~Ronald's POV~

The next several weeks were a blast. Alan and Sable and I were practically inseparable. We were a team. Alan seemed just as much taken with our human friend as I was. Just... not on the romantic side of the spectrum.

How could she not see it? Surely she had to have caught me staring at her one of those times.

One day, we were hanging out on the roof, just the three of us, when I realized something. In the months that I had known Sable, I had never once heard her laugh. Sure, she would smile plenty of times, mostly at me. (Ah, that smile could melt an iceberg!)

But she never laughed. So that afternoon, I resolved that I would make her laugh.

"Say, Sable?" I said, nudging her shoulder.

"Mm? What's up?" She turned to look at me, a small smile on her face.

"Ya wanna hear a joke?" She raised an eyebrow.

"All right, but it better be appropriate for the company of a lady." I frowned.

"Would I do that to you, my sweet?" I teased, tilting her chin slightly. She mock-glared at me.

"You're pushing it real close, Knox." I laughed.

"All right, all right." I cleared my throat and put on my straight face. "What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back?" She thought.

"Dunno." I leaned closer.

"A stick." The corner of her mouth twitched. She snorted slightly, but didn't laugh.

"You got any other ones like that?"

"Plenty!" I told some more, none of which she laughed at. Finally, in frustration, I lay back on the roof and made a face with my tongue sticking out and my eyes crossed. I looked over at her, waiting.

All of a sudden, she looked at me and covered her mouth. She turned away for a second, and I could see her shoulders shaking.

And then... she laughed. She threw her head back and laughed, a clear, melodious laugh that gave me a fuzzy feeling in my stomach.

"You... you're really something, Ronald," she said finally. I sat up and smirked at her.

"And I finally got you to laugh." She smirked back.

"Is that what you were trying to do, you rascal?" She chuckled and tackled me.

~Sable's POV~

I tackled him and pushed him back to the roof. He laughed and flipped me over on my back, then grinned.

"I win." I pushed him over and got on top of him, crossing my arms over his chest and leaning my chin on my arms.

"Gotcha!" He chuckled.

"You certainly did." I could hear Alan scoffing in disgust and shuffling over to another part of the roof, out of eyeshot. "Aww, don't mind Alan. He gets uncomfortable with people acting like this." I giggled, then frowned.

"Acting like what?" He smiled.

"This." He sat up slightly, then ran his arm around my waist. Slowly, he leaned his forehead onto mine.

"...Ronald...?" I breathed out. He leaned closer, and then...

He kissed me. He actually kissed me.

I don't quite know how to describe that kiss, nor did I have anything to compare it to. It was my first.

His lips were warm against mine, and soft. Almost instinctively, I closed my eyes. My hands acted of their own accord and found their way about his neck.

He pulled away softly and touched my cheek. I tried to speak, but he kissed me again, just for a moment.

"Shh." He pressed a finger to my lips, then smiled at me. I nearly fainted. I wasn't dreaming. This really was happening! My first kiss... gone! Stolen by Ronald Knox!

Suddenly, he flipped me over onto my back and gazed down at me, eyes blazing. He kissed me again, harder and with more fervor than the first. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. What was happening to me? What was this... what was this heat sensation in the pit of my stomach that was slowly spreading to the rest of my body? Why did my fingers take on a life of their own and tangle themselves in his hair? Why was my brain not working? Why was my brain blacking ou-

"Ahaha, the joy of new love! Smile for the camera, darlings!" Ronald pulled away and growled in annoyance.

"Mr. Sutcliffe, doesn't the word 'privacy' mean anything to you?!" Grell laughed maniacally and jumped down from the smokestack. Ronald helped me to my feet and glared at the fangirling redhead. "Give me the camera, or I will personally break your nose."

Meanwhile, I slipped away unnoticed. I couldn't face what I had just done.

What had I just done? Kissed the man I had a major crush on? I couldn't process it. The brain that had served me so well thus far had finally encountered something that did not compute...

"What have I done?"