Disclaimer: I do not own The Simpsons, they are the property of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, James L. Brooks, and 20th Century FOX

A/N: Hey everyone! Before I mention what this installment is about, let me first say how terribly sorry I am for the long delay on this chapter, I promise the next chapter will not take so long to post. Also, I hope your New Year has been good so far!

In this installment, the focus will be on Marge and Bart getting to know their new neighbors. Marge and Ruth become fast friends, however, Bart and Laura's relationship will be a gradual process growing from friendship into eventual love. Also on another note, I had to go back and watch "New Kid On The Block" to see how the layout of the Power's house.

Love at First Sight

Written By: Super Saiyan Blue Juuhachi

Chapter 5: New Friends

"Hello?"

Marge walked through the front door, quietly closing it behind her as she observed the interior of the house. She not been in the house since The Winfield's had thrown a party a few years ago which resulted in Homer throwing up in the laundry hamper and them never getting invited back again, and their everlasting feud with them. In that time she had forgotten how nice the interior was and how similar the layout was to her own home.

In front of her was a large staircase leading to the second floor of the home, to her right was a closed-door, leading and to her right, she saw an archway leading into a living room type of area, with a white sofa and a window behind it and a glass coffee table positioned in front of it.

Just then a woman, appearing to be around her early to mid-'30s walked into the living room carrying a box. The woman wore a red bandana on her head, gold hoop earrings, a lavender sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to above her elbows, blue jeans, and brown sandals. She set down the box before the

"Yes, my name is Marge Simpson and I am the welcome wagon! ," The blue-haired woman smiled, holding up the wicker basket that was still positioned around her wrist. The woman smiled. "Oh thank you," She smiled, walking over to Marge. "That was very nice of you." She told her, "I am Ruth by the way,"

"Hello, Ruth, it's nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," Ruth said, "Would you like to sit down?"

"Thank you," Marge said graciously as the two women then walked into the living room area and Marge sat down. "Can I get you something to drink?" Ruth then asked, "No, thank you, I am good," Ruth then said down, as she did Marge removed the wicker basket from around her wrist and set it in front of the other woman.

"Let's see what we have here," Ruth said, slowly removing the contents from the basket. "Cookies, Fudge," She said, before pulling out a coupon for Moe's Tavern, "What is Moe's Tavern?" She asked, a look of confusion on her face "Oh, that is the local bar in town, my husband spends most of his free time there," She said, before then adding "Not to mention most of his paycheck,"

"I see," She replied, "They offer one free beer? I will check it out, thank you," Ruth then placed her hands on a DVD with the title "XXX BUTTS" printed on it. "And this is for the man of the house," Marge began, awkwardly "Which I guess is you," She said, before murmuring and pulling on her pearls uncomfortably,

"I guess I should explain," Ruth began, setting aside the DVD "Laura's father and I divorced two years ago, they're so sweet when you marry them but soon it just career, career, career." Marge once again murmured, unsure of what to say.

Outside, Bart and Laura have moved from the porch and are now sitting on the curb, neither saying a word. Bart turned to her awkwardly, "So," He began, rubbing his arm up and down nervously "Where are you from?"

"California," She answered, making his eyes light up "Hollywood California? Did you meet any movie stars?" He asked with excitement in his voice, making her laugh at his behavior "No, I didn't," She smiled, "I only lived there till I was 5 and then my parents and I moved away and began traveling to different parts of the world."

"Really?" Bart asks with interest "That sounds fun,"

"Sure it sounds that way," She began, "But trust me, it's not,"

"What do you mean, I don't understand."

"My father is a former corporal in the U.S. Military so we traveled around a lot which made it impossible for me to make friends."

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard to deal with," Bart said sympathetically, "It's okay, besides, I don't dwell on it," She said, dismissively, "Besides, that part of my life is over and now I am here in Springfield."

Bart smiled

"That's true," There was a brief silence between them before Laura "You want to do something?" She asked suddenly, changing the subject, catching Bart off guard "L-Like what?" He stammered, "I don't know," She said, pausing for a moment to try to think of something before turning her attention back to him. "How about you take me on a tour of the town?"Laura asked as she then stood up on her feet,

"You want me to show you around?" Bart looked up at her curiously "Sure, why not? I am new here and it would be helpful to have someone show me all the hip places to hang out," She told him "Of course, I understand if you don't want to," She shrugged and began to walk back towards the house "Wait!" He called, as he then scrambled to his feet "Don't go, I'll show you around," He told her, smiling as he scratched the back of his head.

"Great! You can show me around to all the cool hang-out places," She said smiling, as she walked past him leaving him standing there, confused and still scratching his head. "What just happened?" He asked himself when suddenly Laura called out to him "Hey, are you coming or what?"

" I am coming, hold up!" Bart called after her, coming back to his senses again, and raced to catch up with her, making her laugh once more. "What were you doing back there waiting for an invitation?" She teased him once more, making him give her a narrowed look "Shut up!" He said, making her laugh in response.

Bart proceeded to take Laura on a tour of the town, showing her the highlights of what the town had to offer, including all the popular places kids their age, hung out at which was Noise Land Arcade, The Android Dungeon, Aztec Theater, Springfield Googolplex Theaters, and the Kwik-E-Mart.

When they finished the tour, Laura said, "Thank you, Bart, for showing me around town, that was really nice of you."

"You're welcome," He said with a smile, "I was wondering though, what is that over there?" Laura asked, pointing at two cooling towers as gray smoke billowed heavily from them in the distance, looking almost ominously over the town. "Oh, that? That's the Nuclear Power Plant. It generates energy to the town,"

"Really?" She asked, curiously "Isn't that dangerous though? I mean what if something goes wrong?"

"It has been there for years and there has only been one threat in my lifetime where the plant almost had a nuclear meltdown and my Dad averted it," He explained, turning to look at her again

"You're Dad?" She asked,

"Yeah, at the moment he is up there working." He said, looking back at the plant.

"What does he do?"

"He is a safety technician," He replied, "He is on mandatory overtime now, so I haven't seen him at all for the last couple of weeks."

Just then Bart felt his pocket vibrate. He reached and pulled out his phone and saw he had received a text message.

"What is it?" She asked, noticing the intent look on his face. "It's my Mom she wants where I am," He answered, before typing a quick response before hitting send and putting the phone back in his pocket.

"What did you tell her?"

"I said that I was showing you around town and would be back soon."

"Oh, okay," She said, "You think I should text my mom and let her know where I am?"

"No, I am sure my Mom is still talking to her and will let her know what's going on." He explained, "Maybe," Laura responded, "if though they aren't, we better start back, it's getting kinda getting late and I have to unpack my stuff still."

"Okay," He said, a look of disappointment on his face at the thought of their time ending. He turned to his head and noticed they were still standing across the street from the Kwik-E-Mart. His eyes brightened as he suddenly got an idea before turning back to the girl in front of him. "Before we do that," He began, "Can I buy you a Squishee?"

Laura gave him a puzzled look

"What's a Squishee?"

Bart smiled in response "Come on, let me show you." He gestured for her to follow him, "What?" She asked confused "Come on," He motioned for her to follow him once more, after a brief delay she follows after him, going across the street to the Kwik-E-Mart and walked inside.

Moments later, the two teens were walking back to their homes, slurping on their Squishee's. Laura got a Blue Squishy and Bart got a Lime Green Squishy. "Not bad," Laura said, "What do you call this again?" She asked, "A Squishee," Bart replied, before going back to his frozen beverage.

"It's pretty good, I like it." She said, before going back to slurping on the Squishy. They soon finished them and arrived at their houses. Bart and Laura then walked inside the Powers new home, Bart closing the door behind him. The two could hear their mother's still talking making Laura laugh quietly, "You were right, they are still talking,"

"I told you," Bart said with a grin on his face. Hearing the two teens talking quietly, Ruth asked: "Hey you two just getting back?" Laura made her way to the living room, "Yeah, Mom," She responded "We just got back a few moments ago,"

"Where is Bart?" Marge asked, not seeing her son. "He's right behind me," Laura said, and as if on cue, the spiky-haired boy walked in the room. "Oh there you are," Marge smiled, "Ruth, I would like you to meet my son Bart Simpson."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'me," He said, extending his hand out to her, "Same here," She said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Bart showed me around town at a lot of the cool places to hang out at," She said, "He took me to the Kwik-E-Mart and bought us both these things called Squishee's," Laura told her mother, making Ruth give her a look of confusion

"What the hell is a Squishee?"

"A Squishee is a frozen drink that comes in a variety of flavors. It's quite popular here in Springfield." Bart explained, "I see," Ruth responded, still not quite understanding what he was talking about. "Well, Laura, I am glad you had a good time, but they're still is plenty of unpacking to do,"

"Okay, Mom," Laura said, she then turned to Bart "Thanks again Bart for the tour around town, it was great,"

"No problem, glad you enjoyed it," He said turning to look at her. "I guess I will see you at school then," Laura nodded her head "Yeah, see you at school," She said and with no more words retreated upstairs

"Well, Bart I guess we better going too," Marge said rising from her seat, "It's 3:30 we have some things to do before dinner,"

"Well, thanks for stopping by Marge, it was a pleasure getting to know you and your son," Ruth said, as she too stood up "Also, that was really nice of you to come over here and welcome us to the neighborhood like this, no one has ever done that before."

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Ruth," Marge said with a smile, she and Bart then began walking towards the door. "I hope you and your daughter like Springfield,"

"Thanks, I am sure we will" Ruth smiled, "Maybe we could hang out together sometime,"

"You mean like a Girl's Night Out?" Marge asked eyes wide with interest, "Yeah," Ruth replied, nodding her head "I would like that," Marge replied.

"Do you have your phone on you? I'll give you my phone number?" Ruth asked,

"All right," Marge said, pulling out her cell phone. The two women then proceeded to exchange contact information, as Bart watched this, he mentally kicked himself for not doing the same thing. "Why didn't think of that? I could have gotten her phone number! Bart you idiot!" He was brought back to reality when he heard his mother speak again, "Thanks Ruth," Marge said, opening the door,

"You're welcome," Ruth said, as mother and son then walked outside "We can talk later about when we want to hang out again. Also, I want to thank you for the treats, those were delicious I am sure Laura will like them too."She said, making Marge mile, "I am glad you enjoyed them," the blue-haired smiled before waving goodbye to her new friend "See you later!"

"Bye!" Ruth smiled and waved back before closing the door.

Marge and Bart then walked over back on their property and a few moments later had walked back through the front door. Marge walked into the kitchen to begin trying to figure out what to make for dinner, while Bart walked up into his room where he turned on his TV, Sony PlayStation 4, and put on one of his Assassin's Creed games.

A few years back, Homer had grown tired of his children monopolizing the television with their many programs and video games and so he bought them each their own television which was fine with him because he could play his game for as long as he wanted and not listen to Homer whine about not being able to watch TV.

However, because he was a minor he was not able to buy the more bloody games without his parents being with him and did not want to subject himself to that humiliation. So he stuck games like Assassin's Creed, Star Wars Battlefront, Uncharted games, and Tomb Raider games

An Hour Later

"KIDS DINNER!" Marge hollered, as soon as the words left her lips she heard the sounds of racing footsteps come above her and down the stairs, before her children suddenly appeared in the kitchen, sitting in their respective seats. On the table were four glasses of milk, a bowl of mashed potatoes with a side of gravy, and a bowl of green beans. "What are we having? I'm starved," Bart said as he watched Marge reach in the oven with oven mitts on, moments later she pulled out "We're having Meatloaf," She said, putting the Meatloaf on the table, making Bart, Lisa, and Maggie groan a bit "Eat up kids, before the food gets cold," They did as they were told and began eating, Marge then began eating as well.

After dinner was over, and the dishes were done, Marge put the meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy in a meal prep container. She sealed it tight and afterward grabbed his already filled Thermos before then grabbing her car keys. The kids were now in the living room watching TV when Marge walked in "Kids, I am leaving now,"

"Where you are going?" Lisa asked,

"I am going to take your father some dinner," She said, "He hasn't had a home-cooked meal in a while and as much as he loves sweets, after two weeks even he has to be getting tired of eating candy and energy drinks to stay awake." She explained

"I don't know, that man loves his sweets," Bart said, earning an elbow to the ribs from Lisa. "Ow! Quit it!" He said, glaring at her as he held his side "Don't be a jerk," Lisa said under her breath before turning her focus on their mother. "We understand Mom," She said with a smile

"Thank you, sweetheart," Marge said, "Also I have a few errands to run so I will be gone awhile, Bart I am putting you in charge of your sisters. If you need anything call or text me."

"Bye, Mommy, be careful." Maggie chimed in for the first time "I will, honey." Marge said, kissing her children goodbye before making her way to the front door, Tupperware in hand and thermos in her purse, she left the house, closing the door firmly behind her. She walked to the car, unlocked and opened it, carefully setting the Tupperware in the passenger seat, as well as her purse. She sat down, buckled up her seatbelt, started the car, and soon began backing out of the driveway, watching carefully for oncoming vehicles before pulling out on the road.

As she drove down the road, she turned on the radio, listening to "Night Moves" by Bob Segar. She soon arrived at the Nuclear Power Plant and parked the car. She got out, grabbing her purse and the container and walked inside. She passed through the Power Plant workers working tirelessly to keep the plant running. surveillance cameras followed her every movement as she made her way to Sector 7G.

She soon arrived at the automatic doors with the words "SECTOR - 7G" printed on it and big bold letters. As she stepped forward the doors hissed open she looked at the surroundings and found an assortment of candy wrappers and energy drink cans on the floor. Her eyes drifted to her husband who was finishing yet another energy drink, crushing it against his forehead before tossing it to the ground, belching then thereafter.

"Homer..." The middle-aged man perked up at the sound of the familiar husky voice and turned to find Marge standing there with a smile on her face.

"Marge, what are you doing here?" He asked, truly surprised to see her "I brought you some dinner, I figured you were getting tired of candy and energy drinks. So I brought you some Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy." She said, handing him the container "Thanks, Marge but you know you didn't have to do that,"

"I also brought you this," She said, reaching in her purse for the thermos, and pulled it out and handed it to him "What's this?" He asked, taking it in his hands. "I brought you a Thermos of soup, if the dinner wasn't enough to fill you up, this is something extra to eat." She explained, smiling at him "You're so good to me, Marge." Homer smiled up at his wife, "Thank you for stopping by, I really appreciate it, it gets so lonely here sometimes."

"I am sure it does," She responded sympathetically, "You have just two weeks left then you will be done with your mandatory overtime, right?"

"Yeah," He replied, "I just don't know how much more of this I can take, I am exhausted all the time, so I have resulted in drinking these energy drinks and eating candy bars all the time, most of the time out of boredom. All I want is to be done with this over time so I can be with you and the kids, I feel like I am missing out on so much."

"I know, honey but we understand this is part of your job, and besides it won't last forever, pretty soon you will back on your normal schedule and things will be back to how they usually are,"

Her words made him feel a bit better about the situation and said, "Thanks, Marge. So how are things at home I haven't talked to you much lately,"

"Everything is fine, Maggie is doing good in Kindergarten but Bart and Lisa have had issues adjusting to their new schools."

"Well, that's normal, after a few months they will get used to things," Homer said reassuringly, "We also got some new neighbors today, her name is Ruth Powers she is divorced and has a teenage daughter," Marge told him, "She and Bart seemed to hit it off pretty well,"

"Of course, he has the Simpsons charm," Homer said with a sly smile "No woman alive can resist it," He said, making Marge giggle.

As Homer ate his dinner, the couple talked about various topics, catching up on what has all been happening lately with both. When he was done, he set aside the container and the thermos aside, and grabbed ahold of her hands "When I am finished with this over time, I am going to take you out to dinner, Marge, anywhere you want to go." Homer said,

"Oh, Homie..." Marge said, smiling at him "I love you so much,"

"I love you too," He said before kissing her, once they separated "I have to go," Marge said, "Let me have the container and thermos, I will take them home and wash them." She said, and he handed her the container and thermos. "Thanks again, Marge," He said appreciatively,

"You're welcome," She smiled at him before touching his face, stroking it gently "Hang there, Homie, you'll get through this." She kissed him one last time before departing from the room, leaving him once more by himself to continue with his work. This time though seeing Marge, and the many energy drinks, gave him the motivation to work harder and get through this hellish night.

A/N: that is it for Chapter 5, I am sorry if it seems a bit short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer, I already have an outline for Chapter 6 and start writing it soon. Hope you all have an awesome day! Later!