Enjoy.

Mitch pushed his fries towards Buttercup.

She flicked it away, cringing as it soared off the table and landed in an oily heap. She hadn't meant to hit it that hard.

"Seriously?" he sighed.

A herd of shoppers glanced over into the food court and Buttercup flipped her green hood up. They weren't paying too much attention now, but the second someone raised their voice, her picture would be all over the internet.

"What." She replied. "It's not like I did it on purpose."

"We know," Bubbles said with a smile. "It's fine, really."

Buttercup felt her mouth twist into a tight, bitter frown. "As in the royal 'we'? Because last I checked, you and Mitch weren't one person." It irked her. She was feeling like a stranger after weeks apart from Mitch, but he and Bubbles hadn't missed a beat. They'd probably gone on dates and chatted all night, meanwhile, he'd all but vanished from her life.

"Um…" Bubbles hugged her arms around the torso of her white sun dress. "I didn't really mean that Mitch and I were one person or anything; it's just because we're close. Oh! But I'm sure you two are close as well…I didn't mean that Mitch and I know each other better just because we're in a relationship and we kiss and stuff…" her voice trailed off and she was having a difficult time maintaining eye contact. "But you've known him longer. And no one would've liked that; I shouldn't have spoken for him," she murmured.

"You two really need to remember that I'm sitting right here," Mitch interjected. "Especially you Bubbles." He tilted his head, aiming to glimpse her face hidden behind the curtain of blonde curls. It was clear to Buttercup that he was trying to be mindful. Mitch was a handsy person by nature, especially around her, but he seemed to add importance to something as simple as sweeping Bubbles' hair away from her face.

The effort he was using to crane his neck made him look ridiculous. Like he had a cramp he couldn't quite get out. The thought caused a smirk to dance across Buttercup's lips.

"If you'd asked directly," Mitch continued, "I would have said that it's not even an issue." He shrugged. "You were calming down a situation. It's nice. Besides, it makes me feel like," he waved his hand between the two of them, "like you're into this as much as I am."

Bubbles nodded and tucked some hair behind her ears. "…I didn't forget you were here by the way."

"I don't doubt that for a second. Huh. Doesn't that say something?"

Bubbles paused. "That you're a tiny bit… arrogant?"

His mouth stretched into a wide smile. "That you're trustworthy Bubbles."

She chuckled. "Oh." That short burst of laughter sounded as a high-pitched jingle, similar to wind chimes in a slight breeze. Buttercup had decided that it was simply another one of Bubbles' powers, to have a voice that could charm hearts. A regular Snow-freaking-white.

She glanced between Buttercup and Mitch, then at the table. "Okay. We need fries. I'll be right back!"

Mitch nodded and grabbed his drink, taking a long sip while Buttercup leant back in her chair. She was prepared; let the lecture begin.

"So what's up with you?" Mitch asked. "You're clearly in a mood."

She raised an eyebrow. That was a surprise. The last time they'd spoken, he'd told her to treat Bubbles with more respect. That, coupled with the month-long silence, and she hadn't expected him to show anything that resembled fondness.

Buttercup shrugged. "I'm fine. Just not a fan of witnessing all this." She waved in the general direction of the couple. "You guys are making me hear things I can't un-hear," she said, only partially joking.

Mitch snorted. "Dramatic. I'm sure you know where the exit is."

"I do." She didn't budge. It had been three days since her super strength had reappeared. The number of busted hinges and cracked table tops had tripled since that moment, so the Professor had shooed her out of the house while new furniture was being delivered. Controlling her ability was not like riding a bike.

When she made no effort to leave, Mitch just nodded. "Alright. Just hang with us as long as you need."

He made it sound like she had nowhere else to go. Even if it was true, she didn't appreciate him pointing it out. "Are you sure you won't regret that offer? I mean you've been ignoring my calls for the past four weeks. I'm guessing you and Bubbles really appreciate your alone time."

Mitch simply raised an eyebrow at that comment. A second later he placed his drink down and fished out his phone. A minute or two of tapping and then, "you didn't call me once."

"And you didn't notice until just now." She'd gone on her first mission in months and he hadn't said a freaking word. Why should she call first?

"Okay," the word was drawn out. He was clearly trying to dampen his irritation. "I get it. We've both been slacking lately." Mitch turned to watch Bubbles. She was approaching quickly with two sets of fries and a huge grin. "I've been a bit preoccupied."

"Seems to me like you still are," she shot back. Crap. Even she'd heard the bitterness in that comment.

When she was a kid, Buttercup had quickly noticed that people found her difficult. Apparently she said too much – to the wrong people, at the wrong time. Apparently she just wasn't approachable or understanding like her sisters. At a football game, Ms. Keane had once said that she wasn't a 'team player'. Buttercup had insisted that she was. After all, they all wanted to win, and she'd single-handedly carried the team to victory.

Mitch was the only person who'd made her feel like she wasn't such a pain to have around. He was her only friend. And now they were being pulled apart.

In what way was that fair?

Mitch dragged his eyes away from Bubbles. "You know I would have picked up if you'd called." In the responding silence, he ran a hand over his head. "I haven't been great at keeping in contact, but you're still my best friend Buttercup. I wouldn't have ignored you."

Buttercup bent her head until it was parallel to the table and sipped from her drink. "Uh huh." He was embarrassing her, and it was only the two of them.

"Guys," Bubbles squealed. She swooped into her seat and placed the food down, taking a moment to scoot towards Mitch. "I was speaking to the cashier just now, and he said that he's been trying to get an invite to Princess' ball for over a month. A month! We were so lucky to be invited!"

Buttercup craned her neck in search of the cashier. "Where is he? The guy can take my ticket."

Bubble's smile faltered. "You're really not interested? It won't be as fun to go alone."

"Aren't you going with Mitch?" Buttercup pulled her chips closer, only half-listening.

"Uh, he doesn't really… no," she murmured.

Buttercup shrugged in response; there was nothing to say. She hadn't actually expected Mitch to go. He just didn't have the money to play dress up for an upper class event. Sometimes Buttercup wondered if Bubbles forgot that her boyfriend was a trailer park kid.

"Sorry Bubbles, I just don't dance." He said by way of explanation. "But I know you'll have fun without me."

Buttercup snorted. Maybe Bubbles didn't consider his money troubles because he made such an effort to avoid the topic.

"What?" Mitch asked, facing Buttercup. His expression was as cool as ever. If it wasn't for his stiff posture, she might have missed his embarrassment entirely.

"Nothing. It's not my scene either," Buttercup pointed out, redirecting their attention. "Bubbles, you're the only person falling for Princess' schemes. The girl just wants her face in the news. That's the only reason she's throwing a party – and the only reason she's inviting us." Buttercup stuffed her hands into her jean pockets. "…Using such a weak excuse too."

'New lease on life?' It was just a cry for attention. Even as a kid, Princess' desperation had caused Buttercup second hand embarrassment.

Bubbles gave a mini shrug. "I don't really think so. I mean, it's a masked ball… if she wanted to be seen with popular people, why would she cover their faces?"

Buttercup flicked her chip back onto her plate. "Obviously word travels. We don't literally need to be seen Bubbles." She really had her air-headed moments.

"Isn't Princess throwing the ball to thank her 'mysterious saviour'?" Mitch interjected before feelings were hurt. "She simply looks like a girl who's trying to impress her crush. Butch did save her –"

"Joint effort," Buttercup snapped. Why was everyone cropping her out of that story? She had the crooked nose as proof for goodness sake. "And what's so great about Butch anyway?" she muttered.

The Ruff, who had been eager to leave her presence, was now camped out in their home, refusing to go without his super strength. As if she could just flick a switch and give it back. A few months ago Buttercup hadn't even believed in the counterpart connection—Blossom had made her feel like a complete idiot for considering its existence.

Even the Professor wasn't too helpful. He'd guessed that when the girl's powers had vanished their physiologies became unstable and 'open to possibilities'. After listening to Buttercup's stories about her super strength's appearance, he theorised that there were emotional triggers for each counterpart to activate the connection.

But there were still so many questions.

The girls were the first of their kind, so everything they did was trial and error; that's basically what the Professor had spouted, he was just too proud to use those exact words. In Buttercup's eyes, the puffs were on their own.

She fished out her phone and quickly checked the time. Almost an hour had passed since she'd got here. Mitch and Bubbles were now murmuring amongst themselves. Buttercup caught words like 'special' and 'nice' and decided it was time for her to leave. "Alright, I'm going."

"Already?" Bubbles asked, instantly sitting up like a job candidate at an interview. She leant away from Mitch, just a bit, but it occurred to Buttercup that the two must have been reluctant to touch for an entirely different reason than what she'd suspected. Something to do with her.

Bubbles smiled and that's when Buttercup realised they'd been trying not to make her uncomfortable.

In her annoyance she hadn't even noticed. Or cared. Buttercup pushed off the table. "Yeah."

It was probably Bubbles' idea — the 'minimal touching' rule. Mitch, as cool as he was, would have found it amusing to watch Buttercup squirm.

"I know three's a crowd," she scraped her chair back and left. It was confirmed. Being around Bubbles really did make her feel like a shitty person.