How Things Change
{Author's note: I do not own any people, products, TV shows or music mentioned in this chapter. Thank you and enjoy.}
Chapter 5: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Buttercup groaned at the sound of Lil Dicky blasting from her phones alarm. She ducked her head under the pillow for a while before slapping it down next to her and turning it off; dragging herself to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face she assumed what she heard in the kitchen was Bubbles blending up whatever so she made her way to the kitchen.
"Well good morning Butter-butt,"
Her face scrunched up as she sat at the bar, "Why are you here, ass?"
Butch poured the yellowish concoction into a glass and set it on the counter, "Making fruit smoothies for you girls, is that so wrong?"
"Yes," she snatched the glass as he poured three more glasses.
He shrugged and drunk his, "So where's your sister?"
"Bubbles was supposed to be where you are. So you ate her and took over her brain?" his brow arched in confusion, "Never mind, and don't worry about where my sister is, she doesn't need to be bothered right now,"
"Oh, and why's that?"
Buttercup picked up her glass and sat on the couch, "Meditating,"
"Oooh like hot yoga?" he grinned in a perverted manner and wiggled his brows.
Buttercup looked away from him in disgust, "No,"
Butch snorted and headed out to the balcony, "You're no fun right now Cup, I'll see ya',"
"Whatever," she flipped on the TV and sprawled out on the cushions.
Bubbles was bobbing her head to New Americana while she painted her toes with glittery white nail polish. Her phone lit up with a text notification and she set down the paint to answer it.
*B00mie*:
Yo, morning Bubs.
WYD?
BuBBleZ:
Morning ^^
Painting my toes
[Image]
*B00mie*:
Ooh nice.
What time are you girls heading down?
BuBBleZ:
Around 6 or 7 XP
Blossom refuses to make a fashionable entrance
OMG she's going to be gorgeous!
*B00mie*:
I'm sure you'll all look stunning.
We'll be looking extremely handsome and classy ourselves.
[Image]
BuBBleZ:
O.O
~v~
OML!
You guys look amazing ❤
*B00mie*:
Thank you, thank you.
Gtg the boys wanna get a work out in.
CYL ^-^
BuBBleZ:
Baiiii ^-^
Bubbles picked up her nail polish and picked up on the other foot.
Blossom sat on a yoga mat, Kwabs playing gently in her ears, palms up on her knees. Lately she'd been having trouble with some very irritating migraines, not the normal take some medicine you'll be fine kind either; no, these migraines filled her head with low vibrating noises that would grow or stay at that level for a little under five minutes once every week. She couldn't remember where they came from or when they started, just that meditating for a few hours every day kept them at bay for a while.
Deep in her subconscious she heard the door open and shut but paid it no mind, she could feel eyes on her which wasn't unusual or unexpected as she hovered up above the mat in the lotus position. Her brow scrunched a bit as she felt someone approach and get in her personal space. She froze the air around her biting cold as a warning; apparently, this person was either really persistent or just plain stupid. She snapped the air around her into a tangent orb below freezing and the person shrieked hopping out of the way. Not too long after, she finished and took a breath stretching out her legs before standing and opening her eyes.
"Welcome back Avatar Blossom," Brick smirked at her from the rowing machine.
She smiled softly and twisted from side to side, "Thanks but I haven't yet made it to the spirit world,"
"You can do that?" Boomer almost tripped on the elliptical.
She chuckled a bit and bent forward to touch her toes, "No, Boomer I cannot, didn't you ever watch Avatar the Last Airbender?"
"Oh… yeah," he ruffled his hair and focused back on his exercise.
The brunette Ruff scoffed and flexed his fingers over the bar he was lifting, "How come they get such warm welcomes Pinky?" she arched a brow in confusion.
Brick set down the ropes and stretched his arms out, "You gave him frostbite on three fingers,"
Blossom scoffed and crossed her arms, "You were warned,"
Butch froze under the 500lbs he was benching, "How'd you know?"
"Buttercup texted," she stood straight again before bending back and touching the floor in a bridge.
"Snitch," he continued pumping.
Blossom lifted her feet off the ground and straightened her torso between her arms so she could frown at him, "Don't be childish," she stretched into a full handstand and Butch looked up to take in the view with smirk.
"Yeah, you're right, sorry Bloss,"
Brick glared and floated over his distracted brother before dropping his full body weight on top of the barbell and grinned evilly as it dropped and caused his brother to struggle, "So you girls got something special to wear for tonight?"
She did a horizontal split and leaned to either side, "Well Bubbles thinks we'll all look fantastic so I guess so," she tipped her head up and smiled softly at him.
"Good, we'll be escorting you then," he smirked and crossed his arms.
She arched a brow, "Excuse me?"
"You and your sisters will be escorted by me and my brothers, the people would go crazy," he sat crossed legged and enjoyed the strain of his brother's grunts, "What d'ya say… Blossom?" she almost denied him until she met his eyes. They were smoldering yet soft and she found herself being drawn in, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Um… I'll ask the girls," she shook her head and cleared her throat before standing up straight, "No promises though," she brushed her bangs out her face in defiance.
She almost got drawn in again when a crooked smile settled on his lips, "Yes ma'am,"
She stammered and pointed trying to get out any words before huffing and walking out in frustration. Brick watched her go before leaning down to look at his brother with an expressionless mask.
"I'm gonna let you in on something that I am now willing to share," he cracked his knuckles, "You see, I've been working on building my relationship with Blossom for a long time now and tonight I'm gonna make my move," he let his arms rest on his legs as he continued, "you will find someone else to bother, or I will rearrange your face. No more games, Butch." He hopped off the bar unexpectedly and Butch almost dropped the weight in shock as he watched his brother leave, Boomer snickering in the background.
Blossom had discussed the situation with the girls and Bubbles was, of course, excited about having an escort and Buttercup couldn't care either way. So now she stood fully dressed in the bathroom mirror lightly applying a thick line of gold eyeliner to her eyes and a matte red lipstick to her full lips, she added the mascara to her lashes before taking one last look for approval. In the living room, she saw Bubbles fluffing her hair, it was wavy with light curls pulled to one side and her makeup consisted of clear lip gloss, thick black eyeliner and mascara with silver eyeshadow; Blossom had her hair pulled back in an elegant bun with strands of hair lying on either side of her face. They snapped a few pictures before Buttercup joined them, hair in loose curly, waves pulled more to one side; nude lipstick and black eyeliner with mascara painted on her face.
They took a few more pictures before a gentle knock was heard at the door, Blossom opened it and stepped back in shock as the boys entered looking suave and sexy beyond words as they entered in their suits. Butch in a black Bespoke suit, black tie with white polka dots and a chain connecting to one of the buttons gave the effect of making him look bad boy suave. Boomer's silver sequined suit with black lining was fun and attractive while Brick on the other hand was something else entirely, his suit was a maroon beauty with a matching vest and a white button-up underneath; as he passed by in the back on his jacket were thick slots where black showed through, and with every step he took the maroon would lighten and darken.
Boomers hair was parted to one side and combed into a wavy swoop toward the back, Butch had tamed his own hair into laying back in a devilishly sexy pompadour, and Brick had forgone his cap to allow his hair to be pulled up into a bun which also allowed them to see he'd gotten an undercut with a sun design. All the boys wore watches to fit their style; Boomer had his diamond studs in both ears, Butch had his left cartilage band and small fitted hoops on both ears and Brick had gold hoops in both his left and right cartilage, two gold studs in his left ear and three in his right. Buttercup blanched at the sight of them and Bubbles was on the verge of shaping her pupils into hearts.
BC shook herself out of her frozen state as Blossom shut the door distractedly, "I'm sorry was this planned or something?!"
Boomer rubbed at the back of his neck when caught a glimpse of her exposed side, "Well yeah, I thought Bloss said you were cool with being escorted?"
"No, no, no, not that, the outfits," she gestured between all of them.
Butch grinned and looked her over, "Nah, but I will say you all look really nice,"
"So do you guys!" Bubbles stepped in before Buttercup could throw a fit, and maybe her fists, "So how does this whole escorting thing work?"
Brick nodded and smoothly began, "I found out this event was kind of a play on back in the day casino settings, hence why I said we'd escort you girls so some weirdo didn't try to bother you three,"
Buttercup smirked and crossed her arms, "We couldn't find a replacement for this weirdo?"
The green Ruff snorted and rolled his eyes, "As if,"
"Anyway, we will be showing you ladies around the floor, most gambling is supposed to be done by the guys but you can still join in if you want and anything that requires payment we handle, sound good?" they all nodded and Brick looked towards Blossom with another crooked smile as he extended his hand to her, "M'lady, shall we?"
Bubbles squealed as Boomer performed a similar gesture, Buttercup rolling her eyes with a smirk before they were all partnered and headed to the 5th floor. The whole room was decked out like a Vegas strip; there was poker, blackjack, roulette, and slot machines as far as the eye could see. Bars and mini restaurants set up far off to the sides of the room and waiters and waitress' bustled about diligently. They headed to the receptionist desk and the boys checked them in before they parted ways.
Blossom could feel eyes on her from every inch of the room as Brick navigated them towards a slot machine, her arm tucked in his. "You wanna give it a shot Bloss?"
She looked at the flashing machine and took a moment to look over the rules, "Sure,"
Brick gave her a five-dollar bill and stood next to her to watch, "Go for it,"
Her dainty hand pulled gently at the latch and the rollers spun smoothly, she watched patiently as they lined up two cherries and a seven. A few coins fell into the bin and Brick
called for a waitress to bring over a bucket.
"That's it?" she looked kind of disappointed at her winnings and Brick chuckled.
"You've got four more tries Blossom," He patted her hand and stooped down to collect the coins, "try again,"
Her second time around was better, she got a nice handful and Brick collected, her next two times though weren't as good and she groaned in frustration.
After he picked up the rest of the coins he set the bucket next to her chair and set his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently, "Just relax Boss, it's no big deal, there's plenty more stuff to try. Honestly, for your first go at one of these you're not doing too bad." She looked up at him and he smiled warmly, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, "Come on, last one, you got this,"
She set her face nodded confidently, her hand gripped the latch and she waited a moment before firmly dragging it down; it spun much longer than her other turns and as the mechanism slowed the first box was a lemon and the next and as it eased the last one into position it was the final lemon. The machine dinged and blared a loud alarm before spewing coins in the bin below, Blossom screamed in excitement and hugged him tight, he chuckled and watched as the staff around them paused to clap politely. They collected the coins together, getting a few additional buckets for the excessive amount spilling onto the floor before walking arm in arm again. She dragged them over to the roulette table and asked about the rules; Brick would pick the blacks and she the red, they made a pretty good team and cleaned out the whole table. They played a few card games and did a few more slot machines before Brick took her to one of the nearby restaurants for a break, and something to eat.
"So Bloss how do you like the high roller lifestyle?" he cocked a brow at her as they were being seated.
She giggled a bit and took her seat, "As bad as it sounds, I now understand why people do such crazy things for these gambles. It's quite addicting,"
"So the goody, goody does have a bad side, eh?" he smirked and ordered for them.
She arched a brow, "I wouldn't go so far as to say all that, but I am having a good time,"
"Good," he nodded, "I want you to have fun, you need it before all the crazy end of the year stuff goes down,"
She sighed with a nod of her own, "I know, it's been crazy enough as it is, and the girls are as out of it as usual," she took a sip of her water, "Hopefully this little outing will be rewarding enough to keep them focused this time,"
"See, now I'm not so sure you're actually doing this for you," Brick crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, "Is this all just some elaborate plan you created to get right back to studying?"
She twirled one of the loose hairs, "I mean… not exactly," she bit her lip and looked down at the plate set in front of her, pasta Puttanesca, her favorite Italian food, "I don't know, I'm just so worried about everyone doing okay,"
Brick smiled softly and touched the back of her hand, "Of course you are," she looked up at him and blushed when her eyes met his, "and even still you should enjoy yourself," he entwined his fingers with hers and smiled warmly.
"O-okay… I'll try,"
He sat back and started on his own food, stuffed salmon in a cream sauce, "That's my girl,"
"Your girl?" she paused the forkful headed for her mouth.
He flashed her a dangerous grin, "For the night, are you not?"
She bit her lip and ignored his question with a grunt and shoved the fork in her mouth. Brick chuckled and they continued their meal in a mostly quiet silence. From across the room Blossom watched Bubbles run over to a poker table, clearly enjoying the attention she received as she was showed off by her escort, and Butch and Buttercup were being cheered on over at the roulette table. Brick shook his head and stood holding his hand out to Blossom.
She arched a brow and he nodded to a dance floor behind them, "Instead of thinking about everything so much why don't you come dance with me, you look too beautiful to be sitting around too long, someone might think to come and steal you from me,"
She smirked but slid her smaller hand in his, "Key words, might,"
He shrugged, "We should only hope no one would be so stupid,"
They smiled at each other and he tugged her along to the floor where he swung her out in a wide arch before twirling her back into his arms. Blossom giggled as she followed through with the movements, she held on tight when they were close so he could dip her and at one point his strong hands were at her hips, lifting and spinning her around. She looked up and saw his eyes still watching her with such conviction, such devotion, she blushed again as she spun away from him and let her back come to rest against his front so they could sway to the slow tempo of the new song.
Brick took a sharp, silent intake of breath as she pressed herself back against him, but held his composure nonetheless. His hands slowly slid up her thighs, over her round hips and settled at her waist; she reacted to every touch he'd placed on her with trust that he wouldn't step out of line, and that was good. He was just that much closer to having her than he initially planned, but the sooner the better. He let his hands come up to rest atop her shoulders before smoothing them down to her hands and pulling them up around his neck, and she let him. His hands crawled back down her arms to her hips and he wrapped around her in a comfortable lock.
"Blossom?" his nose rested against the shell of her ear and he spoke softly.
Her eyes were closed as she relaxed against him and she spoke back just as low, "Yes?"
He ran his nose along the length of her neck, "Am I out of my head for not being able to stop these thoughts of you….and me?"
She parted her lips slightly and turned her head a bit, "Am I out of my mind… if I say no?"
"I don't think I can explain it in any other way than to say… it's complicated," she slowly opened her eyes, long lashes fluttering prettily.
Turning around to face him she tilted her head to the side a bit, "It is complicated," her arms fixed themselves around his neck as she pressed closer, "but I'm not thinking about that right now."
Her eyes slowly slid closed as she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. There was no resistance on his part as his arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up off her toes so he could kiss her more fully. After all the fighting, the playground wars and middle school drama it settled in on both of them that there was no need for any of it; they'd become friends, co-existed without each set of siblings damaging the other and building off of one another. Then the feelings came; Blossom might be dismissive toward everyone else, but not him, the red Rowdyruff boy whom was made to destroy her was now a wall that held her up when she couldn't and he was as sturdy as the name given to him.
Brick in turn never denied how he felt, pinning up all those emotions might have him twitching like Butch. He was smart enough to know after getting to know the girls that as children they would always repel each other because that's what their being created did; it made opposites, but after two deaths the bond was changing and it drew him to her like it would draw his brothers to her sisters. He knew there would never be anyone more perfect for him than her, and this wasn't just some means to an end. No, he'd tried it with Berserk, the girl was wild and out of control like he was but that's not what he wanted; Princess was no better because while she was bad it only came from her spoiled upbringing The girls that followed were the same until one day he actually tuned in and took a good look at himself before deciding. He tried the good ones. While this provided a different outlook, and was closer to what he wanted, it wasn't enough. Then miss perfect herself in all her new post-puberty form sauntered by in class one day; she flashed him a smile that could've put the sun to shame as she explained a new project to him, and at that moment he knew exactly what he wanted.
She was starting to float from all the elation but he kept her grounded. As she came down and pulled away she looked a bit dazed.
"You didn't stop me," it was just above a whisper but he would always hear her.
"Why would I?" his eyes were hooded as he continued to hold her close.
"Because I'm good… and you're bad," she bit her lip and looked down at their chests pressed together.
He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes, "We were children, we're not that anymore," he caressed and cupped her cheek, "I want more for us…I want to be more for you,"
Her eyes gathered a few tears, "What if I'm not really sure?"
"I don't care," he brushed away the few strays, "all I ask is that you try,"
Her lip trembled into a small smile and she turned her face to the palm of his hand, "This is crazy,"
He wrapped her up in tight hug and kissed the crown of her head. He caught Butch's eye and he could almost taste the resentment oozing off him. He snatched BC's hand and dragged her to another game.
Blossom pulled away and looked up into his eyes. "I guess I never thought we'd end up here," she smiled softly and rubbed her arm.
He gave a crooked grin of his own and rubbed her shoulders, "Oooh how things change Blossy girl,"
"You can say that again," she grabbed his hand and held it for a while, "Can we go for a walk? I want to think for a moment before I decide anything."
He gestured for her to walk ahead of him, "Anything you want,"