I Love You

Lola was in the cafeteria of the Warner Brother studio. She sat at a table watching some of the other Looney Tunes socializing across the room. Even though she'd been in the movie for over a month and a half, she still felt like an outcast. I mean, yeah they talked to her, but they didn't include her in their circle. Unfortunately, her best friend who she met through the movie, Melissa Duck, wasn't there that day (she wasn't in the movie). And not to mention they only did one scene with Michael Jordan and that was a scene she wasn't in. He was the whole reason she was in the movie in the first place, she had no interest in the other Looney Tunes, and her only concern was meeting her childhood idol.

She found herself glancing around the cafeteria every now and then to see if he would show up. Nope. Still not there. She'd hardly seen him all day, or for a few days for that matter. Only on the set. Occasionally she saw him talking to the rest of the cast or one of the directors. Sometimes he'd throw a pointed glance at her and smile, and she'd smile back. On her first day when most of the script was being completed and the set touched up and the cast didn't have much to do, he invited her to play video games with them. Nice to know she wasn't being totally ignored.

Although lately, she'd get butterflies in her stomach when she saw him. He appeared in her dreams more often. Her voice caught in her throat when she'd talk to him. It probably all started about two weeks ago when she'd played a game of basketball with him. God did he suck at it! But they got to talking and he'd been on her mind ever since. Then she'd kick herself for it all. Celebrities weren't her type and she knew it. She'd always frowned in the face of stardom, they're not as good as the movies and magazines portray them to be. She was probably just getting her hopes up for nothing. He surely wasn't interested in her and she saw no signs of it (except in her audition what she probably mistook for checking her out).

She heard the door open and she turned around, her heart beating fast. That long eared, gray rabbit walked in wearing his Toon Squad jersey and a pair of jeans talking on an expensive looking phone.

"Hey Bugsth!" Daffy shouted gesturing for him to come over. Bugs pointed to his phone and Daffy gave him the finger, Bugs flipped him off back.

Lola laughed to herself, the two of them were always playing around like that.

Bugs finished his conversation and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He was about to go over to the guys but noticed Lola sitting by herself. The guys didn't talk to her much since she was the "new girl" but he tried to make it a point to talk to her whenever he could for more reasons than one. When he looked at her she looked away and pretended to be interested in the big Warner Brothers logo on the wall.

He went over and sat down. "Hey."

"Hi," she said.

"Figured you might need some company over here," he said.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," she felt a smile steadily creeping onto her face.

"So enjoying the movie so far?" Bugs asked.

"I guess. I haven't really done anything yet except read over the script and watched you guys."

"It'll get better. I mean, it can be pretty annoying and the hours are long, but it's worth it in the end. You'll be filming with us soon," he assured her.

She took a quick glance at the guys then back at him. "I don't think they like me very much."

"Them? Nah, they're just being a bunch of bastards. They'll come around. That's what we did with double R; we ignored him for a week then tossed him out the window."

Lola looked horrified at that. "W-wha…"

Bugs laughed. "I'm kidding."

Lola laughed too. "Good. I don't think I'd survive that."

He wanted to be alone with her, and maybe if he got up the nerve, tell her how he felt about her. Then he thought of something. "You ever seen the terrace on this place?"

"I didn't know this place had a terrace," Lola said not surprised though considering how fancy the building was.

"Yeah, I'll show it to you if you want."

Lola smiled. "Okay."

She followed him down the hallway and towards the elevator. He pressed the button for the top floor and they went up. Bugs leaned against one was and Lola on the other. He'd glance at her every now and then but didn't say anything.

Why can't you tell her how you feel? His conscience asked.

It's complicated.

She's right there; you're alone, what's the big deal?

In all honesty Bugs was still trying to collect his thoughts. He knew she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and her laid back personality only added to that. She was really nice, not like some of the psychos he dated over the years. But a part of him still wasn't sure. His last love had ended badly and painfully and he wasn't sure if he wanted to take that road again. But then Lola was different…

How could he tell her anything if he wasn't even sure how he felt himself?

Lola couldn't seem to draw her eyes away from him.

Say something Lola. Anything! Make conversation, tell him you…

Lola couldn't even bring herself to think the words. She denied even the idea of loving him. Was it because of how famous he was? Whatever she had against the stars? Or because he was just…him?

How could she possibly tell him if she couldn't even admit it to herself?

She at least had to make conversation, the silence was unnerving.

"So what's with the shitty elevator music?"

Bugs chuckled. "I've actually been trying to get them to change it for years but they obviously don't comprehend the words 'your elevator music sucks!'." They both laughed.

The elevator stopped and they went down the hall and through the glass door. The terrace was lined with fancy plants and tables. It also had a clear view of the HOLLYWOOD sign.

"Wow this is amazing!" Lola exclaimed. They leaned on the railings and looked over the side at the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.

"Yup. We went bungee jumping from this roof once," Bugs said. He snickered at the memory. Them screaming with excitement from the thrill, the passing bystanders looking at them like they were completely nuts when they passed, and Bob Clampett and Friz Freleng yelling at them for it. That's one reason why their directors were somewhat of fathers to them, they were all just one big family in a way. And a few of them had been in the show since they were teenagers so in a way, it worked.

Lola raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"We're crazy, what can I say, hence our title."

"Don't you mean 'Looney'?"

"I'm not trying to be that corny."

Lola smiled and looked over the roof again. "I've always wanted to go bungee jumping, and skydiving."

Bugs patted her shoulder gently. "See? You'll fit right into our club of crazy people." Lola laughed.

They stood there for a second looking at the view. Bugs rested his hand on Lola's on the rails. She looked at him but he was still looking at the HOLLYWOOD sign. A few seconds later he turned to her and they looked each other in the eyes. They couldn't look away, as if hypnotized by each other. Slowly and unconsciously, the space between them started to close. Their breath became one. Their eyes closed. Just as their lips were about to touch…

"Bugsth!" Daffy called.

The rabbits snapped back to reality and found Daffy coming through the door. They let go of each other and pretended nothing happened. Apparently Daffy didn't see anything unusual.

"Bugsth, they need you on the sthet," Daffy said. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, um, Bugs was just showing me the view," Lola said. Bugs nodded in agreement.

"Well c'mon then. I don't think they need you Lola, but c'mon Bugsth!"

"Alright I'm coming," Bugs said, annoyed that Daffy had interrupted them. He turned to Lola. "Are you coming?"

She nodded. "I don't have much better to do." She was still surprised by that almost kiss. Where the hell did that come from? So maybe he did like her, but no matter what the facts pointed to, she still wouldn't admit it to herself.

Daffy elbowed Bugs in the arm and glanced at Lola. Bugs caught on to what he was talking about and rolled his eyes. "Shut up Daff."

"But I didn't say anything!"

The days went by with her thinking about him more than usual, her mind drifting to that day each time. They'd gotten more into the movie. And they'd started filming with Michael Jordan (she got his autograph finally). That got her mind off of him for a little while, except when she was alone with nothing else on her mind he was all she could think about. It didn't help that they filmed her entrance scene where she had to flirt with him. That was easy since she liked him anyway but she was positive he was just acting.

Why couldn't she just admit to herself that she liked him? It wasn't that hard was it? Her last love had landed her in an abusive relationship and she hadn't dated since college. Was that it? She decided against it, it was just his celebrity status and she was too stubborn to admit that she'd ever love again.

The more she hung out with him though, she found that he was really sweet, and easy to talk to, he didn't treat her like a weirdo like her family had always done sometimes. When she'd first met him, she thought he'd be stuck up and conceited only because he was a star and had to associate with a middle class girl like her, but she found that he was anything but conceited. Out of all the Looney Tunes he was the most modest and humble. She found something new she liked about him everyday. Being the stubborn girl Lola is she couldn't admit this to herself even though all the events of the past couple weeks boiled down to it. One evening Melissa forced her to say it out loud and now she had to believe it, she liked him. Simple as that.

She started to get a little discouraged at one point though. He didn't show much interest in her (but did he ever, except when the almost kissed?) even though he did talk to her. The fear boiled inside of her that he didn't like her, he was just a friend. But she wanted him to be more than a friend. Sometimes she'd get mad at herself for getting her hopes so high. I should've known he wouldn't be interested in me. What was I thinking?

The most ironic thing happened one day that started the best thing in her life.

She was walking down the sidewalk texting her blonde girly girl cousin Miranda when all of a sudden a random out of control truck was speeding towards her. It looked like it was all over (she knew she should've written that will earlier!). Out of nowhere, she felt Bugs grab her and pull her out of the way. Her fear turned to gratefulness that he had been there. He saved her from wearing a halo.

She thanked him and as she was about to leave Bugs was having some internal struggles with himself. Why had he put off asking her out for so long? He really liked her, maybe even loved her, he'd never been afraid to tell someone these things before, why was now different? Stop being a bitch and tell her, his conscience said.

"Lo?"

She walked back to him. "Yes?"

"Will you…go out with me?"

Lola felt like she'd pass out form joy. So he really did like her, she wasn't fooling herself to meet her own personal desires. She felt like she couldn't get the words out. "Yes, um, I mean…yeah, I'll go out with you."

Bugs knew the smile of relief was evident on his face but he didn't let his pride drop. "Great. So, Saturday at say, six thirty?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Cool, I'll pick you up?"

She nodded again. "Okay. See you Saturday."

She practically skipped home after that, so relieved that he liked her. The next day she put on a red dress (one of the only dresses she'd owned), some heels, combed her hair, and put on make-up hoping she wouldn't look too dressy considering she didn't know where they were going. She'd never put this much effort into dressing up for anyone before but felt that he was worth it.

When he showed up at her door he looked as handsome as ever and even told her she looked beautiful. That surprised her since she didn't consider herself to be "beautiful" very often. He took her to one of the fanciest, most expensive Italian restaurants in the city, and after that, they went to the club and danced their night away until almost twelve o' clock. That was honestly the best night of her life. He dropped her off and they stood in front of her front door like one of those regular romance scenes after the first date. They had some sense of déjà vu, thinking back to that day weeks ago on the terrace of the studio.

They stood there holding hands and looking into each others eyes.

"Thanks for taking me out tonight Bugs, I had fun," she said not taking her eyes off of him.

"I had fun too Lo." Suddenly three words slid off his tongue without thinking. Three words that he'd say so many times more, getting truer and truer every time. "I love you." And they were true. He really loved Lola.

Lola was surprised by what he said but it felt good to hear it. She never expected him to say the L word though. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I've loved you ever since you walked into that audition room. She had walked in with her laid back attitude and a simple shorts and t-shirt compared to that other fan girl. And from that day, she'd stolen his heart.

She realized she felt the same way. The same love that she'd feel for him the rest of her life. "I…I love you too, Bugs."

They leaned in towards each other, their hearts pounding in their chests. Their eyes closed and time seemed to slow down. They kissed. Lola's eyes widened in surprise not realizing what happened at first. Then she put her arms around his neck and melted into him. Bugs put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer so that she was pressed against him; he swore he could feel her heart pounding a million miles and hour. Their kiss got deeper and more intense with every second. Passion flowed through their veins. They'd never realized how much they wanted that kiss until then. Love pulsed inside of them and they gripped each other tightly feeling as though they couldn't get enough of each other.

Reluctantly they pulled away. They stared into their eyes, breathless from their deeply passionate kiss. All they could do was look at each other speechless, that kiss said pretty much everything they wanted to say. Bugs placed his hand on her cheek contemplating kissing her again.

"I guess I'll see you later Lola," he finally said. He slid his hand down her cheek and down her neck as he spoke.

Lola nodded finding it hard to speak. "Right. See you." She slowly removed her arms from around his neck.

He slid his hand down her arm and held her hand. Then he placed one last sweet kiss on her lips, which she gladly accepted. He gave her hand one last squeeze, smiled, then backed towards his car.

Lola waved and watched him leave then went inside still dazed by what had happened. She leaned against the front door and smiled. She couldn't possibly deny her feelings anymore. She loved him.

She found flowers in her dressing room (huge red, white, and pink roses) that Monday and him awaiting her on her way to the studio with a kiss a compliment or two about how beautiful she looked that day (she'd made herself look especially nice just for him).

The next few days consisted of keeping their relationship a secret from their friends to avoid the constant questions and teasing. After a week, they couldn't hide it anymore. Daffy caught them making out pretty hard in the studio's lounge and their secret was out.

During the last month of filming, it was common knowledge around the studio that the two rabbits were going out (thankfully, it was still out of the public's eye). Many kisses were exchanged off screen and their free time at work was sometimes spent in their dressing rooms or the supply closet with the doors locked not behaving themselves.

After the movie premiere a couple months after filming, everyone in and out of the United States knew about the two of them being together. And of course there was the problem with the paparazzi being all over them (reason why they tried to keep it a secret). The papers had a field day with the whole thing considering Bugs Bunny had been out of the dating game for a while. But after a while, they laid off of and found someone else to pick on for a while so Bugs and Lo could have their privacy.

She sat in Bugs' hot tub one night in a purple bikini. He came over and sat in the bubbling water with two wine goblets. He handed to her one and they toasted. "To us babe." They drank to it.

He put his arm around her. "Wanna know something?"

She looked at him curiously. "What?"

He leaned next to her ear and said, "Don't tell anybody this but…I love you."

Lola giggled. "You'd better, 'cuz I love you." He gave her a deep passionate kiss. "You're sweet Bugs."

Bugs shook his head. "Nah, not really."

"Yeah you are. You're the nicest guy in the world."

"No I'm a jerk, see?" He splashed her.

She put down her wine and splashed him back. They splashed each other back and forth with the hot water. All of a sudden Bugs pushed her down and she came up sputtering only to see him out of the hot tub running.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" She got out and chased after him. She caught up with him halfway around the pool and grabbed him. He held her in his arms with one still wet hand on her cheek. Then he kissed her hard on the lips which left her dazed and breathless. She snapped out of it and saw him standing at the entrance to the maze with a smug look on his face.

"Come catch me." Then he disappeared. She ran in after him. The rabbit was tricky but wasn't too tricky for her. She tried following after him but had no idea where she was going since she'd never actually been in the maze before.

She thought she saw him turn a corner but when she went around she found herself at a dead end. She went this way and that but ended up at a dead end every time not knowing if she was going in circles or not. "Bugs!" she called. "Bugs, where are you?" She ran head first into the hedge.

"Lost?"

She turned around and saw Bugs leaning on the opposite hedge with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Yeah. You mind getting me out of here?"

"Nah, maybe I'll just leave you in here for a couple days," he said. He walked over to her took her arm then started to lead her out.

"How could you possibly know your way around this place so good?" she asked.

Bugs chuckled. "Well number one, I designed it. But I guess if you find your way through a few times you'll know it like the back of your hand." She rested her head on his shoulder as he navigated their way through the maze and she tried to pay attention so she'll know where to go if she ever went back in. They went back to the hot tub and finished off their drinks, and kissed, and teased each other about random things.

The nice thing about their relationship was how they were always messing with each other. They'd just be doing something like, say, watching a movie, then all of a sudden some kind of pillow fight breaks out or they start chasing each other everywhere.

Lola sighed in memory as she toyed with the fabric on Bugs' couch. She remembered these things like they were just a few hours ago. Space Jam had honestly been the best decision she'd ever made.

Presently, the two of them had been together for over two years. Two years of love and lust and just being together. Of course, nobody's perfect. They had their share of fights and disagreements, it seemed like they'd been through everything in the world and there'd be more to come. And not everyone in the world approved their relationship. Lola's insane mother had actually dedicated her life to breaking them up and started a fight between them that almost ended their relationship. But they never gave a crap what anyone else thought, they loved each other and they never let any of that come between them.

Her hand drifted to the gold necklace she wore with her name on it. Bugs had bought it for her about two months ago on that "almost ended their relationship" day. On top of that, he'd bought her so many other things, a diamond necklace on their first Christmas together (that thing has a lot of ice on it), a ring from last Valentines Day, and a couple other necklaces and bracelets just because. He'd taken her on a first class trip to Las Vegas for spring break, and he took her to all the fancy places in Paris they could find when they went when he was filming another movie.

He treated her like a princess and spent a lot on her. He didn't mind, she deserved it. Their friends sometimes teased him and said "Bugs Bunny's way to a girls heart is through cash" but he knew that was hardly the case. He did all this stuff for her because he loved her and knew she loved him for more than money. She sometimes felt guilty for spending all his money like that but he reminded her that she was talking to a billionaire.

Her cell phone rang and she took it out her pocket. "Hello?"

"Hello Lola, it's your mother."

Lola rolled her eyes. She hadn't spoken to her mom in months. "What do you want?"

"We haven't spoken in a while," Lisa's tone remained calm and even despite Lola's harshness.

"Of course we haven't spoken in a while mom! Have you forgotten what you did to me?"

"Oh come now Lola, that fake picture was nothing. Consider me doing you a favor."

Lola winced as the fake picture of Bugs kissing someone else came into her mind. Her mom had a friend make it to trick Lola into thinking Bugs cheated on her. They'd gotten into a fight about it and almost broke up for good. Even two months after that Lola was still furious with her mom for the whole thing. "A favor? Mom you threw me into the worst depression of my life! How could you consider that a favor?"

"Well if you'd listen to me you'd realize you shouldn't date him. He's out of your league for one thing…"

"Mom seriously, are you prejudiced against rich people?"

"Of course not!" Lisa paused for a moment. "Are you at home?"

Lola shook her head as if her mother could see it. "No, I'm at Bugs' house."

"Why?"

"Why not? I'm always over here." Lola suspected something coming on.

"Well that's not entirely appropriate is it?" Lisa said accusingly.

Lola leaned back on the couch and let out an exasperated sigh. "Mom, not this again! This isn't the 1800's, I can be alone with my boyfriend whenever I want and I don't need your permission to come over his house and sleep with him, thank goodness…"

"What? You're sleeping with him? Lola Bunny, if you get pregnant…!"

"Mom, there was this new thing invented a while back called condoms!"

"But still…!"

Lola wasn't in the mood to argue with her. "Mom, I have to go, okay? Bye." She hung up before Lisa could say another word. That was the perfect example of how her mother annoys her and disapproves of her being with Bugs.

Lola leaned back against the couch to continue her reminiscing. She glanced at his black and silver laptop on the coffee table and his open phone book next to it. Her name written in blue and a heart drawn next to it and she smiled.

She thought back to all the good times they'd shared. Their dates to the movies, and skating, and restaurants, etc. How they'd go to the park and just goof off on a sunny day. When they had to be serious teaching at Acme Looniversity (ha, serious!). When they slept together. The holidays they spent together. Teasing their friends just for the fun of it. She couldn't ask for any more.

Bugs came into the living room and sat next to her. "Hey gorgeous wassup?" He kissed her forehead.

"Hey," Lola said. "Just thinking about when we first got together."

"That's weird."

Lola looked at him. "Why?"

"Because I was just thinking about that too."

"Great minds think alike I guess," Lola said with a slight laugh. She leaned back on the arm of the couch and Bugs put his arm around her. She studied him, his deep brown eyes that gleamed slightly in the light, the few strands of silverish hair between his ears mixed in with the rest of his medium gray hair, the aroma that came off of him, details one only noticed from being around someone so much, details that drew her towards them every time.

He rested his forehead on hers and to those sparkling blue eyes, the eyes he'd found intriguing since the first time he saw her. "I love you."

Lola put her hands on his shoulders then ran one over his furry white cheek. "I know. I love you."

He'd been with a lot of girls in his life, but there was something about Lola that set her apart. Maybe it was her tomboyish nature and how she could bounce back and be the sexiest woman in the world without even trying. Maybe it was because of her carefree attitude towards life. How it was easy to be himself around her, to laugh with her, to act completely stupid around her and she wouldn't see him any differently. Maybe it was because she didn't treat him like the rich and famous celebrity that many people did, she treated him like a regular person, like she was sitting in front of a friend and not just someone with a lot of money who could take her out on his private jet anytime she wanted. He couldn't get that out of a lot of people. Lola was special to him.

On impulse, he locked lips with her. She gripped his black Dark Knight t-shirt. He got more aggressive and she pushed back at him, craving each other's taste and feel.

Bugs and Lola needed each other; there was no one else in the world for them. At this point, they were completely convinced they couldn't live without each other in their lives, and that was probably true. They loved each other more than life itself. They were each other's…everything.