author's note: Apologies for the wait! I'm doing my best ksjdns- The song this time is Control by Doja Cat!
Friday, May 14
"I really like this color."
Bubbles startled, turning to see Butch walk into the empty echo chamber of a guest bedroom. "Gosh, you scared me."
"Heh," he smirked. "Is my super secret stealth training working?"
"Unfortunately so," she grumbled, 'begrudgingly' accepting the cup of sugar with coffee she called a latte that he held out to her. Much more sugar than coffee. They both knew there was no stealth training- the dork just wanted something fun to say. "I'm scared of what you'll do when you perfect this little stealth technique."
"I haven't figured that out yet," he shrugged, his forest eyes inspecting the teal paint she was laying on the walls. "Teal?"
"Little blue, little green," she smiled brightly up at him. "Felt like the perfect middle ground. It also doesn't take too much to cover the streaky olive green you had before."
He leaned down to kiss her, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist and she hummed triumphantly. "Sounds perfect to me, too," he mumbled against her lips.
She giggled and pulled back, made giddy by the wide and unguarded smile on his lips. She leaned away just a bit more and took a sip of the drink he'd brought home for her, humming again in happiness. "This is the last room, in terms of the walls."
That lopsided smile she loved so dearly spread across his lips. "Then we start moving furniture?"
"Then we lay better carpet in the bedrooms," she challenged. "I want to know why you thought dark red was a good idea when your original idea was green walls."
"It was the cheapest at the time and I needed cheap more than pretty," he answered honestly. He didn't even seem ashamed of the garish choice, either. That much, she was certain, was a crime. "Or, at least, I thought I did. I also thought I'd have it installed well before May when I first bought it, though, and here we are. And, to be honest, I didn't think I'd care about how it looked."
She shook her head. "Yeah, first we're getting different carpet to lay. Then, we'll bring furniture and stuff, and start unboxing my things."
"Maybe we can have a housewarming graduation party?" he asked, waggling his brows at her.
She seemed a little hesitant. "If you're up for the challenge, we can see just how fast we get it done… But I don't think, even if we rush, we'll be done by then."
His bottom lip jutted out just a little in a pout. It didn't last long, though. Not while she was in his arms still. Her happiness easily affected and brightened his own mood just by being near her, and he wasn't sure how much of that was his own rose tinted glasses and how much of that was just Bubbles and her effect on life around her. His forest eyes looked up to the walls, to the surprisingly neat and tidy paint job she'd done despite not having masking tape. "How much do you have left in here? It looks done to me…"
Her blue eyes caught his green ones and, finally, she noticed the excitement just beneath the surface. "Not that much, I just need to finish around the light switch over there, actually. What's up your sleeve?"
He hummed and kissed her forehead. "I think I have some good news for you."
"Oh yeah?"
He nodded and pulled back from her, letting her move as she wanted. "So I brought home dinner, for one. Stopped by to grab some veggie fajitas and a quesadilla for you," he began with.
Her brows raised slowly, still seeming a bit cautious. "Well that's definitely a good way to start."
Butch bounced his brows at her. "The better news… I talked to Landon- the dude I rent the shop building from? He's the one who owns all of those buildings down West A Street there. He's willing to lease out the old bakery and salon spots if you wanted to open a groomer's shop of your own," he offered with a lopsided smile. Her jaw dropped and his eyes darted, briefly, to her plush, open lips. Not now. "Right across from the park, so the dogs would have somewhere to play, right down the way from me, you'd be able to tear the walls down to make it bigger if we needed to combine the spaces…"
Her eyes were wide and full of so much awe and joy. "Wait, really? Really really?"
"Absolutely, Angel."
It might cost an arm and a leg to do, and to convince Landon of, but he was certain they could make some remodeling decisions.
Bubbles barely got her latte sat down on the open window sill before she leapt at the Ruff. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist. He caught her, lifted her in his arms with ease and smiled brightly at her reaction. He brought her close for his kiss, their lips dangerously close (but not yet touching) and their breaths mingling. Her fingers threaded through his black hair, her eyes lidded as she smiled at him- still not yet kissing him as he wanted her to. "You spoil me."
"I try to, yes," he agreed easily.
No shame.
No hesitation.
She giggled and finally kissed him, her toes curling at just how he always set her nerve endings ablaze when he tried to overwhelm her with his attentions. Even before his lips parted, just the breathtaking feeling of his lips on hers was enough to make her breath hitch. His tongue made her spine tingle, his needy and tight grip on her thighs made her moan softly and she could have melted when he bit her lower lip daringly.
The heat that pooled in her gut was nothing compared to the absolute elation in her soul.
No matter how hard he tried to work her up, the happiness and joy she felt drowned out any lust or heat that attempted to take root. He took care of her in ways she never imagined anyone ever doing. It never seemed like he thought about it- he just did. Butch had always been a little more impulsive than his brothers, but she wasn't even sure if it was impulse either because there was obviously some thought to what he did and why he did it.
She pulled back, her heart in her throat.
Butch smiled, so affectionate and warm that she almost had her own impulse to go running barefoot in the forests with him. "I take it that's a good idea?"
"It is," she agreed breathily. "I think you might be ruining me for anyone else. I don't think anyone could measure up to you."
"Good," he smirked. His lidded eyes glanced at her lips again. Then, he sat her down on her feet. "Wanna go carpet shopping tomorrow, then? I still have all the measurements for these rooms somewhere upstairs."
"Mm," she agreed with a bright smile. The blonde bent over to grab the paint brush she was going to use to paint around the light switch. "I also want to look for a few other smaller things, if that's okay? Like better- matching - light switch covers."
"Of course!" His chuckle felt like a reward. For what, she didn't know. "What color carpet are you thinking?"
"Something light to match the tiling. Not exactly white, but probably a soft beige or a pale gray… This shade of teal I think works better with lighter accents," she mused, her head tilting as she thought it through. "Thoughts?"
He shrugged. "I'm okay with that, yeah. Like I said, I'm leaving judgment up to you here. I'll let you know what I want to keep or change if something comes up, but otherwise? Go hog wild, Angel."
She smiled up at him. "Well, go get us set up for dinner, then, and I'll be in there after I finish up this wall."
Butch kept his eyes on her for a moment longer, his forests honing in on the three little smudges of teal paint on her skin: just on the apple of her left cheek, just above her right brow and just a little ways from the corner edge of her mouth. His breath caught, his mind's eye casting back to Monday night and the teal hue their energy faded and melded to. He could remember the way her power reached out to him, could remember the feeling so incredibly overwhelmed by just how deeply and completely the blonde felt.
Her energy felt like lightning in a bottle, containing each of her raw, powerful, white-hot emotions. The sudden assault of worry and need startled him, but when he finally got on the back of the bike, it was replaced with perhaps the sweetest, most feather soft and gentle, wispy feeling of what he could only hope was her love. Reassuring, comforting, all-encompassing…
It was the only thing that made sense to him.
She tilted her head in mild confusion and the action brought him out of his thoughts.
Then, without another word, he offered a softer smile, turned, left the guest bedroom she was finishing up and went back towards what would be their kitchen. Butch bit the inside of his cheek while he pulled out their carryout dinner out of the bags and left them open on the island counter. It'd become their makeshift table for the nights they spent in their big, empty but coming-together home, and he had no intention of changing that any. Not until they were able to get an actual dining table in, that is.
He knew the shade of teal she chose was specifically their hue the very second he caught sight of it, but he wasn't expecting his brain to conjure up such raw memories. He could still feel how sweet the gentle caress of her aqua power felt against his arms, a direct injection of sugar into his veins. He made himself busy just long enough to get utensils and their drinks, trying to not get caught up in remembering the way her energy filled him with such a beautiful and electric feeling that radiated out from his heart… And that was a lot easier said than done.
He sucked at ignoring it.
Butch had just slid into his stool with his chili verde in front of him when Bubbles came out of the guest room she'd been working on. The few rays of remaining sunlight filtered in through the many open windows, casting beautiful shadows across her features. That soft smile on her lips drew his attention in, and the adoration in her sky eyes kept it on her.
His breath stopped in his throat.
She didn't seem to notice how he was caught up on her, her attention going to their meals.
"Ooooh, you went for the chili verde tonight?" she asked playfully after seeing just what was in front of him.
He nodded and watched her hop up onto her stool to his right. "Yeah, I thought about maybe just doing some chimichangas or fajitas of my own but… It called my name."
"Funny, I don't hear it speaking," she laughed softly, reaching down for her quesadilla first. Even doing something as mundane as eating, she was naturally- passively- gorgeous. "Besides, I think it's rather fitting for you, ya know?"
Those sky eyes sparkled with life and laughter and joy untold. Curved like moons from the force of her bright smile, sparkling with their own light… She didn't even try to hide the way she looked at him. The adoration was so thick that it could have choked him. So sickeningly sweet, yet so genuine, his heart slammed against his ribcage with each pump just from that look of hers. He hadn't been able to unsee it since he felt her emotions so vibrantly that night.
She was beautiful inside and out.
"I am so in love with you."
The air went still.
Butch felt his stomach fall to his feet.
The blonde had completely frozen, her eyes wide and her quesadilla not too far from her open mouth. He knew that those skies were wholly unseeing of the tortilla she looked at. He wanted to hide himself away in a hole and not come out for the next twenty years. No, the next forty years. She wasn't talking about that, he just blurted it and now she wasn't reacting at all. Not good, this wasn't good- she was quiet and unmoving and this wasn't good.
He found himself rushing to fix it.
"I-I-... Shit- uh, wait, hold on," he sputtered, his face burning when she looked over at him, her eyes wide and teary and her mouth still wide open in shock. He had to look away quickly- he didn't dare look to see how badly he fucked up. He would have eventually said it, yes, but blurting it mere seconds after realizing it himself probably wasn't the best time. "L-Listen, you don't have to say anything or whatever- I didn't mean to just-"
She dropped her quesadilla and grabbed his face, her soft hands holding his cheeks just steadily and sturdily enough to force him to look at her.
Those eyes- oh the eyes of such beautiful clear summer skies stretching distances he could only hope to join her through- completely enraptured him. "Please don't take it back… My heart hasn't stopped talking about you in weeks." Her whispered admission felt so much stronger to him than his own, to his heart, than he felt like he could ever compare to. Like soothing waters over his wounds, once more she stole away every ounce of tension that cropped up. "I love you so much, Butch."
He reached up and pulled her out of her stool and into his lap. Their lips crashed against one another fervently, needily, completely drowning out any other thoughts that tried to pop up.
His left hand reached up to thread through her blonde tresses, his right pulling her hips as close as he could possibly get them. Her smaller, dantier hands threaded through his gelled hair the best they could, not that he minded the light tugging. If anything, it spurred him on further, his excitement igniting lava in his blood and leaving his hands glowing emerald as they pawed at the woman in his lap. He knew he'd done something right with the blissful sigh she gave as she leaned further against him.
He felt her energy wash over him from his head down, rinsing and cleansing his soul like the softest, most tender rain. It was there, in her embrace, feeling the amount of love in her heart through the sky blue energy lacing her hands, that Butch finally realized just what home felt like. Where there was acceptance without hesitation, where there was love without end, where there would always be a place for him…
He never, in his life, ever thought he'd find comfort or happiness in a love so soft.
Butch pulled back, but Bubbles kept them together when she pressed her forehead to his.
"I didn't think you'd say it first," she whispered. Even the soft and airiness of her tone couldn't quieten the shakiness of her words, the jubilation and eagerness she felt causing her voice to waver. "I was thinking about telling you soon, but.."
He chuckled softly, rubbing his nose lightly against hers. "Kinda didn't plan on it… But I'm not taking it back now."
Bubbles laughed lightly and peppered his face with kisses much in the same way he would to her to elicit laughter from her, only Butch just reveled in the attention. "I didn't think you did. You tend to be a little impulsive."
"Only if it feels right," he added on, his forest eyes softening even further. "Any doubts in my brain means I think it out more."
He could hear her heartbeat, he could feel the way her super energy tried to smother him with a thick, thick blanket of sweet, sweet love. The tears returned to her eyes, her bottom lip wobbled just a bit and she stole another kiss from him. Short and sweet, just like her. More than enough to send his heart racing. "You make loving you so, so easy."
"Only for you," he laughed. "I don't think my brothers or my parents would agree with you."
She patted his cheek. "They just don't see what I do."
"Mmm," he hummed, his forest eyes growing lidded. "And what is it you see?"
Her endless eyes looked between his forest ones and that alone made his heart thunder in anticipation. "The most caring, truthful, understanding, trustworthy, reliable, and dependable man I've ever had the pleasure of knowing in my life." He could feel how hot his face was, he could hear how loud his heartbeat was, he knew he was a mess, but he genuinely couldn't bring himself to care. Especially not when she leveled that sugar sweet smile at him. "A heart of gold."
"I know I already said it once, but I really need you to know that I am so incredibly in love with you," he managed to choke out.
She smiled that bright smile he loved so dearly. "No take-backsies."
"Never."
