My take on a cliche prompt. Sorry, I just couldn't get it out of my head.

Inspired in part by a chapter of Carriedreamer's Out of the Rabbit's Hutch and KykyB's Collar Full. Thank you guys for such incredible writing!

*Three Weeks*

He would never admit it, but there was something about the warmth of another person lying next to him made him feel almost like a decent person. Almost. Though that might be more to the credit of who was next to him than anything else.

She was the only person stubborn enough to worm her way into his hea...room. Hell, she had made it what, six months without him murdering her? Sure, he thought about it sometimes, but hey, he could just chalk that up to old habits.

Butch sighed and settled further into the shabby pillow the two of them were sharing. A pale pink light was beginning to float its way into the room through the dusty window. The sun was rising, and she was bound to wake up soon and leave him for whatever it was that kept her so busy during the day. He hated her ridiculous schedule. It may have been useful in providing cover stories for them in the past few months, but still, it was no fun watching her sneak off to her house at the crack of dawn; there was something about it that made it seem like a walk of shame, and that just didn't suit her. Like she told him constantly, she was a lady.

Her body shifted next to his and her hair slid into his space. That girl and her ridiculous hair. It got everywhere. But still, it was kind of nice to curl up in the warmth of it in the middle of the night. Of course, she was asleep when he did that, and he would never tell her about it. It would make him seem like a pansy, and that was Boomer's thing.

There was the sound of a crash on the other side of his bedroom door, followed by the shout of a curse. Butch shot up in his bed. What the hell were his brothers doing up? They were never awake before noon - a fact that had saved him from questions he wasn't able to answer about his relatio...nope. Nope nope nope. He would never use that word. That would be admitting he wasn't wholly evil, and he just wasn't ready for that kind of existential crisis.

Existential. That was a nice word. She had taught him that.

His brothers were getting louder, and he panicked. His hand shot out and roughly shook the sleeping form next to him. Her eyes flew open in confusion and questioned him silently.

"Get out," he hissed.

Her eyebrows raised. "Okay, first of all, I do not appreciate that tone," she said with a huff as she rolled off of his bed.

"I don't care, just GO," he whispered roughly. Brick's voice was inching its way closer to the door.

She huffed again, rolling her eyes and grabbing the bag that she brought with her every night she spent with him.

The knob of the door turned and Butch flew across the room to slam himself against the door and hold it shut. Brick would be pissed about it, but he had to make sure the room was empty before his brothers barged in. He scanned the room to double check that there was no sign of another person ever being there before removing the pressure from the door and allowing his red-faced brother to tumble in.

"What the HELL are you doing," Brick screamed as he stood and adjust the cap on his head.

"Why the hell are you screaming like a little bitch?"

"HIM wants us. Get downstairs," the red-head commanded. Butch snorted derisively - derisive. Another nice word he picked up from her.

"Whatever, man. I'm going back to bed." Butch turned back into his room. A hand smacked the back of his head and his brother's grating voice began to boss him around - again. The green of his eyes darkened dangerously. He'd be damned if Brick was gonna get away with being a prick after ruining a perfectly good morning.

Blossom felt the familiar nervous twisting in her stomach as she slid her window open. She couldn't even count how many mornings she had spent sneaking into her room like this, but the idea of getting caught still plagued her. She did not want answer uncomfortable questions-that would be far too inconvenient for her.

The downtown apartment she shared with her sisters was silent, as it usually was this early in the morning. Blossom flung the bag onto her bed and walked towards the jack-and-jill bathroom that connected her bedroom with Buttercup's. She was still mildly impressed with Bubbles's ability to talk them into sharing while the blonde kept the other bathroom that rested just off the hallway to herself. That did not make it any easier to share with her other sister, though.

She turned the knob in the shower and waited for the water to heat up. There were sounds of Buttercup stirring in the next room, but Blossom knew that her sister wouldn't be up for another hour at least. Her eyes shifted wearily to the cabinet below the sink where they kept all their necessary feminine products. Her lack of need for them in the past weeks was beginning to worry her slightly. She bit her lip as she counted backwards, trying to make the math add up. Wearily, she walked back to her room and dug around in the bag for the test that she had picked up before going to see Butch last night. She would just take it, take her shower, and then check the results afterward. Simple. No reason to make a big deal out of it.

It took fifteen minutes for Blossom to feel like she had effectively washed everything from the day before off of herself. Honestly, she preferred to shower in the evenings before going to bed, but her routine had changed in the past few months to accommodate her late night *activities*. She stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself. Her eyes shifted to the test sitting on the counter. Surely enough time had passed. She checked the little screen.

Huh. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Awkward questions.

Schedule conflicts.

An angry Butch.

Oh goodness, what a quandary she was in now. How very inconvenient.

It had been, what, six months since she had worked him into her schedule? A change she didn't regret in the slightest, she had to admit. She had even noticed herself picking up on some of his idiosyncrasies - and a few bad words that had helped her out quite a bit on one particularly stressful afternoon the week before. The thought made her smile. In fact, she had been much happier the past few months, and her schedule didn't seem nearly as stressful or cumbersome as it had before.

But they seemed to have a silent agreement not to think about what they were, so, with some effort, she tore her thoughts away from the subject. She knew full well that her range of emotion connected to the situation was much more extensive than his and dwelling on the fact would only upset her, and she could already feel the grip of panic clawing at the back of her throat.

This was really going to throw off their already precarious balance.

She sat down on the bathroom floor and rested her head against the cabinets. What was she supposed to do now? Was it viable? Was this even a possibility for people like her and her sisters? She had to admit that she had wondered before, and she and Butch had taken...precautions...but part of her had always figured that that particular possibility was rather, well, impossible.

A tear managed to escape her eyes and slip down her face. She hadn't even noticed that her vision had gone blurry.

She got up and walked back into her room, forcing the stress that had been climbing up her chest to retreat back into that special place where she tried to hide unpleasant thoughts. She dressed slowly and without really noticing what she was putting on. Her mind was dwelling on different matters, after all.

Seventh months ago she wouldn't have even thought twice about him. He would have just been one of the idiots she used to fight with as a kid. They hadn't even seen each other much over the past few years, aside from the occasional attempted robberies, but even then Brick had occupied most of her attention.

Freshman year at the university had just ended, she and her sisters were moving into an apartment of their own, everything was going according to plan. Except...what had she even done during the past year? Yes, she had studied and done every extracurricular she could jam into her schedule, and done it with perfect finesse, too. But her sisters had been able to look back and reminisce on their 'wild and crazy' first year of college, while Blossom...what did she have that was worth remembering? What memories could she fondly look back on, other than awards that seemed almost trivial now that she was out of school? She was floating through the air, dwelling on each potential memory she could have had, each opportunity that would have given her the chance to take a risk. But she never took risks, and the possible consequences of that gnawed their way into the forefront of her brain with every passing summer day.

A sound of sirens had split the air and caught her attention. She looked down to see the Gangrene Gang stumbling out of a demolished car and splitting off in different directions. A green streak passed by near the wreckage. Buttercup? No, the color was a deep emerald green, much darker than the chartreuse trails her sister typically left. Butch.

With a sigh, Blossom rolled over lazily in the air and began to float down to the sight of the wreck. Moments before she landed, an entire fleet of police cars swept down the road below her, only one of them stopping to examine the wreckage. She checked with them momentarily, then began to follow after the cars that continued on ahead. She found them grouped in a makeshift circle outside a gas station just down the road. There, standing lazily in the center, was Butch, the stick of a sucker dangling from his mouth as though it were threatening to fall out at any moment. As she landed just outside the scene, she caught wind of the dialogue passing between the young man and the surrounding policemen.

"...what you're talking about. I didn't do shit. All I wanted was a pack of cold ones," Butch told an officer with a passive roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. And that car just decided to steal itself and rampage through the town, huh?" an officer asked. "Nice try. You know the drill, hands up, you have the right to..."

"Wait!" Blossom called out. Something about what the officer said didn't add up to her. "You mean that car that was wrecked back there, just down the road?"

"Ah, Miss Utonium, good to see you. Yes, we were just about to apprehend this young man here for, well, I guess you already know what for."

"Yes, but I don't think he had anything to do with it."

She felt the eyes of the surrounding officers flash to her, and even Butch's casual expression lit up with mild surprise.

"Miss, with all due respect, we saw him flying-"

"But if he was flying, how could he have driven the car?"

Another officer answered her, "True, but you know what he is, what if-"

Blossom cut them off once more, saying, "Besides, I saw the Gangrene Gang leaving the vehicle after the wreck. It's them you should be looking for."

There was silence in the circle, and out of the corner of her eyes, Blossom saw a smile beginning to twitch on Butch's face. The officer nearest to her leaned her head in and said, "But Blossom, this is one of those Rowdyruffs. We can't just leave him out."

"You can't arrest a citizen for no reason, either."

Blossom's words had them shocked. "No ma'am, I guess we can't. But he's underage and was buying alcohol, you heard him. He should at least be in trouble for that."

Blossom's eyes narrowed. Sure, he was a villain. But justice was justice and she couldn't allow the officers to abuse that. Not when crime had been dropping so steadily as of late. Her eyes flickered over to Butch. There was nothing on his person, save that darned lollipop and his stupid grin. "I don't see any alcohol, officer."

"Well, no, but-"

"And did you catch him in the act of purchasing any?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then I suggest you leave him well enough alone and go search for the real culprits that you're looking for."

There was a tense silence within the circle, and then a small bustle of sound as officers backed away and allowed Butch the chance to exit from the center of them. He shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled leisurely away from the spot he had been standing in, flashing a smug grin at some of the scowling policemen closest to him.

Blossom stayed momentarily to discuss the Gangrene Gang and their potential whereabouts before turning to head to the police station to file a report, only to find herself face to face with Butch. Or, well, face to chest. She hadn't realized just how much taller than her he had gotten over time. She tilted her head back questioningly and met his eyes.

"May I help you?"

He answered a snort of laughter and looked around at the officers who were filing back into their cars to pursue the Gangrene Gang. "Looks like you already did, Pinky. That's pretty decent of ya. Thanks."

She blinked in surprise. He had...thanked her?

"Now, don't get me wrong, I coulda walked away on my own, but it's kinda nice to not be in trouble for once. Besides." He looked her up and down, "you can save me any time you want," he said with a suggestive wink.

Ugh. Pig.

"It's what I do. Just don't let me catch you actually doing something wrong, or I'll personally hand you over to the police."

"Oooh, I hope so. Wouldya get a lil' rough with me while you did it? Really...take your time...ya know?" He quirked an eyebrow up at her. Disgusting. If he was trying to get a reaction out of her or looking for a fight, well, it just wasn't going to work.

"Just go home and don't get into any more trouble," she told him as she turned on her heel and moved to walk away. She could hear the crunch of a footstep on the pavement beside her, and Butch's massive arm swung down across her shoulders. She tensed, preparing for the attack that...never came?

"Aw, lighten' up, lil' Red." He took the sucker out of his mouth and shoved it into hers. She blanched at the unexpected slimy sweetness, and the candy dropped from her mouth onto the asphalt below. "Hey! Don't go wastin' good food like that!" Butch licked the dirt off of the lollipop and shoved it back into her mouth, his arm crashing down on her shoulders once more. "Anyways, I was tryin' to say, that ya boy here likes to return favors that he gets, so you just let me know and I'll..." he paused and looked down at her with a sly grin, "help you out, if ya catch my drift."

Blossom resisted the urge to roll her eyes again-she was starting to give her a headache from doing that. She grabbed his hand and shoved his heavy arm off her shoulders, walking away with a huff as he cackled behind her. He was still standing in the street staring at her as she took off into the sky. She could feel his eyes following her for miles, almost until she began her descent towards the police station downtown. She tossed the unfinished sucker into a trash bin as she walked inside to discuss the events of the evening with the police chief.

Half an hour later, she was walking back outside and nearly tripped on a lump in front of her. Ace, knocked out cold, was lying on the police steps with all the other members of the Gangrene Gang.

"Don't say I never returned any favors," a deep voice called out from across the street before a flash of deep green shot off into the twilit sky. Blossom watched the green streak for what seemed like miles until it finally disappeared into the horizon. She could still faintly taste the sugar from the lollipop on her lips. Was that...watermelon?

Butch grudgingly shrugged on a flannel shirt as he left his room. His shoes were untied and his hair looked like a rats nest. It was exactly the aesthetic he was going for.

Aesthetic, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Damn. If any more of Blossom's words popped into his head, he'd turn into one of those dictionary assholes. He beat the crap out of those kinds of people. In fact, he had beat the crap out of the red-headed one standing right next to him. Brick still had a large purple bruise on his face. That had been one heck of a punch. Butch was pretty proud of that one. Maybe it might just teach his brother to leave him the hell alone in the mornings.

Boomer joined them, and they left for Him's place.

Brick and HIM got into an argument almost immediately, and Butch threw himself onto the couch and began to drown out the noise, just like he always did. If he closed his eyes, he could still pretend that he was back in bed with a warm body curled up against his side.

Damn that woman. She had wormed her way into his head that day that she had gotten him out of trouble, and he hadn't been able to get her out since. The image of her, with her hands on her hips and that challenging gleam in her eye as she made those stupid officers practically bow down to her. Shit, it still got him hot and bothered. He hadn't been able to sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes it was like she was staring back at him with that same challenging look in her eyes. And damn, he loved a challenge.

It had taken him days to track her down again. He needed to get her away from those stupid sisters of hers. They would only get in his way.

He spotted her sitting in the park, apparently reading a book. He touched down onto the ground a short distance behind her. A ray of sunlight lit her hair as he approached her, casting red and gold through the strands. It was like she was on fire.

He loved playing with fire.

Butch had dropped himself unceremoniously onto the ground behind her and slung an arm over her shoulder. She tensed defensively, obviously preparing for a fight.

"Calm down, lil' red. Just wanted to see what ma girl was up to today."

He could feel her glare burning into the side of his face. Oh man, she was pissed. Her eyes were filled with anger, and he felt the excitement rise up in his throat.

She shoved him away from her and stood to walk away. Oh no, she wasn't gettin' off that easily. He grabbed her hand and yanked her back down onto the ground next to him. A blow landed on the side of his head as she went down, and he saw her hand preparing to land another one. He caught it easily, of course, but he had to appreciate her fast response. He pinned her arms down to her side and leaned his head in towards her.

"Listen, lil' girl. I didn't come all the way out here for no fight, ya hear? I gots somethin' that I wanted to run by you real quick."

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't trust him, but the tension in her shoulders shifted slightly. He smiled. She might actually listen to him.

"Ya see, that was pretty decent whatya did the other day, and it got me thinking-"

"I hope you didn't hurt yourself," she shot back. Ouch, she could hit back hard without even moving a muscle.

The impressed him.

"Aw, that's not very nice. Ya see, I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang or somethin' some time."

"Hang?" she asked in disbelief. "Hang? With you? What are you playing at?"

"Playin'?" He grasped his chest in mock pain. "You hurt me. I just thought ya mighta wanted to walk on the wild side for once."

Something about him saying that had caught her attention and she turned slightly towards him. The excitement gathered in his chest and he fought to not let it show.

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly. She still didn't trust him, but she was at least gonna let him talk, it seemed.

Butch was shoved off the couch, and he looked up angrily to see Brick staring down at him.

"Have you even listened to what I was sayin'?"

Butch narrowed his eyes at his brother. Brick was playin' a dangerous game today, and if he interrupted Butch one more time, he was gonna regret it.

Blossom went about her morning as normally as she could, getting ready for her 9:00 am class at the university. Best to put it out of her mind until she could mull things over. Her sisters awoke and joined her for breakfast, though the conversation was minimal since the two were still bleary from sleep and Blossom was focusing on the near future. She left the apartment not long after that and headed to Townsville University, where she had three classes that day. Afterward, a meeting at the town hall with the city officials, stopping an attempted robbery, and an hour of studying at the library with Bubbles, who was also enrolled at University with her.

Around six o'clock that evening, Blossom and her sister departed from the library. They walked rather than flew, and Bubbles kept up an easy flow of conversation that her sister was only partially invested in. A streak of green had just crossed the sky, too dark to have come from Buttercup. A smile played on Blossom's face; only a few more hours, and she could sneak away from her sisters and let go of the stress of the day. The smile fell. He really wasn't going to be happy with this situation at all.

They arrived at the apartment to find Buttercup preparing dinner; nothing fancy, just spaghetti and meatballs—a favorite of theirs. Simple. Cheap. Effective. They ate dinner not long after walking in, and Bubbles and Buttercup both spent the entire time talking about their days. Blossom pulled her phone out under the table to let Butch know that she was going to be a little bit late tonight. She had realized that she had to do a little bit of research before telling Butch anything. IF she told him. After all, the test may have just been a fluke.

As soon as the proper social conventions were met and Blossom could leave the dinner table without arousing suspicion, she slipped away to the privacy of her room. An hour later, and she found herself seated cross-legged on her bed, computer in front of her and a phone number for a doctor's office in Citysville scrawled onto a scrap of paper next to her. She needed answers from a proper authority on the subject before making any plans for her situation.

Butch's phone vibrated in his pocket, but he couldn't check it immediately, just in case it was Blossom. Boomer was sitting right next to him on their couch, and if he saw that his brother was talking to a girl, there would be no getting him to shut up. When the blond got up to use the bathroom, though, Butch whipped the phone out and frowned at the screen. Well, fine then. Just great. Now he didn't even have that to look forward to.

Boomer returned and put on a movie, and Butch stared at the screen without actually watching. A door nearby slammed heavily shut. Great, Sir Bitches-A-Lot was home. Butch looked up as his other brother entered the room and smiled when he saw a small patch of purple still hovering next to his red eyes. That had been a great left hook and had kept the ginger off of his back for most of the day.

"What are you smilin' at, asshole?"

Butch chuckled darkly. If he couldn't spend his evening the way that he planned, he could at least raise hell with his brothers.

Hey guys! It's been a long time since I did anything on this site, and I felt like this was a nice way to come back in. I'm kinda just winging it as I go along, so if you guys have any suggestions, they would be very welcome! Thank you for making it this far and giving this story a chance. I know mixed pairings aren't the most popular, so I appreciate you looking into it anyways. I'll see you guys in the next chapter, if I continue this. Thanks again!

-ICantThinkofanOriginalName-