Honestly, picking a ship was a toughie decision. Romeara enticed me because it was a great, new S2 ship to try out, but I'd have to choose that over a redemptive Jessaiden shot, and you all know I'm a stickler for Jessaiden. Then there were two classics, Jesskas and Jestra. Hmm… a giant dork, or two little dorks? Decisions, decisions. Then there was a late-entry staring Stampy and Stacy, which provided me with the chance to be silly. Sacrifices were made, and I went with, drumroll, please…

Bob: Yeah, I don't do drumrolls. Ironically.

Oh… um, real quick for you readers out there? This is Bob the spider. Since you're all wondering what happened to Crisper, you should know that in the middle of one of my stories, he upped and ran off to acting school, hiring Bob to take his place. How is Crisper doing? I have no clue. He hasn't been gone long, but he hasn't sent any updates. I'm starting to miss him. Well, seeing as we don't have a drumroll (because face it, I can't drumroll either), I'll just say it:

I'm writing Romeara! I can't surpass a (relatively) new Season 2 ship! Besides, I love Romeo, he's a great character. I don't know much about Xara's true personality, since the only Xara we know is the ferocious one, but I'm a self-proclaimed 'mini-theorist'. I'll draw a few conclusions and try to create a pre-Xara.

One more thing before we get started. This is for Ariza: I'm really glad that you took the time to leave a suggestion. I really appreciate that, and you should know, but I thought I made myself clear when I told everyone I wouldn't be writing yaoi- or yuri-themed ships. Please don't see this as being called out or anything like that. I just wanted to remind you about that, and also let you know that I didn't completely ignore your suggestion. Every review and prompt means so much to me! I hope you can still enjoy the Feb Tales.

Hit it, Crisp… I mean, Bob. Man, I'm starting to miss that guy. I wonder what he's up to.

Bob: (hits it)

Eye-opening conversations never start or end on couches in front of coffee-tables. Maybe they start there, but they always end up with friends laying on the floor like it's a meadow of rich grass, staring up at the popcorn-ceiling like it's a galaxy full of stars. Not that Romeo, Xara and Fred didn't have an extraterrestrial view right outside their door. Romeo wasn't sure how it happened, but he was laying on the hard, wooden floor with Xara and Fred. No one said a word. It was one of those silent, end-of-the-day moments when you and your friends simply existed in a room together, letting smirks and glances do the talking.

Xara was looking at the ceiling, oblivious to Romeo. Romeo was staring at Xara, oblivious to Fred. Fred was fine with not being watched. Romeo knew he was getting his eyes opened that night, or at least one of them. How? He was barely sure. His friend Fred, on the other hand, knew just how and exactly when. But, as mentioned before, Romeo was completely oblivious to his old friend's wiles. Fred stood to his feet and the floor creaked under his heaviness, catching Romeo's and Xara's attention.

"Where are you going?" Romeo asked.

Fred smirked at him. "Just outside, give you two some space." He was gone. Romeo and Xara were in the room, alone. Romeo felt the ease in the room stretching into tension. He kept his eyes on the door. He could feel Xara staring at him, not saying a word. Just gazing at his short, auburn hair.

"Hey, Romeo," He rolled over. Xara lay on her side at arm's length from him, a soft grin on her lapis-blue face. Her curly, purple locks hung down either temple, and she wore a snug-fitting, white tee. He took in her blue skin. It was like his, but delicate, smooth. They were so alike, yet so different. It enthralled him into silence. Her brows pinched, and she swatted his cheek. "Romeo, you're staring."

He stroked his cheek, rolling onto his back. "Sorry." He was, and bitterly so, despite the deflecting smirk on his face. As warmth tingled in his cheeks, he cursed Fred for leaving him alone with her. A creative mastermind with a wandering mind, he was often the scorn of dinner-parties and other social events.

He chuckled, rolling onto his back. "Sorry." He was, and bitterly so. As warmth tingled in his cheeks he cursed Fred for leaving him alone with her. People scared him. Without Fred serving as a buffer between them, Xara terrified him. "What were you saying?"

"Just 'hey'." He imagined her placidly smiling, the annoyance gone from her face. The silence calmed him. There was no need to hold up a conversation. He could imagine her in peace, admire her.

Before Fred and Xara, he didn't have the luxury of sharing anything with anyone in his existence. No one else had his god-like abilities, his cerulean skin, yellow eyes that shone in the darkness, not even the intensity of his red, sweeping crown. Entertainment. Cool tricks and builds. That's all they wanted from him. Friendship? They made him feel like he was destined for the display case. Their ideal friendship-model was a hunter's prized mount, mere taxidermy. It was a while before he ran into Fred, and he often wondered if he'd gone through the same life of stardom and glamour, poked and prodded for unlimited resources, begged for 'that cool trick you did yesterday' time and time again. Fred, his first real friend, blue-skinned and demigod to boot. Romeo's ego took a hit when it turned out Fred wasn't even impressed with him at first, but his heart was willing to make that sacrifice. He was supposed to feel content, fulfilled, and he was.

Mostly.

He turned to see her gazing at the ceiling again, bored nails clicking against the wooden floor. Pouring his heart out to her nearly daunted him into silence. Maybe Fred's absence wasn't such a bad thing. Pouring out hearts still felt too dramatic, too risky, he thought. Wouldn't a simple confession do?

He straightened himself out on the floor which sent pinpricks of pain through his shoulder-blades. Xara stared at the ceiling, her world familiar and intact. He feared his 'confession' wasn't so simple, enough to shatter that peace and scare her away. But as he thought about it, where would the blue-skinned woman run to? He and Fred were all the Admin had. Xara was all he had. He tried to convince himself the worst that would happen was an awkward silence, days of awkward silence at most, then normalcy again. But normalcy discouraged him. Normalcy meant going back to waiting, hoping there was another woman like her in the world. There probably wasn't. Except "probably" in his case meant "definitely". He bit his lip. Rejection would mean so much.

But how much more so eternal silence?

"Um, Xara." He kept his eyes on the ceiling, even when she tilted her head towards him.

"Hmm?"

"I was just thinking, and, there—" He cut off and glanced at her. Making eye-contact with her instead of stalling with 'um's and 'you know's? Costly. Her rich, dark eyes fired heat up and down his arms, but he couldn't look away. Not stalling, completely stopping. Cherishing her eyes, his lips slipping into a grin.

"Romeo," her impatient, toe-tapping voice made him look away. He could feel her glare, thankfully not another scolding pop to the cheek to accompany. "So, what were you saying?" Her voice was soft, inquisitive.

"There aren't many like us out there, you know."

She relaxed on the floor, putting her arms behind her neck and crossing one leg over the other. "Gosh, Romeo, I was hoping for something a little more profound."

He raised a brow at her. "Xara, I'm being serious."

"Me, too."

"Xara," her name rumbled low in his throat. He rolled over, his eyes piercing her playful ones. "Would you please just listen to me? This is important." Maybe if she wasn't so quirky, he'd be able to get this over with. By now they'd be in bed, asleep. He wondered how far past their normal bedtimes it was, how much it was getting to her. How much it was getting to him. Her laughing expression faded into a sober grin. She was perfectly sane, and so was he. He was really getting ready to do this. He forced himself to hold eye-contact. "I've been waiting a long time to meet someone like you."

She propped herself up on an elbow, brushing a stray curl from her face. "Really?"

"Really." His eyes trailed back to the ceiling as he let himself remember what life was like before her. "Life was pretty boring before I met you, lonesome."

"But you had Fred."

He grinned. "I did. But, there were just things I couldn't say to Fred that," he hesitated, "that I could say to you."

Her lips parted in thought, then she nodded. "Mm. Anything on your mind?"

He felt a twinge of anxiety in his stomach and sat up, looking directly at her. His eyes fell to her hand and he gently took it in his. "I think I'm in love with you, or at least falling?" He tilted his head, his brows furrowed and an iffy grin on his face. She looked at their loose hands, then smiled at him.

"Anything else?"

He scooted closer to her, taking in her affectionate gaze. "So much else. Xara, I've been waiting all my life for someone with even the same skin color as mine. Everywhere I went, people were so different from me. They could never accept me the way I was and, if we're being completely honest, I couldn't accept them, either. I had no one to talk to like I do now. When Fred came along, I thought that would be it for me, I'd be fully happy but," he shook his head, eyeing the floor, "I wasn't. Not until I met you." He moved a hand to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It took a while for me to figure it out, but you're just what I've been looking for. You have blue skin, you can do almost as much as I can."

"Hold on, 'almost'? Romeo, letting that ego of yours get the best of you." She jabbed him in the chest where he supposedly stored that full-of-himself mindset. "We all know I was the best at building. My designs are far more efficient than yours."

He tilted his head with a smug grin. "Simplistic is a better word." She rolled her eyes at him, saying nothing else. "It's good to have someone to joke around with, to really, truly be there for me. I know you and Fred sometimes ask me for favors, but you're not like them. Fred's my friend, and I was hoping, maybe you'd be okay if we were more than just friends." He looked away from her when he said this. It was only a matter of seconds before reality set in, before she made her choice. What if she was joking before, or bored? He didn't know what he'd do if she said 'no', but he was sure he was about to find out. He started to prepare his mind for that trip back to "normal" life when….

She pecked him on the cheek!

His eyes widened and he snapped his head right to look at her. She laughed at the stricken expression on his face, the mixture of horror and relief and surprise. Eventually a smile crept across his lips and his lids and body relaxed. He pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Xara."

"I love you, too, Romeo."

Aaand day one of the February Tales! So sorry this came out a day late, but writer's block, man. It just won't leave me alone. Well, be sure to leave a new suggestion! I'll definitely consider some of the previous ones, but I think it's always good to freshen the batch, y'know? I might even give a ship of my own. Well, bye! Close it, Bob. I'll try to get in touch with Crisper.

Bob: (closes it)