Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine and I am making no profit from this story. Certain elements of the plot were stolen from my absolute favorite episode of That 70's Show- if you've ever seen it you'll recognize what parts! Hope you like!

It was after one am. Cody Martin was roused from his sleep by a faint knocking sound at his door. Wondering if he had imagined it, he sat up slowly, trying not to wake his roommate Woody. The soft knock came again, accompanied by a whisper.

"Cody?"

Recognizing the feminine voice immediately as that of his girlfriend Bailey Pickett, he swung his feet to the floor and opened the door for her. She looked as sweet as ever in her pajamas, her hair in two messy braids, her feet in fuzzy slippers. "Bailey? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" he whispered anxiously.

She grinned, reaching for his hand and tugging on it. "Everything's great." she whispered back. "I just want to show you something. Hurry up!"

Cody slipped on his slippers obediently, half anxious, half intrigued. "It's past curfew." he reminded her, shooting a nervous glance over his shoulder to ensure that Woody was still sleeping.

"So?" Bailey teased in a whisper. "Take a walk on the wild side. You know you want to..." she pouted her lips, making the sweet face that always got her her way with Cody. "It will be worth it. Come on!"

Cody smothered a smile as he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him, feeling the strange but exciting adrenaline rush of sneaking out late with his girlfriend. He and Bailey never did things like this- they had reputations as the smart, sensible students on the ship and always toed the line, so Bailey's middle-of-the-night visit had been rather unexpected. He allowed her to drag him a few feet down the hall before asking, "Aren't you going to tell me where you're taking me?"

"You'll know when we get there!" Bailey replied impatiently. She brought him to the doors that led to the Sky Deck. "Now close your eyes." she instructed. "No peeking."

Feeling somewhat silly, Cody did as she told him, closing his eyes and holding her hands as she led him onto the Sky Deck. He could feel the night sea breeze on his face as she guided him to the rail. "You're not feeding me to the fish, are you?" he chuckled nervously. "Did I forget your birthday or something?"

"No, silly." Bailey laughed. "You can open them now."

Cody opened his eyes and his attention was immediately drawn to the night sky, where shooting star after shooting star was flashing through the darkness. The intense blackness of the open sea all around them made the heavenly lights seem brighter. "The meteor shower." he gasped.

Bailey grinned affectionately as she watched her boyfriend gape at the miraculous sight. "I know you were planning on watching it tomorrow night, but it peaked early, and I just happened to notice through my window..." Bailey was as interested in astronomy as Cody was, but she'd be lying if she said her motive for bringing him out here was purely scientific... there was a little romance in her soul as well.

"It's amazing!" Cody said eagerly. "I've never seen this many before. We must be looking at twenty or thirty a minute!"

"At least!" Bailey concurred. She rested her head on his shoulder and they watched the shower in companionable silence. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Cody agreed. "Almost as beautiful as you." he added softly, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her on the forehead.

Bailey laughed and waved him off. "Oh, stop!" But she drew closer to him, running her hands over his chest and toying with the collar of his striped pajamas.

"Stop what?" Cody teased, kissing her next on the temple, then on the cheek, working his way toward her lips. "Stop telling you how gorgeous, and wonderful, and perfect you are?" With each quality he listed he moved his lips closer to her mouth, finally meeting hers.

Bailey's eyes drifted shut and she kissed him back sweetly, relaxing into his familiar touch. His hands slipped around her waist and she thrilled as he brought their bodies into contact."Cody!" she giggled against his lips, surprised.

He broke away from her, giving her an adorable lop-sided grin. "Sorry." he apologized, moving his hands to interlace his fingers with hers.

"I didn't mean I wanted you to stop..." Bailey murmured coyly.

Cody laughed and pulled her into his arms once more. "It's scary how compatible we are, isn't it? No one else would appreciate this like you would." he said, indicating the blazing shower.

"Except you." Bailey finished, snuggling into his arms.

"Except me." Cody agreed softly. "Thanks for sharing it with me. You're amazing, Bails." He took a deep breath. "Bailey... I love you."

"Uh." Bailey stiffened in his arms. "I love... cake?"

Cody blinked in confusion, dropping his arms from around her. "What?"

"Uh, nothing." Bailey's eyes were wide as she faced him. "Oh, I think I hear someone coming! If we get caught out here we'll get detention!"

Cody, who had heard nothing, reached out and grabbed her wrist. "No, wait..."

But Bailey yanked free. "We should go. Hurry! 'Night, Cody!"

She was off like a shot, leaving Cody standing alone on the deck in shock. "'Cake'?"

"Hey Cody, can I see your math homework for a minute?" Zack called, spotting his brother on the deck on the way to class. When his twin turned toward him, Zack was alarmed by the dark circles under his eyes. "Whoa, Codester. If there was ever any doubt that I'm the handsomer twin, this would clinch it. What happened to you?"

"Up all night." Cody said dully, handing over his homework complacently. "Couldn't sleep."

"Obviously." Zack retorted. "I ask again: what happened to you?"

Cody answered reluctantly. "Last night I told Bailey I loved her and she said she loved cake." he said flatly.

"She said she loved cake." Zack repeated, unsure he'd heard correctly. "Like... birthday cake?"

"She didn't specify what kind of cake."

"Well... cake is good." Zack offered lamely.

"I agree, but it was hardly the appropriate time to express that sentiment!" Cody exploded. "What am I supposed to do? She loves cake? Is this some strange new way of breaking up with someone? Because she hasn't even looked me in the eye all morning!"

Zack placed a comforting hand on Cody's shoulder. "Relax, Cody. She's probably just nervous around you now that she knows that you love her. What'd you go and tell her that for anyway?"

Cody leveled a glare at his twin. "Uh, because I love her?"

"Cody, Cody, Cody..." Zack sighed theatrically. "You are so ignorant in the ways of the fairer sex. You love her? That is not what a woman wants to hear." he paused for a moment. "Actually... yes it is."

Cody brushed Zack's hand off his shoulder. "Yeah, you give great advice." he said sarcastically. "You done with my homework yet?"

"No." Zack whipped the paper out of Cody's reach. "What I meant was, she wasn't ready for something so serious. She wasn't prepared for such a crazy statement to come out of your mouth." He whistled and circled his finger around his temple to indicate 'crazy'.

"We've been dating for six months- it's hardly a 'crazy statement'!" Cody defended. "Even if I never actually said it, she had to know that I love her."

"Uh, obviously she didn't," Zack pointed out. "Or she would have been prepared with something a little smoother than 'I love cake'!"

Cody sat down, hard, on a nearby deck chair. "You're right." he said, burying his face in his hands. "I moved too fast, I told her too soon. She wasn't ready."

"Ya threw yourself at her." Zack agreed. "Chicks aren't interested in desperate guys. She'll probably break up with you... Assuming that train wreck you caused hasn't ended it already."

"So what do I do?" Cody asked miserably.

Zack shrugged. "You need to cool it. Back off of her. Stop professing your dang emotions at the drop of a hat!"

Cody nodded. "Right... I'll be cool. Detached."

"That's the spirit." Zack encouraged. "With any luck Bailey will forget the whole thing ever happened."

"So why aren't you and Cody talking? Did you finally break up?" London asked as Bailey entered their shared cabin. "I've been telling you to ditch him for months."

"Worse." Bailey said, sinking down on her bed. "He told me he loves me."

"Well, that's not so bad." London said, buffing her nails on her sleeve. "That just means he likes you a lot."

"Uh, yeah, I know what love means." Bailey retorted. She scrubbed her face with her hand. "But after he said it, then I said... I said... oh geez, I told him I love cake." Her face reddened just from the embarrassing memory.

"Who doesn't?" London said. "Especially a good, creamy slice of New York cheesecake- low fat, of course- with whipped c-"

"You're missing the point." Bailey said exasperatedly. "I think he was probably expecting a response more along the lines of 'I love you too'? And instead he got I love cake? What in the world would make me say that? We weren't even talking about cake!"

"Oh." London shrugged. "Oh well. I'm sure Cody knows by now that you can't always get what you want. Unless you're me. Yay me!"

"Great, London, thanks. Very helpful." Bailey snorted. "What am I going to do about Cody?"

"I don't know." London said. "You want him to disappear? I'd feel a little bad, since he's my friend and all, but I could make that happen."

Bailey's jaw dropped. "No I don't want you to make him disappear! He's my boyfriend!"

"So?" London shot back. "It's not like you love him, right?"

This effectively silenced Bailey.

"Oh my god. You do." London realized. "You love him, you love him! You love him, love him, love him!" she chanted.

"Stop it!" Bailey cried. "Of course I do! I just... I don't know. I panicked."

"You sure did, sister." London agreed. "I mean, you basically said you love cake more than him, and that's not very flattering."

Bailey bit her lip in distress. "I have to find a way to make it up to him. How do you fix it when you do something totally stupid and thoughtless?"

London shrugged. "Have Daddy pay for the damages?"

Bailey sighed. "I don't think that's going to work this time, London. I think I really hurt Cody's feelings."

"And ten thousand dollars would really go a long ways towards making him feel better." London finished, flipping open a fashion magazine. "That's all I'm saying."

A/N: I had so much fun writing this! Let me know what you thought. Next chapter soon to come!