author's notes: i guess i should a spoiler warning for CAKED-FIVE on this chapter. though i guess it's not really all that spoiler-y. it involves Numbuh 86 gossip. also, for those of you who haven't seen DIAPER, Numbuh Five casually mentions having an older brother in that episode. i wonder if he'll ever be on the show? anyways, this chapter is a direct continuation of last chapter. so i hope you remember what happened in it. :P

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Abby's face was pressed against Chad's chest, her tears soaking through his shirt. Her body continued to shake from the violent emotions raging inside her small frame, yet somehow Chad's arms around her had a steadying, calming effect that slowly but surely soothed her inner turmoil. At that moment, Abby didn't care what anyone else was thinking. She didn't care that Maurice was probably mentally adding this to his list of evidence against her, she didn't care that this would only confirm Cree's belief that she and Chad were a couple. She didn't even care what wrong message she might be sending to Chad, who, after all, did once try to kiss her. All she cared about at that moment was that she needed to be comforted, and right then, clinging to Chad did just that.

Eventually her sobbing ceased, and she was able to breathe steadily. It was then that she once again started to care what others were thinking. She lifted her head from Chad's chest, and he slowly released his grasp on her. She felt her cheeks reddening and found that she couldn't look up at his face. She embarrassedly brushed at his damp shirt, as if her tears could be swept away like lint or cat hair.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't apologize," he answered softly.

Abby took a breath to brace herself and peered up at him. He was gazing down at her with a concerned expression, which somehow made her feel more self-conscious.

With a tiny gasp she suddenly remembered Cree and Maurice; she could almost feel them staring at the two of them; Maurice glaring, Cree with that knowing grin she always wore whenever Abby and Chad interacted. She turned abruptly and was surprised to see no one. Neither Cree nor Maurice was standing behind her. There was only her hat on the ground near her feet.

"They left," Chad informed her in a rather obvious statement as he bent down to retrieve her hat.

Abby turned back to him.

"The invitation to talk is still open."

"I…um…" she hedged. And for a moment she wondered if Cree were right after all; maybe she and Chad--

But then he smiled, grinned, rather, and plopped her hat on her head, pulling it down over her eyes. "Whenever you're ready, okay?"

Abby laughed and swatted his hand away, her previous thought dismissed, then adjusted her hat and looked up at Chad with an open smile. Something about him at that moment reminded her of her big brother, long since moved away. But even more, he reminded her of Cree, back when she was leader of Sector V.

"Okay," she nodded. "I will. Thanks."

---

Maurice didn't know what to think when he saw Abby throw herself into Chad's arms. He supposed he should have expected it. But that didn't make the sight of them together any less painful. It was his own fault, anyways. I should have trusted her. He knew he should have, even as he called the Covert Teen Headquarters to report suspicious teen activity. But I didn't report her directly—that counts for something, right? And how was I supposed to know that Sector V would be sent? But he knew he was just making excuses. He should have talked to her. This pain was no less than he deserved. Even still, when he saw Cree enter the house, he followed her. Anything so he wouldn't have to see the two of them.

The kitchen was still too close. It was as if the two of them, Abby and Chad, together, was a presence that could be felt, even through walls. He pushed through the kitchen door into the living room. He heard Cree follow behind him.

"She loves him, doesn't she?" Maurice had never imagined that he would find himself wishing he were Chad.

"I'm happy for them," was Cree's quiet reply.

Both of them were too absorbed in their own thoughts to notice anything unusual about the other's words.

---

Chad and Abby sat outside of Müller's Deli, each with their respectively paid for sandwiches. It was a warm, sunny afternoon, but fortunately it wasn't too crowded.

"It's weird," Abby said, "calling up someone with the specific purpose of talking to that person. Because when you're calling to talk, you're technically already talking."

"True," replied Chad, "but you might say the call is for a chat, rather than an actual talk."

"I guess so," she said with a small grin then took a bite out of her sandwich so she wouldn't have to say anything for at least a little while. Even though she was the one to call him to talk, she suddenly found that she had no idea where to start. She also began wondering if talking to Chad was a wise idea after all.

She peered over at Chad, who was eating in silence as well, gazing out into the street. Abby wondered if he were doing so to give her time to start the conversation, patiently biding his time, or if he were actually lost in his own thoughts. Knowing him, it was probably the former. Chad was one of the nicest people she knew. Which was strange, because even back when he was Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, he always seemed rather cold and distant. And before she "joined" the teens, she thought he was a stuck-up jerk. She speculated if he had changed over the years, or if he was always this way and she never noticed until now. Or maybe, she considered further, he's nice to me because he's in love with my sister.

"How's your sandwich?" Chad finally broke the silence.

"Pretty good. Though they went a little heavy on the mustard."

"Yeah, they do that sometimes." He paused for another moment and continued on a completely different subject. "You know, I haven't seen the members of my former sector in years."

Abby turned to look at him, but he was still staring out to the street.

"Unless you count Kenny, but he's kind of in a category by himself," he chuckled, referring to the reunion fiasco that Cree had attempted to set up a while back. "But yeah, Jessie was about your age, she might be decommissioned by now. Brian was younger, so he should still be an operative unless he got himself killed, which, knowing him, is pretty likely."

Abby listened with interest; she knew very little about his former sector, Q, though she had heard rumors that they had split up just before Chad became Supreme Leader.

"I guess technically the Moonbase officers were my sector too. But I never really got too close to them. I did work with Numbuh 362 a lot. It was pretty clear she was next in line. But I wouldn't really call her a friend. Same goes for 86. We worked together, but we weren't friends, so now when she comes by every once in a while to try to decommission me, it's not that big a deal."

Abby saw where he was going with the conversation now. But she still wasn't sure she was ready to talk about it. Instead she said, "So Fanny comes after you, too? Just last week she tried to corner me in the girls' locker room."

Chad looked at her with a pseudo-shocked expression. "Did she? I've heard the rumors about 86, but I never really knew…."

She laughed. "Get your mind out of the gutter; you know that's not what I meant."

"I'm just saying…I've heard rumors…."

"Besides, she had a crush on Numbuh Four."

"Did she?"

"And she kissed that nineteenth century guy."

"Wait—who?"

Abby knew that she probably should be having a more serious discussion with Chad, but gossiping about Fanny was easier, and a hell of lot more fun.

"…so I unlock the cell and walk in to see Fanny kissing—"

Abby's cell phone suddenly rang. "Damn, right at the good part, too," she heard Chad snicker as she answered it.

"Talk to me. Oh, hi, Sis. Nothing much. Oh, now?" She glanced at her watch. "I guess not. Okay, see you then." She turned to Chad. "Do you have your cell phone?"

"Um…yeah," he answered, fishing around in his pocket.

"Cree should be calling you soon."

And sure enough, his phone rang right then. "Hello? Hey, Cree, what's—? Oh, I was just having lunch with—"

He was interrupted by a sharp elbow in his ribs. He turned to see Abby shaking her head violently.

"I was just having lunch," he corrected himself, glaring at Abby reproachfully as he rubbed his injured side. But then he smiled at a comment from Cree, glancing down at his sandwich. "Yeah, what if I am? I do not eat too much bologna. Well, you eat too much yogurt."

Abby consumed her sandwich and watched Chad as he talked to her sister. There was a different energy about him, almost a glow, that he had only when interacting with Cree. It was sweet...and kind of pathetic. She let out a short laugh—that was just a little mocking—and immediately tried to disguise it as a cough.

Chad turned to her, almost surprised, as if he had forgotten she was there. "Oh—I'm sorry," he said, and Abby was uncertain who he was addressing that to. "Cree, I gotta go now, but I'll see you soon. Okay, bye." He put his phone away and turned to Abby. "I'm sorry, that was really rude of me. So I guess Cree just told you that we're having a meeting in half an hour?"

He noticed Abby smirking at him.

"What?"

"You're in looooove with Creeeee," she said, drawing out the vowels in a taunting manner.

Chad furrowed his brows at her. "Yeah? So what are you gonna do about it?" he asked with exaggerated defensiveness.

"When are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know…soon. Besides, weren't we supposed to be talking about you?"

"We were, but we got sidetracked talking about Fanny and that girly-boy she was kissing. Anyways, she decommissioned him, so it's not like their relationship has much of a future. Like a certain other relationship won't if someone doesn't talk to Cree," she added pointedly.

Chad's only reply was to take a large bite of his sandwich, a tactic that Abby had already used herself and therefore could see through easily.

"Seriously," she badgered, "why haven't you told her yet?"

"Haven't we had this conversation already?"

"So I'm guessing the answer to why you haven't said anything is the same? Cowardice?"

"Exactly."

"Hmph." Abby stood up. "Well, I guess I'll head home now. But you should stay and finish your lunch."

"Hold on, I'm almost done." He jammed the remainder of his sandwich in his mouth and stood as well. "We can walk together," he said, mouth full. Swallowing hard, he continued in a clearer tone, "that way I can bug you about your personal life."

"Um, that's okay, I was thinking of running an errand before the meeting."

"I'll join you."

"Uh…here's the thing…I don't want people getting the wrong impression, and if we get back to my home at the same time, people will be getting the wrong impression, if you know what I mean."

From the expression on Chad's face, he clearly didn't know what she meant.

"It's for your own good, too, Chad. Cree already thinks we're dating, and if we arrive home together it'll only confirm her suspicions."

"Cree thinks we're dating?" he asked, baffled.

"What planet are you on? Weren't you there that day we were at Romantic Burger?"

"Yeah, but that was so long ago, and she hasn't said anything since. I kind of think she was kidding back then or something."

"What? She hasn't said anything to you about it since?" Abby gaped at him. "Not a day goes by without her teasing me about us dating! I deny it every time but she just won't stop!"

"Really? And you're sure she's not joking?"

"Positive!"

"Huh…okay," he said, doubt clear in his voice. "Well, if it means that much to you, I'll give you a five minute head start." He looked at his watch, trying to suppress a grin. "Starting…now. See you later." He waved.

Abby gave him a dirty look before walking away.

---

Abby arrived home ten minutes before the meeting was due to start. She decided to go to her room to lay low for a while; she was already regretting agreeing to the meeting at all.

She saw Cree in the hall.

"Oh, good, you're back already. I was thinking, it's so nice out, why don't we have the meeting outside in the backyard today? We have some lawn chairs in the garage, don't we?"

"I don't know. I think so. I'm going to my room for a bit. Call me when you want to start the meeting."

"Oh, okay," Cree said, but then paused. "Wait, Abby, there's something on your shirt." She walked up to her and pointed at a yellowish stain. "What is that, mustard?"

Abby looked down. Sure enough, there was a blob of mustard on her shirt.

Cree grinned, putting two and two together with surprising speed. "You know, I think Chad was just eating lunch at Müller's…."

Abby groaned tiredly. "Ugh, why, why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" Cree asked innocently.

Abby glared at her sister through narrowed eyes. "You're just trying to trip me up. How many times do I need to tell you that I'm not dating Chad?"

"All I did was infer that both you and Chad seemed to be eating sandwiches today. But your overreaction seems highly suspicious."

With a final groan of frustration, Abby entered her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Cree lingered at Abby's door, the smirk on her face gradually fading. She sighed. She'd never admit it, but one of the reasons she kept teasing Abby about her relationship with Chad was because somewhere, deep inside her, she enjoyed hearing her sister deny it.