Hi guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had tons off stuff to do...

We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. We kissed. WE KISSED!

Oh… How could I even possibly begin to describe it!?

Wait, wait… I know…

It was the most wonderful, magical, mystifying, magnificent, superb, brilliant, fantastic, perfect experience ever!

And that's just to begin!

It was great!

…

Okay, okay… I kid myself… it was awkward…

She had to almost hold me upside down with her trunk for our lips to even meet… But I swear for that moment I was the happiest molehog that's ever lived.

So… that's pretty much all I can think about right now.

We kissed… We actually kissed.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" I ask Peaches, fighting hard to keep from giggling. I role on to my back in her grasp so I can look at her instead of the ground.

"Let me check." She says, pinching my arm lightly with her trunk. I let out a faint 'eep' which she snickers at and confirms, "Nope. You're awake."

"You're wonderful." I hum.

"How many times are you going to repeat that?" She asks.

"As many times as it takes to get you to start believing it." I whir.

"Did you seriously just tell Peaches that she's the one who needs to improve her feeling of self-worth!?" I hear Crash shout from the ground.

"How long have they been here?" I ask Peaches, ignoring Crash's comment.

"I have no clue. I was too busy looking at you." She replies awkwardly. We exchange loose smiles and both blush heavily as the possums climb up onto her back.

James peaks up over Peaches' head. "Does this mean I'm your uncle?" He asks me, teasingly.

"Well, technically you'd be something more like my step-uncle-in-law," I answer, "but yeah."

"Okay, let's go!" Eddie shouts animatedly.

"Go where?" Peaches asks.

"To wherever Ethan is." Eddie retorts, "I want to give him a piece of my mind."

"Couldn't we just high-tail it out'a here?" James suggests. "I don't want to get into any trouble."

"Will you be okay with just Louis if we head home?" Crash asks Peaches.

"Really, Crash!?" Eddie starts, "We're not going anywhere until we've had our revenge."

"I'd really much rather you guys just go home." Peaches utters.

"Come on guys." James says nervously, jumping off of Peaches' back. "We should check back in with the rest of the herd… Try to be back before dark, Peaches, at least…" Crash and Eddie follow him down, and they start to walk off.

"Don't worry, you guys!" Peaches calls to them. "I'm gunna make that mean-hearted mammoth cry!" Eddie laughs and shouts goodbye as they leave.

"Are we really going to confront Ethan about this?" I ask, "I thought we were kind'a… like, done with all that."

"Either way," Peaches says, "we have to tell Steffie that we're going home so she doesn't come looking for us… not that she actually cares enough to worry about us."

"I like it when you say 'us'." I murmur.

"What Am I gunna do with you?" She asks lightheartedly then pulls me close enough to her cheek that her eyelashes flicker in my face. I wrap my arms around her trunk approvingly. She blinks again, her eyelashes grazing my nose, and I let out a high-pitched sneeze. I feel myself slowly slipping through her loose hold as she giggles at my sneeze.

"Hug me tighter." I request.

She squeezes her trunk around me, just enough that I'm still comfy, and says, "There you go. Better?"

"Infinitely." I whisper. I rub my forehead against her fur affectionately, grinning like a madman. With my eyes hugged shut, I say, "I really am deeply terrified that when I open my eyes I'll wake up in my burrow and this'll all have been a dream."

"You don't have to be afraid of anything, Louis." Peaches assures supportively. "I'm right here, and… and I promise I'm not going anywhere."

I hesitantly open my eyes, one at a time. "You're too nice to me." I say, "I don't deserve it…"

"It's almost sad how adorably depressed you are," She says, "but you're wrong about whether or not you deserve my kindness. I promise that you do."

I enjoy her embrace for a good thirty seconds before she moves me away slightly to look at me. "Louis," she continues, "you're great. I don't know why you can't see it, but you are."

We stare at, or more past, each other for some time without saying anything. I don't know what to think about, I don't know what to do, and I seem only capable of smiling at her wildly every so often when we make eye contact. Finally, I take in a big gulp of air and mutter, "…Thanks."

She grins a little, pulls me in to kiss me on the forehead, and then returns me to my former position at her cheek. I nuzzle up as close to her as I can. She whispers fervently, "You deserve it."

We stay quiet for some indefinite amount of time. I don't care at all how long, nor do I care to guess. All I know is it wasn't long enough, and it never will be. I wish this could last forever.

"I'm not saying you have to stop hugging me…" She says faintly, "but Steffie is walking this way. Don't feel like you have to stop, but you can if you don't want her to know…"

"If you don't care about what she thinks, then neither do I." I respond.

Peaches scruffs the top of my head with her trunk and says, "Okay. Then you better not let go of me. Having you there is the only way that I'm gunna be able to talk to her right now…"

"Hey-yo, Peaches," I hear Steffie yell, even though I can tell she's only a few feet away from us and doesn't need to talk nearly as loud as that.

"What is it, Steffie?" Peaches asks standoffish.

"Ethan said you turned him down for that pint-sized freak-" She stops to clear her throat and then continues, "…ahem, friend of yours… and, girl, when he said that, well… I had to see it with my own eyes."

Peaches cuddles me harder and replies to Steffie, "I'm going to ignore that you said that. What's it matter to you, anyway?"

"Oh… It doesn't matter to me one bit. I just thought you'd want to know that Ethan and I are back together." She says, feigning concern.

Peaches jolts and asks incredulously, "What on Earth are you talking about!?"

"He was pranking you, doll. He just wanted to get your hopes up so he could break up with you later." Steffie states plainly and shrugs her shoulders as if it was obvious.

"You're joking." Peaches says sneeringly, but I can hear a fundamental sadness in her voice. I run my hand down the side of her cheek comfortingly, and I'm shocked to feel a tear running down alongside my paw.

"You think I'm joking!?" Steffie scoffs, "You seriously think I'd walk all the way out here just to lie to you!"

"I don't understand…" Peaches says, "Why would Ethan do that?"

"I know right," Steffie grins wickedly, "why would he ever even offer to go out with a mutt like you?"

Peaches takes a small step back in resignation. I can't stand to hear more of this.

"Shut up!" I find myself crying, "Just shut up and leave!"

Steffie gulps raucously and a small popping sound from her opening lips tells me she's about to reply, but she stops abruptly. Ethan's voice cuts her off, "I hoped I'd find you all out here." He says innocently. "What's going on?"

"Like you don't know." Peaches scorns. She puts me on her head, rubbing her trunk across the side of my face affectionately before lowering it without me.

"Seriously," Ethan looks at Steffie, confused, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, honey." Steffie lies and kisses him on the cheek, "Just keeping things the way they're supposed to be."

Ethan looks at her, almost with a look of disgust, and says, "You don't mean that you…"

Steffie interrupts, turning around and starting to walk away, "-Okay, well, I'll see you later Ethie-poo." She tries to walk away smiling, but the dragging, pounding anger of her steps is audible for several seconds as she escapes the lethal glare Peaches is casting at Ethan and at her.

"You were planning on breaking up with me." Peaches accuses.

"Wha-a!? Of course not! Who told you that?" He looks at her, shocked. I can't tell if he's scared that he's been found out or because he's genuinely surprised.

"You asked me to give up the one thing that still makes me happy," -me?- "and you were just going to break up with me anyway!"

"Is that what Steffie told you?" Ethan asks, astonished.

Peaches just stares at him. The fur on the back of her neck starts to stand up, and her entire body starts to tense and cringe. Either because of anger or because of confusion, she seems unable to answer him.

"Peaches," He says anxiously, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry she said that. It's not true."

"I. Don't. Care." Peaches says coldly. "You've already ruined any chance of us being together."

"I never meant to hurt you." He comments.

"Then what on Earth did you mean to do?" She queries. Ethan just stares off behind her; I can't tell if he's ignoring her or trying to come up with an answer. After a few seconds, Peaches finally says, "Just go…"

"You don't… hate me… do you?" Ethan asks remorsefully, backing up tentatively.

"I-I need time to think, Ethan. Please just leave me alone." She requests.

"Sorry for everything…" He says, and his voice sounds more sincere than I've ever heard. He adds "I hope you can forgive me…" before somnambulating away without another word or any noticeable sign of caring where he's going.

We wait in silence until Ethan is out of sight. Suddenly, Peaches whips he trunk back and seizes me, pulling me out in front of her face.

"Let's go! Let's go for a walk." She whines, "Let's do something. I need to get my mind off Ethan…"

"We could head back to the herd." I suggest.

She frowns, "I'd like to be alone with you. You know, actually alone, for once."

"Okay… Let's go for a walk. Why not?" I say happily.

And with a bittersweet kiss on the cheek, she puts me up on her back yet again.

This chapter's song is "Tengo tu love" by Sie7e.