Buttercup lay awake on her bed. She was tired, and after the events that happened throughout the day, she should be out cold by now. Unfortunately, here she was, staring at the ceiling and inspecting the small holes there. There were 1,086 holes, but who's counting, she thought. In the end she surmised that something's not right in her world.
She tried fluffing the pillows and moving around, trying to find a position she's most comfortable. But then she's not along on the bed.
"Mrr….cut it off…" Blossom muttered from beside her. That put an end to that idea. That's another thing; she was with her sisters, Blossom and Bubbles, in their room they were accustomed to. She was also snug and warm under the thick, soft, fluffy covers. However, she never felt so along and cold in her than in this moment.
She reasoned that she spent such a long time away from her bed, her room, her house, her family…that she felt like a stranger to them. Now that's a load of crap and you know it, she chastised herself. You've got to stop lying to yourself.
With a low growl, she shrugged off the covers of her bed out of the way, and took a thick jacket from closet to put over her pajamas. It was obvious she's not getting any sleep here. And so she decided to take a breath of fresh air. She silently padded over to the window, picking up her cell phone out of habit and floated her way over to their rooftop.
Once at the roof, she let out an exhausted sigh. She was tired, but as long as she can't sleep, she can't rest. Lying on her back with her arms behind her head, she decided to look at the clear night sky, which was littered with stars. She just laid there for a few minutes, idly counting the stars, before an unannounced memory came forth. A memory that happened a few months ago, she was in a cabin in the forest, stargazing with Princess.
Princess…
Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat, her cheeks grew warm and chest ached from a pain-that-wasn't. How can that name make me feel this way, she thought. She brought one hand down to fish out the cell phone and called a number before she even had that chance to even wonder what she was doing. There wasn't any time to take it back and stop the call, because almost a second after the first ring, someone picked it up.
"Hello?" The voice on the other line squeaked out. The green puff knew who she was talking to, seeing as she spent the bulk of the past few months with her.
"'Cess?" She couldn't stop the smile creasing over her face…
"'Cup!" And judging by the high pitched voice and the exuberant way Princess Morbucks said her nickname, it was safe to assume the smile was there as well.
"Wow that was fast. You're better than an answering machine." Buttercup greeted. "How's life back in civilization?" she asked in an amused tone.
"Fabulous, of course!" The redhead replied proudly. "The first thing I did with daddy's money is to buy as much teen magazines, clothes and jewelry as I can. To know: get my wardrobe updated!"
The green puff shook her head and smiled. It hasn't been 24 hours since the got back and already she's on her way to being the old Princess. With a minor difference.
"I bet you're tired. What with all the shopping bags you should've been lugging around all day. You could've called for me, you know." Buttercup teased.
"No need for that. My maids were practically crawling all over me all day. It's still hard work, picking out outfits and other stuff." The redhead said forlornly.
"Then why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I don't really know, to tell you the truth." The voice was more confused that tired. But the she didn't know the answer to her lack of sleep, either. Touché then. Buttercup sat up and put on a creepy tone. "I bet you're looking out the wind right now, aren't ya?"
"…" Not even the sound of breathing. Buttercup mused that either Princess was scanning the courtyard for a stalker, or she hit the guess right on the money, in which case…
"And I bet you're thinking of me, huh?" The puff snickered at the sound of Princess sputtering gibberish.
"…Wha--what do you—how could you—I mean—"
"Settle down, 'Cess. I'm just teasing you." That calmed the redhead way down to normal.
"Hmph. I knew that." She lied. "I'm just trying to tease YOU. So HAH!" Both girls then spent the next few minutes laughing and the mutual happiness the each brought to the other. After settling down again and wiping tears from her eyes, Buttercup asked.
"So why can't you sleep?"
"…I don't know." Princess remarked in a puzzled tone. "I've got the best bed in the world here. Not even kings have the kind of mattress I have, so I know it's not that. I've also puffed my pillow. Not that, either. I also drank water AND milk. Nothing. I feel like something is missing, like—"
"You need someone else beside you?" Buttercup finished for the redhead. The pain-that-wasn't returned in force.
"…Yes…Um…'Cup, would you—if it's not—I mean—"
"Want me to cuddle up with you?" The green puff cut off Princess' stammering request. The redhead was still not used to asking, and if Buttercup let her fumble, it'll take long and she'll still be asking. Better try to make into something she's used to. Something you're expected to offer. Plus Buttercup wanted to cuddle with her as well. The green puff was already standing and getting ready to fly towards Morbucks Manor.
"Of course I—"
Princess haven't finished her sentence before she heard a tapping on her window and found Buttercup floating on the other side, one hand cradling a phone and the other waving at her.
"Do…Hmph." Princess Morbucks huffed as she opened the window to let the green puff in. She was wearing her tiara and a silk sleeping robe that looked simple for her. She looked beautiful in Buttercup's opinion. Well, if you didn't count the scowl on her face.
"Show off." The scowl softened a little. It looked almost playful now.
"That is why you love me." She smirked in response. It caused the scowl on the redhead's face to soften a little more
"Yeah, love to pummel you, that is…meanie." The scowl was gone now by this time, though she didn't know what replaced it, seeing as Princess decided to bury her face into Buttercup's chest.
The green puff only smiled as she rubbed the redhead's back. She tensed at the touch before relaxing and pressing her body closer. Both felt less lonely and cold now, replaced by unidentifiable warmth.
Princess looked at Buttercup before slowly leaning forward and closing her eyes. The green puff met her, pressing their lips together and closing her own eyes. The pain-that-wasn't disappeared from her chest. Slowly but surely they just lost in each other's sensation. It was a simple kiss. No tongue, no groping. Just lip to lip, their arms wrapped in an embrace.
When the need for air came up, they removed their lips and placed their foreheads together, looking at each other's eyes and having silly smiles on their lips.
"Hi." Buttercup smiled and kissed Princess.
"Hey." Princess replied and kissed Buttercup.
Still in the embrace, both walked to the bed. Their phones were on the floor, as well as the green puff's jacket and the redhead's tiara. Princess dragged the Buttercup down to bed, who in turn covered both of them in the blankets. The redhead scooted around inside the green puff's hug and pressed her body against Buttercup's chest.
"I love you." Princess murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
"I love you too. Now go get some shut-eye." Buttercup grumbled, nuzzling her nose on the nape of the redhead's neck. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she felt that all is right in the world now.
And in her dreams, she looked back on how this all began…