Young & Restless fans tend to balk whenever it is suggested that trouble be pointed in the direction of a couple that they like. But trouble isn’t just the bread and butter of soaps, it’s also the peanut butter and jelly of soaps. Our shows need it — and this show more than most.

So we couldn’t help but be intrigued when the recent New Year’s Eve episodes made a point of throwing together Michael, Lauren, Jack and Diane. On one hand, it was no big deal: Michael and Diane are friends as are Jack and Lauren. But on the other, it suggested the possibility of the messiest of messy quadrangles.

More: Michael and Lauren’s love story [PHOTOS]

Christian Jules LeBlanc and Susan Walters have killer chemistry, and the promise of a Michael/Diane affair is deliciously wicked. It could return both characters to the dark side and forge a tag team that would make even the great and powerful Victor Newman shudder.

Tracey E. Bregman and Peter Bergman work beautifully together, too. And their characters practically grew up together. Remember back in the 1980s, when Jack and Lauren interrupted their ski trip to help save Brad Carlton from a crazed Lisa Mansfield? The twosome are never any further from an illicit kiss than a sip of champagne and a slow dance too many.

Obviously, it would be sad to see two strong couples split up. But it would also be exciting to see where new relationships lead them — and how everyone reacts. Ashley would probably do Snoopy’s happy dance if Jack were to come to breakfast one day with Lauren by his side, not Diane. But Fen might be so upset about the end of his parents’ marriage that he returns to Genoa City determined to get them back together.

As for Kyle, he’d have one more reason to wonder whether his mother has ever made a promise that she could keep. Phyllis, in turn, would hit the roof over her estranged bestie trading Lauren for Diane. “It’s like I don’t even know you anymore,” Phyllis would tell him. “And you know what’s even harder to accept: I don’t want to know you anymore.”