Enjoy :)

You should all know how the horizontal line thing works now, so I'm gonna stop including that disclaimer, okay? Cool.

The next day, Greg walked down the sidewalk, alongside a girl. It was cold outside, today, but that wasn't why Greg's ears were turning red. "Thanks again for letting me come hang out with you today, Mandy. It was fun to meet your mom." Greg reached over and grabbed her hand nervously.

Mandy was a thin, short girl with purple hair and dark clothes. She showed off her cute smile when Greg grabbed her hand. In a confident, happy voice, she replied, "Thanks for coming over, Greg. I think my mom really liked you." She swayed their hands back and forth lazily as they walked.

Greg laughed. "Y-you think so? I was kinda worried there for a minute."

Mandy quickly replied, "Dude, she loved you. You're fine. She probably won't shut up about you."

Greg smiled; he liked this. Holding hands is nice. "You'll have to come to meet my little brother sometime. He's gonna be asking me questions about what I was up to all night."

It was Mandy's turn to laugh, now. "I bet he will be. I forget, how old did you say he was?"

Greg enthusiastically replied, "He just turned four! Wanna see a picture?" Mandy nodded and watched as Greg used his free hand to grab his wallet from his back pocket. She looked at the picture that he had in a little plastic holder in his wallet. "See? Here we are earlier this summer at the beach." Indeed, it was a little photo of Finn standing on Greg's shoulders. They were both flexing their muscles with big smiles. "My hair was kinda weird, that day, but Finn looks cute."

Mandy giggled. "I think your hair looks cute there, too!"

Greg grinned and said, "Thanks."

Mandy added, "Nice swimsuits, too. They leave little to the imagination."

Greg's ears got a little redder; Mandy always has something witty to say. "Oh, uh, yeah. Y'know. Swim briefs are my favorites." In his mind, Greg shouted at himself, Shut up, Greg, you're making it worse. "Finn tries to copy everything I do. Including my swimwear."

Mandy nodded as Greg put away his wallet and the picture. "He's a clever boy. Big brother definitely looks good in them."

Okay, now Greg's cheeks were turning red. They stopped at a street crossing. "Well, this is my street." Mandy's mom said she could walk with Greg until he got to his street.

Mandy tapped her chin. "Already? Jeez, you walk too fast."

Greg shrugged and said, "Sorry. Just, y'know, you were holding my hand, and I liked that." Greg's voice died out, and the two of them just stared at each other's eyes.

Mandy replied, "I liked it, too."

Greg felt his heart thumping. He gulped. "Mandy?"

Mandy quietly said, "If you're about to ask to kiss me, just do it."

"C-can I kiss–wait, huh? Oh, okay!" He paused for a second and then went for it when he realized what she had said. Greg turned his head a bit so their noses wouldn't bump, and their lips made contact. For a few seconds, they kept it like that.

After a few seconds, Mandy pulled back and then hugged Greg. "Bye, Greg. Tell your little brother you got to kiss a girl today." She turned around and trotted off happily.

Greg could barely see straight; he finally worked up enough sense to say, "A cute one, too!"

Mandy giggled but kept on going. "Seeya!"

Greg called back, "Seeya!" After a minute or so, Greg was steady enough to walk again. All the blood had rushed from his head to… well, never mind that, it was under control now.

As Greg scurried home, he eventually saw his house; his Dad was at the car, getting ready to leave for work, probably. "Dad!"

Alan looked up. "Well, there's the big man himself. How'd your date go?"

Greg scoffed. "It wasn't a date, dad. We just worked on homework and played video games."

Alan laughed. "Fine, play date, then. Finn will be jealous."

Greg punched Alan in the arm and playfully said, "Dad, shut up! We just hung out."

Alan shut the car door and turned around feistily. "Oh, you wanna fight me now, huh?"

Greg tossed his backpack in the grass. "Sure!" Ever since Finn had gotten old enough to roughhouse with Greg and Alan, all of them have been a bit more playful with each other. Today was no exception.

Alan threw a light punch at Greg's arm. "How you like that one?"

Greg said, "Psht. C'mon old man, is that all you got?" It actually did hurt, but this was one of those strange male rituals where you're not supposed to show pain.

Alan looked slightly annoyed when he replied, "Hey. I'm not old." Greg smiled haphazardly, and Alan said, "Gimme another good one before I have to go." Alan flexed his arm.

Greg replied, "Alright." He stuck his tongue out and then punched Alan's arm. "How's that?"

Alan laughed and said, "Weak!" He gave Greg a slightly harder punch on his arm and then smacked him on the shoulder. "Alright, now, c'mon kid, I've gotta go soon. Connor is in the house with Finn. He said you told him to come over."

Greg nodded. That last hit really hurt, but he didn't let it show. "Yeah, I did. I didn't think he'd be here this early though." Greg scratched his chin. "I bet him and Finn are up to something."

Alan shrugged. "Maybe so. I've already given Finn my little speech about him behaving while I'm gone. He shouldn't be much trouble."

Greg stopped at the front door. "Thanks, Dad."

Alan replied, "No problem, kiddo. If you need anything, call Connor's mom. She knows what is going on. I'm working in the ER tonight, so I will probably be too busy to take calls." Alan paused and let go of the door. "How did it go with Mandy, though?"

Greg shyly said, "We kissed a few minutes ago when she had to go back home." He grabbed the doorknob and opened it.

Alan laughed; that was all he needed to hear to know that it went well. "Good for you, kiddo."

Meanwhile, at Romeo's lab, Amaya put on a welder's mask. "So, we're building a spaceship?" She was wearing heavy pants and a long sleeve shirt, today.

Romeo replied, "Yep. I've been communicating with the other universe. I mean, as we saw the other day, it is another Romeo. We have agreed to try and cross the barrier and meet up. So I'm building a ship to take up to the anomaly."

Amaya nodded and grabbed the torch. She whistled, "Robot! Line 'em up!" Robot placed two sheets of thick metal in front of Amaya. "Ready?"

Romeo pulled down his goggles and touched a button on them; they went dark. "Go for it. We only have to weld a dozen or so of these together, and then Robot is gonna handle the rest of it tonight. Our hands will be full constructing the interior of the ship."

Amaya flipped her mask down and started welding. "How long you think it'll take to have the ship ready?"

"A few weeks, maybe a month. Less if your PJ Robot helps out some." After a few moments of silence, Romeo added, "So, uh, about that kiss the other night…"

Amaya quickly replied, "It was nothing. Just a peck on the cheek because you helped out." Amaya was definitely lying, but she was good at it. She wasn't ready to tell Romeo her feelings for him quite yet. Maybe because she didn't even know, herself.

Romeo sighed. "Fair enough. Thanks for the help with the welding… You've always been better at it than me."

Amaya said, "I know!"

Later that night, at Greg's house, Finn and Connor laughed hysterically as Greg sat up and wiped his eyes in a rather large bathtub. "Connor!" Something was off, though; Greg was clothed.

After several seconds, Connor started to help Finn, who was still naked and dripping wet, dry off. Connor replied, "You know, Greg, you should be more careful in the bathroom. The floor is all slippery and stuff."

Finn said, "Yeah Greggy, be more caweful! The floor is slippy slippy!"

Greg scowled. "So this stupid prank was what you two were planning all afternoon? Lame."

Connor stuck out his tongue, and Finn followed suit. "It was Finn's idea," Connor revealed.

Finn smiled wide and put his hands on his hips triumphantly. "It was funny!" He did a cute little dance to emphasize his point.

Connor offered Finn a high five. "Good stuff, little man!" Finn enthusiastically slapped Connor's hand.

Greg rolled his eyes. He was kinda angry about it but was impressed to see Finn thinking creatively, so he kept the anger to himself. "Well, fine. You got me, Finny. Just make your next prank something less likely to hurt me, okay?"

Finn nodded. "Okay."

Greg sighed. "Well, I was gonna take a shower later, but I guess I might as well do it now." He looked at Connor. "Can you handle him?"

Connor said, "Sure."

Greg said, "Alright, Finn, go with Connor and get dressed. You two try not to destroy the house while I shower."

Connor wrapped the towel around Finn's midsection. "C'mon, Finny boy."

Finn held Connor's hand, and just as they left, Finn said, "Wash off all your cooties, Greggy!"

Connor added, "Yeah, smooching on girls, what an icky thing to do, right Finn?"

"Yeah! Icky icky!"

Greg chuckled as he removed his shirt. Finn had been declaring that Greg had cooties ever since he told Finn that he and Mandy kissed earlier today. The very thought of that made his heart flutter. He looked over at the shower stall a few steps from the tub. "Maybe I'll need a cold shower…"

About 30 minutes later, Greg walked out of his room in just his pajama top and a pair of briefs. It was too warm in the house for pants right after that shower. He had chickened out of taking an actual cold shower; he started the first thirty seconds or so with the water chilly. It was unbearable, though, so he had instead turned up the heat and relaxed instead.

As he walked, Greg noticed it was totally silent upstairs. He didn't like that. What madness were Finn and Connor getting into downstairs? It was Finn's bedtime, and Greg was already a bit angry with Connor for pushing him into the tub earlier.

He trotted down the stairs with his towel around his neck. He heard the TV playing in the living room. He scurried down the hallway and into the living room. "Connor? Where are–" He stopped talking when he saw the scene in front of him, and he was instantly no longer angry with Connor.

Connor and Finn were laying on the couch together watching one of the preschool channels that Finn likes. Well, watching wasn't the right word; they were asleep. Greg smiled and suppressed a laugh. Finn, in just a pair of superhero briefs, was sitting on Connor's lap, sucking his thumb. Connor, on the other hand, had a blue pacifier in his mouth. Greg snickered; he knew where they had gotten that pacifier. Greg wasn't surprised that Finn had fallen asleep this quickly; he and Connor had made sure to play really hard tonight so that Finn would fall asleep soon after his bath. Similarly, it seems Connor was pretty tired from it all, too.

Greg went over to where the pair were reclined on one of the fold-out reclining portions of the couch. He touched Finn's head gently. He whispered, "Finn Hollis Edmonds."

Finn opened his eyes slowly and removed his thumb from his mouth. "Huh?" It was very rare that someone called him by his full name.

Greg pointed at Connor's mouth. "Did you put that there?"

Finn rubbed his eyes and looked. Then, he smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Connor was breathin' too loud, so I gived him my paci."

Greg laughed inwardly, but on the outside, he quietly said, "You're a sweet boy, Finn. Wanna go to your big boy bed?" He gently used his hand to play with Finn's hair. God, this was the most adorable thing he had seen Finn do in a while.

Finn shook his head tiredly. "Nuh uh." He gripped Connor's arm a bit tighter.

Greg nodded. "Okay. I am gonna go call Connor's mom and tell her where he is. Then can I come back and cuddle with you guys?"

Finn yawned and replied, "Okay. Greggy can cuddle too."

Greg said, "Can I have hugs before you go back to sleep?"

Finn let go of Connor's arm and reached out to Greg. Greg scooped him up and gave him a big hug. "Gosh, I love you, Finny."

Finn tiredly whispered, "I love you, Greggy." He kissed his big brother on the cheek.

Greg gently sat Finn down in Connor's lap, where the little one quickly resumed his previous cuddly position. "I'm gonna go call Miss Hazel and get us some blankets, Finny."

Greg walked toward his room to get some blankets and his cell phone. He had to take a picture of this. Greg knows at least five people that needed to see a picture of this scene. He snapped his fingers as he entered his room. He should probably grab Connor's spare set of sleep clothes that he keeps in Greg's dresser for occasions like this. Greg hated to wake him up to change, but Greg would be annoyed in Connor's place.

Greg smiled as he left the room. Having a little brother is fun.