In the Bedroom

"Wake up! Buttercup, wake up!"

Buttercup lazily batted away than hand that was roughly shaking her, grumbling a little. Then she shot straight up.

Her alarm was blaring. Judging by the time, it had been for the last ten minutes. Buttercup quickly silenced it and looked up.

Bubbles was standing beside her bed, already wearing her favorite blue summer dress and backpack. Bubbles had to get up earlier than Buttercup to preen and put on makeup. Sure, Buttercup used nail polish now and again, but in the mornings she was happy to throw on some clothes, brush her hair, and leave. Sadly, never devoting time to non-essentials meant it was hard to make up for running late.

Bubbles put a hand on her hip and gave Buttercup a stern look. The gesture reminded her of Blossom. The girls certainly could take on the best (or worst) of each other when it suited them.

"You're gonna be late for school," Bubbles said matter-of-factly.

Buttercup, not normally a morning person in any case and in dire straights with bare hours of sleep under her belt, reflexively snapped back at her sister. "You could've woke me up!"

Bubbles replaced the stern facade with a wry smile. "I did, silly. And you're welcome."

"Yeah, well you..." Buttercup caught herself. She didn't want to be mean to her sister. It was her own fault she'd stayed up so late. Bubbles didn't have to suffer for Buttercup's problems. Shaking her head and rubbing her eyes, she lamely added, "Thanks."

"No problem," Bubbles said.

Buttercup had about jumped out of bed, but felt suddenly self-conscious. "Could you maybe..." She caught herself again. She and her sisters had seen each other in their underwear plenty of times in their lives. Maybe if she got embarrassed and asked Bubbles to leave it would be suspicious. Instead she shook her head again and added, "Nevermind." She climbed uncertainly out of bed, still feeling a little awkward.

If anything, her tone and actions made things worse. "Umm, Buttercup?" Bubbles asked, concerned. "Is there something on your mind?"

Buttercup was unsure of herself when she replied, "No, uh... No. I'm just tired." She had avoided looking at her sister, which meant avoiding her reflection in the mirrored closet doors as well.

Bubbles giggled. "Wearing yesterday's underwear again, are we?"

"Uh...yeah," Buttercup answered. It was already bad enough without fixing that. She managed a glance at Bubbles in the mirror. She was picking up Buttercup's dirty sports bras from her desk, tossing them into the pile of other dirty clothes in the corner.

"I thought I told you to clean this up a week ago!" Bubbles scolded playfully.

"I, uh...did. Those are new," Buttercup replied evenly. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain green t-shirt, both clean but well-worn.

Bubbles clucked, "Oh, Buttercup, you'll never learn, will you?"

She didn't respond. After she zipped up her pants she caught Bubbles in the mirror again. She was tapping her foot impatiently. "At this rate you'll never make it in time. I'd think you'd be used to this sleeping in thing by now."

"Sorry," Buttercup said, trying to fake a smile. She tensed when Bubbles's reflection looked concerned and walked towards her. She jumped when she felt her sister's hand on her shoulder.

"Buttercup, are you sure everything's all right? You've been acting a little off this last week. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

With the closet door open, Buttercup couldn't see Bubbles's reflection while she stood behind her like that. She could still imagine the look on her face well enough. Without turning around, she slipped on her shirt as she replied.

"It's nothing, Bubbles. Don't worry about me. It's just... Well, this is our last year of school. I'm just kind of wondering what happens next, you know."

Bubbles started giggling, but it quickly turned into an affectionate sigh. "That's not too hard, Buttercup. Dad won't be happy unless the three of us are straight off to college. Besides, I don't let that stuff bother me. I know things'll work out for the best in the end."

Buttercup chuckled and smiled genuinely this time. It was hard to get her sister down. She turned to tell her that, and found herself in an unexpected hug. Before she recovered, Bubbles kissed her on the cheek and stepped back. "Don't worry about it. You'll see. I'd better get going now, though. I'll see you at school!"

With a smile and a wave, she was gone, closing the door behind her.

Buttercup leaned to the side and looked into the mirror, gently touching her cheek. Bubbles was so soft, so gentle. When she had to be, though, she was every bit as strong as Blossom or even Buttercup herself.

Seeing her reflection, Buttercup scowled at herself and rubbed her cheek furiously. She looked tired, certainly, but it was her expression that had disgusted her.

It's just a silly, stupid, sick dream, she thought as she rushed around to grab socks and shoes. You're obsessed. She's your sister. You love her. That's perfectly normal. Just forget about everything else and move on. It'll never happen, and you're a sucker if you think it could. Just enjoy what you have and get over it. Maybe find a decent guy somewhere and just forget about everything.

Running a brush through her hair a few times, she bolted outside her room, hopped over the second floor railing, flew into the living room, and went out the front door. Only then did she streak off towards school. As the girls had grown they'd tried to keep the super-speed to a minimum indoors, since their larger bodies tended to push more air and make bigger messes. A couple of times over the years they'd blown out windows.

These days, it seemed, they were always holding back.