I do not own the Power Puff girls or the Rowdy Ruff Boys.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Coming Together as A Family Part 2

"You're fired! Both of you!"

"What!?" Alice gasped out, before glancing at Boomer who had his chin propped in his hand and was glaring at the wall. "It was his fault!"

That grabbed Boomer's attention and he turned his head so quickly, one would think he'd given himself whiplash. "The fuck? How's what happened my fault?"

"It was your girlfriend that ripped the door off the truck!" Alice snapped at him. She then lifted the leg of her pants and revealed bruises in the shape of hands so dainty they couldn't possibly be strong enough to leave such a mark. "And look at what she did to my leg!"

Boomer glanced at the offended flesh and shrugged. "You brought that on yourself."

Alice dropped her pant leg and stood up to stand over Boomer. Her hands were clenched into tight fists and her face was turning red. "Brought it—what kind of person drags someone out of a truck in the middle of daytime traffic!"

Cobalt blue eyes rolled as he returned to his previous position. Alice could say what she wanted, but she really did bring this whole thing on down on herself by herself. She could say that she was teasing all she wanted, but no one was laughing. It just so happened that her little tease was caught by Bubbles who was having lunch with her friends at the time. The youngest Ruff boy sighed as he recalled the series of events that led to his current situation.

Boomer and Alice had just finished their deliveries and were heading back to the warehouse. The younger man was driving and had his focus on the road before him. It was nearing noon and the lunch rush hour traffic was known to be murder. In such a big vehicle Boomer had to maneuver carefully lest he hit one of the smaller vehicles.

At the moment, they were stuck in a jam, the traffic being directed by an officer. Holiday traffic was always terrible but thrown in a broken traffic light and it was sure to be murder. Stuck in traffic as he was, he thought back to when he took Mojo grocery shopping. Thankfully there was no brawl that would've resulted in him being temporarily banned from the store. Though the encounter with Dexter was one he'd have to tell Brick when she saw him next, which would probably be Thanksgiving dinner at the Utonium home. It would be the first time everyone was together since the graduation dinner. Only this time Coal would be there outside of Blossom's belly. Bubbles showed him all the pictures they took on Halloween while he was recovering, but he still felt bad about not being there with the little guy.

He sighed and leaned against the door as they inched forward. Alice took notice and turned to look at her coworker. "What's got you down?"

Boomer glanced at Alice and against his better judgment decided to tell her what was on his mind. "My whole family's getting together for dinner."

"What's so wrong with that?"

A wry chuckle escaped him. "Have you met my dad? Mojo Jojo? Retired simian supervillain of Townsville. World's crankiest and overly protective dad. Archnemesis of the Power Puff girls, one of who I happen to be dating." Boomer shook his head and eased the truck forward the minuscule bit that it could. "I'll be surprised if a brawl doesn't break out."

"That's family and holidays," Alice told him with a chuckle of her own. "Wackos and weirdos in everyone with their own set of problems."

Boomer silently agreed with that before returning his attention to the road. "Yeah, but not like mine."

"How are things with your girlfriend? Are you guys still on the rocks?" Alice asked him, before noticing his distraction.

Sparing Alice a glance, he shook his head. "We're fine. Having dinner at her dad's place."

"I thought you said you were having dinner with your family." Alice reminded him as Boomer inched up another foot in traffic.

"We are."

"It's not going to be weird having your girlfriend at your family dinner?"

A small seed of annoyance crept itself into Boomer at her probing questions. "We're having it at her house, so it'd be weirder if she wasn't there."

"I'm confused."

Boomer sighed and ran a hand over his hair. "Mojo Jojo considered the professor his dad when he was younger. Then the professor made the girls. Mojo made us. We date the girls so we're all family."

Alice was quiet as she put those pieces of information together. It gave Boomer a few moments piece before Alice impulsively opened her big mouth again. "So you're dating your aunt?"

"Huh?"

Alice blew out a breath and turned toward her incestuous protégé. "Mojo considers this professor his dad, right?" When Boomer nodded his head, she continued. "You're Mojo's kids so in a way that makes the professor your grandfather. That means the professor's kids, the Power Puff girls are Mojo's siblings, so that makes them your aunt."

Boomer tried not to think too hard about his familial situation in that light. On paper it sort of made sense, but no one was truly related to anyone except the girls to each other and the boys to each other. Besides, the sexual attraction wouldn't have been so strong if they were related in that way. Also, it was weird to think that. "Our biology doesn't work like that."

Alice scoffed out a laugh and turned to look out the window. It was then she caught sight of Boomer's girlfriend. She was currently laughing with a friend while eating at a little café. She rolled down the window and then turned to Boomer. "Hey Boomer, check this out."

"What?"

"Is that Bubbles being hit on by some jockstrap?" Alice asked.

Boomer was inclined to ignore her when he heard the laughter that was undeniably his Angel's. Putting the truck into park, he unbuckled his seat and leaned over, only for Alice to turn her head and crush her lips against his. He tried to be gentle when he pulled away because she was human, but she brought her arms up and wrapped them around his shoulders. His arm flailed and he hit the horn, drawing the attention of everyone around them, including Bubbles. When he managed to pull himself back his leg hit the gearshift and sent the truck rolling forward.

"What the HELL Alice!" Boomer snapped at her, his voice making her ears ring as it went supersonic.

"It was just a joke. No need to—!"

The two delivery workers felt the impact before they heard the sound of metal colliding with metal. Boomer quickly righted himself and turned to hit the brakes and shift gears. Unfortunately for both of them, the damage was already done. "Fuck me!"

"Maybe now's not the time for that Boomer." Alice tried to joke a bit breathlessly as the adrenaline was still coursing through her.

"Not fucking funny Alice!" He snapped, before using his x-ray vision to inspect the damage of the truck and the one they hit. His preliminary inspection told him he was royally fucked. Groaning he fell back against his seat and brought his hands up to his face. "God-fucking-dammnit!"

Alice looked out the front window and sighed heavily. The truck was totally wrecked, and the same could certainly be said for the vehicle in front of them. "Boomer go out and get the other driver's information and make sure everyone's okay."

Before Boomer could move to do as his lead asked, the door on the passenger side was ripped from the truck. Alice scrambled away and clung to Boomer as Bubbles was revealed. She crushed the door in her hand like it was foil and then threw it to the ground, making a decent sized pothole.

"Bubbles! Hey, wait Bubbles!" He yelled when she reached into the truck and violently yanked Alice out of the cab. "Bubbles!"

Said girl ignored the call of her name as she righted Alice and knocked her against the side of the truck. "I've just about had enough of you messing with my boyfriend."

The older woman looked Bubbles up and down and tried to hold onto her bravado. However, with Bubbles glaring at her with stormy blue eyes, it was hard to believe that the girl before her was the sweet one. "Yeah?"

Robin was running toward her friend between the stopped cars. From their seat at the small outdoor café, she and Bubbles saw Boomer get kissing his coworker. Robin saw him throw himself away and snap at her before their truck crash. Bubbles saw it too, but Bubblevicious had already emerged. In a move that was dangerous as it was reckless, Robin managed to get in between Bubbles as Alice. With a trembling hand, she held it out toward her friend. "Bubbles, she's human. Like I'm human."

By this time, Boomer had hopped out of the cab and grabbed Bubbles around the waist. "Bubbles, you're going to regret it if you hurt her. Don't do it."

"I guarantee you I won't!" Bubbles yelled out, drawing an audience and the attention of the nearby traffic officers.

"Whoa!" Boomer yelled out when Bubbles jumped into a backflip and landed Boomer crashing into the asphalt. She pulled herself up from his momentarily stunned position and made her way toward Robin and Alice. Sitting up, Boomer grumbled under his breath. "Angel, come on! She's not worth it!"

Bubbles stopped where she was before turning back to him and hauling him up from the ground. Her eyes were dark and stormy as they glared up at him. He wasn't sure what she was about to do, so it caught him completely off guard when she pulled him down and kissed him. Boomer was further shocked when she managed to work his mouth open and tangled her tongue with his. It was after that contact was made did Boomer's brain catch up with his body and he wrapped an arm around Bubbles' waist to pull her closer to him. He matched her possessive passion, starting to get hard himself, and pressed his rising erection against her belly.

Unfortunately for him, Bubbles pulled away and turned to glare at Alice. Robin somehow managed to convince Bubbles to return to the little café to close out their check and venture elsewhere, albeit with a face full of fire after seeing Bubbles mark her territory. Once the two girls were gone, Boomer and Alice were left with the mess that they made of their delivery truck.

Boomer's mind lingered on that very possessive kiss that Bubbles planted on him earlier, only to curse himself a second later. He was in his boss' office with Alice getting fired. The last thing he needed to do was sport an erection. Thankfully, he didn't have to think too hard about things that disgusted him for his semi to go away. Alice's shrill complaints about her relatively minor injuries and how she always teases coworkers did the trick.

The Rowdy Ruff Boy had stayed mostly quiet throughout the conversation listening to his boss tell them both about the damages and possibly legal ramifications this was going to cause. While he was listing them, Boomer made a mental list of everything he could cover or take care of, so it didn't come out of the company's budget. So far he concluded, he could either fix or replace the truck with his own money—he'd just had to prepare Mojo. His dad was still a bit steamed that Butch spent ten grand on a wedding ring for Buttercup.

It was when Alice tried to shift the blame onto him that he had to speak. She was not going to lay the blame on him. "You fucking kissed me!"

"You overreacted!"

"Yeah, because I was trying to mind the fact that if I pushed you, you'd possibly be in the hospital or dead right now. That's how bad you startled me, Alice." Boomer told her, not so subtly reminded the two humans that he wasn't all human himself. Yes, he and his brothers had better control than they did years ago, but it didn't mean they didn't have lapses in the heat of the moment. Hell, normal human got hurt when someone overreacted to a prank gone wrong.

Alice scoffed and turned away from him before turning back to her former boss. "I don't believe this."

"What's not to believe Alice? You're fired because you and he fucked up! You got into a wreck while on the job because you were being well…you Alice."

Narrowing her eyes, she folded her arms across her chest. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Groaning, their boss—ex-boss—leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "You're flirty Alice." When she shrugged, he began to further elaborate. "You tease and pick at the younger guys just to make them nervous. The older guys think you're cute. They usually don't mind, can get used to you, but you usually know when to stop. You didn't stop with this guy and look what happened."

Alice glanced back at Boomer, who rose a brow at her before she returned her incredulous stare back to her boss. "How's that my fault he couldn't take a joke?"

"I told you when it wasn't funny, and you got mad." Boomer reminded her. "I get that you're the only chick in this place, but damn do you—."

"Excuse me? What does being a woman have to do with this?" Alice asked turning to look back at Boomer, her stance full of confrontation and ready to pounce.

Boomer realizing his mistake exhaled sharply through his nose and rubbed a hand over his face. "Fuck! That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, you misogynist pig?"

His own temper rising, Boomer stood up reminding her that she was taller and wider than him. "That you can be a bitch! You have been bitchy to me. You're inconsiderate and you can treat me like I'm stupid!" His voice had begun to rise, and that usually was a precursor for his Sonic Boomer side to show. Sighing, he ran a hand over his face and turned to his former boss. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I can pay for a new truck or hell even the person we hit to get a new vehicle. But Alice you…you're just not a nice person." With that, he moved around Alice out of the office.

"Good luck, Boomer." His boss called out to him after he was left with Alice.

Boomer blew out a breath and walked down the hall that would lead out of the warehouse. As he was leaving, he passed his two coworkers that he spent more of his time talking to. Jeff took notice of him and called out to him. "Hey, rookie! What happened?"

Boomer stopped in his tracks and simply turned to them with a downturned thumb. Both men's eyes widened in shock before catching notice of Alice storming Boomer's way. The blue Ruff turned just in time to receive a palm to the face. Unfortunately for the offender, Boomer was significantly more solid and sturdy than he looked. The crack of skin against skin was heard, but the yelp of pain wasn't from him, but Alice.

"OOWWW!" she gasped shaking her hand as it rang from the pain.

Boomer should pity her, but he found that he absolutely couldn't. Totally beyond his control, a chuckle escaped him and he turned to continue making his way out. When he got to his car, the first thing he did was pull out his phone and try to call Bubbles. He just wanted to talk about what happened earlier. When she didn't answer, he decided to make another call that could go one of two ways. When the call connected and picked up, he braced himself for what might be said.

"Hey, dad."

Much to Boomer's surprise, Mojo was actually thrilled he was fired. He thought the job was beneath his son. However, that jubilation lasted until he heard about the accident and the new pothole. "I can't believe it. I have to fix another pothole you and Bubbles created in the streets of Townsville."

Boomer didn't say much of anything as he helped Mojo get their groceries for Thanksgiving dinner packed into Brick's car. He grimaced as he walked toward the red sports car, thinking of how much he missed his own car. He was grateful his brother was letting him borrow it, but red was not for him. Butch said he was going to fix his car, but he was either lying or being too much of a lazy ass bum to just get on with it. "Compared to those craters you used to leave with those robots? Pot to kettle."

Mojo snorted and settled himself into the sports car with a few grocery bags in front of him that couldn't fit into the trunk of the sports car. When Boomer got into the driver's seat he purposefully revved the engine loudly enough to startle Mojo just to get a laugh. When his father glared at him, he laughed harder and set them on their way to the professor's. "So what are you going to do for work?"

"I don't know." Boomer told him honestly. He'd just gotten fired, and he planned to just relax for a little while.

"What about school? Have you considered that?" Mojo suggested to them.

Again, Boomer hadn't really thought about it. Also, he couldn't have a day to just not think about it. "Dad," he groaned.

"Despite the course of their relationships, Brick is in school and Butch is working," Mojo mentioned. "I just want you to have some aspiration."

Boomer focused on the road and grimaced. This was the problem living with Mojo by himself. While it wasn't completely out of sight out of mind, but Mojo did seem to focus on him more with his brothers out of the tower. What Mojo needed was a hobby that didn't involve him. "Why aren't we just cooking at the tower and bringing it over?"

"Because I want a fresh meal to be served," Mojo informed him.

"We're going to stay the night?" Boomer doubted they would, but he wanted to see how far Mojo was willing to put aside his comfort for this endeavor of his.

The simian chimp was quiet for a while muttering an affirmative to Boomer, knowing his son's reaction would be insulting bewilderment. True to form Boomer's eyes widened and his brow rose before relaxing into a smile. The sight annoyed him, but he couldn't exactly be upset as his actions were uncharacteristic for him. Come tomorrow, he was sure the boys will start their teasing and taunting wanting to see how far they can push him.

When they pulled up to the Utonium home, Mojo and Boomer were greeted to the sight of Buttercup and Butch in the garage working on Boomer's car. Boomer got out and yelled across the space over the room of Brick's car. "Finally fixing my car, you bum!"

"Be glad I'm doing it at all!" Butch yelled back at him, taking a look at His blue brother coming from a red car. "Is that Brick's car?"

Boomer glanced at the red car and nodded. "Yeah, I needed it to bring the groceries over. Mind giving us a hand?"

"I'll be inside making space in the fridge." Buttercup informed her husband. She stood up from the chair she was sitting in and disappeared inside without a second look.

"Sugar in the lemonade, Cupcake!" Butch called after her.

"Pearls before swine, Grease Monkey!" she retorted from inside.

It was with a head shake that Butch walked out of the garage to help his brother and father with the fixings for dinner the next day. Thankfully the only response he got from Mojo about Buttercup's snub was a snort. The trio made their way inside and began finding space for all their groceries. Butch was unpacking a bag when he came across a few packets of gravy mix. He couldn't help his laughter as he remembered getting between a fight Mojo had with some old lady.

Boomer turned to see what his brother was laughing at and started laughing himself. "You'll be proud to know that Mojo didn't fight any old ladies this year."

"Oh, he didn't? You deserve a treat, Mojo. Want a banana?"

The two boys broke into raucous laughter at their father's expense, before Mojo whacked Butch in the head with a hush of corn. The struck Ruff boy put his hands up while still laughing and left the kitchen. Mojo then waved Boomer out of the kitchen, forgetting that he wasn't completely alone. He was painfully reminded of that when he turned around and saw Buttercup taking some things out of the fridge to make room for the things that would need to remain cold.

The two of them stared—rather glared each other down before Mojo turned to his groceries and started sorting them out. Buttercup went back to rearranging things around in the fridge, actively ignoring Mojo. The silence stretched on long enough for the boys in the other room to peek around the corner, only to duck when Mojo glared at them.

Boomer and Butch retreated to the living room and sat on the couch. Butch reached for the remote and flicked the television on to some random channel before relaxing back on the couch. Boomer reclined beside him and sighed. "So…how's the couch surfing going?"

"Fine," Butch said lifting his arms and clasping his hands behind his head.

Boomer noticed the folded blankets and pillow stuffed in the far corner of the room and hummed to himself. "How often are you actually staying down here?"

In answer, Butch snorted out a chuckle and gave his little brother a wicked smile. "What do you think?"

Joining his brother in laughter, Boomer turned to the television. "You better hope the professor doesn't catch you."

"I'm sure he knows, but we have this weird unspoken agreement to not mention it," Butch said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "I try not to let him catch me walking around naked. Once was enough."

They were quiet for a moment, mindlessly watching the show playing out before them. Boomer folded his arms across his chest and slid further into the couch, half watching the television half listening to what was going on in the kitchen. Mojo was really trying to be better, but if Buttercup couldn't reign in her need to be "spice"… Boomer blew out a breath just thinking about how disastrous dinner will be.

Butch briefly glanced his way thinking of what was on his brother's mind. "What?"

"How do you think dinner is going to go tomorrow?" Boomer hedged carefully.

Unfortunately for him, Butch could smell a chance for a bet a thousand miles away. "How much you got?"

"For?"

Butch leaned forward and blinked activating his x-ray vision to see into the kitchen. Mojo was still in the kitchen getting things put away. A quick look around told him that Buttercup had ventured elsewhere in the house. Blinking back to normal, he reached for the remote and turned the television up, lest Buttercup's super hearing caught wind of what he was scheming. "Going to put down ten that Mojo blows up before dinner sets the table."

"Butch." Boomer groaned.

"Come on." Butch urged him. "We haven't had a good bet at his expense in a while. It'll be fun."

Boomer pursed his lips as he thought about it and looked away from Butch. It was a sign he was wavering, and Butch's smirking at him wasn't helping. He looked away from Butch trying not to get roped into making a joke out of Mojo's attempt at being nice for once. "He's doing this for us, you know."

"Yeah, but check it. It'll just make things more interesting." Butch prodded, knowing he was wearing him down.

Boomer took a deep breath, before sinking lower into the couch. "I'm in if you can Brick to agree."

Butch's emerald eyes widened, before falling into a glare. "Jackass!" he then reached for one of the couch cushions and whacked Boomer in the face with it. "Have you talked to Brick lately?"

"No. Why?"

Butch rose a brow, only to stop when he saw the professor's car pull into the driveway from the large open window. At the same time, Boomer caught sight of Bubbles coming down the sidewalk from next door, meeting her father partway up the walk. Sitting up straighter he waited for Bubbles to come in. He hadn't seen her since she kissed him earlier and she wouldn't answer when he called. When she stepped in and noticed Boomer, her face flamed and she sped past him and went up to her room.

"What'd you do now?"

"Nothing." Boomer deflated leaning back on the couch. "I just got kissed like hell after being body-slammed in the middle of the street."

Butch's brow rose as he looked Boomer over. "When did that happen, and why?"

"Today, and because my coworker kissed me." Boomer informed his brother before Butch started laughing and put a hand over his face. "What?"

"After all that hell you went through when the numb nut kissed her, I can bet she's feeling a little awkward about it," Butch told his brother dropping his hand and returning his attention to the television.

Boomer blew out a breath and reclined beside his brother. He missed when things were simple with his relationship.

The professor cleared his throat drawing the attention of the boys. "A few ground rules for this impromptu sleepover. Both of you will be staying down here with me tonight. Doors are going to remain open if you go to their rooms. You two are down here with me by eleven."

Even though this was for both of them, Butch felt the rules were particularly directed at him.

The water was scalding as evident by the steam rising around him, but Brick hardly took notice. He was lost in his thoughts about how he freaked out the other day. Princess managed to push his buttons and that urge to destroy something. The strongest it's been in a long time. Flying to Monster Isle and wasting a mountain and a few of the unlucky ones that tried to fight him, eased the bloodlust. However, he felt lousy about it and frustrated with himself. An undeserved blessing in all this was Blossom letting him be when he got home. Blossom was being so patient with him and he was cowering from his own nature.

Bringing his hands up to cup the water, he splashed his face and reached for his soap to begin washing himself. While he was creating a lather, Blossom came in and started to undress herself. After she was naked, she carefully pulled back the curtain and stepped in behind him. Brick turned at her entrance and gave her body a once over. Even after having a baby, she was beautiful. "Where's Coal?"

"In bed. He fell asleep about ten minutes ago." Blossom told him before reaching for his soap. "Wash your back?"

"Yeah, sure." He said handing her his soap. Within moments, Blossom was running her cool hands over his skin. It was soothing and Brick felt himself begin to relax for the first time in a while. He had no problem with her touching him, he just couldn't bring himself to touch her. He was afraid of what he might see in his mind's eye. He didn't want to see him hurting her. If he did, it would confirm everything that he didn't want to be true as true. A shudder went through him as he thought about it and pulled away from Blossom. "Fuck."

"Brick." She stepped with him as he braced one of his hands against the wall. She pressed her entire body against him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm not weak you know."

"I didn't say—."

"You don't have to when your actions say it all." She groused before sighing against his skin. "This has to stop."

Brick pulled away from her and rinsed himself off before getting out. The water cut off behind him as he wrapped a towel around his waist. Suddenly there were hands pushing him, hard enough to send him stumbling forward. Catching himself, he spun and saw Blossom coming at him again. Despite bracing himself, she used enough of her inhuman strength to knock him to the floor. With him landing on his backside, Blossom took advantage and straddled him before pinning his hands down on either side of him. "Blossom."

"I'm not weak." She reiterated before leaning down and kissing him fiercely. It was angry and fill of teeth as she bit him hard enough to bruise. She soothed each affliction with a swipe of her tongue only to do the same on another part of his skin.

It was a pure reaction to the challenge in her body and he used his weight to throw her, knocking her to the floor beneath him. The moment she was below him, he seemed to realize what he'd done and was about to apologize when he let out a grunt and collapsed onto Blossom groaning in her ear. He was pushed off her and curled into himself holding his groin.

Beside him, Blossom sat up and faced him with a stern look on her face. "I told Butch I wouldn't kick your ass, but I had to knock some sense into you." She then leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you Peaches, and I know you can flatten a city if you wanted, but I can flatten you if I wanted."

The pain slowly subsiding, Brick wheezed out a laugh and shook his head. "You think you can flatten me without going to for the cheap shot?"

"Considering I'm not trying to get pregnant again for a while, I don't think it was a cheap shot." She said before getting up and returning to the bathroom to shower.

Once the shower got started, Brick allowed himself the chance to laugh at himself. Blossom had very clearly made her point. If he did try to hurt her, she wouldn't go down without a fight. He'd give his Cherry Pie that much credit. Still, he couldn't completely put it out of his mind the possibility. It was that doubt that held him back.

Eventually, he got up from the floor, and dressed in a pair of sleep pants, and laid in bed. When Blossom finally came to join him in bed, he let her wrap her arms around him and settle against him. Hesitantly he did the same, stiffly laid wrapped in her embrace. "What's Coal going to wear tomorrow?"

"A brown onesie with a pie on it and a turkey hat," Blossom answered.

Brick groaned against her hair. "Please don't put a turkey hat on him. He's going to look like a dork."

"No, he won't," Blossom argued. "He'll look cute."

Brick silently disagreed and hoped his son puked over his outfit.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Buttercup yelled waking up the boys and the professor who was sleeping in the living room.

"Huh?" Butch was so startled he jumped and rolled off the couch, landing on Boomer.

"Hey!" The younger boy grumbled before pushing his brother off him. He turned to where he heard movement and then groaned. He buried his face in the borrowed pillow and pulled the blanket over his head. "Tell your wife it's too early."

Butch looked toward the kitchen and slowly got up to see what the commotion was. Behind him, Boomer and the professor tried to get back to sleep. Stumbling to the kitchen, Butch found Buttercup lifting a bowl out of Mojo's reach. "You don't make a sweet potato pie by adding ginger to it."

"Shows what you know about baking," Mojo commented, reaching for his bowl full of sweet potato puree.

"I happen to be the spice of the group, so I know my spices and what goes well together. That means I know you don't put ginger in a sweet potato pie. Nutmeg. Cinnamon. Vanilla extract. Clove. But never ginger!"

Butch rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sighed. "You're fighting over pie?"

The two cooks in the kitchen looked toward the green groggy Ruff and turned to him. "Butch, tell him he can't put ginger in the pie."

"Tell your wife she's wrong about excluding the ginger!" Mojo told him.

Rubbing his hands over his face, he searched for that small recess of patience he kept reserved in the deepest pit of his being. "Who's making the pie?"

"Mojo, but—what are you doing?"

The moment she said Mojo was in charge, he walked over and picked her up with one arm. He took the bowl from her and handed it back to Mojo. He then proceeded to bring Buttercup up to her room and tossed her on her bed. He crawled over her and laid a heavy arm across her belly holding her down.

"Butch!"

"Cupcake, it's too early," Butch grumbled into the bed. "Please, if you're going to fight with him, do it when everyone's awake and not at the butt crack of dawn."

Buttercup sighed and allowed herself to be held down by Butch. "It's just pies were my thing at Thanksgiving."

Butch turned to look at her with tired eyes. "Let him have this okay. He's doing this for us."

"Us, being you three." Buttercup clarified. "You know Mojo's only playing nice because of this funk you guys are in. The minute it's over, he'll be over his being nice to the girls thing."

The statement wasn't not possible, but Butch wasn't going to count his father out so quickly. If the chimp was willing to spend the night in the same house with two out of three of the girls he hated, then there was hope for everyone getting along yet. The girls' former simian nemesis was putting forth an effort. If he could do it, so could they. He'd argue with her about it when he was more awake.

"Just let Mojo do what he's going to do. You just try to be sweet." He said placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Buttercup sighed and relaxed under Butch's arm. "I'm spice remember."

"Yeah, but I like sugar too." He then kissed the tattoo on her arm that defined her as much.

Hours later, the smell of baked goods roused Boomer and the professor from sleep. One particular baked good had Boomer getting up from his pallet on the floor and venturing into the kitchen. Without thinking, he leaned over the counter and stuck his finger into the bowl that had the last bits of Mojo's specialty cake. Bring it to his mouth, he moaned softly at the chocolate peanut butter batter. Aside from eating the cake itself, this was his favorite part. Mojo always let him get the first lick out of the bowl. When he went for a second taste his hand was whacked by a gloved hand that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Out of the kitchen unless you're cleaning dishes or helping." Mojo chided.

"You made chocolate banana peanut butter cake." Boomer noted.

Mojo folded his arms and stared at Boomer with a guarded expression. "Will you be eating some or will you throw it in my face about how I'm trying too hard?"

The wince that cut through Boomer was hard to hide. Mojo was justified in asking as he was snubbed before. However, the difference between then and now was that he was including rather than excluding. That's what made the gesture so much more welcome than last time. It wasn't easy for the chimp to show his feelings, and he was easily swayed into retreated behind bad habits. Everyone else saw a grumpy, jaded anthropomorphic chimp of unusually high intellect—the girls included at the time. The boys and occasionally the professor saw a justifiably overprotective father wanting the best for his sons. Unlike most parents, he knew what it was like to lose them, and he'd be damned if he lost them again.

Mojo was still waiting for an answer when Boomer quickly reached for the bowl again and swiped a rather large bit of batter onto his finger to take into his mouth. This time he was faster and avoided getting his hand whacked. "Boomer!"

"Going to take a shower before I come and help you with the sides." He called as he headed up the stairs out to do as he said.

All Mojo could do was shake his head as he went about cleaning up before he got started on the next item on his dinner menu.

"I can't believe he didn't want to keep his turkey hat on," Blossom complained as her son slept in his car seat on their way to the Utonium home.

Brick glanced in the rearview mirror to catch his son's sleeping reflection in the car seat mirror. Both boys were wearing red caps, only Brick's was turned backward like usual and Coal's was partially hiding his face as he was front-facing. We'll have him wearing his hat like me in no time, he thought smugly. "He knew it made him look like a dork."

"He's a baby. Babies can't look like dorks." Blossom told him with a dry look.

"They can if they wear turkey hats." Brick said as they turned onto the street for her childhood home. "Are you going to cook when you get there?"

"Not really. I already made my ice cream a few days ago." She turned from her baby in the back seat to look at Brick. "You think Mojo's going to need help in the kitchen?"

As they pulled up to the Utonium house behind his sports car, Brick shook his head. "Nah, with Boomer and Butch there, he'll have plenty of help. Besides, that's not what I'm worried about."

After cutting the engine, he got out and helped Blossom get Coal and her ice cream situated before heading to the front door. Unfortunately for both of them, before they even reached the door they could hear yelling coming from inside. The young parents spared each other a look when the door was wrenched open and Brick was roughly pulled inside. Thank goodness, Brick was holding the ice cream and not Coal. He nearly dropped her ice cream due to his brothers' manhandling.

"Brick, come on, get in on this bet," Butch told him. "Boomer will only agree if you do."

"What bet?" Brick asked before he remembered the yelling coming from the kitchen. "And what's all the yelling about?"

"Buttercup has been trying to arrange the table and she's fighting with Mojo about what goes where." Boomer said. "And we really going to bet on when Mojo blows up?"

"You already know he will," Butch said hearing the yelling from his wife. "Hurry up before we lose our chance."

Brick blew a cloud of smoke into both his brothers' faces if only to get them out of his face. When they gave him his desired space, ventured into the kitchen so he could stash Blossom's ice cream in the freezer. As he was informed by his brothers, Mojo was in a standoff with Buttercup about where to place everything on the table. "Dad! You cooked everything, let her set it up on the table. Fair?"

Buttercup shot Mojo a smug look and that made the chimp scowl as he retreated from the room. She went about getting all the finished food set up, making sure to leave space for their turkey. She looked up at Brick when she heard the freezer open and shut. When he made to leave without looking at her, she bristled at him. "You have a problem?"

"Not fighting with you today, Buttercup." He said without pausing. She was Butch's problem as far as he was concerned, he wasn't going to entertain her need to feel like a badass. Upon his return to the living room, Brick noticed how Mojo took up residence in the recliner; the farthest seat away from Blossom and Coal, who occupied the couch. Baby steps, he thought. Baby steps.

Thankfully the professor came into the room to help him ease the tension. He greeted him with a pat on the back and once over. There was no subtly about it, but Brick couldn't find it in himself to care. He knew he was looking a little rough these past few weeks. "Hey, you seem better today."

"Yeah, Blossom sort of grabbed me by the balls last night." He said with a wry laugh.

The professor wisely chose not to examine what that could've possibly meant beyond the metaphor that it was. Instead, he gave the young man a small smile and walked over to Blossom to sit beside her. Brick took the opportunity to greet Mojo by patting the globe that was his helmeted head when he passed "Mojo."

"Brick."

Sitting down on the couch end closest to him, Brick allowed himself the chance to appreciate the smell of all the food that was being prepared. His canine heightened olfactory senses made it easy for him to distinguish which items Mojo prepared. His eyes widened when he caught the smell of peanut butter, chocolate, and banana. "Chocolate peanut butter banana cake? You made it?"

Mojo lifted a shoulder trying to be nonchalant about it. He focused on his other two sons who were failing miserably at hiding the fact they were gambling at his expense. The two of them were standing by the window with Butch counting out the bills he was willing to risk. Mojo would see to it that he lost every dime. "It's a holiday, so why not?"

"You're making this the best Thanksgiving for my Fireball." Brick said as he turned to look at his son who was out of his car seat and in Blossom's arms. "He's going to love it."

"He's too little Brick," Blossom told him from her place beside the professor, having overheard the conversation.

Rather than argue with her, Brick turned to Mojo who was focusing on the bills he was going to make Butch lose by days' end. "Mind making that cake for him for his first birthday?"

Mojo looked to Brick about to give him a negative response when he suddenly felt the stares of everyone in the room on him. If it were possible for his face to burn red, it would've under the scrutiny. Instead, he got up and tried to escape to the kitchen, claiming he was going to check on the turkey. As he was walking by, he nearly collided with Buttercup. The two stepped back and gave each other a wide birth of space as they passed and glared at each other. Buttercup came into the living room and sat beside the professor who was now holding Coal after she passed him over.

"Hey little guy, you've gotten so big since the last time I saw you." The professor praised the six-week infant. "I promise no needles today."

Coal gurgled softly at that, making his mom laugh. "I'd hope so."

Buttercup tugged on Coal's sock-covered foot trying to get his attention. "Needles? For what?"

"His tattoo that says RRB 4 Life." Butch joked while watching still trying to convince Boomer to take a bet with him. He then turned to Brick and raised his money. "C'mon Brick. What's your bid?"

"You're an asshole, you know that?" His brother chuckled, as an idea came to him. "But what's the starting bid?"

"Brick!" Blossom exclaimed, drawing Coal's red gaze to her.

Butch smirked triumphantly at his older brother while his younger's jaw dropped in disbelief. "It's at fifty."

Reaching for his own wallet, Brick pulled out a few bills to make up his fifty. "Putting fifty that after this point, your wife will blow her stack before Mojo does." He narrowly avoided the blow that was aimed at him from the mentioned person.

"Now who's the asshole, Brick?" She said readjusting herself on the couch into Brick's seat when he hightailed out of the way of her attack.

"Still your husband." Brick answered before replacing his wallet and waving the money in Butch's face. "How about it? Fifty she blows?"

Butch stared at the bills before turning to Boomer. "What's your bid Baby Boom?"

Seeing as there was no way out of this, Boomer reached for his wallet. "Fifty they both blow it."

"YES!" He fist-pumped the air and reached for Brick's bills only for his brother to hold them up and out the way. "What gives?"

"The bank keeps the cash? If you hold onto it, you'll find some way to stiff us." Brick said.

"Speaking of stiffing; Boomer what's the holdup?"

"My wallet's upstairs." He moved around his brothers and headed up the stairs. After bringing Mojo over with his goods, he flew home to grab a change of clothes for the day. He stashed his previous day's clothes in Bubbles room and made his way there to search for his wallet.

Unfortunately for him, he was too used to living with his brothers and didn't bother to knock before he barged in. If he had, he would've known that Bubbles wasn't dressed yet. Also, she would've been prepared and covered herself. Be that as it were, Boomer didn't knock and Bubbles wasn't covered.

Boomer stared dumbfounded at the sight of Bubbles' naked body until a teddy bear came flying at him. "Boomer! What are you doing?"

Catching the bear, he kicked the door behind him and quickly made his way over to her, hoping she didn't yell loud enough to alert the professor. "Sorry, sorry. Just come in to get my wallet."

"Okay, get your wallet, and let me get dressed." She said pushed him toward the pile of clothes by her dresser.

Boomer looked over his shoulder and gave Bubble's body the once over, remembered what it felt like to taste it under his tongue and feel beneath his skin.

"Boomer!"

"Huh? Oh, right" He turned to his clothes and started feeling for his wallet. After pulling it out, he fished for the cash and was about to leave when he stopped. "You know, about yesterday I—."

"I'm sorry!" She said quickly, cutting him off. "I-I just, when I saw her kissing you, I—I just feel like an idiot after I made a big deal about you being jealous."

Boomer turned around to face her, sad in only a boy could be that she was dressed. She wore a deep blue sweater dress that clung to her breasts and draped over her hips nicely. A smile came across his face and he wondered if she knew that she was wearing his favorite shade of blue. "Butch said you might've felt like that, but…I kind of liked it. Especially when you kissed me."

Bubbles' face flamed with a blush and she pulled her hair from its messy bun and parted her hair. Boomer walked over so he was standing behind her and moved her hair out of the way, baring her neck. "Boomer," she then gasped when she felt his warm breath tickled the sensitive skin there. When he pressed his lips there, Bubbles inhaled sharply and felt her body flame from her toes to the top of her head.

Before she could really react or Boomer did anything more, a knock came to the door. Startled, she used her super speed to move away from Boomer and crashed into her vanity. Behind her Boomer chuckled as he went to the door and opened it to reveal Blossom standing on the other side. With a self-satisfied smile on his face, he walked past her and returned downstairs. In her room, Bubbles covered her face and tried to steady her breathing but to no avail.

"Do you need a minute?"

Turning to her smirking older sister, Bubbles scowled weakly. "Shut up." She muttered.

"Well, when you no longer look like a boiled octopus, come on down. We're about to eat." With that Blossom left her baby sister to regain her senses after Boomer blew them all clear straight to hell.

The professor wound up being the bank for the boys' bet and said if no one blew up, he'd keep the money himself. "Serves, you right when Mojo went to all this trouble for you." He said sounding stern, but Butch saw the glint in his eyes as he pocketed the money. The jerk was hoping things remained civil so he could make an easy one fifty dollars. Well, he wasn't about to let that happen.

A little while ago everyone sat at the table and was eating—well almost everyone. Coal was having his Thanksgiving dinner from a bottle. He was in Brick's lap, braced against his torso with his daddy holding his bottle at just the right angle for him to drink. It was awkward for Brick to dig into his own plate, but if his son was happy, he was happy. The sight didn't go unnoticed by the professor or Mojo.

"Why isn't Blossom feeding him?" the chimp asked watching his grandson consume his meal.

"Because it wouldn't be polite for her to bare her breasts in front of everyone." Brick said with a laugh, earning an eye roll from Blossom and a frown from the professor.

"Isn't that what the bottle is for?" Mojo asked, ignoring the snickering around the table.

This time Blossom decided to answer. "It's better than Brick bottle feeds him while I stick to breastfeeding. We don't want him to get nipple confusion."

"Nipple…"

"Confusion?"

The unfamiliar term had Butch and Boomer's brows furrowing and unconsciously glancing down at Blossom's swollen breasts accentuated by the pink button-up she wore. Both of them were kicked in succession by Brick under the table for their ogling. Coal protested as the sudden motion dislodged the bottle from his mouth. "Knock up your own girl if you want to stare at some nice tits."

The professor choked on the virgin sparkling wine he was sipping. When his throat was clear he set his cup down and took a look around the table at the boys. "How about we do not provide Coal with any cousins or siblings."

Mojo silently concurred and glanced at Coal, who found the nipple to his bottle and resumed eating. "Despite how adorable the little thing is, one is enough for the time being."

Brick and Blossom beamed at hearing Mojo call their son adorable. What made it even better was that he didn't choke on the compliment as it came out.

After that, the conversation stirred away from body parts and toward safer topics like work and school, Brick and Butch never failed to try to rile Mojo or Buttercup up in the hopes of winning the stupid bet. Boomer could really care less if he won or not, despite the odds playing in his favor. Mojo was doing this because he wanted the family to be together because he felt the three of them needed it. The return to something resembling normal. Looking around the table he was sure that Mojo got his wishes. Everyone was here together. He and his brothers were closer to what they were like before their disastrous trip, but he didn't think Mojo was getting the appreciation for his efforts he deserved. For that, he blamed Buttercup. She was being…well, Buttercup. Even though she didn't say it, she liked a good confrontation just as much as Butch did, and it was equally as annoying. Bubbles must've sensed his irritation because she reached for his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. It was much appreciated and drew a smile to his face.

The stalemate of the bet had Butch deflating by the time dessert came around. The deadline for his bet had come and Mojo had not gone off the rails with anger for any reason. His disappointment at losing his money brought a laugh to everyone when he muttered a curse under his breath. Mojo looked particularly smug as he watched the professor flash the money and then return it to his pocket.

After tucking away his spoils, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now that the nonsense is out of the way, I want to say how glad I am that we're all together for this holiday. For years we've been at odds, but this is the first time where none of that matters. Mojo Jojo thank you for bringing us together."

The boys were quick to agree with Blossom and Bubbles following after. Buttercup wasn't so eager to show her appreciation. Rather she scoffed and a cruel smile came over her face. "Better late than never, huh?"

"Buttercup, shut up," Blossom told her from across the table.

She was about to say more when the professor laid a silencing look on her. "That's enough, Buttercup."

"Sorry, I'm just confused as to why we're praising the ape that wanted nothing to do with any of this." She said while turning to stare down Mojo. "Why should your willingness to be part of this now matter to me?"

Put on the spot like he was, made Mojo uncomfortable and his initial reaction was to lash out. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on one's viewpoint, Brick took the honor for himself. He allowed himself to exhale a thick black cloud of smoke, glad Coal was nowhere nearby as he was placed upstairs for his nap and glared at Buttercup. "Why are you determined to be a bitch about this?"

"HEY!" Butch jumped in, starting to grow angry himself. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"Then get her to chill out!" Brick snapped at him.

"That would be your ice queen's department, now wouldn't it?" The confrontational brother retorted with no lack of venom.

"Guys," Boomer tried to chime in but was overpowered by growing louder voices at the table. Beside him, Bubbles was rendered speechless at how quickly things were spiraling out of control.

"Oh, screw you, Butch!" Blossom bit out.

"If anyone here needs to chill out it's you, Hothead!" Buttercup threw out.

"Fuck you, Buttercup!"

"That is enough!" The professor yelled as he stood up from the table. Everyone turned to look at the literal creator of all this as silence descended. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Buttercup with chastisement in his gaze. "Buttercup, you were out of line."

"I was out of line?"

"You know you were." Blossom's tone was icy when she spoke and sent a chill across the table toward her sister.

"I cannot believe you're taking the monkey's side!" She then turned to Mojo with jade daggers in her eyes. "You have got a lot of goddamn fucking nerve to think you deserve anything from us! All the fucking eggshells we've had to walk around for you. The insults! The mistrust! The lack of fucking empathy! The grudge you held onto for years from something that YOU did?! You're un-fucking-believable."

Mojo who'd been stunned into silence held Buttercup's gaze until he sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they showed a tiredness that was bred from years of stress and hardship. "This was a mistake."

With that Mojo turned and started to make his way to the door. Boomer quickly got up and followed after him in the hopes of convincing him otherwise. When failed to do so, Boomer came charging back into the dining room, eyes set on Buttercup. Brick recognized Sonic Boomer and stood up to intercept him, though he was sure she didn't deserve it. While he was physically restrained his words still shot out like arrows toward her. "YOU STUPID, UNFORGIVING—."

His foot shot out and knocked into the table hard enough to tip it over. Food and drink went all over the place forcing everyone to jump back to avoid the mess. Boomer managed to push Brick off him and he stormed out of the house, slamming the door hard enough to shake the foundation of the house

A moment later cries could be heard from upstairs. Brick and Blossom immediately forgot about everyone else to go to their son.

Bubbles floated over the mess to the clear side to head to the front door. "I'm going to go check on Boomer."

When she was gone that left the professor and green Ruff and Puff surrounded by a lost dinner. The professor could only look at Buttercup with heavy disappointment lining his face and shook his head. "Young lady, you were severely out of line."

"Profess—."

"I expect this to be cleaned before tomorrow." Then he too left the room.

Beside her, her husband grabbed one of the overturned chairs and turned it upright, so that he may sit. He folded his arms over his chest and bounced his leg agitatedly. Buttercup turned looked at him braced for what he might say. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

Butch looked up and her and shook his head. "If you'd have done this before dessert, Brick would've won the bet. But honestly, I couldn't give a rat's ass about it." His eyes landed on the ruined chocolate peanut butter banana cake and the urge to kick himself was so strong he almost fell through with the action.

Hello, my lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed the craziness of the chapter. When I was writing I thought I wanted it to end on a happier note, but it turned into one of those get worst before better situations. Things will get better for everyone, I promise.

That being said, I'm less than a month away from debuting my first original story RockStar. Be sure to follow the link in my profile to my FictionPress page, Wattpad, and Instagram for updates. I'm trying to finish this year strong. Best wishes to you all.

Until Next Time