCness.

Special thanks to Randomnessgirl1 for all her help! ^_~

Disclaimer: I do not own WordGirl, but believe me, I wish I did…

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"Let's go, Tobey," she said gruffly, turning to me with obvious reluctance and lifting Captain Huggyface up on to her shoulder. "I had better take you back to your mom."

My face went hot with embarrassment at the mention of my mother, and I was suddenly aware of all of the titters filling the air

I stepped forward as confidently as I could, straightening my tie and clearing my throat as I did so to appear as nonchalant as was physically possible under the circumstances.

"Very well, WordGirl," I said in reply, and lifted a hand for her to take. Why not give it a try, right?

She grabbed the back of my shirt instead.

The titters grew louder.

With a grumpy sniff, the superhero took off like a shot, and lucky me, I went with her like a ragdoll. Everything blurred for a second, swirling into a haze of pink and red that nearly blinded me; I closed my eyes for a second, awaiting the inevitable ascent into the sky that would begin the thirty second journey home.

The ground swept away from beneath me, and in a swish of air and a muttered "Word Up!" we were away, up in the cloudless sky and far away from the crowd below.

If I was expecting a quick, easily forgotten ride home (which I was), then I was sorely mistaken. Once we were high enough in the air, and far enough away from the school to avoid any mistakes, the superhero slowed to a coast saved for the hawks no one ever saw. I myself was quiet, letting her keep her reasons for flying slowly to herself and delighting in the fact that the hand gripping my shirt collar was lightly brushing my neck; for about a minute nothing was said at all between us.

Suddenly though, she spoke, in a voice oddly tight and quiet.

"Do you… know what it's like not to be wanted?"

I froze. WordGirl was speaking to me like…like an equal? And about something I understood perfectly? My heart began to beat just a pace quicker, and I glanced up to see that she was indeed talking to me, and not her monkey sidekick. She wasn't looking down at me; in fact, she was staring straight ahead, as though determined not to meet my eyes, and so when I raised my head all I could see was the bottom of her chin.

I didn't say anything.

Silence descended, and we coasted along noiselessly for a minute or so without a word; even the monkey was quiet as he waited for someone to say something.

Finally WordGirl spoke, and this time I was certain that she was speaking to me.

"Well, Tobey?" she asked softly.

I blushed in embarrassment, the wind whipping past my heated cheeks in a wild frenzy.

"…yes," I said after a quick pause, "I do. Very well, actually."

Now it was my turn to keep my head down, desperately avoiding the superhero's gaze; I could feel her dark eyes boring holes into my head as she stared at me intensely.

"What does it feel like, exactly?" came her reply, curious and soft, as though she were almost afraid to ask.

By this point I was as red in the face as I could get, and I figured that I couldn't possibly blush a deeper shade of it even if I tried.

"It's… well, it hurts quite a bit," I told her, scrambling to find the right words for the sensation I experienced whenever she snapped at me during our battles, or rolled her eyes at my words. "It's kind of like you've lost some air in your lungs all of a sudden, and your heart feels this little twang." I stared at the ground, far below me and filled with pedestrians who waved at WordGirl as she soared effortlessly over their heads.

She gave a little gasp all of a sudden, like she'd just experienced a shocking epiphany, and I jerked my head up to look at her in surprise. The hero glanced down to meet my gaze with slightly widened eyes, but all she said in reply was, "I-I see. Well, here we are!"

I started a little, and lowered my eyes to the ground once more. Indeed, my house was just below us, the new roof patch from where Kronos ripped through embarrassingly obvious from above. I hope she didn't notice it…

And then the world blurred again, into a mishmash of greens and blues and reds for the millisecond in which WordGirl spiraled down to the ground and landed neatly on my front step.

"Here we are," she said cheerfully, slowly releasing my shirt and stepping away with downcast eyes that belied her false smile, "I guess your mom will be home soon, huh?"

I nodded eagerly, desperate to keep her talking to me. "Yes," I said, straightening my glasses, "but not for a little while."

WordGirl was silent, and her monkey sidekick stuck his tongue out at me before scrambling up on to her other shoulder. I tried not to scowl back at him as I waited for her to speak.

And then suddenly she stepped forward, grasped my hand warmly in a way she'd never done before (although "before" had never actually happened-she generally tried not to touch me), and grinned widely at me.

"Thanks, Tobey," she said, "a lot."

With that, the superhero leaped up into the sky and was gone with a much more cheerful, "Word Up!" than I had previously heard.

I think I fainted after that.

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Well, that's it! Thank you for reading, and PLEASE review! You know you want to… XD

Again, thankies so much, Randomnessgirl1!

And Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! 3