Disclaimer: I do not own The Powerpuff Girls.
Hello again! Yes, I'm dabbling in this fandom once more. I've wanted to write something for them for a while, and I do have a story that I've started, but obviously haven't worked on enough to actually post.
This story was inspired by CrankshaftRabit's Fear Itself and Darkest Desire: Fear II, two fic's whose plot I absolutely adore. There will be an occasional reference to these stories, but in no way whatsoever do I own the personalization she had of them or the plot. I'm simply borrowing a little bit of it b/c I love the idea of Brick being incredibly selfish over Blossom's attention. So yeah.
Enjoy!
"Come on, Red, can't ya just do that later? I'm bored!"
"Then go do something else," Blossom glanced at the sky (she could've sworn she heard something) then turned to Brick, "I'm starting the first grade in a month, I need to be prepared. Besides," She flipped a page, "You agreed that you'd let me dedicate time to my studies.*"
He huffed, "Yeah well, that was before I knew just how crazy that school stuff makes you."
"Well you'll just have to accept it."
"Ugh," He draped himself over her lap.
"Brick!"
"What?! I told you I'm bored! And you're just ignoring me." She sighed and he shot her a half-hearted glare. "Don't give me that; I know you better than anyone Red, and there ain't no way I'm letting you pick that book over me."
Oh of all the- She shook her head; despite their 'understanding' Brick continuously fought with her every step of the way whenever she had other things to do. And it often got on her nerves. Today was no exception; she had talked him into sitting in her backyard beneath a tree so they could enjoy the last few days before school began again together, but of course he couldn't sit still while she got her reading done.
It was obviously a lost cause.
"Look Brick, you promised, promised," She stressed, "That you would let me study if I needed to-"
"You're not even in school right now! It's summer vacation!"
"And even if all of you don't think so, I need to study. So there."
Another glare. Huh, they were becoming less and less effective. She shrugged and went back to her work. In all honesty she had come to terms with his attitude and overall nature to a certain point (they hung out for two hours every other day as per their final agreement**, it'd been impossible not to … though the fact she liked him helped). If there one thing she knew about Brick, it was that he was extraordinarily selfish. That and he enjoyed causing trouble. But the only thing he seemed to like more than that was her attention because he cared about her in ways he could hardly fathom but had simply accepted early on (it had been a bit unnerving to think about, how easily he had given in)***. And although it was sweet and slightly romantic she considered it annoying when the last trait mixed with the first two.
It was just part of who he was, but if he kidnapped her to keep her from saving the city just because he was feeling needy (he'd never admit it, the jerk) or got into a brawl with Buttercup about his time limit one more time she was going to not see him for a month! (Brick had become especially clingy after an incident where one the Professor's invention's had caused them to repel each other similar to magnet; it was her ace in an argument).
He was so lucky she found him cute.
"Your stupid book is spelt wrong."
She blinked and gave him a blank look, which he returned with a smug grin (it always made him a bit smug when he caught her off guard. Or got to show off, either one worked for him).
"… What?"
"The words on the front," He placed his arms behind his head and glanced at the sky. For a moment he swore he saw his brothers and her stupid sisters on one of the clouds, but he had more important things to worry about, "They ain't spelt right."
"No they're not."
"Yeah they are, Red. Thought ya knew how to read with all the books you got."
"The title is spelt correctly," She huffed once she looked at the cover, "None of the words are wrong."
He gave her a look and sat up, "Quit actin', Red. You're smarter than that"
"What are you talking about? There is nothing- HEY!"
"That word," He interrupted, with absolutely no regard to her indignant cries after he snatched the book from her, "It's supposed to be 'w-e-r' and this one 'w-u-z'****."
He looked incredibly proud as he pointed out the 'mistakes' and it almost kept Blossom from correcting him.
"Figured blondie was the air head, not you."
Almost.
"They're not spelt wrong," She took the book back; "You simply don't know how to spell."
She couldn't help the tiny burst of pride when scowled at her, "Hey! I can spell, Red, but-"
"No," She shook her head but there was a smile playing on her lips and (despite how wuss-like it sounded) he liked her smile, so he figured he'd at least listen, "It's pronounced 'wuhz', but it's spelt w-a-s. And this one, '(h)wer', is spelt w-h-e-r-e. "
"…That's stupid; 'was' has an 'uh' sound so it should have a 'u' in it, but they want to put it with an 'a'? Doesn't even make sense."
"Yes it does; phonetics has rules and after you learn them then you'll understand why some words are spelt the way they are."
"Yeah, like what?"
She ignored his sarcastic reply and a thoughtful look crossed her face, "Hold on," She dashed into the house and returned with paper, pencils and a freakin' table! "You gone crazy, Red?"
"No," She set the table down, along with the supplies and her book, and sat next to him, "We're going to go over some basic pronunciation."
"… Yeah you're crazy."
She sighed and leveled him with a look, "Brick, do you want to keep being wrong? Imagine if this happened in front of other people and they started laughing, what would you do?"
"Beat 'em up!"
"Violence is not the answer!"
"You beat up people all the time!"
"I fight crime! There's a difference!"
"You just don't want to admit that I'm right! 'bout this and the words too!"
"Ugh!" She threw her hands up in exasperation and ignored the stupid grin on Brick's face (he got some weird kick out of watching her lose her temper). He was such a big baby when he didn't get his way; he always threw a fit and ignored her for a few hours (in her own house!), then he would demand for her to "make it up to him" after he finally decided to grace her with his attention. That or he would argue with her till she simply gave up. But she wasn't going to back down, not when it came to a proper education.
"Do you want to spend time with me, Brick? Because if you don't you can go home."
"Hey!" He grabbed her arm as she stood up, "Where do you think you're goin'?"
"If you want to look illiterate in front of other people then fine, I just thought it'd be a great idea to help and spend time together after you've been busy, but I guess not." She looked away and pouted, and damn it all if it did something funny to his heart every time she did.
"Quit you're whining, Red." He pulled her onto his lap, "Tell me 'bout these stupid rules of yours."
He was such a sap when it came to her, borderline pathetic but it was always worth it when she shot a brilliant smile at him.
"Ok, let's start with the vowels…"
"That was close; she almost saw us."
"What are they doing? Can you see anything?" Buttercup and Bubbles were hiding in a cloud that was directly above their house "supervising" their older sister's visit with the current bane of their family's existence.
"What are you doin'?" Bubbles squeaked as Buttercup jumped in surprise before they turned to the unexpected company, "Wimp!" Butch laughed, "Gettin' scared just from bein' snuck up on!"
"Yeah! Wimps!"
"SHUT UP!" Buttercup and her counterpart shouted at the same time, though hers was directed to Butch while his was directed towards his brother.
"What are you guys doing here?" Bubbles whispered.
Butch raised an eyebrow, "Why are you whispering?"
"We're spyin' on Brick!"
"BOOMER!"
"SHUSH!" Butter cup jumped up and covered both Rowdyruff's mouths.
"That's ok," Bubbles smiled at them, though she kept her voice quiet. "We're watching them too!"
"BUBBLES!"
"Well we are," She shrugged.
"That's not what we're doing!" Buttercup snapped then turned to the boys, "We're making sure your brother doesn't try anything with our sister! And now you guys too!"
"We' ain't tryin' anything!" Butch crossed his arms, "No one gets to mess with Brick's woman 'cept him!"
"She's not his woman! And stop shouting! They're gonna hear us!"
"You're shouting too!"
"Only 'cause you won't shut up!"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Guys look!" Bubbles interrupted, "They're fighting!"
The four scurried to look over the edge of the cloud and Buttercup couldn't help but grin, "Maybe this time he'll finally make her mad enough to get rid of him!"
"Doubt it," Butch scoffed.
"Yeah," Boomer shot them a proud grin, "Brick says he's got her wrapped 'round his finger!"
"Why you-"
"No he doesn't," Bubbles interrupted just as Buttercup tensed to fight the blue Rowdyruff, "See?"
They glanced over the edge once more and were shocked to witness Blossom pouting when Brick suddenly pulled onto his lap and hugged her from behind. When the pink puff shot her counterpart a smile the greens nearly fell off the cloud as Bubbles cooed and Boomer stared in a mixture of fascination and disgust.
"The heck!"
"Butch! Language!" Bubbles scolded only to be interrupted by her sister's triumphant laugh.
"HA! If anyone's wrapped around someone's finger, it's Brick!"
"You take that back!" Butch snapped.
"Nope!" She crossed her arms and haughtily looked down at him, "It's obvious Blossom could convince him to do anything she wanted him too."
"Nuh-uh!"
"You wanna bet!?"
"Heck yeah I wanna bet!"
"Language!"
"No one cares!" He retorted.
"Hey! Don't yell at Bubbles!"
"Shuttup Boomer!" He turned to his counterpart, "If you ain't gonna bet then buzz off!"
A mischievous grin crossed her face and she watched in satisfaction as he blinked stupidly at her, "Alright then, Butch," She put her hands on her hips, "How much are ya willin' to wager?"
"I still say your rules are stupid." Brick grabbed Blossom's hand as they lay side-by-side on the blanket and smirked when she squeezed fondly.
"That's because you don't like rules. No matter what kind they are."
"Can't argue with that, Babe."
She scowled but didn't let go of his hand. Their lesson had been… surprisingly pleasant and he had caught on quickly, he could've easily been ranked at her level if they had been in school. Both of them had known Brick was smart; the only problem was his impulsive nature and short temper but Blossom figured her patience, natural leadership and superior knowledge had helped reveal the natural student he could be.
It was a shame that he preferred to waste his days picking fights or whatever it was he did when she wasn't around. He had so much potential and she could already imagine him becoming a star student making honor roll as well as becoming an upstanding citizen then graduating at the top of their class (next to her, of course) and eventually university as one of the most brilliant, recognized-
"Brick you should go to school with me!"
He shot her dumbfounded look, "… The heck!? Red, you-"
"I'm serious!" She sat up and pulled him up with her.
Oh god… He inwardly groaned. She had that look in her eyes; the one where she was determined to get her way and there was nothing anyone could do to talk her out of it.
"Just think!" She continued, "We'd get to be there for six hours-"
"SIX HOURS!"
"Don't interrupt!"
"Well damn, Red what do you want me to say! I ain't gonna waste my time in that stupid building for SIX HOURS!"
"But we'll be spending time together!" She gripped his hand tighter, "Imagine if we were in the same class and we got to sit next to each other! You wouldn't have to watch me from the tree outside just to make sure I'm ok or wait till recess to talk to me! And we could do our homework together afterwards too!"
"I don't need any of that stupid, good for nothin' junk!"
"But you're so smart!"
"I already know that!"
"Well I want everyone else to know that too!" Brick felt his mouth drop open as her face became a scarlet red that matched his hat, "I- erm… I mean-" She grabbed a corner of the blanket and dove beneath it.
"Hey!" He grabbed the opposite end and began tugging on it, "You can't just say something like that and not finish!"
"Stop it Brick!"
"Not till you tell me what you were gonna say!"
"NO!"
"BLOSSOM!"
"…" She lifted her corner and looked out through the small opening. He rarely ever called her by her name, only when he was being serious or romantic in his own unique way. It was always a treasure when he did though. "Brick..." She whined.
He sighed and let go of the blanket to sit in front of her, "… Blossom, tell me what you were gonna say." The answering blush turned his insides to mush.
"I just… I don't want other people to think you're dumb, because you're not. You'd get mad if anyone made fun of me and I feel the same. I want to show you off a little bit kind of like how you show me off sometimes. Is it wrong, for me to want to do that too?"
Though she had sat up, she was still hidden beneath the blanket and she looked so absolutely adorable that he wanted nothing more than to grab her and squeeze her close and never let go and- "Gah! You make me such a sap, you know that Red?"
She giggled and he smiled at her, even as she asked the dreaded question. "So will you? Come to school with me?"
"Eh, fine."
"KKYYYAAA!" She jumped out of the blanket and tackled him, knocking them both to the ground. "Oh this is wonderful, Brick! You're going to love school! I just know it!"
"Tch, s'not a bit deal, Red."
And it wasn't. Not for him anyways. Sure she had gotten him the moment she turned her determined eyes on him and he secretly got a kick out of watching her read or fuss over her school work (it was fascinating how her expression changed as she absorbed the knowledge and how she practically glowed with happiness when he asked about her books), but she there was no need for her to know those particular facts. Really he was doing her a favor; she wouldn't have to worry about him while she was at school. And being able to spend more time with her was a bonus.
"I'm just so excited!"
"Yeah 'cause it's stupid junk like that, that makes you tick."
"An education is not junk!"
"Says you," He scoffed then nuzzled her neck as he pulled her close. "Make sure I don't regret it."
"What's got you in a good mood?"
Buttercup looked away from her drawing and shot Blossom a smirk, "Nothin'. Can't say the same for you though; you look just like the Professor did when he won his nerd award*****."
"Well I did convince Brick to go school in the fall," Blossom grinned as her sister gaped at her, "Not only do you owe me a week of chores, but we're going to have some new classmates next month!"
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
"Got Mojo and Him to get us in school,"****** Brick rolled his eyes, "And don't be a sissy about it."
"But- but-"
"Oooooo!" Boomer jumped up and down excitedly, "You lost! You lost! Now you gotta-"
"SHUTTUP!"
Brick raised an eyebrow, "What are you dummies talking about?"
"Butch and Buttercup made a bet! And Butch lost!"
"I said shut up, Boomer!"
"So now Butch's gonna-"
"RAWWWWWWWWHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
CRASH
Brick shook his head and ignored the fight; he had more important things to prepare for.
"Hey, Buttercup?"
Boomer looked away from his chalk drawing as Bubbles turned her attention from their work of art to watch her overly smug sister.
"Yeah, Bubbles?"
"Um… Remember when you and Blossom were fighting about Brick never listening to her? Did you plan to get her to make him and his brothers come to school?"
Buttercup shook her head, "Nah," She grinned, "I wanted him to quit bugging us, but this…" They turned towards Butch as he pranced in front of their house and the neighbors, "This just makes that week of chores totally worth it."*******
*Towards the end of Darkest Desire: Fear II, Brick had made a deal with Buttercup and Bubbles to let him see Blossom every day. Blossom convinced him to ease up as she had school to think about.
** They never made this deal in CrankshaftRabit's story, this part is my idea, but of course the original agreement for them to make time for each other is hers.
***In Fear Itself Brick noticed he felt odd around Blossom and ignored it for a while before one day deciding to simply accept it and (in a way) let it consume him. He decided he was never giving her up after that.
**** As per the episode "Bubble Boy" the Rowdyruffs do know how to spell and have at least the basic knowledge of letters and sounds, they just get some words wrong.
*****Season 4 Episode 9a, Lying Around the House, Buttercup breaks what she calls "the Professor's nerd award".
******Mojo and the boys don't have that good of a relationship in CrankshaftRabit's story, but in mine it's at least decent. Mostly because he needs the consent of both "parents" to get into school. I'll possibly expand on that later. Maybe.
*******Per the episode "Members Only" Buttercup has a bit of a revenge streak.
This turned out a bit differently than how I had originally planned it. But I think its ok. Your feedback on it would be great! I'm probably gonna expand on it; make it a collection of one-shots (my first collection of one shots! How exciting!) But I'm gonna mark it as complete.
See you next time!