author's note: So, because of the approaching Holidays, it's looking like I'll be reducing the amount in which I update to only once a week for a while! Thank you for reading and continuing to support this story!

In the meantime, the song this time is Off The Grid by Alina Baraz (ft. Khalid)!


Thursday, Mar. 18

"C'mon, Sugar. Time to rise and shine."

A large hand pressed softly yet insistently against her shoulder, nudging her in an attempt to get her awake.

Bubbles groaned and shoved her face further into the pillows, letting out a soft and very muffled 'no' in response.

Butch chuckled and nudged her again.

This time, the blonde couldn't stop the movement from tearing away at the cobwebs of sleep clouding her mind. She sat up begrudgingly and wiped at her eyes, trying to get a quick grasp on her surroundings. Firstly, she was in Butch's king sized bed, something she'd never even seen before the previous night. His dark green quilt had left her nice and toasty, even without his body warmth there. She wanted to curl back up under it and go back to sleep already.

Off to her right was a window, the black curtains already drawn to let soft daylight in. The sun was already up, and since daylight didn't technically start until around six to sevenish, she knew it was probably closer to ten or eleven just by its placement. It was a little jarring, honestly. Still bleary, she looked over towards Butch, briefly surprised by the tray of food he held.

Her eyes zeroed in on a cup of steaming black coffee, and eagerly she reached for it, earning a quiet laugh. "Oh yeah," she muttered, taking a sip, "I forgot about this."

His smile was so, so warm. She wasn't sure if it was the lingering sleep and general tiredness making her a little delusional, but that smile felt like it was the source of the happiness spreading through her veins. "I promised some pancakes to a birthday girl. So here's three thick-n-fluffy pancakes, some cut up fruit and a cup of hot coffee, Sugar."

She could melt. "Mmm… You're welcome to spoil me forever."

"I will," he says, the quick twitching quirk of his brow making her snort. He said it like it was an accepted challenge. When she shook her head, he continued. "I also have some news for you." He smiled, watching how eagerly she dove into her breakfast when he placed the tray on her lap. "You do have plans for today... and your sisters are definitely coming along to the beach house. So are Brick and Boomer."

That took her a little off guard.

Last she checked, Buttercup was siding with Blossom on the idea that it was better to stay while they had no lead on the frankensteined monsters. "What did you do," she accused through a bite of pancakes, narrowing her eyes.

"Barely anything, actually," he laughed. "I mentioned I was coming with you to Butterbabe when she called to let me know that you do have plans today. She decided that she needed to come along, if it was just going to be you, me and Boom. Also didn't like it when I told her we'd team up and kick her ass in volleyball."

Well, that answered that. Buttercup probably told Brick, and it was likely that they, together, tried to corner the redheaded Puff into coming along. That much she could easily see in her mind, but there was also another important question it brought up.

"How did she know I was here?" she asked curiously, her brows furrowed.

Butch shrugged. "My guess is Boomer."

Bubbles narrowed her eyes a little. "…Boomer?"

He shrugged. "He apparently tried to find you this morning. Came by to ask me if I've seen you since you weren't home, and that's what woke me up. By the way, he left a birthday gift for you on my coffee table."

She shook her head, a smile on her face. "And what did you tell him?"

"I had you trapped in my bed after a late night." The smirk on his face was devious, and she could easily see the way he'd told her counterpart. That devilish smirk, a dastardly quirk to his brows, eyes lidded like a cocky asshole.

She rolled her eyes. Butch wasn't necessarily lying. He'd brought her back, given her a very adorable sky blue purse with fuzzy cloud-like detailing as a gift, and stayed up to watch Grease twice with her before they eventually passed out probably close to three or four in the morning.

He just… decided to make it sound dirtier than it was.

"I'm assuming he didn't believe you." She hid her smile with a drink of the coffee.

"Not one bit, but he did believe you were here," he laughed, his cocky little act completely shattering as he did. "Said he had to go talk to his new manager before he got more free time later, though, so he left soon after that and apparently told Butterbabe when she asked. He's coming back, so you're not allowed to open the gift until then."

Bubbles hummed, her blue eyes sparkling in happiness while she ate. Butch sat on the bed next to her, clad only in a pair of pajama pants, dark green and plaid. Her eyes were drawn like moths to the flame that was his torso, how the sunlight danced along his angry scars. Boomer was strong and lithe, toned and fast… Butch was broad, wide, and visibly powerful in a way not all of them were, and she assumed it was because of his berserker fighting style. He was strong, not necessarily the most toned. He didn't have washboard abs, but the strength he possessed could easily be seen beneath his skin.

Thick arms, broad torso…

His pecs

"Getting a good enough view?" he teased. That cocky smirk came back to his face, his green eyes narrowed in playful accusation.

She was only mildly embarrassed at being caught staring. After swallowing her bite of food, she offered a smirk of her own and met his eyes boldly. "I think I could get a better view. Turn and flex for me, please?"

Immediately he turned his torso, his cheeks just as pink as hers as he flexed. His wolfish smirk could have devoured her and she would not complain. His eyes were dark and insistent and didn't once leave her face, even as her gaze traveled down to the muscles he showed off.

"Mmm… Yeah, I think you have the best views."

Butch laughed, deep and from his belly, and it once again made her smile. "You're gonna keep me on my toes, huh?"

She winked. "I'll do my best."

He scooted and moved around the massive bed until he was sitting behind her. One leg was on either side of her, his arms snaked around her waist and his chin came to sit on her left shoulder. "I think I can handle it if I can do this more often."

"I'd be offended if you didn't do it more often," she replied softly. Bubbles stabbed her fork into the little bowl of fruit and brought up half of a strawberry to his mouth. "Strawberry?"

Feeding Butch had never been on the list of things she had ever expected to do in her lifetime, and as he eagerly accepted her offer, the light in his eyes dancing, she decided it would be near the top of the list from then on. "Thank ya."

"So… I do have a question," she began softly.

"Shoot," he urged.

Her grip on her fork tightened, the taste of sweetened copper flooding her tongue as she chewed viciously on the inside of her cheek. She can do this. She can do this. "Where… where exactly are we ?"

Butch tightened his arms around her. "I'm gonna be honest with ya, Sugar… I have no idea."

Bubbles took a bite and chewed it over slowly, her heart stuttering. "I… I know we're taking one step at a time and all," she slowly began. There was a pause after it as she searched for the words she desperately needed. "But… I... Okay, I'm just going to be blunt. I'm terrified of something bad happening."

He nodded against her shoulder, silently urging her to continue.

"I don't want us to hurt or end up hating each other… I don't want to tear our friendship apart or make our siblings choose sides if something happens," she continued. "So… open communication needs to exist. No matter what."

"Absolutely," he agreed, not even hesitating. "I was worried about that, too… And no messy shit, either. We can be adults about it, right? We can come back after cooling off if we fight so we can talk about it, and we can bring issues up directly to each other, yeah?"

A smile spread across her face.

Butch was so easy to just be with.

He always just… got her.

"I don't know why I thought this was so hard to talk about before," she mumbled before she shoved a bite into her mouth. He chuckled, relief carried in the soft sound. "Yes, we definitely can be adults about it. I… I also… I don't really want to share," she said softly. "I'd… like to know if something changes and if you start talking to someone else."

"Hey hey, what's all this about?" he asked, his brows suddenly furrowed. He leaned forward just a little more to get a better look at her face. "I'd say that's a given, no? If we're having this conversation?"

She nodded, still a little hesitant.

"Someone cheated on you, didn't they?" he asked. Her silence said a lot, but her biting her lower lip said more. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes a little. "Who cheated on you?" She glanced away and his brows furrowed. "Someone you trusted a lot…"

"Butch, we don't-"

"Was it Boomer?"

"Butch-"

His brows raised at the ashamed and caught red handed look that crossed her features. "Are you- he-... Boomer fucking cheated on you?!"

She flinched and shook her head. "NO- well yes, in all technicality yes, but not… Not like you think? I don't, and didn't, consider it to be cheating…" The blonde seemed a little frantic while she tried to cool him off. "It's not like it sounds, I swear, there was a lot of stuff and just- don't blame him-"

"Why are you trying to protect him?" he asked, incredulous.

She made a sad, distressed whine of a sound. She didn't know how to turn the conversation around without saying too much, but she had to. "I can't... I can't tell you." she pleaded for him to understand. "Ask him. Ask him all you want to, but I won't say anything. I can't tell his secrets like that... not without his permission."

Butch still seemed hesitant to accept it.

"Please…"

He sighed through his nose. "...I know you two must've hashed it out since you're still this close, but did you… did everything…"

"It was entirely mutual," she answered the question he couldn't manage to word. "He went silent for a week and called me. We went out to the docks and talked for about four or so hours? Talked about everything that led to it… And I still don't think it was all necessarily his fault. We both agreed that it could have been handled better- handled differently, in a way that didn't hurt either of us… But I didn't hate him for it. I don't hate him for it. It hurt a lot at the time, I won't lie… But I've healed since then. It helped that he was honest about it when it happened, too…"

"You just weren't expecting lingering scars to show up," Butch finished for her.

She nodded.

"I'm definitely going to ask him."

"Okay," she said softly. "Just… don't push me for it, please."

He placed a soft to her temple, and she flushed. "I won't. I promise. But yes, I'm not talking to anyone else and I have no plans to. I don't like to share, either. You and Candy are the only girls that are gonna keep my hands completely full for the foreseeable future."

She smiled. "Anything else I need to know?"

"I'm very physical," he admitted, waggling his brows at her.

Bubbles knew this already, though, no matter how dirty of a joke he was trying to hide the admission behind. It was the very thing that caused the most issues when he and Buttercup had attempted to date back in high school. She was not a fan of public displays beyond small brushes, hand holding, and maybe a hug or two. Maybe. Butch was physically clingy in an almost dog-like way, and they were both too young to understand the need to respect each other's boundaries. Buttercup's old penchant for hiding her feelings behind curses and insults didn't help anything either.

A few things caused their relationship to implode back then, but his physical nature was definitely near the top of the list.

She leaned back, resting her head against his shoulder. Then, she met his eyes and waggled her brows at him . "I am too. Get used to me jumping into hugs when I first see you or dragging you wherever I want."

His eyes were so bright and joyful that they more resembled emeralds than the darker forest green she was used to. "So… I can call you my woman?"

"Only if I can call you my man," she grinned.

His smile warmed her from the inside out and his arms tightened further around her. "Hell yeah! Easy anniversary, I'll remember this one."

She laughed and shook her head. "You're horrible… I take it back, I'll only accept it if you guarantee me twice the presents every year."

His laughter was interrupted (but not shortened) by two cats leaping up onto the bed in their little game of chase. "I can guarantee it, Sugar. Now eat, we gotta get you back over to Ever's place."

Her brows furrowed. "Why are we going to the tattoo parlor?"

"Boom helped Bloss Boss make y'all three an on-call appointment. She wants to get those three hearts on your jackets as sister or trios tattoos."

Bubbles' face brightened, her smile growing wide. It dawned on her that the redhead would not be doing this if Butch hadn't talked to her, and the blonde, once more, felt like she could melt. "Did she say where at?"

He hummed. "Butterbabe said they were talking about getting them on the back of your necks."

She shoved another bite of food into her mouth, now fully excited to greet the day. "I can't believe you somehow turned this around and got my stick-in-the-mud sister to want a tattoo."

He smiled cheekily at her, a knowing and mischievous gleam in those deep green eyes of his. "It probably didn't help when I started sending her pictures of trios tattoos after I played designated driver." It was said on a laugh.

"You didn't," she gasped.

He nodded. "I'll show you the pictures later- they're still in my texts to her."

Her heart felt so warm, like it could burst in light, and she didn't know how to handle the feeling. So, she did something she was more comfortable with and gave a soft hum through her nose just before changing the subject entirely. It was easier to just feel and not deal. "You know, I think this means I do get the room with a view at your new place too, right?" When he snorted, she continued, her brows waggling. "I get my room with a view, with a view?"

He chuckled and placed his forehead against her shoulder, effectively hiding his face and the way it was igniting with heat. "To be fair, I do have the electrician scheduled to come out the week after Spring Break, so you could get it."

"Hell yeah," she cheered, eliciting a mildly embarrassed laugh from him. "What? You're hot, and I'll remind you of that until the day I die, regardless of whether or not we're together."

His arms tightened just a bit. "You're just as much of a bombshell, ya know."

She hummed softly. "I know."

Butch could hear the joking tone covering some level of insecurity, though.

He looked up, moving his hands from around her waist to her sides so that he could squeeze her thighs playfully, his broad and callused hands sending shivers up her spine that he was hyper aware of. "You look delicious more often than not," he says gently, nuzzling her cheek. "A hot, funny, caring, understanding woman. Sounds too good to be true to me."

"I actually have horns and a tail in my true form," she sighed, placing the back of her hand against her forehead.

He pulled back and raised his brows at her. "One of my parents is the Demon Queen- His Infernal Majesty? I'll have you know that horns and a tail only sweeten the deal. Still hot. Still too good to be true."

She snickered at that then took another bite, the red on her cheeks capturing his attention.

"When should we tell the others?" he asked softly.

"I think we can wait until we're at the beach house. Give us a little more time."

"Sounds great to me, Sugar."

Despite their conversation, she'd managed to finish most of her breakfast. She took another drink of her coffee, her eyes closing as she basked in the moment. A lazy morning where she was actually able to sleep in for once. She was ditching the two classes she had that day, getting another tattoo, got breakfast in bed from her new boyfriend, got to sleep in, and it was only the beginning of an extended vacation.

Butch was wrapped around her like a security blanket, his hands feather light when they moved up and down the outer sides of her thighs. He moved his face from being hidden and she could feel the scruffy stubble he'd need to shave soon against the skin of her shoulder once more.

Who would have thought breaking her leg would lead to such a wonderful thing?