They made the "You're all Hart" pun in the show and it just came back to me now, so puns. Puns everywhere. I hope you enjoy and don't face palm too much.

It had all started with 'Shortstack'. He hadn't meant to make her so upset by one little nickname, but he thought it was time to strike back and he thought he'd done a pretty good job making it up on the fly. 'A short stack of pancakes'. In his head it had sounded like the best combination of insulting and sweet with just a dash of Southern to rile her up. It had sounded that way when he said it too, except, by the look on Maya's face when the words rolled off his tongue it looked like he'd made a generalized insult to Riley, Farkle, her mother, Shawn, the Matthews and whoever else meant anything at all to her. When she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and demanded he take it back he had merely blinked at her in confusion and fear until he realized how very unfair it was. And he had refused.

So when he stood his ground claiming that one little nickname was nothing compared to the loads of insults and mocking remarks she had made to him and she was overreacting, he hadn't a clue that it would sucker punch the entire foundation of their friendship, not to mention Maya's friendship with Riley. So after the day it all blew over, he vowed to never call Maya anything other the 'Maya' until he was completely sure it would be okay with her and there wouldn't be a mess like this.

But of course, he began to get tired of the endless supply of Texas related nicknames and jabs and on more than one occasion he had to restrain himself from reusing 'Shortstack' or make some remark about the blonde's height. So he found a loophole.

They were in PE, running the timed mile, which Lucas had never had a problem with. He averaged a seven minute mile and on the best days he would shave half a minute off of that time. Maya, however, ran solid ten minute miles, her short legs and her tradeoff of cardio in favor of sitting and painting for hours doing her no favors. So when Lucas came up behind Maya after lapping her, he decided upon a simple 'How's it going?' rather than something about how he was surprised she had even gotten this far with her tiny legs (which if he was being honest, were rather long in proportion to her body and were kind of nice to look at). However he hadn't realized that Maya was so focussed on not slowing down that his voice would startle her like a deer in the headlights and she would face plant after a yelp escaped her lips.

At first he was afraid she was hurt, but when she whipped her head around to glare at him he couldn't hold back the chuckle that bubbled up from his lips. He slowed to a stop beside her and knelt down as she pouted at her skinned knees.

"Way to go Hop-along," she hissed as she tried to dust the pebbles of turf out of the wounds. And then he said it without even thinking.

"Aw, theres a tear in my Hart!" He smirked at her when her eyes narrowed but it faltered a bit when the doubt crossed his mind that maybe he'd gone too far. However she just shook her head in annoyance and he let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"I appreciate the Twenty One Pilots reference, but not the pun. Geez Huckleberry, what made you stoop to that level?" He chuckled as he refrained from the height joke she had just set him up for.

"I don't know, it just slipped out I guess. Lets get you to the nurse, that turf is nasty." So he picked her up bridal style despite her insistence that she could walk on her own and it wasn't even that bad. And it seemed that a new door had opened to him.

The second time it happened, they were in art class. They were working on some assignment that was due at the end of the week and he just happened to look over at her. She had her blonde waves pulled back into a bun and she seemed so focused and serene as her brush drifted across the canvas. He smiled to himself and Farkle would later tell him that he looked like a lovesick puppy looking at her like that and he should stop if he didn't want people to get the wrong idea (it would totally be the right idea). He stood up from his seat to take a look at what she was painting and as he walked over to where she sat, it suddenly came to him and his smile took on a mischievous look.

He stood behind her for a few minutes, watching her paint an image of a stone bridge that he vaguely recalled seeing somewhere, but that wasn't what he was thinking about at the moment.

"That's really good you know." She grunted in reply. His smile widened.

"Alright, you're focused right now, I'll leave you alone to paint to your Hart's content." She froze in the middle of her brush stroke and he could see the wheels turning in her head as he bit back a snicker. She turned around slowly and stared at him, asking with her eyes if he was really serious. The amused look in his eyes and the shudders that ran through his body with the suppressed laughter was her answer. And he finally walked away, laughing quietly when she threw back her head and let out a disgusted groan. This was an interesting twist on their little game and he was pretty sure he was okay with it (he loved it).

The third time it happened, he wasn't even trying (it just came so naturally at this point) and she wasn't even there. He cursed himself for using up such a good one in such bad timing.

Maya had a new boyfriend and Riley wasn't really sure about him (if he was being honest, he wasn't either). The brunette had called her three male friends to Topanga's to discuss what should be done or if they should take any action whatsoever. The guys all agreed that meddling would just make Maya angry.

"But what if he has bad intentions? What if he tries to steal her away from us?" Riley asked, frantic. Farkle put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I don't think its even possible for anyone to steal Maya from you, you two are practically joined at the hip," he reasoned.

"Yeah, and if he's got anything less than the best intentions, Maya'll take him down." Zay chimed in. Lucas nodded.

"Its not really our place to tell her who to date or anything either. Its her choice. A matter of the Hart." He raised an eyebrow when the other three stared at him.

"What?" Zay burst out laughing, Farkle nodded slowly and Riley just looked confused.

"Man that was a good one! I missed this guy's jokes when he left Texas," Zay said, still laughing hard.

"It was pretty clever, good one Lucas," Farkle said, while Riley just looked around at all of them with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That was when Lucas finally understood what he had said and groaned.

"Aw man, and she's not even here! That would have been such a good one!"

"Wait, guys I don't get it! Come on, someone explain it to me!"

The fourth time it happened, he made sure she was there to witness it. This was the day they all learned that Maya wasn't the biggest fan of Charlie Gardener.

"What do you mean you don't really like him, Maya? He's so sweet!" Riley exclaimed. Maya followed the brunette through the hallway as she marched to her locker.

"I'm sorry! I just don't! I don't know, it just annoys me that the guy can't take a hint!" she said, running a hand through her hair.

"Take a hint that I like him? I think he figured that out since we're going on our fourth date tonight!" Riley said turning to face her best friend with a confused and slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"Well yeah you like him now, but remember when you and Lucas were sort of a thing and he wouldn't stop pursuing you? That kinda bugs me." Lucas was walking up to the girls from behind Maya but after hearing his name come up he was about to turn around when he felt a strong thin hand grab his shoulder and pull him back.

"Lucas, you settle this," Riley said positioning him in the middle of the two. He raised his hands in surrender, a fearful expression on his face.

"If you don't mind me saying, I'd rather not know what the problem is." Riley shook her head side to side.

"No, you need to do this for me. Charlie asked me out again, and Maya just out of the blue tells me she doesn't like him!"

"I said I didn't love him! He's not my favorite! Thats all I meant!" Riley silenced her with a pointed look before turning her eyes back to Lucas.

"So what do you think I should do? Should I go out with him or should I make sure Maya's concerns are totally wrong first?" Lucas blinked a few times and the girls could see the wheels turning as he thought when suddenly a wide smile appeared on his face.

"I think… You should listen to your Hart." He looked directly at Maya as he said it and in the background he could hear Riley's happy cheer, but all he was focused on was Maya's glare.

"Thanks Lucas! See Maya? Someone actually trusts me to make my own decisions!" With that, the brunette skipped happily into Mr. Matthew's classroom to tell Charlie the good news. Both had watched her go, but the minute she was through the door, Maya whipped her head around to face Lucas and promptly punched him in the shoulder. He laughed and held his arm in mock pain.

"Hey, what was that for? I took your side!"

"Yeah, by making a pun that you knew would go over Riley's head and in doing so gave her your permission to go out with Charlie! And again with the puns, come on Ranger Rick, you can do so much better! Why resort to the lowest form of humor? Why?" Maya stormed off after Riley leaving Lucas to snicker to himself. When asked by Farkle why he was giggling in the middle of the hallway, Lucas shook his head and insisted that you had to have been there. Zay just smiled at him with a knowing look.

The fifth, sixth and seventh times it happened were silly much like the first four.

Five was when Lucas walked into Topanga's, where Maya was talking to her mother about something or the other. When he walked up he said 'Sorry for interrupting your Hart to Hart, but could I talk to Maya for a second?' Katy smiled and said it was no issue, telling him how sweet he was while all Maya did was glare daggers at the Texan. When Ms. Hart left to go clean up a coffee spill, his little blonde friend punched him in the arm. He was definitely getting used to this new level of their game.

Six was when Maya broke her arm. She had been knocked a little too hard in PE football and the nurse said she probably had a fractured in her right forearm. While she sat in the nurse's office waiting for her mom to come pick her up and take her to the doctor, Lucas came in and leaned in the doorway. She looked at him and smiled a little, sniffling because her arm hurt like heck and she couldn't help crying a little.

"Want to know something that will make you feel a lot better?" he asked. She was wary because of the huge grin on his face, but she nodded anyway. The spark in his eyes brightened and she immediately regretted her decision.

"I may or may not have almost attacked that kid who ran into you, 'cause it totally wasn't an accident. He was hoping to carry you off to the nurse's office like I did." She gasped, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Why are you so happy about that you idiot?! You don't need to beat up all of my admirers, you're not my boyfriend!" She thought she saw a hint of something cross his face. Annoyance, sadness, maybe even disappointment? But as soon as it had surfaced, it was gone and she wondered if it had just been her imagination (it was actually there). However, his smile returned in full force the second after.

"Because now I get to tell you that I took that Hartbreaker down." She blinked in confusion before the she finally understood and the fury set in. As soon as he saw her recognition surface to her facial expression, he ran down the hall, laughing as she lunged to the door, yelling 'You're lucky my arm is broken so I can't punch you, Cowboy!'

Seven was when the five of them sat on the couch, all under the same giant blanket, huddled together watching a movie while the snow raged outside the Matthew's apartment. There shouldn't have been enough room on the couch for all of them, but Riley was skinny and sitting as close to Farkle as possible while Maya was almost completely on top of Lucas. No one registered it as strange, seeing as pretty much everyone already thought Maya and Lucas were a couple and only their three friends knew otherwise and everyone had a feeling that there was something brewing between Riley and Farkle after the brunette's breakup with Charlie. Maya snuggled herself into Lucas' shoulder and hugged his arm to her body, eliciting a blush that crept up the boy's neck.

"Mmm, your so warm Huckleberry." She said closing her eyes as she lost interest in the rom com. He looked down at her with a content expression on his face and a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

"Maya, you're stretching out my sweater sleeve," he whined playfully, chuckling at her lack of care.

"I'm not letting go, Cowboy. I'm freezing and you're really warm."

"So, you think I'm hot?" He poked her in the stomach and laughed when she flinched.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Hop-along." He shook his head, still chuckling. He knew she would able to deflect whatever he threw at her. Except one thing…

"Alright. I guess you'll just have to say that I'm wearing my Hart on my sleeve then," he said, snickering when he felt her freeze. Quickly she let go of his arm and called out to Riley.

"Riley, honey, I need you now."

"Anything for you, Peaches." The brunette gave Farkle an apologetic smile (the boy had his arm around her) before getting up and promptly squeezing herself in between Lucas and Maya.

"Sorry, Lucas," Riley said quickly, before she and Maya enveloped each other into a cozy hug for warmth, effectively excluding him for his abomination of a joke. But all he could do was laugh.

The eighth time it happened, Maya was mistaken. What she thought was supposed to be the eighth, wasn't actually.

The two of them were studying in Maya's room, Maya laying on her bed with her head hanging off while he sat on the floor, back leaned against the edge, as was a normal occurrence by that point. Lucas was making sure the blonde didn't fail their algebra test the next day. He had given her a problem to work through on her own to see if she had figured out the section he had just taught her and he smiled at her furrowed brow and tongue peeking out in a way that was kind of cute (if he was being honest he would know it was freaking adorable).

"Hey, Maya?" he said, breaking the silence. She grunted in response.

"I think you have my heart," (he knew). She looked up from her problem and stared at him hard. His fingers twitched and he fiddled with his pencil as he looked up at her from next to her bed, a blush gathering on his cheeks and a mildly terrified look on his face. She blinked at him and shook her head.

"Okay, I get that you've got some new appreciation for puns and all that, but I don't even get that one. What kind of joke is that?" He looked down at his lap, where the pencil was spinning wildly in his hands to contain his nervousness. He murmured something under his breath.

"What?" He looked back up at her with an indecipherable expression in his eyes.

"I wasn't joking." She took a sharp intake of breath as he turned around so he was fully facing her. Tentatively, so that she could pull away if she wanted, he brushed her face with his hand and leaned in, their lips meeting softly in the middle before she surged forward and kissed him hard with all the emotion she had been bottling up for the past four years she had known him. He responded almost instantly, his other hand coming up to support her neck as her own tangled in his hair. The kiss continued for a long time and began verging on heavy make out before Maya quickly pulled away, her hands still wound in his hair.

"You better not be joking, Friar Tuck, you promise me you're not," she snapped at him, her face flushed and her breath shallow. He chuckled that she had finally found some nickname related to his last name to combat his puns with. He removed his right hand from her cheek for a moment to make an 'X' in the air in front of her forehead.

"Cross my Hart," he whispered, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone. She growled before pulling him back to her and continuing where they left off with a hunger and intensity that matched that of each other.

And after that, everyone knew that something had changed between the two, because now every time Lucas made a pun about her name, instead of punching him, Maya growled and pulled him down in a heavy kiss.