Because I have no life, and I've recently been obsessed with the Croods, this was born. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods. And I don't own the cover image.

I CALL IT A KISS

She touched his hand, smiling at him as he grinned back, if slightly bashful. His fingers moved to touch hers, and-

"Guy! I need your help with this!"

"Grug."

"What?! Ugga, this is important!"

Guy and Eep never had time alone.

Not that this was a monumental issue for Guy; he could work around that, no matter how annoying it was. It just- Despite his acceptance into the Crood family two months ago, the young man got the distinctive feeling he was still an outsider… At least where Eep was concerned.

This had nothing to do with the rest of the family, and everything to do with Grug.

Grug didn't like them holding hands.

Grug didn't let them hug.

Grug made sure he slept in between them.

And it wasn't done maliciously. Truth be told, the older man liked and had a deep respect for Guy… He just wasn't letting him near his daughter. It wasn't anything personal.

Grug would have treated any boy the same way.

Guy could understand this. In fact, at times, he was even almost jealous: Eep had a father who truly cared about her. Most of the time, however, it only served to irritate him. What did Grug think he was going to do? Steal her and run away?

…The thought had crossed his mind.

"Night, Guy."

"Night, Eep."

Once again, the pair were separated by Grug. Eep only just had time to squeeze Guy's hand before her dad threw himself on the ground in between them, looking up at the sky with a sigh.

"Night, Croods."

"Night."

Eep wondered what it would be like to sleep next to Guy. She imagined he would be warm, and he'd smell good. Guy always smelled good; like sweat and dust and dirt and innovation. Closing her eyes, the young woman rolled onto her side, facing away from Grug as she curled into herself and promptly fell asleep.

Eep woke two hours later, cold.

Shivering as she moved away from the large mass of furs and muscle that was her dad, the young woman wondered if she dared attempt to lie down beside the newest addition to their family. After all, every attempt she had made insofar had been stopped with a neutral question and a kicked puppy look. Eep understood. She would always be her dad's little girl… but she was growing up.

Getting to her feet, the young woman looked around, freezing when she saw the sky.

Guy had to see this.

Carefully as possible, Eep made the trip around Grug, shaking the younger man awake. He started and Eep motioned for him to be quiet before tugging on his hand. Guy followed her, rubbing sleep from his eyes as the redhead practically dragged him out of earshot before motioning to the sky. "Look."

It was incredible.

Suns. But not normal suns… suns that flew across the sky. A whole bunch of them.

"What are they?" she asked, awed.

Guy had seen one or two, but never this many. And never in the same place. They usually came and left so fast, he never knew what to make of them. "I don't know," he admitted, "but they're beautiful."

"Yeah."

"I've never seen anything like it."

"Me neither."

Turning to the young woman, Guy prepared to describe what he thought the lights meant, the words dying on his lips when he saw her reaching up as if to try and touch the sky. She was beautiful, bathed in the moonlight like that. Well, she was always beautiful, but there was something about the way she stood on her tiptoes, fingers extended to their maximum; her posture was wrought with wonder and innocence, as if the entire ordeal made her breathless. It was striking.

As if sensing his gaze, the young woman turned abruptly, causing him to start as he smiled awkwardly and rubbed his arm, looking up again. He could feel her staring.

"Guy?" His name was accompanied by a touch to his hand, and the young man faced her. His chest began to feel odd and he wanted to frown in confusion, but found he couldn't bring himself to. He felt... trapped. But not in a bad way. Slowly, Eep stepped forward, embracing him in what he had learnt was called a hug.

She had never really hugged him before.

Carefully wrapping his arms around her, Guy held his breath, releasing it all in one whoosh as she nuzzled into his neck. Her body was warm, and she was soft and supple against him. She felt good.

Moving away, the young woman smiled, the thing growing when his hands moved down to hold hers. "Um, Eep, I-"

A bright flash hurled across the sky, and the pair looked up, completely awed. "Wow," Guy breathed.

"Yeah…" She turned to him again, "what did you want to say?"

He didn't know. He supposed the most basic part of it was that he loved her… But not like her family did. I mean, he loved her in that way as well, but he never thought of her family in the manner with which she'd sometimes occupy his thoughts. Guy would find himself constantly getting caught up in her physical characteristics and personality quirks. That never happened with anybody else.

But he couldn't tell her that… What if she didn't love him back? What if she loved him in the same way she loved her dad or her sister?

Eep was looking at him, green eyes big and beautiful in the moonlight as she squeezed his hand, brows raising in concern. "Guy?"

He didn't know why he did it, but very slowly, the young man drew her closer until they were practically toe-to-toe. She was silent, watching as he dropped her hands, fingers trailing up her arms before one hand moved to rest on her waist, the other on her shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked, mimicking his hand placement. "I… don't know," he admitted, frowning slightly. "But it's an idea."

She smiled at him, radiating a kind of trust Guy did not believe he merited. "Okay," Eep said softly.

"Okay, um." Quickly, the young man leaned forward, pressing his lips to her cheek with a sort of odd, suctioning action that made his companion squeak in surprise. He leaned back, blood rushing to his cheeks as he let go of her, staring. His chest was heaving.

The young woman touched her cheek with a sort of wonder. "What… What was that? What do you call it?"

"A kiss," he said quickly, unsure of where the word even came from. He kept it, though. It sounded right. "I call it a kiss."

"A… kiss."

"Yeah."

She grinned at him. "I like it. What does it mean?"

He frowned. "I'm not sure."

"Oh." Rocking back and forth on her heels, the young woman bit her lip. "…Can I try?"

Guy almost chocked on his saliva. "W-What?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Well, I mean, yeah, I guess-"

She grabbed him, mimicking his action to the best of her ability before pulling away, completely flushed. "How'd I do?"

Guy scratched his head. It felt… odd. In a nice way. He wanted her to do it again. He wanted to do it again. "Um, I'm not sure," he said honestly, "nobody's ever kissed me before."

"Oh," Eep, muttered, disappointed. "Right." Toeing the dirt, the young woman shrugged. "Maybe we should try it again. Just to be sure, I mean. So that we know how it's supposed to be."

"Good idea," he said, trying not to seem too eager. "Yeah, really good idea, Eep."

She blushed. "Um, you should go first."

Guy took a deep breath. "Okay."

He leaned forward, again pressed his lips to her cheek, this time a little closer to her mouth. She felt her breathing become irregular, and took special care to note that his face touched hers for longer this time… And she liked that. Clearing his throat as he moved away, the young man looked at her expectantly. "So?"

"Much better than last time," Eep replied thoughtfully. "I think you need to touch faces for longer. And maybe do something with your hands. It seems like it's not enough, you know?"

He definitely knew. "Yeah. Yeah, all right."

She fidgeted in place. Her turn.

"Oh, Eep-" Guy turned his head, fully intending to ask about body placement, but was abruptly cut off by her lips… on his lips. The young woman's eyes were wide open as she pressed a rushed kiss to his mouth, insides chaotic as she pulled away quickly, embarrassed. Guy was staring.

"Guy, I am so sorry! I did it wrong. Can I try again?"

He looked at her, completely amazed. Didn't she feel it? It felt completely different. It felt dizzying. Incredible. "No."

Eep felt her heart sink. Had it really been that bad?

The look on her face made him feel upset, and the young man quickly backpedaled: "Oh, no, Eep, that's not what I meant. I want to kiss you."

"You do?" Her insides were going to melt. Wasn't that a problem? It didn't feel like one.

Guy nodded, a little embarrassed. "But… I like your way better."

"My way?"

"Yeah," he replied, "didn't you feel it?"

Eep was disappointed. "No, I guess not."

"I'll show you."

More confident, the young man took his companion's face in his hands, guiding her forward as he gave her a clumsy kiss. Their eyes were open the entire time, and he pulled away with a hopeful look. "Did you feel it?"

She bit her lip. "I'm not sure… What does it feel like?"

"Kind of… warm," he tried to describe. "And like the inside of you is going to explode. But not in a bad way."

She had definitely felt that way around him, but she wasn't sure if it was the kiss that did it. "Maybe," the redhead conceded.

"I can do it again," Guy offered helpfully. "I mean, if you want."

Eep nodded.

This time, he knew what he was doing. Placing a hand on her waist and one on the side of her face, Guy drew the young woman nearer, their bodies touching. Slowly, he leaned forward, eyes never leaving hers as he paused before kissing her softly. Lovingly. Eep's eyes widened before they fluttered shut completely and he followed her lead, discovering that it felt much more natural to keep them closed. Heart hammering in his chest, the young man sighed when her hands moved to rest on his waist. As he pulled away, Eep shook her head. "Wait… I felt that."

And her hands cupped his face, and she stood up on her tiptoes, and she pressed her mouth to his. The redhead sighed as her arms moved to drape about his neck, his own arms wrapping around her waist. She, however, was finding it difficult to breathe, and so pulled away for a split second for a breath of air before kissing him again.

Diverting from the regular pattern confused her partner. "Um, Eep-"

But Guy found that moving his lips added an entirely new dimension. Trying it without the volume, the young man moved his mouth against his companion's, freezing when she whimpered. "Are you okay?" he murmured against her.

"Yeah," she breathed, nudging his nose with hers. "Keep going."

He smiled, hands gripping the furs at her hips as he kissed her again, her fingers moving to tangle in his hair. Guy squeaked as she accidentally tugged on the strands at his nape, causing the young woman to bite his bottom lip by mistake. She pulled away with every intent of stepping back, but he kept her close, shaking his head. "Don't worry," he assured her. "It, um… it felt good."

"I bit you."

"Yeah." He quickly caught her bottom lip between his teeth as he nipped at the flesh, pulling away to gauge her reaction.

"Oh." Eep touched her lips like they were something new. "I like kissing."

"Me too," he laughed, the sound dying as he continued to look at her. Stepping forward, Guy took her hands in his, leaning his forehead against his companion's. "And I think I know what it means."

Eep looked at him expectantly, not bothering to tell him that she thought she knew what it meant, too. This was his idea. She could tell him later.

He took a deep breath. "It means: 'I love you'."

The young woman's answering smile reached her ears. She had thought the same. "You love me?"

"Yeah... I do," he replied. "But it's different than how I love your family."

"It makes you feel warmer," Eep described. "And you get the exploding feeling."

"Exactly."

She squeezed his hands. "I love you, too, Guy."

For some reason, her saying it meant the world to him. Smiling widely, the young man pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Another bright flash swept across the sky.

Deciding to settle on the cool grass, the couple held hands, entangling themselves in one another as they lay back and watched the thousands of tiny suns twinkling up above.

"Hey Guy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell my dad about the kissing stuff, okay? I don't want to hurt his feelings."

Eep looked at him after she said this, surprised when the young man offered her his little finger. "I won't. Promise."

"What's a… 'promise'?"

He looked pensive for a moment. "It's when you say you're gonna do something or not do something, and you follow through. When you promise not to say something, it means you won't say it, ever. No matter what." Wiggling his pinky finger, Guy smiled. "And this is how you do it."

Hesitantly, Eep extended her own little finger, laughing when her partner hooked their appendages together and wiggled them around a bit. "There you go," he declared. "I promise."

"You're really weird," she giggled.

"Thank you."

More streaks of light bolted across the sky, and Eep sighed, biting her lip with a grin. "I think Tomorrow made the sky dance especially for us," she said quietly, looking at him.

Guy liked that idea.

"Just for us," he repeated softly.

They fell asleep under a blanket of suns.