Hello!

Here is the chapter we have all been waiting for…In this chapter, we get THE KISS and we find out what Zach has been hiding from Violet and the villains. We also get the surprise visit from the Wild Kratts Crew, and they weigh in with their opinion on seeing Zach and Violet kiss. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it is my favorite!

This chapter contains explicit language, implied sexual content (descriptions of kissing and light touching because of a steamy midnight make out session that features open mouth kissing, which I personally hate, so if it is not very well written, I am sorry).

In this chapter there will be some content that takes place in the past, or is a flashback, this content is identified by italics.

This chapter also references Zach and Violet's first kiss, be aware that this kiss happened when Violet was 18 and Zach was 23, which is legally acceptable where I live. Rest assured, he is a gentleman about the event, and nothing else happens between them romantically for 1-2 years after the first kiss. If this age gap bothers you, I apologize.

I do not own Wild Kratts, any characters in the show, or any other feature of this world gifted to us by the Kratt Brothers, it is theirs and theirs alone!

"Sparks fly, it's like electricity

I might die when I forget how to breathe

You get closer and there's nowhere in this world

I'd rather be

Time stops like everything around me

It's frozen and nothing matters

But these few moments when you open my mind

To things I've never seen…

'Cause when I'm kissing you my senses come alive

Almost like the puzzle piece I've been trying to find

Falls right into place, you're all that it takes

My doubts fade away when I'm kissing you…"

Kissin U; By: Miranda Cosgrove

As midnight approached, we turned our attention to Zach's large screen television to watch the video footage of the ball drop in New York City.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. Happy New Year!" We all exclaimed with various levels of excitement when it was officially January 1st. At that moment Dabio kissed Donita's cheek, and Gourmand kissed my cheek. I smiled at him, but I was taken by surprise when I saw Zach, dressed in his signature outfit with his hair neatly combed, angerly approaching. He yelled, " WHA…STAY AWAY FROM HER, SHE'S MINE!"

"Zach it's okay, he just kissed my cheek…" I tried to explain, but the desperate look on his face stopped me.

A fire burned deep in his eyes, like that I had seen the first time he kissed me, and every time he had kissed me since then, "Don't hate me for this, but…" he said, staring deep into my eyes, "I want to kiss you, I don't know why, but… can I?"

"Yes…"

"Stop talking," Zach whined, then he dipped his head toward mine and surprised me with a heated kiss.

He lowered his lips to mine and pressed them against mine tenderly. My eyelids fluttered shut and my breath caught in my throat; I parted my lips slightly and kissed him back.

My wide eyes fluttered shut, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Zach's left arm encircled my waist, and he pulled me towards him, so that our bodies were flush against one another. He placed his right hand at the base of my head and splayed his hand against my scalp, digging his fingernails into my scalp, and pushing my head closer to his.

I felt Zach's nose brush against mine, and he sweetly cupped my cheek with one hand.

His lips moved over mine hungerly, and he opened his mouth and moaned against my closed lips, I got his message, and I parted my lips, allowing him access to my mouth.

"HE'S using TONGUE, everyone!" Gourmand called out.

"SHUT UP!" Zach hissed against my lips before he resumed the kiss.

Zach turned his head slightly to the right, so our noses were not touching, and he deepened the kiss.

Zach and I had rarely engaged in open mouth and tongue kissing before, and I could tell that he was excited by the new sensation. He removed his hands from me long enough to grab me by my arms and push me against the back of the couch. He smiled wickedly and returned his lips to mine, kissing me with less desperation, but no less passion. Settling for slow, partially open mouth kisses as he lowered his hands to my hips and held them in a death grip. He was obviously thrilled by the thought of having me trapped against him as well.

With a shaky breath Zach broke the kiss, my bottom lip clinging to his for a split second. "That was amazing," he whispered.

"You guys owe me another pizza," I heard Jimmy Z's familiar voice comment from somewhere behind me, "I told you he would be making out with her at midnight."

"I still can't get over the fact that you keep winning these bets, Jimmy," Koki sounded slightly exasperated.

"Ay, Que lindo!" Aviva exclaimed.

"I was not expecting to see that today," Chris said.

"Neither was I, little brother, but I think it is fair to say we are now witnessing the courtship patterns of the Varmitech species," Martin replied.

Zach broke the kiss and looked over my head with disgust, and I turned my head to see that every single Wild Kratt was staring at us, with confused, content, or happy expressions.

"WHO CALLED THEM!" Zach shouted, turning to look at the villains, but he did not move from his position against me. Everyone responded by pointing fingers at someone else, but I guessed the decision to call was a group effort. Zach shook his head in frustration and turned back to me.

He looked at me, and I felt him shiver from anger or arousal, I could not tell, "we'll finish this later," he breathed in my ear. Then he backed away from me far enough to wrap an arm around my waist, pull me against his side, and turn his attention to the Wild Kratts.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the show, but I do have a party to return to, see ya!" Zach waved a hand dismissively, and as a few of the Wild Kratts returned the wave, Zach reached over the couch and disconnected the call.

Zach and I turned to face our villain audience whose expressions mirrored those worn by the Wild Kratts: confused, content, or happy.

"You recovered nicely from your excessive drinking, Zachary, you have certainly regained your lip coordination," Donita said, and everyone started laughing except Zach, Paisley, and me, even I had to bite my lip to keep quiet, and I saw Paisley's lips quirk into a tiny smirk.

"Dabio was right Donita, Zach DID look like he was devouring her mouth when he kissed Violet, her lips must taste like sugar. I knew I called her Sugar for a reason." Gourmand chuckled at his own comment, and he winked at us.

Zach surprised all of us by saying, "not sugar, mint, her lips taste minty."

I felt a blush creep onto my face, and Zach gave me a sweet smile before he brushed a thumb across my hot cheeks, "you're cute."

"Thank you," I responded, leaning into his touch.

"Oh for fucks sake, can you both just get together already! We have wasted this entire evening waiting for you to get over your own pride Zach!" Paisley called out, placing her hands on her hips, and looking at us with an annoyed expression. Paisley, you have just become my favorite blonde badass, I thought to myself.

"I agree. Zach, why don't you just admit it, you love Violet. She loves you, and you two are meant for each other, no matter how much it pains me to say that because Violet can do so much better. I mean can you imagine how good she would look with some of the male models I've had at my shows!" Donita said as she examined her fingernails, acting innocent, but I knew she had planned to make such a statement. She was milking the fact that Zach was obsessively jealous and possessive of me.

Zach indeed tightened his hold on me, and he balled his free hand into a fist by his side.

Gourmand was the next to speak, and his comment was the one that made Zach snap. "Zach, I know you've cared about Violet for a long time, why are you still waiting to be with her? Isn't this what you want, don't you love her?"

Zach and Gourmand stared at each other intently, and Zach groaned, breaking away from me, but not breaking eye contact with Gourmand. I had no idea what was going on between Zach and Gourmand, but it looked like they were engaged in an unspoken conversation. When Zach finally broke eye contact with Gourmand, he began pacing the room.

He abruptly stopped in front of Gourmand, pointing back at me as he shouted in a strained voice, "I do love her, OKAY! I have loved her THAT WAY for OVER TWO YEARS, but I've tried to ignore it because I still can't believe that she actually loves me!"

That is why, my inner self screamed, he does not believe I love him, he cannot commit because he does not think it is real! I thought to myself, taking comfort in the fact that it was not because he did not want me, he did want me, he had wanted me for two years! Then the confusion set in, and I looked to Zach, two years ago would have been…

I spoke my next thought out loud, "Wait…two years, two years ago would have been…"

I felt like a bus hit me, I did the math, I KNEW when Zach had fallen in love with me, "at my prom?" I whispered under my breath, and I looked up to Zach, who's eyes became large at my whispered utterance.

"Zach, I love you…" I whispered and paused after I saw his eyes become wide and he stepped away from me. I attempted to correct my error, I coughed, and said, "sorry, I had a tickle in my throat, I love you FOR coming, thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me. You kept your promise to come, you helped me get rid of Travis, you gave me this beautiful necklace, you danced with me, you helped to make my night special…"

"You fell in love with me at my prom, didn't you?" I asked Zach, and he hesitantly nodded his head, not looking away from me.

"Yes…" Zach walked back to me, and he took my hands in his and pulled me towards him.

Zach walked back to me with an odd expression on his face, the look of concern that had plastered his face when I said I loved him was replaced by one of curiosity. He stopped when there were only a few inches between us, and he looked down at me. I met his gaze and noticed the passion burning deep within his green eyes. "You're welcome…I'm glad I could be here with you…I've missed you, being around you."

A few tears escaped my eyes, and Zach brushed them off my face with his thumbs, "Why are you crying?"

"I've missed you too, Zach…I'm crying because I'm happy… I didn't think I'd see you again," I sobbed, and lowered my head.

Zach grasped both sides of my face and tilted it up, so I was looking at him again, "I kept my promise because you helped me at a time in my life that I had no one else. I can't thank you enough for that, and I would do anything to show you how much that means to me."

His own eyes welled up with tears, and I gripped his forearms, "Zach, this is more than enough…"

Zach broke free from my grasp, and growled in his throat, "NO, it's not!"

He walked away from me rubbing his neck nervously. When he turned back to me his gaze traveled from my face to my feet and back to my face.

"You're beautiful…" He uttered in a strained voice as he came back to me, and his eyes locked on mine with the same passionate blaze.

"Your hair, your dress, your eyes, your smile, your nose," he took the opportunity to boop my nose, "everything is perfect, you are perfect…I want to ask you something, I want to do something, but only if you want it, if you don't, I won't force it…"

"What is it Zach?" I asked with bated breath as he closed the distance between us.

"Don't hate me for this, but…" he said, staring deep into my eyes, "I want to kiss you, I don't know why, but… can I?"

"Yes…"

"Zach, honey, why didn't you tell me how you felt at the time? Especially if you knew you felt the same way?" I asked, looking at him in confusion. Zach reached for my head and laid it against his chest. He stroked my hair calmingly as he answered my questions.

"You were so young…You were only eighteen; After you said you loved me, I panicked, but I knew I felt the same way about you. That's why I kissed you... I didn't tell you how I felt then or in the weeks, months, and now years after that because…I didn't want to push you…"

Zach pushed me away from him far enough to place his hands on my shoulders, and he bent down so that he was on eye level with me as he said, "I wanted you to have a chance to live your life, do the things you wanted to do with your life, even if that meant I was not in it. And look at all you've done: you graduated as the valedictorian of your class, you got two college degrees, you're working on another one, you made a name for yourself by working with Donita… I know if you had been with me then, I would have held you back... I wouldn't have wanted you to do anything except be with me."

Zach stood upright, grabbed my face harshly, and brought it toward his, so we were eye to eye, when I flinched at his tight grip, he loosened his hold on my chin, tears spilling from his eyes as he must have realized he caused me pain. "I was scared Violet, I felt like I had to own you, that you had to be mine and mine alone. As soon as I saw you that night, I felt something for you I had never felt before. I thought I was just being overprotective because that boy was coming on to you…but seeing you with him, even though I knew you weren't interested in him…It made me so mad, like I had to have you…All to myself…I knew that wasn't right, and I still feel like that now. I try to ignore it, but it's so hard."

At this point Zach dropped to his knees and threw his arms around my waist, pressing his face against my stomach, sobbing into the material of my dress. I threw my hands up momentarily from the shock of his actions, but I quickly lowered my hands to his head and ran my fingers through his hair. Zach turned his head so that only the right side of his face was against my stomach, and I fought the urge not to laugh as I saw bits of the green glitter from my dress attached to his pale face. "Oh Zach," I peeled Zach's arms off me, which he vocally protested to by screaming no, and I joined him on the ground. I reached around him and pulled his black handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped the tears and glitter off his face.

Zach opened his mournful eyes and he managed to control his crying, "I'm scared if we get together you will leave me because I'll try to control you, and you'll get sick of it. I know you are too good to be with someone like me, so instead of committing to you, instead of telling you the truth about how I felt from the beginning…I decided not to. I decided to act like I didn't care. When I do…I want you so bad it fucking hurts."

"THEN BE WITH HER!" Everyone called out behind us.

A pained expression crossed Zach's features, and he stood up and attempted to walk away from me. I grabbed his arm, "No, Zach, please stop this. I want you, flaws and all. I want you for you, for the person you are to me."

He tossed his head back and murmured a string of obscenities under his breath, but I knew he was on the verge of caving, "you don't know what you're getting yourself into, Violet. You're too good for me, but I can't stand it. I love you; I need you in my life as more than my assistant or my friend…Will you be my girlfriend?"

I felt like the world had stopped around me, this was the moment I had been waiting for for years, something I thought was nothing but aimless dreaming. But now, it was real. He loved me and he wanted me to be his girlfriend.

"YES!" I screamed as I ran to Zach, knocking him to the ground as I threw my arms around him and kissed him.

Okay all, there is a 5-to-6-year age difference between Zach and Violet: Here she is 20 (a few months shy of 21, her birthday is April 22) and he has just turned 26 (his birthday is October 23). When Zach fell in love with her/ first kissed her, Violet was 18 and he was 23. This gap might bother some people, and if it does, I apologize, but I did warn you of this way back in the first chapters of Wild Violet. I am a firm believer that, if it is legally acceptable, age does not matter in a romantic relationship, the love is what matters… And with Zach, I do not think he would match well with someone his exact age because he is so childish. Which is why I think him being a bit older, and Violet being a bit younger, makes sense because they would be on the same emotional level. I hope you all can understand my opinion on this matter.

Also know I will not have them do ANYTHING else besides talking or writing to each other in Wild Violets until Violet is 19-20 and Zach is 24-25.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, feel free to let me know what you think!

P.S. Any ideas about what is going on with Zach and Gourmand? You can let me know your guesses if you'd like ;).