(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)

Valentines Day High Jinx

As Valentines Day approached, the pups all approached it differently. For Zuma, it was the perfect day to make a new female friend. Rubble and Tracker on the other paw, had no plans or aspirations beyond stockpiling treats. Chase had explicitly told Skye not to plan anything but to pick out a new dress which has made the cockapoo giddy with delight. Marshall and Everest were planning on doing something together, but no one managed to get anything more out of either of them. But the biggest enigma was Rocky whose cryptic answers always seemed to generate more questions.

Inside his mind, Rocky was planning what he thought was the craziest thing he had ever thought up, which was saying something. In a secret and quiet place, the grey mix assembled what he needed and continued to refine his plan.

In the desert, a trio of pups were concocting a plan of their own. "That is so dumb Gasket, why would you even suggest that?"

Gasket held back a plethora of biting remarks. Hubcap was an idiot, but an idiot that could be led. She had cracked the Konami Code on how exactly to lead Hubcap to what she wanted, but it wasn't easy in any aspect. But if she lost her temper with the intemperate French Bulldog, it wouldn't work.

"It was just an idea" Gasket soothed, "you're the boss, I'm sure you'll come up with something better."

"Darn right I am" Hubcap replied, puffing out his chest.

"Well boss, we could just ride around licking the decorations until they came down" Dwayne ventured. Gasket smiled, Dwayne wasn't much brighter than Hubcap and usually contributed the Gasket's plan without even realizing it.

"Dwayne, that is the dumbest plan I've ever heard" Hubcap said derisively.

Gasket smiled inside, her plan was working like a charm.

"Since neither of you can come up with a good plan, I'll come up with one myself" Hubcap continued.

Gasket pretended to wait attentively for Hubcap to reveal his plan. Dwayne on the other paw was actually waiting expectantly with his tail wagging.

"Gasket, make device that can soak down all the Valentines Day decorations and then rip them down. I want it to attach to our motorbikes so we can cause mayhem on the go!"

"But Hubcap, that is exactly what…" Dwayne started to say before Gasket shut his muzzle with her paw.

"Sure thing" Gasket replied, keeping her tone perfectly compliant. Nevermind that it was the same idea she had already suggested and Hubcap had shot down. She knew who the reals brains of the pack belonged to - her. It really got under her fur that Hubcap took credit for everything good and blamed every failure on everyone but himself. But if she could manipulate him into doing what she wanted, it was at least more likely to go according to plan. The grey malamute got to work on her contraption.

It was the day before Valentine's Day.

*Bleep Bleep* "Paw Patrol, to the lookout!"

"Ryder needs us!" all the pups exclaimed before dropping what they were doing to scamper to the lookout.

As they all ran into the elevator, they noticed someone was missing. "Marshall, be careful!" Rocky and Zuma said at the same time.

At that moment, Marshall tripped on a blade of grass and went flying through the air with a "whoahahah!"

*Crash*

"I don't suppose any of you want to be my valentine?" Marshall asked jokingly.

"No Marshall!" everyone yelped.

"I don't want to get eaten by Everest" Rocky laughed.

"That would be tragic" Rubble added with a laugh.

Everyone laughed as they got ready. The elevator dinged and the pups all lined up. Chase sounded off "Ready for action Ryder sir!"

"Thanks for hurrying pups" Ryder said as he began. "Tomorrow is Valentines Day and we need to put the decorations up around town. Rocky," Ryder continued as he pressed the button on his pup pad to manipulate the display, "I need you to pick up everything we need to make the decorations from the recycling center."

"Don't lose it, reuse it!" Rocky sounded off.

"Skye, I need you to pick up the designs from Mayor Goodway at town hall. Then, you are in charge of organizing everyone else in order to make Mayor Goodway's design a reality" Ryder directed.

"Let's take to the sky!" Skye sounded off.

"We're on it!" Marshall, Zuma, Chase and Rubble added.

"Alright, Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder sounded off as he ran to his fire pole. All the pups howled as Rocky and Skye slid down the slide. Rocky changed his pup house into his recycling truck and drove forward, making way for Skye's house to rotate into position. Skye changed her pup house into her helicopter. With a quick check of all her instruments to make sure everything was ready, she took off into the sky. The two pups looped around and down the driveway to met up with Ryder on his ATV. Ryder led them down the hill and across the bridge. At the end of the bridge, Rocky turned to head towards the recycling center while Ryder and Skye continued on to city hall.

Ryder pulled up to city hall and Skye landed next to him. "I wonder what Mayor Goodway has planned" Skye wondered as they walked inside.

"I'm sure it is very pretty" Ryder replied.

"It is very pretty" Mayor Goodway said as she walked out to meet them, Chickaletta was partially asleep in her purse. "I know it will be a bit complicated" the mayor said as she handed Skye her plans, "but I have faith in you Skye."

"Aww, thanks Mayor Goodway!" Skye said as she took the plans in her paws and started looking through them. "Ryder, I'm going to need Rocky to pick up a few special things."

"Sounds good Skye" Ryder said before turning back to Mayor Goodway. "We've got this Mayor Goodway, Adventure Bay will look wonderful as always."

"Thank you Ryder and Skye, I know I can count on you" Mayor Goodway said, waving goodbye to them.

When then got outside, Skye rang up her recycling brother. "Rocky, are you there yet?"

"I'm here Skye" Rocky replied through his tag. "What do you need me to get?"

Skye described what she needed to make.

"Well, I'll see what I can get Skye" Rocky replied.

"No hurries, we can get started with what we have at the lookout" Skye replied.

"Ok, see you soon Skye" Rocky replied before cutting the connection.

"Let's go Skye" Ryder said as he put his helmet on.

"Right behind you Ryder" Skye said as she fired up her helicopter. The two headed back to the lookout.

When they arrived, the rest of the pups where hanging out downstairs, awaiting directions.

"Ok pups, let's get crafting!" Skye yipped before they all dove into the project. Rocky soon joined them and the complicated work began. It was several hours before everything was ready.

"Ok pups, now it is time to setup everything" Skye said. "Marshall, you and Zuma hang up the heart posters on every lamp post. Rocky, you and Rubble transport the machine to the park. Chase, you are with me."

"What are we doing?" Chase asked.

"Hanging the hearches at the intersections" Skye replied as she led the way to their vehicles.

"Hearches?" Chase asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Heart arches, combined into one word" Skye giggled. "You dangle from my harness and attach each end to the rooftops."

"Oh, ok" Chase replied. Ten minutes later, Chase was less thrilled as he dangled below Skye's copter with more than a dozen arches of hearts big enough to cross the city street intersections.

They arrived at the first intersection and Chase careful attached one end of the hearch to the building roof. Skye then lifted him over to the other side where he attached the other end. It took a little coaxing but he was able to get the arch upright.

They repeated the process for each street leading into the intersection, three in total. Once all three were up, Skye maneuvered Chase between them to attache them to each other for additional support.

"All good here Skye" Chase called up.

"Great, only eleven more intersections to go" Skye replied. Chase groaned slightly, it was going to be a long afternoon.

Down on the streets, Marshall and Zuma had devised a plan to make their task easier. Starting just past the intersection by the lookout, Marshall raised up his ladder to a height just below the street lamps and Zuma went to the top with a bunch of pink and purple heart posters. They already had tape attached to make it easier. After hanging the first poster, Zuma stayed on top of the ladder while Marshall slowly drove to the next streetlight.

"This was a pwetty good idea Mawshall" Zuma said as they moved down the street.

"Yeah, this is going by really quickly" Marshall replied. He was happy that Zuma was ok being left up on the ladder. It was one thing to go up and down a ladder and work when it was stationary. It was very different to be up on top of a moving ladder. They were setting at pretty good pace but it was still going to take them awhile because of the sheer number of street lamps in town.

At the park, Rocky and Rubble were discussing where to put the device that Rocky had assembled. "How about back by the stage?" Rubble suggested.

"That seems a little far back" Rocky replied, "there isn't anything else going on at the park to draw everyone in."

"Well, then what about by the playground benches?" Rubble offered.

"Maybe" Rocky replied. "It wouldn't be in the way and people would like it. Would that be better than right on the corner?"

Rubble thought for a moment. "I don't know, let's try both and see."

The two pups placed the device by the benches first. "It just doesn't look right" Rubble said.

"Well, then let's try on the corner" Rocky replied. The two of them moved the heart shaped device one more time.

"I think that is much better" Rubble said with satisfaction.

"I'm not so sure" Rocky replied. "It is partially blocking the sidewalk. People won't be able to use it without fully blocking the path."

"Then we scoot it back slightly" Rubble said before trying to move the machine himself. Rocky smiled before helping his teammate. They stopped when they had moved it far enough.

"That is much better" Rocky said with satisfaction.

"Good, because that is heavier than it looks and we don't need to be moving it again" Rubble said.

"Too heavy for you?" Rocky teased as they walked back to their trucks.

"Never" Rubble replied, puffing out his chest. Rocky just laughed as they drove back to the lookout.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, with only Marshall getting dispatched to rescue Chickaletta from a tree.

Valentines Day morning, Gasket was doing a final check of her bike and rig. It had been a bit of a challenge to fit everything without a side car but she was not going to stoop to that level.

"Everything going to work this time Gasket?" Hubcap asked.

His tone was less than complimentary and it took everything Gasket had not to just turn around and bite his head clean off. "It will work just fine" Gasket said back. Too bad his neck was so thick, she wouldn't be able to do it in one bite and he had the advantage in the brawl that would inevitably follow.

"It better" Hubcap warned, "I've had it up to here with you failures." Hubcap raised his paw up to his ear.

Gasket resisted the urge to smirk and tell him that wasn't very high at all. Hubcap was short enough to drown in water that would barely get her underside wet. "I'll do my part and you do yours" the grey malamute answered simply. Hubcap grunted something unintelligible, not that anything he said was intelligible Gasket laughed to herself, and stalked off. Gasket walked off to show Dwayne how to work the gizmo she had built onto his bike.

Ryder and the pups were playing outside when the call came in. "Hi Mr. Porter, what's up?" Ryder asked.

"Ryder, that Alaskan Malamute that rides a motorcycle is back and soaking down the Valentines Day posters and banners with some liquid."

"Is it water?" Ryder asked curiously.

"I thought it was but it is drying super fast" Mr. Porter replied. "And there is this strange smell that it leaves behind."

"We're on it Mr. Porter, no smell is too strange, no pup is too small!" Ryder proclaimed before pressing the button on his pup pad.

*Bleep bleep* "Paw Patrol, to the lookout!" echoed from the pup tags.

"Ryder needs us!" All the pups responded before dashing to the elevator.

This time, Marshall tripped over a random Valentines Day card and went flying. "Whoa!"

*Crash*

The pups had landed in a heart shaped stack with Marshall on the bottom. "I just have a heart for all of you guys today" Marshall said, making all the pups laugh as they jumped down and got suited up.

"Paw Patrol ready for action Ryder sir!" Chase's sounded off as they jumped to their spots.

"Good hustle pups" Ryder began his briefing. "It seems that at least one member of the Ruff-Ruff Pack is out causing trouble. Gasket had been spotted spraying down the Valentines Day decorations with some sort of chemical."

"Do we know what it is Ryder?" Rocky asked.

"Nope, but we are going to find out" Ryder replied. "Rocky, I need you to snag one of the decorations she sprayed to see if you can figure out what it is."

"Green means go!" Rocky sounded off.

"Chase, I need you to find Gasket and keep her from causing any more mischief" Ryder directed.

"Chase is on the case!" Chase sounded off.

"Skye, I need you to get up high and see if you can spot the other members of the Ruff-Ruff Pack so we can intercept them before they get to town" Ryder continued.

"This puppy's gotta fly!" Skye sounded off with her signature flip.

"Alright, Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder sounded off before dashing to his pole. Three pups jumped down the slide right behind him.

"Ryder, I see Gasket" Skye reported as soon as she was over the town, "she is heading down Main Street towards the beach."

"Copy that Skye" Ryder said, "Chase, you know what to do."

"These paws uphold the laws!" Chase barked as he floored his cruiser to intercept.

Ryder and Rocky stopped by Mr. Porter's cafe. "Ryder, I'm so glad you are here" Mr. Poter said.

"Which posters did she spray?" Ryder asked.

"All of them" Mr. Porter replied with a wave of his arm.

Rocky walked up to one and took an experimental sniff. "Eww, I'm not sure what it is Ryder, I don't recognize it" Rocky informed Ryder.

"You'll need a sample then" Ryder replied.

"Ruff, claw!" Rocky barked and his claw extended out of his pup pack. Rocky went to grab the nearest poster but the whole thing disintegrated as soon as his claw touched it. "Whoa, I'm still not sure what it is but we know what it does" Rocky said.

"See if you can get a sample from the remains" Ryder said before keying his pup pad. "Chase, the spray Gasket is using is disintegrating the posters so be careful, we don't know what it will do to your skin and fur."

"Copy that Ryder" Chase said as he closed in. He could hear Gasket's motorcycle approaching the intersection of Main Street and the beach.

Gasket heard Chase's siren and smiled, she was looking forward to this part. It wasn't as fun as beating Rocky with something inventive but twisting Chase's tail was almost as fun. She watched as Chase drifted the turn and came racing down the street towards her. Gasket barked to adjust the aim of her cannon and fired.

Chase yelped and ducked just in time for the liquid to fly over his head.

"Careful Chase" Gasket taunted him, "this spray I have will disintegrate your fur, leaving you totally exposed."

"You have to hit me first Gasket!" Chase shot back as he turned in pursuit.

Gasket remained focused on soaking the banners, but would occasionally turn around and fire a shot off at Chase to keep him at bay.

"Grr, enough of this" Chase growled as he evaded and closed in. "Ruff, net!" Chase barked and his net cannon fired. The net landed on Gasket's cannon and forced it to aim down at the ground. "Yes!" Chase barked triumphantly.

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Gasket said sarcastically, making Chase do a double take. Hitting a button on her bike, a machete swung out and sliced the net cleanly in half, freeing the cannon to resume firing. "Try again Chase!" Gasket cackled.

"Ryder, I can't stop Gasket" Chase regretful reported.

"Ryder, I found Dwayne and Hubcap" Skye added, "there are headed towards town from the road that leads to Farmer Al's and Farmer Yumi's.

"Change in plans pups" Ryder said. "Chase, go intercept those two, keep them out of town if you can.

"Roger that Ryder" Chase said before turning away from Gasket.

"Oh no you don't, you aren't getting away from me that easily po-po pup" Gasket said as she turned to follow, pelting the back of Chase's cruiser with shots.

Meanwhile, Rocky was analyzing the remains of the disintegrated sign to see if he could make a counter spray. "I wonder where she got this" he said quietly to himself, "or if she formulated it herself." It was complicated and all the more difficult because he only had remains and not access to the liquid itself. Rocky was so engrossed in his work that Chase's siren screaming louder and louder didn't even register.

"Duck Rocky!" Chase barked as he sped past him.

"Huh?" Rocky said, turning around just in time to see Gasket fire at his face.

Then the pups were past. Gasket didn't have to see if her shot at her arch rival hit him or not as they sped out of town. She went back to pelting Chase but in her mind was picturing Rocky with no fur on his face and it brought her great joy.

Rocky poked his head up and with a gloved paw tapped his hat. Green dust, along with some grey dust, fell down. "Chase" Rocky said into his pup tag, "in case you were wondering, Gasket's spray also disintegrates cloth and fur."

"Great, I had been hoping she was bluffing" Chase replied back, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I needed a trim off the top anyway" Rocky replied. Grabbing a beaker, he coaxed some of the liquid that had hit his truck into the beaker to start analyzing.

Chase was getting grumpy. For the first time, he couldn't do anything to stop Gasket and was at the mercy of her attacks. He had to think of something and fast.

Gasket had figured out that Chase was going to try and stop Hubcap and Dwayne. She couldn't warn them off but she was not going to make it easy for Chase.

Dwayne and Hubcap heard the siren and Gasket's bike and we're not surprised when they came into view. "Useless Malamute, she can't even keep that police pup away from us" Hubcap said contemptuously.

"Uh boss?" Dwayne said tentatively, "it looks more like she is chasing him away from town."

"What? That's nonsense" Hubcap said dismissively before he looked again. His eyes got wider when he saw Chase was indeed swerving to avoid getting hit by Gasket's blasts. "Keep going, don't let him stop us."

Chase drifted his cruiser sideways and started tossing out cones all over the road to try and stop them. Gasket couldn't slow down in time and rocketed past him. Dwayne and Hubcap bore through in the other direction, knocking the cones aside with ease.

"Ryder, they got past me and are headed toward town!" Chase barked into his tag.

"Don't worry Chase, we have a backup plan" Ryder replied. "Keep pushing them towards town and don't let them slow down."

"Roger that Ryder" Chase said before tearing off after Dwayne and Hubcap. Gasket raced up behind him and continued to pelt his cruiser with disintegration fluid.

Hubcap was cackling madly. "Haha, I did it, I came up with the plan that will finally deliver us an epic win!"

"Uh boss," Dwayne said, "this was actually…"

"Shut your muzzle Dwayne" Hubcap smacked his pack mate on the muzzle. "All the credit for this goes to me and not that snotty Malamute!"

The bickering distracted them at the best or worst time, depending on your point of view. The two of them crested the top of the hill to begin driving into town and landed with a very wet squelch.

"What the?" Hubcap barked.

"Boss, we're stuck in a mud pit" Dwayne said matter-of-factly. Off to the side, Marshall, Rubble and Ryder we're grinning at their handiwork.

Siren blaring, Chase's cruiser sailed into the mud behind them. Unlike the bike, Chase still had traction and slowly pulled up next to them. "You won't be causing any trouble today" Chase said with a smirk.

Gasket had been paying attention and when she realized it was a trap, she slammed her paw down on the gas and aimed for the biggest jump she could find. She went sailing over the mud trap and landed on the far side. With a howl she took off toward town.

"Chase, Rubble, deal with these two" Ryder said as he jumped on his ATV, "Let's go Marshall!" Sirens blaring, they took off toward Adventure Bay.

"Whatever trouble she causes" Chase said with a smirk, "you won't see it."

Hubcap growled in frustration and Dwayne whined sadly.

Gasket knew her time was limited so she went straight for the park. She had seen the heart-shaped device Rocky had assembled and intended the destruction of it to be her finale. Gasket skidded to a stop and hopped off her bike. The outer shell was metal but if she could pry it open, her spray would obliterate the delicate electronics.

Gasket was pawing at the access panel to get it openwhen she heard the machine whir. She paused and looked up. A red dot appeared on the side. "What that heck?" Gasket yipped. Quick as a flash, a mechanical arm reached out and attached something to her head. Before Gasket could move there was a blinding flash of light.

Blinking her eyes frantically, Gasket watched the machine spit out a photo of her, with ridiculous looking pink heart ears attached to her head. Gasket tried to paw the ears off but they wouldn't move. Then she heard sirens approaching.

Out of time, Gasket jumped back on her bike and made a beeline for the edge of town. She hosed down every sign she saw along the way but she was not going to let herself be seen with the ludacris pink heart ears.

Marshall and Ryder were continuing to lose ground on Gasket when Rocky called them. "Ryder, I know how to stop the disintegration spray."

"Go ahead Rocky" Ryder replied.

"Tell Marshall to mist down everything that got sprayed" Rocky directed. "Solid streams of water will cause it to disintegrate but the mist should rinse the fluid off. It appears to be bio-degradable and non-toxic if ingested."

"Copy that, thanks Rocky" Ryder replied. "Skye, help me run Gasket out of town. Marshall, mist down everything."

"Flying over now Ryder" Skye said as her copter zoomed past.

"I'm getting all misty eyed" Marshall laughed as he stopped and made the adjustments to his fire truck and his pup pack. Controlling the ladder from his driver's seat, Marshall guided the nozzle on his ladder to the nearest banner and misted it down thoroughly. A light yellow liquid came off and ran down the drain. After a few seconds, the banner was clean. Marshall drove on and repeated the process, he had a lot of banners to decontaminate.

Gasket was well outside of Adventure Bay when they stopped following her. Finding a spot to lay low for the moment behind some scrub brush and trees, she was finally able to turn attention to her most vexing problem; those blasted heart ears. For some reason, they were unreasonably tight on her head. She pawed at them for several minutes before they finally came off. Gasket was about to toss them away when she noticed a piece of paper hanging off the edge. Intrigued, Gasket removed the paper. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a ticket to the monster truck show that night.

Gasket stared at the ticket for a few moments. She really wanted to go but she didn't want to be recognized. And she would have to ditch Hubcap and Dwayne. She didn't feel bad about the former but she knew that the later would love to go. But she needed this for herself and only had one ticket so she tossed the heart ears, stuffed the ticket into her vest, and hopped on her bike to ride and think.

Back in Adventure Bay, Marshall was finishing up rinsing the banners. A few had still disintegrated but they had been quickly replaced. "Thank you Paw Patrol, you've saved Valentines Day!" Mayor Goodway bubbled happily.

"No problem Mayor Goodway," Ryder said, "whenever someone tries to disintegrate your holiday, just yelp for help!"

Chase immediately headed to Katie's pet parlor to get cleaned up. He was not surprised to find Skye's helicopter already parked out front. "I'm already bathing Skye, Chase, you know how she feels about you seeing her while she is getting ready" Katie warned without turning around as Chase walked in.

"I know, I just desperately need a bath" Chase whined.

Katie turned and and Skye leaned out of the tub to look. "Oh my goodness" Katie said with a shake of her head. Chase's entire lower half was covered in mud.

"I can share my bath Katie" Skye giggled, "we can kick him out after that, before you get me ready."

Without waiting to hear what Katie said, Chase trotted over and jumped in with Skye who giggled again at the splash. Chase sighed happily and closed his eyes as he settled in to soak. Katie laughed, "I'll give you two time to soak before I come in to finish cleaning you."

"Thanks Katie" Skye said as she watched the groomer walk out. As soon as the door clicked shut, she pounced on the unsuspecting German Shepherd.

Chase grunted in surprise as he felt Skye alight on his chest. He opened his eyes and gazed into her loving magenta eyes. Chase opened his mouth to speak but was instead met with a fierce kiss that took his breath away. "I can't wait for tonight" Skye whispered softly as she laid down on Chase's chest in the water. Chase just put a paw around her and enjoyed the cuddle.

That evening, all the pups dispersed to enjoy their plans. Zuma dragged Rubble and Tracker to a beach party for single pups just as the sun was setting. Marshall left next to pick up Everest for their evening and Rocky left shortly thereafter for a destination unknown. Ryder left to go collect Katie for their date, leaving Chase and Skye as the only pups at the lookout.

Chase waited outside his pup house for Skye. He tried to wait patiently but couldn't help but fidget. He wasn't nervous, just anxious to get going. He heard the door to Skye's pup house open and prepared himself to be wowed. It didn't make a difference how prepared he was.

Skye was wonderfully done up in a flowy pink dress, accented with light purple hues. She wore glass slippers on her paws and her fur was perfectly brushed. Chase's nose detected a hint of Skye's preferred "Chase killing" perfume and instead of her normal collar, she wore her pup tag on a dainty silver chain around her pretty neck. Chase was overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked.

Fortunately, Skye was in the same position. Chase had on his tuxedo and to Skye's eyes, he looked as roughishly handsome as the first time she saw him wear it. His cuff links reflected the moonlight and his fur shone with an abnormally silky sheen. His tag was integrated into his tie, which Skye knew he had tied with his own two paws.

Both pups wondered how they could be so lucky to have each other. Without a word, Chase offered his paw to Skye, who took it demurely. Paw in paw, eyes locked on each other, they walked to Chase's cruiser. Chase helped Skye climb up, as her dress was not made for her normal aerobatics, before jumping in himself. The two shared a gentle kiss before Chase finally managed to tear his eyes away from his beautiful cockapoo and start his cruiser. Skye put her paw on Chase as he drove them away on their date.

A few minutes later, they pulled up to a restaurant that Skye had only dreamed of going to. The name, The Butcher's Block, was carved into a wooden sign above the big double doors. Skye took in the rustic design and atmosphere with awe as they walked in together through the double doors. The maître d' smiled as he waved them towards their table without being prompted as to who they were. Their table was a simple round one set for two in front of the fireplace. It was perfectly distanced such that Skye could feel the gentle warmth caressing her fur without being too warm. Left with the menus, the maître d' withdrew, leaving them alone.

"This is amazing Chase" Skye whispered as she looked over the menu, barely able to contain herself.

"Happy Valentines Day Skye" Chase whispered back, putting his paw on top of hers on the table. They leaned in across the table and shared a romantic kiss before continuing on their date.

Gasket made her way around the monster truck show venue with the rest of the crowd. She had decided not to go back to the Ruff-Ruff Pack lair after finding the ticket and instead cruised until it was time for the show. She left her usual leather jacket, helmet and pack locked up on her bike in favor of a plain black leather jacket. Walking with the crowd, she was sure that no one recognized her.

There were plenty of people and pups at the show but it wasn't overly crowded. Gasket made her way to her seat which just happened to be near the middle and high enough up to see the whole track. And there was no one within 5 or so seats from her. It was perfect for an Alaskan Malamute looking to have a good time by herself.

"Hey…"

Gasket hissed internally when she heard the voice. She knew exactly who it belonged to, someone here to ruin her good time. Gasket slowly turned towards the voice.

Standing a couple seats over, stood a grey pup. The pup's fur was slightly ruffled. He had a smattering of dirt and grass and grease in his fur but still managed to not stink. His grey fur was accented by white on his paws, the tip of his tail and the tufts of fur on his head. His right ear flopped over while his left ear stood straight, despite a small nick. Over his left eye was a darker grey patch of fur and his orange-brown eyes were difficult for her to read, though she assumed there was ill intent behind them.

Rocky.

"What do you want Rocky?" Gasket grumped sullenly. "Come to gloat over your victory today?"

"Hardly" Rocky replied with what Gasket could have swore was amusement. Was he mocking her now?

"I'm actually glad you are here" Rocky continued.

"Any why would that be?" Gasket took the obvious bait out of curiosity.

"Because I wanted to do something fun with you" Rocky replied simply.

Gasket looked at him in disbelief, looking for the trick, the mockery but not finding it. "Something fun?" she asked.

"Yeah, unless you want to try and tell me you came to the monster truck show because you hate it and wanted to make yourself miserable" Rocky replied.

Damn, that was a good shot Gasket admitted to herself, he definitely has some spunk. And Gasket didn't detect any malicious intent; if anything, it was more of a friendly jab than anything else.

Gasket gestured for Rocky to sit and he complied, leaving an open seat between them. Gasket raised an eyebrow questioningly at him but let it slide. "So, how did you know I would want to come to something like this?" Gasket asked as the show started and the roar of the first truck echoed.

"I made a guess" Rocky admitted with a shrug. "I know you like making things and tinkering with stuff, so it seemed logical. And while it was tricky figuring out how to get you the ticket without you, or anyone else, figuring it out, it was worth it to see you enjoying yourself for once."

Gasket laid her trap carefully. "So what is the catch?" she asked softly.

"Catch?" Rocky asked back, cocking his head to the side. Gasket was utterly unprepared for the genuine Innocence and curiosity she saw in his eyes, as if it was incomprehensible to be him that there would be a catch. "Why does doing something nice for you have to have a catch?" he posed the question back.

Gasket was dumbfounded. She had been fully prepared to rip him apart when he proposed some sort of exchange for the ticket. Instead, her arch rival had thrown that idea back in her face, not only showing he knew her better than her pack mates but that using that knowledge to make her happy for a couple hours; and thinking nothing of doing so.

Gasket felt herself seeing Rocky in a whole different light. With one simple act, he had shown her that he wasn't some mad genius out to wreck her carefully laid plans. Maybe, he was just a pup doing his job, just like she was doing hers. He was good at it, sure, but he had deftly side-stepped the opportunity to gloat about it. Maybe, they weren't actually arch-rivals, Rocky definitely didn't act like it anyway. He acted like they weren't so different, just two pups who liked making things.

Gasket let herself relax, letting go of her musings to enjoy the monster truck show. She barked and howled in excitement as the trucks tore up the track and smashed vehicles into smithereens. And she did not care who saw her. For the first time in she didn't know how long, Gasket let herself be herself. Rocky was just as animated in his enjoyment, of the show and the company.

High above Rocky and Gasket, two hooded pups watched them and the show. They were similar in size to each other and nothing about them separated them from the crowd. One wore a black hoodie with dark purple splotches while the other wore a plain black hoodie.

"Did you know that they were going to be here?" The black a purple one asked softly.

"No idea" the all black one responded, "much less together."

"Interesting" the black and purple one said as she alternated her gaze between the pups and trucks.

"Borrowing trouble babe?" the black one said while nudging the other.

"No" the black and purple one replied unconvincingly.

The all black pup barked out a laugh as he turned her muzzle towards his own. "You are a terrible liar" he said before giving her a kiss on the muzzle.

"I gotta stay up on all the latest gossip" the black and purple clad pup replied.

"No you don't" the all black pup replied, wrapping his paws around her in a hug as they watched the show. "Don't say anything about it, let them figure it out on their own, they don't need our interference."

"Fine, but you have to pay for my silence" the purple and black clothed pup said. A squeak escaped her muzzle as the all black pup paid for her silence with interest. If you looked careful, you could almost see patches of white, grey, black and lavender under their hoods.