The hot styrofoam felt nice against her cold hand, the steam wafted passed her face. She sighed as a certain red rowdyruff invaded her thoughts. She imagined that the hot cup was actually his hand, intertwined with hers, as those blazing red eyes gazed down at her. Her. Only her. No other girl could receive the same passionate look from him as she did. Those eyes could never hold admiration for anyone but her.

God Damnit.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and, in doing so, accidentally nudged her hood back. But she didn't care at this point. Hell the whole town could walk into the shop right now and see her. All she could think about was Brick. Only three days away from him and she was going insane. Although it was mostly her own fault for trying to force away the feelings that she could no longer deny. Boomer was right...again. He really was a love expert just like her sister. Hm. Maybe they could get along.

Oh shut up.

She mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. As if the ruffs and puffs could ever coexist. Sure, she got along with them. But how long did that take? And her sisters could be so stubborn at times. Perhaps Bubbles could learn to accept the ruffs company but Buttercup? Absolutely not. Because just as the Professor had taught her, she taught her sisters to never get along with the enemy. Never trust the enemy. Never befriend the enemy. She had cemented the idea that villains would always be villains in their heads. But that had been when they were children, back when she ate up everything the Professor said.

She tried to shrug it off. Nothing was ever impossible, that was all she had to say about it.

The chime of the door opening startled her and she yanked her hood back over her face. Heels clinked against the tiled floor and a high pitched voice rang out.

"Iced caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream. And when I say extra, I mean extra whipped cream not less coffee, so don't scam me."

She told herself not to look, but the voice was so familiar.

The woman huffed and Blossom could hear her digging in a purse. "Mm, give me one of those vanilla bean scones. Actually...make that two."

Blossom had to literally grab her head in order to stop from looking.

She listened as coffee began to pour into the cup. Then the woman spoke again. "Did you hear about what happened to the brats?" No response. "Hmph. Well, apparently they're taking a break from crime fighting for a little while because their minds are too 'foggy'. Not surprising, they're probably going crazy without her." She spat the last word out, voice laced with venom. "I can't believe they haven't given up yet. Must be tough. Oh well, serves them right for what they did to me."

That snooty tone. The arrogance.

"Here you are, Princess." The cashier spoke.

Blossom blinked. Princess. Yes. She remembered now.

"Eh, guess your business is lacking now without her charity." Princess snarkily replied.

Wait...was she talking about-

"Yes, we miss Blossom dearly. She did great things for all of us, which is why you should talk about her with some respect." The cashier stated sadly, slightly angrily.

Blossom adjusted her sunglasses.

"...Well, I-" Princess paused and a solemn sigh escaped her lips. "I know. I didn't mean it like that."

There was a small silence and then Blossom heard a sniffle.

"I miss her, too." Princess mumbled.

Blossom couldn't hold back anymore. She glanced over her shoulder and saw, for the first time in years, her childhood nemesis; Princess Morbucks. The red head's hair was as messy and untamed as ever and she was adorned in a glittering gold dress. But what caught Blossom's eye was the pink bracelet on her wrist. She held back a gasp. The feud between her and Princess had seized once they entered high school, both girls having matured and realized how pathetic and petty the fight was. Freshman year, they had been good friends. Blossom made Princess a friendship bracelet. But the friendship didn't last long. Princess chose to be home schooled and Blossom had to deal with other stuff, so the two separated. Eventually, Princess returned to her old envious ways and once again despised the pink puff. Blossom had thought that the girl still hated her, but apparently even Princess was hurt by Blossom's 'death'. It kind of touched her.

Blossom quickly turned back to her coffee, tucking herself away in the corner of the bench.

There was more sniffling and then Princess burst into sobs.

If Princess was this affected, then Blossom could only imagine what her sisters were like.

She picked up her coffee and tossed it into the nearest trash bin before rushing out of the back door, pulling her hood tight over her face, and hurrying back to the mansion.

She tapped her fingers against the table, humming softly to herself. For the past three days she had been burrowing herself inside the library or disappearing outside of the house, whatever it took to stay out of Brick's vicinity. She had explained to him that she needed some time to herself and he chose not to question her, which proved to be helpful. She tilted her head back and stared up at the steep ceiling. She hoped it would only be a few more days. Just a few more and then she would know how she felt. Because right now, she was still confused. She couldn't get him off her mind nor stop longing for him but that fact only served to anger her, which seemed...wrong. If she did have feelings for him then shouldn't she be fine with missing him? Yet her fists still clenched every time his red gaze flashed in her mind.

"You're disappointed in yourself, just like Brick was. You both feel that romance is weak and unnecessary and that it damages your ego." Was what Boomer had told her earlier that day.

It made sense. She had never involved herself in pointless relationships. She didn't go on dates, she didn't flirt around, she'd never had any intimate affiliations with a guy before. Brick was the only person she'd ever touched or been touched by in an affectionate way. And now that she thought about it, perhaps the reason she had avoided guys her whole life was because of her leader status. She was her sisters' role model and therefore whatever she did, they'd most likely do. So if she caught herself up in pointless relationships then so would they. And yeah...love sort of was weakness and did bruise her ego. Her sisters were her biggest weakness. Threaten them and she'd crumble. As a superhero, she couldn't have weaknesses so she avoided growing close to people as much as possible. It was just in her DNA.

But Brick was...different. It almost seemed that they were created for each other. Initially it had simply been to kill one another but now? The connections they had. The conversations they'd shared. The similarities. The understandings. And instead of becoming each other's weakness, they'd been strengthening one another. She had helped him grow into a kinder person who could control his anger and be a better leader. He had taught her that not all villains were bad. He had helped her become more aware, alert, and strategic.

She glanced at the door and imagined his tall figure bursting in and hurrying over to scoop her into a hug, unable to stay away from her for any longer. She stared at the spot on the floor where they'd sat together, his cheeks lightly tinged pink as he expressed his emotions. Another thing that they had done for each other; helped release their true thoughts and feelings. Usually getting into a relationship could be selfish, a craving for one's own needs to be satisfied, to have someone to hold them and whisper compliments into their ear. But with Brick it was different. She couldn't deny that staying with him would be a selfless choice of hers because she would be doing it for him, to continue to help him grow.

She yanked her hand away from the table as an invisible warmth tickled her skin.

No more denying. She knew she had feelings for him. Now, it was just a matter of whether or not to act on those feelings.

"Just a few more days." She told herself. "Don't over complicate it." Which was ironic for her to say, because Brick was so complicated; how could she not complicate this?

Her thoughts were cut off as a commotion erupted within the house. She stood and made her way to the door, tilting her head against it. It was Butch and Boomer, they were shouting at each other. She cracked open the door and peered into the hallway. No, not each other. Someone else was in the house.

"Brick! BRICK!"

A door upstairs slammed open and footsteps thundered above her. Brick came storming down the stairs, looking none too pleased to have been bothered. The staircase was at the end of the hallway that she was standing in and she could see his face. He first opened his mouth to yell at his brothers but instead caught sight of something and froze, his face falling. She wasn't entirely sure, but it almost looked like he was horrified.

"How did-?" He paused and continued to stare at whatever was in front of him like it was a ghost.

Butch stepped into her line of sight. "They said they followed the...uh...dirt?"

Brick glanced at his brother, processing his words. "...Dirt?" Then it registered and his expression fell before he face palmed. "God damn it."

She could hear Boomer's voice. "What do we do?"

There was complete and utter silence. Butch looked to Boomer who looked to whoever was standing with them and then they all stared at Brick.

Blossom eased the door back so that she could get a better look at who else was with them. The old door's rusted hinges groaned and she cursed out loud. All heads turned her way and she shot back into the library.

"Outside. Now." Brick ordered in an authoritative voice, something she hadn't heard him do in a while.

There was the shuffling of footsteps, a door slammed shut, and then eerie silence. She frowned and walked out into the hallway. It was empty.

"Hm..." She shrugged and made her way back to the library.

"FUCK YOURSELF!"

She jumped at the shout that rang from the backyard. Damn whoever that was was angry as-

Wait.

Her heart stopped.

She knew that voice.

Could it be...?

Her eyes went wide. The possibility overwhelmed her. She didn't even pause to think. She flew out of the library and down the hallway, bursting through the door, nearly knocking it off it's hinges. She came to a halt in the doorway. Everyone turned, her eyes found theirs.

Light pink met baby blue and lime green.

They gasped in sync.

Their lips moved to form her name.

She took a step into the grass.

"Blossom?"

Her eyes filled with tears. "Girls."