Disclaimer: I created the Cute Troop, but they are based on characters owned by Marvel Entertainment Group (X-Kid, Cerebro, Wink & Penny), Top Cow Comics (Jacko & Sara), & Edios Interactive (or whoever happens to own Tomb Raider; I'm still not sure).

More Than Friends

Featuring X-Kid & The Cute Troop!

     As a reserve member of the Cute Troop, Natey didn't really consider himself a part of the team. He was more like the back-up, the one they called in emergencies. Though emergencies usually consisted of nothing more than Sara getting lonely without him, Natey had eventually grown to be something of a second-in-command to the group. Jacko didn't have a problem with this; he and Natey were like brothers anyway, so it made sense. He was a bit protective of Sara sometimes, but Jacko was only watching out for his baby sister, and he took it very seriously.

In any case, this Friday night, the kids' usual baby-sitter had canceled at the last minute, and the Cerebro 2000 Nanny Unit (C2K for short) had given them a choice: Get another sitter or go straight to bed. As everybody knows, no sane kid would just go to bed, especially on a Friday night, so Natey had gone out and found Nate, who he affectionately called "Cuz." It was the best explanation of their relationship that Nate had ever heard, so he didn't argue.

Jacko and Natey were downstairs, watching some recent Power Rangers in Space tapes. They claimed they only watched for battle strategies, but the girls, who were upstairs with Nate, knew better. Unlike most of the other telepaths he knew, Nate was very fond of children, and didn't mind spending extra time with the Cute Troop. In fact, it was usually their idea for him to come over. And somehow, it always ended up this way: Nate & the girls in Lori's room, and Jacko & Natey in the den, watching TV.

"Okay, it's your turn, Lori," Nate said, handing her the dice.

Lori rolled a seven and picked up a card. She read the instructions on it out loud. "Share the memories of your first kiss with the group."

Sara giggled wildly. Lori poked her with an empty sidearm. "Anyway, my first kiss was...right now!" Before he could blink, Lori's arms were around Nate's neck, and her lips were against his. Nate quickly pulled her off, while Sara was still laughing like a maniac. Lori sighed and curled up in Nate's lap. "That was wonderful," she said at last, "can we do it again?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Maybe later. Sara, it's your turn."

Sara rolled a two and read the card. "Tell about your first date." Sara froze and began to cry. "I never had a date; I'm only ten!"

Nate sighed and shook his head. "This is gonna be one of those nights. I can see it already."

Meanwhile, the boys were up to other things.

"Come on, hit 'em!" Jacko shouted, bouncing a gumball off the TV set. The boys watched as the Delta Megazord hit the ground for the second time.

"Ah, he barely touched you! KILL HIM!"

"Y'know, they've got the new Zords. Why don't they just use them?" Natey asked.

Jacko growled and stomped his foot. "Because they're STUPID!"

Natey yawned and chewed on a piece of Jujyfruit. "And how come the Silver Ranger doesn't have a Zord yet? He's the most powerful Ranger and all."

Jacko tossed another gumball at the TV. "I told you, this show is stupid!"

"Then why are we watching it?"

Jacko stopped and looked at him. "Um...I dunno. Wanna see what Nate & the girls are doing?"

Natey grinned at him. "Race you to the stairs!"

They both jumped up and bolted for the staircase.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Lori asked when the game was over.

Sara shrugged. "I dunno. Whatcha wanna do, Nate?"

Nate looked at the twins. "Any ideas, girls?"

The twins shook their heads.

"Well, I got a game for us to play! Truth or Dare!" Lori shouted. "I'll go first. Sara, truth or dare?"

Sara was caught off guard. "Um...Truth?"

"How many times have you kissed Natey?"

"You mean I was supposed to count?!" Sara yelled in disbelief.

"How many times have you kissed him on the lips?" Lori added.

Sara thought about it for a few seconds. "Um...well...none," she said quietly.

"I thought he was your boyfriend?" Lori asked.

"Well...we haven't gotten that far in our relationship!" Sara cried.

"Okay, geez. Sorry I asked," Lori said with a sulky look.

"I don't wanna play this game anymore," Sara said, quickly getting up. Before anyone could protest, she was gone.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Wink asked, and Penny nodded in a agreement.

"I don't think so, girls," Nate replied. "Sara just needs some time to think."

"That's your cue, man," Jacko whispered as Sara ran by them.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Natey asked.

"You're her boyfriend. Go after her."

"Since when did I become her boyfriend? We're just friends!" Natey argued.

"Either way, you should talk to her, man."

Natey was about to disagree, but Jacko gave him a sharp look. "Okay, I'm going," he muttered, following the path Sara had taken.

He found her outside in the garden, among the rose bushes. "Sara, you okay?" he asked.

Sara shrieked and backed away.

Natey winced. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Sara sighed and turned away from him.

Natey crawled over the bushes and sat down next to her. "Sara, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sara lied, trying not to cry.

Natey shook his head. "I've known you too long for that. Tell me what's wrong."

Sara looked at him. "Have you ever been in love, Natey? I mean, really in love?"

Natey shrugged. "Not really, but then, I haven't been around that long."

"Then you don't love me?" she asked, already near tears.

"I didn't say that, Sara," Natey said. "Of course I love you. You've been my best friend since we were...well...born. I'm just not in love with you. But I care about you more than anyone else I know."

Sara didn't bother to try and stop the tears this time. "But what about all the times I kissed you?! And what about all the times I was scared? You'd always hold me and tell me things would work out!"

Natey shrugged again. "I care about you, Sara. That's what best friends do. Didn't you expect all those things from me?"

Sara blinked and thought about it. "Well...yeah! But I thought they came out of love!"

Natey nodded and replied, "They did, Sara. I just said I love you."

"But---but--!!" Sara couldn't think of anything else to say.

"You could start by saying you still love me," Natey suggested.

Sara laughed through her tears. "I never said I loved you! You just said you loved me! Now that I know that, I'm not admitting anything!"

Natey's eyes widened. "Oh, now that's just dirty, Sara!"

Sara grinned. "Yeah, but you can't do anything cuz I'm the cutest thing you ever saw, right, Natey-Poo?"

Natey frowned. "Yeah, but when you look at me like that, it makes me wanna--" He stopped suddenly and grinned.

"Makes you wanna what?!" Sara shouted.

"Nothing!" Natey said as he got up. Then he laughed and begin to walk away.

Sara ran after and jumped on his back, locking her arms around his throat. "Tell me!" she demanded.

"Nope," Natey managed to say through his laughter.

Sara growled and tugged on his reddish-brown hair. "Tell me!"

Natey finally fell to the ground, still laughing loudly.

Sara shoved him down and sat on his chest. "Tell me or I'm never getting up!" she stated, crossing her arms.

Natey smiled up at her and gently held her hands in his. "Well, when you look at me like that, it makes me wanna kiss you," he admitted.

Sara stared at him in silent shock. "Really?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Natey replied. "But the moment's passed, so we might as well forget--"

Sara grabbed his jacket by the collar and yanked him up. "Not on your life, buster."

Before he could stop her, Sara already had her lips pressed against his. "Wow," was all he could mutter when it was over.

"Nice moves, sis!" Jacko shouted loudly.

Sara gasped in surprise. "How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Long enough," he smirked. "So I guess that whole 'just friends' thing is out the window, huh?"

The rest of the Cute Troop suddenly appeared.

"I never knew you had it in you, Sara," Lori said with a grin.

"Am I the only one that thinks she should get off me now?" Natey muttered.

Around midnight, most of the Cute Troop had gone to bed. But for some reason, the twins, Wink and Penny, had refused to. This left Nate with something of a problem. He had planned to be back in Snow Valley by then, but apparently, the twins had other plans for him.

Even as he glanced at the two small forms latched onto his legs, Nate could only wonder what their intentions were. Wink stared up at him with a violet light in her eyes. Penny had been wide awake before, but was now snoring softly. Nate gently reached down and plucked her off his leg, being sure to arm himself with a TK shield. He didn't want Penny to suddenly wake up and end up slashing him to ribbons. Wink seemed to get the hint, but instead of letting go of Nate, she repositioned herself on his back, clutching tightly to his neck. Nate sighed and slowly made his way to their room.

Sara stared at the Spidey night-light, matching her breathing to her brother's snores. Jacko never seemed to have trouble sleeping, but Sara rarely ever went to sleep right away. She rolled over, watching his mouth open and close. After she grew tired of this, Sara slipped out of the crib and made her way to the twins' room. She could hear their snores through the door, and Lori's own breathing could be heard down the hall. Satisfied that they were all asleep, Sara crept downstairs, searching for Natey. However, all she found was his "cousin." "Nate, can I talk to you?" she asked, not really noticing that he was about to leave.

Nate looked down at her. "Sure, kiddo. What's up?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

Nate paused and studied her face. "Is this about Natey?"

Sara nodded, her face gravely serious.

"So what do you want to know?" Nate asked.

Sara looked at the floor for a moment, as if searching for an answer. "I guess I just want to know if he loves me like I love him."

"Well, how do you love him?" Nate asked.

"I want him to marry me someday," Sara said, as if that explained everything.

If Nate was surprised, he didn't show it. He gently picked Sara up and placed her on his back. She clung to his neck as Nate walked towards the front door. "Sara, I could tell you a bunch of lies about how love always works out, but instead, I'll be honest with you. Natey may not always love you the same way you love him, but I can promise that he'll always love you."

"Wow," Sara said. "You can tell all that?"

Nate shook his head as he opened the door. "Nope. Natey told me before he left."

"Left?!" Sara cried. "He's leaving the Cute Troop?!"

Nate laughed. "Calm down, Sara. He just went up the street. In fact, he should be back any minute now."

As if on cue, Natey walked into the front yard, lugging a large shopping bag with him.

Nate and Sara walked out to meet him.

Natey's eyes widened when he saw Sara. He tried to hide the bag, but Sara shoved him out of the way and peered into it. "Red Gummy Bears?! My favorite!"

"Works every time," Natey whispered.

Nate just laughed and shook his head.

"Are all these really for me?" Sara asked.

Natey nodded and cleared his throat. "I also got you these." He handed her five freshly-picked roses. "These were the last ones they had, otherwise I'd have gotten twelve," Natey explained as Sara sniffed the flowers. He expected her to call him cheap, or at the very least, to frown.

Instead, Sara smiled brightly at him. "Natey, why'd you do this?" she asked.

"Well...we've been best friends a long time, Sara, and you know I'd do anything to make you happy." Sara nodded, so he went on. "It's just that you were so excited about the idea of us being a couple, so I figured the least I could do was try it for you."

Sara blinked slowly. "You mean...?"

Natey nodded and held out his arms. "I'm all yours."

Overjoyed, Sara launched herself at him, nearly knocking him to the ground. She covered his face with butterfly kisses at first, then planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

Nate pretended to cry. "This is so beautiful," he said quietly.

"Aw, shove it up--" Natey paused and glanced at Sara. "I mean, quit fooling around, Cuz!"

"Much better," Sara said, kissing his cheek.

"Looks like my work here is done," Nate said. "It's been real, kiddies."

"Seeya 'round, Cuz," Natey said.

"Bye, Nate!" Sara called, waving as he disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"We better get to bed before C2K catches us out here," Natey said after a while. Sara nodded and followed him back inside, and upstairs.

They had just reached Jacko's room when Sara touched Natey's arm.

"What is it, Sara?" he asked.

For a while, she didn't say anything. Then, she gave him a big hug and whispered, "Seeya in the morning, Natey." She quickly kissed his nose before disappearing into the room and closing the door behind her.

Natey stared at the door for a while, wondering if this new relationship with Sara would really work. Jacko would probably tease him and say they both had cooties. But after Natey thought about it a while, it wasn't so bad. No one really even knew what cooties were, so who was to say they were a bad thing? Natey sighed happily. "Well, if getting cooties means making Sara happy, I can live with 'em." He turned and walked back downstairs towards the guest room specially reserved for him, a smile on his face.

The End!

This is really the second CT story.  It's up first cuz it was the first I ever finished (the first CT story is MUCH longer!).  Not to worry, though!  I'll have the first one up soon, which will be followed by the third CT story (which might be even longer than the first!), so stay tuned!