Author's Notes: Hello, everyone! I just had to get this story out of my system... Ever since I rewatched Rugrats in Paris (and a few other movies/episodes of Rugrats-Nickelodeon was having a marathon, I think) a few weeks ago I've been wanting desperately to write for Tommy/Chuckie... I mean, when they're older! Don't be such a perv... Haven't you ever noticed how Chuckie's always all super comfortable around Tommy? Tell me I'm not the only one who noticed... Anyway, lemme know if you like it! Review~!

You know, I've always heard that friends just grow apart after a while—but I don't think that has to be true at all. Not for me and my friends, anyway. See, I've been best friends with the ones I know since we were babies… practically newborns. (Well, except for me, because I'm a year older than all of them.) But I'm talking about Tommy and Dill Pickle, the twins Phil and Lil, and my stepsister Kimmy. Back in our diaper days, we went on some pretty crazy adventures together: lost in the wilderness in a Reptar wagon or on an adventure of rampage in a giant robot in Paris, we always had each other to rely on. I've always been kind of a baby, even if I'm the oldest, but no matter how many times I've been terrified or absolutely positive we were going to die, Tommy is always there to tell me it's going to be okay. It's been fourteen years since our diaper days, and we're in high school now, but Tommy still tells me it's going to be okay, and I believe him. When he's around, I feel safe.

Isn't it a little funny how you can go through so much with one person, seeing nearly any and every possible situation and corner of the universe, yet all it takes to change everything is one small movement? One little exchange between two people and it's hard to look them in the eyes again.

I wasn't sure what was even going on until the situation had jumped out at me—it tends to work like that. I wish I could say that I catch on quicker, but I don't. I was too caught up in what happened on the outside that I didn't stop to think about what it might mean later.

It all started the first time that Tommy ever hugged me. Seems perfectly innocent, of course—and it was. Tommy had just shut off the video game we'd been playing because I needed to leave, and all of a sudden his arms were around me. We were sitting on his floor leaning against his bed, deterring the hug to something of an awkward side-hug, but he'd still managed to get both his arms wrapped around my upper half and his face buried into my shoulder.

"Bye, Chuckie," he said quietly, his words muffled by my own body. I couldn't utter a word in response; I was blushing like crazy, from my freckled face down to… well, beneath my clothes, I was sure.

One of my hands finally found the sense to lightly hold onto one of Tommy's arms and we stayed like that for anywhere between ten seconds and five minutes. I had lost track of time when I got another call from Kira. I didn't answer it because I already knew why she was calling, but at least the noise had given me a premise to move. Tommy backed off and didn't look at me, just moved toward his TV to begin fumbling with cords to his game system.

"B…bye, Tommy," I said, hoping he'd say something more—but he didn't. I left his room in silence, giving a polite goodbye to his parents as I went on my way. I walked the short distance back to my house in silence, brushing my unmanageable orange hair out of my face the whole way as the evening breeze blew it around. I had no idea why Tommy would hug me, or why it would make my heart race so fast. With anybody else, it would've been because of my discomfort of being close to people, but I knew that with him it wasn't discomfort… maybe the opposite.

Since then, Tommy wasn't afraid at all to touch me. Practically every time we were together and we had to part, he hugged me like he did that night… only I hugged him back every time since then. If we were hanging out with our friends, he didn't care. He'd grab me anyway, and it made my face red and my heart race, but I loved it. He wasn't afraid of what our friends would think.

We never spoke of our hugs. On the outside, things were normal between us, and maybe, I thought, they were normal for him, too. But they sure weren't for me. I was going crazy on the inside with joy at any given point when we were within twenty feet of each other.

To be put simply, I was falling all over myself in love with my best friend, and I, strangely enough, loved the feelings. I didn't feel weird about our situation at all.

Things went on like this and it slowly became normal. If he ever didn't hug me before we parted, I felt empty and sad until we embraced again.

Then one time, he hugged me when we weren't about to separate.

I walked into his room after saying hi to Dill, and as soon as the door closed behind me, there he was, his arms wrapped around me gently. I flushed confusedly, but with pleasure, and I returned his hug immediately.

He never dared to speak while we held each other… until this moment, and my heart soared.

"Chuckie…" he said quietly, his voice right in my ear. "You… you probably already figured this out… but I like you—a lot."

I froze; I couldn't believe what was happening. Was he really saying what I thought he was saying? He liked me? I kind of thought/hoped so, but to hear it said…

"I… kind of suspected…" I choked.

"How about you?"

I flushed. Did I even have to say it? "I like you, too…"

Tommy laughed when I said this, and I felt myself panic until he spoke again. Pulling back out of our hug, he took a deep breath. "It's funny, isn't it?" he asked me, and I noticed that his face was red; I'm sure mine was, too. He was looking to the side like there was something overly interesting on his wall, and I looked too, but there was nothing there. He must've just been embarrassed.

"What do you mean…?" I asked, feeling very lucid in the situation. I was aware of every tiny thing that was happening around me.

"Well… we've been friends practically forever," he said, his voice soft. "Even longer than that. And it took me until a couple months ago to realize how… how much I like you. I mean, more than friendly…"

It felt so strange to talk like this with him. I'd never imagined anything like this happening, ever. I remained quiet for a few moments as I thought of what I wanted to say.

"So that makes us… gay?" I asked cautiously, trying to will myself to stay calm.

"I… I guess so. Maybe." He sighed. "It's not as hard to think about as I thought it would be…" He turned and looked at me now, and it caught me off guard. I was quivering with nerves under Tommy's gaze.

"What's everyone going to say?" It was an obvious question, but it was also one that needed an answer.

"I don't know," he replied softly, dropping onto the floor to sit criss-cross and leaning his back again his bed, just like the first night he ever hugged me. I sat next to him, but closer than usual. Our sides were touching. "I guess we could just not tell them… but they've already seen us hug so many times that it might be pointless to try and hide anything…"

"We've all been friends our whole lives," I pointed out as I felt Tommy scoot a little closer to me. "I think they might accept something like this just because of that, if nothing else."

"I hope so," he said, a light smile on his face, and my heart raced as I realized just how close we actually were. We sat there for a few moments exchanging glances. I would catch him looking at me and he'd look away, then he'd catch me looking at him and I'd look away. Finally, he said, "Chuckie… can I kiss you?"

My mouth fell agape for a moment to the point that the rubber bands in my mouth felt like they would snap, but I caught myself quickly before my dorky nervous habits could manifest themselves in such an embarrassing way.

"You… you want to kiss me?" I questioned, feeling dumb. I rustled my hair nervously, tucking some behind my ear before pulling it loose again. I couldn't imagine why Tommy would want to kiss me… even if he liked me. I didn't find myself very attractive; my hair was always a mess, my glasses made me look like a nerd, my braces made me look like an elementary school kid, and on top of that I'd been told I dressed like a first grader.

"Yeah, I do," Tommy told me, and he didn't seem very scared. He now looked into my eyes, and somewhat confidently.

I shuffled anxiously. "O…okay," I mumbled. Then I waited. His hand came up to rest on my shoulder.

The moment his lips touched mine, I was surprised. It didn't feel like the movies—there were no fireworks, no warm breezes blowing through, and no romantic rain began to fall—but it felt amazing; it was so real. Trusting somebody enough to let them get so close to you, both emotionally and physically… the feeling of knowing somebody cared about me enough to get so close was amazing in itself. I didn't think anybody would ever think of me in that way, much less my best friend.

He pressed his lips further into my own and I followed suit. This was the one adventure that could beat out the millions of others we'd been on together. No pretend safari would ever be able to top this.

"Chuckie…" he sighed as he finally pulled away, and we both caught our breath. He made my simple name sound like music, and I pressed our mouths back together.

With Tommy by my side, I knew we'd both make it through this adventure smiling. It wouldn't be the first time.

Author's Notes: So, I hope you liked it. No smut or anything... I just wanted a little short story with some romance. I would like to write something multi-chapter for them, but we'll see if my patience holds out. I don't think has any Tommy/Chuckie yet... does it? Oh well, anyway. Did you like it? c: REVIEW!