Chapter 53 - Reunions

Boomer's POV

"There it is."

Relief swelled in Boomer's chest and a weary smile tugged at his lips. Bubbles' raised arm pointed to a small, out of the way manhole cover that would let them down into the sewers. From there it was only a quick couple minutes of walking and they'd finally be home.

Boomer blinked in surprise at his word choice.

Home?...Well, the term did fit. That was where he was living now and really, it wasn't actually all that bad.

"Almost there, hang on." He said doggedly.

The last six hours hadn't been horrible, but they were no walk in the park that was for sure. Bubbles prediction had turned out to be true and they hadn't seen any sign of Collectors or Simian patrols on their journey back, but that didn't mean it was all lollipops and sugar peas.

The two of them probably looked straight out of a bad horror movie with all the blood staining their clothes and the bandages wrapped around their bodies. Not to mention the black rings around his eyes from lack of sleep.

That refreshed feeling he had had this morning had worn off after only an hour of walking. The next five hours had been a torturous affair with him stumbling almost every fifth step. Thankfully, he had managed to catch himself every time, but it did make for some harrowing moments.

Bubbles was feeling the effects of the day too. She didn't say a word about her ankle but he knew it was causing her a lot of pain. Whenever he looked back, she had this little furrow in her brow and her teeth were clenched shut. She would of course, catch sight of him checking back on her and try to smooth it all away with a smile but Boomer wasn't falling for it.

She had gone for almost sixteen hours straight without it being taken care of. Who knew what kind of irreversible damage had already been done. He worried he had taken too long to get back to the base but there wasn't a whole lot more he could have done. He only hoped his effort had proven enough and the Professor could heal it.

Reaching down, Boomer pried the lid off with his good hand and maneuvered them through the hole. It was tight fit and he banged his head once or twice trying to keep Bubbles from banging hers against the wall, but overall they managed to make it through okay.

After replacing the lid, Boomer dropped down to the ground and let his eyes take a moment to adjust to the sudden lack of light.

"Alright, which way now?" He asked after a few seconds.

The hand draped over his shoulder reached up and pointed down the tunnel in a lazy fashion. "That way, about five minutes and we should be there."

She sounded even more worn out than yesterday. That had him worried but he tried to keep his mind on the good things, like the fact that they were almost to a fully stocked medical clinic.

Positive, he had to keep positive.

With grunt, Boomer made his feet start moving again and he trudged down the damp path. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a light pierced the darkness in the distance. Bubbles raised her head from his shoulder and he could hear her soft sigh of relief.

"See, I told you we would find it…eventually." She murmured playfully.

"Yeah, you were right. I was wrong. Happy now?" He shot back with a smirk as he walked them closer to the light.

"Yep. Like a kid in candy store." Bubbles chirped and laid her head down again.

He chuckled lightly at the mental picture. Even after all they had been through, she still had her sense of humor. Yep, Bubbles Utonium was a trooper. That was made abundantly clear to him after this little foray of theirs.

Their trek towards the light was quiet as neither of them had anything more to say. They were almost there. As soon as Boomer and his precious cargo got close enough to make out the perimeter train wall, a blinding cone of light lit up and captured them in its gaze.

"Halt! Identify yourself!" A voice barked from behind the bright white intensity.

Boomer raised a hand to shield his face and tried to blink back the stars hampering his vision. "It's Boomer and Bubbles! We got separated from the group on yesterday's mission. We're injured! Let us in."

A moment later, the blinding light was gone and a squad of men was rushing towards them. Boomer couldn't quite make out who was who because his eyes were still plagued with random flashes of color but he felt Bubbles being lifted from the sling on his back and a hand push gently on his shoulders.

Forward, they were guided through the outer gates and into the lobby beyond. He could hear shouts echoing through the low ceilinged room and a bunch of activity going on but his damn eyes were still trying to recover.

He knew those lights were supposed to disorientate intruders but come on! This was just plain mean!

Irritated, Boomer rubbed at his eyes and finally managed to blink back in some of his vision. By the time he could see properly again, Blossom and the Professor were rolling up to the group, the former in a wheelchair matching her father's.

Boomer feared for a moment that she had met the same fate as the older man beside her but then his brain started working again and he mentally kicked himself. Looking closer, he could see the stiff outline of bandages wrapped around her torso and deduced that she had taken some sort of damage to her ribcage during the attack.

"Bubbles!" Blossom cried and frantically rolled herself up to her sister, who motioned to be set down on the ground.

"Blossom!" The blonde cried in turn.

The two of them then initiated what looked like the most painful, awkward hug Boomer had ever seen. Both of their injuries prevent them from getting the proper leverage and with Blossom having to remain sitting it all looked very uncomfortable.

Neither of them seemed to care though. Tears leaked from his counterpart's eyes as they embraced and to his surprise, a few fell from Blossom's as well. It was actually kind of touching, the sissy side of him felt happy that he was able to witness the fruit of his labors and reunite the two sisters.

The realist side of him wanted them to hurry up and finish so the Professor could look at Bubbles' ankle, but he wasn't going to ruin the moment. He may not know much about ladies, but he knew you didn't interrupt them during highly emotional moments.

The two broke apart after a minute and then it was the Professor's turn to scoop up his daughter in a hug. That was even more touching to witness and the blond's lips quirked up into a half smile at the sight.

He was so absorbed with the scene that he didn't notice Blossom's arrival at his side until she tapped him on the arm. Boomer was embarrassed to admit that he jumped nearly three inches into the air at the invasion of his personal space.

Trying to calm his now racing heart, he looked down at the redhead and blinked in confusion when she motioned him to kneel down.

He did so slowly… and was completely taken aback as Blossom threw an arm around his neck and pulled him into a quick hug.

"Thank you." She whispered earnestly in his ear before letting him go.

He sat there, stock still for a moment, and tried to comprehend what had happened. Blossom had just hugged him.

…well, that was first.

He had never been hugged even once in his life. He wasn't counting that time that Bubbles kissed him on the cheek and caused his whole atomic structure to decompose. He was pretty sure instances like that didn't count.

Getting a hug, a real one felt…nice.

Boomer offered Blossom a small, shy smile which she returned readily.

Who would have thought? The leader of the Puffs giving a Rowdyruff boy a hug and smile? Would wonders never cease? Brick was never going to believe this. Speaking of his brother, where was he? Shouldn't he have been here by now? And Butch and Buttercup?

"Um, where are the-whoa!" Boomer's question was cut off as he almost collapsed back to the ground as he tried to stand up.

It was only now that he realized his legs had decided that they had finally taken enough punishment for the day and stopped working. His quads were shaking worse than a leaf in a storm and his calves cried out in protest.

Dammit, he was really exhausted.

Blossom motioned one of the nearby soldiers to lend him a hand and rolled around to address the group. "Alright, we need to get these two to the Med Clinic. Come on."

Bubbles and the Professor broke apart from their reunion hug and a burly looking man of the Resistance picked her up bridal style. Some small defensive part of Boomer's inner psyche frowned at the action but he quickly shook that off.

These guys were all on their team, it wasn't like he was going to hurt her or anything. But still, punk had better be extra careful with her. If he caused any more damage to her ankle…

With assistance, the pair of Blues were marched straight to the Medical Center and deposited inside. Boomer was supremely grateful for the chance to sit down. The events of the previous day and all that walking he had just done were really taking a toll on him and his energy levels felt like they were plummeting.

Ms. Keane heard the commotion and appeared from one of the back rooms as the two Blues were being settled into their beds. She didn't waste any time asking questions, instead she collected a number of tools and walked up to the Professor's side as he started unwinding the crude bandage around Bubbles leg.

"Good God!" The stately man exclaimed as he took off the last layer and caught sight of the ruined mess beneath it. Even the infallible Ms. Keane let out a gasp at the sight. Boomer couldn't suppress a wince at their reactions.

Yep, that about summed it nicely. It didn't really fill him with confidence though.

"Ms. Keane, get me some forceps, clamps, and my scalpel. I'll also need 20mg of morphine, some anesthesia and towels. Lots of them. Quickly now." The Professor nearly barked out the commands as an intense look of concentration hardened his face.

The Blue Ruff had never seen the Professor look so…forceful. The man had always been sorta goofy whenever Boomer had contact with him. It was shocking to see such a one eighty in him, but when your little girl was in obvious pain, the change in personality was understandable.

As Ms. Keane ran to fetch the Professor's tools, Boomer felt a tug at the bandage covering his arm and turned to find that the source of the disturbance was Blossom.

"Uhh…" He stammered, unsure about how to respond.

Two days ago, she probably wouldn't have blinked an eye if he had been shot in front of her. Now here she was, giving him hugs and taking care of his injuries?

How the hell had his world turned completely upside down in the span of a day?

Blossom peeled away the last of the bandage and grimaced at the sight of his arm. "Ouch, that had to have hurt. What caused it?"

"...Some crazed weirdo with a ah drill trident. He um, caught me as I was disarming him." Boomer said plainly, still out of sorts with this new kind of interaction with the redhead. In his defense, she was a pretty imposing person. It didn't help that she practically resembled Brick in just about every way.

"A drill trident? That's…different. I didn't see a single one of those during the attack. I wonder if they are a special division of troops?" Blossom replied as she took a cotton swab doused in disinfectant and started cleaning out his wound.

Boomer clenched his teeth and hissed in pain. Son of a-this disinfectant definitely wasn't expired! Ohh, it hurt.

"Sorry, I found it easier to clean Buttercup's wounds when I didn't tell her what was coming. It kind of became a habit. You wouldn't believe the fuss that girl causes when it comes to patching her up." Blossom said with a brief look of remorse.

"Oh, I can imagine." He replied, clenching his fists.

Butch was the exact same way. He had been forced to stitch him up more than a few times over the last couple of years and each time was an ordeal. If it wasn't non-stop complaining, he was always wiggling around and making it hard to stitch a proper line. The Blue Ruff imagined that Buttercup was the same in that regard.

As the redhead fell silent and concentrated on his arm, Boomer found his eyes wandering over to the gurney holding his counterpart. Her form was mostly hidden by the Professor and Ms. Keane as they hunched over her and operated, but he still had a clear view of her face.

The blonde Puff appeared to be deep in a peaceful slumber which was obviously drug induced. It made him feel marginally better to know that she wasn't in terrible pain anymore. Yay for drugs. But still, the sight of that ankle and the Professor's reaction to it had him worried.

What if he couldn't fix it? What if it had to be amputated? He had heard that really bad injuries that couldn't be fix usually needed amputations. What if that happened to Bubbles?!

The Blue Ruff felt his stomach roil with anxiety at the thought. He didn't want Bubbles to be confined to a wheelchair or crutches for the rest of her life. That would be horrible. How would she run raids with them? Or scavenge? Or play with the kids?

As Boomer worried over the possibilities, Blossom tied off the new, clean bandage and moved onto his hand. She paused as she caught sight of his face and where he was gazing. A look of understanding passed through her eyes and she laid a hand on his shoulder, breaking his internal agonizing.

Boomer snapped his head back towards her and tried to appear unruffled…it didn't work.

"It's alright. If anyone can help Bubbles, it's the Professor." The redhead told him with a confident tone of voice.

"…but you didn't see her ankle." Boomer muttered back.

Blossom shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't need to. If it can be fixed, then the Professor will fix it. And I believe he can."

That phrase struck a chord inside him. It was almost exactly what Bubbles had been telling him earlier that morning. Hope. It wasn't strictly confined to just Bubbles, her sister's had it too. All three of them had a belief that good would prevail and things would always work out in the end.

Maybe it was because they were so used to being the good guys that they had such a pleasant outlook on life. His own upbringing probably had something to do with his pessimistic views, but he was trying to change and Blossom had reminded him of that.

Slowly, he nodded back at her and brought up his hand. "Yeah…"

A true smile graced the Puff's lips as she set to work on his fingers. Boomer tried to keep his focus on what she was doing but it was hard to do. Every time his self-control slipped even the tiniest bit, his eyes wandered over to the other gurney.

The urgent voice of Professor Utonium as he directed Ms. Keane did nothing to dispel the sick feeling in his stomach. Thankfully, the pain of having his mangled fingers taken care of provided a poignant distraction.

Boomer winced as Blossom straightened out the last of his fingers and set it against a splint. It was really more a tiny tongue dispenser but it worked just the same.

"You'll need to keep these splints on for a couple of days. I didn't see any breaks in your bones but there could be some small fractures. It would be best to err on the side of caution I think." She said as she finished wrapping up the digit.

He gave her an absent nod, and once again felt his eyes drifting to the side.

That movement was quickly halted as the redhead reached up and yanked off the band aids covering the cut on his face. It was done quickly and without hesitation, almost like how you'd remove duct tape from someone's mouth.

"Ow! Augh!" Boomer whined as he tried to clamp a hand to his injured cheek.

Blossom gently slapped his hand back down and pulled out the bottle of disinfectant again. "Ah, ah, ah. That needs to be cleaned first."

Boomer frowned pitifully and surreptitiously rubbed at his cheek while she was turned away to grab a cotton swab. "You could have been a little gentler about it."

The redhead shrugged as she faced him again. "You were a distracted, I seize the opportunity."

The Blue Ruff tried not to squirm as she dabbed at laceration covering his cheek. In less than a minute, the Puff had the cut cleaned out and a fresh layer of gauze tapped to it. Boomer was finally given permission to touch it and did so gently, feeling the cotton material and wincing. That was probably going to leave one gnarly scar.

But it had been worth it.

He looked up and watched as the Professor handed a bloody pair of forceps to Ms. Keane. She in turn, handed him the scalpel and some cotton swabs. They were both so intent on their work, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist to them. Boomer understood Bubbles story from the other night a bit better now.

She had been right, the Professor was focused. His full attention was on his baby girl's ankle and it looked like nothing short of the apocalypse could distract him. Hell, maybe not even that. The sight of it made the tense ball of worry in his stomach ease a bit.

"Come on," Boomer blinked his attention back towards Blossom as she finished putting away her tools and began rolling towards the doorway. "You look like you could use some nourishment."

His stomach growled loudly at the mention of food and Boomer felt a blush spread across his face. Figures.

He glanced back at the other gurney and felt a small battle begin to wage in his mind. Bubbles was being operated on right now, was it really okay to go stuff his face when such an important event was going on?

There was also the fact that a small defensive side of him didn't want to lose sight of her. It was sorta weird, but he had been protecting her for the last day and a half. That was bound to leave some lasting impression.

Boomer sighed miserably at the decision he faced but was interrupted by another growl from his stomach.

...He was pretty hungry. It wasn't like he could do much here besides sit anxiously and wait. That wasn't very productive. And he knew Bubbles wouldn't want him to neglect his own health on her account. She had said so the other night.

"Boomer?" Blossom questioned from her spot at the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming." The blonde replied as he eased himself off the gurney carefully.

His legs didn't buckle this time thankfully, but he did feel a bit of a head rush. The feeling passed quick enough and he walked towards the redhead. She nodded at him and rolled out to the lobby. Boomer cast one last look over his shoulder at his slumbering counterpart before following her out.

Neither he nor Blossom noticed the small smile Ms. Keane sported as she covertly watched them leave together. But then again, neither of them really registered the fact that they weren't acting much like grudging partners at the moment. In fact, depending on the way you looked at it, it almost seemed like Blossom was acting more like a big sister taking care of one of her siblings than a rival.

…Of course, neither of them really noticed that fact.

But Ms. Keane made note of it with that secretive smile of hers. Things were starting to change around here, but often times those closest to the change couldn't really see it. Regardless, there was something shifting in the relationships between the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys.

They'd figure it out soon enough.


Butch's POV

"Son of a bitch." Butch muttered as he fingered his swollen lip and glared at his counterpart.

She strutted ahead of him with Mitch the Bitch at her side like nothing was wrong, like they hadn't just had a knockout, drag down fight a minute ago.

Stupid whore, that had been such a cheap shot.

Hit him while he wasn't looking at her, tsch just like a girl. Figures. Heh, well he hoped she enjoyed that black eye he had paid her back with in return. He rather liked the way it made her face even uglier than before.

…bitch…

The fight hadn't even been his fault!

She was the one who threw the first punch! As far as he was concerned, he was totally off the hook. Brick couldn't pin that one down on him. Now, had he egged her on by calling her a worthless skank that couldn't find a footprint if it was quarantined off and labeled for her?

Mayyyybe…

But seriously? She was the one who couldn't take an insult! If she couldn't handle a burn then she should have stayed out of the damn kitchen. Dumbass woman and their dumbass self-control issues.

And they called him violent prone.

Butch drew his hand away from his sore mouth and growled softly to himself as he looked up at the pitch black ceiling. The top of the sewer wasn't all that low, but with only a few hand lamps to illuminate their way, the darkness seemed to close in all around them.

Man, this sucked balls.

They had been out all day, but do you think they had found anything? Nope, not one damn clue! It was infuriating. That might have contributed to his and Butters earlier fight but he still thought she was mostly to blame for that. Hormones or some shit like that.

How had the forty of them not come up with one lead?! It was easy to see the disappointment on everyone's face. They all knew they should have been able to find something. The truth of the matter was that Boomer and his Bubbly counterpart had completely disappeared.

It pissed him off just thinking about it. The chances of finding them today were going to be the best they got. In all likelihood, they wouldn't find any sort of trace tomorrow or the day after…that is if Brick even allowed them to go out and look again at all.

He could be such an ass hat at times. No, scratch that. Most of the time.

Butch frowned again as he kicked a stray rock in his path.

Did he mention this really sucked? Cause it did. The entire day Butch had felt a gnawing urge to punch somebody in the face. It had only mildly been sated by his fight with Butters. You'd think the fight would have helped dispel the feeling, but no. He still felt antsy, and angry,…and worried.

Where the fuck were they? Gah!

This wasn't fair! Why did Boomer have to always go and do stupid shit like this? Making him feel all weird and anxious and stuff. The Mute might have been a pain in the ass from time to time but he was still his brother. He was still one of the only constants Butch had in his life.

And like it or not, that made the little bastard important to him. Gah, it galled him to admit it but…he cared about him.

A grimace pulled at his lips at the thought but no matter how Butch tried to spin it, it was still true. He cared about his brother and the fact that he was completely gone without a trace had upset him greatly.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now? That was the lingering question that had been haunting his mind. Things just felt wrong with no Boomer around. Was he supposed to simply accept the fact that Boy Blue was gone, likely forever?

That was bullshit!

No way in hell Butch was going to settle for something as fucked up as that! His mind was made up, if Brick forbid him to keep searching for Boomer –well to hell with that! He had made a promise, and he never broke a promise.

No matter how long it took or where it led, he was going to find Boomer and put things right.

Before Butch could spend much more time on that train of thought a bright light flooded the tunnel and broke his concentration. The Green Ruff grimaced and raised a hand to block the light from blinding his eyes.

Damn uppity gate guards. Did they seriously have to do this every fucking time? He was pretty sure they got a certain amount of perverse joy from blinding every damn person that entered the base.

Bastards.

"Identify yourselves!" A voice from behind the light called as multiple rounds could be heard chambering.

"It's the search party!" Brick called ahead from his position at the front of the group.

"Who else would it fucking be?" Butch muttered sarcastically under his breath as the lights dimmed down to a tolerable level and the gate was opened for them.

He was in a bad mood, so sue him.

In small groups of three or four, the members of the search party trudged through the makeshift gate and into the lobby. Butch was near the back of the group so by the time he slipped into the common area, most of the troops had scattered off to their respective bunks.

A small crowd had formed in the middle of the lobby however, with Brick and Butters at its center. What the hell was going on there? Probably a damn mission debrief or something stupid like that. Psh, well Brick and Butters could handle that just fine on their own.

He didn't want to be anywhere near the bitch anyway. The urge to hit her filthy, lying mouth might prove too strong to be ignored again and that would lead to nothing good. If he was lucky, he'd just be jumped by a few Resistance soldiers trying to 'protect' their Captain. If he wasn't, then Brick would get involved and it would probably end with him getting double duty chores and a brief trip to the Med Clinic.

Brick might not be as strong as he was, but he did know how to throw a solid right hook.

Butch tried to give the group a wide berth as he trudged off to his quarters but before he could make it more than fifteen feet, Brick's voice called out to him.

"Butch! Come here!" He barked.

With a frustrated sigh, the Green Ruff let his shoulder's slump and slowly turned back around. He made sure to wear the sourest frown he could muster on his face as he joined the group.

Brick stood dead center in the middle, Butters was off to his left, and on her left was Mitch the Bitch. Two other unimportant soldiers completed the circle but Butch didn't care enough to try and remember their names.

"What?" He groused as he stepped into the circle.

Brick nodded to one of the soldiers. "He's got a message for us from the Professor. Spill it."

The solider nervously swallowed as all their eyes focused on him. Butch was surprised he didn't shit himself. I mean, come on, everyone could admit that he, the Green Rowdyruff, did strike a pretty intimidating figure. It was something Butch always strove to encourage, that or raw fear at his presence.

Or was that the same thing?

He mentally shrugged and forgot about it as the man began to speak. "The-uh- the Professor requested that the three of you report to the Med Cli-Clinic immediately upon your arrival back."

"Fine, let's go and get this over with." Brick said bluntly and turned on his heel, not even giving the solider a second look.

Butch plodded after him with Butters following behind.

Hmmm, you know…Brick had been really terse the whole day. Butch had seen the redhead upset on a number of occasions, usually involving himself, but this was different. He didn't think he had ever seen his 'leader' so agitated for so long before. It was kind of interesting. Was Boomer's MIA status actually affecting the Red Ruff as much as it was him?

Now that was some food for thought. Brick, actually feeling something for someone beside himself? Would wonders never cease?

The Med Clinic was quiet as they climbed the steps. Nothing seemed all that desperately urgent to need their immediate attention. It made Butch grumpy. He could have been at his quarters and laying down for a much needed nap right now.

Damn it all.

A sigh worked its way past his lips and Butch frowned at the floor. It was because of this that he ran straight into Brick's back as the redhead stopped dead in his tracks upon entering the Clinic.

"Ack! Dude?! What the hell?!" Butch growled and shoved his brother.

Brick actually stumbled into the room but instead of turning around and giving Butch quite the tongue lashing, he just stared across the room with his mouth hanging agape.

What the fuck was he staring-

A gasp of surprise tore itself from his lungs as he looked around the redhead and saw what had frozen him. There, on the other side of the room, stood two beds. One was occupied by a set of familiar pigtails and the other had an occupant with a mop of unruly blonde hair.

Boomer didn't notice their entrance as he was engrossed in the chessboard sitting on a table across from him. His opponent noticed though. She directed her pink eyes up away from the board and a smile curved her lips.

"Buttercup! You're back!"

Boomer looked up at her exclamation and caught sight of his brothers. Butch wasn't sure entirely what kind of expression took over his face but he was too relieved to really care –well, relieved might have been too strong of a word to– oh fuck it!

His brother was alive!

"Boomer!" Butch cried out with joyously and spread his arms in disbelief.

He hurried over to the bed where his brother rested and gave him a quick look over. The blonde had gotten himself beat up pretty damn good. A huge piece of gauze covered his cheek and it looked like his right arm was trying out for the position of mummified remains with all the bandages wrapped around it. The dark circles framing his eyes completed his 'I've been through Hell' look.

Well, if he had been trying to get the shit beat out of him it looked like he did a damn fine job of it, if Butch did say so himself.

"Where the hell have you been?! We've been looking everywhere for you, you little bastard!" Butch said with a grin splitting his face.

Boomer smiled lightly in return and shrugged a shoulder. "Oh you know, running for my life and crap like that."

"I can see that." Butch chuckled and playfully tussled the blonde's hair. "What the hell did you run into to get you looking even uglier than usual?"

Boomer grimaced and gently touched his battered face. "You know those robots with the drills?"

Butch let out a low whistle. "Damn, no wonder you look like shit. Those things pack a punch."

"Tell me about it." The Blue Ruff grumbled and set his hand back down into his lap.

Despite his injuries and the obvious signs of exhaustion marking his face, Boomer was alive and well…relatively well. That was more than Butch had been hoping for after a dismal day of failed searching. He couldn't contain the grin that had taken over his face but strangely enough, he didn't want to.

He would admit, when it came to expressing happiness, he tended to avoid mushy bullshit like this. It was usually too sugary sweet for him and most definitely not his style. But just this once, he'd make an exception.

Buttercup appeared to have reached the same decision. The cold heart bitch was actually crying as she embraced her sisters.

Her! Crying!

He didn't even know she could feel anything besides spite and general bitchiness. Well, today was just full of unexpected happenings wasn't?

And it looked like it was time to add one more to the list.

Brick had finally regained the ability to move and had made his way over to Boomer's bed in a slow and measured pace. Butch took a step back and allowed Brick to pass him to reach his baby brother.

He watched intently as Brick gazed down at Boomer …and then the unthinkable happened.

Brick actually smiled.

…Now it wasn't what most people would classify as a smile, more like a quirk of the lips, but for Brick this was about as big as running around shouting at the top of his lung with joy. If Butch hadn't been watching the redhead over the last few days, he would have been taken completely by surprise by the action.

He may not have liked to admit it, and he knew Brick certainly didn't, but Boomer was part of their team and things weren't the same without him around. It had affected them more than he had honestly thought it would. This whole missing business had shown the both of them just how much they unconsciously relied on each other.

Yech, and now he was getting sappy. Just great. Next thing you know, he'd be picking flowers and making friendship bracelets. Might as well just put him out of his misery now.

The Green Puff's line of mock suicidal thoughts was interrupted as Brick cleared his throat awkwardly. Butch had never heard such an uncertain sound from the redhead before. This was an event for the record books.

"…It's good to have you back…" Brick said and lightly gave the blonde a pat on the shoulder.

Boomer's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider if he tried. Slowly, a shy smile spread across his lips and Butch felt his own grin grow in response. That quirk to Brick's lips was still there too.

Huh…that was a first. All three of them were smiling together, and for once it wasn't because they had just blown something up.

They were back together again, the Rowdyruff Boys. Maybe not ready for action, but that didn't matter much at the moment. Just the fact that they were whole again was enough for Butch right now.

He reached over and lightly smacked Boomer's uninjured arm. "Don't you ever do something like this again, you hear me? We've been looking for your ass all day! Next time you get lost, leave some kind of trace. It was like trying to find a damn rabbit in a field."

"Or a piece of clean clothing in Butch's room." Brick supplied blithely from his side.

Butch sent him a withering look as Boomer laughed at the analogy. Brick's smile grew a fraction of an inch and after a second, Butch found he really couldn't work up any anger towards the jab. The Green Ruff let out a chuckle of his own.

Who was he to disagree? That was an ordeal.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He said with a smile.

Butch wasn't exactly sure where things would go from here. Hell, he didn't even know to feel at the moment, but he found that it didn't really matter to him right now. The bad mood he had been nursing over the last forty-eight hours was finally washed away and he felt good.

That was enough for him.


A/N: And you all thought Boomer was going to get chewed out! HA! Fooled ya! Man, I was listening to the Epilogue score from Frozen during the last part, it felt so conclusive! Like we were closing a chapter or character arc or something! ;) Plus I just love that soundtrack. Anyways, so this concludes the Blue Arc. Don't worry, there is still more fun and fluffy stuff for them in the future. They don't get the boot just because we're switching. I must say, I had a lot of fun writing Butch's part for this chapter. His turn for mega character development is coming up soon and it's going to be so much fun! Buttercup too for those who are wondering. So yes, that's something to look forward too. Also more inclusion of the Reds because I always feel bad about leaving them out. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Continue onto the next chapter for Reviewer Recognition!