What a wicked thing to say/You never felt this way/What a wicked thing to do/To make me dream of you

"Hello Bonnie, hello my dear." Professor Utonium said softly as he cradled his first granddaughter in his arms. "Oh Bubbles, she is beautiful - just beautiful. The most beautiful little girl I ever met. Just as beautiful as the three girls I met 25 years ago. God, time passes so quickly, all three of my girls are mothers now."

"Oh Professor you big softie you." Bubbles smiled as she watched him dotingly. "She is beautiful though isn't she?"

"Let's have a swap John!" Kelly cried, as she carefully maneuvered Blake into the Professors arms and Bonnie into Kelly's. Everyone was over at the Utonium household to celebrate the birth of baby Bonnie Jojo.

"Wasn't it lucky you were at Blossom's house?" Kelly noted as she smiled at Bonnie, who was peering up at her family members curiously, her powder blue eyes blinking and focusing.

"I know!" Bubbles gushed. "She was so brilliant! Even though I wanted a water birth, now I think about it, it was really quite special having Blossom deliver her."

"I always knew it would be handy to have a doctor in the family." The Professor mused.

"Well, if anyone else ever needs their baby delivering, I'm there." Blossom replied from across the room cheerily. "I enjoyed it, I haven't delivered a baby in a long time."

"Good thing you didn't tell me that at the time!" Bubbles chuckled.

"It all went fine! And you did brilliantly. All that matters is that you're both safe and healthy." Blossom said. "And it's such an honor being her middle name sake."

"Well, we'd chosen that for her name anyway, but then you went and delivered her, so it seemed even more fitting!" Boomer said, appearing at Bubbles side.

"Seriously, I couldn't be happier." Blossom told them.

"She's going to be a little heartbreaker huh?" Butch said as he poured himself onto the sofa in Buttercup's living room.

"Bonnie? Yeah, she's a beaut. Could have guessed it though right? What with the two pretty blonde ones being her parents." Buttercup agreed as she made herself a cup of coffee, also making Butch one rather reluctantly.

"True. Didn't think it'd take them so long to make a baby though. They've been together what? 15 years - or something? I tell you what though, I'm gunna be knocking heads off to protect that little one from wandering eyes when she gets older." He replied menacingly.

Buttercup rose a brow in surprise. "Protective uncle huh?"

"Of course! I'll be hunting any good-for-nothing's down who try it on when she's a teenager, for definite." Butch promised, an evil glint in his eye. "Same goes for any other nieces I may have."

"And what about Blake?" Buttercup questioned.

"Blake? If he's anything like his Dad he'll be able to do whatever he wants and get away with it. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I'll have his back anyway. I'm a good uncle like that you see." Butch said with a content smile.

"You've only been an uncle for a matter of weeks!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"And you've only been an Aunt for a matter of weeks." Butch shrugged.

"So, I'm not claiming I'm Aunt of the year. I will obviously be the cool Aunt. Blossom is no competition whatsoever for Bonnie - she may have delivered her but she's too square. And Bubbles? Well she may give better hugs but Blake will find me kick ass." Buttercup joked around.

"From what I remember your hugs are pretty satisfactory." Butch said, his voice potent with further meaning.

Buttercup gave him an irritated look as she hovered through to the living room carrying their cups of coffee in each hand. "Don't think about my hugs!"

"Fine fine, sheesh…" Butch relented defensively.

She placed Butch's drink down in front of him on the coffee table, but kept hers in her hand, nursing it with a long yawn. He reached for his own, all the while watching her.

"Tired?" He asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Mmm. I am getting some sleep but.. Not a lot. I keep having this same fucking dream - do you ever have recurring dreams?" She asked him, and he thought about it for a moment.

"Not really, I don't think so anyway. None that I can remember. I hardly ever remember my dreams. What happens in the dream?" He asked, and she hesitated, not knowing whether to confide in him or not. She could never decide if talking to him civilly and conversationally - like friends would talk, like they used to talk was a good thing or not. It inevitably ended up happening eventually the more he'd been hanging around her.

"It's weird." She mumbled before taking a small mouthful of her coffee. She almost sounded embarrassed.

"It'd have to be really fucking weird to freak me out." Butch pointed out, and she smirked for a moment, before letting out a relenting sigh.

"I'm underwater. And I'm holding my breath and I'm running out of air but I can't get back up to the surface." She began to explain, her voice becoming a little smaller as she told him.

He peeked at her curiously. "How come?"

"Because someone's holding me under the water. They're holding me down and not letting me get back up. No matter how I try I can't get back to get some air." She continued and he furrowed his brow.

"Can you see who it is, holding you underwater?" Butch questioned. She didn't look at him as she answered, only peered down into her coffee mug.

"Mitch."

"Mitch? Mitch is holding you underwater in your dream?" Butch reiterated, sounding perplexed by the notion.

"Yeah. He's not like, angry or anything. He's just like, smiling like everything is normal. And I'm just, drowning." She said slowly.

There was a small pause. The green puff chanced a look at him. He was looking ahead of him, looking slightly disturbed. Instantly she regretted saying anything. Why did she tell him that? She hadn't told anyone about that dream. And it wasn't like it was a new thing.

"I told you it was weird." She murmured, just to break the silence.

"You feel suffocated." He said simply.

She blinked at him. "No I don't."

"How long have you been having that dream?" Butch asked her, looking at her now. She shrugged, and he cranked a brow at her, knowing she did know but just didn't want to say. He knew her a lot better than she liked to admit.

"Probably years... I'm not suffocated. I'm fine." She insisted. "I'm just tired.. Because of the fucked up dream."

"You're overwhelmed by him. And you're -" Butch continued and she glared at him now, cutting him off.

"Can you stop fucking analysing my dream! God, I wish I never told you! It's just a weird dream okay it doesn't have to mean something! Not eveything means something else! I'm just fucking tired." She cried, and his mouth formed a thin line as he looked at her.

He didn't believe a word she said but dropped it because he wanted to remain in her living room with her, talking. She'd talked to him, and he was always trying to get her to fucking talk to him when they were together, to let him in a bit more. He wasn't going to fuck it up by annoying her to the point that she kicked him out or started yelling at him - or both.

Buttercup decided to direct the conversation back the way it had started. "I'm not as tired as I'm guessing Bubbles and Boomer - and Brick and Blossom currently are. It seems mad that Bubbles and Blossom are mothers now. And Boomer and Brick fathers. I'm glad though. It's nice. And will be hilarious to watch them muddle through." She pushed her bangs from her face and drank more of her coffee. Butch watched her, a little thrown. It was almost as if they'd not even had that conversation about her dream. She'd gone right back to talking about their siblings and niece and nephew once more.

He went with it, again because he didn't want to end their time together.

"I know, I didn't think Brick would ever be a father. Didn't think he was father material. I mean I know he had a tendency of fathering Boomer and I growing up but, that stopped as soon as we got a bit older. Even when him and Blossom was tight the first time, I was unsure it'd actually happen. He's too self centred." Butch murmured, internally going over how relieved he was that it was Brick who had just become a father and not him.

"Funnily enough, I used to think the very same thing about you." Buttercup said, making Butch look up at her with wide eyes.

"Well, I never got the chance did I?" Butch muttered back moodily.

It hit her right in the chest, so hard it almost winded her. She stared at him, startled by his comment, but she wasn't able to respond - the front door to her home opened abruptly.

Both Buttercup and Butch looked around to see Mitch stood by the door. He'd looked up casually then did a double take when he spotted the green ruff sitting in his living room like it was perfectly normal for him to be there.

Mitch stared at him, his brown eyes eventually shifting onto a spooked looking Buttercup.

"I got out of work early." Mitch said, his voice was void of emotion. "I did try to call to tell you but - you didn't pick up."

Buttercup tore her eyes off of him, pulling her phone out of her pocket and glancing at the two missed calls flashing on the screen. "I, I don't know how I missed them - it might be on silent mode again, my fucking jeans - it must have been on silent mode." She answered, her voice sounding a bit foreign to her as she spoke. She kept switching her phone to that mode accidentally. But she felt like Mitch wasn't going to buy that for a second, even though he should remember it had happened quite often lately. The button to switch it onto that setting kept catching on her jean pocket.

"Right. I'm sure it did." Mitch said, his voice still sounding empty; he was still trying to process the fact that Butch Jojo was in his living room with Buttercup. Her toxic ex Butch Jojo was sat in his fucking living room with his girlfriend. Why?!

Buttercup began to shake her head, opening her mouth to talk but Mitch spoke before her.

"What is going on? I mean, what the hell are you doing in my house?" He demanded of Butch, his words coming out much more ferociously than he'd anticipated.

"That's not a very welcoming attitude to a guest, Mitch." Butch began and Buttercup slowly got to her feet.

"You're not a welcome guest here. And you never will be." Mitch answered instantly. "Why are you fucking here? Why is he here?" He looked from Butch to Buttercup then. She opened her mouth once more but no words came out. She didn't know how to explain it because she didn't know why he was here either. She just knew she'd stopped asking him to leave. And even maybe a little bit enjoyed his company.

But she couldn't say that.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Butch replied, getting to his feet now too.

"I wouldn't have asked if it was obvious to me. Should it be obvious to me? Do I know without even fucking asking? Is fucking history repeating itself?" He asked, his expression disgusted. Buttercup had started shaking her head again, words still lost to her.

She managed to burble out a: "No! No no -" But Butch spoke again, his voice stronger and firmer.

"We're just hanging out. Is that some sort of crime?" Butch asked irritably, and Mitch folded his arms across his chest.

"You expect me to just be fine with you two 'hanging out'? After fucking everything? Like, do you both think I'm fucking stupid?" He asked, his tone acidic.

"You really want me to answer that question?" Butch replied, and Mitch grit his teeth. He turned his gaze to Buttercup now.

"What is he fucking doing in our house Buttercup?" He asked bluntly.

"I don't know, we were just - nothing happened! We were just talking - he was just –" Buttercup began to babble, so Butch took over.

"What's wrong Mitch? Is me being here making you nervous?" Butch goaded, a wicked little grin appearing on his face.

Buttercup didn't like how square his shoulders had gone. When she glanced from him to Mitch, he was in a similar stance.

"It's making me angry." Mitch replied, his arms uncrossing and showing his tightly curled fists.

"What is it, you're worried the longer she's around me the sooner she might come to her senses?" Butch pressed, fire flashing in Mitch's eyes as he glowered at him.

"Butch!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"Get the fuck out of my house Butch." Mitch snarled. "Now." He had never been scared of Butch. Some would admire this, but most would find it just plain stupid.

Butch sniggered, enjoying the fury he'd created, but then he looked down at Buttercup. He saw the conflicted, anxious - almost frightened look on her face and decided to leave it there; as much as he enjoyed eliciting that look on Mitch's face, he didn't want to upset Buttercup.

Although he was also aware there was a high possibility that the damage had already been done. Just seeing them two alone together was enough to trigger Mitch.

Butch sighed heavily. "Fine. See you around Buttercup." He muttered, before heading for the door. The sound of it slamming shut behind him seemed extremely loud.

Mitch turned had watched him go, then turned his furious gaze onto Buttercup, awaiting an explanation. When Buttercup didn't answer, not knowing what to say - she hadn't actually done anything wrong - Mitch only tutted.

"I'm so fucking stupid, and I always have been." He groused, and Buttercup sent a stricken look his way.

"What? No you're not, why are you -" She began but he interrupted her.

"I knew it. I always knew it." Mitch said, his voice dejected.

"Knew what?" Buttercup asked, filling the few steps that were between them but not quite being brave enough to touch him, for fear he would push her away.

"I always knew he'd come between us again at some point. It's just inevitable. I've been waiting for it all these years. All these years where nothing has happened I've just been waiting for it to all go wrong. He got his teeth into you so deep, there's just something about him that calls out to you isn't there?!" He challenged, his face set in decision. "Fucking 8 years - 8 years with none of this shit and I was stupid enough to think it was actually over, and now -"

"Mitch!" Buttercup cried, bowled over by his words.

"What am I supposed to think?! Especially when you look so fucking caught out?!" He asked her, his tone accusing.

"Can you hear yourself?!" Buttercup queried angrily. "Nothing happened! Nothing like you seem to think, honestly we've just kind of been hanging out. I know it sounds -"

"Fucked up? Fucked up is how it sounds! Why, after everything would you fucking hang out with him? You know when we found out he was fooling around with Blossom I was so glad! At least I knew for definite he was leaving you alone!" Mitch gnarled, his entire demenour becoming more aggressive.

"Leaving me alone? Mitch it is nothing like you are assuming! And to be honest with you I'm hurt you'd even think -" He interrupted her.

"You're hurt I'd even think you were with him? Because I'm sorry Buttercup, but you only have to go back to the beginning of our relationship, before we knew about Jay and, you know - it happened!"

Buttercup was flabbergasted. "We have done nothing like that!"

"How long, Buttercup?" He asked expectantly.

"How long?" Buttercup repeated incredulously. "How long what?!"

"How fucking long have you been seeing him?!" Mitch barked. "How long has all this been going on?!"

"Seeing him? What the fuck Mitch - I haven't been seeing him! We've just kind of been hanging out!" She exclaimed and he rolled his eyes.

"I may look like an idiot Buttercup, but I'm not that dumb. I've heard the whole 'I'm totally done with him now' act several times over the years to know when you do and don't mean it." He uttered, and she looked hurt for a moment before anger took over once more.

"Are you for fucking real?!" She yelped. "I have not been seeing Butch. We have just been hanging out. Nothing more, nothing less, just hanging out. He just kept turning up."

"Then why didn't you tell him to leave?!" Mitch snapped and she scoffed.

"Believe me, I did! He's Butch! He doesn't fucking listen, he doesn't fucking listen to anyone! He's been buzzing around me like an annoying little fly ever since I had a talk with him at Blossom's house, when I helped stop him and Brick ripping each other's throats out weeks ago." Buttercup explained. "This is ridiculous - I chose you! Absolutely nothing has happened between us. Sure - when Butch and I split up, there was a lot of back and forth between us. And yes, some of that ran into the beginnings of me and you. But that was years ago! I have been with you for over 8 years! All of Jay's life. If you don't know me well enough by now to know I wouldn't do anything like that to you again, then I don't know what to tell you?! I mean what the hell do you want from me Mitch?"

"I want you to stay away from him, that's all I've ever wanted!" Mitch barked and she furrowed her brow at him.

"You can't control who I do and don't see!" Buttercup muttered.

"So you do want to see him?" Mitch snapped.

"I don't want to be controlled! I don't want to have a partner who tells me what I can and can't do!" There was a brief pause, in which Buttercup realised she would willingly jeopardise her relationship with Mitch in order to be able to see Butch. She had surprised herself. It wasn't just about that though. It wasn't right that Mitch thought he could have a say in who she did and didn't spend her time with. "You're acting as if you've just caught me red handed. Nothing has happened!"

"You keep saying that, but you look so fucking guilty." Mitch sneered, his expression bitter.

Buttercup crossed her arms over her chest. "I have nothing to feel guilty about." She said determinedly.

"Then why didn't you just tell me you were meeting up with him?" Mitch asked, and Buttercup looked stumped. He'd got her there.

"Exactly! Because you knew I wouldn't like it! You knew exactly what it would look like! So you just didn't say anything! You kept it from me!" Mitch cried, and Buttercup frowned. She did feel guilty, despite what she'd just said. And Mitch was right, she had known all along that Mitch would detest them hanging around each other and assume the worst; it was why she'd warned Butch he couldn't know they were near one another. She'd been terrified he would find out they were together, as innocent as their meetings had been.

Mitch and Butch had a complicated history - her and Butch also had a complicated history. Which was why she'd concealed spending time with Butch from him - and it was that that she felt guilty about - not telling him she'd been hanging out with Butch. But what they had done together in each other's company had been totally innocent.

"What did you and him talk about, at Blossom's house?" Mitch asked suspiciously, breaking Buttercup from her thoughts.

"What? It was nothing - it was just about Blossom, about Blossom and him, he was being a shit about the baby, about Blake. It's almost as if all that was somehow something to do with me. Like he did it to, I dunno, get my attention. When I don't care if he slept with my sister, he can do whatever the fuck he wants, I mean I'm practically married." Buttercup hypothesized.

"Yes," Mitch agreed wearily. "Practically married. Not actually married."

She sighed heavily at his words. "Oh for god's sake Mitch - don't start that one! You're like a broken fucking record!"

"No, you're right. I don't know what I am doing anymore, to be completely honest with you. You've made it pretty fucking clear you don't want to marry me anytime soon. And I've just found you in our home with your ex. I don't know why that, combined with the countless failed proposals, hasn't made me see sense already." Mitch ranted pessimistically.

Buttercup didn't reply, she just stared at him with a heavy expression.

"Like you said, we've been together over 8 years, but you don't want to say two words to seal the deal? Just to prove our commitment." Mitch said, his voice almost begging.

"I don't see the need." Buttercup said, shrugging casually. "I mean what does a ring matter? What does a ring say? And some little piece of paper with our names on it."

"That we love each other and want to stay together! I know why you really won't marry me." Mitch spat.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Why's that then?"

"Because, that way you really couldn't ever go back to Butch, could you?" Mitch replied, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You started dating me, then you found out you were pregnant, and I was more convenient for your situation." Mitch jeered sadistically.

Buttercup felt as though he'd thrown a bucket of ice cold water at her, and she froze at his accusation.

"Mitch - how the fuck -" She breathed heavily. "How dare you?! Who do you fucking think you are – I can't even look at you right now!" She growled, tearing her eyes off him and breathing shallowly with anger.

Mitch had nothing else to say, he'd said enough, said what had been on his mind for the entirety of their years together. Buttercup grabbed her keys off the side and left the house.

"Why are we at Aunty Blossom's house? Can't we just go home?" Jay whined as Buttercup knocked on the front door.

She'd just picked him up from school after storming away from Mitch, and she and Jay had flown to Blossom's house.

"Just shut up okay? We won't be here long." She snapped, regretting her tone instantly, though it seemed to soar straight over Jay's head.

"Oh, hi you two. Everything all right?" Blossom said as she answered the door and allowed them to walk through. Buttercup gave her a look that suggested otherwise.

Moments later they were sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee each (decaf, to Buttercup's disgust), one end of a baby monitor sat on the table by Blossom, the other end by Blake upstairs in his bedroom. Jay had become transfixed by a cartoon on the TV in the lounge.

"So what's up?" Blossom asked before Buttercup had said anything.

She sighed as she looked into her cup. "It's Mitch. We've had a fight."

Blossom looked indifferent. "Oh right." She said simply.

"No, a real one." Buttercup continued. "A real fight, a nasty one."

Blossom realised she wasn't just coming over to bitch and moan, then go home and patch it up or just forget about it, which happened often between her and Mitch. Her sister indeed looked quite conflicted.

"What was it about?" Blossom pried.

Buttercup took her time replying. With a small intake of breath she answered. "Butch."

"Butch?" Blossom reiterated confusedly.

"Yeah. I don't know what he's doing at the minute. It's, it's like he's trying to entice me back in or something?! And - I can't do it Blossom! I mean, I have a child to think about. And, and Mitch. Yes, and I have Mitch to think about as well and –" Buttercup began to burble.

"Wait, wait, hold up. Butch? What's he got to do with you and Mitch? What's he been doing?" Blossom asked, puzzled.

Buttercup sighed. "Oh just hanging around me a lot. It's gotten to the point where I can't be bothered to tell him to fuck off anymore."

"You could just say 'go away'." Blossom replied primly.

"But I'd mean fuck off. I don't know Blossom, all this has got me so messed up. I used to feel such anger whenever I looked at Butch. Anger and then eventually just, like a sad, numb nothingness. Like I'd blocked anything I could feel out. I just used to think, things could have been so different. And I'd pity him. I'd think, I am so much better off." Buttercup said, despair evident in her features.

"But now, what - you don't think that way anymore?" Blossom questioned.

"I don't know! I don't know what I think! I know I've quite… I've grown to enjoy being around him again. I know I've been worried about Mitch seeing us hanging out, even though it's completely innocent." Buttercup said slowly, visibly struggling with the whole sharing thing.

"The fact that you've enjoyed his company and worried about Mitch seeing you with him speaks volumes in my books." Blossom said, pausing to sip her coffee. "If Mitch had nothing to worry about, you'd have just told him you were hanging out with Butch, and it was nothing sinister or sneaky, just old friends catching up, I suppose. You did date for awhile though, and you did almost end up with Butch, before Jay was born."

"I don't need reminding of my romantic history, thanks." Buttercup grumbled. "It's obvious why I didn't want Mitch knowing I'd been meeting with Butch. He'd automatically think we were fooling around."

"He is your ex. And this did kind of happen right at the very beginning - well, not this exactly but what Mitch might think has happened did." Blossom added, and Buttercup made an irritated noise at the back of her throat.

"I know that!" Buttercup cried, annoyance clear in her voice. "I know that. I guess it just bugs me Mitch feels he has authority over what I do or who I see, especially when it comes to him."

"You're right that he shouldn't get to control you. But you can understand why he feels the way he does about Butch, given the rocky start you two had because of him." Blossom said, and Buttercup didn't disagree with her.

"Why on earth have you been seeing Butch?" The pink puff questioned, her tone softer this time. "It even strikes me as odd. I'd have been surprised if I'd have walked in to see you two sitting together chatting. You guys never talk anymore."

"I don't know! This is the thing… At first I was so pissed off he was hanging around me. I didn't want him near me and I wanted him to stop bothering me. But, I guess I got used to it. Started to expect him to turn up. Maybe even feel a little disappointed when he didn't…" Buttercup then set her face in a hard glare. "But, I love Mitch. I do, I love him. And Butch is just, dangerous. When we're around each other it's just..."

She paused, trying to find the right words, trying to decide if she wanted to give away as much of her thoughts and feelings as she could.

"Who are you trying to convince Buttercup?" Blossom asked gently. She was expecting Buttercup to chomp her head off after that comment but, she didn't, she only sighed.

"There's just, I dunno. There's always been that attraction to Butch. Always. I try and act like it's gone but.. When things were good, they were good. I mean, you know, you've slept with him."

Blossom cringed slightly. "Yeah, let's not get into that part…"

"He got me. He's always got me. And I loved him. I really did. But Blossom, I don't want to be with him. I don't. I can't! I've pushed those sorts of feelings away for so long." Buttercup insisted.

"Because you don't want to be with him or because you think you shouldn't?" Blossom asked, and Buttercup thought about it, raking her fingers through her jet black hair.

"You know what we were like! Constantly at each other's throats, constantly bickering and fighting. Always off and on, off and on. No matter how much I loved him he never thought he was enough. And then he'd run off scared, scared to fuck everything up - not realising he was fucking everything up by running away! We were volatile; reckless. But sometimes, sometimes I feel like I crave that." She collected her thoughts briefly. "I came to you because I get the feeling that's why you ended up mucking around with him. There's this lure about him."

Her green eyes were wide as she looked up at Blossom. Blossom was contemplating what she'd said, then she nodded. "I understand. I know what you mean. It was the weirdest thing when I was with Butch. Or, whatever it is you want to call what happened between us. Sometimes I'd be sat with him, and I'd think, I don't even like you. But then, well five minutes later, I'd have forgotten that. But, just remember those aren't the kind of guys you settle down with, that you have kids with, that stay with you and look after you for over 8 years."

"Yeah, I know that but, sometimes it feels like, like." Buttercup frowned, frustrated with herself. Just say it! She thought furiously. "It feel likes, I don't know - after 8 years the spark feels like it's going out. Since Butch has been hanging around, I can't help it, apart of me is getting a bit excited. But it's a bad excitement."

Blossom exhaled. "Just be careful Buttercup. You don't want to break something you've had for 8 years. It hurts. Especially just for a bit of fun with Butch."

Buttercup looked like she was deep in thought. After a few moments, she asked. "Did you and Brick lose your spark after 10 years?"

Blossom considered the question, and decided to answer truthfully. "No. No, we argued a lot close to when we did break up. But no, we never lost the spark. 4 years of barely speaking to each other, and it was still there."

Buttercup couldn't help but wonder if it would be the same with Butch, after pretty much 8 years of basically not speaking. Did she really want to risk everything just to find out?

It wasn't just that. She'd really loved Butch. She'd really wanted them to work. But it just didn't. But it felt like it could have done if they'd both just tried a bit harder.

"There's also this, this thing. This other thing." Buttercup found herself speaking before thinking.

"What thing?" Blossom asked curiously.

Buttercup looked towards the doorway to the kitchen. "About Mitch, and Butch - and Jay." She said, lowering her voice.

Blossom pulled a perplexed face. "What about them?"

She couldn't say it. She didn't know why she'd brought it up; she just couldn't say it. She'd denied it to herself for so long, convinced herself it didn't matter. "Nothing, don't worry." Buttercup said, her voice flat.

"Okay…" Blossom said, knowing there wasn't much point pushing her. Buttercup would only ever tell so much. It was amazing she'd gotten this much out of her, or the fact that she'd even came to her in the first place. She had to admit it felt nice, Buttercup coming to her for advice. It didn't mean she'd listen though. "Buttercup don't do that thing you do."

"What thing?" Buttercup's voice had become edgy again. Blossom knew sharing time was over.

"That thing where you bottle things up. You have two sisters, one of whom is very emotionally connected as a person anyway. Take advantage of that. Talk to us." Blossom instructed.

Buttercup nodded lazily. "Yeah yeah, I will. Blossom?" Her sister looked at her expectantly. "How scared were you that Blake was going to be born with black hair, or green eyes?"

Blossom was a little taken aback by the question. She figured Buttercup would have a good reason to ask. "I was a bit scared. The most scared when I was in labor. Brick had a bit of a freak out over it - understandably. But, I knew Blake was Brick's son. I just, just knew. I don't know how I knew. I mean the dates added up, but I guess it could have gone the other way. I am over the moon it didn't though, let me tell you."

"You and me both." Buttercup mumbled. Jay and Blake, they could have been… Buttercup shivered slightly, shaking the thought off.

"Buttercup, if there's something you need to tell me...?" Blossom asked hesitantly.

"There isn't." Buttercup said instantly. "It's nothing. It's old. It's - it's over. Don't worry. Thanks, Blossom. Thanks for talking to me. I should take Jay home, then there's something else I need to go deal with."

r&r (: