Out and About
Blossom's mind was still reeling when the door opened again. She tried to compose herself before stepping away from the wall. She quickly leaned against it again, though, albeit by her shoulder. It helped steady her in more ways than one.
Mike coughed and turned around, shuffling down the stairs. Bubbles and Buttercup stood in the hallway, facing her. Fully dressed now, although Bubbles hadn't redone her pigtails. No one seemed able to look anyone in the eye.
Bubbles, who hadn't come home last night, was wearing the same blue summer dress she had the yesterday. She was blushing hard and generally looking bashful. Several times she brushed her hair behind her ears, even after it was settled in place. Embarrassed, maybe, but that was it.
Buttercup, in worn blue jeans and a plain green t-shirt, was more white in the face than red. Aside from her ashen face she was breathing irregularly and seemed dry-mouthed, apparently having trouble swallowing.
"Your, uh, shirt's on backwards," Blossom told Buttercup.
Now Buttercup did blush.
Bubbles actually giggled and faced the wall, possibly worried she'd lose control at this point if she looked at either of her sisters. Buttercup pulled in her arms and twisted she shirt before sticking them through the sleeves again.
"I... I don't know what to say," Blossom said weakly. "How... How long..." Blossom couldn't finish the question. It was just too unreal.
Bubbles finally looked at her, biting her lip briefly before replying, "This was our...first time."
Blossom tilted her head and opened her mouth as she struggled for words. Her face showed a mixture of confusion, bewilderment, and, to some small degree, revealed a feeling of something like betrayal. "But--the picture?" she eventually asked.
"Yesterday was...kind of a first, too," Buttercup replied very softly, still not able to face Blossom. That morning Princess Morbucks had spread around the school a photograph of Buttercup kissing a very startled-looking Bubbles.
Blossom finally stared at Bubbles with a look bordering on disgust, her scrunched eyebrows showing a hint of something akin to anger or disappointment. "So you have your first kiss yesterday and crawl in bed with each other the next?" At last latching onto something solid and familiar, Blossom launched into her tirade with a desperate fervor. "What were you thinking? It's all over the school, all over the news--do you know how many phone calls we've had at home today? What about all the people that we set an example for? Good God! Can you imagine what everyone's going to think about this?"
"But what do you think, Blossom?" Bubbles asked. She didn't seem bothered by Blossom's reaction. If anything, now that they were talking, she seemed to be firm on her feet, too. Blossom wasn't that surprised, honestly. Blossom herself was the voice of logic, intelligence, and forethought. Buttercup certainly had the most energy, tenacity, and physical prowess of the three. However, these years Bubbles was the most emotionally sound and strong willed. Bubbles's sisters were generally both better off in a fight, but Bubbles was built to handle situations like this. She was the voice of wisdom, and like any kind of wisdom worth having it had taken years of experience to arrive at. Still...
"What do you mean 'what do I think?' You shouldn't even have to ask!" Blossom countered. "I mean, lesbian is one thing, but this... This is incest!" Even Blossom winced when she said the word.
Buttercup finally spoke. "Actually, I don't think it technically is." Her confidence withered under Blossom's glare. "I mean... Legally... You know."
When she'd spoken with their father, Professor Utonium, about the situation this morning, Blossom had found out he'd noticed some interesting Internet searches this summer. Seeing Princess's picture led them to suspect Buttercup had made them, but now Blossom was almost certain Buttercup was indeed the one looking into marriage laws and what it might mean to be someone's "sibling" when you had no common parents--or any parents at all.
"Oh, so is that all it takes?" She looked at Bubbles, now. "Buttercup shares a few legal technicalities and anything's fair game?"
Bubbles shook her head slightly, actually smiling at this point. "It's not like that at all."
Blossom didn't give her time to build up from that. "Well then what the hell is it like? By all means, enlighten me!"
Bubbles gently took hold of Blossom's upper arm, "Yes, let's sit down and talk about it."
Blossom was resistant to the idea. Mike was downstairs and she hardly wanted to discuss this in his presence. Then came to mind the thought of sitting on the bed where her sisters...
"No. I'll stand."
Bubbles let go, giving her sister a little space. "Until yesterday, I hadn't thought of Buttercup as anything more than my sister. A very dear, precious sister, but still just a sister. When she kissed me... I just didn't know what to think. So I stayed at Mike's house to settle down and think it over."
"Well, you sure did a fine job of that," Blossom interjected.
Unphased, Bubbles continued. "I think I did. I realized Buttercup must have had feelings for me for months, now. And I don't think she wanted it. Or expected it. In fact, I was pretty sure she'd resisted the idea. And she's admitted to all of those things. But fact was, she still loved me as more than her sister. So I figured I had to stop and ask myself if I was capable of that, and if I really, honestly loved her like that."
Bubbles paused to take Buttercup's hand in hers. They smiled at each other. For the moment, even Buttercup seemed at ease. Bubbles turned her attention back to Blossom. "I decided that I did. I really do."
"You decided in less than a day? Doesn't that seem just a little hasty to you?"
"But this didn't happen in a day," Bubbles countered. "We've been getting closer all summer. When I looked at those times from a different perspective..." Bubbles paused, slowly taking in and letting out a deep breath. "When I let myself look at things differently, I realized that I've been happier with Buttercup than with anyone else."
Ever more exasperated, Blossom asked, "Didn't you stop to think that maybe that's because she's your freaking sister? Lots of siblings get along great!"
"But I still made the choice I made," Bubbles proclaimed, starting to cry. "I love Buttercup. With all my heart I love her. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with her. And only her. I admit, it's a little strange and more than a little weird, but that's how it is. You know we've never exactly been normal."
"Yeah, but..." Blossom started, her irritation vanishing in the face of Bubbles's tears. She saw Buttercup give their sister's hand a squeeze. "You can't really believe this is the best thing to do, can you?"
Buttercup shook her head and replied instead. "Like Bubbles said, I fought this every step of the way. I told myself it would go away. Then I tried to make it go away. I've held back all this time, but in the end I just couldn't anymore."
"If you really were trying to fight it then why didn't you come to me or dad? Maybe if you'd let us talk some sense into you this wouldn't have happened."
"But that isn't how it happened," Bubbles said. "And I wouldn't want to take any of it back."
Blossom slumped back against the wall again. Somewhere along the way she'd left it without noticing, but now she felt weak again. "Are you ready to come home at least?"
Her sisters nodded.
Blossom shook her head. "I don't know how we'll be able to trust you two. Living under the same roof night after night."
Buttercup smiled, though it wavered a little. "Well, I managed this good for this long."
"'This well,'" Blossom corrected offhandedly, too exhausted to check herself.
Bubbles left her sister's side to peel Blossom from the wall and hug her. "Don't worry, Blossom. That's not what our relationship is built on. We wouldn't do that to you and dad, anyway." Bubbles pulled back a little. Blossom's eyes were just beginning to tear up. Bubbles kissed her on the forehead. "Everything's going to be fine. I promise." Bubbles went back to Buttercup's side, where they clasped hands again. "Now let's go talk to dad."
