Numbuh 23 was in an interrogation room with Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 60, it had been one day since Numbuh 12 and Cree along with a bunch of teenagers stole the code module "I swear to god, I didn't know Numbuh 12 was a traitor, you two have to believe me!" The girl was on her knees begging the two agents for mercy
"Why everyone in this space station has to be so dramatic? Numbuh 23 you just entered the room" Numbuh 362 was supporting her head with one arm on the table tapping her fingers "We just wanna know if you know where Numbuh 12 might have gone, she is not home"
"Since I used to guard the code module I'm on the hunt for her, we can't really go attacking Cree anyway" Patton sighed "Did she say anything during the sleepover?"
"No… We just talked about girl stuff, she went to the bathroom one time though as far as I can remember" Numbuh 23 said
"Hmmm… Matches with Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 testimonies" Patton said
"Wish I accepted the invitation to that sleepover, would make this a lot easier, no way you guys would be able to notice she was lying" Rachel sighed "Guess you will have to search teen ninja bases with Numbuh 86"
"Just my luck…" Patton left the room with a few files under his arm
"You may go, if you remember anything I will be at the Global Command room trying to find something about her" Rachel said
Numbuh 23 left the room and soon found herself wandering the moonbase unsure what to do next, her sector gave her a break after yesterday and she didn't really want to go home that early, the girl sighed "Numbuh 12 had to go and ruin my week" As she mumbled to herself not paying attention to her surroundings Virginia ended up bumping into someone and falling on the floor "Hey! Look where you are goin-" The girl soon realized she had just bumped into Numbuh 35
"Heey… It's you, from yesterday, with the punches and the stolen code modules" Numbuh 35 got up first and offered his hand "You staying on the floor?"
Numbuh 23 grabbed his hand and got up "Thanks…"
"No problemo, So did Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 60 gave you a hard time?" Numbuh 35 asked
"No… those two are just kinda scary" Numbuh 23 laughed
"I know right? Numbuh 362 said I was being dramatic when they questioned me but have you seen Numbuh 60 mad? It's reason enough" The two shared a laugh "It was nice talking to you, I need to solve some stuff now though, see you later"
As the boy walked away Numbuh 23 remembered last night and how the boy prevented her from being attacked by a teenager "Hey, wait a second" Numbuh 23 said
"Hm?" Numbuh 35 turned around a bit confused
"You saved my bacon yesterday with that teenager, thanks" Numbuh 23 said
"Oh…" Numbuh 35 made a brave stance and smiled at her "You don't need to thank me, all in a day of work" He grinned
"Aaaand you ruined it" Numbuh 23 laughed
"Sorry, It's not every day I get a compliment" Numbuh 35 smiled at her a bit embarrassed now scratching the back of his head
"You are getting a reward as well, come on, I have money, I'm buying you a soda can from the vending machine" Numbuh 23 pointed at a vending machine at the end of the hallway
"The day just gets better and better" Numbuh 35 followed her down the end of the hallway to the vending machine where the girl bought two cans of soda
"I'm still a little angry I didn't see through Numbuh 12's betrayal" Numbuh 23 sighed
"Hey most of us didn't see through Numbuh 274 betrayal" Numbuh 35 shrugged while smiling at her "Besides, You are no spy, just stick to shooting people with boiling candy" Numbuh 35 patted the girl on the back
Numbuh 23 found herself blushing while looking at the moonbase operative smiling at her "I… Yeah" Numbuh 23 laughed shyly "I will do that… I need to do something now but… If you wanna hang out one of these days… you know…"
"Hey that would be cool, let's change contacts" Numbuh 35 said
Numbuh 23 took her communicator out of her pocket and after a brief exchange both operatives parted ways, after she made sure she was far enough the girl sat on the nearby floor against a wall "Alright… that was weird" Numbuh 23 sighed, the girl shook her head then relaxed for a bit until she finally settled down and started fidgeting with her communicator for a bit "I shouldn't fool around but things have been so dull in my sector that I'm not even sure they will notice if I'm away for a while…" the girl paused for a moment then got up "I'm going to get an earful for this…" The girl headed to the high command room
Numbuh 362 was in the central command room looking at a giant map along with a few other operatives "If it is in father's mansion we will have a problem, I really don't wanna get Sector V on the job" Rachel sighed "May as well cross our fingers and pray those two catch Numbuh 12 and beat some information out of her, you guys are dismissed for the day" Rachel rested her head on the table a bit exhausted she then noticed someone approaching her "Look if it's about the security measures you don't need to tell me we-" She turned towards the stepping sounds only to find Numbuh 23 looking at her a bit confused
"Bad time?" Numbuh 23 asked
"No… Just tired" The supreme leader sighed then got up "Remembered anything?" Rachel smiled at the girl
"No… I wanted to ask you something, but it can't be here" Numbuh 23 said
Rachel looked around the nodded with a serious expression, she led Numbuh 23 to her office then closed the door "Being careful is good, you could be a good spy 23" Rachel said smiling at the girl
"What?" Virginia looked at Rachel a bit confused
A brief silence stood in the room "You aren't here to talk about new information about Numbuh 12?"
"I told you I wasn't" Numbuh 23 said
"Yeah but you said you wanted to talk in a private place" Rachel shrugged a little embarrassed smiling at the girl "So? What you wanna talk about?"
"Alright look… My Sector doesn't have any girls and no way I'm talking to a boy about this kind of stuff" Numbuh 23 said
"Uh-huh…" Numbuh 362 was listening to the girl while making a mug of cocoa for herself
"What if… I liked a boy just from talking with him for a few minutes… would it be weird?" Numbuh 23 said
"Why do you care about my opinion?" Rachel chuckled
Numbuh 23 sighed "Thank god, I thought you would be mad at me for wanting to talk about something like this"
"Hey, I couldn't go to the slumber party, remember? I'm craving some girl talk" Rachel laughed "So? Who is it?"
"Numbuh 35…" Numbuh 23 blushed while scratching the back of her head
"Huh, I can see it working" Rachel handed a mug of cocoa to Numbuh 23 and sat on her chair "What are you planning?"
"He gave me his communicator contact… When I mentioned we should hang out one of these days" She lowered her head blushing even more then shook it getting back to her senses "It was weird, he was okay with it, not even a bit embarrassed, boys are weird" Numbuh 23 said
"He doesn't even know you have a crush on him" Rachel chuckled "As far as he is concerned you two are going to an arcade to shoot some monsters"
"I-I don't know if I like him yet!" Numbuh 23 yelled at Numbuh 362 "Sorry, I was thinking about going to the movies…" Numbuh 23 said
"That's cool, he likes Divine Massacre of the Candy Troopers, talks about it with Patton all the time, there is a movie of them right now isn't that right?" Rachel said
"OH GOD, THE SEQUEL TO THE MASTERPIECE DIRECTED BY THE SAME DIRECTOR AND…" Numbuh 23 stopped talking once she noticed Rachel grinning at her
"You guys will get married before the week is over" Rachel shook her head smiling at the girl "Wish my crush and me were so alike" She laughed
"Not fair, I told mine, tell me yours" Numbuh 23 smiled at her excitedly
"It's Numbuh 1 from Sector V" Rachel had just finished drinking her mug of cocoa
"Wait, you just… told me?" Numbuh 23 raised an eyebrow at Rachel
Rache laughed as she approached Numbuh 23 and grabbed her by her shirt "I think you value your life way too much to go spreading this around"
The sheer presence of Rachel towering over Numbuh 23 made the girl sweat bullets "My lips are sealed sir" The girl breathed a sigh of relief as Numbuh 362 released her
"Good, I wish you good luck with Numbuh 35, try being yourself and it will work out, you will see" Rachel said as she saw Numbuh 23 heading out of her office
Numbuh 23 took her communicator and contacted Numbuh 35 "Hey… sorry for calling so soon"
Numbuh 35 was in a hangar at moonbase looking at a 2x4 jet-ski looking vehicle when he was called by Numbuh 23 "No problem, I'm checking out my new ride, since there is no need to guard the code module they've put me in sooper stealth communications, I'm using a Skidood!" Numbuh 35 said excitedly
"Cool!" Numbuh 23 couldn't contain her excitement as well but quickly shook her head and took a hold of herself "Ahem… Listen, about what I said while we were talking… Wanna go watch a movie one of these days?"
"You bet! I'm free tomorrow let's meet in front of the movie theater and- Hey! Don't do that you will scratch off the paint! Have to go Vi, see you tomorrow" Numbuh 35 finished the call and rushed to a few mechanics who were trying to wash the Skidood
"Vi…" Numbuh 23 blushed at the realization Numbuh 35 had just come up with a nickname for her "He is good…" She lowered her head, smoke coming out of it in embarrassment. Later that day Numbuh 23 was in her room looking at her wardrobe "I should just go as usual but…"
All of a sudden Numbuh 23's mom came through the door "Sweetie could you help me with the dishes?" Her mom noticed the girl was looking intentively at her wardrobe "Ohh… I know that look" She giggled "Going somewhere sweetie"
Virginia was too distracted looking at the clothes to notice who was asking the question "I'm going to the movie theater with a friend tomorrow" She then turned around and noticed her mom smiling behind her "Oh no…"
"Is it a boy?" Her mom approached while her daughter tried backing away slowly
"What? No…" Numbuh 23 tried averting her gaze
"Sweetie, I can tell when you are lying" Her mother chuckled
"He is just a friend, we are going to watch Divine Massacre of the Candy Troopers" Numbuh 23 tried to ignore her mother's knowing look while she looked at the wardrobe
"That simply won't do! You can't invite a boy to watch a movie like this, you should invite him to see a movie with romance and lots of kisses" Her mother said smiling at her daughter dazzlingly
Virginia made a disgusted face then promptly shooed her mom out of her room, she continued looking at her wardrobe after that "Stupid… trying to make me nervous at the last minute…" the girl mumbled to herself, it wasn't long before she went to sleep or better saying tired as she kept thinking about her "date"
It was 6 pm, Numbuh 35 waited just outside the movie theater in a plain white shirt and a pair of jeans "Hmmm… maybe she got stuck in traffic?" Numbuh 35 scratched his chin deep in thought until he felt someone poking him on the shoulder
"You didn't say what time we were supposed to meet up" Numbuh 35 heard from behind him, Bartie turned around only to see Numbuh 23 wearing a red summer dress with flowers stamped all over it "Hey…" The girl blushed as she smiled shyly at Numbuh 35
"Sorry" Bartie scratched the back of his head smiling at her in his usual friendly way "Sooo… A little fly told me you are a Divine Massacre of the Candy Troopers…" Bartie said grinning at her while pointing at a nearby poster in front of the movie theater
"If I do?!" Numbuh 23 smiled at him excitedly then remembered what her mother said the previous night then hesitated "I mean… I like it a bit but…" Numbuh 23 looked around trying to search for something until her eyes widened "I wanted to watch this one today" She pointed at a generic-looking poster with what looked like a detective holding a girl in his arms, suffice to say the girl was blushing heavily from embarrassment
"The clue to the mystery of passion?! No way!" Bartie raised his voice
Numbuh 23 lowered her head now knowing she ruined everything "Look… Sorry it's just that…" Before the girl could continue Bartie interrupted her
"I can't believe it, I didn't know this was playing!" He said "They finally made a movie from the tv show" The boy was smiling at the poster
"Oh… Y-You like it too?" Virginia was sweating cold at the moment, she forced a smile at him
"Ezekiel is so cool, Everyone loves detectives" Numbuh 35 grabbed her hand and brought her inside the movie theater
Numbuh 23 was beet red as Numbuh 35 stood in front of the ticket stand for the movie holding her hand, it didn't take long for both of them to buy their tickets and their popcorn with soda and head to their seat "Uhhhh… thanks for paying for my popcorn…"
"Yeah, my mom was weird today and gave me extra" The boy shrugged
"What?" Numbuh 23 looked at him a bit confused
"I'm as confused as you, I just said I was going to the movies with you and she grabbed some money and said I should use it today to pay for your stuff" The boy said "Thanks, I guess, she said I can keep the change" He smiled at her oblivious
Numbuh 23 politely laughed but deep down she thought "Boy he is really dense" The girl then smiled at him "I gotta thank her later then" she said
"Oh oh, it's starting" Numbuh 35 said
Numbuh 23 knew she made a mistake, but she didn't know how bad it was until around the first 15 minutes of the movie, despite the name it wasn't a romance movie, it was more like a mystery movie with some action, there was a bit of romance but it was barely there not only that but the girl didn't understand a single thing that was going on "E-Enjoying the movie?" The girl said looking to her side at Numbuh 23 who was eating popcorn fully entertained by the movie
"It's just like the tv show" The boy said "He is so cool…" The boy said before drinking a bit from his soda
"Hey… can you… place your popcorn on this arm of the chair? I know I wanted salty but I also want to eat the caramel one" Numbuh 23 smiled at him
"You like to mix the two as well? Cool!" Numbuh 35 placed his bucket on the armchair, he then reached for the salty popcorn bucket that was resting on Numbuh 23's lap and grabbed some from it
"Yeah! It tastes so good, I also like mixing lemon soda with cola" Numbuh 23 laughed
"So do I, it's the best!" Numbuh 35 laughed as he reached his hand for some caramel popcorn
Numbuh 23 knew it was her chance and she went for it without a second thought, she found herself holding his hand "Yes! Nothing beats a classic" She thought
Even Numbuh 35 couldn't stay goofy in that situation, the boy blushed a bit and released her hand "Oops, hehe… sorry, feel free to grab some of it" He said then went back to focus on the movie
"Thanks" Numbuh 23 smiled at him a little happy she managed to get him to blush even if a little, things were looking good for Numbuh 23 after that, the movie started getting more romantic after that, the detective from the movie was having some nice romance scenes that managed to set a nice mood for Numbuh 23 to try a few more approaches during the movie, sadly none of them came to fruition which made Virginia get more and more frustrated with Numbuh 35, hope wasn't lost though, Vi saw what looked like a foreboding to a kiss scene, that was her chance, while Numbuh 35 was focused on the movie the girl slowly raised the armchair that separated her from Numbuh 35, she then scooched near him ready for the kiss scene
"Here we go…" Numbuh 35 looked at the screen with a wide smile in anticipation
"That's right…" Numbuh 23 readied herself to kiss Numbuh 35, she closed her eyes and approached but instead of a kissing sound what he heard was a struggle coming from the movie, she opened her eyes only to see the woman who was dating the detective holding a knife while the detective held her down against the wall, the woman was the criminal the detective was investigating, Numbuh 23 looked at the silver screen incredulous then at Numbuh 35 who was brimming with joy
"I knew it! Right again Mr. Ezekiel" Numbuh 35 laughed then looked at Virginia "How does he keep doing this?" He said
"Beats me…" Numbuh 23 lowered her head then got up "I need to go to the bathroom…"
"Sure, you feeling okay?" Numbuh 35 asked
"Yeah… It won't take long" Numbuh 23 entered the bathroom then sat on the floor with her head burrowed between her knees "I'm pathetic…" After that Numbuh 23 ended up inside the bathroom wallowing in defeat for what seemed like forever, the girl slowly got up and left the bathroom, she wasn't ready for what she saw
Numbuh 35 was in front of the movie theater playing with a handheld game, he immediately noticed the girl's return and stored his game inside his pocket "Vi!" He approached the girl "You alright? You were in the bathroom all this time? I was worried so I waited for you, you missed the movie"
Vi fell to her knees "I'm the worst!" the girl started bawling in the middle of the sidewalk
Bartie looked around and saw people looking at him and Numbuh 23 "H-Hey, wanna get some ice cream? I still have some money from before" Bartie practically dragged the girl to a secluded spot in a nearby park where he sat the girl on a bench "So… Feeling better?"
"No…" Numbuh 23 lowered her head
"Alright… You wanna talk about it? People say I'm a good listener" Bartie said smiling at her a bit nervous
"They don't say it…" Virginia chuckled a bit and smiled at him meekly
"I mean…They should" Bartie laughed
"Look… you promise not to laugh?" Virginia asked
"No, but I will try" Bartie shrugged
"For starters… I didn't even know who was… what is his name?" Numbuh 23 asked
"Ezekiel?" Numbuh 35 looked at her a bit hurt
"Right Ezekiel… I think I like you" Numbuh 23 said
"I like you too Vi" Numbuh 35 patted her on the back smiling at the girl
"No, I like LIKE you" Numbuh 23 said
Numbuh 35 paused for a moment then realized what she meant, the boy immediately blushed "Wow… For real?"
"You really didn't realize?" Numbuh 23 asked smiling incredulously at him "The clothes, The movie I thought was a romance, the popcorn in your arm of the chair" Numbuh 23 sighed
"Sorry…" Numbuh 35 lowered his head a bit ashamed "I really wanted to watch that movie though…"
Numbuh 362 said I should have invite you to a date and see how things go but then when my mother found out she put weird stuff in my head and I decided to watch the detective movie… I should say sorry as well" Numbuh 23 laughed embarrassed
An awkward silence followed, it lasted for a few minutes until Numbuh 35 cut the silence "What do you like about me?" He turned his attention to her
"You are nice for starters, it was good talking to you yesterday, you are also kinda funny" She laughed
The boy blushed scratching the back of his head "I don't get that everyday"
"Plus you helped me against that teen, and you do like the same things I do… sort of" She laughed
"I still wanna make you like the Detective movies" He crossed his arms then laughed amicably
"Look, if you aren't comfortable with it we can still hang out, without the pressure from dating and stuff what do you th-" Before the girl could finish Numbuh 35 approached the girl and kissed her right on the lips, time stood still for Virginia in that exact moment, she could feel her heart beating faster than the day the teenagers stole the code module
"Sorry…" Bartie blushed "I saw it in a detective movie once"
"I'm already starting to like them" Numbuh 23 pulled the boy in for another kiss, she ran her hand through his hair, her eyes then went wide as she kissed him, she pulled the boy back
"S-Sorry… I will make sure to bring a mint next time for my breath" Numbuh 35 blushed
"What? No! It's 7 PM already, my parents will kill me!" Numbuh 23 said, she grabbed his hand and dragged the boy out of the park, it wasn't long before they reached her house ], Numbuh 23 was panting seemingly exhausted from running "Sorry… I really don't wanna get grounded, especially now that I have a boyfriend"
"It's alright, I should get going" Numbuh 35 turned around but before he could walk away Numbuh 23 turned him around and kissed him one last time just in time for the door for her house to open
"Well well well.. Look what we have here" Numbuh 23 father was at the door "You are late Vivi"
"Vivi?" Numbuh 35 chuckled at Numbuh 23 who nudged him right in the ribs "S-Sorry… we had a few problems and ended up late"
"At least you had the decency to bring her home" Her father said sighing leading Numbuh 23 inside the house as the girl waved him goodbye a little embarrassed "It's late, kids should head to their homes"
"I will do that Sir, sorry for the trouble" Numbuh 35 said
"Take care" Her father said
Numbuh 35 managed to get home just fine after that though the boy could hardly sleep for obvious reasons, Numbuh 35 headed to the vehicle hangar the next day to see his Skidood "She probably got in trouble…" He could hardly focus as he paced from one side of the room to the other worried about Numbuh 23
"You okay?" Numbuh 60 asked He looked a little bit tired
"No… What is the deal with the tired faces though?" Numbuh 35 asked noticing now that his clothes were a little bit torn with burnt marks
"We got her, duh" From behind Numbuh 86 was holding the legs of a passed-out Numbuh 12 "We are taking this one to decommissioning…. after I take a bath" Numbuh 86 sighed
"So? Why are you not okay?" Numbuh 60 asked
Numbuh 35 sighed "I think Numbuh 23 got in trouble for my cause"
"Typical" Numbuh 86 crossed her arms followed by a loud thud
"Hey!" Numbuh 60 complained noticing it got even heavier for him
"We started dating yesterday" Numbuh 35 sighed
Numbuh 60 released Numbuh 12 in surprise which led to another loud thud this time the girl was just lying on the floor "Hey! Congratulations, So? Why are you in trouble?"
"I could swear Numbuh 23 was smarter than this" Numbuh 86 groaned
Numbuh 35 ignored Numbuh 86 "I brought her a tad late yesterday… stuff happened" Bartie went on to explain the event of the previous day
"What a mess" Patton laughed
"It was all your fault" Numbuh 86 said
"Come on, her mother was the one to blame for all that happened" Patton said
"I'm not counting external factors" Numbuh 86 sighed
"Ahem…" From behind then Numbuh 12 holding two laser weapons pointing at the backs of two operatives "Forgot something?"
Numbuhs 60 and 86 raised their hands "Great… back to square one" Numbuh 86 sighed
"I'm glad we managed to catch up, that Slumber party was a complete mess, now if you don't mind I have to catch one of these ships and-" Before Numbuh 12 could complete her sentence she was hit in the back of the head by a gumball machine knocking her out cold again
"I was so excited to try this one, these things hurt" Numbuh 23 was holding something that looked like a bazooka with gumball machines on top of a loader
"Thanks, I'm gonna leave you two love birds to talk alone" Numbuh 60 said then went on to carry Numbuh 12 away from the hangar along with Numbuh 86
"Ewww…" Numbuh 86 had a grossed-out expression as she left the room
"Uhhhh… Thanks" Numbuh 35 said
"No problem" The girl left her weapon on the floor then approached the boy and hugged him
"Did you get in trouble for yesterday?" Numbuh 35 asked
"Well my father gave me an earful but it was nowhere as big as the earful I gave my mother for putting weird stuff in my head" Numbuh 23 sighed then smiled at him "Thanks for worrying about me though" She kissed him right on the lips in front of the whole hangar, a few kids could be heard eewing the scene and others looked with curiosity
"Well… I gotta get back to work" Numbuh 35 was blushing at that moment scratching the back of his head a bit awkwardly
"Sure, let's eat something at lunch…" Numbuh 23 waved him goodbye then went to Numbuh 362 office "Hey, I have some good news…" She opened the door
"I heard, information spreads quickly around here, congratulations, no need to thank me" Numbuh 362 was very smug at the moment while signing a few reports
"Yeah… about that…" Numbuh 23 was a little embarrassed as she explained to her what happened the previous day
Numuh 362 sighed "You shouldn't let people fill your head with this kind of stuff" Rachel patted the girl on the back "Everything alright between you two now I take it?"
"Pretty much, thanks, good luck with Numbuh 1" Numbuh 23 got up and left the room after that
"You can't just leave saying someth- and she is gone…" Rachel sighed then smiled "Alright… back to work"