Crimson and Clover

by taitofan

Rated PG for some kissing and whatnot

Disclaimer: I don't own Strawberry Shortcake, and I'm sure your childhood memories thank me for that.

Author's Note: This fic is based on the last season of the second SSC series. Aka, it's when they're teenagers. I decided to make this mimic the format the DVD episodes have when Strawberry tells Pupcake and Custard a story, so if you're wondering how Strawberry could know certain things she shouldn't, there's your answer.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 06-06-13

Strawberry Shortcake smiled to herself as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. A pink satin dress, a matching hair ribbon, and a light coat of makeup. Tonight was a special night, and she wanted to look her best. You only went out on your first date once after all.

"Custard, Pupcake," she called from her place before the bedroom mirror, "could you please come here for a second?" Within moments, Strawberry's hyperactive dog came bounding into her room, yipping happily. Custard followed at a slower place, looking as if she'd just awoken from a nap.

"What is it Strawberry?" she asked groggily, yawning to emphasize she had indeed just woken up. "What's the big—woah! What's with the getup?" Strawberry giggled at the cat's confusion and twirled around to show off her dress.

"Oh Custard, you know I have my first date tonight, and I want to look my berry best!" She paused to glance at herself again in the mirror. "So, what do you think? Do you think my special someone will like it?"

Custard, of course, thought that Strawberry looked beautiful. She could wear a paper bag and still put most of Strawberry Land to shame. However, Custard was a cat, and being a cat, when she saw a chance to play devil's advocate she jumped at the chance. Just because she could.

"Wait, wait, wait… What was it you just said a few days ago? That it didn't matter what others thought of you, as long as you had confidence in yourself? That was you Strawberry, wasn't it? Hmm?" The teenager flushed as her words did indeed come back to bite her.

"Um, well… Yes, I did, but… It—It's different you know. When you go out with someone, you want to impress them, so…" Custard merely looked up at her owner with a smug little smile on her face, causing Strawberry to sigh in defeat. "You're right Custard, I did say that. But it's not like I don't have confidence in myself. I'm just… a little nervous, that's all. I've never done anything like this before… Romance hadn't really crossed my mind, you know?"

Custard, now feeling bad that she brought down Strawberry's mood, wondered what she could do to perk her owner up… Then, like a light bulb switching on, it came to her. What a perfect plan she had!

"Hey, Strawberry… You know… I wasn't around for a lot of the day when this all started. Why don't you tell me and Pupcake the story while you wait for your date to get here?" Looking at the clock, Strawberry saw that she still had a solid half an hour to wait, so…

"Okay! Everyone gather around on my bed and I'll tell you!" She waited until her pets had hopped up before sitting down, the smile returning to her face. "All right then. It all started about a week ago, on the first day of the warm summer weather, and Peppermint Fizz was feeling berry self-conscious…"

The first day of summer had already come and gone, but the spring weather had kept up for the first few weeks. When the day came that everyone woke up hot and sticky and had to get out their fans and pack away the blankets, everyone knew the time had come. Summer was officially upon Strawberry Land!

And of course, with hot summer weather came…

"Strawberry, Strawberry! I already called Angel Cake and Orange Blossom and we're all gonna go down to the beach! You'll come too, right? Huh, huh, huh?" Strawberry laughed at Ginger Snap's eager tone.

"Of course! I'll be there right away!" She paused and bit her lip, a sudden thought popping into her mind and making her a bit nervous. "Um… Do you mind if I call and invite a few more people?"

"Sure, sure! Angel was gonna call up Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Meringue, and Raspberry Torte anyway, so the more the merrier! Just tell whoever you invite to get to the beach ASAP! Okay then, see ya!"

Strawberry barely got out a bye before she heard the click of her overeager friend hanging up. Now to call her other friends… She made a list in her mind—Lime Light was in town and staying at Plum Puddin's house, so she'd call them, then she'd call Huckleberry Pie, and last would be…

"Well, she's my friend," she murmured to herself as she dialed Plum's number. Soon, Plum, Lime, and Huckleberry were all invited. Then…

"Hello, Peppermint? Hi, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach with the others and me. It's so berry hot after all… Really? Great! Your house is on the way, so I'll stop by and we can go together, alright? Okay, see you then!"

Custard and Pupcake wandered by as Strawberry made her last phone call, and the pink cat gave her owner a strange look.

"Peppermint Fizz? Strawberry, are you sure? I mean, she still has a hard time getting along with anyone but you. Will the others—"

"The others will be just fine," Strawberry interrupted, pretending as if she hadn't thought the very same thing before she called her friend. "I mean, Peppermint's trying. She hasn't really had any friends all these years… Now she understands and she's changed. It would be wrong not to give her a chance because of the past. Now get ready you two, okay? I'll grab my swimsuit and then we need to go pick up Peppermint."

She quickly walked off, leaving Custard shaking her head. Sure, Peppermint was trying, but…

"I don't know Pupcake… I hope the others feel the same way as Strawberry…"

"Oh Cola, what am I gonna do?! Do you know the last time I went swimming? Especially swimming with other people? Years! And all I have to wear is this!" Peppermint held up a red and white striped one-piece with a peppermint disk embroidered on the chest. While the suit itself looked fine… "Look at that ugly thing on it! It's so tacky! What was I thinking, getting my swimsuit off the clearance rack? It was put there for a reason… Oh, what will everyone think? And if I try to tear it off, it'll just leave a big hole! This is just awful! Maybe I shouldn't go…"

Cola sat patiently though his owner's rant, only reacting when she mentioned not going. Oh yes, becoming a hermit again as she had been as a child was a wonderful idea… Not. He scurried up her shoulder and chanted "no no no!" in her ear.

"Okay, okay! I get the picture. I'll go…" She sighed as she trudged off to the bathroom to change. "I just hope no one notices this hideous thing…"

A swimsuit and a short walk later, Strawberry had picked up Peppermint, and along with their pets, they were off to the beach.

"You haven't met my friends Plum Puddin' and Lime Light, but I'm sure you'll like them. Lime is an actress in Berrywood, and Plum is berry smart…" Peppermint knew Strawberry didn't mean it that way, but she couldn't help but think that it also meant that the girls wouldn't know what a rotten brat she used to be, and they'd probably like her too.

"That's great Strawberry. I'm sure they're wonderful!" The semi-faux enthusiasm was lost upon the sunny girl, who merely nodded.

"Oh yes, they certainly are! …Hey Peppermint, aren't you hot in that? You could've just worn your swimsuit…" The redhead had put her regular outfit on over her suit, but she was starting to regret it. It was just so hot… But part of her preferred being hot rather than Strawberry seeing that awful decoration on it, and that was the part that won. How could she measure up to Strawberry after all?

"I—I'm fine, really… Hey, is that new?" The deliberate change of subject was not lost on Strawberry, but she ignored it. If Peppermint didn't want to talk about it, that was fine.

"Yep, sure is! But it's nothing special. I got it off the clearance rack after all…" All Peppermint could think was that Strawberry obviously had much better luck with sales that she did. She wore a cute dark pink two-piece lined in green, with little plastic strawberries hanging off the ties on the sides. Even the most fashion challenged person could tell whose suit looked better…

"Well, I—I really love it… It looks really great on you…" Strawberry offered her a smile, knowing that compliments weren't exactly easy for Peppermint to hand out.

"Why, thank you berry much! I—oh Peppermint! Are you sure you're okay? Your face is getting awfully red!"

"I, uh… I guess I'm hotter than I thought," Peppermint quickly lied, forgetting every lesson Strawberry had ever taught her about the subject in her haste to draw attention from her flushed face. "Let's just hurry so I can get out of these clothes, okay?" Strawberry nodded and picked up the pace, leaving the other girl wondering just how she was going to get out of this mess.

"Hey everyone, we're here!" Ten faces looked up, but only two didn't look at least a bit apprehensive. Strawberry didn't notice the looks, but Peppermint sure did… "Oh, hello Rainbow Sherbet! What a surprise!" The lavender-haired girl smiled weakly and gave a small wave.

"Yeah, Orange Blossom invited me…" No one spoke after that until a certain someone cleared their throat—loudly.

"Oh my, right! Lime Light, Plum Puddin', this is my friend Peppermint Fizz. Peppermint, these are my friends Lime and Plum who I told you about on the way here." Peppermint smiled and opened her mouth…

"Well, now that the introduction are out of the way, let's go swimming, okay? Okay! Let's go!" Taking Ginger's lead, the others ran off, leaving just Strawberry, Peppermint, Lime, Plum—

"Strawberry, are you comin'?"

—and Huckleberry.

"Not just yet," she replied kindly, though she did think it was awfully rude of everyone to run off like that while Peppermint was trying to speak. "You go ahead, and I'll be there in a few minutes." Huckleberry frowned slightly, but nodded and took off towards the water regardless. Hearing a yip, Strawberry looked down and nodded to her pets in silent permission for them to leave too. Pupcake followed the others, while Custard went to lie in the sand as far away from the water as she could get. "Now that that's settled, what were you going to say Peppermint?"

Peppermint hardly felt comfortable being there and knowing that not only was she wearing the ugliest swimsuit in the world, but also that she wasn't exactly welcome. Sure, everyone would be nice to her… But no one really believed that she had changed but Strawberry, just as it always had been. Only Strawberry ever gave her another chance, even back when she wasn't sincere about it… But here were two people who hadn't know her, and she'd be darned if she didn't make a good first impression with them.

"It's very nice to meet you," she finally said, offering her hand. Strawberry's smile grew at the sight of Peppermint remembering her manners. Plum reacted first, shaking the offered hand gently and saying her hellos as well. Peppermint held it out to Lime next, who hesitated. Strawberry and Plum both bit back sighs; Plum knew that Lime was a bit stuck up at times after having her as a house guest for the past week, while Strawberry knew that her childhood friend was trying just as hard to overcome her more selfish tendencies as Peppermint was. Finally though, the actress stuck out her hand and shook, saying a simple hi back.

"Uh, you… You starred in Charlene and the Candy Factory, right? I love that movie!" At the mention of her movie, Lime perked up and set a big grin upon the girl she'd just spurned.

"Did you? Well, of course you did! It was one of my best after all." Turning to her housemate, she grinned even wider and gestured to Peppermint. "Hear that Plum? She's a fan, and any fan of mine can't be bad, no matter what the others say." Plum's eyes widened behind her glasses, while the other two girls stood there, no knowing what to say to that.

"L-Lime, I don't think…"

"I mean, come on. My fans are certainly not brats who make people miserable for years and keep conning sweet yet naïve girls into believing they've changed over and over—"

"Lime…"

"—and over and over and over and—"

"Lime!" Plum finally slapped her hand over the blonde's mouth, ignoring the indignant squeak she got for her troubles. She turned to Peppermint, a sad smile adorning her face. "I'm really sorry you had to hear that… I'm sure the others didn't mean it though! Anyway, any friend of Strawberry's is a friend of ours, so don't hesitate to come chat with us, all right? Now, Lime and I will be going over by the ocean now, won't we Lime? Come on now, stop struggling…"

Plum dragged Lime away by the hand, trying to explain to the peeved starlet that sometimes it wasn't polite to bring up what one was told in private. When they were out of earshot, Strawberry turned to her friend, a sad look in her normally cheerful eyes.

"Peppermint, I…"

"It's okay," the redhead interrupted, with a smile that wouldn't fool even the most naïve person in the world. "Like Plum said, they probably didn't really mean it, right?"

"Right," Strawberry agreed, though not very enthusiastically. Why would her friends say those mean things? And she wasn't naïve! She'd always known Peppermint was a good person, and she knew now that her friend was trying her best to become friends with everyone. So why couldn't the others see it…? "Peppermint… How about we go swimming now? That should be lots of fun, don't you think?"

Truthfully, Peppermint still didn't want to be seen in her swimsuit, but if everyone seemed to hate her, she figured they wouldn't even look her way. But there was still Plum and Lime… And Strawberry…

"I guess so…"

"Great!" Strawberry exclaimed, her smile brightening up again. "You go take those clothes off and meet me in the water, okay?"

Peppermint tried to ignore just how those words sounded as Strawberry ran off. She had more important things to worry about right then…

Strawberry watched her friends splashing among the waves or on the beach basking in the sun's warm rays, but she just couldn't bring herself to feel very happy anymore. She just couldn't understand why they'd say those things about Peppermint… Or about her for that matter! She desperately wanted to talk to them, but…

"I thought they liked her," she murmured to herself. "And haven't she and Rainbow been friends for a while now?"

"We were. For a few days." Strawberry turned around and plastered the smile back on her face, not wanting her friend to see how much this was affecting her.

"Really? But I thought that after I showed you that it was okay to be different…" Strawberry trailed off, and Peppermint shrugged in response. How to tell her what had happened…? Well, she did always like the truth, so the truth it was.

"You see… We hung out for a while after that, but I guess I… I kinda drove her away. I was bossy and rude, and, well I… I kept asking her about you. I guess it got on her nerves. Finally, she said we should probably play with other kids, and that was that." Strawberry's brow furrowed in confusion. Not at the thought that Peppermint would have been bossy and rude back then, but…

"You kept asking about me? Why was that?" Peppermint fidgeted where she stood, suddenly wondering if telling the truth was such a good idea after all… But hey, at least Strawberry hadn't commented on her swimsuit yet!

"Well, uh… I've…" She paused and took a deep breath to calm her nerves before continuing. "I've always wanted to be your friend, ever since I first met you. I just didn't know how, because you were so nice and made friends so easily, and I didn't. Besides, I still had a lot of growing up to do back then. So when you let me join your band, I knew I had my chance to finally change things between us, you know? And now that we are friends, I... I think that maybe I…"

"What's wrong Peppermint?" Strawberry asked when Peppermint suddenly stopped, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder in a comforting manner. Little did she know that wasn't helping things at all. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm trying to say that I think I l—"

"Hey Peppermint Fizz! Looking good!" The redheads turned as the sound of Huckleberry and the laughter of most of the other girls met their ears. Strawberry frowned at their lack of manners, while Peppermint looked horrified. She'd known this would happen! She'd known!

"Huck, girls, come on now…" They paid Strawberry no mind though, instead coming closer with grins on their faces. Only a few hung back—Plum, Lime, and Orange didn't laugh, though Orange was biting back a smile.

"Wow Peppermint, did you get that on sale, or did they have to pay you to take it off their hands?"

"Man oh man, look at the sequins on that thing! It looks like someone made it in the dark!"

"I don't follow fashion much, but wowie, even I know that looks bad! Yep, yep I do!"

"Lemon, Raspberry, Ginger…" Angel, Blueberry, and Rainbow's laughter drowned out Strawberry's desperate pleas, and Orange finally started giggling. Plum turned to Lime, a concerned look on her face. The starlet nodded to her, knowing what she wanted her to do. No way was she letting one of her fans get picked on!

"Hey, come on everyone, stop that! I saw that very same suit in a cute little boutique in Berrywood. Why, they even offered me one!" Everyone was quiet for a few moments, leading Lime to think they'd believed her little white lie. There, mission accomplished!

"Yeah, but I guess when you turned it down, they must've given it to her instead." Blueberry's comment sent everyone back into hysterics. Well, everyone but the four who hadn't laughed from the start at least.

"Strawberry," Peppermint chocked out, hard to understand due to the loud laughter and the fact that her voice was thick with oncoming tears. "Thanks for inviting me today, but I think I better get going…"

Without stopping to grab her things or hearing Strawberry's cries to wait, Peppermint quickly waded out of the water then sprinted away from the beach. Plum and Lime were the only other ones to notice her go. The bespectacled girl was about to follow her, but Lime grabbed her arm and shook her head, pointing to where Strawberry was. Plum's eyes widened as she saw her normally cheerful friend clenching her fists and shaking with anger. The girls backed away a bit, knowing what was coming next…

"Everyone be quiet right now!" Even knowing it was coming and that they weren't the ones she was yelling at, Plum and Lime jumped about a foot in the air as well. The others all became deathly silent as they stared at Strawberry with wide eyes, no one daring to say anything. "Didn't I already teach you that clothes don't matter when we were kids? And how dare you all gang up on Peppermint when she's trying so hard to be your friend! Maybe if you'd all try a bit harder to be her friend too and stop focusing on what she did in the past, we could all be friends!" She looked around at them, trying to calm herself… It wasn't working. "I'm going to find her… And I'm really disappointed in you… All of you!"

It was rare to see Strawberry angry, and not one of them had ever seen her completely lose her temper. Huckleberry, Angel, and Orange couldn't help but notice that the last time she'd said those words, 'I'm really disappointed in you… All of you' it was because of the same thing—Peppermint.

No one said anything for a while after Strawberry left, instead looking guiltily at the waves. Suddenly, Huckleberry took off in the direction the girls had just gone, ignoring the remaining girls' cries to come back. Only Plum and Lime didn't join in. They knew they weren't included in Strawberry's 'all of you' but that didn't stop them from worrying…

"Do you think," Lime said quietly, so no one else but the bespectacled girl would hear, "that they're like us?" Plum nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Yes… Well, I think they will be soon at least, though I don't think Peppermint has said anything and I doubt Strawberry has noticed. I have a feeling that by the time the day's over, they will be though." Lime smiled, a soft, happy smile in contrast to her normal self-assured and self-important ones, and let her fingertips brush against the other girl's under the water.

"Glad we agree on this one."

It didn't take Strawberry long to find Peppermint. Unfortunately, it was only because her sobs were loud enough to follow, which broke Strawberry's heart. She hated to see anyone cry, but especially her dear friends. As mad as she was at all of the other's who joined in on the teasing, once she saw the poor girl curled up and sobbing, all she could feel was intense sadness.

"…Peppermint?" The redhead looked up at the sound of her friend's voice. Strawberry… She'd come after her?

"W-why?" she managed to choke out between her sobs. Why did you come? Why do you always have such faith in me? Why do you make me feel this way? She wanted to know them all so badly, yet she couldn't find the courage to ask. Strawberry was her best friend and so much more, but she was just a regular friend to the other girl. She had no chance for more. Especially not what she truly craved. That thought only made her cry harder.

The sudden increase in intensity shocked the brown-eyed girl. Why was she crying even more now? And what exactly did she mean by why? She had to take a shot at answering her at least…

"I'm not sure why the others said those terrible things… I really have no idea other than that they don't believe you've changed, though I can't imagine why they'd feel that way…"

'Because no one is as kind or forgiving as you are,' Peppermint thought, though she still said nothing.

"And I came here because… Because you're my friend. In fact, I think you may be my berry best friend." She knew she said that to all of her friends. They were all her best friends, because she didn't want any of them to feel as if she liked someone over the other. Yet… She couldn't help but feel that she really meant it this time. She'd been a wreck after Peppermint left the band when she was tricked, so much that she couldn't even practice without messing up every ten seconds. She'd traveled around the world in eighty days with no one but her and not once did she long to see anyone else. She'd dealt with Peppermint being a terrible mayor and wrecking a space ship and felt no less of her. Then there was that realistic dream she'd had about Oz…

There was something about Peppermint, something that made her feel so warm when she looked into the girl's bright green eyes. Something that she didn't feel with anyone else… What could it be other than deep friendship? Was there something more she wasn't thinking of?

Meanwhile, Peppermint had suddenly stopped crying, all when she heard the words 'best friend.' Strawberry Shortcake, who had friends all around the globe, considered her to be her best friend?

Part of her kept worrying that she said that to all of her friends, that this was nothing special, yet the larger part wanted it so badly that she refused to believe otherwise. And besides, if Strawberry really thought of her as he best friend, then maybe…

'Maybe she won't completely hate me if I tell her the truth…'

Strawberry was pleased to see her friend finally stop crying, yet her confusion didn't have a chance to fade. Not when Peppermint stood up abruptly and started walking closer, a determined look in her eyes. She might have been worried, if she didn't have complete and total confidence in the other girl. Whatever she was about to do, Strawberry trusted her.

Peppermint stopped a foot away from Strawberry and took a deep breath. She had to say this now. If she didn't she could end up regretting it her entire life. It just wasn't fair to either of them to keep this secret.

"Strawberry, I need to tell you what I was about to earlier. I started feeling… different about you when we were kids and I cheated to win your garden. You knew I did it, but you were going to let me keep it anyway. Ever since that day, I knew there was something about you that made you different from everyone else. Something special.

"When we were traveling around the world, just you and me for eighty days, I finally realized it. I knew what I was feeling. I knew why I felt so happy when I hugged or saw or even thought of you. It was because… I love you."

Strawberry didn't say anything to that. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. Peppermint had closed those few steps between them and pressed their lips together. She… She was kissing her! It was then that she realized this was her first kiss…

And she didn't mind that she was sharing it with Peppermint Fizz.

"Strawberry, Straw—oh!" The new voice jolted the girls apart, one looking scared and the other looking rather annoyed… "W-what's going on here?! Strawberry, are you okay? Did she force you?" …and the annoyed one wasn't Peppermint.

"I'm fine Huck," she said in a tone far more strained than normally. "I don't see why you think Peppermint would force me into anything…"

The boy could only stare at them for a few moments, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. There was no way, right? Peppermint maybe, but not Strawberry. They'd always had something, hadn't they? Strawberry was supposed to end up with him…

"L-look, I don't know exactly what's happening here, but let's just go back to the beach and forget about everything that's happening, all right? All of it. Okay Strawberry?" Strawberry regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments, and he and Peppermint were both sure she would agree and that would be that. Whatever was budding between the two girls would be over before it began. But then Strawberry gave her answer.

In the form of kissing Peppermint with twice the vigor as before.

The redhead felt her head spin and her heart race at the feeling of her crush's lips on hers. This was better than she'd ever dreamed, and she'd dreamed about it a lot. A small part of her didn't think she deserved this at all, that Strawberry was too good, too pure for her. She was finally happy though, truly happy, and there was no way she was going to back out now, no matter what. If Strawberry was willing to give it a try, she wasn't going to screw it up with insecurities.

When they finally parted, Huck was gone. Neither noticed it.

"Peppermint… You shouldn't care what other people think about you as long as you have confidence in yourself. Not about what you wear, or who you like, or anything. As long as no one is being hurt, you should just be yourself. Okay?" Peppermint nodded, her mind in a cloudy haze. Be herself… Don't feel bad about who she likes… Not hurting anyone…

"Then… You like me too? Really?" Peppermint's voice was so hopeful… Strawberry had to smile at it.

"Of course, silly! I wouldn't have kissed you if I hadn't! I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but I didn't realize what I felt until you kissed me… I guess I just hadn't thought about falling in love or anything." Strawberry didn't seem to even care that it was a girl she was harboring such feelings for. Peppermint didn't bring it up.

"It's fine, just fine! Um…" She looked down at her swimsuit for a moment before smiling shyly up at the one who was apparently her new girlfriend. "Maybe we could go back to the beach for a while…?"

"Sure thing!" Strawberry giggled and grabbed Peppermint's hand, threading their fingers together as they walked back in the direction of the ocean. This was almost too good to be true…

But if she were dreaming, Peppermint hoped she never woke up.

"And then you came back, everyone groveled for forgiveness, Peppermint forgave them…" Strawberry nodded, her story being over. Her pets knew the rest; they were there after all.

"Yes, though we do still have some issues to work out with some of our friends accepting our relationship. That will have to be another story though! Well, once things work out and there's a story to tell that is…" She glanced up at her strawberry-shaped clock and let out a nervous sigh. "I wonder when she'll get here…"

Almost as if summoned, a knock came at the door. Strawberry's face lit up, and she ran to the door and threw it open. Peppermint Fizz stood before her, her hair down, wearing a red dress with white lacy trim. It was simple, but very lovely. Not that Strawberry would have thought otherwise of course. Peppermint could have worn a paper bag and Strawberry would have still thought she looked radiant.

"Peppermint, that dress is beautiful!"

"Oh," she said with a little twirl, "this old thing? I've had it for ages." It was a fib, she knew, but… She let it go. Sometimes you just had to choose your battles.

"Are you ready to go then? We should still have plenty of time to get to the movie theater of course, but…" Peppermint raised an eyebrow, confusion apparent on her face.

"But what?"

"But we still have a few more minutes before we leave." Peppermint's eyes showed her understanding as Strawberry stepped closer and looped her arms around Peppermint's neck. They wasted no time in bringing their lips together—if there was one thing they'd become seasoned pros at in the past few weeks, kissing was definitely it.

"Come on Pupcake," Custard whispered as Peppermint's hands found their way to Strawberry's waist. "Let's leave them alone and go find some treats while they're distracted…"

In the end, they were five minutes late to the movie, but Strawberry thought it had been worth it.

Peppermint was inclined to agree.