Author's Note: Cute chapter is cuuuuute.

Chapter 5

The party was nice. Everyone was there, even Robbie Rotten. He'd only come because there was free cake, but it was sort of nice that he was there anyway.

"Oh God, you haven't changed at all!" Robbie howled. "You're going to be the same loud little nuisance you always were."

Stephanie just grinned at him and Sportacus shook his head with a wry smile.

"And HIM! Robbie pointed at Sportacus. He's going to be nigh insufferable now that you're back. What with the extra high flippity-flopping and the grinning and mooning. You two are enough to make me sick." Robbie gagged and waved them off like a couple of pests before he went over to the other side of the square where the buffet was set up.

Stephanie just smiled.

"Robbie's right you know". Trixie said when Sportacus had vacated the vicinity momentarily. "Sportacus is always a lot happier when you're around."

"Well, I'm always a lot happier when I'm around him too. So I guess it works out okay." Stephanie replied.

"Stephanie... Do you think you and Sportacus are... you know?" Trixie asked.

Stephanie didn't know.

"What?" She asked. Trixie had learned how to be less blunt over the years, but that clearly didn't suit her needs at the moment.

"Are you and Sportacus in love?" Trixie asked. Sounding both wistful and annoyed. Stephanie looked at her with such a shocked expression that Trixie almost wondered if she shouldn't have said anything, or if she had completely misunderstood the whole thing.

Stephanie opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out Sportacus had returned with a kitten in hand, making it clear where he'd run off to. Stephanie jumped a bit when he appeared out of nowhere, but smiled as he handed her the kitten.

"Awww." Stephanie cuddled the kitten.

"Anyway..." Trixie said. "Maybe we'll talk about it later. Or you could forget I said anything if you want." Trixie got up and waved leaving Stephanie and Sportacus alone.

"What was that all about?" Sportacus asked, taking the seat that Trixie had just vacated.

Stephanie put the kitten down on the bench and petted it on the head. She looked at Sportacus very seriously for a moment, making him wonder what she was thinking.

"Nothing very important." Stephanie answered finally. "Well... it's not important right now. Maybe later." She amended. Sportacus nodded with a smile.

After a pleasant quiet moment Sportacus decided to bring up something that had been bearing on his mind for the last few days.

"I really liked your letters." Sportacus said suddenly. Stephanie looked up from the kitten.

Stephanie smiled shyly. She knew immediately what he meant.

"I'm glad."

"I'm sorry that I never replied to them." Sportacus said, wanting to explain.

"No. That's okay. I think I might've been too embarrassed to write them anymore if you had." She blushed a little, thinking about the sort of secrets she told.

"I just don't want you to think I don't want to share those types of feelings with you too, just because I couldn't write them down." Sportacus explained.

"You're too... physical." Stephanie said. "You'd rather show your feelings than try to write them down. It'd make you uncomfortable, even if you knew what to write."

Much to Stephanie's surprise Sportacus was completely shocked at this statement.

"What?" She laughed. His expression was pretty funny.

Sportacus got over this very quickly, wondering why he was really so surprised.

"I didn't really have to explain, did I?" Sportacus asked, sounding rather sheepish.

Stephanie scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Sportacus put an arm around her shoulders and propped his head on hers.

"I like to think I understand you a little." Stephanie teased.

Though maybe that wasn't really true. They were both well aware of all the things that Sportacus had never shared with the people of Lazytown. Where he was from, if he had any family... even his age were all kept rather closely guarded. But Stephanie could definitely see the type of person he was in spite of all that. That hadn't escaped Sportacus's notice.

Sportacus started absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair, stopping only when Stephanie sighed in content and he realized what he was doing and where. He blushed a little and settled his hand back on her shoulder.

"So Stephanie," Ziggy said as he came up to the bench. Stephanie and Sportacus let go of each other suddenly.

"When are we going to get to see you dance?" Ziggy asked.

It seemed like very suddenly there was a small crowd of people gathered around who were all very interested in an answer to that question.

"Yeah, we'd love to see what you've learned." Pixel said.

"I'm not very good yet..." Stephanie hesitated.

"No, you were good before. I bet you're really great now." Trixie insisted.

"Well, I can probably put something together. But let me practice a little first." Stephanie conceded.

Everyone liked that answer. Stephanie should be given a chance to rest up and relax anyway. She was supposed to be on vacation after all.

"I can't wait to see you dance." Sportacus whispered to Stephanie. Stephanie ducked her head and blushed slightly.

The party was starting to think about winding down, but then someone noticed that Stephanie hadn't sung a song on the karaoke machine yet. This started a small movement to get her up on the stage.

"What?" Stephanie asked.

"Just one." Pixel insisted. "You haven't done one yet."

"Well neither has Sportacus and you haven't tried to make him sing." Stephanie joked in protest. She knew she was going to sing something regardless.

But there was a small stirring of agreement in the crowd. Sportacus stood up suddenly.

"You're not going to make ME sing?" He exclaimed.

After much debate it was decided that Sportacus didn't have to sing if he didn't really want to. Trixie complained that she had really wanted to to hear Stephanie and Sportacus sing a really lovey-dovey duet, but Sportacus had seemed so completely aghast at the song suggestions that Stephanie had insisted that it wasn't necessary.

"Maybe next time." Sportacus laughed uneasily.

Stephanie went over to the song selection screen and perused the list. After a minute she found one that she thought was pretty good.

"Alright, alright." She got up on the stage with a microphone. "566 on the list Pixel."

Trixie went up behind Pixel to see what Stephanie had picked. Grinning, she went over and nudged Sportacus.

"She's dedicating this song to you." Trixie informed him with an air of conspiracy. Sportacus looked at her in surprise but she nodded knowingly.

The song started up and the lyrics popped up on the display behind Stephanie on stage and the small teleprompter.

I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me.
I still feel your touch in my dreams.
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why...
Without you it's hard to survive.

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling
And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast?
I want this to last.
I need you by my side...

Stephanie belted out the catchy song and danced to the instrumentals with such vigor you could tell she was having a really great time. The beat was so heavy that you could tell it was designed for dancing and Stephanie twisted around energetically on stage as she sung.

Sportacus, having been told it was dedicated to him, analyzed the lyrics a bit more carefully than was perhaps needed. He blushed at the suggestion of intimacy between them. Falling asleep next to each other, kissing... It could be said that his thinking hadn't quite gotten that far, but maybe that wasn't quite right. The idea sort of... side-swiped him, rather than hitting him in the face.

But the rest of the lyrics left him with a warm feeling. The idea that he made her feel safe, and that just being in his arms could wipe away her tears... The idea gripped him rather tightly. It was one he'd remember for a long time to come.

Stephanie's performance ended in a flourish that really psyched everyone up. Pixel fiddled with the karaoke machine to turn it into a sound system that played the lyric-less dance tracks and everyone flooded the stage and started dancing.

"Did you really dedicate that song to me?" Sportacus asked as he caught Stephanie around the waist and lifted her down off the stage.

"Who told you that?" Stephanie asked, sounding only curious.

"Trixie." Sportacus answered as he set her down on the ground. Stephanie rolled her eyes, thinking of the aborted conversation she'd almost had with Trixie.

"She would..." Stephanie thought aloud.

"Ah... So it wasn't really?" Sportacus asked, trying to sound as if he knew it all along. Stephanie looked up at Sportacus as if trying to read his expression, but her eyes filled with mischief as soon as she did.

"Not officially. But I'm perfectly happy with the suggestion." She said with a Cheshire Cat smile. She wrapped her arms around one of his.

"You didn't want to sing, but I'll bet anything that you have absolutely no problem dancing with me." Stephanie dragged him up on stage with the rest of party with absolutely no protestations. Though partially because Sportacus was still confused from her last statement.

The dancing really did make the party peter down. After dancing for a long time people were starting to wear out. And it was starting to get late so people generally agreed it was time to start packing up. Pixel set the machine to something more relaxing that made for good work music and everyone - excluding Robbie of course, who had left the party some time ago - started to pitch in with the clean up. Even Stephanie, although there was some protest because it was a party for her.

The stage was swept up and then collapsed back into the ground, the leftovers from the the buffet were packed onto paper plates with tinfoil and varying tupperwares. By 6 o'clock everything was back into it's orderly fashion, just as if there hadn't been a party at all.

"So, how'd you like your first day back in town Stephanie?" Pixel asked as he wheeled a cart full of all his stereo equipment past her.

"I can't think of a single thing that would've made this any better." Stephanie said sincerely.

Author's Note: For those who have not ever heard the song 'Every Time We Touch' I highly recommend it. It's such a SportaSteph song and it's really catchy and upbeat just like a Lazytown type song should be. I can totally picture Stephanie singing it. There are dozens of videos for it on youtube. Look it up when you get the time.

That being said. I apologize for the vague songfic-ish...ness. I actually don't care for songfics. But I figure, I mentioned a karaoke machine, so I sort of had to deliver on it. xD Plus I had to plant that seed in Sportacus's brain somehow...