Author's Note: Hey all, here's a new story. For right now, it's going to start out as a 3-parter. I have some ideas to take it further if you all want, but let's just see what happens :) Ever since I was a kid and first started watching H2O, I loved Rikki and Zane! They were my favorite couple for a very long time. They just have such a spark to their relationship :) What are your guys' thoughts on them?

This fic will be rated M for language and sexual situations. As stated in the summary, this piece takes place between season 2 and 3 and is cannon up until the end of season 2. There is not going to be much mention of other characters, as I am trying to keep the story Rikki-Zane centric. If you guys have any questions/confusion regarding the layout of my story, please ask or inform me - it will be much appreciated.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review/follow/favorite or even PM me! I will gladly accept constructive criticism and will personally thank you if you drop a review.

Part 1: The Day Before

Rikki's POV:

"Alright sir, one strawberry-banana smoothie for you. That'll be five dollars," I said with little interest behind the Juice Bar's counter. After all, the current customer I was serving was being a douchebag. I would be 'nice' to him for the sake of customer service, but it doesn't mean I have to mean it. "And please feel free to leave a tip!"

I hoped he would put at least a dollar in the tip jar – paychecks only come out biweekly, but tips can go home every night between the baristas and bussers. Even just one or two dollars a night could mean that I could buy myself a much needed snack and drink for lunch. Or I could even do the more logical thing and put the money into a savings account.

"You want a tip for the awful customer service you gave me?" The irritable man said. "Here's a tip…." Oh shit. "Be a better barista!" And there it is.

"Well, you sir have a wonderful afternoon!" I said with mock kindness, making sure to emphasize my sass. As he left the Juice Bar's exit, I muttered "Asshole," and dropped my fake smile.

"Hey Ash," I turned to my coworker and best friend's boyfriend. "You mind if I take my lunch?"

"Yeah, sure. Just be back in an hour. Text Emma for me and tell her that I love her, would you?" He asked.

"Ew, no! You can tell Emma that on your own time, lover boy," I said while removing the standard hat uniform I have to wear every day.

"C'mon please? I don't get off until close tonight. It's the least you could do!" he plead.

"Actually, I could do less" I said. However, I decided to take pity on the poor love struck man. "But I will tell her you said hi," I finished with a smile.

At that, he just rolled his eyes at me and continued taking peoples' orders. Thankfully, my break was during our usual lunch rush and I wouldn't have to be present for that.

Being nice to people was never a strong suit of mine, so customer service was a bad job for me. But money is money. Anyone outside of my friend group would call me a bitch or too blunt (as if there was such a thing). My friends and even my boyfriend would more often than not call me bitchy, but never a bitch. It's all about context in our group.

However, I wasn't the only bitchy one of us as of late. Everyone around this time of the month got pretty high maintenance.

Yes, it was that time again: the full moon was a day away. Usually, we would all gather at Emma or Cleo's house, but everyone was off doing their own thing. Cleo and Lewis were off exploring North America. They were currently holding up in Washington and Lewis claimed that it was too overcast all-day-every-day to be worrisome for Cleo. Regardless, I gave him the "you better keep her safe and away from water" speech.

Whereas Cleo was in North America, Emma was doing volunteer work in Ethiopia. When she first told us of her plans to teach classes in Africa over the summer, we were happy but very worried. Even when she attempted to reassure us that she would be completely safe, we were scared to not be around each other for the next couple of full moons.

We were all scared for each other, but they seemed to be more scared for me because I was closest to Mako Island – the one place we weren't supposed to go on full moon night. I knew I could handle myself though. A little horror movie night with the curtains closed sounded just fine with me.

Regardless, I texted the girls and set up a three-way group chat for a few minutes of my break:

Rikki: We all ready for tomorrow night?

Emma: Yep, the place I am staying at has curtains, so we're good.

Cleo: I can one-up Emma and say that I have both curtains AND blinds. Hah! (:

Emma: Whatever girl (; Rikki, you got plans?

Rikki: Yeah, it's movie night for this girl! :D Btw, Ash says hi and he loves you -_-

Emma: Awwwww, he's so sweet! (: Speaking of which, how's Zane doing? You guys okay? Tell him we said hi!

Rikki: Oh, he's fine. Still has the attention span of a dog, but don't all men?

Cleo: Not Lewis! (;

Rikki: Oh, don't brag Cleo! Anyways, I have to go get something to eat before I die. I'll talk to you guys later.

Emma: Later!

Cleo: Bye guys (:

Leave it to them to always be near their phones.

As my stomach grumbled, I contemplated grabbing some food from the café and risking the long line or just running to a gas station and grabbing a candy bar. Real food or candy? I sat outside contemplating my options, when a new option came up from behind me.

"I brought you lunch," said the unmistakable voice of Zane. He was standing behind me, but I could still hear the smile in his voice. It made me smile as well.

As much as Zane Bennett could be an ass, he could turn around and be the sweetest person known to mankind. Some days, I couldn't even believe we went from hating each other to loving each other. Love. What a heavy word, but it seemed to fit our relationship. We fought more times than healthy couples should, but I felt we were in a strong enough relationship to call it love even if we hadn't said it to each other yet. Just because we hadn't said it out loud yet, doesn't mean it's not there.

"Better not be anything healthy Zane Bennett," I smiled at him. "C'mon now, hand it over."

I beckoned for the stereotypical brown paper bag he held in his hand. "I gotta make sure my girl stays healthy, what kind of a boyfriend would I be otherwise?" He asked cockily.

"Oh please don't make me answer that question, you're making it too easy Zane," I said. I unwrapped the contents within the bag and found a turkey sandwich, an apple, some chips and a candy bar. "You have done well," I smiled. "Wanna split it?"

"Sure. How's work going today?" He asked while taking a bite of the apple.

"Oh you know, another day another dollar. Shitty customers make for a shitty day. Talked to the girls a few minutes ago. They say hi."

"That's nice of them," he smiled sheepishly. It took a while, but everyone finally warmed up to the fact that Zane and I were together. We sure as hell weren't breaking up anytime soon, so they might as well get used to us. Albeit, it was still awkward sometimes. "You know tomorrow's a full moon night, right?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes, yes. I know," I said with an eye roll. How could I not know?

"Seriously Rikki, you're prepared?" He obviously wasn't joking about this. "I know this is the first time you haven't really been with the girls."

"Zane, I'll be fine. I was just going to stay in and watch some movies. Maybe I would avoid some windows. Typical stuff," I said.

"Hmm," he said contemplatively.

"What? Spit it out," I demanded.

"Well, I was thinking," he said while biting his lip. "Maybe you would want to spend the night?"

"Are you serious, Zane? No. No. Absolutely not," I sputtered.

"What? It's not like you've spent the night before, Rikki. C'mon, I promise I'll take good care of you," he said looking me straight in the eyes. I couldn't help but feel a jolt of arousal run down my spine when he said that. I knew it wasn't meant to be dirty, but him saying stuff like that made me nervous. It was incredibly addicting.

"Yeah, but this time... it's different. We would have to pretty much seal up your entire house or at least a whole room and stay away from any windows, and," I exclaimed nervously when I was cut off by a searing kiss from Zane. I didn't bother fighting his persistent advances, but instead enjoyed the feeling of his lips upon mine for a moment.

When he pulled away, I could feel myself chasing his lips. This man had such a hold over me. He held my cheeks lovingly in place and said, "I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

I already knew I had lost the battle, so I caved in. "Okay."

I looked at my phone and decided that it was almost time to get back to work. "Thank you for the lunch, I didn't know you could make a decent sandwich. I'm expecting another one, you know," I said with a cocky grin.

"Then I will make you thousands of sandwiches until the day you die, Rikki Chadwick!" He said this with humor in his voice, but there was a touch of seriousness behind his eyes. I couldn't help but believe every word of what he was saying.

"I have to get back to work," I said while standing up.

"I know," he replied back, following in my lead.

"Give me a kiss before I go back to hell," I said while grabbing the back of his head, bringing him down to my level. We kissed so passionately in front of the café that my knees began to go weak. His kisses always left me breathless. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon," I said after we broke apart.

"Can't wait, love. See you then," he said while walking away from the café.

As I walked back into work, I only had two things on my mind: the full moon itself and what would transpire tomorrow evening because of it.