I'm back! And a touch later actually. I meant to post this yesterday but I ended up spending most of the day playing video games with my brother instead. No regrets, but I will say sorry on being a day late. Anyways, here is the next chapter and if you follow Favor I'll be posting a new chapter there today as well, after I post an extra for this story so be on the lookout for that too! I have officially finished my degree so I finally have time (and energy) to write again as well! To the point that I wrote and did more story planning in the past week and a half since my last final than I did in the two months prior to it. Still need to figure out a new schedule but I will be writing again so I'll hopefully have a nice set of buffer chapters soon so I post more regularly again. Now, without further ado, here it is. Enjoy!
Thank you for all the kudos, follows, and comments as usual!
"FREEDOM!" Butch yelled at the tops of his lungs as he ran for the front gate. The second his feet were past it he took off with way too much force, too excited to properly control his X. He could hear Blossom screech his name, Brick cussing him out, and the blues whining about the gust. He ignored them all.
They'd get over it soon enough. Final's week was always hell for Butch, his X getting more and more pent up as he forced himself to stay and focus more than usual. The second he was done he always blasted off for the forests just outside of town to just get away from everything. Blossom had made him take his phone this time though, just in case. He was gunna ignore everything but emergency calls though.
After all, he was free! Free from school, free from class, free from studying what other people told him to, free from people and walls. Most of all though, he was free from all the annoyances! Just in the nick of time too. Butch was sure that one more day with Merrick's pity fest and he woulda snapped. Again. He seriously nearly asked Blossom to step in and he never did that.
Summer break now though! God, Butch couldn't remember a time he'd needed this break so badly. He had no plans, nothing, and he was more than happy to keep it that way, winging it the whole summer long. Even then though, he refused to see, hear, or deal with Merrick. If the guy crossed his path, Butch had decided he'd high tail it the other way, hopefully before the guy saw. Last thing he needed was to lose it again and make Blossom really make him regret it.
Buttercup hadn't been talking to the guy but Butch decided he needed a break from her too anyways, which was why he was headed straight for the forest this year and not swinging by home or grabbing some food. He didn't wanna chance her following or running into him in the city. If he talked to her right now...
Whelp, wouldn't be the first time he'd used her body to rearrange the city.
Avoiding the city meant avoiding that though, as well as letting the batteries recharge.
Butch wondered how long he'd rough it out there this year. Last year he spent the first week of break there. Maybe this year he'd spend two.
Eh, he'd leave when he felt like it. Why worry beyond that?
"Ugh! My hair was perfect Butch! I'm remembering this for the new semester you know! I will make you regret that!" Bubbles whined after the trailing green that was Butch while she attempted to fix her hair. She noticed that Blossom was zipping around making sure the few students that had been too close were okay, a scowl on her face every time she glanced in the direction Butch went. Seemed like more than one puff was going to be making him regret it.
"Seriously. He needs to stop that habit. He does this every year. Swear he's doing it just to annoy people," Boomer commented as he dusted off his uniform. He'd been a dear and blocked most of the dust kicked up from hitting her. She really did have the best boyfriend ever.
"Yeah well, this year he has Blossom to deal with. I ain't bailing him out this time," Brick grumbled as he glared at the new cracks in the concrete just outside the gates.
Boomer winced at that. "He finds out he has that waiting for him he might just not come back. You know what he's like once schools out."
Brick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so don't tell him. He probably wouldn't see the text anyways."
Boomer snorted. "Seriously."
"Wait, what's he like? I know he always takes off but I guess I never really wondered why," Bubbles asked. Brick shrugged and glanced at Boomer before walking off, leaving it to him to explain.
"Well, you know we don't do good with closed spaces right? Usually school is okay, we know that we can just catch up the next day if we really need to get out, but we can't just ditch finals. Gets to our heads a bit, Butch more than Brick or me. We all need a kinda recharge after. Butch always heads for the forest so he doesn't have to deal with any rules, people, or buildings. Last year he came back after a week smelling and looking like a hobo. Who knows how bad it'll be this year."
"Huh, I didn't know that. Is there anything I can do?"
Boomer smiled at her. "Keep our date for tomorrow in the books and that's all I need. I don't feel the urge or twitch nearly as bad as Butch or Brick, but that's mostly because I'm more of a people person and so I destress a little during the week by being extra social."
"Is that why you were always dragging me to talk to Mike or Mitch?"
"Yeah, sorry. I needed people or I woulda gone insane. Guess I should have explained."
Bubbles shook her head. "Its fine. I know now. I just can't believe I didn't know before now. We've been watching you three for years and it never crossed my mind why you three were different during finals."
Boomer rubbed the back of his neck with a slight wince. "Yeah, we tried not to let too many people know. Didn't want them making it worse by hounding us or trying to help. Bloss knows though. She cornered Brick years ago about it and demanded an answer. She's lucky he didn't give her a few third degree burns for it. She did it the second day of finals."
Bubbles frowned. "Yikes. Okay, so don't do anything is what you're saying?"
"I mean, you can do whatever you want to me," Boomer waggled his eyebrows at her and Bubbles couldn't help but giggle and shake her head. She felt her cheeks heat up slightly. "But yeah, don't do anything overbearing I guess? Butch'll bolt through the roof, Brick would rampage, and I'd probably short circuit the block."
Bubbles winced. "Alrighty then. Not doing anything different. Got it."
Boomer laughed. "Don't stress about it. It isn't nearly as bad as it used to be and it gets easier each year. Brick thinks we shouldn't have too much of an issue once teenagedom is over. Butch just had an added stress this year."
"Yeah...about that..."
Boomer raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me you're continuing this whole thing. Honestly, the more you try and push the situation the more Butch is gunna pull away. Or break something. Never know with him."
Bubbles pouted. "I am not pushing. I was helping Buttercup get justice and Butch to realize just how much he cares for her. But no, I'm not continuing it. Buttercup and I want to pull the plug. Plus, Blossom said he confessed. Although, she then said justice had been dealt thanks to Butch so it's just being left at that."
Boomer raised an eyebrow before thinking on it. "Thank god for that. It's been painful watching this whole thing. Gotta ask though, does Merrick know about this whole thing yet?"
Bubbles laughed nervously as she looked away. "We're…working on that. In fact, the loose plan is to just let things die off over the summer. The only problem is how to fix things between Buttercup and Butch now. Any ideas?"
Boomer hummed in thought for a second before shrugging. "Let them duke it out like always I guess."
"Oh but I don't like that answer," Bubbles whined causing Boomer to laugh.
"Sorry Bubs."
"What I miss?" Buttercup asked as she touched down just next to them, an eyebrow raised in Blossom's direction. She was scowling still while she vented to Brick who nodded along, clearly not really paying attention.
Bubbles startled. "Buttercup! Oh my gosh don't sneak up like that!" She let out a small sigh of relief though. Seemed like Buttercup hadn't been paying attention and hadn't heard her conversation with Boomer. She'd probably done that on purpose thinking they were being affectionate like usual.
"Yo, not much, just the usual. Butch made a mess. Bloss ain't happy," Boomer said with a careless shrug. Then again, this wasn't really anything new. Butch did have a habit of making a mess and it always made Blossom upset and/or angry.
"Wow. Good luck to Butchie boy. Leader girl's gunna fry his ass for that."
Bubbles sighed while Boomer snickered. "Oh, we've heard. Please let me be there for it. Or better yet, record it."
Buttercup gave him a smile that was mostly teeth making her look way too scary in Bubbles's opinion. "I'll definitely make sure to record it."
"Sweet!"
Bubbles shook her head. She just wouldn't ever understand why watching Butch get beat to a pulp was so entertaining. That said, Bubbles definitely saw merit in driving him crazy the next time she saw him by chattering on and on about hair. Hopefully if she really, really drove it home he'd get the hint and make sure that next time he got stir crazy he made sure she was nowhere nearby.
Scratch that. She'd make sure he got the hint one way or another.
To say Brick wasn't happy at that moment...was a huge understatement. It was literally day one of break and yet here he was, stuck deep cleaning the house. Why? Because the monster they got rid of earlier that morning had exploded guts all over them and they'd tracked enough gunk through the house that Bellum nearly had a heart attack when she saw. Not only that, but with Butch still off being a mountain man and Boomer disappearing to have dates with Bubbles whenever he could, it was no surprise that Bellum's freak out occurred when only he was home. So yay, he got assigned the big job.
Brick groaned and he flopped onto his back on top of the roof. He was definitely killing Boomer when he got home. It was that idiot's fault there was goopy gunk all over the roof. Brick told him not to fly over the house, but did he listen? No! And it was fucking hot as hell outside. Brick could see literal steam coming off his body. Much more of this and he'd overheat again.
Nothing ever helped him this time of year either. At least Blossom could bundle up and use heat pads. Brick was already wearing only shorts and a light sleeveless shirt, both of which were sticking to him grossly. Hell, he hadn't even put on his hat, his hair getting thrown up into the messiest bun he'd ever seen just so it'd stay off his damned neck. Short of stripping down naked and diving in an ice bath, there wasn't much more he could do.
Well...Brick guessed he could get out of the sun and indoors. That might help. Plus, it was Boomer's fault that the roof was a mess. He should be the one to clean it up.
Deciding that's what he'd do, Brick floated up lazily and made his way to the edge of the roof. He was nearly there too before something small whacked him in the back of the head.
Already annoyed, Brick whirled around to fry whatever the damned thing was only to see nothing. And no one. Which made sense, he was on the roof. Still, something had definitely hit him in the head. He turned on his X-ray, cause why not, and still didn't see anything. Which, again, made sense. He was on a flat as hell fucking roof. So, what the fuck hit him in the head?!
Rubbing at the spot and scanning around for a bit longer Brick had no choice but to just shrug it off. He was pretty sure he hadn't imagined it but with the heat and all...maybe?
Whatever. He had a house to clean.
Fuck. It was his turn to do the shopping today too and Bellum said she wouldn't be back so it was up to him to make himself food.
Damn it all. It was day one!
Bubbles huffed as she glared at her phone. It had already been almost a week and Brat was still being annoying! If Bubbles hadn't had this date planned she'd be taking off for Citiesville right now!
But she had this date and Boomer was really stressed and he did say this would help. So she'd ignored Brat. Again. But only for one more day! After today it no holding back!
"Hey, you good?" Boomer asked as he returned with ice creams for them both.
Bubbles quickly beamed at him. "Of course! Now, what flavor did you decide to surprise me with?"
House was clean. Mostly. Brick had texted Boomer about the roof but hadn't gotten a reply. Not that he was expecting one. Boomer was hard to get a hold of when he was on a date with Bubbles. Something Brick definitely needed to talk to him about. There was such a thing as too obsessed after all.
Sighing, Brick threw on a clean, not sweat drenched outfit not much different than the last one. He was tempted to take a quick ice shower but shopping needed to be done. No point in cooling down just to heat back up again. That would just piss him off. He'd take one when he got back.
Having locked the front door when he came back in from cleaning the roof, Brick decided to just take the window. He opened it and flew outside before turning to close it again only to be drenched in water.
Looking up fast enough to give almost himself whiplash, Brick didn't hesitate to activate his X-ray vision and scan above him. He saw a bucket on the edge of the roof and frowned at it. It was the one he'd been using to clean up earlier, but he was pretty sure he'd left it in the center of the roof...and he'd left it there empty. So how the hell...
Brick still couldn't see anything else. Frowning he couldn't help but scratch his head. Was the heat getting to his head? It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. More than once during an overheat he'd hallucinate but usually he could pick things apart when he was lucid enough and he felt pretty lucid. He definitely wasn't overheating, he'd stopped steaming even. Which meant none of this was making sense.
Brick decided that just looking wasn't enough. In a flash of red he zoomed all over the house, inside and out, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He still saw nothing.
Huh. Guess he really was just losing it. Whatever. He had food to buy. At least the zooming around had helped him dry off. A little bit of heat, not too much, and he was dry enough that he didn't have to think about changing. Again. For now. If he didn't hurry though he'd be sweat drenched again in no time.
Brick turned and took off for the store. He'd figure out what was going on after buying food, and after his ice shower damn it!
"Blossom! Are you still home?!" The professor yelled up from the lab.
Blossom put her finger on her spot before looking at the door.
"I am. Did you need something?" She yelled back down to him. Bubbles was out on a date and Buttercup was who knows where meaning Blossom'd decided to take some quiet time to read on the sofa. Not something she could do very often. And her only chance to do it was now since starting tomorrow she'd be jumping into planning charity events.
"If you don't mind I could use a hand! This one machine is- no, wait, don't-!"
There was a loud serious of metallic clanging noises before the professor let out a long, deep sigh.
"Never mind. Blasted thing just fell apart."
Blossom shrugged at that before going back to her book. The professor had said he was only going to be working on a few small projects so she wasn't too worried. If he ended up needing her help again though she'd consider it. Depending on what exactly he was working on.
Blossom did not want another machine mishap. Nope. Wasn't going to happen!
Done with shopping, Brick couldn't help but groan as he left the store. The air conditioning had been nice and outside was definitely not. Still, not like he could just sit inside the store all day. He had to go home at some point.
Brick adjusted the bags one last time, making sure everything was pretty snug and wasn't going to fall out. He still remembered his first grocery run. He'd lost most of it on the fly back. A lesson learned the hard way. He'd tried to coach his brothers but it still took them several grocery runs of their own before they avoided losing anything annoyingly. Sometimes he really wished he could-
An apple hit Brick on the side of the head and he turned, X-ray vision going on immediately again. This time though, instead of seeing nothing, Brick caught a glimmer of gold.
Wait. Gold? And mysterious things happening that made no sense? Unless someone had done it? Someone who he kept not being able to see?
Banger. He could manipulate light and was quick.
Brick dropped the groceries as his vision went red. Those fuckers. He was going to kill them.
He looked around and finally managed to catch sight of them.
"Rights! You assholes better get back here before I kill you!"
Brick took off in a flash of red, groceries completely forgotten.
Man, she really needed to do this more often. Chilling at a skate park with the guys was great. Not that Buttercup didn't enjoy hanging with the girls, but things were so much simpler with the guys. There was no back and forth about things, no debating what they should do, no hounding her about how messy her hair was. It was great!
"So, who bets Butch won't be back before the end of the month?" Mitch said from where he sat on the edge of the bowl. Mike laughed while Harry shook his head.
"That's like a good two weeks. I bet it takes him three this year. He looked so done this past week."
Buttercup felt a pang at that but shrugged it off. "Who cares? If he wants to mountain it up I say have at it. As long as when he does come back, he doesn't come anywhere near me until after he showers. He always smells like bear piss or something afterwards."
Mitch and Harry laughed at that.
"I mean, I guess he has to keep the animals away somehow, right? He isn't actually one of them, despite how he acts," Mike said with a snicker.
Buttercup joined in. He really was pretty animal like sometimes. Especially when it came to following his instincts. Lately though she'd noticed he'd been holding back, which was weird and so unlike him. It left her feeling off too.
Chilling with the guys though was normalizing thankfully. Buttercup decided they needed to make this a thing. She opened her mouth to say so only to have a cackling green and blue pair of blurs zoom over the park.
Banger and Brawdy? In Townsville? The hell-
"You fuckers are getting melted down when I get a hold of you!" A red blur yelled as it zoomed by.
Buttercup blinked after the trailing energy streams. Well. That was probably a problem.
"Uh, not good? Shouldn't you be going to stop that?" Mike asked. The other two were watching the fading streaks too.
Buttercup thought on that. She really was enjoying herself here and she really didn't want to work anymore on her first day off. Bubbles would be impossible to get ahold of though. Blossom on the other hand...all she was doing was reading at home. Something she could do at any time! What would the big deal be if she had to put down the book for just like 30 minutes? Plus, she was a red! They lived and breathed discipline and all that shit, Blossom more than the others even.
Yup. Buttercup was gunna call Blossom.
Blossom sighed as she flew through the city. This was not how she'd envisioned today going, not at all! Why Buttercup couldn't have followed them and stopped it she had no idea! Instead, here she was flying like crazy through the city trying to find these three before they damaged something.
Words would be had with Blane. Very not happy words.
Finally, Blossom caught the sound of yelling on the wind. Rolling her eyes at the obvious anger in Brick's voice, Blossom turned sharply and started heading for where they were, kicking her speed up to top gear as she did so. It didn't take long before she caught sight of them, especially with Brawdy and Banger heading straight her direction. They weren't looking at her, instead looking back at Brick and laughing.
Oh, these idiots! Making a mess of her town on their first day off?! Couldn't they have let her have at least one day off?!
Not feeling too bad about what she was about to do, Blossom aimed straight for the incoming rights. Without hesitating she shot straight up, waited not even half a second, and then came straight down, knees first, onto Brawdy's back sending him flying for the ground. She frowned when he hit the ground with enough force to crack it but this part of town was pretty empty and so at least nobody had been there to get hurt. Not that she'd have let that happen.
"Bro!" Banger yelled as he pulled up short. Not giving him time to figure out what happened, Blossom shot over to him and as he turned around landed a full force punch to his gut. He went flying through the air out of the edge of town, which they'd been right next to, and ended up landing in a crater in the wilderness there.
Blossom squinted. Yup. She missed the forest. Good. She would have felt horrible if she'd ruined the trees and Bubbles wouldn't have let her hear the end of it either.
"Shit."
Blossom frowned before turning to see Brick floating not far away, eyes wide as he looked at her.
"Hello Brick. Funny way to spend your first day off isn't it?"
"Look, I definitely didn't start this. Those two fuckers were-"
"You know, normally I'd respect that you're a red and I shouldn't say this, but right now? Language Brick."
Brick winced at that. "Blossom I-"
"Brawdy, Banger. You two have three seconds to be front and center before I make you. One. Two."
Blossom didn't make it to three before, in a flash of blue and green, Brawdy and Banger were floating right in front of her, both not meeting her eyes.
"Well?" Blossom asked.
They were both silent so Blossom turned, eyebrow raised to Brick. He shoved his hands in his pockets and also avoided her eyes.
"They threw stuff at me," Brick all but mumbled.
Children. She was dealing with children.
Blossom turned back to the rights. "This is so ridiculous that I honestly don't even know what to say. I'm calling Blane later for sure but if I find out one of you decide to pull something like this again then I promise you'll be wishing a call to Blane is all I would be doing. We won the competition. There was appropriate punishment handed out for the fiasco that happened at the end of it. If you two really aren't happy with that then find some way to work that out that does not involve you causing mayhem in my city. In case you forgot, the Powerpuff Girls are here to deal with any threats to Townsville, monster or otherwise, and I'm not afraid to show you exactly what our views are on whatever this whole thing was. Now leave before I change my mind and we all regret it."
Banger and Brawdy shared a look but didn't need to be told twice. They turned and immediately began high tailing it for their own city. Blossom glared at them and watched, making sure they actually left, before turning her glare on Brick. He still wasn't meeting her eyes.
"I don't think I need to say anything but I'd suggest thinking long and hard about how many of my patrol shifts you should cover to make this up to me."
Blossom waited for a little bit but Brick still wouldn't look at her. Huffing, Blossom decided she'd had enough and took off for home in a flash of pink. If he didn't cover the next five of her shifts she swore she'd make him regret this.
Brick groaned as he finally finished putting everything away. He'd ended up getting fast food after the whole fiasco. He'd known he'd have no energy, motivation really, to cook after everything. He'd been right. He let himself fall face first into the couch. After a few minutes, he decided this would be his new home. He wasn't gunna move from this spot. It was now his spot and screw everyone else!
The sound of a door opened.
"Yo bro. You good? Saw the news and gotta say, I was surprised to see you on it," Boomer said as he came in and sat in one of the armchairs. Brick didn't move or bother making a sound. "Pretty crap way to get Bloss to realize you like her though."
Brick lifted his head slightly to glare at Boomer. "Did you clean that fucking roof?"
"Roof? Oh! The goop. Yeah, I took care of it. Wasn't really much left. Your text made me think there was a lot more."
Brick grunted and let his head fall back down. He should really go take a shower now actually. He could smell his own sweat and it was gross. Plus, ice water sounded really nice right about then. Maybe an ice bath even.
"So...Blossom and you huh?"
Brick sighed loudly but clearly Boomer wasn't going to let this drop. He pushed over onto his back and glared up at the ceiling.
"Who says I want Blossom to realize?"
"Come on man, we aren't still doing this are we? Anyone with half a brain can see how you feel about her now. You've pretty much stopped caring about hiding it. Hell, you let her rant about Butch right after school let out. Most years you barely tolerate being around us even after finals."
Brick had been pretty careless. Not that it mattered. Apparently, everyone was finding out anyways. Everyone except Blossom. Which kinda sucked now that he thought about it, in more ways than one. Still…
"How would her realizing even change anything?"
"...please tell me that wasn't a legit question cause bro, if it was..."
Brick groaned as he sat up final and turned to look at Boomer. "What, you think her and I could be a thing? Be real Boom. It's me and her we're talking about."
"Dude, I'm a thing with Bubs and you don't see the media or anybody else caring all that much. Hell, they even seem to like us ruffs lately even. All the shit they come out with is good at least."
Brick sighed. "You really think that's cause they actually like us? It's the puffs. They won't go against the puffs. No one in this city with half a brain would. They all owe them too much. Us though? Nah, we still owe them. We won't ever not owe them."
"Well screw them then. You're legit the only guy in this city able to keep up with the pink puff and even I can tell she's thankfully we're on the good side now. She lets you actually organize the patrols. Blossom, the control freak, let's you have control of something. Says a lot I think."
Fuck. Patrols. He'd need to reorganize them now. How many should he cover? Eight? Nine? Would she think that was enough? Shit.
"Look Boom, the media, hell, the city won't like it."
Boomer groaned loudly. "Fuck the city on this. We're the fucking Rowdyruff Boys. Holding back ain't our style, especially when it comes to the puffs. Plus, like you said, they wouldn't go against the puffs. They owe 'em too much. You really think Bloss would let them smash you and leave her alone? Hell no! She'd be out on every major media outlet lecturing them. You know I'm right. So make your damned move already."
Boomer didn't wait to hear Brick's response before getting up and pretty much stomping up the stairs. Brick watching him lazily from where he was, trying to process what Boomer said. His brother wasn't wrong, but that was all assuming Blossom would even consider him and Brick was pretty sure she wouldn't. No, she should be with some goodie two shoes guy who's all about volunteering and doing the right thing as well as be able to keep up with her.
...shit. That was pretty much Blane and Brick hadn't handled them being friendly or the fact that they'd been on a date very well. Could he handle- nope. Didn't matter. Those two had tried and it didn't work and they probably wouldn't try again.
Groaning, Brick got up slowly and started making for the stairs. He really needed an ice shower to cool off. His brain was too sluggish to think properly.
"And before you say you ain't her type get a fucking clue you idiot!" Boomer yelled at Brick as he stumbled past his brother's room for the shower.
Brick paused at that though before turning back around and opening Boomer's door. The blue ruff was sitting in his normal spot with an acoustic guitar in his hands, glaring at Brick.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?"
Boomer rolled his eyes. "It means that if she could consider you as a friend that she can trust more than her own damned sisters with certain things, why not take a shot and see if she'd at least consider it? What's the worst that could happen? She says no? You know she wouldn't let that ruin things between you two and so you'd just go back to the way it is now but at least you'd have some damned closure and could maybe get on with your life. Seriously, it's painful watching you and Butch lately. We ain't made to hold back so fucking don't."
Boomer glared at him for a few more moments before turning to tune his guitar, essentially saying the conversation was over. You didn't get between Boomer and his music if you valued your life.
Brick frowned at what his brother had said as he turned and continued for the shower. He had a point. Blossom wouldn't let a confession get in the way of things if she said no. She'd find a way to make it all still work. Still didn't mean Brick wanted to confess when she'd say no.
No. Wait. Brick didn't want to confess period. That was the whole thing here. Brick didn't think he was a good match for her.
No, the city would think he wasn't a good match for her. Blossom already trusted him to help with the hero stuff and organizing it, and that was essentially her baby. She wouldn't even let her sisters touch that stuff. And she let him take over the dance and she even let him help with the competition. All stuff she wouldn't let anyone else help with. And he'd done a damned good job too.
Why wasn't he going for it again? Plus, he'd even thought after that whole damned Blane fiasco that it was time to do something. Why wouldn't he after all?
Right. City. Bad idea. She'd say no.
Wait, didn't matter what she'd say. City. Bad idea.
He finally made it into the bathroom and turned the water on as cold as it would go in the shower. He didn't bother getting out of his clothes, needing to cool down at least a little before actually considering a proper shower.
...ugh, he hated doing what others wanted him to do. Boomer was right. They were Rowdyruff Boys. They did whatever the hell they wanted. Why did Brick even care what the city thought? He'd just prove them wrong as many times as it took.
Blossom though...she wouldn't possibly consider him. He was a criminal. Kinda. Technically on paper he wasn't anymore actually. They'd pardoned the ruffs after a few years, instead putting the crimes on Mojo and Him as they were technically minors and their wonderful dads were kinda big time villains who definitely had a lot to do with the trouble the ruffs had caused as kids. But she still wouldn't consider him!
But she was okay with Bubbles and Boomer though. And if she was okay with that then wouldn't she at least...consider it? Thinking about it, Brick actually couldn't see her not considering it. She was too nice for that. And if she would consider it then...technically he had a shot right?
...damn. That meant he had no really valid excuse. Shit.
Brick groaned loudly as he buried his face in his hands. He was officially defenseless on this. He had no blocks anymore to stop him. Which meant he actually had to figure out how to get a puff to like him.
Ugh, Brick hadn't ever really tried getting anyone to like him before. The flirting with other girls didn't count. He'd started mostly to try and get his brothers to stop being babies about it and whining to him. Plus, the way Blossom had always reacted to it was funny as hell. So why'd he have to make a serious start with her of all people?!
"Dude! Stop whining under your breath with the door still open! It's messing with my music! I'll give you some damned advice later about it all so shut up!" Boomer yelled from his room.
Brick lifted his head out of his hands. Huh. He did leave the door open. Oops.
Boomer frowned as his phone went off again. Brick was still in the shower, Boomer wasn't surprised, and he had been trying to focus on his music but his phone was going crazy. Giving up, cause he couldn't fry his phone again without getting in serious trouble with Bellum, he got up to check it.
Bubbles. It wasn't actually a crazy number of messages from her but Boomer was pretty sure he'd told her he was planning on playing some music after their date. Normally she understood that meant he didn't want bothered. Lately though, even when she knew he couldn't respond, she'd text him out of the blue to check on him and for the life of him he didn't get why. Hell, she was checking on him more now than she was when they'd first signed that contract and moved in with Bellum. He thought he was paying enough attention and she didn't seem unhappy on their dates...so he was at a total lose.
Boomer shot a quick text to Bubbles saying he was working on music and probably wouldn't be able to respond a ton for the day before putting his phone on mute. As refreshing as his date had been, he was still having finals burn out and he did also need his alone time. Hell, all the ruffs did. Still, he couldn't leave it be. Something had changed and he really should figure out what...just after he recharged a bit.
"Okay. That. Is. It!" Buttercup yelled as she threw a final punch at the monster sending it flying back into the ocean. "I'm so done with this!"
Bubbles raised an eyebrow from where she was floating not too far away as she blew a bubble with her gum and then let it pop. Loudly. Buttercup glared.
"Well, you know where he is. If you're really fed up you could go get him," Bubbles said before turning back to her phone.
"I don't give a rat's a-butt about him! I just want my break time now! Why is it okay that he goes off the radar like this while the rest of us still have to clean up these pests?!"
The monster was getting up again but Buttercup rounded on him with a glare fierce enough that he stopped moving and just sank back into the ocean a bit. Not that it was deep enough here to cover him. Stupid shallow ocean bed.
"Bloss probably figured this was better than having to clean up the mess he'd make when he snapped. You know better than the rest of us what he's like."
"Yeah, I do! That's why I don't get why I don't get a break too! Like seriously! So. Not. Fair!"
Bubbles shrugged. "No point complaining to me about it. Anyways, are you done yet or should I step in and help?"
Buttercup huffed and the monster shook its head. "Looks like I'm done. Scram."
The monster didn't need to be told twice.
"And tell your buddies to stay away for a bit! It's summer break!" Buttercup yelled at it. She wasn't sure if it heard or cared but it was better than nothing. Not that she was holding her breath.
"Well, now that that's over, maybe we should talk to Bloss about Butch. It has been like almost two weeks now," Bubbles said as she put her phone away.
"Ugh, you know that she'll tell me to go and I don't wanna!"
Bubbles rolled her eyes. "Then you can try to convince Brick but I have a date today so Boomer is so not going."
"No way would Brick go. He hates having to hunt Butch down. Remember last time? We had to help put out the fire when Butch said no and Brick got pissed."
"Hmmm...yeah. That was so not cool. At least he replanted the area and cleaned up the debris."
"Only cause Bloss got pissy with him. Dang, think he liked her even all the way back then?"
Bubbles shrugged. "Who knows? It's Brick. I'm surprised we even noticed as it was."
"I'm still convinced it's only cause you saw what you wanted to see and not anything actually different."
"Probably."
Buttercup rolled her eyes. At least her sister knew herself that well.
"Still, why do I gotta be the one to retrieve the idiot?"
"Because he's your idiot."
Buttercup made a face at Bubbles who ignored it.
"He isn't my idiot. I don't- he doesn't- gah! Forget it! I'm heading home."
Buttercup didn't wait for a reply before shooting off for home. Unfortunately, even going full speed, it didn't mean much when Bubbles was the one with her. The blue puff caught up in seconds and, like usual, decided she couldn't just leave it alone.
"Okay, so A, he is. B, you definitely do. C, he definitely does. And D, both of you need to just face the music and accept that romance-"
"Ain't gunna happen. Go away Bubs before I smack you."
Bubbles huffed. "You wouldn't dare. Bloss is still in a mood after Brick's stunt after all. Hitting me only gets you in trouble. Especially when she has that huge fundraiser event tomorrow."
Buttercup grit her teeth. "Maybe but keep pushing and I'll easily think it's worth it."
"I'm just saying! The whole Merrick thing was a flop but Butch has clearly been jealous. By the way, I hope you realize we were both idiots with this plan. I mean, Bloss was right and we really should have just left it alone."
"I couldn't just leave it though. He ruined Butch's painting! I know how personal that shit is to you artsy types. I want him to get his due."
"Well, I'd be upset if you didn't know how important our art is to use after living with me your whole life but more importantly, Butch was actually okay with it. I mean, I've seen when he hasn't been okay with someone messing with his work and it was so not pretty. I don't know what he did to Merrick but the guy wasn't running scared so it really couldn't have bothered him that much this time."
"Come on Bubs, be real. He wouldn't have done anything then cause Bloss was stretched thin and he isn't actually suicidal. If he went and caused trouble back when his painting was ruined Bloss woulda froze his ass to a roof top and left him there."
"She...might have actually. But really, he didn't seem upset."
"Oh I bet it bugged him a lot, even if he didn't show it. That snail face is the most possessive of the lot of the ruff. Anytime anyone messes with his stuff it raises the guy's hackles. I just wanted to get things smoothed out. Woulda maybe eased the tensions between the two and made things better. Plus, justice and all that."
"Uh-huh. And instead, tensions are worse, Merrick was using you, and there's been one-sided justice that just landed Butch in the doghouse essentially. Seriously we messed up with this one."
"Gah! Leave me alone about it! And at this point, screw Butch! He's a whiny brat who can't help but cause trouble and make other people clean up his messes!"
Bubbles groaned. "Fine! Since apparently neither you or him want to fix this, don't hate me for what I'm about to do!"
And with that Bubbles shot off full speed for the house. Buttercup frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" She yelled after her sister, slightly worried, only to be ignored.
Buttercup groaned, already regretting not just hitting her, and tried to increase her speed with no success. She'd get home well after Bubbles at this point. Here's just hoping she didn't find her room all sparkly or some shit.
"I'm back!" Buttercup yelled as she came through the front door. She'd considered using her window but whatever was waiting for her would find her eventually anyways. Might as well just get it over with. It didn't take long either. Blossom looked up from her mess of planning she had around her on the sofa and Buttercup could see Bubbles peaking over the banister on the second floor, half hiding behind the chimney.
"Oh good. Bubbles mentioned that you've been a little stretched thin so I was wondering if maybe we should go get Butch. It has been quite a while already," Blossom commented as she reached to close one of her planners. Bubbles was grinning like a cat and Buttercup couldn't help but sigh.
"I'll go get him. You stay here. You know he'd probably be able to avoid you easy enough. Knowing him, unless it's me or one of his brothers he won't end up getting caught. Plus, I know you still have some last second things you need to take care of for tomorrow."
Blossom blinked a bit at that. "You just got back though. It isn't fair for you to go do this one your own. I can-"
"Bloss, seriously, you'd just make it more difficult. I'll have the snail back home by the end of the night. Promise."
Buttercup glared up at Bubbles who ignored it before turning and leaving.
"Did I miss something? Bubbles, what plan did you just make me apart of?" Blossom huffed out, clearly not happy.
Buttercup snickered at that before taking off. At least Bubbles would get what was coming for her. Blossom did not like being manipulated, especially when she was already in a mood.
Still didn't change the fact that Buttercup would still need to bring Butch back down. Time to go hunting for snails.
Butch couldn't help but yawn as he blinked blearily up at the treetops. This here? This was the life. No people, no walls, no rules, no annoyances. Now all he needed was a good fight or two and he'd be all set. Maybe he'd ask Brick for a spar when he went back. Not that he planned to do that anytime soon. He was enjoying himself too much for that. Though...he was maybe starting to miss people.
Maybe.
Eh, he could also just go find a bear or something. Maybe Fuzzy? Nah, the pink fuzz ball was too old to be duking it out anymore. Shame. The fuzz ball could pack quite the punch back in that day. Still, there had to be something he could fight. Other than the bear. If Bubbles found out he'd bullied animals she'd never let him live it down and Boomer would also be on his back now. They might be bros but the small stuff? Butch was so last place nowadays with that.
Whatever. He didn't need them. He didn't need shit. All he needed was this. Fresh, free, gloriously wild air and-
"Yo, slime ball, I'm here to pick you up."
Well shit. Butch turned to see Buttercup floating there. How the hell did she always manage to find him?
"Nu-uh, no way. I ain't goin back. Not ready yet."
Buttercup raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude. I want my vacay too ya know? Get your ass back to town so I can have my days off. I've been on damage control duty ever since school let out and the monsters are acting up again too! There's like, one a day at least!"
"Well sucks to suck but I ain't leaving."
Buttercup groaned and Butch took that as a sign to get up and move away from the green puff.
Of all the people to come pick him up, she was the last one Butch had wanted to see. Honestly, he'd rather have a raging Brick burning down the forest looking for him that his counterpart showing up for once.
"Come on Butch. Blossom sent me so it isn't just like a random whim. Duty calls."
"Nope. I'm enjoying myself too much right now."
"You mean you aren't missing video games yet? Or skate park days with the others? What about steaks? Or meat in general. Hell, what do you even eat when you're up here?"
Butch shrugged. "Lots of stuff. I usually break into Fuzzy's place and steal some of his- ouch! What the fuck?!"
Butch turned to glare at Buttercup as she dropped her glowing fist.
"You did not just tell me you've been stealing! The hell you think you're doing idiot?!"
"Eating! And relaxing! Chill! The pink thing usually sees me and he doesn't seem to run me off too quickly! Hell, this year he didn't even bother trying!"
"Like hell that's true! Its Fuzzy! He hates trespassers!"
"Well, I mean, I do fix up the guy's place now and then. He ain't as spry as he used to be. Shame too. Woulda loved to have gone a round or two with him right about now."
Buttercup was still glaring when Butch turned away to continue on his path. Maybe he'd go take a dive into the river. It had been a few days. He was maybe starting to smell. Maybe.
"I'm going to pretend you said trade instead of steal and that you didn't just mention having a fight with Fuzzy. Seriously dude. That shit isn't just okay you know? Never was, even if you and your bros did play by another set of rules for a while there."
Butch shrugged. "Eh. He never seemed to mind. Boom had a music fight or some shit with him way back and ever since then he's kinda respected us. Sorta."
"Sorta. What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"It's Fuzzy. What else do ya expect? How long are you gunna follow me anyways?"
"For however long it takes to convince you to go home. Now let's go before it starts getting dark please."
"Hell no. I'm staying."
Buttercup groaned again from behind him but Butch decided to ignore her. If it had been anyone else maybe he'd turn and head back but her? Right now?
Hell. No.
"Okay. Fine. What do I gotta do to get you to go back? Cause if I head back without you someone's gunna be aiming for my head."
"I'm sure Bloss'll just decide to come up and get me herself. Don't be so dramatic."
"...wasn't talking about her. Whatever! Anyways! Leader girl has a ton of planning for upcoming events to do and she seriously won't appreciate having to come get you. Especially after she sent me up here to do that."
"What? How is she still planning things? It's summer! I say we let her get a break by making her come and get me. Seems like that's the only way to get her to chill."
"She's also pissed off. Do you really want an angry leader girl hunting you down?"
"What the hell is she pissed at? Did someone spill something on her planner or something?"
"Nah. Brick was an idiot is all. He's been covering her patrols to make it up to her. It's kinda funny actually. Surprised Bubs has been chill about it though. I'm kinda waiting for her to bust out some crazy plan for him."
"Think she tried already. Your sister has a kinda short attention span though. We redirected."
"Well, she'll redirect herself back soon enough. You know what she's like. Doesn't matter though! I'm not here to talk! What do I have to do to get you to head back?"
Butch stopped at that and turned to face Buttercup, carefully keeping his face blank.
"Depends. What're my boundaries here?"
Buttercup growled lightly as she finally dropped down onto the ground in front of him. "Depends on what the hell you're thinking. I'm not going back on the cooking bet I won so that better not what you're thinking."
Butch hummed as he thought, watching as Buttercup winced at something and turned to look away from him. Interesting. Something about their old cooking bet was getting to her. He'd explore that but not right now. No, right now what he really wanted was...
Butch didn't hesitate. In a flash of green he lunged, fist first, at Buttercup. She pulled her head away in her own flash of green, dodging the punch completely. She glared at him as they stared off, his fist stopped just past her head, sparks and mist flashing and gathering around them.
"That's what you want? Seriously? Can it wait till we get back to one of the sims?"
"Nope."
Butch quickly opened his fist to grab the back of Buttercups head and yanked it down as he quickly brought his knee up. Buttercup didn't hesitate to blast his incoming knee with a full-blown eye beam that had him wincing and loosening his grip which she took advantage of by slipping free. Less than half a second later she was launching a punch of her own at his face and he just barely recovered fast enough to dodge it.
"You're explaining any damage to Bubs then."
"Done. Now stop talking."
Buttercup grinned savagely at Butch, and he couldn't help but return the smile. This. He'd missed this. The practice matches and spars just weren't the same as this. A full blown, no holding back match with his counterpart. God. He'd been itching for this.
Buttercup let energy gather around her fist next to his head and just before she could launch it at him, Butch lunged forward and headbutted her. She gasped as she stumbled back and Butch took that chance to follow after her while aiming a punch at her stomach. She recovered quickly though and launched into the air at full speed so his fist flew under her harmlessly. Butch grinned up at her before launching off to follow.
Oh. This was going to be such a wonderful mess.
Buttercup finally landed a full force punch into Butch's stomach sending him speeding into the mountain side. She winced as he collided and trees went flying. That new crater would be a tough one to explain to Bubbles when she found out... Oh well, that would be Butch's problem.
Aaaand said idiot still was moving. Jeez, apparently she'd been going way too easy on Butch in their spars. She hadn't realized how much energy he had been building up. She knew firsthand that the simple monster fights weren't usually enough but she'd thought him getting his ass handed to him in sparring sets by the reds at least had been enough. Apparently not though.
Butch launched out of the hole at her full speed and Buttercup braced mid-air for the impact. It didn't come though. In a flash of red, Brick was there and he clearly wasn't happy.
Clearly as in he sent Butch flying right back the way he'd come in a flaming ball of nearly blue flames. Damn. That was way hotter than normal. And the forest was on fire now. Maybe she could offer to help Butch apologize...
Screw it. Bubbles was gunna kill them anyways at this point. Buttercup decided to just accept fate.
"The fucking hell do you think you're doing you complete and utter ass hat, snail brained idiot?!" Brick roared at Butch.
Well. Someone was seriously pissy right now.
Butch laughed like the brain-dead idiot he was as he floated up out of the hole, his clothes slowly burning away and glowing embers stuck in the beard that Buttercup was trying not to think too hard about.
Well, it was okay thinking about it now. Looked hilarious as hell now that half of it had been burned off. Butch would have to go military cut again to fix the ash that was now half his hair too. He might be angry about it later but Buttercup wasn't going to hold her breath. He usually went short with it all after a mountain trip anyways.
Not...that she'd ever noticed that. Totally.
Damn it. Bubbles's words about her feelings kept creeping back in. She was going to have words with her sister after this. Serious words.
"Dude! This has been such a rush! Damn I needed this! Butters, you and I totally need to go full force like this once a month at least! Damn I missed not holding back!"
Buttercup winced as the air around Brick shot up a few degrees and carefully floated away slightly.
"You mean to tell me...you've been busting up this forest...getting full news attention...angering Bubbles beyond belief...all to let loose?"
Ooooo, growly Brick was not a happy Brick. Man, how did she always end up in situations like this? Why couldn't it be Bubbles out here dealing with this? Or Blossom? Blossom would so be better suited for this.
"Duh!" Butch said as he cackled like the mad man he was.
RIP Butch. R.I.P.
Brick didn't hesitate before zooming over to his brother and grabbing him by the throat. Butch's cackle choked off into a groan of pain as Brick not only cut off his air but also let his way too hot skin begin to burn Butch's throat
"You and me? We're heading home. I'll show you what letting lose really looks like."
Hmmm, if they'd been on the news then Blossom would have heard about it. Sounds like maybe her older sister wasn't too happy with the mess. Buttercup wondered what she'd be facing when she got home. Maybe she should spend a night over at Mitch's? Actually, Blossom wouldn't care and would just drag her away from Mitch's. Maybe Robin then?
Brick turned to face Buttercup, hand still around Butch's throat, and the green puff couldn't help but flinch at the glow in the red ruff's eyes.
"You better head back too. Your sisters weren't too happy about all this."
Brick didn't stick around for a response before taking off for home, Butch forcefully being dragged behind him.
Shit. He just took her shield. Fuck her life. How the hell was she going to survive facing both her sisters after this?!
That...damned snail! This was the last time she ever indulged him like this! Last! Time!
Boomer popped another bubble as he strolled into the simulator room with the first aid kit and plenty of burn wound stuff. Brick grunted as he stormed out past the blue ruff, already reaching for his phone. Probably to call Blossom. Brick hadn't come to Boomer yet for advice but he would. Boomer was happy to see his brother was finally getting past this block of his. Now they just had to think of a way for him to woo the pink puff.
Which would probably go smoother without Butch making messes like he did.
Speaking of, Boomer strolled over to the pile of burning flesh that was his brother.
"Yo. You still alive?" Boomer asked.
Butch groaned and wiggled around a bit. Ah, there was an eye. Ouch. That was a nasty burn there. No hair left too. Yikes. Brick had been piiiissed.
"No," came Butch's barely wheezed out response.
"Cool. Can I have your copy of Grand Theft then? I'm too lazy to get my own."
"Fuck...no..."
"Damn. Can't let ya die then. That'd be too nice. Here's the shit. I'll get your back so sit up."
Butch groaned as he picked himself up into a seated position. Well, at least they were used to burn wounds. Plus, with their X even third degree burns healed in a matter of days. Which meant Butch would be suffering for at least a few days while these all healed.
"Damn...he was...not...happy..."
"No shit. Bloss called and screamed at him to get your ass back here before you made more of a mess than you had and bros already in the kennel for screwing up the day after school ended."
Boomer sat down behind his brother, handing him some of the stuff so he could start on the front before grabbing what he needed to start on his back. They might heal fast but infections were no joke. Had to make sure all this stayed clean for at least the next day or so.
"What...happened?"
Boomer shrugged. "The rights decided to get some revenge and bro wasn't having it. Bloss ended up having to end it. He's been covering her shifts since. She had stopped glaring whenever she saw him but, well, then you went and pulled this shit."
"Fucking...worth...it"
"Yeah, yeah. Made up with Buttercup I'm guessing?"
Butch grunted back.
"Good. It was weird as shit you two being so off. Bubs said they were dropping whatever their plan with Merrick was. She doesn't like him by the way, sure you knew that one already though. She was just wanting a confession on the painting and literally picked the worst way to do it."
"No...shit."
"Whatever. Don't be weird next time you see her okay? And apologize to Bloss as well as Bubs. Brick just decided to stop being a sissy but you pulling this shit is gunna make it seriously hard for him to get anywhere with the leader and commander."
"That...explains a lot."
"I bet. So, what flavor yogurt you want for dinner cause there ain't no way in hell you'll be able to stand chewing tonight. I swear that's legit char he turned your lips, and half your face, into."
Butch whined lightly at that.
Hope you all enjoyed! I'll be back at the end of next month at the latest with another chapter, and hopefully I'll have my buffer then to start posting more frequently again.
Trase! I'm glad you enjoyed what I did with Butch! I feel like, with the boys having been taken in by Bellum, they would have all been able to really dig into whatever subject they were interested in and Butch likes fighting so why not make him strategy crazy too? And poor Buttercup, I'm not about to make anything easy for her. Butch may just start getting annoyed and start using some of those crazy strategies he knows...or he might just blow a hole in her roof and demand answers. Depends on what way the story turns I guess haha. And yes, although I've not been cheated on, I know people who have and I know you don't just bounce back from that, as Bubbles is slowly learning. And Brat isn't about to make it an easy lesson unfortunately. I'm glad you enjoy the plotting Bubbles is doing with Brick too. Although, here's hoping that Boomer can maybe try to minimize thee damage because like you said, she's more like a hammer with these things haha. Hope you enjoyed the Butch fight here and yes, he's surprisingly self-aware, even though he denies it. And as for Brick planning our murder? Eh, everyone in the fandom loves his suffering so it'll take him a bit to get to us I'm sure. I can make him suffer some more in the meantime haha. You really also starting hitting some of my sour points that I'm running into with the story. I hope in this last part of the story to at least through some of what the ruffs went through in there. If I find a good point in the story, which I might, I hope to delve into it more but for now, all I can do is drop the odd thing here or there. As I think I did with Boomer in the next chapter or so? Gotta go remind myself where I'm at now that I have time to start writing again. I'd love to do a Mayor Bellum POV, I just haven't found a good spot for it. Maybe sometime soon, I hope. As for truly enraged ruffs? Well, like they say, be careful what you wish for. I hope you'll enjoy what I have planned for the story though!
Emily! So happy to hear you enjoyed the last chapter. And I hear you on not saving those stories and having too many tabs haha. I have a large bookmark list somewhere from before I had an account for that exact reason too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Artemis Raven Courtney! And I know I've also said this before, but I'm happy you enjoy reading about the relationships between the siblings and the non-romantic pairings too! I have a ton of fun writing them. Butch knows that if the reds went down, he'd have to step up and actually use his brain which is part of why he doesn't in a fight. He thinks himself as they're back-up which, as you saw, annoys Blossom at least since she knows he can do it. I'm sure I'll give him his moment, I just hope you all don't regret asking for it hehe. And yeah, Bubbles is about to have a lot thrown at her. You'll have to wait and see just how good, or not, Boomer will be at re-assuring her. I like happy endings though, if that's any consolation for when you read what I do before we get to it.
EverestGhost13! I hope that you were able to find you're phone again. And I'm happy you enjoyed the last chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed this one too. I love going into the friendships between the ruffs and puffs across the color lines. It's a lot of fun to write so I'm happy you all enjoy it as well.
Alice1420! I know you commented in Spanish and I hope you can forgive me for responding in English but I unfortunately only know the one language and even that one is iffy. Thank you so much for reading! And I hope you enjoyed what I posted today! If it lifted your spirits again, then I've done a good job with it.
Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Until next time, ciao!