(11) First Kiss

"Hey, Sharky, does it bother you that we can't…" Lavagirl trailed off, glancing away shyly.

Sharkboy looked over to her, once again momentarily startled when the first thing he saw was the top of her head. They'd both been changing in these past couple of years a fact LG attributed to Max growing up too but Sharkboy, in particular, had been shooting up in height, having finally grown taller than his partner a few months ago; much to Lavagirl's annoyance.

"We can't… what?" he asked.

LG bit her lip, a bright pink blush spreading across her cheeks. It was adorable, and Sharkboy abandoned all thoughts of taking mercy on her by letting the topic drop.

"C'mon," he pushed, giving a sneaky little grin. "You know you can say anything to me."

"Does it… does it bother you that we can't—" she looked away again "—kiss?"

"Oh."

'Oooohhhhh.'

With a face that was probably the same shade as LG's hair, Sharkboy glanced down at their intertwined pinkies, the only little bit of touch they could enjoy. Even this had taken time —they used to only be able to brush fingertips— and came with its own dangers, but he loved it too much to care. Most of his time was devoted to being the King of the Ocean and searching for his dad, so his visits with Lavagirl, with long walks on the beach, or even just talking for hours, were rare, sweet treasures.

"No," he said after a moment. "Not, really."

To his surprise, Lavagirl pulled back, tugging her hand from hers, looking hurt. "You don't want to kiss me?"

'Shit!'

"No! No, that's not it at all! I've wanted to kiss you for years," he babbled. "It's just that- that I know we can't, so why get hung up on it?"

"...You've wanted to kiss me for years?" Lavagirl asked, cocking her head as a small grin tugged at her lips.

Now it was Sharkboy's turn to duck his head and look away in embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck, nearly scratching himself, and said, "I mean, yeah…. Since it first learned what kissing was. But we can't, and I'm happy with what we have, so why bother wishing for the impossible?"

He could dream though. God, he could dream of kissing Lavagirl, of touching her hair, and holding her in her arms. Sometimes it was all he ever dreamed of, and, sometimes, he hated that Max dreamed them up this way. Being so different, so incompatible, and yet so irresistibly drawn to each other. Except, in the end, reality was cruel, and Sharkboy knew better than to long for the impossible.

"Oh, that makes sense," Lavagirl whispered, brushing their fingertips together once more. "But I only asked because I… I think I may have thought of a way for us to do it."

"To kiss?" he asked, the blush on his face creeping down his neck. "How?"

Lavagirl took a deep breath, "You know how I cool down enough to touch when I'm asleep? Well, what if you kiss me when I'm sleeping? So long as I don't wake up, you should be fine."

'Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.'

"I don't know," Sharkboy said, trying to ignore the thoughts and images racing through his mind. His mind had been coming up with more and more… creative images recently, which Sharkboy firmly blamed on Max and his puberty. "I mean, you wouldn't remember it happening that way. Would you?"

"No," LG admitted. "But I'll know it happened, and I'll know it was with you, so its okay. It'll be like one of those fairytales where a prince kisses the princess to save the day."

For a second, Sharkboy considered reminding his partner that he was king and she was queen, Queen of the Volcanos, but shoved that thought away because THAT made him think of how every king needs a queen.

"Doesn't the prince kiss the princess to wake her up in that story?" he asked. "And I'm still not sure—"

"It's fine," Lavagirl said, cutting him off as she pulled away again. "Sorry for bringing it up. It was stupid to think that—"

His partner sounded like she was about to cry, turning away from him to hide her face. As always, Sharkboy felt his heart lurch; he hated when Lavagirl was upset and hated when she retreated in on herself. All he wanted was for her to be happy, all he wanted was to make her happy.

"I'll do it," he said, in turn cutting his partner off.

Lavagirl's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Yeah, tonight," he nodded. "I'll do it tonight."

The smile LG gave him was so bright he swore that it was brighter than any light in the universe.


"Are you going to sing me to sleep, Sharky?" Lavagirl teased as she settled back into the soft sand, one arm tucked behind her head.

"Considering my last lullaby gave someone nightmares, I probably shouldn't," he joked, stretching out beside her.

"Shame," his partner hummed, already falling asleep. "I like the sound of your voice."

Sharkboy felt himself smile like an idiot as he hummed a simple tune, watching as Lavagirl drifted further and further off. Soon enough, her breathing had leveled out and her body relaxed completely. The true test, however, came when he took off his glove and delicately took his girlfriend's hand.

'Warm and soft,' he thought, lacing their fingers together. 'Warm but not burning.'

Lavagirl was safe to touch now but Sharkgirl still found himself staring at her lips for a long while, trying to build up the courage to do what he promised. It shouldn't have been hard, not after everything he's accomplished. But… What if he screwed this up?

'Could I screw it up more than if I didn't do it at all?' he reminded himself. 'C'mon, you promised LG you'd do this! I'll make her happy!'

Before what little courage he'd manage to gather fled, Sharkboy leaned over his sleeping partner and pressed his lips against hers.

Hard.

Too Hard.

"Ermmmm," Lavagirl gruntled, face scrunching up as she began to wake up.

The skin underneath his lips began heating up and Sharkboy jumped back, just before LG's eyes shot open. The air around them immediately heated back up, the sand growing warm underneath them, and Sharkboy fought the urge to flee into the ocean, his skin already turning dry and itchy.

"What happened?" Lavagirl asked, sitting up and blinking at him in confusion. "Did it work?"

Sharkboy licked his own lip, the reality that they just had their first kiss finally dawning on him. "Y-yeah."

"Well, how was it?" she asked eagerly, leaning close.

Too close. So close that he was tempted to lean in and kiss her again.

"G-good."

It hadn't been, not really. He's basically just knocked their mouths together; in fact, Sharkboy was pretty sure that he'd cut the inside of his mouth on his own teeth. And yet… Lavagirl's lips had been warm, but in the right way. They'd tasted sweet too, though that could have been Sharkboy's imagination.

"I was a little rough though," he admitted.

Lavagirl frowned and gave a thoughtful hum. "I guess we'll just have to practice until we get it right."

"...Okay!"

And so they did. Night after night, Sharkboy kissed his love again and again until he got it right. Of course, he didn't quite know what it meant to get kissing 'right.' Yet he was pretty sure he was getting close the night he kissed Lavagirl again and again, only looking up after the fifth kiss to see her staring back at him through half-lidded eyes —just awake enough to know what was happening. And, when Sharkboy pulled back, she smiled at him.