No I don't wanna fall in love/This love is only gonna break your heart/No I don't wanna fall in love/This love is only gonna break your heart/With you/With you/Nobody loves no one
Boomer put his phone down on the bedside table, surprise still etched on his face as he turned to his wife, who was sitting next to him in bed holding their sleeping daughter in her arms.
"What are you smiling about?" She asked him, her eyes automatically finding Bonnie once more as she slowly rocked her.
"Brick - he just texted me. He just wanted to let us know Blossom is feeling a lot better." Boomer said, still looking taken aback.
"Oh, good. That was nice of him. I know things won't improve overnight… But it's a start I guess. Hopefully she'll be a little bit more open with us all when she needs to be." Bubbles looked up at him then, and frowned. "What's wrong?" She asked, confused by Boomer's baffled expression.
"He said - he wanted me to tell you she cut her hair. She cut her hair short." Boomer muttered.
Bubbles eyes widened with shock.
"She WHAT?!" She hissed, careful not to wake Bonnie in her arms. "She what?! Cut - her - hair?! Oh my god!"
"Shh! You'll wake Bonnie - but I know right… I wonder what she looks like… Apparently it's shorter than Buttercup's is at the moment. I mean, I know it's only hair, and normally I wouldn't give a crap about this sort of gossipy stuff, but oh my god! Blossom's hair is like, her thing!"
Bubbles stifled a laugh then, but it didn't last long. "Why did she do it? That sort of thing can be like a cry for help, can't it?"
"Brick said something about control. Apparently she's thrilled about it." Boomer shrugged.
Bubbles nodded, smiling. "Oh good. Wow. Short haired Blossom. I look forward to seeing that."
"Me too. Anyway, you better lay that little one down, and I better get off to work." Boomer said with a light sigh, looking at their baby with love in his eyes.
Bubbles turned toward the bassinet, and gently laid Bonnie down in it. She sighed softly as she watched her sleeping peacefully.
Delicately, the blue puff stroked her soft, golden hair. She was honestly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Not realizing Boomer was still there, she jumped slightly at the feel of his touch on her hip.
"Sometimes I can't believe we made her. She's so tiny and perfect and cute." Boomer mumbled, a bashful look on his face.
"I know what you mean. But we did make her - and boy did we do good." Bubbles approved.
"We really did." Boomer said, putting his arms around his wife's shoulders. "You know what. I want more of these."
Bubbles turned to look at him. "Yeah?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye.
"Yeah. How'd you feel about a whole army?" He grinned.
Bubbles giggled quietly. "Sounds like a plan."
"How about now?" Boomer asked, gently pulling her closer to him.
Bubbles blinked and laughed at him. "Honey, I gave birth 2 weeks ago!"
"Oh yeah." Boomer muttered. "Okay - well, soon?"
"Soon." Bubbles said after chuckling to herself. "Anyway, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for work?"
Boomer sighed dramatically. "I suppose so." He tore himself away and disappeared into their en suite bathroom to start getting ready.
Bubbles had grabbed her cell phone up, and began tapping away at it quickly.
Hearing her furious typing, Boomer poked his head out of the bathroom to see what she was doing. "What are you doing?" He questioned, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.
"Texting Buttercup about Blossom's hair, she won't believe it!" She gushed.
Buttercup sat staring out of the café window, her head balanced in her hand, as she waited for Mitch to arrive.
She'd decided to meet somewhere public, in the hopes that it'd mean they didn't have a massive screaming match. She'd called him in the end, deciding to be the bigger person.
It had been a few days over a week and neither her nor Jay had heard from him. Eventually, something - or someone had to give - so she'd called him. Surprisingly enough, he'd picked up the phone. He must have been waiting for her to make the first move.
And now she sat waiting for him to meet her at a café downtown, hoping that they could talk things out, and she could walk out of their feeling a little bit lighter. And also a little less like such an asshole but, she feared that may be a bit hopeful.
Any hopes of the aforementioned light feeling sank in Buttercup's stomach as she spotted him walking into the café. He ordered himself a cup of coffee, and eventually joined her at the table she was waiting at; his chair scuffing loudly across the floor as he did so.
He looked tired and moody, she noticed, and like he really did not want to be there. Buttercup couldn't help but match the sour expression on his face with her own as she looked at him. It was weird how quickly it had all fallen apart. "Hey." She muttered.
"Hey." He replied, folding his arms across his chest in an impatient manner. "I'm here. So, now what?"
"What do you mean, now what? We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Buttercup asked, her eyes flashing angrily at his manner. She knew she'd done wrong by him, but he'd agreed to meet with her on the phone. Now he'd turned up with a shitty attitude and it made the whole thing seem pointless. Half of her just wanted to walk out of the cafe - what was the point in trying?
He sighed heavily, slumping a little, an ounce of his cockiness disappearing. "Yeah, we do. Sorry." He mumbled.
"Sorry? You're saying sorry to me?" Buttercup asked, sipping her coffee as a waitress placed Mitch's down in front of him. She couldn't help but notice him watching her walk away, something she would have berated him for just over a week ago. But now, all she did was roll her eyes.
"Sorry for coming in here all pissy. I thought being a dick about this would make it easier for me." He explained.
Buttercup looked at him searchingly. "Well, has it?"
"Not really, I gotta admit." He muttered.
"Well why don't you quit that one while you're ahead and we can both attempt to sort stuff out like adults?" Buttercup suggested, to which Mitch nodded lazily. So Buttercup proceeded. "I guess we need to sort out what's happening with the house. I mean, the mortgage is in both our names so –"
"So switch it." Mitch interrupted.
"Huh?" Buttercup asked, surprised.
"So switch it. Transfer it to just you. Contact the lender and get the ball rolling - I won't protest any of it. I'm not living there anymore and I won't be paying for it anymore either so, it makes sense to just remove me from it. Do whatever you gotta do to make it happen, I'll cooperate." Mitch replied, and Buttercup blinked at him.
"But, Mitch, are you sure?! I mean, think of all the payments, all the money you'd have wasted –" Buttercup spluttered. "I was thinking you'd want us to move out… I mean come on, thats your house. I bring in so much less income than you do. Or, did..."
"It wasn't exactly wasted money was it... I lived there when I was paying for it. Think of it as rent. Anyway, I don't care. I don't want it, I don't want to live there without you." He paused, and she felt a stab of sadness hit her at his words. "I don't need a house that big, and I couldn't just kick Jay out of it. He's lived there all his life. So, you two just stay there." Mitch shrugged, not looking her in the eye as he spoke.
Buttercup was shocked. She was fully expecting to be moving soon - she'd even started looking at places she could rent, or considered moving in with the Professor until she found somewhere and got her finances in check.
She'd been thinking things through in her head, how she'd have to get a full time job, and move - probably to an apartment as she probably couldn't afford a house on her own. She'd still have to get a full time job but she wouldn't have to move. "Wow.. Thanks, I mean - I figured you'd enjoy turfing me out. That's a really un-shitty thing to do."
He shrugged again. "I'm not gunna turf you out. Cos I'm a pretty un-shitty guy."
Buttercup nodded her lips forming a thin line momentarily. "I know."
"I've moved in with my cousin Chase. He lives in an apartment downtown, not far from Blossom's old place, actually." Mitch said, changing the subject slightly. "So, there's no need for me to have anything to do with the house. Think of it as Jay's house."
"You could have told me where you've been - or just that you were safe." Buttercup said, her brow furrowed.
"What, were you worried?" He asked moodily and she sighed.
"Well, yeah. Of course I was. It wouldn't have hurt to just call and let me know you were at least alive. Jay's been asking where you were too." Buttercup said, not wanting to touch upon how she had been worried about him too much.
"Where is Jay now?" Mitch asked curiously.
"It's Wednesday afternoon, he's at school." Buttercup answered.
"Oh yeah. I thought he might be with him." Mitch answered, his tone turning sour.
Buttercup glared at him. "So Butch is him now? We can't say his name?"
"Looks like it doesn't it? So does Jay know yet?" Mitch questioned, the beginnings of a sneer gracing his features.
"Yes." Buttercup answered shortly. "And if that pisses you off and you want to find blame somewhere, you play a part in it. He overheard you saying he wasn't your kid or your problem when we are arguing, then guessed the rest."
Mitch frowned briefly, then his brow creased in annoyance. "Well, it's about time. He deserved to know. He's looking more and more like that asshole with every day that passed."
Buttercup glared at him again, and Mitch put his hands out in front of him. "I didn't say if that was an insult or a compliment!"
"Well, what was it?" Buttercup said in a threatening manner.
"Depends what way you're looking at it." Mitch said, sipping his coffee quickly so he couldn't see her reaction. She only sighed heavily, shaking her head at him.
"We've not come to talk about Butch have we? We need to make some kind of arrangement with Jay." She paused. "Even though Butch is his father, you were a Dad to him for 8 years."
"Yeah," Mitch sighed. "Well, maybe I could speak to Chase, see if he's okay with him visiting at his place - maybe staying over on some weekends or something? If you're okay with that, that is." He added hastily.
Buttercup widened her eyes a little, she didn't think Mitch was going to be quite as cooperative as he had been. She knew she probably wouldn't if the shoe had somehow been on the other foot. "Okay, that sounds doable, if I can meet your cousin again and see his place first and stuff..."
"Yeah, of course." Mitch agreed.
There was another pause.
"You're with him now then?" Mitch asked, struggling to conceal the tortured look in his eyes.
Buttercup blinked, but shook her head. "We're not together, no. I don't know what we are. But we're not with each other, no."
"He's gunna move in though? I mean, I'm guessing..." Mitch asked, antagonised by the thought of his former best friend living with his former partner and child, the three of them a happy little family. Everything he'd wanted but never quite grasped properly.
"No." Buttercup answered quickly. "No, that wouldn't be the best idea. And I don't want that. We all need some time to adapt to all this. Jay especially. And he's top priority. He's not happy with me. He's better than he was, but it's hard for him to understand, and he skips any upset and just goes straight to anger."
"Just like his parents." Mitch muttered.
Buttercup narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to snap at him, but stopped herself, she'd only be proving him right. Instead, she ignored him. Blossom would have been quite proud of that control of her temper she just demonstrated. "Like I said, Jay comes first. He always has done, that's what got me into this mess in the first place."
"I know that," Mitch said seriously. "I know he's your top priority. I guess it's a compliment to my character really, all this."
"How do you mean?" She asked in confusion.
"Well, you chose me to raise your child with you, over his own father." Mitch couldn't help but look a little smug about it.
Buttercup shrugged now. "I guess it is. I did make that choice - I was wrong to, but not because of who you are as a person. You're a good person, and you were a great Dad to Jay. But, Butch is a good person too, deep down. And that's why I was wrong to choose you over him to raise his son. He'd have done all he could for Jay if I'd have let him. But I didn't let him. And I was wrong. And I don't know if he'll ever forgive me for that. I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself… But look, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slept with Butch while we were together. That was totally unplanned and, and totally wrong - it just shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry I did that to you. I never intended to hurt you."
Mitch cocked his head to the side. "Yeah, it did fucking hurt. But, it's okay." She pulled an incredulous face at him - how on earth was it just 'okay'?! "I kind of knew it would happen someday - which speaks volumes doesn't it? How normal is a relationship where I knew there was always a risk of you being sucked back into him? Not fucking normal at all. And to be honest I'm pissed off at myself for staying with you so long when I knew something along these lines would happen inevitably. All the failed proposals should have been an eye opener too."
She frowned deeply, and he was bemused by the fact she didn't vehemently deny his claims. Because she knew he was right. But then she shook her head.
"I was with you just shy of 9 years, Mitch. And there were never any 'almosts'. Not from when we properly started dating. You can't act like you were constantly having to make sure I wasn't with him." She said, her lips a thin line.
"No, but you went back to him so often before we became an item - and then before you found out you were pregnant - it's always been a huge fear of mine. That's why I didn't like him near you. To be honest with you initially I predicted things would be over the moment Jay was born. I remember when I first held him - he was just mini Butch. I tried to prepare myself for that when you were pregnant but it still got me. Stupid really - I mean, he obviously wasn't mine. You went from not being pregnant to having a sizeable bump, it was obvious it wasn't me that put him in there. And the only other guy you'd been with was Butch. I knew we wouldn't last because of that. I knew it'd come crashing down someday. And yeah, you were faithful and with me for coming on 9 years but, you've always still had feelings for Butch." Mitch said, and she opened her mouth to protest but he put his hand up to stop her. "Wanna know what confirmed that for me recently?"
"What?" Buttercup mumbled.
"When you went bat shit crazy at Thanksgiving last year when Butch said he'd been sleeping with your sister. If you didn't care, it wouldn't have bothered you, but it did. I've always pondered, always brushed it aside - little looks between you, little moments. But you confirmed it that day. It's okay though. I mean, you guys were practically made for each other… He's just more of an ass then you are." Mitch said dismissively.
Buttercup smirked slightly, then frowned, really looking at Mitch now. It was strange to think she was used to looking at him everyday, and now she just wouldn't. Even stranger was that she wasn't too fazed about it either. She was bothered by the notion, but ultimately she knew it was the right decision for them both. Maybe the several days she'd spent without him, mourning their relationship had been enough.
"Don't sweat it, okay. You know me, I'll be okay." He said, knowing the look in her eyes, knowing she was on the brink of getting upset.
"I'm so sorry, Mitch. I really, really am." Buttercup mumbled. "Even though I know it's the right thing for both of us, I kind of feel like we're breaking up all over again and it's fucking horrible. Like, I've not seen you in ages and it's been so weird, and I know I'm not going to see you in awhile again and it's just weird cos I'm used to seeing you every day."
"I know, me too. It's horrible, and weird and just... Heartbreaking. It's okay. Seriously. It just - it wasn't meant to be. We tried. I was so desperate for you to love me like I loved you that I convinced myself that our situation was okay, when we both knew it wasn't. It just, it wasn't meant to be." Mitch mumbled, trying to keep his expression as positive looking as he could no matter how he was feeling inside. Regardless of how he was feeling, he was kind of smiling. "I'm okay, all right? And so are you."
She nodded, forcing a small smile onto her face too. Noticing the time on the clock on the wall, Buttercup rose from her seat. "I umm, I better go. Jay gets out soon, and I've got a couple of things I've gotta get done before I go pick him up. Thank you - thank you for meeting with me." She said awkwardly.
Mitch rose from his seat too to say goodbye. "It's okay. I'll call you soon to arrange Jay visiting, yeah?"
"Yeah, yeah okay. And anything with the house I'll just forward your details to them to sort it all out if I need to?" She questioned and he nodded.
"Yep, that's fine. Do what you need to do." He agreed.
They looked at each other for what felt like the first time. Buttercup made Mitch freeze as she leant forward and gave him a friendly, albeit fumbled hug. "See you around." She mumbled into his coat.
He sighed as she pulled forward slightly to look at him. He softly stroked her hair, and placed his lips on hers for just a second. "See you around." He replied, before pulling his hand away, and watching her walk out of the café without looking back.
Brick didn't go into work that morning. He'd decided the company would survive without him for a day; after all, he could play Zombie Shootout 6 on his cell phone at home with Blossom and Blake anyway.
He was sitting in the living room with Blake snoozing in his arms. Blossom was perched on the armchair nearby, a thick medical book in her arms. She wanted to remain up to date while on her maternity leave. Typical Blossom.
Brick was still deciding if he liked her new look. It was a very dramatic change for her. In fact, he'd never ever known her to have short hair, and he'd known her all his life. Blossom had only known herself to have short hair once, when her sister's had butchered her hair as a child, but Brick (thankfully) hadn't been around to see that; it was before his recreation. Blossom had reassured him her hair didn't take very long to grow again anyway.
She seemed to like it. Brick didn't know if it was that she liked the way it looked, or the way it made her feel. He'd seen a little bit of the woman he'd fallen in love with return to him the evening previous as soon as she'd snapped the scissors shut around her thick, lustrous locks.
Being typical Blossom, said locks were sat in a clear bag on the counter in the hallway, waiting to be sent off to a cancer charity, to be woven into a wig. Typical Blossom.
He watched her absentmindedly pull a hand slowly through her hair, floating momentarily through nothingness, her hair not being as long as she was used to it. Brick chuckled softly and she looked round.
"What?" She asked, a smile on her face as she carefully clicked her book shut.
"Nothing. Just you." He smirked back.
"What about me?" She asked, placing the book down and appearing at his side.
"You're cute, that's what." He pecked her on the cheek, and she snuggled into the crook of his neck.
"Have you decided whether you like it or not then?" She asked.
Brick sighed lightheartedly. "It's nice."
Blossom scoffed a little. "Oh, only nice? Thank you."
"It's very... Edgy." He said, his voice a low and husky drawl all of a sudden.
Blossom giggled lightly. "Well, I'll take that tone as you like it in some manner at least."
"Mmm hmm." Brick replied, planting a kiss on the top of her head. There was a silence as Brick rested his head on hers, and Blossom looked down at Blake, watching him sleep in his father's arms.
"We will get through this you know." Brick muttered into her hair.
Blossom's contented expression faltered a little as she realised what Brick was referring to. Of course she knew, how could she forget? "I know." She murmured back. "I feel a bit better knowing I can talk to you all now. I don't feel like it's going to swallow me whole quite so much now I have my own personal support group behind me." She smirked.
"Good. You have to talk to me. I know I'm not great with sharing and I can come across as a little unapproachable or whatever, but I've always got ears for you. Okay?" He told her, and she nodded.
"Okay." She smiled.
Blake stirred slightly, and both Blossom and Brick held their breath. He fluttered his big red eyes open, looked up at his mother and father, then closed his eyes again, going back to sleep.
Blossom and Brick exhaled as he slept on peacefully. "I love this."
Brick looked down to Blossom, who had just peeked up at him.
"Me, you, Blake. Family. Finally." She sighed blissfully.
"Yeah," Brick agreed. "It is pretty sweet."
"I want more." Blossom murmured, a cheeky glint in her eye.
"Yeah?" Brick grinned, leaning closer to her face. "I can arrange that." He said, planting a kiss on her lips, being sure to bite her bottom one ever so slightly.
"Brick!" She giggled. "Careful of Blake, you'll wake him! Plus, I'm still recovering. It won't be much longer now though." She added, fluttering her lashes.
"Oh good. You wait till I get ahold of you." He whispered, and Blossom felt goosebumps cover her body. Funny how he could still do that to her.
She nuzzled into him. "I will just have to wait, won't I?"
"Yeah, it's all right though, we've got the rest of our lives." He said, squeezing her into him tightly.
Buttercup pulled her jacket round her tighter as she waited at Butch's door, hoping he was in. A few moments passed and he hadn't opened up, so she knocked again, louder this time, leaning against the door lightly. Maybe he was at work. She had no idea about his work schedule at all.
She heard him murmuring that he was coming from inside, so she stood upright, clutching the papers she was holding to her front. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and she didn't know why. Well, she did know why, she was nervous, but she didn't understand why she was nervous.
Was it because this was finally it? Her and Mitch were no more, she could be with Butch if she wanted to be? The thought kind of scared her.
Considering their past, this could all go horribly wrong. A part of her wanted to turn and run, a part of her thought she was potentially making a big mistake here. But it had already been done, and she'd spent far too many years denying her feelings - denying everything.
He answered the door then and the butterflies in her tummy did synchronised whirls.
"Oh, hey." He said, his face lighting up. "I wasn't umm - didn't expect to see you there." He froze solid for a moment before realising he should let her in, so he stepped aside and indicated for her to walk through the door.
"Yeah, I err - I thought I'd stop by. I've got some stuff I need to talk to you about. And I just met up with Mitch." Buttercup said, standing by his couch and trying to decide if she should sit or stand.
Butch closed the door behind him, and his face fell a little. She'd seen Mitch. Did this mean bad news was going to follow? She seemed nervous. Why did she seem so nervous? Was she coming to tell him they were back together or something? Butch swallowed hard. Should he have seen this coming?
He hadn't a clue where they stood now, and a part of him didn't want to know. A part of him wanted to turn and run before he got in too deep, scared he was potentially making a big mistake here. But it had already been done, and he'd spent far too many years denying his feelings.
If she wasn't back with Mitch, and she did want to be with him - could he be what she needed him to be? Was he even capable?
He cleared his throat, and nodded slowly. "Oh right. So how did that go?"
Buttercup had decided to stand; Butch stood too. She clutched the papers in her arms closer to her chest. "Surprisingly well, actually."
Butch frowned. Well in what way? Well as in they'd patched things up? Was she here to let him down gently? Or well as in he was cool with everything? "How so?"
"He's okay. He's really, really okay. With everything. I mean he got a little pissy but, a lot less pissy than I anticipated - or then was deserved." She replied, a guilty expression flitting across her face.
Butch's emerald eyes popped open a little wider.
Buttercup continued. "He said Jay and I could stay in the house. I was figuring we'd have to move out as soon as possible. I even considered asking the Professor if we could move in with him while I found somewhere, but - he's told me to remove him from the mortgage agreement. Jay will like not having to move. He looked like he was about to damn near strangle me when I mentioned finding a smaller place."
"Really? That's great, really great." Butch said, trying to stop the smile that was fighting to find its place on his face, just in case Buttercup's nerves still stemmed from bearing bad news. He was relieved that it didn't appear that she was reuniting with Mitch. That didn't automatically mean she wanted to be with him though.
"Yeah. Really decent of him, considering. I'm gunna have to get a full time job, and hope I can make the payments on my own. I reckon I could see if they can pull some strings down at the gym I teach at." Buttercup said, staring at Butch's chest and avoiding his face. She knew if she looked at him she would smile, and being all happy felt pretty unfair and unjust on Mitch right now. She was also just generally a little wary. This was all out of the ordinary and she was feeling a bit apprehensive.
"Actually, there's a job going at my gym, at the one I work at." Butch said, making Buttercup look up at him now. "One of the guys just left like a week ago."
"As a personal trainer?" Buttercup reiterated.
"Yeah. Hey, I might be able to pull some strings and make sure you got the job, if you wanted it." Butch said, folding his arms across his chest and smirking at her finally.
"How?" Buttercup asked, narrowing her eyes at him and trying not to smile.
"I'm the one hiring." Butch grinned. Buttercup widened her eyes slightly.
"Really? You?"
"Yes me, god, don't sound so surprised! I've worked there for like 4 years, they kind of trust me by now." Butch said, shaking his head indignantly. "I'm a fucking floor manager there, as well as my PT-ing."
"Oh right, wow. God, 4 years. I guess there's a lot of stuff to catch up on huh?" Buttercup said, looking up at him. Neither her nor her sisters had been very blessed in the height department; they were the same height, at about 5 foot 2 inches each. The boys however, were all over 6 feet tall. Mitch had only been 3 or 4 inches taller than her though, it seemed suddenly odd how much taller Butch was.
"I guess we do. So yeah, just as long as you nail the interview you got the full time job side of things sorted." He grinned. Buttercup shoved him lightly.
"Nail the interview!" She scoffed. "You'd seriously put me through an interview?"
"Nail the interview, nail the interviewer, it's your choice really." He joked, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Nah, I doubt you'd even need to interview. As soon as I mention to my boss that a Powerpuff girl is applying I'm sure they'll wanna snatch you up."
"Possibly. I guess it can help having a bit of celebrity about you." She replied with a sigh. "Not sure how I'd feel about having you as my boss." She added and he grinned.
"I'm definitely sure how I'd feel about being able to boss you around." He joked and she rolled her eyes. "And you're right about the hint of celebrity - even if it's for all the wrong reasons." Butch murmured, folding his arms across his chest. There was a small pause, and Buttercup looked up at him, noticing he smiled suddenly. "Remember when we had that huge fight in Caspers at the mall? That was a front pager wasn't it?"
The edges of Buttercup's mouth curved into a smile at the memory. "I think you're right, yeah. Probably because of the huge fucking hole in the store window."
"Caused by one of the town's beloved protectors, I will add." Butch replied, to which Buttercup rolled her eyes.
"Well you must have pissed me off. If you hadn't have ducked the chair would have hit you, not the window, so it's pretty much your fault. Anyway, I'm hardly a protector these days. Most of the old villains are past it, Mojo and Him haven't even been sighted for years. And any newbies are so tame the cops can handle them, especially with the lazer gun weaponry the Professor has equipped them with now. We've not been called in for a long time. Our biggest problems were you and your brothers, and we even managed to straightened you three out. Me and my sisters are just an obsession to most people. This town will always love and obsess over us until we're dead and in the ground." Buttercup thought aloud.
"Nicely put." Butch said, smirking lightly.
"Well, it's true. The only ones who have managed to avoid the spotlight so much is Bubbles and Boomer. The biggest and 'juiciest' things that have happened to them according to the tabloids was when they first got together, when they got married and when they had Bonnie. Apart from that it's all trivial irrelevant shit like 'Bubbles Jojo spotted exiting toilet at Taco Tony's, I wonder if she sat or hovered.' It's ridiculous." Buttercup exaggerated as Butch laughed at her.
"That's the price you pay for being a celebrity, everyone wants to know how you sit on the toilet." Butch sniggered.
"It's true. Remember when Brick and Blossom broke up? The papers went crazy." Buttercup commented.
"Yeah, they were pretty bad. We didn't get too much of that - they probably got bored of keeping up. The media probably loved their break up so much because Brick cheated on her. Any excuse to label me and my brothers as scum and they eat it up like fucking cookies. You wait, when word gets out about Jay, it'll be just the same with us." Butch determined. Buttercup sighed heavily. "I can just see the 'Deadbeat Dad' headlines now."
She frowned, hoping no one went with that, she could see even though Butch was trying to be funny he looked tormented by the idea. "I know. Just got to ignore it. You should have seen them when Jay was born, following me around like fucking flies with cameras to try and get the first newborn snap." Buttercup grumbled.
"Yeah, I heard." Butch muttered, a little sore about the fact that he wasn't there banging pap heads together. He could have guaranteed the problem would have disappeared 10 times quicker than it probably did without him there.
There was a little pause, in which Buttercup felt guilty for bringing that up. So she decided to steer the conversation onto what she actually came over to discuss.
"So umm, I went down to Townsville Public Health Department today." She said, watching his brow crinkle in confusion. "I got some advice, and picked up this form."
She passed him one of the pieces of paper she'd been holding and he looked down at it, still puzzled.
"What is it?" He asked, his eyes scanning the form rapidly.
"It's an Acknowledgement of Paternity form. If you fill it in, and I hand it in along with Jay's original birth certificate, they can add you onto his birth certificate as his father." Buttercup explained. "If you want that, of course…"
He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Of course I fucking want that. I can't - I can't believe it. You wanna put me on his birth certificate?"
"Well you are his Dad." She replied and he smiled momentarily, then looked back down at the forms.
"They also do a paternity service, if you wanted like concrete evidence before putting yourself on there that you know - if you wanted to do that I'd be okay with that." She was awkward as she spoke and Butch cranked a brow at her.
"You're asking me if I wanna do a paternity test to prove he's mine first?" He questioned and she shrugged. Butch shook his head. "Buttercup I don't need a fucking paternity test, I know he's mine. And so do you."
"I know." She replied quietly.
"So what - Mitch is okay with being taken off of it?" Butch asked and she screwed her face up in confusion.
"Mitch was never on it." Buttercup said, and Butch looked even more shocked now.
"He wasn't?!" He exclaimed.
"Of course he wasn't! Butch, that would have been illegal! I knew Mitch wasn't his father, and so did he. Why would I put him on his birth certificate, when I'd know it was a lie? There has never been anyone listed as his father, look." She handed him Jay's birth certificate, and Butch looked it over, his eyes lingering on the blank FATHER section. He half felt sad at the sight, it looked so empty. But he was glad Mitch's name wasn't staring back at him.
"Oh right. I didn't realise. I just assumed Mitch was on it instead of me..." Butch mumbled, handing her the birth certificate back and looking over the Acknowledgement of Paternity form once more.
"No Butch. I know I was a heartless troll to you, but I wouldn't have done that… Like I said, for one it's illegal. And secondly it would have just been wrong. I left it blank because I would have needed you at the appointment to put you on their right at the start. The only way you can have the father on from birth without his attendance is if you're married. Without that you have to be there to declare you're the baby's father. And I had no idea where you were. So I went alone and got him registered." Buttercup said, a somber tone to her voice. Butch had looked up at her, noting more guilt in her eyes. "But if it's any consolation I did try to get ahold of you to see if you wanted to be on the birth certificate. But, Mitch kind of got in the way..."
Butch looked irritated suddenly. "What do you mean he got in the way?"
"He heard me asking your brothers for your new number. Boomer gave me it. He asked why I wanted it, I said I wanted to know if you were coming to register his birth with me because, you know, you were his Dad, and he said I was making a huge mistake by giving you the opportunity to be on there. He said if I let you go on there I was giving you the chance to try and take Jay away from me. Which now I know is so ridiculous -"
"So what he didn't want me on there cos he thought I'd then just take Jay from you? When all along Jay was actually taken from me?" Butch clarified, and she nodded weakly.
"Basically, yeah. I knew it wasn't right. I argued with him over it but, in the end he convinced me it was stupid to give you even that chance and -" Butch looked absolutely devastated as she spoke and it broke her heart all over again. "Butch I know it was shitty - I was just so sad all the time after I had Jay. I had postnatal depression really bad - like to the point I wanted to kill myself it all felt that bad - I could barely function and he caught me trying to contact you and fucking lost it so I just let it go."
He looked surprised by her admission, but didn't speak, not knowing what to say. The thought of her going through all that with him nowhere to be seen suddenly made him feel like he deserved what he'd got.
"But I shouldn't have let it go. I should have told him that you were his Dad and you deserved to be on his birth certificate, regardless of the ramifications of that. But I didn't. I just caved, and went on my own and registered him with no Dad." She murmured sadly. "Not to try and defend our actions but I imagine Mitch was just scared me talking to you, meeting with you, he was probably terrified it would spell out the end of his and my relationship, that was likely his main motive for talking me out of it. Still shitty either way but... Butch, I'm so sorry."
He was staring at her with wide, sad emerald eyes. "You wanted to kill yourself?"
She swallowed at his words. "I know it sounds bad, I'd just brought this fucking amazing little guy into the world. I should have been on cloud nine. And sometimes I was. But most of the time I just felt so hopelessly unhappy. Everything was so messed up. Mitch was trying to keep everything together, including me. But I just felt like the most evil, ugliest person alive. I felt like I just kept getting everything wrong. And I missed you so much. Every time I looked down at Jay I just saw you and it made me ache."
He had to swallow hard himself before he was able to speak. "I didn't know that."
She shrugged. "I never told you. I never fucking told you a lot of things."
"We were both guilty of that." He admitted, and she pursed her lips together as she looked at him. "I don't know what I would have done had you have called me and asked me to come and register his birth with you back then. I'd like to say I'd have made a beeline for Townsville, signed all the paperwork and demanded to be in his life, but I don't know. There's a high chance I'd have bailed on going, if I'm being completely honest. But, I should have done more. I never looked into shit, did I? If I did, maybe I could have seen him more, maybe I could have been in his life more. So, it's probably a good thing you did it this way." Butch mumbled, guilt in his voice now.
"No, we shouldn't have done it this way. If you wanted to be in his life you should have been on his birth certificate. I should have given you that chance, and you should have demanded it. But, neither of us battled for it." Buttercup said listlessly, and he sighed and agreed with her.
"This is why I wanted to talk to you about it before we fill in all the forms. Putting the past aside for a moment, you being on the birth certificate even now, it changes things." She said, and he looked a bit confused.
"How do you mean?"
"Well as it stands right now, you not being on his birth certificate means you have no legal rights as his father. You have zero parental or financial responsibilities - no responsibility to him whatsoever. But if we fill in these forms, and they put you on there, he's your responsibility just as much as he is mine." She told him, and he swallowed once again. "So, only sign those forms if you're in this for the long haul. And I don't mean me, I mean him." Buttercup said, and he stared at her nodding.
"I am in this for the long haul. Definitely." He turned, looking around rapidly for a pen. "I can fill it in now, and, and get it back down there."
She found herself smiling as he scrambled around looking for a pen. Pulling one out of her purse, she approached him and put it in his hand. "You don't have to do it now. Just, fill it in and give it to me and I'll take it down there."
He nodded, holding the pen gratefully. "Right, okay."
Regardless of her words, he grabbed a couple of magazines off his coffee table and sat down on his couch, using them to lean on and started filling out the form.
Buttercup watched him for a couple of seconds before deciding to sit down beside him instead of continuing to linger in his living area.
"Umm, I'm going to sort stuff with Mitch so he can still see Jay. Like, every other weekend, or something. Some kind of arrangement like that. I know he's not his Dad, but I can't expect him to just cut ties. In fact, I think I'd be more pissed off if that was what Mitch wanted to do. It's hard enough explaining all this to him, but trying to explain to him that Mitch doesn't want to see him anymore would have been much harder." Buttercup said, and Butch looked around at her and nodded.
"Yeah, okay. Well, whatever you think is best for the kid." Butch agreed, not wanting to suddenly get high and mighty about what Jay did and didn't do. If she felt that was best he agreed.
"Not the kid, our kid." Buttercup berated. Butch couldn't help but smile. Our kid.
"I know, right - sorry." He replied.
There was another pause, and Butch completed the form, handing it over to her. "Thanks." She said, putting it down on the coffee table on top of Jay's birth certificate. "I'll take that back down to Public Health."
"Yeah okay. Thanks." He said, his forest green eyes meeting her jade ones.
"Don't sweat it." She replied, his grateful expression warming her heart a little.
Another silence ensued.
Buttercup sighed, slowly letting her head fall against the back of Butch's couch.
He glanced at her, and tried to think of something to say. He felt like stuff he'd wanted for so long was happening - or was it? He didn't know - he was a bit overwhelmed.
Both were trying to think of some way to wangle the conversation onto the subject of their relationship, and what it exactly was, or could, or would be. A few more moments passed, and they both sighed raggedly at the same time, then Butch looked down at Buttercup. Buttercup looked up at Butch. They chuckled.
"This is like two commitaphobe's trying to be brave enough to commit." Buttercup commented. "We're 30 years old in a few months and we still can't even just open our mouths and talk!"
"Please, you're not a commitaphobe." Butch said, slinging his arm round her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. She let him, which made Butch all the more glad he'd been bold enough to do it in the first place.
"How so?" She questioned. "Mitch wanted to get married and have more kids, but did either of those things happen? No, they did not."
"You were with Mitch for what, almost 9 years? That my friend is not the work of a commitaphobe. Our commitment history as a couple – what, 2 years straight together with no break ups? Yeah, that's pretty commitaphobe-y, but yours alone - nah, you're no commitaphobe. Me? Those two years with you straight is the longest I've ever managed. How pathetic is that?" Butch explained.
"Not missing out your 1 year stint with Blossom of course." Buttercup said, looking at the switched off TV ahead of her.
Butch looked down at the top of her head. "We weren't dating. It doesn't - she wasn't my girlfriend."
"No, you were just having sex. With her, only. Like what couples do." She answered sarcastically, not being able to let the venom escape her voice.
"Are you pissed about that?" Butch asked, a curious yet teasing tone to his voice.
Buttercup rolled her eyes. "No."
The green ruff scoffed. "Stop fucking lying."
"I'm not lying." She said, folding her arms across her chest. "Okay, fine. I didn't like it. I don't like it. At all. But I had no say in it did I? You could do whatever you wanted, no pun intended. I just find it weird you chose my sister as a conquest. Out of everyone you could have chosen, it had to be her."
"It wasn't like that, it wasn't like one day I just woke up and decided to go after Blossom for a while. It just, kind of happened. It wasn't planned. And trust me - we weren't dating. It was not dating. I saw other people, and so did she. It was pretty much a booty call." Butch tried to assure her.
"And what about your little performance at Thanksgiving dinner last year? Announcing it to everyone, Jay included. That was so inappropriate!" Buttercup said, feeling like the cat was out of the bag so she may as well say all the things that had been bugging her.
"Okay, I'll admit I wasn't exactly thinking when I did that. But, I just wanted to get back at –" Butch began explaining but Buttercup interrupted him.
"You wanted to get back at Blossom? What, because she broke it off with you? Because she slept with Brick? Almost like she cheated on you with Brick? If it didn't bother you that much you wouldn't have hurt her like you did." Buttercup reasoned bitterly, grateful to have got this off her chest. It had been on her mind for almost a year now.
"Buttercup will you shut the fuck up for a moment so I can speak?" Butch asked conversationally. Buttercup huffed in reply. "Thank you. I wasn't trying to get back at Blossom, I was trying to get back at Brick. It was Brick I was trying to hurt. He was such a fucking ass to Blossom and she was still so into him. It pissed me off that he could do everything wrong, and still get Blossom back - when I didn't do half as wrong as he did, and I knew there was no way I'd get you back. It just didn't seem fair to me. When I'd sit with Blossom, and she'd be upset, and hurting because of my tool of a brother, and I'd see just how much she still loved him - even though she literally caught him with his penis up another woman - then I'd be out with your family, and see you, and Mitch and my kid, all happy and together and a family, and see just how much you didn't like me, let alone love me, it just made me so angry. I knew Brick and Blossom would end up back together somewhere along the road, it was so fucking obvious. They both pined for each other still after 4 years, and then he knocked her up and that kind of sealed the deal. I just thought it was unfair and, you know - the stupid, anger steered way my brain works told me to hurt Brick. I obviously didn't realise that in the process of that it might hurt you. I honestly thought you never ever considered me, let alone thought about me. It seemed like you'd convinced yourself Mitch was Jay's Dad and I was your asshole ex you had to encounter every now and then. Just one big mistake in your life you had to deal with at family gatherings. And then you led me away at Brick's place and spoke to me again and I thought, it's now or never. I told Brick to stop moping about and grab what he wanted with both hands. So I decided to do the same after like 9 years."
Buttercup was surprised by how much sense all that made, in a really screwed up Butch kind of way, and when she looked around at him he huffed lightly. "Dammit woman, how do you bring this pathetic side out of me every now and then?"
Buttercup laughed, leaning back against him. "I guess I'm just magic." She shrugged.
"You got that right." He said, kissing the top of her head.
"Of course I have thought about you. Like I said, I look at Jay - and there's you. Every day for 8 years, little you wondering about my house." He smirked at her. "I fucking mourned our relationship for years. And Mitch, fucking Mitch would beg me to move on. How fucked up is that? Like, why did he stick around? And why did I?" She asked and Butch shrugged. "Of course I have wondered what could have been if I'd have handled things differently. Better, even. Or if you hadn't just rolled over and let me be completely unreasonable about your own son. But, well, I didn't, did I? And I guess I preferred to just float along with it then bite the bullet and find out. I am really glad I did bite the bullet though. I should have done it years ago." She murmured.
"Too right. I wouldn't have slept with Blossom if you had, so I suppose you only have yourself to blame." Butch said casually.
Buttercup turned and thumped him on the upper arm. "Don't play that card. Can't we put this down to both of us just being dumb fucks?"
"Yeah, I guess so, if it'll make you feel better." Butch laughed.
She laughed too, and shoved him lightly. He only pulled her closer, and she sighed happily against him.
"Is Jay okay?" Butch asked, and she frowned, but nodded.
"He's okay. He's tough as fuck, that kid. Confused as fuck too but, he's okay. Muddling through." She replied, and he nodded, thinking of his son and wishing things had been simpler from the beginning.
"So, what happens now?" Butch questioned, his stomach knotting as he awaited her response.
"What do you mean?" The green puff asked a little nervously.
"You and me." Butch made himself just ask because he needed to know what happened next.
Buttercup inhaled slowly, before turning to look at him. "I don't know. I'm having a bit of a 'head vs heart' battle right now about it all."
Mild panic and disappointment flooded Butch's features. "What does that mean?"
"It means that my head says I should get the hell out of dodge. Because I've been here with you before - well, sort of. And it's always ended in heart break. And things are different now. Cos if you get cold feet and decide you can't do this anymore, it isn't just me you're leaving now. It's different now. We have a son. And if we're together, and you get scared, or decide you don't deserve to be loved or whatever goes through your head when you bail, and you choose to leave me you're leaving him too. Our whole on and off, hot and cold thing, it isn't going to work where Jay is concerned. It's just going to fuck him up. And lord knows I've done a pretty good job of that alone what with everything else that's already happened." Buttercup said, and Butch looked a little offended.
"You think after pining for him, and you for like 9 years I'm just gunna up and leave?" The green ruff questioned and her face changed to one of apprehension.
"I don't think you will Butch, I'm scared you will. Because I've been through it many times before in the past. Being with you was like standing on the edge of a cliff, closing my eyes and counting to three before jumping - taking the plunge with you and jumping, and being with you and loving you - and expecting to land in water and be I dunno, be supported, but then you'd be gone, and instead I'm landing on concrete with a bang. But then you'd be there again, pumping air into my lungs, ready for me to jump once again, hoping to land in the water but instead landing on concrete once again."
He looked pained by her words, and the fear evident in her eyes. "I'll catch you this time. The water is clear - you won't land on concrete, I'll catch you."
"That's the thing - I want you to catch me Butch. I just don't know how good your aim is." She muttered sadly.
"My aim is on point.Jump out of this building right now, IpromiseI will catch you." Butch told her, his tone almost daring.
She couldn't help but chuckle at him. "I'm not jumping out of a building Butch, it's a metaphor!"
"Buttercup, I will always catch you. I fucking love you. I've lived without you, and Jay for so long. I can't do it any longer. I'm going to catch you and I'm not going to ever fucking let you go." He told her, his voice deadly serious as he gripped ahold of her hand.
After looking at him for a second, she held it back and squeezed it tightly. "You promise?"
"I promise." He told her. And she believed him. Whether she was jumping into concrete again right now, she didn't know. But she was prepared to jump once again, she knew that much.
"Butch - I love you too." She said, watching his eyes light up and a smile hit his face as she did. "But if I do end up face planting concrete it's highly likely I'm going to have to kill you this time."
He laughed, before placing his forehead against hers and kissing her.
r&r (: