Author

Author's Note: Aha. You think I'm very predictable, huh? You think just 'cause they're both adults and in a house together they'll MAKE LOVE, huh?! ... You just wait and see. And mail me, too! I sure hope this'll be longer than the last one...

Maybe I'm Twisted, 2
by "Twisted" Rey

Chapter 6 - Memories in the Dark
MIT2-06 - "When the memory comes, I'll say I'm always in the dark..." - Vertical Horizon

I glanced at Buttercup from where I sat on the side couch. She held a tissue to her eyes, wiping the abundant tears away. I had dug out some of my old DVDs for us to watch, and Buttercup had chosen the Sixth Sense, because she'd never seen it. It was almost the end, now, and Buttercup, her of all people, was crying.

She sniffed loudly, perching her head on her elbows. I grinned, leaning back on the couch. "Good movie?"

"Not scary at all," she said, reaching for the box of tissues. I stood slowly and stretched, just as the ending credits began to roll. "Come on, I think it's about time we headed to bed. I haven't been getting much - any sleep at all, really."

"Mm," She said distractedly, wiping her face dry. I gently took the tissue box from her, dropping it back on the coffee table. Taking the remote control, I turned the TV off, and the DVD player as well.

"I said, come on. You brush your teeth or whatever... there're some extra toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet, I think... and I'll get you some sleeping clothes." Holding her arms, I bodily hauled her up to her feet. She laughed, climbing into my arms, causing me to lurch backwards.

"Come on, Butchie, babe. Giddyap!" She hit me on the behind, and I winced with a bit of a grin, wrapping my arms around her and regaining my balance. I carried her to the staircase and up, her laughing all the way. I dumped her back down on her feet unceremoniously in front of the bathroom, and she disappeared inside, still giggling.

I yawned as I entered my room, kneeling in front of the closet to dig out some of my old clothes. Eventually I came up with a huge shirt and a pair of shorts that might have fitted me... five years ago. It'd fit Buttercup, though; she had a pretty slim build, but damn, she had a wiry strength I could only wish I had.

She wiped water from her mouth with the sleeve of her top as she exited the bathroom. I held out the clothes I had chosen for her. "Here... You'll be sleeping in these."

Buttercup stretched out the shirt, which had the words "wanna see my junk?" printed out in block letters. After studying it for a while - as if fashion would matter when she was sleeping - she gave me an approving nod, and shooed me away, disappearing with the clothes into the room she'd claimed as her own.

After a bit of clothes-ruffling, which I could hear from outside, the door unlocked, and I opened it to peek inside. She was just pulling back the covers on her bed, and when the door opened she glanced up at me.

I grinned, raising an eyebrow slowly. "Lookin' good," I said. Buttercup just laughed, flicking hair out of her eyes and blowing me a kiss.

"Goodnight, o generous gorgeous one," she replied, climbing into bed. I gave a little wave before shutting the door and returning to my own room. I was definitely looking forward to my well-deserved rest, and yeah, things were looking up. With Buttercup around, I didn't think I'd ever have a boring day.

Nervously holding a small bunch of flowers behind my back, I approached the nurse at the counter. "Um... may I see the patient... Ms. Rodriguez? I won't be in for long, just... for a visit. I understand she... she's not allowed to have long visits...?"

The nurse, who was a cheery young woman in perhaps her mid-twenties, picked up a clipboard and glanced at it. "Yes; you may see her for a while, though. May I see your ID, please?"

I reached into my pocket and dug out the small laminated card. She peered at it closely, and noted something down on the clipboard. "She's in room number 428, down..." She leaned around the corner and pointed down a hallway, "that way. Please have a nice day," she nodded, returning my ID to me. I smiled as a quick thanks and headed down the hallway.

I entered the room pointed out to me, gently closing the door behind me. "Robin?" I whispered, moving forward, my hands still behind my back.

Robin lay on a hospital bed, under the covers, looking rather pale. But she was there. I resisted the urge to jump for joy, slowly stepping forward to her bed. "Hi... Robin," I said, and she opened her eyes. A smile crinkled across her face as she recognized me, and I held out the flowers to her. She reached out weakly, taking the.

"Hi, Butch," she said, putting the flowers on the nightstand and watching me as I took a seat beside her bed. I smiled, taking her hand up and gently squeezing it.

"How are you doing?" I asked, holding her hand tight. She smiled again, shifting uncomfortably, before answering.

"Well... when I first got into here, I remember the doc' saying... I might not make it, depending on whether the bullet hit anything... important. Might be crippled, or whatever. But seems like I'm going to pull through, after all..."

The words warmed me inside, an alien feeling, like the kind I got... almost never. I felt as if someone had given me a shot of brandy, or something of the sort. I leaned down slowly, and, cautiously wrapping my arms around her, gave her a hug. Robin gave a short, wheezing laugh, somehow managing to hug me back.

"Thanks for coming to see me, Butch," she whispered, planting a kiss on my cheek. I blushed unconsciously, and withdrew a little quickly.

"Err, you're ... w-welcome..." I stammered, holding a hand to my cheek. Robin's quiet chuckles reached my ears as I headed for the door, with a quick backward glance at her, and a reassuring smile.

Leaving the hospital, I could feel something unfamiliar in the deep parts of my stomach. A strange emotion, like guilt, worry, anxiety, and relief rolled into one. I felt it then, but I didn't know that I was maturing slowly, not just physically but mentally, as well. The few days here had done me good, I guessed. I was a more... complex person, by the looks of it, with not just the emotions of rage, happiness, and sadness, but remorse, unease, relief, and even jealousy. Not jealousy of the material kind, I reminded myself, but a different kind of jealousy. The kind I'd felt when I'd seen Bubbles and Brick.

Oh well, I thought, I have Buttercup now. 'tleast I won't be lonely.

I stepped into the house quickly and locked the front door, still shivering as I took off my coat and hung it on the coat rack, before removing my shoes. It was getting slightly warmer, yes, but it could be downright freezing nearing the evening, especially when it rained like it had that day.

Passing through the living room towards the kitchen, I noticed the sudden absence of Buttercup. Don't tell me she's gone off gallavanting already...

"Buttercup, are you in here?" I called, peeking into the kitchen.

A wildly laughing green flash of light bowled me right off my feet and sat on me victoriously. I lay on my back, eyes wide in shock, as Buttercup continued laughing heartily.

"Hey, there, gorgeous. Pasta for dinner tonight!" She was up in a flash and back into the kitchen, leaving me to rub my chest painfully and lift myself to my feet. I did so, smoothing down my sweater as I steadied myself against the wall, Buttercup's cheerful laughter ringing in my ears.

"Special occasion tonight, or do you just feel like killing me with your cooking?" I smiled, giving her a quick hug from behind as she washed her hands. Returning my smile with one of her own, she slipped out of my grasp towards the pot cooking on the stove - it actually smelled quite good.

"Oh, I just felt like it. Who knows, you might actually like the taste of..." She paused dramatically. "Buttercup's Super-Special PASTA!"

I chuckled. "Maybe."

It turned out her pasta was actually quite good, and on a full stomach did I sit down to watch TV with her, in the living room, where I hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. It was a little past nine o'clock at night, and I'd been working the day shift that week. Buttercup, who'd had a couple of beers with her dinner, leaned against me as we both watched the TV. After a while, she shifted her head up to gaze at me, and I glanced back at her with a grin. She had a serious expression on her face, though, and continued to study me carefully.

"Butch?" She asked, snuggling closer into my side.

"Yeah?" I said, my eyes flickering from her to the TV screen.

"Are you ever... lonely?" She questioned, as her fingers brushed my cheek. A tingling sensation moved down my body, to more... sensitive areas. I swallowed, and suddenly my entire body was focused on her, on her being, on her voice, on her alluring scent. I lost myself into her deep green eyes, but something prodded me to answer.

"Yes," I whispered. She smiled then, slowly, and leaned forward for that inevitable kiss. I closed my eyes, an electric shock running down my spine at the contact of skin on skin, of mouth on mouth.

The first taste of her lips was wonderful, bubbling champagne and sweet strawberries. My eyelids trembled, and I wrapped an arm around her waist. Slowly, we kissed deeper, my fingers entwined in her hair and running downwards over her back. She moaned my name through my lips softly, but suddenly, she wasn't Buttercup.

In my mind's eye, I didn't see her raven locks, or the depths of her beautiful green eyes. Yes, I knew she was beautiful, but all I could see was blonde locks falling over supple shoulders, and sparkling blue eyes... all I could see was Bubbles.

I realized where we were, then. She had fallen backwards on the couch, and I supported myself over her, her hands tugging at my shirt hungrily. I slowly cleared my head, and lifted a hand to still her advances. She stopped, gazing at me worriedly.

"..Am I...?" she began. I shook my head, taking up her hand and pressing my lips to her fingertips, one by one. I hadn't noticed it before, but a softly glistening layer of tears had filmed over her stunning oculars, gleaming only when moonlight filming through the window chanced over them. I closed my own eyes, letting her hand go, and slowly moving backwards, lifting her back upright.

"No, it's not you... it's... I... just that... I..."

She gazed at my questioningly, and I forced myself to confess. "..I love Bubbles."

Slowly, her eyes locked onto mine, and I turned away shamefully. Instead of being screamed at, though, as I had expected, Buttercup hugged me tightly, her tears staining my shirt.

"I... I know how you feel, Butch... Oh, God..." She buried her face in my shoulder, and I held her quietly. In a few minutes, she'd calmed down and steadied her breath enough to speak, and she did, an essence of sincerity emanating from her entire self.

"It's... it's just... when you came, it... was as if... you saved me... after the P-P... Professor, and Blossom, oh, Blossom..." She hid her face in her hands, continuing in a whisper. "When Blossom... died..."

It was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping. Blossom was dead? But I held my tongue, and waited for her to continue.

She gathered herself together, and resumed. "That... that last night... was the... the... last night we were... a... family... Brick, he... he g-grew distant, after you'd... you'd left... Boomer just... he just... with the Professor... Blossom and Bubbles, it was like they didn't know me anymore... I didn't know them, I..."

"Shh," I comforted, reaching forward to hold her cheek. She lifted her reddened eyes slowly, gathering strength from me, with a new warmth. A deeper... feeling... like love.

"You... you left, after a while, you... couldn't stand us... then Him, and... Her came back, with all their stupid little... and when Blossom tried to save us, it was... she did... but... Oh..."

With her words, a slow realization began to hit me. It was because of me. It was my fault they'd broken up, it was my fault Blossom died saving them. It was because of me. But I bottled this up inside myself, and reminded myself blame didn't matter anymore. Hugging Buttercup close, I placed my hand on her head, comfortingly.

"I... I understand, Buttercup. You don't have to say any more..."

That night, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't live with this pain. It wasn't my own pain, but Buttercup's pain, and the pain my family must have felt. I had to go back and try to fix everything. I had to.

Only... Only, I knew also, I didn't want to. Even though I had to, I was reluctant. This world, this... this place... it was so... I loved this place, I knew, almost like I knew I loved Bubbles, and how I loved Buttercup. It was a different kind of love, and I couldn't explain it then. Love... love is dangerous. Love and you will be wounded... But some wounds are worth it. And as I gazed into Buttercup's eyes, her eyes with so much pain in them, so much sorrow, I knew I had to do something about it.

Somehow.

Rey: -sniffs- I'm almost crying at my own writing. Sad, so sad, sad sad sad. Anyway... um... review. -sniffsniff- Sad!