AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was actually my first Happy Tree Friends fanfiction that I posted on Archive of Our Own (AO3) before I deleted my old account there months ago. Because I'm trying to get my brain going with new story ideas, I've decided to submit this old story here onto this website.

There needs to be more Flippy/Flaky anyway. I absolutely enjoy this ship.

Additional information: Flippy's PTSD, a descriptive mention of Fliqpy, mentions of character death

Flaky was no stranger to being declined when she told her boyfriend that he could talk to her about his past friendships. Rather than press on each time, she chose to keep herself quiet on the matter. After all, there were a few subjects that she wasn't ready to open up to Flippy about.

But this afternoon was different. When she was given an urn with a butterfly printed on it, one on the front and another on the back, while sitting on the war veteran's couch, she couldn't help but to quietly ask, "...Flippy, is this-?"

"Yeah…" The war veteran interrupted softly. He sat down next to Flaky but he couldn't bring himself to face her. "Both Sneaky and Ka-Boom are in there… at least, what's left of them."

The porcupine stared down at the urn with a sad look on her face. She recalled a quiet night where both she and the bear slept on the bed together, the night light having been plugged in. She remembered the abrupt awakening, having heard Flippy scream out his dear friends' names in terror. She remembered how terrified he was, sitting up and shaking in fright as he embraced his being, letting out fast and short breaths. But it was her that became frightened shortly after when she laid her left hand on his shoulder. Flaky remembered being pulled forward and forced onto her back on the mattress, her wrist being tightly and painfully held by the war veteran, his sharp teeth being bared towards her and these yellow green eyes glaring down at her, growling.

It was a miracle that the soothing sounds of butterflies fluttering began to replay on the miniature cassette deck which stood on the war veteran's small dresser. Devices like those normally had to be re-winded manually, but it was thanks to Sniffles' genius that Flippy's device was modified to automatically rewind and replay the tape all over again.

The memory of her quaking in fear and having teary eyes from her boyfriend's actions made her clench the urn tighter. She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous right now. What she was holding was a memory that Flippy not once opened up to any of their other friends about. What of his therapist? What if she dropped the urn? What if Flippy snapped like he did on that night?

"Those two were something in their own ways." At the war veteran's words the porcupine snapped out of her fear of 'what ifs' that were encircling her. She turned her head to look at her boyfriend, cocking it slightly. Rather than ask, she chose to keep herself quiet instead.

"Sneaky had a bad habit of using his tongue to mess around. He'd poke the other privates' shoulders and do crazy dares with that thing," Flippy explained, his tone not as soft as it was before. "Ka-Boom liked explosions. The bigger it was, the happier he got. He refused to be discharged after going deaf, going on about how he wasn't going back to his mom in disgrace."

Now the war veteran let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head in amusement.

"Boom thought he had Sneaky fooled one time. He gave him a cherry bomb thinking Sneaky would confuse it for the real fruit. Poor rat got left with a knot on his head and I'm sure he cussed me out in French after I laughed."

Flaky couldn't help but to let out a giggle at that. She wasn't the type of person that found others getting hurt to be funny, but there was something about listening to Flippy talking to her about his friends messing around that sparked her humor.

Still unable to turn his head to face her, Flippy felt content in knowing that Flaky was listening, that sweet giggle of hers almost being contagious that he wanted to return the laugh, but held his laughter back. He was sure that she was staring at him with a loving smile, just one of the things that made him love her. Feeling the need to go on, he spoke again, "Sneaky shared the news with us that his wife laid three eggs, going on about how he was the happiest guy in the world."

A sigh escaped Flippy's lips next…

"And Ka-Boom shared with us that his mom's business skyrocketed. Told us he was gonna take her to Rome…"

…followed by a sniffle.

"...They were…"

He became quiet aside from sniffling more.

Flaky turned her head away and stared back down at the urn that she had been holding. A husband and father, a mother's son, two families lost their loved ones. It was heartbreaking knowing that a soldier might not return home alive. It was even heartbreaking knowing that a soldier might return home, but with one less friend or more.

As she listened to her boyfriend crying to himself, Flaky didn't know how she could respond. She wasn't sure whether to speak or to reach her arm out. That particular night came back to her mind, and those yellow green eyes made her nervous. What if Flippy reacted the way he did?

C'mon, Flaky… What kind of girlfriend are you if you can't help your boyfriend?

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the porcupine soon, albeit hesitantly, reached out her left arm and as gently as she could, she placed her hand on Flippy's shoulder. She was met with him turning his head to face her, his tears running down.

"...They were… they…" Right then and there, the war veteran scooted closer to the woman that he loved and pulled her into an embrace. He was crying into her own shoulder and Flaky wasted no time in caressing the other's back with her free arm.

"I-it's okay… j-just let it out…" The porcupine stuttered in a whisper, her own vision having become blurry as she buried her face into Flippy's neck. And though she whimpered softly, it was the war veteran who let it all out. He cried loudly into his girlfriend's shoulder, deeply upset about the loss of his best friends, the family that he had back when he was a private. It hurt that he wasn't given a chance to be a part of Sneaky and Ka-Boom's lives outside of the army. It hurt him knowing that Sneaky never got a chance to meet his children and it hurt that Ka-Boom didn't get another chance to receive his mom's love and care.

Eventually did the living room go quiet. Both lovers slowly broke their embrace as the time passed. Flippy was the first one to wipe away his tears on the sleeve of his arm, letting out a sniffle. When he turned his attention back to her, he wiped Flaky's tears away with his thumbs. There were no words he could express to tell her just how grateful he was to be able to talk and grieve. Not even his own therapist had seen him shed tears.

But, though he was very thankful, Flippy knew that he still had to make an amend. Softly he asked Flaky, "I hurt you, didn't I?"

"N-no, no!" The porcupine stuttered in shock, shaking her head quickly at the question.

The bear had a feeling that his girlfriend would lie. Taking off his beret, he dug his right hand inside it and pulled out three red quills shortly after. Looking back at Flaky, he saw that she had turned her head away from him in shame.

"Flaky, I don't know why you were scared on your back and why my hand was around your wrist, but I know when I'm being lied to."

He let out a sigh before closing his eyes. He had no memory of his previous actions that resulted in his girlfriend being put in that position with him leaning over her. But the aftermath was another story.

"I remember seeing butterflies before you appeared, scared and shaking. We were in my room, and I let go of you and you went into the bathroom. When you got off, I saw these quills hanging on my bed."

Flippy put the quills down behind him on the couch and reached both of his arms out, gently taking hold of Flaky's left hand with both of his own.

"You kept telling me that I did nothing wrong. But your quills told me a different story and it kept eating me up that I couldn't apologize to you."

Bringing Flaky's hand up to his face, Flippy gave it a tender kiss… followed by giving each of her knuckles a kiss afterwards. His tender actions made the porcupine turn her head to face him, blushing and letting out a small smile. She knew how sincere her boyfriend was, his gentleness and honesty having been what drew her to him in the first place.

Giving him a slow nod, Flaky meekly responded back with, "I'm sorry…"

"No… I'm sorry for hurting you…" Flippy then brought himself close to his girlfriend and embraced her again. He remained quiet for a few minutes, contemplating on what else he could tell Flaky. When a swarm popped up into his mind, the war veteran buried his face in the latter's neck. He felt the back of his head being touched as a response to his actions.

"...When I left the jungle, I saw a swarm of butterflies. The swarm gave me a peace that I hadn't felt since I joined the army..."

Giving her neck a kiss, Flippy slowly moved his face away and stared lovingly at Flaky, who returned the same expression. The porcupine sighed in content as she stared into his eyes, bringing her free hand over to her boyfriend's cheek and caressing it.

"You know, I'm going to the museum next Monday. There's a butterfly-"

"It's a date!" The war veteran cut in in an excited tone, leaning forward and giving Flaky a kiss, who happily returned it.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope that you enjoyed reading this story.