Yearning
Summary: The five times Butch wanted to kiss Buttercup, and the one time he did.
Authors note: Powerpuff Girls do not belong to me. Also they have human limbs and appendages.
Yearning
Noun: A feeling of intense longing for something… or someone.
The First time Butch felt the urge to kiss Buttercup was when they were thirteen years old.
It was right after their soccer team scored the winning goal against the Citysville junior soccer team. The Citysville team was the toughest in the league, and Townsville was fighting for the championship against them.
A few months prior, Butch and his brothers had returned to Townsville. Not to destroy the town, but to try and lead normal lives with both of their fathers.
Butch of course, had signed up for every single sport available, and had happened to snag a spot on the same soccer team that Buttercup Utonium was on. Due to some budget cuts, the boys and the girls' junior soccer teams had to be combined, thus placing the famous green rivals on the same field together.
Off the field, they fought constantly, just like they did when they were five. But on the field, it was a different story. Much to everyone's surprise, they didn't fight, and actually made a formidable team when they worked together. They helped their team mates and each other succeed. They knew where to go, and when to be there to score a goal, making them one of the best teams in the junior division.
It was during these times on the field, were Buttercup had the ball, making her way to the enemy teams net, and Butch backing her, making sure no one got in her way, that he started developing certain feelings toward her.
She was pretty he mused. Her ebony black hair was still that pixie cut he remembered, but a tad longer now, and her vibrant lime eyes seemed to light up in ways that he hadn't noticed before.
The longer he spent with her, the more these feelings developed, though he still couldn't tell what he was feeling exactly.
It was only after the two of them had scored the winning goal on Citysville that he discovered what it was: He wanted to kiss her.
So when she threw her arms around him in excitement laughing "We did it Butch! We kicked their asses!" He almost did.
Almost.
He had wrapped his arms around her slim frame, returning her embrace, and had been moving his head toward her lips when he suddenly came to his senses.
NO! A voice screamed in his head, causing him to jerk back. It was HER kiss that destroyed you and your brothers all those years ago. Why would you want a kiss from HER?!
Butch paused, still holding an excited Buttercup in his arms; the cheers of the team were white noise in the background. What was he doing? The voice was right after all. Her kiss had killed him. Literally.
So instead of succumbing to his feelings, he had tossed her a shit-eating-grin, gently pushed her off of him, and replied: "We sure did Butts, we sure did."
That was the first time Butch Jojo had wanted to kiss Buttercup Utonium, but it would not be his last.
The Second time Butch felt the urge to kiss Buttercup was when they were fourteen years old.
They had just started high school together with his brothers and her sisters. The six weren't exactly enemies now, but weren't friends either. Occasionally they would fight and end up destroying a fair amount of property in the proses.
And by 'they', it usually referred to Butch and Buttercup, the only pair of counterparts that still actively fought one another from time to time. For Brick and Blossom, it had shifted from being a battle of strength to a battle of wits. As for Boomer and Bubbles, well, they didn't fight at all. In fact, one could hardly call them rivals. The blues had become rather close as of late, with Boomer becoming very close to the bubbly blonde.
A little too close. Butch mused as he was smashed up against the school's wall, near the soccer field. He returned the gesture by kicking Buttercup off of him, with the force of a freight train.
"Pay attention dumbass!" Buttercup screeched at him from across the field. "You're not focusing! When we fight, you give me all of your attention, got it?!" She bellowed at him, seething.
Butch pushed himself out of the crater in the wall that had formed as a result from the blow. She was right, he had been distracted, a mistake that would not happen again. She had his full, undivided attention now.
"Shut up Cupcake." He snarled at her rudely as he charged her, closing the distance between them.
He grabbed her by the middle and slammed both of them back down to ground, effectively knocking the wind out of Buttercup, and creating another crater. Buttercup let out a hiss that slowly grew into a frustrated scream, as she head butted him with enough force to pulverize bone, causing his head and neck to snap back, the rest of his body following suit.
If he had been anyone else, his skull would have shattered like an egg shell from the impact, Butch thought to himself amused, but due to his superpowers and healing abilities, he only had a nasty headache.
"Are you done?" Butch heard Buttercup groan from her spot on the ground. He sat up and moved so that he was lying next to her. "Dunno Butts, are you?" He grinned at the clearly exhausted girl.
"You're such an ass, why are we fighting again?" Buttercup groaned and winced as she discovered that she had opened up a gash on her forehead from the force of the head butt.
"No clue, it was fun though." Butch smirked and stared at her though half-lidded eyes. Buttercup turned her head to look at him, and Butch sucked in a breath, as old feelings came rushing back to him.
She was still pretty. She had rubble and debris on her from their fight, and was bleeding from several cuts that he had inflicted on her, but she was still so pretty to him, for god knows what reason. Maybe it was her eyes, Butch thought. Despite the fact she was clearly exhausted, her bright green orbs still blazed with determination.
From their positions on the ground, Butch realized that if he wanted to kiss her, all he had to do was move forward a tiny bit and close the gap between their faces. It was that easy. Again he almost does.
Almost.
What are you doing? The voice in his head asked. "Why are you thinking about that at a time like this? Why do you even want a kiss from her? Truthfully, Butch didn't even know.
"Well Butterbutt, it was fun, but you've clearly had enough, and I think I'm going to go home so I can shower, see you around!" Butch gave her his signature smirk, as he pushed himself off the ground, and into the air. He had to leave; he didn't know what was wrong with him. Why did he suddenly have that urge to kiss her again? It made absolutely no sense to him what-so-ever. All he knew is that he had to think.
"ASSHOLE, GET BACK HERE SO I CAN POUND YOU!"
That was the second time that Butch Jojo wanted to kiss Buttercup Utonium, but it would not be his last.
The Third time Butch felt the urge to kiss Buttercup was when they were fifteen years old.
Only this time, they were at a Christmas party, and had actually become good friends. This time around though, Butch discovered that he had a thing for his green counterpart.
He couldn't even say that it surprised him, the signs leading up to it had been obvious, he just hadn't realized it at the time. It didn't scare him like he thought it would either. Maybe it was because Boomer had recently hooked up with Bubbles, providing him with a silent go-ahead, he wasn't too sure.
He spotted Buttercup across the room, laughing with some of the other guests. She hadn't moved from that spot the entire night, avoiding all of the strategically placed mistletoe that was hung over doorframes and other odd places, curtesy of Bubbles.
The raven haired boy glanced up, noticing some mistletoe hanging innocently above the doorframe that he and his brothers were milling under, and then stole a glance at Buttercup again. He grinned, as an idea popped into his head.
He reached up with his new height that he had gained from his most recent growth spurt, and easily plucked the mistletoe from its spot above the doorframe. He plastered the most innocent look he could manage on his face and hid the mistletoe behind his back before he made his way through the crowd of guests and over to Buttercup.
"Hey Sunshine," He greeted her with a grin, "I don't think you've said one word to me all night, hell, I don't even think you've moved all night. Why, afraid of a plant?" He shot her another grin.
"You're a dick," Buttercup responded laughing, "It's not that I'm afraid of it. If you haven't noticed, there are some people with cameras here, and I'd rather not be caught in a compromising position."
"Oh?" Butch asked with mock innocence. Looking around, he realized that she was indeed right; he spotted a person with a camera around their neck standing not two feet away from where they were conversing. Butch fought the shit-eating-grin he could feel sliding up his face. Perfect.
"You know I actually have something to give you." Butch told Buttercup coolly, using one of his hands to pull her out of her spot on the couch so she was standing in front of him, the other keeping the mistletoe behind his back and safely out of the raven haired girl's sight.
"… and what is that?" Buttercup asked cautiously, already becoming weary of the tall boy in front of her.
"Butch just let out a small grin as he looked at the girl in front of him, once again, for the third time; he stopped and just stared at her for a moment.
Oh wow, she wasn't just pretty anymore; she was starting to become beautiful. Her lime green eyes still had that interesting sparkle to them that intrigued him to no end, but there were new changes that were starting to happen to her now: she had finally let her dark raven hair grow out of that pixie cut that she always had it in, and it was a bit past her shoulders now. And of course, she was starting to grow out of her child's body and develop into a woman. Her chest was a little more predominant then he remembered, and just like him, she had grown taller than her sisters, though he now was a head taller than she.
Oh yes, Butch quite enjoyed her new look.
He finally released the massive grin he had bit back, as he grabbed her by the waist, bringing her close to him, trapping her to his long frame, despite her shriek of protest, as he whipped the mistletoe out from behind his back.
"This." He chucked darkly as he dangled it above their heads. Buttercup started to thrash in his grip, realizing that was about to happen, but Butch just gripped her tighter.
Are you really going to do this here? Oh, the voice was back. If you're really going to kiss her, you should wait until you're in a more intimate setting, you've attracted quite the crowd. The voice was right. The gests had all been alerted to Buttercup's thrashing, and almost every set of eyes was on them now.
Butch suppressed a sigh. If he was going to do this, then he was going to do it right.
He was very tempted to kiss her on the mouth like he planned, and he almost gives in and does.
Almost.
He swooped down, but instead of getting her mouth, he pressed a rough kiss to her cheek.
Butch released the shocked girl in his arms and he stepped back, smirking at her. "Merry Christmas Buttercup." He crowed at her sadistically, laughing at her shocked expression.
Buttercup, for once, was absolutely speechless.
The guests on the other hand were ecstatic, and somewhere in the background, Butch could almost swear he hears Brick ask Boomer: "The fuck just happened?"
While he had technically kissed Buttercup, it was not the kiss he had wanted to give her, nor was it the environment that he wanted to do it in. The feelings he had toward this issue did not fade away as a result.
That was the third time Butch Jojo had wanted to kiss Buttercup Utonium, but like the last two times before this, it would not be his last.
The Fourth time Butch felt the urge to kiss Buttercup; they were still fifteen years old.
The fourth time he felt the urge to, it was a several months after the Christmas party, summer vacation was fast approaching, and he was alone in his bedroom.
The raven haired boy was reflecting on the current relationship that he had with Buttercup. The events at the Christmas party had defiantly changed things between them. The changes were slight, and no one else was any the wiser about them, but the greens knew they existed.
This 'crush' that Butch felt toward Buttercup had only intensified, and as much as he was loathed to admit it, he yearned for her. He wanted her to be his partner, much like Bubbles was Boomer's, and it was starting to become apparent.
While they would still laugh and joke with one another, Butch would just as often flirt with her, giving her little and discrete hints that maybe, if she was up for it, he'd like to be something more.
But the thing he found most interesting was that Buttercup hadn't rejected his advances. She hadn't accepted them, but she hadn't declined them either.
When he had first started, she had chosen to brush them off, but recently, she had started to respond to them. Leaving little hints of her own.
But Butch, being the slightly clueless male he was when it came to woman's feelings, couldn't exactly tell what she was trying to tell him.
He let out a long, low groan, shoving his face into his pillow. He was pretty sure she knew what he wanted, but he couldn't tell if she wanted the same, of if she even felt the same way about him.
Why the hell couldn't he have just kissed her on the mouth at the Charismas party like he had originally planned? Things would probably have been much easier now if he had.
You know it wasn't the right time. The voice was once again back. Just like the other two times before then, it wasn't the time. If you're really going to go through with this, you have to wait for the right opportunity; you'll know when it is when it presents itself.
Butch just scowled. He hated when the voice was right.
An object on his dresser caught his attention, and he shifted onto his side so he could grab it with his long fingers.
It was a photo of Buttercup and him, but not just any photo; it was from the Christmas party.
The photographer that had been standing close to them, when he had planted that surprise kiss on Buttercup, had managed to snap a photo of the exact moment he had done it. And it wasn't one of those shitty, out of focus pictures either, it was a high quality one.
Butch stifled a laugh; the look on Buttercup's face was priceless. That had been the first time that he had ever seen her make that expression before, and he was so glad he had a picture of it, as he wasn't sure if he'd ever see it again.
In fact, he had liked the picture so much he had gotten it framed and its place was now on his bedside table.
All of the sudden, he was hit with the urge to kiss her once again. And she wasn't even in the same room has him.
Her skin was so soft. When he had kissed her on the cheek, as disgusting as it sounded in his mind, her skin was one of the softest things that he had ever felt.
And he wanted to do it again.
Why don't you just ask her out already? The voice was back. Clearly you want to be something more than what you are now, and besides, everybody already knows she's 'your' girl.
Butch just let out another groan. That was true. Without knowing it, he had apparently staked a claim on his counterpart, so while other boys would ogle at her, they wouldn't dare get too close. Because whether they admitted it or not: they were scared of him. The dark male was approaching his sixteenth birthday, but was already almost 6 feet and had an impressive muscular frame. That and of course he had a reputation as the most brutal RowdyRuff that still made quite a few people weary of him.
He would ask her out, he decided. But not now, maybe over the summer when he'd see her.
And then maybe, just maybe, he could see how soft her skin really was…
Butch almost screamed as the uncalled for thought ran though his mind again, jamming one of his pillows over his head as a blush spread over his cheeks.
Feelings were hard.
That was the fourth time Butch Jojo wanted to kiss Buttercup Utonium, but just like the other times before, it would not be his last.
The fifth time that Butch felt the urge to kiss Buttercup was when they were sixteen years old.
Now they were juniors in high school, and it was near the end of September, early October. Football and Volleyball season had started up again, and Butch had risen to own the title of 'Star Quarterback,' while Buttercup had recently been promoted to captain of the girls' volleyball team.
The Football team had just finished another practice and Butch was putting his bag away into his sports locker when out of the coroner of his forest green orbs, he saw Buttercup walking toward him, and grinned.
It was a ritual between them now, usually both sports teams held practice on the same day. When that happened, the greens would normally wait for each other so they could walk or fly home together. When the teams didn't have practice on the same day, Butch or Buttercup would go to the other's practice and wait for them. The latter was the today's case.
"Enjoy the show babe?" Butch called teasingly to her, as she walked over to lean against the locker next to his.
"Riveting." Was the response that he received. Without looking up, Butch just let out a deep chuckle as he finished putting his gym bag away and grabbed his normal one, shutting the locker door behind him.
He swung his bag over his shoulder, as he stood to his full height of over 6 feet, and turned toward Buttercup. "Ready to go?" he asked her. The lime eyed girl nodded and turned to him.
Once again, Butch's breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful.
There were no other words to describe her. Her lime eyes still sparked, but now held more depth to them, enticing the tall male all the more. Her raven hair was now down to her mid back, looking just as wild as she did, and her body was now tall and rippled with lean muscle from years of fighting monsters.
Butch could hardly stop himself from staring.
He flicked his dark eyes up to meet her light ones and saw a hint of amusement in them.
"You should really do something about this." Buttercup told him, mentioning between him and her. "Really, this is starting to become painful."
"W-what?" the male asked confused. Buttercup sighed, running a hand though her long wild hair.
"US." She clarified. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been acting around me for the past couple of months. I knew something was up since the Christmas party; you were acting so differently than normal. At first I just brushed it off; I thought it was just you being weird. Then in the months afterwards, I got that you wanted to be more then friends. Truthfully, I really didn't know how to take that at first, but it got me thinking and honestly, if I'm going to date anybody, it would most likely end up being you."
She chuckled gently, amused at the taller boy's stunned expression, before continuing. "Hell Butch, I'm pretty sure that we're the only two people ALIVE on this earth that could handle each other. We're two different sides of the same coin, you and I."
Buttercup paused, looking up at him and smirking. "Question is, what are you going to do about it?"
Butch stops breathing for a moment. Well, she's got him there. He can't say anything against it either, not like he'd try to deny it at this point anyhow.
So, he does the only thing that he can think of.
Butch shrugs off his bag and kneels down onto one knee, grabbing Buttercups hand in one of his own. Lord only knows how confused she is at the moment.
"Buttercup Alexis Utonium. Will you go out with me?"
The question hangs in the air for a moment, and Butch grows nervous. After all, she said that she would most likely date him, but that wasn't a complete yes. It doesn't help that Buttercup's face is impassive, and completely unreadable.
Suddenly, her face breaks into a wide grin and she laughs at him playfully. "Geeze Butch, it's about time."
Butch is floored; she just agreed to go out with him. And he was only expecting to walk her home today, not this. Not that he's complaining. This day has just gone completely off the rails and down the most wonderful road ever.
Getting up off of his knees, he picks her up and swings her around the deserted hallway, both greens laughing.
He gazes at her face, so carefree and happy at the moment, and once again, he has that powerful urge to kiss her. He's so very tempted to, she just agreed to go out with him after all, and god only knows how long he's waited for the opportunity to. So he almost does, just like the last three times.
Almost.
He's closing the small gap between their mouths just as the little voice speaks up again. Not now. It whispered to him. You just got her; it's too soon, just wait a little bit longer.
Butch sighs but reluctantly pulls back, not letting go of Buttercup, who he is still swinging around. He's waited this long. He can wait a little longer.
Buttercup frowns as she looks down her new beau. "Wait, I didn't just agree to marry you did I?"
That was the fifth time that Butch Jojo wanted to kiss Buttercup Utonium. But this time, it would be the last time that he didn't get to.
The First time that Butch actually got to kiss Buttercup on the lips, they are still sixteen years old.
It was now late November, early December and Football season was drawing to a close. The Townsville high school football team had made it to the finals, where they had proceeded to annihilate all of the other high school teams, and were ironically, facing off against Citysville for the championship.
It had been a long, hard game for both teams. They were in the final five minutes of the last period, and the score was going to be extremely close. Buttercup and Blossom sat in the highest part of the bleachers, watching attentively as Butch, Boomer and Brick duked it out on the field, paying hard, with absolutely no powers what-so-ever. Bubbles on the other hand, was down at the bottom of the bleachers with the rest of her cheerleading squad, trying to rally the crowd, and cheering on the Townsville team.
Buttercup was on the edge of her seat, gripping the metal underneath her so tightly, it was starting to bend, leaving finger like wedges in the metal. Citysville had great defence this year, and it was making it difficult for Butch to get around and score the touch down they needed to put them in the lead. They now only had two more minutes to go.
Finally, a player wearing the jersey 'JOJO 01', who she could only assume was Brick, faked a pass, allowing most of the Citysville players to come charging toward him. He quickly tossed the actual ball to 'JOJO 02', who she knew was Butch. He managed to grab the ball out of the air and sprinted to the end of the field with 'JOJO 03', Boomer she assumed, backing him.
10 seconds to go.
He passed half-way.
5 seconds.
He only had less than a quarter field to cover.
3…2…1…
TOUCHDOWN. Butch slammed the ball down across the line with such a force, it left a tiny crater in the turf.
The Townsville side of the crowd roared with approval as they realized that they had won the championships against their most difficult opponent.
"YES!" Buttercup screeched, flying up out of her seat, dragging an enthusiastic Blossom up with her. The cheerleaders were screaming; the school coloured pom-poms, black and white, flying everywhere. Bubbles was doing back-flips in the air, before running onto the field to grab Boomer in a bear-hug that he just as enthusiastically returned, picking her up and tossing her into the air.
Buttercup zipped down onto the field, brushing past the other football players, until she spotted him. JOJO 03, Butch. He was walking toward her with Brick, helmets off, and laughing, sweat matting their hair, making Butch's usually spikey black hair stick to his forehead.
Suddenly Brick broke off from Butch, and out of the corner of her bright green gaze, Buttercup saw him jog over to where her sister Blossom of all people, was waiting for him. Buttercup watched as she wrapped her arms around the red male, and saw that he returned her gesture. She smirked; those two were getting closer by the day.
She turned her attention to back in front of her and saw the Butch had noticed her. He grinned, and spread his arms open, a silent invitation. Buttercup didn't need to be told twice; she took a running start and launched herself into his muscular frame.
"You did it!" She yelled excited, "Butch that was incredible, what a power-play!" Butch just laughed, "Of course Cupcake, you expected anything less from me?" he asked her playfully.
Buttercup pulled back and Butch smiled gently at her. She was stunning.
She was wrapped up in her bomber jacket and scarf from the cold, and her long, black hair was looking wilder then ever as it was whipped around by the wind, but her eyes were still the same. Still sparkling, and still gorgeous.
Butch gently wrapped an arm around Buttercup's waist, holding her in place, while the other had slowly moved to the back of her head. The female in his arms looked slightly confused. "What's up babe?" She asked.
"There's something that I've wanted to do for a really long time now Butts." Was the response from the green male. Buttercup cocked her head to the side. "Oh, what is it?" she asked.
Butch stared at her for a moment. This was it. He could feel it; this was the exact moment he had been waiting for. He wanted to kiss her. So he was going to.
"This." And before she can say anything, he smashes their mouths together.
All of the cheering fades away into the background and becomes white noise, even as the rest of his team mates notice and start to wolf whistle at them. Somewhere in the background Butch almost swears he hears Boomer tell Brick: "You owe me $50."
Butch wanted to kiss Buttercup five times before this one, but he never did, and so this time around he did. This time, the voice said nothing at all.
That was the first time Butch Jojo kissed Buttercup Utonium on the lips, but it would not be his last.