One Little Kiss
By Cybra
A/N: Written for a challenge. Also, it's a—gasp!—future fic.
Disclaimer: Codename: Kids Next Door is the brainchild of Tom Warburton. Fear him.
Valentine's Day.
Nigel Uno focused intently on the interior of his locker, pointedly ignoring all of the pink, red, and white hearts, streamers, balloons, and stuffed bears around campus.
Not an easy task. All of the above were everywhere.
And they always reminded him of Valentine's Days of the past…or, as he liked to call them, "Annual Breakup Days." Starting with his first girlfriend Lizzie, he had always broken up with a significant other on Valentine's Day even if it seemed like the relationship had been going so well.
The Lizzie breakup that seemed to start the trend never really made sense though. They had been arguing over something—He did not even remember what anymore—and then she had broken off their relationship. There had been two more breakups afterwards like that, but from then on he could remember the exact details of each and every one.
Like last year when he broke up with Travis. He had laid down a firm "don't touch me unless I say it's okay" rule that the other boy had seemed to follow for most of the year. Then along came Annual Breakup Day, and Travis had gotten bold and groped him during a kiss, something that Nigel had told him never to do.
That relationship had ended with a fist in the mouth and a missing tooth for Travis.
But this past year had been all right. He had not found a new boyfriend but that had been planned. As he had told his two best friends, he was on a dating hiatus. This year, Valentine's Day sucked because of bad memories and the simple fact that it was Valentine's Day.
"One full year without dating. I can't believe you made it," a new voice said from behind.
"You doubt my willpower, Numbuh 2?" Nigel asked, turning around to face Hoagie P. Gilligan, Jr., with a smirk.
The nickname had originally started out as "Number 2" due to the almost perfectly-matched tattoos on the two boys' left ankles: a set of stylized numbers. Over time, "Number" had degenerated into "Numbuh." Nigel himself went by "Numbuh 1" because of his tattoo. The third member of their little group who was not currently present—Wallace "Wallabee" Beetles—joined them later after they discovered a stylized four on his left ankle that was in the exact same style as the first two. Predictably, Wallabee went by "Numbuh 4."
"Doubt your willpower? No way. But you've pretty much destroyed all chances of going out with anyone since you've rejected just about everyone in this school now."
A slim brow arched over a pair of sunglasses. "Then I guess it's a permanent hiatus, isn't it?"
Hoagie shook his head. "You're cursed, I swear."
"Just what everyone wants to hear from their best friend." Nigel slammed the locker door shut and glared at the pink hearts someone had haphazardly decorated it with. Snarling, he reached up and started peeling them off one by one.
"Your favorite time of year," Hoagie chirped.
"Don't get me started."
"Wouldn't dream of sitting through that rant-fest again. Numbuh 4's gonna meet us at the Burger Frenzy."
Nigel blinked. "He's driving now?"
Hoagie shuddered. "Yes."
"Warn me, and I'll stay off the road when he's on it."
The pair strolled down the hallway of the emptied high school and out into the parking lot. They were usually among the last to leave. Hoagie had Robotics Club (which he had started) while Nigel normally did his homework in the school library.
"Like you ever drive," Hoagie mocked. "You have me do all the driving."
"You've never complained before." The eyebrow rose over the sunglasses again. "Would you prefer I drove this time?"
"No way. I'd prefer not having a huge dent in my baby's side, thank you very much."
Nigel glared as he slid into the passenger's seat of Hoagie's rebuilt Ford Mustang. "That wasn't my fault."
"I know. But it's Valentine's Day, and we know your luck today."
Nigel crossed his arms and stared out the window. "Rub it in, why don't you?"
Silence from the driver's seat. Then a sigh. "Sorry, Numbuh 1. I was only kidding."
"Yeah, I know." Nigel gazed out the window for a minute more before he turned to Hoagie. "So, how did that test in Bio go?"
"I swear I studied like mad for that test, but there was nothing in the notes on it…!"
The drive to the Burger Frenzy was spent with Hoagie railing against his "Evil Biology Teacher of Doom" along with Nigel's own snide comments about his "US History Teacher from Hell." It served as a welcome distraction to all of the "romantic" decorations that had suddenly sprung up around town.
When they arrived at Burger Frenzy, Nigel saw Wallabee sitting with a girl in one of the booths through one of the large restaurant windows. He moaned and sank low in his seat. The universe was conspiring against him; he just knew it.
Hoagie said needlessly, "Must be Numbuh 4's new girlfriend. Carrie?"
"Kuki. She's in my US History class."
"Oh." Hoagie turned off the car and shoved his keys into his pocket. His hand paused for a minute before he fished something else out. "Oh, yeah! I've been meaning to give this to you all day!"
Nigel raised an eyebrow and gave a questioning look at Hoagie's closed hand. "It's not one of those dorky valentines we used to give out in grade school, is it?"
"You'd kill me if it was," Hoagie said with a cheery grin. "Just hold out your hand."
Reluctantly, Nigel obeyed, feeling slightly guilty that he had not gotten anything for his friend.
Hoagie deposited what was once a drop-shaped chocolate wrapped in red foil into his hand. After being so long in the brown-haired boy's pocket for so long, it had gotten smashed and was now slightly melted. "Sorry it's smooshed."
Nigel stared down at the chocolate in his hand, a small smile on his face. Hoagie always seemed to know how to make him feel better with things like this. And using chocolate today would definitely help soothe the hurt of bad Valentine's memories.
Still, it was strange for one boy to give another chocolate. True, Hoagie did it on a fairly regular basis—Nigel's willpower went almost completely out the window when it came to the dark candy—but to give him some on Valentine's Day would have been awkward in front of the other students. Even now there was a sort of underlying awkwardness in the gesture that had never been there before.
Rather than eating the candy right away, he put it in his pocket. He said as they exited the car, "I'll eat it later. Numbuh 4's waiting for us."
"Wait. You're not eating chocolate right away? Is the Apocalypse here at last?" Hoagie teased.
Nigel punched him in the arm.
That night, Nigel pulled the Hershey's kiss from his pocket and stared down at it in his hand. It had gotten a little more smooshed. It was also still warm.
He slowly unwrapped the foil and popped the source of sugary goodness into his mouth. The warm chocolate melted even further.
Closing his eyes in contentment, he thought back to Hoagie. Now that he thought about it, the other boy had never dated. Not once had he asked out a girl or even accepted one's invitation to go to the movies or something.
This train of thought led to Nigel thinking about the two of them. The pair of them had grown so close that they were almost inseparable now. Teachers deliberately assigned them to seats on opposite sides of the room when they had the same classes due to their passing notes, quiet talking, or occasional snickering. And Hoagie was probably the only person who could predict what he was going to do with a ninety-percent accuracy rate.
He contemplated this as the chocolate in his mouth continued to melt. Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, he could see why some people had snidely asked if he and Hoagie had started going out yet. Both had hotly protested against the accusations, and Hoagie once had to hold him back from socking some guy in the jaw at one rather lewd comment that had accompanied the question.
And then there was that sweet chocolate in his mouth that Hoagie, against all unspoken rules, had given him on Valentine's Day.
The last of the candy melted away.
Why was it that he was always blind to something that was right in front of him? It really was an annoying habit.
Nigel made a mental note to ask Hoagie the next day if he would like to go to the movies, just the two of them.
He curled up in bed and went to sleep, the taste of the kiss still in his mouth.