Author's Note: I cut this chapter a little short. After two scene changes I thought I'd added enough. Though this is a little shorter than I really meant for it to be.

Chapter 9

Sportacus' brain ached as he went to bed that night. The images that were running around in his head were enough to keep any hot-blooded male awake. Stephanie's wet shirt sliding against the skin of her back, her face being so close he could taste her breath (which smelled so deliciously of apples and strawberries), the way she smiled at him and how her lips had just barely brushed against his cheek when she'd kissed it. Sportacus shivered. Her lips had been so soft, he just HAD to feel them against his own.

Sleep was no use. Sportacus got up and started doing push-ups. If they didn't tire him out they'd at least help him think. Push-ups were so good for meditation, and they gave his blood something else to do so that he could concentrate properly.

Sportacus turned his thoughts towards Stephanie. He tried to pick at the jumble of images and thoughts that appeared when her name came to mind. There were always so many. None of the most recent were at all conducive to figuring out the problem.

Stephanie had always been precious to him. For no reason he could discern he was just immediately drawn to her from the moment he met her. She was the only reason he'd stayed in Lazytown. So much so that when he found out Stephanie would be leaving after that first summer he strongly considered leaving the town himself. The Mayor stayed his hand when he mentioned in passing that Stephanie was likely to be back the following summer.

By the time Stephanie hadn't come back that summer three years ago Lazytown was home. He'd been there four years and he liked the people. Oh, but it had hurt. A small part of him had been sorely tempted to follow her. The larger part of him recognized that as a bad idea.

Sportacus thought back to the interrupted kiss attempt. Stephanie clearly had similar feelings for him, if her reaction was any indication. She'd accepted his advance without a single hesitation. Was that simple, trusting naivete?

No... not with how she'd reacted his his running away shortly after. She knew what was going to come. Sportacus didn't care to think how. He briefly wondered of the possibility of Stephanie's romantic entanglements in her home town. The entire left side of his face twitched. That train of thought was decidedly unhelpful.

Sportacus stopped his push-ups. All he could figure out from all of this was that he wanted Stephanie. In every possible way. He just wanted her to be with him always and in every single way imaginable.

That's being in love, isn't it? He laid on the floor on his stomach. No, that couldn't be right.

"These things sneak up on you so quickly when you're not looking for them." He thought with a frown. He shook his head in frustration. It all seemed rather sudden.

His brain still hurt, but this revelation seemed to relax the rest of him. He slid into bed with a tired sigh.

His eyes shot open as he wondered of Stephanie's feelings for him.

~*~*~[Elsewhere...]~*~*~

Stephanie went home. She was alone because Uncle Milford was having a late dinner with Miss. Busybody, and she expected that he might end up spending the night if Bessie had her way.

As Stephanie prepared for bed she kept glancing out the nearest window with a sigh. The airship was floating above the city with a calmness that belied the nature of it's owner. But it's lights were still on. Stephanie frowned and looked at the clock.

"It's 8:30... I wonder why he's still awake." Stephanie murmured to herself. She sat down on her bed and leaned on her windowsill.

As she sat and looked at the airship she pondered her and Sportacus' last interaction. It made her heart skip a beat. Sportacus was going to kiss her before her uncle had interrupted. That thought brought a frustrated noise to the back of her throat.

What had been going through Sportacus' head when he'd been leaning in?

The problem with Sportacus, Stephanie felt, was that he was both very demonstrative and very tight lipped. If he wanted to convey an emotion he did it through action and touch. He would pat her on the head as she smiled up at him with adoration, then he would go and immediately pat a kitten on the head in almost the exact same way. The two actions could mean two entirely different things, but it was hard to tell sometimes. He wouldn't always tell you either.

Stephanie fancied that she could read Sportacus more than other people, but he was still pretty confusing.

Of course Sportacus' actions this time weren't nearly so ambiguous as a pat on the head. There was no doubt that some sort of romantic feeling was driving his actions this time. But it still seemed pretty vague. Stephanie got the feeling that if they'd actually been able to kiss she'd have a VERY clear idea of what he was thinking. She turned red at the thought.

~*~*~[The next day]~*~*~

As the night elapsed Stephanie had convinced herself that the only way she'd know for sure her standing with Sportacus was to actually get the kiss she'd been denied yesterday. She didn't think this would be particularly difficult. Sportacus had clearly WANTED to kiss her. Making him interested in a second attempt didn't seem like it would be hard, just maybe a little embarrassing. She didn't think she could bring herself to be direct about it.

So as she went to approach Sportacus that morning she hesitated and ended up hiding behind a wall instead. Maybe she needed a plan of action of some sort.

She peered around the wall and looked at Sportacus. He was doing push-ups, but just the regular kind. He was going rather fast and had a very serious look on his face. Stephanie recognized this as him thinking about something very intensely. She sighed and retreated behind the wall again. It didn't seem right to bug him. Maybe she could get some advice first.

Stephanie decided to go back home for now. She snuck away while behind the wall.

When Stephanie got home her uncle was finally back and was puttering around the kitchen, cooking breakfast for himself.

"Oh, hello Stephanie. I usually don't see you inside until the afternoon." Mayor Meanswell remarked.

"Well, usually I'd spend the morning with Sportacus. But..." Stephanie hesitated.

"Is there something wrong?" Her uncle asked. Stephanie scrunched her face to the side, not really sure.

"Not exactly. It's just that I didn't want to bother him." Stephanie said.

"Oh, I'm sure that Sportacus NEVER finds you a bother." Mayor Meanswell said with a knowing sort of laugh in his voice.

"Uncle..." Stephanie started in confusion.

"Oh, I know I'm supposed to turn a blind eye. But the two of you are so adorable sometimes." Mayor Meanswell said.

Stephanie just stared at him completely puzzled. He was clearly privy to a secret that wasn't there.

"I know your mother is terribly worried, but I just can't imagine anyone in the world being better for you than Sportacus." Mayor Meanswell went on. "You two really do love each other."

Stephanie collapsed onto a stool at the counter while her uncle pulled some waffles out of the waffle iron and sniffed them with satisfaction.

"Would you like a waffle Stephanie?" Mayor Meanswell asked, seeing that she had sat down.

"Um... No thanks Uncle Milford." Stephanie said, looking a little dazed. "Actually... I'm gonna go." Stephanie sat up quickly and retreated out the door.

"Oh... Well... See you later!" Mayor Meanswell called after her.

Author's Note: I'd like to think I gave you a better insight into how I view the Mayor in this chapter. Smart enough to know that Stephanie and Sportacus are in a relationship, but not smart enough to know that they haven't realized it themselves. xD