Hello All,

I place the fourth chapter before you lovely readers, I think it is the largest fanfic chapter I have posted so far, and I am kind of proud of that!

This chapter contains explicit language, implied sexual content (descriptions of Zach undressing and what Zach looks like undressed, Violet liking what she sees after Zach is left in very little clothing, description of Violet taking off her dress [she is left in leggings/ tank top], cuddling and snuggling in bed, and hand, cheek, and neck kissing), and implied alcohol abuse/ alcoholism. In this chapter there will be some content that takes place in the past, or is a flashback, this content is identified by italics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wild Kratts, this universe is thanks to the Kratt Bros!

"You love how you push me to the point of crazy

And I love when you're on your knees and begging for me

You got me good with all these mind games

There you go, you got my heart again

Say my name, I wanna hear you call

Hold me close, I wanna feel your heart

I'm in a cold sweat and I want you bad

Now you got me all in my head, like damn…"

-Mind; Jack Ü feat. Kai

As soon as Zach and I entered his bedroom, he made a beeline for the bathroom and became sick again. I sank to the floor next to him and rubbed his back, noting how sweaty he was.

"Zach, you're soaking wet, you need to get these clothes off, so you don't catch a cold," I responded as he sat beside me after being ill.

"I know, Violet," he paused and whimpered, leaning his head against my shoulder, "don't ever let me drink like that again."

"I warned you and you PROMISED ME you would not, so this is on you my dear," I stated, and I patted his chest, "come on now, let's get you undressed."

With my assistance Zach uneasily rose to his feet, I then stood with him in his darkened bathroom and helped him take off his sweat soaked clothes. He glanced down at me once he was left in nothing but his boxers, and his serious expression was unsettling.

"Do you want me to get your pajamas?" I asked placing his clothes in the hamper, diverting my gaze from his.

"No, I'm not in the mood to get dressed, unless it makes you uncomfortable, I'll just stay like this," he said and looked at me for my response.

I handed him a towel to dry off with and replied, "it doesn't make me uncomfortable; I've seen you like this before."

"Violet, what are you doing?!" Zach called as I ran to the edge of the dock and dived into the water, not caring that I was fully clothed.

I slowly swam to the surface of the water with my long hair streaming out around me. I could see a worried Zach looking at me from the edge of the dock, and a few seconds later he too jumped into the water.

Zach swam to me, his dark hair floating away from his forehead to reveal his widow's peak and his concerned expression. I smiled and swam up, Zach followed my lead, and we both broke the surface of the water at the same time.

After we regained our breath an exasperated Zach sputtered, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT? I was worried about you!" His black hair was plastered against his head, just like the last time we had taken an unfortunate tumble into the Roanoke Sound.

"To remember that night," I answered swimming closer to Zach.

His eyes widened in surprise, then he nodded, he knew exactly what I was talking about, "Ohh, well, we can't stay here, we're soaked now, and I don't have the Zachbots to dry us off this time."

"We can go back to my parent's house and get dried off," I swam past Zach, heading for the shore and looked back at him, "Dad's clothes should fit you; I can let you borrow them until we get back to Amy's house."

I continued swimming and Zach caught up to me, he swam quietly beside me, but I knew he was thinking about the first time he kissed me. When the water was shallow enough for us to stand, Zach grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him as we stood up and walked to my parent's house.

"The next time you want to 'remember' something, let me know first," Zach sounded aggravated, but he was not mad at me. He tightened his hold on my hand and laughed, "you scared me, I thought you were trying to run away from me."

"You don't have to worry about that Zach, I am here as long as you want me around," I answered glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, and I saw a small smile form on his face.

He pushed his hair out of his eyes, and he reached toward my face and pulled the hair covering my right eye behind my ear. I smiled at him, and we begrudgingly let go of each other's hands when we reached the door, and I let him into the house.

"I'll be right back; I'll go get some towels and clothes for us to change into," I stated as he nodded and went to look at the pictures of my parents and me on the wall beside the door.

After I grabbed the towels and a change of clothes for myself, I went into my parent's room and got a pair of my father's gray slacks and a black button-down shirt that I thought Zach would feel comfortable in. I blushed as I grabbed dry underclothes for him.

I walked up to Zach and handed him my dad's clothes and all the towels. I was so embarrassed by the thought of handing Zach the underwear I did not think to hold a towel back for myself. I pointed to the half bath and laundry room, which housed all the towels since the house was not regularly lived in, and I said, "you can change in there."

"Violet, are you okay?" Zach said as I turned and walked, rather ran, away.

"I'm fine, just cold, I'll get changed and be right back…" I muttered as I dashed to my old room, and I heard Zach close the door. I grabbed my own clothes and realized my error in not keeping a towel for myself.

I cursed under my breath, and walked back to the laundry room and knocked on the door, "Um, Zach, can you hand me a towel?"

The door opened to reveal a very pale, very shirtless, essentially half-naked Zach. All he wore were the black boxers I handed him. My eyes strayed from his face to his long neck, down his thin chest, to his slightly pudgy stomach, something I had not expected to see, but something I really liked. I looked at the smattering of black hair traveling from his pecs, down his chest, across his stomach, to his navel, and lower.

I snapped my eyes up to his face and whispered, "Oh, wow," I felt my knees buckle, and Zach grabbed my forearms to steady me.

"Like what you see?" Zach asked me with a hint of laughter in his voice, as he grasped my arms tightly and looked down at me with a mischievous grin.

Zach nodded his head, "I was a bit bold then wasn't I? Well... I'm going to brush my teeth and wash my face; I'll lay down after that."

"Do you want me to stay in here with you?" I raised my eyebrows in concern and tilted my head.

"No," Zach leaned against the sink, gripping the marble with both hands, hanging his head, and it was like he read my mind because he said, "You can leave the door open, so you won't worry."

He lifted his head to look at me, rubbing a hand over his face in aggravation, "I'm sorry, Violet, I really am."

"It's okay Zach," I walked up to him and kissed his cheek, and as I turned away, I felt Zach grab my hair and pull it slightly.

"I like it, all of it," he said as he let the few ringlets in his grasp fall out of his hands, staring at my hair and never looking at me, then he reached for his toothbrush.

My jaw dropped in surprise, but I did not say anything. I simply nodded and left the bathroom to give him his privacy.

VvvvvvVvvvvvV

I sat on Zach's bed and took my shoes off, then I pulled the covers down on Zach's bed. After a few minutes he emerged from the bathroom, walked past me, and he flopped down onto the left side of his bed face first; he grabbed a pillow and held it over his head.

"Do you want me to get you a cool washcloth?" I asked as I turned off the lights on his nightstands, leaving only a small light on his desk to illuminate the room.

"Yeah. Take your dress off while you're at it, too," Zach mumbled from under his pillow.

I stared at his pale, nearly motionless backside in shock, "Excuse me?"

"Just fucking do it; I don't want glitter all over me, and I want to feel as much of you as I can," he whined, gripping the pillow tighter.

Even though I was aggravated by the first part of his last statement, I brushed it off, "Okay, whatever you need, Zach."

After I came back into the bedroom and handed Zach the washcloth, he turned over onto his back and placed it on his forehead. I hesitantly took my dress off under Zach's watchful gaze, and I carefully laid it out on a chair. I was so thankful I had worn a tank top and the leggings under the dress, although I was not uncomfortable around Zach, I was not ready for him to see that much of my skin yet.

I climbed into his bed and sat next to Zach. I was surprised when he lifted the dainty butterfly necklace off my chest and held it in his left hand, "You're still wearing it, after all this time?"

"Always," I whispered, thinking of when he gave me the necklace two years before. [Author's Note: Yeah…I borrowed the always quote from JK Rowling, all rights belong to her. This is a nod to Severus Snape, RIP my favorite Slytherin]

"I got something for you, I was going to wait, but…I thought I would give it to you now," Zach said, and he nervously fished a small box out of his suit jacket.

He opened the box and held it out to me, turning his head from me. I saw a small, gold butterfly necklace in the box. On the upper left wing of the butterfly a V was carved into the metal.

"I know it's not that amazing, if you don't like it, I can get you something else…" Zach said, staring at the moonlight reflecting off the water of the Roanoke Sound.

"No, NO! Zach, thank you so much, it is perfect. You remembered how much I love butterflies, I love it, thank you!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms around his neck, and he returned the hug. I heard him breathe a sigh of relief, and he held me tightly against him.

Zach dropped the necklace against my chest, and he tossed the washcloth onto the nightstand. He lowered his head to my chest, threw an arm over my waist, and butted his head against my breasts a few times, as if he was trying to get comfortable, then he groaned, "I need to sleep, if I don't, I'm going to get sick again."

"Then let's lay down, after you fall asleep, I'll go out and send everyone off, is that okay?" I asked, looking down at his dark hair splayed across my chest.

"Yeah," he mumbled, turning onto his right side, "I want you to spoon me."

I pulled the covers up over us, then I reached my arms out and let him scoot into them. "Is that any different? You have been requesting me to spoon you for a while now, ever since I started doing it to wake your sleepy ass up. You used to hate it, but I have done it so much, you love it, don't you?" I snickered, kissing the nape of his neck, wrapping my arms around him. He only grunted in response.

Our height difference made it a bit awkward for me to serve as the big spoon, but with his thin frame, he still managed to fit well against me. I draped my left leg over his hip, to draw our bodies closer together, and I heard a quiet moan from him.

Zach lay on his side with his arms crossed against his chest, acting as if he was uncomfortable with the physical contact, but he soon relaxed his body and melted into my chest. He wiggled back against me, so that the only things between us were my thin clothes and his boxers.

Zach took my left hand in his and laced his fingers through mine. He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed my palm a couple times before he placed my hand against his bare chest, allowing me to feel his pounding heartbeat.

We quietly laid enveloped in each other's embrace, nothing but the sound of our breathing filled the room. Eventually, I felt Zach's hand slacken against mine, alerting me to the fact that he was on the verge of sleep.

"Why did you get so upset Zach?" I asked knowing if I had not asked then, I would not have gotten a word out of him in the morning.

"I guess I didn't want everyone to know how we felt about each other yet. Or I didn't want them to learn about it from Donita, especially not the way she shared it. I wanted it to come from me or you. I don't know, Violet… It's hard for me…I do love you, but…ARGH…I NEED TO SLEEP!" Zach screamed the last words as he threw his hands against his head and pulled at his hair in frustration.

"Shhh, I know, you can sleep, I will not say anything else," I said calmingly as I reached my left hand up to his forehead. I alternated between tracing my fingers over his forehead and tracing my index finger from his widow's peak to the tip of his nose, small actions that always calmed him and helped him sleep.

"So good to me…you're so good…to…me," Zach mumbled as he fell asleep. Once he succumbed to his exhaustion, I felt tears begin to fall from my eyes, and I cried in silence.

While Zach had just admitted that he loved me, there was something holding him back from committing to me. Not knowing what that something was killed me.

This chapter got out of hand, like the rest of the story, but I am loving it, I hope you all are enjoying it too! Feel free to let me know what you think :).

I do not know if any of you agree, but I think Zach has some sparse body hair, or I like to think that ;). The flashback scenes in this chapter will be featured and described in more depth in Wild Violets, but they are also important to this story.

I am fairly certain I have the rest of this story either written or planned at this point. It will be a max of 7 chapters, of which I have two more written that I need to edit, and I have one left to finish writing/ editing. And I tell you Zach and Violet are writing the story at this point. I will just throw my hands up, and let them direct my fingers across the keyboard, lol.