First Love

By: Riley

Summary – On Valentine's Day, Zack and Cody go to visit their first love.

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

The question was brought up every time February came around and this year was no occasion. While others were telling of tales to meet their girlfriends and fiancés, to hang out with their friends and spend a night together making memories.

Zack and Cody weren't about the holidays no matter how much they stated the issue with it. For Zack he didn't particularly like the idea of having to go all out in romances and make gestures that could be made any day all the while the guy was the one expected to do it. Cody, on the other hand, really enjoyed Valentine's Day despite acknowledging he didn't believe the day was built around anything more than commercialism.

But this year they did have something planned.

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

When asked by one of his co-workers, Zack couldn't help but smile a little. He pulled off his construction helmet and ran a hand through his hair to say, "Actually, I'm going to visit someone."

"Really?" The co-worker looked interested as he raised his eyebrows. Zack always spun tales about girls he spent the night with or he was interested in, often flirting with the girl who periodically came to inspect the work that was being done on site as well as the other few female construction workers. "Do I know her?"

"Do you know any of the girls I talk about?" Zack shot back.

"No. But that doesn't keep any of the rest of us from thinking you're lying."

"I'm not."

"Whatever you say. But you have to admit your tales tend to be a bit far-fetched, Zack." His co-worker reached out and nudged Zack on the arm, unable to keep the eager grin from his face. "So c'mon, tell me about this girl. Is she your one true love or something?"

Zack smiled slyly, a smile that normally graced his features when he was moments away from playing a prank or telling a dirty joke that would have the whole site doubled over laughing. This time, however, it was a secret he was keeping to make sure a surprise wasn't ruined. "I wouldn't say that. But this weekend is going to be special. Actually, I have to leave now if I'm going to get back in time. Have a good weekend. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Then I'll be having a much better time than you."

Zack laughed.

Cody ran his hands through his hair before taking a finger full of hair gel to make sure his hair was perfectly coifed. Then he grabbed the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates that sat on the counter, made sure they were clear of water, and tucked them under his arm to grab his bag, then left the airport bathroom. He walked through Logan International Airport, looking around at the passengers just arriving and those waiting to leave.

It being a holiday there were massive showings of affection. He spotted many red and pink mylar balloons, balloons shaped as hearts, and others that had pictures of bears and flowers on the front. Others carried bouquets of flowers, much like he did, and he spotted a few men that looked more than nervous, consistently patting their pockets when their woman companions weren't looking. And little kids munching on candy while holding onto cards. It made Cody smile.

He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

Cody finally left the airport and hailed a taxi, getting him to put his bag into the bag before sliding in next to it. His taxi driver climbed into the front seat and pulled away from the arrival terminal. Once on the road he looked at Cody through the rearview mirror.

"Looks like you've got a date for tonight, eh?"

"Yeah, something like that," Cody replied.

"She must be pretty special to get flowers and candy."

"Very special. I owe a lot to her. I just want her to know that."

"I think she'll know."

Cody smiled and nodded. The rest of the ride was silent until Cody arrived at his destination. He thanked the taxi driver and gathered his things together, leaving a generous tip on top of the fare, and climbed out. He stepped back to let the taxi leave.

"I hope you remembered to write my name on some of that."

Rolling his eyes, Cody turned around to face Zack. "Would you want me to do anything else? You couldn't even take the time to pick me up from the airport. Why would I expect you to actually buy something, too?"

Zack walked up to Cody and grabbed the box of chocolates from him. He popped the top open to look at the tag inside and nodded when he saw his name had been attached as well. "Sorry, I had to work. You don't expect me to just skip a day and a paycheck do you?"

Cody held his breath, trying to figure out whether it was worth it to respond. Zack always seemed to have that affect on him, but he did have a point. This was the first job that he held down for a while and he didn't want to discourage that. On the other hand, Zack still managed to push his buttons far more than he thought possible with only a few words.

"Come on, we don't want to miss her."

Cody nodded, excitement starting to take him over again. He could feel himself starting to shake. Not of nerves, but of excitement.

Then the two were in front of the door, having knocked. They waited. Zack's hands must've turned clammy for he abruptly wiped them on the side of his dirt jeans. He sort of wished that Zack would've taken a shower after work instead of going straight to meet Cody, but at the same time it wouldn't really be him if he were completely clean.

Cody beamed as he heard footsteps coming to the door. He looked at Zack, who was smiling just as wide.

The door opened.

She let out a quiet gasp.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mom!"

THE END

A/N: Just a short one-shot to celebrate Valentine's Day. Honestly, I think Zack and Cody would actually do this and it'd all probably be Cody's idea. LOL. I have another one-shot coming up later today.