A/N: This is my first story! I have no idea what i'm doing. I'm really not satisfied with this story. Like, at all. But, I can't figure out what I can do to fix it soooooo, here you go anyway. Any advice is definitely appreciated!

He lowered his feet towards the floor, but never touched the ground. Flying was quieter. It left less room for an error like a creaking board or stubbing his foot on something. He didn't want to wake her. He didn't want her to know.

Slowly, he drifted over to their closet, mentally chastising himself. He hated it when he needed it. He hated the idea of Blossom knowing he needed it more. It wasn't often that he found himself struggling to fall into the clutches of sleep, but when he did there was only one thing that helped him.

Gently sliding the closet door open, he slipped inside and glanced back to the sleeping form that still lay in bed. She hadn't moved.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he shifted his focus to the small, inconspicuous box tucked away at the top of the closet, hidden behind a stack of long untouched books. Pushing them to the side, he reached up and grabbed the box. Now all he had to do was get it down and-

As he pulled back, his elbow hit said stack of books, sending them toppling to the floor with a loud 'thud'.

He cursed under his breath as the sound of the bed shifting alerted him to his girlfriend waking up. He didn't have time to hide the box back properly, so with nowhere to go from there, he hid it behind his back as he dropped from the air and poked his head out of the closet just as Blossom turned the lamp on the nightstand on.

She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Butch?" She glanced at the clock that read 2:42 in bright red numbers. "What are you doing up?"

He swallowed roughly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

She blinked slowly, taking a moment to wake up. "What are you doing?" She repeated.

He racked his brain for an excuse. Something to get him out of this. "I was….just, uh….going to….the bathroom." He could feel sweat starting to form as he tugged on the collar of his shirt.

"...You're standing in the closet."

"...I am?"

Blossom let out a far too dramatic sigh as she pushed the blankets back to get up. Butch's heartbeat sped up as he closed the closet door in a panic. She couldn't find out!

His eyes darted from place to place. There was nowhere to hide it that Blossom wouldn't find it, especially now. He knew she would turn the whole closet upside down if she thought he was keeping something from her. He had to come up with something, and fast.

"I swear if you have actually used our closet as a bathroom…"

She was almost to the door. It was now or never.

He pulled the waistband of his pajama pants and dropped the box inside just as Blossom opened the door and flicked the light on.

They both squinted at first, eyes slowly adjusting to the new light. Blossom blinked a few times and gazed around the room with a nervous look, as though she half expected that he really had used the closet as a bathroom. As she saw he hadn't, he saw her shoulders relax somewhat.

"Okay, what are you-" Her question was cut short as she looked at him and saw the square protruding from his pants. She rubbed at her eyes as though exhausted and Butch couldn't help but shift from foot to foot. With another sigh, she started again. "It's almost 3 am. What in the world are you doing?"

"Nothing?" It was worth a try.

"Butch."

He winced slightly at the tone. It was rare that he heard her 'for-the-love-of-all-that-is-holy-I-just-want-to-rest-and-you're-stopping-me-from-that' voice.

"Nothing, really." He tried again. "We should both get back to bed." He put his hands on her shoulders and gave a kind smile before leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "You've got a busy day in the morning-" As he went to pull away, she grabbed his elbow, making him freeze in place, close to her.

"Butch?" She started gently, with a grin.

"Yes?"

"What's in your pants?"

He barely got his mouth open.

"Don't." The grin was gone.

He closed his mouth again and stepped back a bit, nervously biting at his lip. He was going to have to face this sooner or later anyway, he had just been hoping that it would have been later. He let out a sigh and dropped his head.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Butch-"

"Please?" At the sight of him begging, her eyes widened in surprise, just a bit.

"I promise."

Still biting his lip, he tugged at his waistband and took the box out of his pants. His eyes flicked around the room as he handed it to her, not wanting to face her.

He could hear the box being opened and the pause as Blossom processed just what it was she was looking at. He finally chanced a look up as he caught her setting the box to the side out of the corner of his eye. He could feel his face warming as she unfolded the old, green cloth.

He watched as she squinted at it, turning it over in her hands. After a moment of studying it, she finally spoke. "I don't get it."

"I just," He paused and cleared his throat. "I just like to sleep with it sometimes."

She squinted again as she looked back at the cloth. Gears were turning in her head as she took in the new information. He could practically see the light bulb turn on as she suddenly looked up at him. A smile was slowly starting to spread across her face.

"Sooooo," She handed the cloth back to him, which he took and folded over his arms. "You've got a blankie?" She giggled.

His face burned brighter at that. "It's not a 'blankie' and you said you wouldn't laugh!" He snapped, eyes narrowing.

She giggled again. "Butch, that so cute!"

He glared at the floor, humiliation flooding his body. He knew he shouldn't have told her. He knew it wouldn't have ended well.

"Oh, come on." She put a hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. "I'm only teasing." She was still smiling, but it was kinder now.

"You said you wouldn't laugh." He tried again, eyes still narrowed.

At the sight of just how hurt he actually was, Blossom backed off, it being her turn to nervously glance around the room. "I-" She fumbled with the end of her shirt. "I'm sorry."

He slowly nodded as an uncomfortable silence fell between them.

"How long have you had it?" Always wanting to know more information.

With another sigh, Butch figured that tonight couldn't get any more embarrassing. "Since I was a kid." He glanced down at the old cloth as ran his thumb over the fabric. "I was a gift from my dads."

"HIM and Mojo?"

"Yeah." He smiled to himself at the memory. "They weren't really sure what a bunch of little boys would like for their birthdays, so they robbed the whole toy store." He smirked at her when she narrowed her eyes. "Which is wrong, I know." He rolled his with a laugh. "It was one of the things they'd managed to grab and I just sort of…." He trailed off, waving with one hand, trying to find the right words. "I don't know. I just like it."

"I still think it's cute."

"That's the problem!" He groaned, running a hand down his face. "I'm a grown man. The roughest of the Rowdys. I help save the town from monsters the size of buildings. This-" He held the worn blanket up to show his point. "Is humiliating. Can you imagine what people would think if they found out I still had this? Brick and Boomer would never let me hear the end of it!"

Blossom just stared at him, seemingly calculating the best thing she could say to help the situation. But, he knew it was no use. His secret was out, at least to his girlfriend, and he'd have to live knowing that she knew the most embarrassing thing about him.

"It's kind of hot, you know?" Was apparently what she deemed as the best thing to say in this situation.

He couldn't help the snort that forced its way out of him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I mean it!" She chuckled to herself. "A tough guy with a secret soft side, that's attractive!"

He laughed to himself. A more comfortable silence fell this time.

"Do you sleep with your blankie often or….?"

"It's not a blankie and no." Blossom smirked a bit but didn't say anything. "Just when I can't sleep.

"Makes sense." Butch smiled as she gazed up at the ceiling in thought. "Having something that brings a sense of familiarity would allow a person to rest easier." She looked back to him with a smile."Plenty of people hold onto old comforts."

"Oh yeah?" He smirked. "What about you?"

She paused at that. He had been expecting her to deny having any such thing and he could use that to point out how it was weird, but….that pause.

"Bloss?" He tilted his head as his smirk fell.

She folded her arms as she looked like she was considering something. All at once, she turned on heel and walked out of the closet. Bringing his blanket with him, he followed her back to their bed where he found her bent over and reaching underneath it.

A second later, she stood back up, holding an old shoebox. He could see a light blush forming on her face as she sat down on the bed and motioned for him to join her. Once he was situated beside her, she flipped the box open and pushed it closer to him.

He gazed inside, reaching for the collection of pictures. Her with the professor, her and her sisters, holidays, family time, snapshots from her life, moments she treasured. He grinned at the cute little girl in the pictures that was smiling back at him. Being gentle with the old photos, he continued to flip through them. There were some from when she was older. Pictures of her being sworn in as mayor, her and her sisters still fighting monsters (now with three other heroes occasionally being seen), her and a certain handsome black-haired devil, things that meant a lot to her.

He glanced up at her and noticed at she was smiling at the pictures as well.

Very carefully, as to not damage them, he sat the back in the box, looking at the thing that remained. An old, faded ribbon.

Taking it into his hands, he turned it over and over, trying to figure out why it was with her pictures. Looking up he found her glancing away and wringing her hands.

"It's my old bow. The one I used to always wear as a kid."

"Oh."

He ran his thumb across the soft, worn fabric. "You kept it?"

"Yeah. It...it's sentimental."

"I never considered you to be the sentimental type."

"Really?" She grinned and tilted her head at him, making him shrug. "I guess I never considered you would be either."

He looked down at his blankie that lay in his lap, feeling considerably less embarrassed than he had before. He blinked as her hand reached out and was placed over his.

"It's okay, you know?"

He sighed. "Yeah. I know." He smiled genuinely grateful at her.

"Well," She pulled away, taking her ribbon back from him and placing it back in the box. "It's almost 3 in the morning and I'm busy tomorrow."

He stretched his arms out, letting out a loud yawn as she slide it back under the bed. "I guess it is pretty late." He shifted on the bed, sliding himself, and his blankie, back under the covers, being joined by her shortly there after. "Hey, Bloss?" He asked as she flicked the lamp off.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."