Hey guys! I'm actually doing a one-shot on this work. This is actually another 'Hibbles' fanfic and I am dying to post one up since I haven't done so in a while. Honestly, I actually got this as a request. This is my take on how I believe Bubbles and Him first met. Hopefully it will satisfy you all out there! Craig McCracken owns PPG. I own my imagination.
Bubbles stared out into the pouring rainfall that was occurring outside from the dry and safe confines of the kindergarden classroom. She was entirely bored. It was currently the last indoor recess of the day and all the classwork was completed and graded. Ms. Keene was preoccupied with reading her favorite romance novel to help kill the remaining time until it was time for the children to be picked up.
The tiny blue puff let out a yawn and blinked. As soon as she blinked, her eyes widened. Outside the school was a person, but to her wonderment, it didn't look like an ordinary person. The stranger was fairly tall and slender, and wore thigh high pointy boots. The individual was also wearing a short frilly red outfit, pink frills on the skirt of it and collar, along with a big thick black belt with a gold buckle. She squinted further in an attempt to make out the rest of the figure, but the water was pouring heavily against the windowpane that she couldn't make out the rest of the details, except for a huge black umbrella that it was carrying.
The voice of her sisters, however, drove her attention away from the mysterious figure for a moment. "Hey, Bubbles! It's time to go home now! Let's go!" The pink puff known as Blossom called out to her little sister, who grabbed her matching pink backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Buttercup grabbed her backpack as well and smirked. "Yeah. Unless you want to stay here for the weekend!" She teased rudely, earning a scowl from Blossom.
Bubbles then glanced at the clock and then the room, realizing that the students are now indeed leaving to go home for the weekend and that class was surely over. "Oh, okay. I'll be there in a minute!" She turned her head back towards the window, only to see that the stranger had completely vanished out of sight.
The blue powerpuff was baffled. "Huh? Where did it go?"
Buttercup's voice piped up from right behind her. "Where did what go? What were you looking at?" The green puff plastered her face on the window, darting her eyes around to see if she could find what her sister was glancing at, only to find nothing. "Don't be stupid, Bubbles. It's just raining outside. You're seeing things again."
Bubbles stammered. "B-But… I saw something there! It was a person!"
Blossom flew over with her youngest sister's blue backpack in tow. She glanced around herself. "Hmm. There seems to be nothing there, Bubbles. Are you sure you saw someone?"
Bubbles then knew that she wouldn't win this one, so she sighed deeply and tilted her head down. "No… It's nothing."
Buttercup scoffed. "Told ya she was seeing things. Let's go home now!" The three girls flew out towards the car quickly as to avoid getting drenched by the falling water. The blue powerpuff stared sadly out the window, knowing that she indeed saw a stranger out there. As the car started to drive away from the kindergarden, a tall red figure walked out while still holding the large black umbrella. Green eyes shimmered brightly as it watched the white vehicle drive away, with it containing a very particularly curious and peculiar young girl.
Upon reaching the two story household, the girls and their father rushed in, trying not to get wet by the heavy downpour. Once inside, the professor locked the door and placed his umbrella to the side to dry.
"Goodness, I didn't expect it to be raining this much today. Guess the forecast was wrong again. Girls, why don't you all go and clean up real quick while I get dinner ready?"
Nodding, the girls flew upstairs and reached into their bedroom. Blossom grabbed her nightclothes and so did Buttercup. Afterwards, they rushed into the bathroom and began to run to tub with nice hot water.
Bubbles carefully gathered her pajamas and decided to walk herself to the bathroom. Upon reaching the door, she began to hear her sister's voices. They sounded like they were talking about her, starting with Buttercup and her harsh remarks.
"Man, what's up with Bubbles? Do you think she really saw someone out there?"
Blossom chided at Buttercup. "Now, Buttercup. I don't think Bubbles was not hallucinating. Maybe she did see someone out there, but they must have seen her and ran off. Things like that do happen!"
She then heard her green sister scoff again. "Whatever. If it was some creep, I'll be sure to show him what for! Don't they know that it's a crime to trespass school grounds?"
Blossom agreed with her. "You have a point there. But let's not bring it up to her for now. I'm sure she was just a bit startled and just needs to wind down."
Bubbles glanced down at her feet while hugging her nightclothes. She knew she wasn't crazy and that she wasn't seeing things. Her small fingers squeezed the soft blue fabric of her nightwear as she softly bit her lip.
She then decided that she was going to prove them wrong. To prove that she did see someone out there and that it wasn't because she was being a baby and making stories up. Gathering herself, she walked off to the professor's bathroom, insisting on using his shower instead.
Once they cleaned up and ate their dinner, the girls flew off to their room and decided to retire for the evening. The rain was becoming heavier than ever before, huge pellets rapping against the glass of their round booths on the wall.
Blossom fell asleep rather quickly, followed by Buttercup, who ate a substantial amount of steak and fries for their meal.
Bubbles was left wide awake. Instead of having the rain to lull her to sleep like it normally would, it served as her reason to investigate the reason of her strange event from earlier. She carefully slipped out of the bed and tip toed to their closet. There she retrieved a baby blue rain chook and slipped into it. She also slipped her bare feet into her matching baby blue rain boots and gently glided out into the hallway.
She stopped momentarily upon hearing the snores of the professor, who was fast asleep in his room. She was sure to gently secure their bedroom doors so that way no one would hear her exit. She finally reached the bottom of the stairs and gently turned the doorknob. Carefully, she pulled the door open and stepped out, closing it securely behind her.
The rain pounded down hard into the ground all around her, making it nearly impossible to see what was righty in front of a normal person. Thankfully, she has supervision like her sisters, and the rain didn't blind her as much.
She began to drift a little outwards, glancing around her environment as a means to decide where to make a head start. She remembered that she first saw the figure near the grounds of the school. With the hood of her rain jacket placed securely over her golden locks, she ascended into the dark sky, making way towards the kindergarden.
She finally made it to her destination, albeit having her hood blown off her head at some point due to some fierce winds that came out of nowhere. Her hair was now completely damp, with small streaks of water slipping through the neck of her jacket, eventually soaking her nightclothes as well. The street light at the school flickered on and off, making the area more uncomfortable that it originally was. She shivered a bit, now feeling the dampness of her clothes and from the cold winds, making it all the more unsettling. She would surely catch a cold, or worse, possibly pneumonia should she dwell in the horrible weather any longer. Despite being a superhero, she was still human in the aspects of getting maladies and illnesses, so immunity wasn't granted with the Chemical X.
However, she refused to call it quits. She trotted towards the large grassy area that was a bit farther from the school grounds. She sneezed. Bubbles felt her eyes becoming a bit heavy. "No. I can't give up! I know I saw that guy around here somewhere. I'm sure of it!" Her tiny legs continued to move on, her wavering gaze looking around with determination.
Alas, the rain pelted down even more, adding its weight upon the tiny girl. The wind didn't help either, as it blew the water further into her, making her entirely drenched.
Bubbles began to feel numb. Her petite body couldn't take any more and she suddenly collapsed. Her breathing was very shallow, her face pale and wet from the muggy cold water. As she drifted into unconsciousness, a tall figure approached her, wearing thigh high boots while holding an umbrella. A small chuckle escaped from its black painted lips, the voice that spilled from them eerily high pitched, yet definitely signature as male. "Well, well… This is quite the surprise. I didn't think you would come back so sooooon…"
The effeminate figure brushed a damp strand of blonde hair gently away from the child's face, his hauntingly green eyes gazing down at her. His breath was caught momentarily in his throat as his stare was fixated on her face. "So you're one of those three from earlier… One of the… creations…" He mused over, more so to himself. He male tisked lightly before lightly touching the girl. Without warning, red smoke rose from the ground surrounding the two bodies. Within a matter of moments, the two disappeared completely out of sight.
Bubbles stirred as she felt her body surrounded with soft warmth all over. Her head rested upon something incredibly soft and fluffy. Bright blue eyes fluttered open to see that she was no longer outside in the cold and rain. Instead, she was in a large, deep red room. She propped herself up, only to sink further into the soft black mattress and bed sheets. As she glanced at her surroundings, she noticed the very refined and gothic furniture that decorated the living space. Dark polished wood of the vanity, the wardrobe, the night table, and the large headboard of the bed was dimly glossed under the dull lighting of the ceiling light. Upon the headboard, was carved a very foreign design that strongly resembled a mix of Victorian and Norse, to which Bubbles couldn't quite make out that well. "Oh wow. So pretty…"
She then took a gander at the vanity, which had a wide assortment of vials and makeup containers, mostly in black. There also lay some odd gold coins and strange jewelry of the sort, as well as a large black box sitting next to them. She could have sworn she heard a faint growling and rumbling sound coming from the black chest and chose to leave it at that, not willing to explore that further.
Her bright blue eyes wandered further at her bizarre environment. She then finally froze in place as her sight landed on a very red demonic looking man, staring right at her with an amused smile dancing on his pointed features.
A small squeak escaped her lips as she felt her body tense under the gaze of this newfound stranger. She then took note of his attire and saw that it was the same clothing that the mysterious individual wore earlier outside her school.
"W-Who… Who are you? And where am I?" The blonde girl asked timidly, not knowing what this man would be capable of.
The red demon continued to smile at her, his green eyes glowing dimly in the somewhat dark red doom. "I'm afraid I should be asking you that, child. You're not an ordinary human, are you?"
Bubbles glanced down at the black satin sheets and mulled over. "Um… No. I'm not."
The demon reclined ever so in his large chair, folding his lobster-like claws over his lap. Bubbles noticed his claws and stared at them in shock. "B-But… You're not human either, aren't you?"
The immortal being chuckled deeply. "Very observant of you. It's true. I'm not human as well. In fact, I'm the most feared being in all of existence. So feared, that no mortal would dare as such to utter my name…"
The small blonde girl quirked a brow at this. "Really? So then, what do they call you?"
The male then frowned at her, his eyes arching in mild surprise. "You mean, you don't know who I am?"
The blue puff shook her head. Clearly, now he feels like this is some sick joke. Why hasn't this child, this innocent, pure, lovely child, been introduced to his existence before?
Clearing his throat, the male spoke once more. "I am known as Him. Simple as that, my sweet."
"Him? Really? Does it stand for something else?" The girl tilted her head on confusion.
Him couldn't help but feel slight pity that this child had really no idea who he was, or where she was for that matter. But he knew of her. Oh yes, he knew of her and her origins. He sensed how pure and simple she was, out of the three that were created.
He knew of her father as well. How he struggled under the pressures of this world and this town, with all of its crime and industrialized evil that lurked within every corner. How he went against the laws of nature and decided to take the power of creation into his own hands, and as a result, made three perfect little girls.
Him also knew that these girls had powers. He also knew… that this girl… compared to her sisters… was the perfect opposite of what he stood for.
Pulling out of his reverie, the red immortal simpered. "That's a story for another day. But I must admit, you had guts going out into the blistering cold and rain like that, all just to find meeeee… Do you realize that you almost died?"
Bubbles sat there with a blank expression, as if she was trying to reel in the information. "I… I almost died…? Really…?"
The male nodded, his gaze not once leaving hers. Her beautiful baby blue eyes were crystalline clear, like cesspools of pure crystal clear water. His eyes wandered to her golden hair, which shone brightly like the sun. Her alabaster skin like that of a pristine porcelain doll, with a light dust of pink coloring in her cheeks.
A sudden skip of a heart throb panged in his chest, which surprised Him mildly. Acting as though nothing threw him off, Him cleared his throat again. "You had a severe case of pneumonia developing rather quickly after you collapsed. Your temperature dropping drastically and so did your vitals… I used my… powerssss… to stabilize you."
This in turn surprised Bubbles. "Your powers? You mean, you're a super hero too?"
Him widened his eyes and let out a small laugh. He found this girl truly amusing, to say the least. "Well, no… I wouldn't say that… I'm actually a far cry from being a hero, my dear. Sorry to disappoint."
The blonde puff blinked. "So, then… you're a bad guy? But wait… you saved me. How does that make you bad?"
Him got up from his chair and made his way to her. To add more to his intriguing interest in the girl, she didn't back away when he sat next to her on the edge of his bed. He lifted one of his claws and brushed away a stray strand of hair. "I am. I'm the most evil of all evil in this world. But don't worry. I won't bite, especially you. Rather, I find you… quite unique…"
The child stared deeply into his eerily green eyes, which where almost like cat eyes to her. She studied the details of his face closely, and to his sudden shock, she carefully brought up her small hands to gently grasp his face. She felt his skin, which was slightly thicker than normal human skin. It was almost synthetic by touch. She noticed he wasn't wearing any makeup from that of his vanity. Despite being young, she found Him to be quite attractive, really putting the term 'handsome devil' to proper justice.
Him raised a brow as she continued to study his features, finding the notion to be rather foreign and… unaccustomed to.
He then brought up his claws and gently gripped her small hands, as though he were trying not to break them. "Perhaps it is time that you go to sleep. It's already past your bed time."
Bubbles looked at Him in wonderment and nodded. "Okay. I guess so. Um… You look pretty, by the way."
Him sat there stunned. That was a compliment that he didn't see coming. He closed his eyes momentarily before reopening them, looking down at her with a soft look. "Thank you, Bubbles. Now, please get some rest. I must take you back home soon."
He tucked Bubbles into the sheets, making sure the sheets kept her warm and fluffed up some of the pillows. Bubbles glanced over at Him, placing her hand on his claw. "Will I see you again, Him? And how do you know my name?"
Him smiled at her, his sharp canines glistening even in the dim lighting. "I know a lot of things about you, dear Bubbles. I have been watching you for quite some time now, actually. And yes, you will see me again… in due time. But under different circumstances… Now sleep."
Nodding, the girl closed her eyes with a tiny smile gracing her angelic features. Her grip, however, remained on his claw. Him recognized that moving anywhere at this point was futile, so he sat down next to her sleeping form. He stared at her for a while longer, knowing that she was now indeed fast asleep. He blinked in realization and shook his head in disbelief. With a wave of his claw, red smoke surrounded them both once more, filling the entire room.
Once the smoke cleared, Him looked down at the spot where the girl was, which was now empty. He waved a claw and right before him appeared a screen, which showed the tiny girl sleeping peacefully now in her room with her sisters. He then noticed that she was feeling blindly for his claw, which for some odd reason, unnerved him. Waving his claw again, some red smoke formed near her hands, conjuring a stuffed octopus with a top hat next to her. "Think of it as a departing gift for now…" He muttered to himself once more.
With one last wave, the screen disappeared and he reclined on his bed. He could smell her scent, which surprisingly smelled like fresh rain itself. IF it came from anyone else, he would be bothered and immediately take his sheets to be washed, but in this case… He found it strangely relaxing and soothing. He glanced down and noticed that on a coatrack near the door, was the little girl's rain coat and rain boots.
Guess he forgot to send that back with her, but at the time, he was more concerned about getting her dried up and restoring her health. He paused momentarily, then threw himself back into his pile of pillows. "I guess that could be my gift from her. I'll be sure to remind myself to put it in my 'other' treasure box…" He turned over and with a wave, he changed from his every day clothes and into a pair of silk pajamas. He closed his eyes, falling asleep to the scent of her rain.