Sealed With a Kiss

By: Riley

Summary – It's not completely expected to be romantic on Valentine's Day but it'd be nice.

A/N: I actually had this handwritten for a while and didn't know if I'd post it but ultimately decided to. So I hope you all enjoy.

Zack pushed open the door to the lecture room, letting out a sigh of relief. Free at last. His classmate, Woody seemed to have the sentiments as he almost knocked Zack to the ground in his haste to get out of the classroom.

"Whoa. Where's the fire Woodster?" Zack called, watching Woody practically sprint down the hallway.

"You can't expect me to have all of this food in class and not still be hungry? That was, like, a bite size! I'm going to the dining hall!"

"It's blocked off for that Valentine's Dinner thing!"

"Then it's good I got two tickets!"

Zack laughed, shaking his head. Woody was always good for a laugh and if it wasn't for the fact that the two continued to bring their professor's glares and unenthused stares their way when their boredom became too much, he'd be perfect. But being at NYU Zack found that he actually enjoyed a lot of his classes and wanted to learn as much as he could. He'd never admit that, though. His reputation was at stake, even on Valentine's Day.

Walking back to the apartment he shared with his brother, Zack found more than enough instances of the holiday floating around. Every shop, including the bars, had some sort of a Valentine's Day special. And he had seen the aftermath of that last time; there had been enough drunk students stumbling around the halls and getting caught by the RAs that Zack was glad he and his friends had ducked out early. Though it did bring some good stories for the next day, all the while Cody continued to shake his head. Zack called him a straight-laced prude for not even trying to break the rules even a little, Cody just said he'd be fine waiting until he was of legal age.

Then he blacked out on their birthday he had drank so much.

Now Zack wondered what would've happened if Cody didn't already have a big Valentine's Day plan for his girlfriend, of which Zack had been subjected to listening to for the past five months. He couldn't wait for the day to be over.

Arriving at his apartment, Zack threw the door open with a flourish and greeted his girlfriend with a bright smile. A sight for sore eyes after a long day of hour long classes. "Hey, babe!"

"Hey," Riley replied. She looked up from her laptop and pushed her glasses up her nose. Her face equally illuminated from the glow of the screen to the smile that was only for him. "How ya going? How was class?"

"It's class," Zack said simply. As if that explained everything. "Not so great, not so terrible. But we did get some food to eat while we were having our discussion. My professor thought we should have a pot-luck to celebrate Valentine's Day. So that was cool." He stopped suddenly and started to pat his pockets. He had brought something back for her…. "Oh! Here!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Hershey's Kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day." He tossed it towards her and Riley shot out her hand, grabbing the piece of candy out of the air.

Riley frowned, twisting the Hershey's Kiss back and forth between her fingers. Her dark blue eyes narrowed for a moment as she examined the piece of candy, probably to make sure it hadn't been tampered in some way. Or else had pocket lint stuck to it. "How romantic," she mumbled, sounding a little disappointed.

Zack laughed. He sat on the armrest next to her, turning to rest his feet on the couch cushions. Riley glanced down at his shoes then looked up at Zack with an amused expression. They both knew Cody hated it when Zack put his feet up on the future—it was one of the rules that he made sure everyone that visited. Of course Zack did it as much as possible for that very reason.

But on the other hand Cody knew that Zack knew he hated it and seemed to enjoy making more outlandish and weird rules just to piss off Zack even more. As much as the boys loved each other they also loved to annoy each other as much as they could.

"It's not my best work," Zack admitted. "But at least I remembered."

"Ha!" Riley's eyebrows rose in amusement. She leaned forward to set her laptop aside then turned on the cushion to face him. Zack moved his feet from the cushions and faced her as well. "Let's be honest here, Z. In this relationship,"—she motioned back and for the between the two before pointing to herself—I'm the romantic one. Whether it's for dates or just because. When you're romantic,"—she reached out and pressed her finger against his nose until it flattened. "It's usually because Cody tells you to do it, boofhead." She removed her finger from his nose and brought her hand up to ruffle his hair, pressing her forehead against his as she did so.

"That's not completely true," Zack defended himself.

"Fine. It's about seventy percent of the time."

"And I don't hear you complaining about it, do I?" Zack teased. He reached out and grabbed the end of her ponytail, gently twirling it through his fingers. "I didn't think so."

"But—"Riley cut herself off, not wanting to complain. Zack kind of hoped she would, just to rub it in later. Instead, she leaned forward and gave Zack a kiss. "I don't like dark chocolate, mate." Riley handed the candy back to him. Zack grabbed it and immediately stuck it into his mouth, causing Riley to laugh as he made a face and pulled the foil from between his teeth. "But thanks for thinking of me."

"Aww, you're welcome." Zack gently placed his hand on her neck and gave her a kiss. He pecked her lips, pulling back to say, "And I know you didn't want to do anything for Valentine's Day this year but Cody said I should at least get you something. But how lucky am I?"

He knew her suggestion of not doing anything for that day was because of how much money she and her twin sister, Rhuben, had already spent to fly from Australia to visit their boyfriends. But it was true either way, as romantic as she was—she had been telling the truth of the dynamic of their relationship though she was better described as a romantic at heart—Valentines' Day wasn't something they made a big deal about, preferring to spend time together and maybe get gifts for each other when they had the money.

The gift of her being there during his winter and her summer was enough. Truth be told, he would rather order in, watch a movie, and maybe get the chance to make out all night, depending on when Cody was going to get back.

Riley rolled her eyes and jostled her boyfriend on the arm. "Whatever."

"Speaking of Cody." Zack's eyebrows came together. He looked Riley up and down, noticing her lack of dressy clothes. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"I'm sorry?" She blinked blankly, usually a look that Zack gave.

"We have to go now. We're going to be late."

Zack got up from the couch and started towards his room, taking off his shirt as he went. Hearing a lack of footsteps, he turned to find Riley continuing to stare at him. "Babe, c'mon, I told you about this!" Riley's eyebrows rose. "Cody's showing off his photographs in that art gallery showing, remember?"

Riley got up and crossed her arms. Her stare turned into an annoyed frown. Something else Zack was used to seeing from her. "You never told me about that."

"Riles, yes, I did!" He looked indignantly.

"Zack, no, you didn't!"

Zack let out a low whistle. "Well, you might want to hurry then. You don't want him to think you forgot."

"I can't forget something you never told me, Zack." Now Riley threw her hands into the air. "I've never let Cody down before, why would I want to start now by forgetting this?"

Zack shrugged, twisting his shirt back and forth in his hands. "After 21 years you get used to it."

Despite the annoyance that practically radiated off her, Riley laughed. "You're terrible."

"And you like me anyway, Sweet Thang."

"For a lot of reasons other than you making it your life goal to make Cody's life miserable. If it wasn't for Rhu I think he would've actually disowned you by now."

"He can try, but he won't succeed." Zack nodded towards her with his chin. "What're you still talking to me for? We're going to be late." That must've finally got her attention for Riley made a sound of frustration and hurried into his room. It was perfect timing as Zack's cell phone rang seconds after. He pulled it out to see Cody's name on the ID. "Hey Cody, what's up?" He asked, answering.

"I just wanted to let you know that everything's worked out and we'll meet you later."

"Okay, sounds good. Have I ever told you you're the best brother ever?"

Cody's voice turned to a tone that was impressively flat and smug at the same time. "No. But I'd be glad to hear it more."

"Too bad, I have a once a year quota." Even without seeing his brother's face, Zack knew Cody was rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Cody. I'll see you later." He hung up and went into his room, surprised to find Riley speed-dabbing her face with a makeup brush. "I know you're annoyed with me right now, but violence isn't the answer."

"Rack off!" Riley snapped back. Chuckling to himself, Zack took his time to get changed into a nice pair of slacks, a light blue button down shirt, and dress shoes while Riley raced back and forth from her makeup to her bag to get dressed. Thankfully, and it being one of the things Zack liked about her, Riley didn't take too long to get dressed. "Zip me up!" She turned her back to him, lifting up her hair so Zack could zip the back of her dress.

He did so then pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "You look amazing."

"Don't try to butter me up; I'm still mad at you." Riley turned and gently pressed her hand against his stomach. "Luckily for you, I love Cody and don't want to ruin his night by killing you."

Zack pouted. "You don't love me?"

"Ask me that again in a few hours and I might have a different answer for you."

Zack smiled a mischievous smile as she looped her arm through his. The two left the apartment with Zack steering the way towards a horse drawn carriage that sat at the street side as soon as they got outside. "Mr. Martin?" The driver asked.

"That's me," Zack replied. "Ride's for an hour, right?"

"Correct and we'll leave as soon as you're ready."

Zack turned to Riley, who looked back at him, eyes wide with surprise. "Cody does have an art gallery showing tonight and we're still going to have dinner with them after, but I wanted to surprise you with this first; a carriage ride through Central Park." Riley opened and closed her mouth for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say. It made Zack smile. That was part of their relationship, she was a planner-as much as she was spontaneous-and he was good at surprised, they always managed to work out well. "And I know you said you didn't want to do anything today, but I couldn't help myself. I love you, Ley. Happy Valentine's Day."

Finally, Riley closed her mouth and smiled up at him a smile filled with wonder at how he continued to manage to surprise her at the best times. "I love you, too, Zack."

Zack cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

THE END