- Timing.

A few minutes later the babies, Susie and Angelica were at the play pen, eating the lunch Didi prepared for them, the mats already set for the nap after eating. The blonde told her aunt she had taken the mats for her and the babies rolling and jumping on them, which was actually half-true, explaining why the woman hadn't found them.

"So, Angelica, you got the whole idea from your grandpa?" Susie asked her friend as they ate a sandwich each.

"No. He explained me how to do it, and all the game's words, but I got the idea from my mommy and my daddy."

"Funny; most parents don't talk to their kids about wrestling until they grow older… well, that's what my brothers say." Susie shrugged.

"They had to; I saw them doing it the other night and then had to explain me."

"Your mommy and your daddy play wrestling too?" Kimi stopped drinking her juice, turning at the blonde.

"Whoa! Then the game must be very popular." Lil exclaimed.

"When did you see them wrestling?" Susie turned back at Angelica.

"Well, last night I got thirsty and had to go to the kitchen for some water…"

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FLASHBACK.

Angelica, in her pajamas, walked back to her room after drinking water, the girl using a flashlight to illuminate her way. She passed near her parents' bedroom, and suddenly heard some weird noises coming from the inside.

"What's that? It sounds like Mom making animal noises." Angelica thought. The girl approached the door and leaned her ear against it, hearing a little clearer; it sounded like her parents were doing something quite tiring, since they were groaning and panting.

"Maybe they're trying to fit on those tight clothes Grandma Lulu bought for them." Angelica shrugged and started to walk away, but, then again, this is Angelica we're talking about, so she was just too curious. The girl opened the door slightly and illuminated the room with her flashlight, getting a little sneak peek inside.

The girl wide opened her eyes in surprise and opened the door a lot more, not believing what was happening, forgetting all caution and talking in a tone that wasn't loud enough to be a yell but still a lot louder than normal.

"Dad, Mom, why are you two fighting?"

The adults finally realized they had public and covered themselves with the bed's sheets and blankets.

"ANGELICA!"The couple yelped in surprise. "GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

The girl yipped and ran back to her bedroom, opening and closing the door in a hurry and jumping at her bed, hiding under the blanket.

"Oh, great, I'm in trouble! But why I'm in trouble? I'm not the one who was fighting! And their room was a mess… all their clothing at the floor! And they are the ones always telling me to clean my bedroom!"

A few moments later, Drew and Charlotte, both of them on pajamas, their hair a mess and with embarrassed faces, went to Angelica's room.

"Uh… Angelica, you can get out of there. You're not in trouble." Charlotte told her daughter, the girl calming down a little bit and emerging from under the blanket.

"I'm not?"

"No, you are not… you did nothing wrong, except being up after your bedtime." Drew said in his best calming tone while sitting at one side of the bed and Charlotte doing it at the other.

"Sorry. I wanted water and went to the kitchen, and then heard noises from your room…" Angelica's worried tone was slowly changing to her curious one. "And why you two were fighting? And why all the clothes were at the floor?"

"Uh, well, you see… we were… uh…" Drew gulped and rubbed the back of his neck.

"We were playing, Angelica." Charlotte ended her relieved husband's phrase. "Sometimes… mommies and daddies want to play on their rooms, with nobody watching… not because is something wrong, but because is a private thing."

"Oh. And what you were playing?"

Now it was Charlotte's turn to get a nervous face, biting her lower lip, until Drew came with an excuse.

"WRESTLING!" Drew said to his daughter. "Yeah, that's it; we were playing wrestling. It's a game for adults only."

"Guess…ling?" Angelica arched an eyebrow. "And you play that without clothing?"

"Uh… normally, no, you don't." Charlotte said. "Actually, many people play wrestling with public cheering for them, like they do with baseball or football, but your dad and I were playing a special type of wrestling only mommies and daddies play, and we like doing this without people watching."

"And you two play this all nights?"

"Well… no, because, well, we like the game, but it's a little tiring... very hard to do it every night…" Drew gave Charlotte a nervous glance, the woman blushing a little bit.

"Yes, sometimes, if we are so tired after work, we only play this once a week, and, if we are feeling fine, well, we play it several nights in a row." Charlotte added, now being Drew's turn to blush.

"And who wins the most of you two?" Angelica grinned, happy for learning about a new game.

"Eh, well… the way we play it, you win just by liking the game." Charlotte said, giving her husband a sly smile. "And I think we both win all the time."

"Oh, yes… and how." Drew chuckled a little bit before turning back at Angelica. "Now, the most important thing you must know, is that there are many ways to play this, but the way your mom and I do it is just for mommies and daddies, or adults that are very special to each other. Your mom is very special to me, so I don't do this with any other woman."

"And I don't do this with other men." Charlotte added, with she and Drew giving each other another fond look while Angelica pondered about the information her parents gave to her.

"Ah… and you take out your clothes because…?"

"You saw it's a lot like a fight, even if we don't really damage each other; if we were wearing clothes, they would rip or wrinkle." Charlotte explained.

"And the people who do this in public, they do it without clothes too?"

Drew and Charlotte exchanged glances, gulping.

"Uh… no, but they have special clothing that doesn't rip so easily." Drew got hit by inspiration. "Actually, my dad used to be one of those persons who did it with public, and he was good; his wrestling name was 'The Pretzel-Maker', and at times your uncle Stu and I saw him."

Angelica heard a few stories of her grandfather's career as a rookie wrestler that worked just fine for Charlotte and Drew to stop inventing stuff about their 'match'.

END FLASHBACK.

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"And that's what happened." Angelica finished.

"You think our parents play like that too?" Lil asked to nobody in particular.

"I don't know. Sometimes when I'm in my room at night I hear noises like those Angelica described, but with my brothers around, you get used to all kind of weird sounds." Susie shrugged.

"Chuckie and I sometimes hear those noises too, but he never lets me go investigate them." Kimi pointed.

"Hey, you never know if the noise is from something scary or dangerous." Chuckie commented.

"I hear those noises too sometimes, but I always hear lots of noises when my daddy is making toys." Tommy said.

"Phil and I normally hear no noises at night. But when we're sleeping is very hard to wake us." Lil commented while Phil kept eating.

"I don't think they play like that, Lil; Mom is a lot more biggerer than Dad and she can hurt him." Phil paused his eating.

"Or maybe she's very careful to not hurt him." Lil said to his brother, who thought about it for a moment before shrugging and going back to eating.

A few minutes later, the kids were done and Didi cleaned up so they could take their nap. Susie wasn't that tired but thought she could try sleeping a little bit; besides, it was always amusing to hear Angelica complaining about her being a 'big girl' that didn't need napping anymore. Being the oldest girl, Didi trusted Susie with the blankets, telling her to start giving them to everyone while she dropped the dishes at the kitchen.

"Okay, everyone, grab a blanket and…" Susie, once again, was speechless; this time, however, she started chuckling after a few seconds. The other babies turned at what she was seeing and giggled at the scene.

"Guess that's why adults play that on their beds; they get tired." Tommy commented while looking at Angelica and Chuckie soundly sleeping one next to the other on a mat each. Kimi and Lil covered Chuckie with a blanket while Susie did the same with Angelica.

"Aw, how cute," Didi said as entering the room, smiling at Chuckie and Angelica being attended by the other kids. "Now, the rest of you must sleep too."

Didi accommodated the other babies and Susie, and, after giving Tommy and Dil's foreheads a quick kiss each, left again, just in time to see Stu and Lulu returning from the supermarket. The redhead woman woke up Lou, who had fallen asleep in front of the TV, as usual, so everyone could help carry in the groceries from the car.

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A while later, while Stu was working at the basement, and hopefully, not destroying it this time, Didi, Lulu and Lou were at the kitchen cooking dinner, the children still sleeping. Drew arrived at that moment, Lou opening the door.

"Hi, Dad; sorry I didn't greet you a while ago but I was in a hurry."

"Oh, it's okay; I had a nice time talking with Angelica before I took my nap." The elder replied good humored. "And she told me you had been telling her stories from my wrestling days."

"Uh, well, I had a… slip of the tongue, and you know, you have to clear children's doubts so they don't get wrong ideas." Drew replied a little bit nervously.

"I know," Lou whispered, wrongly guessing the reason his older son seemed nervous. "Didi is at the kitchen with Lulu; we'll chat later."

Drew nodded at his father, relieved that he thought he was nervous because of Didi's usual disliking of the topic. The men entered the kitchen, ignoring Angelica was waking up and her yawning and stretching was waking up Chuckie as well.

"You slept well?" Chuckie asked her while rubbing his eyes.

"Yes… but I still feel sleepy. I only woke up because I heard someone ringing the doorbell." The girl replied after a particularly large yawn.

"I still feel sleepy too. Wrestling is very tiring." Chuckie commented before giving her a little smile. "But I liked that game a lot."

"I liked it too." Angelica replied while accommodating to going back to sleep. "I think we did it quite well for our first time."

"I think you were very good. If I wasn't so tired, well… I would ask you for another game right now." Chuckie admitted, giving her a shy smile.

"Same here," Angelica gave him a rarely seen fond grin. "You know, we need to do it again soon so we can break the tie."

"But breaking ties is very hard; it's easier to rip or cut them… and I don't think breaking our daddies ties is a good idea."

"Not that kind of tie, Finster." Angelica chuckled slightly. "You won once, and I won the next time, so now we have to play again to see who wins the most."

The blonde got a thoughtful expression after saying this, Chuckie noticing immediately.

"What are you thinking?"

"Well… my parents say the way they play the two wrestlers win if they both enjoy the game; if that's right, then I think you and I won the two matches. Normally I like being the one and only winner but… this time I don't care, and I'm actually happy you liked playing with me."

"Then… that means I'm your special partner for this game?" Chuckie gave her a hopeful look.

"Well, you heard Susie… I can't play this with other kids, and I think she doesn't like the game that much, so guess that means you would be my special partner; but then you wouldn't be able to play this with other kids too."

Chuckie thought about that for a moment before shrugging.

"We can teach Tommy, Phil, Kimi and Lil, and then they can play between them."

"You don't want playing with them?" Angelica wide-opened her eyes, surprised at Chuckie's words; she knew he usually liked playing with his other baby friends rather than with her.

"Well, when you and I play together without you being mean or I being afraid… I like it; I like it a lot."

Angelica felt a smile broadening on her face and a warm feeling on her chest at the kid's words while Chuckie continued.

"Besides, they're all the same size; I think they will enjoy it a lot more than wrestling you or me."

"And then, you'll only play this with me." Angelica pointed. "But remember, when we start doing that I'll never play wrestling with another boy, even if he's my size, and you'll never play this with any other girl."

"And I'll do my best to improve so you'll always like playing with me." Chuckie offered his hand to her. "So, it's a promise?"

Angelica thought about this for a few seconds; she wasn't known for keeping her promises and when making one she normally was lying. However, she decided to be honest this time; she had enjoyed the game a lot and her opinion of Chuckie had improved considerably. If she was allowed to have only one special wrestling partner for the rest of her life, Chuckie wasn't a bad option at all.

"Promise; and I'm not saying a lie." Angelica shook hands with the boy and the duo shared a last smile before going back to sleep.

Meanwhile, at the kitchen, Drew took advantage of Lulu and Lou moving apart of her and Didi for some of their usual elder couple's flirting; Drew approached Didi, who was giving the last touches to her meat loaf, and whispered at her.

"Didi, Angelica mentioned something about, you know…"

"No, she didn't. Angelica had actually behaved quite well today." Didi replied, also in a whispering tone.

"Good." Drew sighed; of course, he couldn't tell Didi that, due that little 'cover story', Angelica asked his father about wrestling, knowing his sister-in-law disliked it, and not wanting to later explain his old man the circumstances that made him and Charlotte to tell Angelica about the elder's younger days' hobby.

"Oh, and Drew, don't feel bad. Actually, I think that, considering the circumstances, you and Charlotte came with a more or less good story. Certainly, it would be better to tell Angelica the truth, but she's a little young to fully understand the real thing. Besides, considering you gave her some warnings and even a few… slightly altered true facts, she might understand the real stuff a lot better when the right time comes."

"Guess you're right." Drew chuckled slightly, relief evident on his face. "After all, she's just three; how much of an impact this incident can really make on her?"

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Epilogue.

"Hurry up, Cynthia; I want to go back to sleep." A blond four years old kid, glasses covering his little blue eyes, whispered at his one year younger sister, a long haired green-eyed redhead girl with a few freckles on her face, both siblings on their pajamas and the boy holding a little flashlight, quite logical since it was almost midnight.

"I'm coming." The girl yawned after leaving her glass at the sink. "You know sometimes I get thirsty at night, and I didn't want to wake up Mommy or Daddy."

"And you had to wake me up; just because you're afraid of dark…" Charlie's complain was cut by his sister poking his chest.

"Hey, remember our promise! You don't make fun or complain about me fearing darkness and spiders, and I don't say anything about you fearing clowns and high places."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Charlie groaned while Cynthia changed to a more playful mode.

"Besides, you don't want me tripping or walking alone in the dark because I'm your most favorite little sister."

"You're my only sister." Charlie chuckled while poking her. "Come on, we have to go back to our room."

"Yes… oh, and can I sleep in your bed?"

"Cynthia, you have your own bed."

"Yes, but my teddy bear is dirty and Daddy is washing it tomorrow; and without my teddy bear, you're the only thing I can hug all night."

"You can hug another toy or a pillow."

"Yes, but I like hugging you better." Cynthia smiled at the boy. Charlie sighed and got a little smile; he just couldn't win any argument with his little sister but at times he didn't really care.

"Fine… but don't kick me."

The siblings walked upstairs and passed next to their parents' room, stopping when hearing weird noises coming from the inside.

"What's that sound?" Cynthia asked her brother.

"I don't know." The boy shrugged.

"Let's take a look." The girl approached the door.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Charlie said as putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop imitating Daddy; besides, what if they're in trouble? That noise sounds like a weird aminal in their room."

"Well… okay, let's take a look." Charlie moved aside his sister. "You open the door and I illuminate with my light."

Cynthia nodded and grabbed the doorknob. When the boy gave him a signal, the girl opened the door while he used his flashlight… that wasn't really needed since the room's lights were on, something the kids hadn't realized.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The stunned siblings chorused, while their parents froze on their current position. A quite attractive blond woman, wearing red and blue wrestling tights, had her husband on a headlock; the man, a messy-haired redhead with a lean yet strong body, wearing white wrestling pants and his torso uncovered, had his arms around her waist; they were standing on a mat right next to their bed, and, apparently, he was ready to lift her the moment the kids entered the room.

"Uh… eh… we're playing." The woman replied, a little bit nervously, right before she and her husband released each other.

"And, uh… what are you kids doing out of bed?" The man, blushing, asked the children.

"I wanted some water and Charlie came with me." Cynthia explained. "And what you were playing?"

"Yes, you always say that after bedtime is no longer time for playing." Charlie pointed.

The couple looked at each other for a few moments before the man sighed, grabbed his glasses from a nearby shelf and turned at the kids.

"I'll tell you what; you two go to sleep, and we'll tell you kids everything in the morning."

"You promise?" The siblings chorused in perfect synchrony.

"They do that so well they almost seem twins." The man chuckled at his thought before nodding at them. "Yes. Special Finster Promise to you two; never breaking it and always being honest."

"Now, you go to sleep; it's late, and tomorrow we're going to visit Uncle Phil and Aunt Kimi; and you don't want to miss those really good lunches he prepares." The woman offered her hands to the kids, who nodded at her and grabbed a hand each. She then took the children to their room while her husband sighed in relief and said a last 'Good Night' to them before rolling on the mat and putting it back into the closet.

"We need to start locking the door." The redhead commented at his wife when she returned a few minutes later, the woman closing the door and locking it as said.

"Hey, I never thought they would find us. I mean, you already said them to not enter the room when hearing me yelling, and since I do that almost all nights…"

The man got a little smile while his cheeks' turned slightly red.

"See the bright side; we can tell them the truth." The redhead pointed. "If they had entered ten minutes later, we would be telling the same thing but it would be a lie."

"Tell me about it." The blonde rolled her eyes. "At least their timing is a lot better than mine."

"Yeah… you know, this can be good; now we'll be able to show them our trophies and pictures." The redhead shrugged, "I want them to say their parents did cool stuff when young; so far, the only cool thing they can say about me is the time we went to the carnival and I didn't get sick on the roller coaster."

"Well, you know how it works; you're the nice parent while I'm the cool one." The blonde smirked at him, the man chuckling at the comment. "And yes, you are right; I want them to know their mom was the city's judo and karate champion, and that their dad was the best high school and college wrestler ever."

"I wasn't the best ever; okay, I won a few titles…"

"You were champion five years in a row." The blonde smiled fondly at him as they both sat at the bed.

"Yes… but only because my sparring partner was a lot better than any of the other wrestlers. And you still are the best, Angelica."

"You said it, Chuckie; the secret is a good sparring partner. If I can break free from a hold of yours, then anyone else had no chance… especially considering that, when you hold me, most of the time I don't want to escape." The couple shared a quick kiss, staring at each other for a few minutes when breaking contact.

Over the years, wrestling became Chuckie and Angelica favorite game, possibly because it was the only one where they were on equal terms, at least, until Angelica became a little bit kinder and could have fun with him without yelling or bossing the redhead all the time while playing other games or just hanging around. This didn't change even when they were old enough to know what Charlotte and Drew were really doing when they meant 'wrestling'; once they overcame the initial shock, Angelica and Chuckie kept playing as always.

Even when Angelica became part of the popular crew at school while Chuckie remained in the 'losers' category and therefore being bossed and insulted by her in public, wrestling remained common ground for them, and it wasn't rare that, either after or before the match and no matter who won it, Angelica apologized with Chuckie for mistreating him; she knew he didn't deserve it, and with Chuckie never developing harsh feelings she started feeling very guilty when being mean with the geek so, slowly but surely, the blonde stopped doing it, even standing in his defense whenever someone badmouthed her wrestling partner; this caused her to lose some of her position on the school's hierarchy but, surprisingly for her, Angelica found she didn't really care, Chuckie being much more important to her than popularity.

Also, as they promised to each other, the duo did their best to improve, none wanting to be overpowered by the other. Angelica knew she couldn't simply ask for wrestling lessons but her grandpa kept telling her stories, learning holds and moves she also taught Chuckie, and, when old enough, the blonde asked her parents to matriculate her in judo and karate lessons, the girl learning ways to apply and counterattack holds, and enhancing her speed and agility. Chuckie, on the other hand, joined his school's wrestling team, and having Mister Pangborn, a former wrestling champion, as the team's coach, he learned a lot from his experience, and soon developed a body structure that was both strong and agile. By wrestling each other on a regular basis, Chuckie and Angelica got an edge over their teammates and dojo partners, respectively, and over the competition as well; the redhead could defeat heavier and stronger wrestlers with relative ease while the blonde got her black belt in both martial arts in record time. They became each other's biggest fan, Angelica going to all his wrestling matches and him doing the same with her karate and judo exams and competitions, Chuckie admiring his friend's progress as much as she did with his.

The best of this situation, however, was the emotional aspect of their relationship. Chuckie gained lots of confidence and self-respect while Angelica learned discipline and sportive spirit, plus none developed a major ego (which wouldn't be so hard in Angelica's case) due they always knowing there was someone who could match and even surpass his/her own skill. This mutual respect and close contact eventually revealed to the duo what they always suspected; that, deep down, they always had feelings for each other, and that these had grown and matured over the years. Chuckie and Angelica started dating during his last junior-high school semester, and got married a year after his college graduation; despite having ups and downs and their personalities colliding at times, they were a very solid couple, and still loved each other as much as if they had wed just the previous day.

"Of course, if the kids hadn't entered at that moment, I would have won this one and break our tie." Angelica gave Chuckie her best playful smirk.

"Please, I had you where I wanted." Chuckie smirked back.

"With your head being pressed by my arms and against my chest?" Angelica gave him a flirty look, Chuckie smiling widely in reply.

"Well… I was quite comfortable there…"

"You're hopeless." Angelica replied in a fake angry tone, Chuckie shaking his head while his smile broadened and the blonde continued. "Want to finish that round?"

"Of course… but… we can also go for option two; skip the rest of the round, have the tie-breaker another day, and pass directly to our usual aftermath right now."

Angelica got her sly look and turned off the lights, she and Chuckie embracing a moment later.

"Sometimes you're not that hopeless, Mister Finster."

THE END.

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(Why you never allow Finster and I completing those scenes?) Because I have a rating to respect, Angelica; besides, you two do enough off-screen stuff for a dozen M-rated stories. (-Blushing- You got me there)

I want to thank everyone who reviewed the story. (Yes, and, as usual, we hope you enjoyed reading it as much as the author liked writing it… of course, nobody enjoyed it as much as I did –chuckles-.) Angelica, remember the rating. (Acosta, remember I can wrestle.) Eh… want to say the goodbye phrase?

(Of course; so long, everyone, and keep the good writing.)