"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!"

"Aw, shut yer mouth, Hoagie, it's prettier widout such stupid stuff coming out of it."

"Oh hey!" Hoagie frowned in mock annoyance. "Now I take offense! Here I am, trying to be nice and romantic and all, and you insult me! I am shocked, my dear, quite shocked."

Abby smirked at him from across the couch. "Sure ya are."

"Ahhh." Hoagie gave it up and flopped back onto the couch. "You sure you don't mind this?" He arched an eyebrow at her. "Just the two of us, sitting here, studying for the test tomorrow? I mean, it's Valentine's and all…"

Abby shook her head. "Naw. I got better things to do than make you run around tryin' to impress me cause of some stupid holiday Hallmark invented." She glanced down at her book. "Don't know how much studying we're getting done though…"

"Oh, relax." Scoffing, Hoagie grabbed a handful of popcorn. "It's not like it's anything we don't know."

Another smirk. "You don't, maybe…"

"Oh shut up." A grin from Hoagie. "Seriously, though." He said, his face changing again. "Are you sure you don't wanna… you know, go out to eat or something?"

Abby raised her eyebrows. "This too boring for ya, boy?"

"No! Not at all! But…" Hoagie sighed. "It's just… I heard Wally talking about how he and Kuki are going to the prom thing, and I think Lizzie and Nigel are heading out to Le Cusine, and… I dunno. I didn't really think about doing anything until just today and I hoped you weren't… you know."

"Aw, let the others have their fun." Abby shrugged it off. "You and me ain't never needed stuff like that before, and we ain't gonna start now, right?"

"Guess not." Hoagie grinned, watching her. Just outside the window, he could see thin flakes of snow drifting to the ground. "Heh. Nothing like the others, really."

"Oh, goodness sakes, I hopes not!' Abby put down her book again. "If yer suggesting I'm anything like that obsessive-manic bundle of hormones Nigel calls a girlfriend…"

"No, no." Hoagie waved the accusation away. "But we've never been big on all the… you know."

"Mebbe not." Abby was looking at him now. "But we've always been there. We always used to sit next together at lunch, 'member? And there was the one time you helped me out with that kindergarteners that one time."

"That was fun." Hoagie grinned. "The kindergarteners all went ape over the bunny missing. Somehow we ended up helping them look for it…"

"As I remember…" Abby put on a slightly reproachful look. "I told them we'd help, and you just tagged along whining."

"Details." Hoagie shrugged. "Anyway, it was YOUR friend that had the bunny, that one Henrietta girl." Hoagie shook his head. "Y'know, I'm still not sure she's really a girl."

"Oh, give the poor girl a break, wouldja?" Abby frowned at him. "It's not her fault her parents made her get that wacky haircut. And she always did like chocolate, so it ain't surprising what she looked like."

"I suppose." Hoagie shrugged. "I just remember when you finally told me…" He stopped at a glare from Abby. "Well, I suppose she's gotten a lot better now."

"Dang right she has." Abby gave her hair a flip, settling back down to work.

A grin curved Hoagie's mouth. "She's kinda the high school's eye candy…"

"Oh shut it!" Abby chucked a couch pillow at him.

"Heh." Hoagie was still looking at her, not really paying much attention to the book open in front of him. The one end of his mouth twisted slightly upward. "You remember that one time Nigel's cousins hosted a party at their place, and invited us all?"

Abby grinned back. "That time we had our picture taken? What about it?"

Hoagie blushed a little. "N… nothin'. I just wondered if you remembered it." He fiddled with the edges of his book. "It was… well, it was kinda our first date, I guess. We were just kids then, we didn't really even know it, but…"

"Naw, but we knew we were good friends." Abby gave him a knowing look. "Even if we was too dumb to figure out what that might mean."

"Well…" Hoagie looked aside. "If we had, you probably woulda gotten real cautious, and I would've made an big pain in the rear."

"Yep." Looking down, Abby nodded. "Prob'ly."

Hoagie's hand reached across the book and touched hers. "As it happened…" She heard the smile in his voice. "Things worked out just fine with us being ourselves."

Without looking up, Abby nodded, slowly.

"No." Kuki insisted, giggling. "Not now, silly! The party's not even half over! We should be getting back in there."

"Aw, c'mon." Wally grinned at her. The two of them were sitting on a long couch in a darkened room vaguely resembling a study. Out before them stretched a long glass window, in which glimmering lights revealed a profuse collection of seaweed and brightly colored fish. Far away could be heard the throbbing notes of the dance on the floor above.

Kuki giggled again. "We'd really better get back." She said, turning to him. "Mr. Wigglestein would be soooooo mad if he found us in here." She turned back, watching as a bright green eel nosed out of a cave and slipped between the weeds. "How'd you know about this place, anyway?"

Playing with an end of her long hair, Wally grinned. "I asked Abby. She's been all over this place a dozen times. She followed her sister down here one time."

Kuki straightened up and pushed his hand away. "When was that?"

"Oh, years back, I imagine." Wally looked a little disappointed, but answered anyway. "Probably that one time David invited Chad and all the others over."

"Oh yeah." Kuki grinned. "And then they were so noisy that Lenny ran out and asked us to help chase them off." She giggled, flopping back down onto the couch. "That was great. We played some prank with the sprinkler systems and other stuff." She squinted up at him. "Did we dance, Wally? Seems like we danced then."

"Ah, you're always saying we did this or that." Wally waved the idea away. "You still say we were both at that one party at my Dad's job, and I don't remember that at all."

"That's cause you stayed in the corner the whole time muttering about Pluto." Kuki poked him. "You were about the only boy there."

"Whatevah." Wally grumbled, settling down further into the couch.

"Oh, oh, and there was the one time you sneaked into Fanny's slumber party because you thought the girls were planning something." Kuki grinned. "Remember? And you…"

"Oh shut up!" Wally glared at her, a small smile playing around his lips. "Anyway, do you remember the time we all went to the beach and you pretended you were going to marry Sandy?"

"What! No! I… I…" Kuki started back, stuttering a little with giggling, her cheeks burning bright red. "No! No, I don't! I don't remember any of that! You're thinking of Mushi, you big silly!"

"Sure I am." The smile was spreading slowly across his face. "And 'Mushi' musta also been the one who coerced the lifeguard into 'marrying' the both of you, and also who broke it off when Sandy kept following her all over the place and tying her up and stuff."

"I…. oh, you be quiet!" Kuki slapped him. "You're just making stuff up now."

"Oh, I wasn't before?" Wally ran a hand over his bristly chin, looking at her with an amused expression. "Are you saying you do remember?"

"Oh, you, you…" Giggling, Kuki sank onto his shoulder. "You stupid…" She gave it up and subsided into silence. "Idiot."

"Airhead." Wally kissed her on the forehead, just beneath her carefully arranged hair.

They spent a long time in silence. A tiny octopus shot out from behind a rock and snagged a bright green tetra. The music filtered down from above, now a light, jazzy waltz. Something clicked in the tank and a series of purple and pink lights flickered on. Some kind of light pattering came from the hallway.

"Hey Wally?"

"Hmmm?"

"You remember the school play? In fourth grade?"

Wally chuckled. "The one about the gang wars? When we got a little too carried away and actually started fighting on stage?"

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

"You never did help me finish that song." Kuki could barely back a smile as she spoke. "You ran off halfway through."

"What?" Wally's brow creased in thought. "What song was… oh." He pulled back and looked at her. "Well, duh. That thing was the corniest, cheesiest…"

"Will you sing it nowwwwwwww?" Kuki looked up at him with big, starry eyes.

"You… oh, quit it!" Wally looked away. "How you ever roped me into even doing half of it back then…."

"You offered to, as I remember." Kuki pouted.

"Aw, nonsense." Wally glared at her, unconvinced "Why would I have ever volunteered to sing such a cruddy song?"

Kuki giggled, forgetting to be upset. "I was awfully surprised. It wasn't really your sort of thing, and you never were into that kinda stuff." She looked up at him again. "You weren't into a lot of things I was, back then."

"Still aren't" Wally smiled down at her. "But it was fun, even back then, to have something to bounce against. You were so completely different, and yet somewhat alike…" He shook his head. "It was fascinating."

"We were awfully different." Kuki agreed, dreamily, snuggling deeply into the crook of Wally's arm. "And now…" She looked over. "Look at us."

Wally looked, and smiled.

"How'd we ever get to here?"

Wally leaned forward and whispered. "We changed. We journeyed toward the other, and met in the middle."

"Ewwwwwww….."

"Numbuh 43! Numbuh 43, come in!"

"Numbuh T, I don't feel so good." The ten-year-old boy slumped against the wall of the darkened hallway, barely visible in the pink and purple light streaming from the doorway next to him. "I'm gonna throw up…"

"Why? What's going on?"

The boy risked another peak around the corner, blanched, and turned back. "They're kissing. On the couch."

"Ewwwwww…."

"Yeah." Blonde hair nodded up and down. "I know. They are in Father's secret lair, though. I did manage to find that."

"Anything there?"

The shrug of the shoulders could be faintly seen in the darkness. "Not that I can see. Doesn't look like he keeps anything special down here."

"Aw man!" The whine sounded clearly over the radio. "Numbuh 83 was sure there would be something we could use. Rats! And after we went to all this trouble…"

"How're things on your end?"

A short pause. "Eh… nothing too exciting. They're just sitting on the couch in the living room, hogging the TV. My brother's got his arm around her, though. Is that important?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Numbuh 43 frowned at the radio.

"Welll… uh…" The radio fell silent. "Okay, whatever. You two sabotage the punch bowl and then get out of there."

"Sure thing." Joey folded up the radio and vanished into the dark.

"Double Latte, please."

"Geez, Nigel, you look awful." The cashier eyed him worriedly. "You sure you want a coffee at this time of night?"

"Just get me the coffee." Nigel groaned, head flopping down to the counter. "Make it decaf if it makes you feel better." A hand reached back and began to loosen his tie, groping for the button that held his collar.

The hum of the coffee machine filled the bare café. "How'd it go tonight? Someone told me you were taking Liz out to Le Cusine." The cashier came back to the counter, chewing a wad of gum and holding a steaming cup. "You sure look like you're dressed for the part. Always going for the grand, huh?"

"It was her idea." Nigel took the coffee and gulped it down. "But, yeah, I have a lot to make up for, considering I used to treat her. I mean… when we were kids, I would take her to a dance and spend the whole time pretending we were on some mission. Or trick her into spoiling the whole school board dinner for me."

"Well, most kids do pretend stuff like that." The cashier leaned over the counter. "The whole boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't usually kick in at that age unless you're obsessive or read too many dime-store novels."

Nigel chuckled. "I guess I do that a bit too." He mulled over the thought in silence for a while. The cashier stared at him, waiting.

Finally it happened. Nigel sighed and turned from his cup. "What's it mean to be in love, do you think?"

"You're asking me?" The cashier popped a big bubble. "I haven't had a boyfriend in years."

"It just…" Nigel sighed. "I mean, sometimes I wonder…" He shook his head. "We were talking today, and she thinks I'm getting too obsessive with my job."

"What, you, obsessive?" Eyes rolling, the cashier smirked at him. "What an idea."

"I know, I know." Nigel grinned, waving it off. "But… It's not the first time she's said something like this. First it was that English program I was thinking of getting into. And then it was that she didn't think I took her anywhere. And lately she's started hinting how my job isn't very good…"

"Heard about your break." The cashier nodded. "Congratulations. They must've really liked that story."

"Always have liked making stories." Nigel grinned. "Thanks. But… sometimes I feel like I do so much for her, and it seems like she hardly does anything back." He sighed. "She probably does, I know, and I've never been the most romantic guy in the world. And I definitely don't want to be the jerk I was before, and just break up with her cause she got invited to my cousin's party and I didn't." Nigel grinned, then subsided. "But sometimes I wonder… How much am I supposed to give up?"

"Well, to some extent that's part of love, I guess." The cashier shrugged. "Giving up yourself for the other person. There's no room for considering yourself when you promise to always consider another."

"Yeah." Nigel nodded glumly. "I suppose so. But sometimes it seems so… unfair."

"Then you should talk to her about it instead of always coming here to sob your stories out." The cashier smirked again. "Everybody always thinks they're being shortchanged. They come here all the time. Believe me, I have to listen to all of them."

Nigel grinned a little. "You must get pretty sick of it."

"A little." A shrug. "But it's fun to hear other people's stories sometimes. You get a feel for what life is like. And it gets you better tips."

"Heh." Nigel chuckled. "Yeah, it would. But you're saying that I should just sit back, let her walk over me?"

"Oh no!" The cashier looked rather startled. "No! Not that! I never said that. But make sure you are being walked over, and don't just think you are." She offered him a smile. "It's kinda… you need to work at it. You need to become someone else, and yet remain yourself." She scratched her head. "Or something like that. I dunno, the guy was hyper-caffinated when he said that."

Nigel smiled. "Ha. Good one." He sighed as he got up. "Well, thanks, I guess. That does straighten out some things I was wondering about. I'll have to talk to Lizzie more." He turned as he shrugged into his coat. "How much do I owe you for the coffee, Rachel?"

The blonde at the counter smiled. "On the house, Nigel."

A/N: Yeah, Rachel is kinda OOC. And Wally is pretty OOC. And this whole story is pretty OOC for me, cause I hate writing mushy stuff. I barely got through the whole 3 and 4 bit. But I wanted a way to introduce Rachel, and people wanted some more in this series, and Valentines Day seemed a good time to introduce her. Hence… what you have here.

Comment and flame as appropriate. Sorry for making you read through all this stuff, but make it worth something and tell me to write shorter stories.