Title: Dying Embers

Rating: Teen for violence

Summary: He was her saviour. And as much as she hated to admit it, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Pairing: Buttercup/Butch

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters.

Song: Save You by Simple Plan

Pairing Requested By: hehehe

9:20 PM


Buttercup sat around the fireplace at home, watching the embers of the once burning fire die. Thinking. Day-dreaming. Remembering. Her wounds were still in the process of healing, she rubbed the big yellow and purple bruise on her left arm, just below her shoulder. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, still unable to grasp what had happened earlier that evening. The look on his face as he tried to mercilessly beat her to a pulp… The look on his face, as he saved her, and confessed to her…

"And sacrificed himself for you…" The annoying voice in the back of her mind added.

She huffed to herself and a thousand questions crossed her mind…

Where was he? What happened before I woke up? Is he okay? Was it true? Should I be worried or scared? Should I care?

She mentally kicked herself for the last thought. Of course she should care, and she did. Everything that occurred had had a huge impact on her. The mix of emotions was over powering, and she couldn't forget the events even after 17 million years… And getting her memory taken away…. Twice. It wouldn't work. The incident was imprinted on her brain. And so far it was a more negative thing than positive.


"Aw! Sweet little Buttercup can't handle the heat, now can she?" HIM screeched with his feminine voice. Buttercup scoffed, glaring daggers at him. A chill coursed through her spine, making her shudder. Her teeth were clenched so tight that her head was vibrating from the force. Her green and black spaghetti strap top was torn along the end, and ripped in different places. Blood and grime smeared on her face and her body. Buttercup was almost covered head to toe with bruises and cuts and scrapes. She panted heavily and her head pounded as beads of sweat ran down her bloodstained cheeks.

And HIM had barely broken a sweat.

He smiled and clasped his claws together, fluttering his eyelashes delightfully and staring at her. Buttercup snarled and got into fighting stance, her fists clenched tightly with undying rage. She could feel the blood dripping down her fingers and hitting the floor below her feet. She was going nowhere. HIM's smile widened and he swooped down, still keeping his distance, and stood before her. "You aren't strong enough to fight. Just give up, PowerPuff." He suggested cockily.

"No! I can't let you win this fight, HIM!" Buttercup lunged herself at him out of aggression. Her fury getting the better of her once again. She was instantly knocked back down by his powerful hands. She hit the red dirt floor with a great force. She squinted, her vision blurring from the pain of the impact. She averted her half-opened eyes to the other side of the room. Her sisters lay in a crumpled heap in a corner. They, too, had fought with the human-lobster maniac, and couldn't win. It was down to the last Puff. The strategy and speed of the group had failed, leaving only the strength to win the battle. But Buttercup they were in his territory now, the game went by his rules, and his rules only. They both knew that she would lose. But nevertheless…

Buttercup cried out as she flew with as much speed as possible, aiming her clenched fist at HIM's jaw. With all the strength she could muster, she drew back her arm and charged it forward. A loud crunch echoed throughout the crimson lair. Her knuckles successfully connected with him, and using her opposite hand, she gave him an uppercut before he could recover from the first blow.

HIM fell to the ground, doubling over in pain. Buttercup smirked down at her work, just about ready to give him a swift kick to the stomach when laughter filled the silence within the volcano-lair.

Her eyebrow arched, and she suddenly felt the weight that she had been struggling to hold up weighing down on her. She had used it all up with those two simple attacks. Her strength was gone. And that's why HIM was laughing. She gasped as a claw sliced her cheek, sending her back a few feet.

She took punch after punch, lying in a bloody heap on the stone cold ground beneath her. HIM stood above her, beating her senselessly. She could only make out red blurs before she was hit again. No time to recoil, to defend, to strike back. His toothy smile was the only thing she could see.

Only after another vicious blow to the head had Buttercup realized; she'd lost. Her sisters were goners once he finished her. She took a sharp breath and waited for the pain to be over. Hot tears of anger and embarrassment running down her cheeks. From a distance she could hear a small buzzing noise, similar to the sound a jet plane would make if it was flying at sonic speed. It couldn't be! Was that…?

A streak of forest green knocked her attacker far away. She could only turn her head enough to see a her hero punching away at something, and hard. She bared with the pain and turned her head further to the side. Her saviour was Butch. And he had already knocked HIM out cold. He stood from his kneeling position over the unconscious body of his "father".

By this time, Buttercup had lost her vision almost completely, and her two ton eyelids couldn't stay ajar any longer. Butch hoisted her up and held her in a cradle lift. "Why are you helping me?" She breathed. "Because, you need to survive. Save the world, and save your family when they need you the most. And, also," He paused briefly, staring deep into her jade green eyes. Her raven hair was matted down to her face, from sweat and blood. He pushed some loose strand behind her ear, and took a deep breath.

"And also, because I love you. I wish that I could tell you earlier. Before any of this happened." He whispered, making his way over to her unconscious sisters.

As her blush grew, her eyes shut.


Buttercup groaned. Her knees still huddled up comfortingly to her chest, and her breathing had evened out. Butch was her hero, the one that saved her and her siblings from death single-handedly. And she couldn't be more grateful. The window across from her creaked open and she jumped. She still couldn't bring herself to speak, even as he stood before her. Covered in bruises and cuts and scrapes.

Just like she had been.

He smirked, despite his dishevelled appearance, and took a seat next to her. He caught her staring within five seconds, and the silence between them seemed somewhat louder than anything they had ever heard. He was the first to cut through it with his words.

"I fought for you." He said blankly. His throat was dry and his lips were bleeding. "And I saved your life." She stared at him more intently. "And your sisters' lives." She was wondering where he was going with this, or if he'd mention…

"I at least deserve a 'thank you'." He explained. Buttercup felt the heat rise to her cheeks. He probably didn't want to bring up the feelings he felt towards her, worried about her response. He and Buttercup both knew that this day would come eventually. The mix of emotions, stirred up inside of her, forming butterflies whenever she saw him. The way he stared nervously at her before they would fight, and how he'd stopped giving it his all just so he couldn't hurt her anymore. It all boiled down to this. She thought long and hard before making her next decision. She slowly inched closer and gave him a peck on the lips. He turned more red than her.

"Thank you." Buttercup muttered, smiling softly. "You were my saviour. And my sisters' saviour. And I don't know what I would do without you. I wish that I could've told you earlier, that I love you, too." She told him with a dazed expression. He genuinely smiled for once. Blossom and Bubbles, fully healed, stormed into the room upon hearing Butch's voice. Bubbles carrying a large towel and Blossom, a cup of water.

As they wrapped him up in warmth, quenched his thirst and brought him to the lab to get a shot of Chemical X to heal him, Buttercup remained alone, and gave her undivided attention to the fireplace. The embers had finally died, and a new fire had started within her.

The bruise disappeared.


9:41 PM