This chapter's quote is about the real-life Jacquotte! ;) I thought it'd be fitting because Brick gets to meet his offspring in person after so many years. Shout-out to a-k-a glimmer for getting it at first!
Chapter 2: "Jacquotte Delahaye was a pirate in the Caribbean sea, one of the very few 17th-century female pirates. She is the subject of many legendary stories. To escape her pursuers, she faked her own death and took on a male alias, living as a man for many years. Upon her return, she became known as "Back From the Dead Red" because of her striking red hair."
Blossom just glimpsed to her sides in response, pursing her lips.
Brick did the same, and nodded, "'Ight..." he trailed off as something over the snooker table seemed to grasp his attention, "Y'all good?" He barked at the group of players, forcing them to unglue their eyes from Blossom's jeans. Once they glanced at him, the group collectively gulped, and nodded, mumbling in agreement. Brick just further hardened his glare, "Good. Keep minding ya business," he growled, before taking a hold of Blossom's wrist and leading her away.
Blossom just rolled her eyes, following him up the wooden stairs. It was like time had never passed.
"Is that how you treat all your customers?" She scoffed, as her counterpart brought her to a table for two people at the bar's mezzanine.
"That's my premium treatment," Brick muttered, pointing his head to her seat as he took his own, "But I assume you're not here to give me your customer service review."
Blossom cocked her head, resting her forearms on the table as she laid back in the chair, "That's true," She admitted.
The woman's mannerism gave it away, causing Brick to furrow his brows, "Is it about her?" He asked, referring to Jacque.
Blossom sighed, looking up to Brick's eyes, "Yes. Yes, it is about her..." She trailed off, carefully studying his expression.
Brick couldn't help himself but raise an eyebrow, "I guess it must be quite severe if it made you come all the way down here after what, 10 years?"
"Thirteen, actually," Blossom corrected, much against her best judgment, "There are some things going on with her that I assumed you should be aware of."
"Oh? How kind of you to decide when I get to know what's going on with my daughter," He stated in a harsh tone, making Blossom's eyes fall down to her hands, "The one you said you didn't want around me and said that you didn't need me around to raise her?"
The woman just looked up at him with a sigh, "Precisely," She muttered, knowing that giving in to Brick's statements would just make things worse. Brick bitterly chuckled, but she cut him off before he even had the chance to say anything else, not 'give in' to his statements, but rather correct them, "But if memory serves me right and it does... I said I didn't want to raise a child around criminal activities or with someone that got by using money from criminal activities. You were the one who decided not to change your ways to become a parent."
In response, he just gestured towards the bar, "Looks criminal to you?" Brick asked, raising both eyebrows, "I mean, not like this is my best spot, I own businesses in high-end neighborhoods that'd make the Morebucks look like trailer trash."
Blossom narrowed her eyes at him, "Impressive. Do tell me Brick, where did the money to start such a successful business life came from? Better yet, what about your side businesses?" She raised an eyebrow, "You might have fooled the police department, but I know you."
This conversation already looked like it'd be harder than she thought.
Brick's expression darkened, "You do, don't you? Good. 'Cuz if memory serves you that well, you'll remember I told you from day one that'd take care of both of you, you were the one who decided to be righteous about it and cut me off of my own child's life."
"Funny how this works, a whole decade later and you're still involved with crime up to your neck," Blossom hissed, "And I never needed you to care of us, I've always taken care of myself and Jacque," Blossom growled, fully aware she was about to eat her words in a matter of seconds, "the only thing I asked of you was to get your life together to be around and raise Jacque away from crime. You know, as any parent would do."
Brick firmly stared at her before leaning over, "Is that so?" He asked in a low, piercing tone, "Then why the hell are you even here? Found someone else to take my place yet? Felt like coming by to rub it in?" He pressed on, pointing to his own face.
Blossom shut her lips together, sensing that his rage was piling. He has always been overwhelmingly possessive. "There's no one, there never has been," She assured softening her glare, knowing it'd appease him, "But I'm here because... That was then. Now is... look, Brick, the reality of the situation has changed. That's why I came all the way down here." She admitted, dropping her gaze back to her hands.
Brick raised an eyebrow, "Meaning?"
Blossom didn't look at him for a moment, she was searching for the right words, "Jacquotte... is a lot less of a PowerPuff than I expected." She admitted, taking a hissing breath, the tip of the tongue sliding across her front teeth.
"So, this means..." Brick raised his brows, a twitch tingling in the corner of his mouth, "there's more of..."
"A lot more," She dimly corrected, "a whole lot more of RowdyRuff in her." Blossom sighed, flipping her tousled hair to the side, fully aware Brick was fighting back the urge to open his mouth in a wide smile, "You better wipe that grin off your face right now..." She warned, looking up at him with a growl.
"And this means you actually can't take care of her all by yourself." Brick concluded, with a smug eyebrow raise.
Blossom glared at him in annoyance. Who was rubbing it in now? His expression did show concern, but Brick's red eyes were shining with a tiny sparkle of joy. Fair. He got to rub it back in her face after so many years, but it didn't mean he wasn't worried about his estranged daughter's wellbeing.
Blossom just stared deadpanned at him, until the sparkle dissipated, and the man recomposed himself.
Finally, Brick cleared his throat, "Alright... But, you do know who you're talkin' to, don't you?" He scoffed, "If your intention is to tone down the RowdyRuff in her, you're barking at the wrong tree here."
"She needs someone to relate to," Blossom explained, dismissing the stabbing pain in her chest, "That's all. Someone who's the same as her, and still managed to finish High School, and not be a runaway I guess."
"What?" The last part got his attention, "Is she..?" Brick furrowed his brows, not sure whether to ask such a question out loud.
"About to be expelled from Pokey Oaks," Blossom admitted, clenching her jaw, "Looking into a likely future in Black Oak... and, not only that..." The woman hissed through gritted teeth, "She's hoping to be expelled from Black Oak! She can't control her temper, she thinks she can just go by relying on her powers."
Brick's mouth went agape, "Black Oak? The Black Oak? Fucking Ace from Gangreen Gang graduated there-"
"Don't I know?" Blossom cut him off, "Look, her teacher advised me to contact you, and I agree with him. Building a relationship with you truly is the last option for her. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure none of us expected such a radical outcome... And she's, Brick, she's in distress..." The mother sighed, "It's not even the High School bit. She's so reckless, I don't want her to risk herself and end up in a situation I can't get her out of. That's why I, I ne..." The woman trailed off, biting down her lip. "I have to help her."
Brick nodded, deep in thought, digesting everything Blossom had said. When Blossom told him to stay away from them until he was out of the crime business, he immediately walked out and never looked back, purely out of spite, and secretly hoping the mother wouldn't be able to raise Jacquotte on her own, so she'd have to come back to him. Now, his secret wish had come true, with the exception he never had Blossom back and his daughter was in some big trouble - even from a mob boss point of view. He regretted ever wishing something like this more than anything, even if just for a second of his life.
They stayed in silence for a while. Brick gazing at his ex-lover, as she looked down at the table, waiting for him to say something.
"Look. I know it's too much, if you want some time to think it through, I understand," Blossom told him, carefully studying Brick's expression.
"I don't need time to think it through," Brick bluntly stated, "Jacquotte's my daughter and if having me around will help her, I'll do the best I can..." Brick trailed off.
The woman looked up at him, "You have to understand this is to help her. No crime, no violence. Can I count on you?"
She'd seen in his face that he was worried. Brick hadn't changed a single thing, it was as clear as day he was all in. Nonetheless, despite the severity of the situation, the corner of his mouth twitched. The man agreed it was childish and inappropriate to think in such a serious situation, but the man couldn't stop himself.
"Yes, but I want something in return."
Blossom glared, "This is for our child!" She shouted.
"And I'm all in!" He said, throwing his hands in the air, "But what I mean is, I've been out of her life forever! Can I at least have a lil' something, after so long? You know, for consolation? Since you came all the way here and everything."
Blossom gazed at him for a moment, guilt washing down over her. Despite having pushed Brick away from Jacque's life for legitimate reasons, it was still true that she decided so against his will. She'd turned down his initial offers for child support, so he wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he wanted to be around without cleaning up his act, and took it upon herself to push through her professional life, and raise Jacque all on her own. Bubbles and Buttercup liked to say Blossom pushed through because she was powered by her pride and obstinacy.
"Fine. What do you want?" The woman raised her eyebrows.
Brick grinned, "How much can I ask for?"
Blossom growled, "Don't push it... I'm being extra nice here."
Brick's eyes dangerously lingered at her, scanning her v-neck ribbed cardigan up to her collarbones, and the woman's pink-colored eyes. Blossom stiffened, she knew that face, she knew what he was going to ask, and she'd have to say yes.
"I think you know what I want. Blossom, I want you..." Brick grinned, staring into her eyes, "to say that word."
The woman huffed indignantly.
Knew it.
Blossom fixed a glare upon her face, "Really?" She hissed, to which Brick nodded, "You're so unbelievable..."
The man's grin grew wider, with a sadistic hint, "What? C'mon, it's not like you can't say it out loud, right?"
Blossom glowered before clearing her throat and straightening her back. She still took a moment gritting her teeth like she was chewing the words in her mouth while Brick watched, attentively, with a smile from ear to ear.
"Brick... I n... I, Brick, I ne..." Blossom blurted out, the tip of her tongue freezing against her front teeth as if her subconscious was stopping her. She closed her eyes, shook her head before looking back at Brick, who started chuckling. "Having fun?" She snarled.
Brick shrugged coyly, "Take your time, babe. I have all day." He stated, crossing his fingers behind his head.
The woman growled through gritted teeth before exhaling once again, closing her eyes, only to open them again, now forcing herself to stare directly into Brick's eyes, and only his eyes, because she knew that if she saw his smug, shit-eating grin, she wouldn't be able to say the words.
And just like that, like pulling a band-aid, Brick heard the words slip out of her ruddy, bow-shaped lips.
"Brick. I need your help."
The man couldn't help but laugh, not remembering when was the last time he'd smiled that wide.
"See!? It wasn't so hard!" He cooed, in a patronizing tone.
Blossom just scowled. The things you do for your children.
The rest of the conversation ran as well as one could expect. In fact, Brick wanted to walk out of the bar and go straight to Blossom's, to meet Jacquotte, but the woman interjected. Having Brick's and Jacque's personality clash with no warning could be highly disastrous.
When Blossom came back home, Buttercup and her daughter were fast asleep on the couch while a movie that was clearly inappropriate for Jacque's age streamed on TV. The redhead scowled as she floated towards the two, casually allowing for her heavy purse to fall on the coffee table, its loud, startling sound waking up both of them.
"Shit..." Buttercup groaned, bringing a palm to her forehead, "Show your police force some respect, red... "
"Buttercup," Blossom folded her arms, scowling at her sister, "Why are you and my thirteen-year-old daughter watching the Saw movies?" She asked, gesturing at the doll cycling on the screen.
The brunette casually yawned, "Because Jacque had only seen the first one."
"Buttercup! These movies have an age restriction for a reason, you know!" Blossom scolded, while her sister just wiped her teary eyes.
"Mom..." Jacque moaned, sitting up, "in aunt Buttercup's defense, these are actually really, really bad." She said, referring to the movies, which made Buttercup give her sister a look as she nodded, "I mean it boils down to gratuitous blood and gore, it gets boring after the first two..." She yawned, stretching her arms, "Anywho. How was the date?"
Buttercup burst out laughing at the question while Blossom gasped.
"Buttercup! What did you say to her!?"
The brunette defensively raised her hands from the couch, "I did not say that!" She clarified amidst laughter, throwing her niece a look, "I said you were going to meet an ex-boyfriend! Which is true! You hate lying."
Jacque shrugged, "Sounds like a date, I don't know. It has the words 'boyfriend' and 'meet' together." She concluded, with tired glassy eyes, "Whatever, who's it?"
Blossom frowned, gazing at her daughter's identical blood-red eyes. Buttercup noticed that, and peered over the teenager, "Yeah, I think I'll leave you two-"
"Buttercup, no..." Blossom shook her head, motioning for her sister to stay, "You did help me so much all the way here, you're welcome to stay." She stated, taking a seat at the living room chair. Buttercup sat up on the couch, with a nod.
Jacquotte glimpsed from one sister to the other, "Guys? What's going on?"
"Jacque..." Blossom sighed, realizing she was absolutely unprepared for that talk, "Do you remember what I told about your father?"
The teenager nodded with disinterest, "Yeah, you didn't think he was a good influence and told him to bust."
"What!?" Blossom hissed, "I didn't say that!"
Her daughter shrugged, "I'm summing it up. Why? Is it him?" Jacque asked straight, forward, and blunt just like that, "You left to meet an ex-boyfriend, was that him?"
"Shit..." Buttercup muttered, seizing her niece proudly "You just made this whole thing ten times easier for your mom." The brunette assured, jamming a finger towards Blossom, "I should call you when I need to break up with a boyfriend."
"I mean, I just put two and put together." Jacquotte stated in a flat voice, turning from one woman to the other, "C'mon! You two know I'm smart as hell."
This made her aunt throw her head back, bursting into laughter again, while Blossom cleared her throat, "Well, yes... That's him. I met him and I spoke to him. About you." She said, cautiously.
"Oh, shit..." Jacque muttered under her breath, "Don't tell me I'll have a present father from now on..." She moaned at Blossom, who scowled.
"Huh, that is not why I spoke to him!" Her mother pointed out, "But he'll be around now... It, it will be good for you, Jacque."
Jacque rolled her eyes, "Was that Mister Keane's idea?" She groaned, staring at her mom with pursed lips, "Shit, of course, it was! I thought we were past that point, mom! I don't care about having a 'father figure'!" The teenager complained, making air quotations.
"That's not about it!" Blossom interrupted, "I want you to have more contact with other adults besides me and your aunts! It will be so good for you, Jacque..." The woman insisted, taking a seat next to her daughter, "When you meet him, y, you'll see. You'll see what I mean."
Much contrary to Blossom's intentions, it made Jacquotte grimace, "Ok, I'm so weirded out. Why is it so important? What am I gonna see?"
"You're his carbon copy," Buttercup stated leaning over to the girl's side. "I mean, not only physically, he made your mom's life a living hell from Kindergarten all the way to High School! His shenanigans are almost equal to yours!"
The statement made Jacquotte freeze for a moment, sharply turn to her mom, "Is that him? The boy you keep lecturing me about?" Blossom sighed with a nod, to which Jacquotte responded by giving her an even weirder look, "Blossom, he hounded you for years and you still dated him?"
"Girls! I'm so sorry I'm late!" Bubbles squealed, sitting down at the brunch table with her hand full of shopping bags, "It's game night, and Mike invited some friends over, it's taking my whole day."
Buttercup raised an eye, "What's that got to do with you? It's his game night, you don't even like watching sports."
Bubbles shook her head, her high pigtails bouncing along, "It's not like that Buttercup... His friends are my friends, and when he invites them over, they bring their wives who are also my friends, and I'll be their host, and I have to make sure I'm as much of a good hostess to them as they are to me!" The blonde explained, batting her mascara-coated eyelashes as she gestured, making her blue bracelets dangle along.
"Sounds like some bullshit," Her brunette sister retorted, laying back in the chair with folded arms. The difference between the sisters was striking with Buttercup in black jeans, a black shirt, and combat boots, as opposed to Bubbles, who wore a blue summer dress. "He invited some friends, so what? Let them help themselves, go do your own thing, screw it if they don't think you're a good hostess."
"That's not how marriage and neighborhood friendships work..." Bubbles argued, before realizing there was a mimosa in front of her, "Oh, hey!... Blossom? Thanks!" She beamed, looking up at her redheaded sister.
"It's nothing," Blossom smiled, sipping her spritzer. Simultaneously the opposite to both her sisters, the redhead wore a cream-colored, ribbed loungewear set, and her hair tied in a messy bun. "We always order the same thing anyway, I just thought we should hurry things up when you texted saying you were going to be late. After all, we only have this time of the week to see each other, we should cherish it!"
Bubbles nodded, "Well... Thank you, Blossom..." The blonde emphasized, shooting Buttercup a dark look, "Honestly, I needed this time with you guys so bad! Housework, the kids, and work are killing me this week, and there's today's gathering on top of it all!"
Buttercup raised a smug eyebrow, "But you don't even do any real work," She chuckled, knowing this would annoy Bubbles, who glared at her.
"Tell this to the kids!" She snarled.
While Buttercup had enrolled in police academy right after High School, Bubbles studied to become a social assistant and married her high school sweetheart, Mike Believe. Eventually, she felt she needed to pause her career a handful of years before to care for her children. As a hobby, she'd started a Youtube channel that'd become her job, where she teaches kids about complex topics like diversity, emotional intelligence, and consent in a simple, accessible way - the latter being of utmost importance in the blonde's opinion: not only she taught kids what consent is, she let them know what to do whenever an adult did not respect it.
"Bubbles, she doesn't mean it," Blossom scowled at a sneering Buttercup, "you know she's just teasing you."
"Guilty as charged," the brunette admitted.
The redhead had taken the most traditional route to bring justice as an adult, and became a lawyer. After graduation, she teamed up with her college's best friend to open a law firm focused on attending middle, and lower-class citizens in a wide variety of cases, including, but not limited to, abuse in the workplace.
"Anywho!" Bubbles smiled, taking a bite of a tartine, "How have you two been? How were your weeks?" She asked with genuine interest, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.
"Ask Blossom, she had the most interesting week by far," Buttercup chuckled, chugging down her drink. Blossom just hit her in the side with an elbow, scowling at her sister.
The blonde obliviously glanced from one sister to another, "Ooh, what? What happened, Bloss?" She asked enthusiastically, "Oh! Oh! Did you and Dan finally find an investor?"
Blossom pursed her lips at that. It was no secret she was on the hunt for one, so hers and Dan's law firm could expand their activities to other states, and it has been going in for a while.
"Unfortunately, this aspect remains the same," The redhead admitted, sipping on her drink, "We had a few meetings this week, but they didn't get anywhere."
Bubbles frowned, "So, what's it?"
Blossom shot Buttercup a look, while the brunette just gulped on her morning pint, before turning to her blonde sister, "It's about Jacque..."
The mention of the teenager's name made Bubbles' mouth go agape, "Oh Gosh..." she breathed, frowning in worry, "Bloss, what happened? What did she do this time?"
"Wow, little red did make a name for herself," Buttercup laughed, beer foam forming a mustache over the woman's full lips.
A feminine figure appeared by their table, making the women cringe at the shrill voice, "And what a name she made! Almost sent my poor Chance to the hospital just this week..." The voice cooed.
The three women looked over to the well-known woman, except that only Bubbles smiled, "Princess! Didn't know you... came around these parts!" She half-heartedly exclaimed, referring to the girls' brunch place.
The woman huffed, placing a hand on her slim waist, patting her shoulder-length, curly hair, "Oh, Bubs, you know how things are with the PTA members. Not everyone can afford a simple brunch at the Hilton every week, so I'm always visiting places where the..." She paused dramatically, seizing the triplets up and down, "...less fortunate," she finally said with a low giggle, "come hang out."
Blossom glimpsed at Princess's extravagant purple cocktail party dress, "We can see that." She sighed, unimpressed, "Kind of weird to associate brunch, of all things, with the less fortunate, isn't it?"
The heiress had married rich - and that's saying from a Morebucks point of view - by marrying Sir Magnus Harrington, a young English lord with straight ties with the royal family, at a very young age. One thing Princess will never admit is that it was purely a shotgun wedding since she'd fallen pregnant with Chance just weeks before Magnus' proposal, and weeks after Blossom had announced her pregnancy. Not like it mattered at that point, now she was rubbing elbows with actual princesses, and being rich had remained Princess's main occupation through life, both when she had Chance, and when she became pregnant at the same time as Bubbles and had another boy: Humphrey Morebucks Harrington. Buttercup wondered if the heiress would pop out a third child if she ever became pregnant.
This meant that both Bubbles and Blossom had the misfortune of having their children in the same classes as Princess's youngest and oldest children, respectively, but the blonde's twins have proven to be as easy to deal with as she and his father were at their age, which granted her an opportunity to keep a polite, civil relationship with Princess. Albeit against her own will, it was necessary since Princess was the Regina George of Townsville mothers, of Townsville's high society and apparently, high school never ends.
The heiress rested a hand over her collarbone, "Oh, absolutely, dear. But here we are, aren't we?" She chuckled, "In fact, I'd even do you three a favor, and sit down... Just so I know what exactly the lower classes eat and drink... Ew, is that beer?" She gagged at Buttercup's drink, "Oh, Lord, it must be so hard to not be able to afford a glass of champagne... I'd gladly help you out, but as you can see," She shrugged, raising her empty, open hands, "I didn't bring my pouch today."
"Wow, what a pity!" Buttercup rolled her eyes, wiping her mouth with her forearm. The brunette was done with the conversation before it even started, "Guess it's off you go, right? So long, farewell, P." She lazily waved her hand, looking away from the heiress, who just chuckled.
"Oh, sure! I'd just want to confirm Bubbles' and Mikey's presence in our little PTA get-together in a few weeks," The woman gestured towards the blonde, who just braced herself with an awkward smile, "I know it's in short notice, honey, but I do hope you two can come."
The blonde forced a smile, dreading the thought of being stuck in a boring conversation with an insufferable PTA member, and accepted the offer with a swift, "Will do!"
But Princess wasn't finished. As expected, she did have a field day over Jacque's attack against Chance.
"As you all may know, I'm president of both Pokey Oaks Elementary School and Kindergarten PTA..." Buttercup dropped her eyelids at the woman's voice, she was so happy she didn't have any children yet, "To ensure the well-being and healthy relationship amongst all kids, even the delinquents, Blossom!" The heiress giggled with a smile pointed to the pink PowerPuff.
Blossom clenched her jaw, deciding Princess had picked the wrong day to try bothering her with her soccer mom's pettiness, "Is that so?"
"Oh, absolutely sweetie..." The heiress pouted, faking an expression of pity, "But, you see, this little get-together is more like a charity event for the PTA parents, so they may experience what it's like being around my personal guests, who are all part of the 1%. It's when my charitable side really comes out the most, I think. With that in mind, I'd even go as far as inviting you, but I'm afraid it would create an awkward environment for everyone, as you see," Princess motioned to Bubbles, "all moms will be accompanied by their husbands or the dads. I'd absolutely hate to see you left out in the middle of all those happily married women, and moms with present fathers-"
"Funny you say that, Princess!" Blossom cut her off with a smirk, "Because I think this might change in the future."
Bubbles and Princess furrowed their brows in confusion, while Buttercup choked on her drink, "Oh, this gonna be good..."
"Change? In what sense?" The heiress looked down at the other mom, who just smirked smugly.
"In the sense that I'm back in contact with Brick." Blossom spat, drawing a gasp from both Princess and Bubbles. Buttercup just straight up spit her beer all over the table and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"OH SHIT!"
Bubbles raised her eyebrows so high they nearly reached her hairline, "What!?" she bellowed with an inquiring look, "Is this serious?"
Blossom furiously chugged down the rest of her spritzer as she stood up, "You bet it is!" She hissed in a firm voice at Princess's face, "So I guess the Elementary School PTA moms and dads you'll be seeing a whole lot more of me in the future, Princess!" The redhead smiled sarcastically, folding her arms. She dreaded the thought of taking part in Princess's childish Mean Girls Club with the rest of the judgemental moms, but it felt nice to clap back at her once in a while.
Princess stood her ground, seizing the woman from head to toe, "Oh..." she breathed, with little enthusiasm, "Interesting. How long has it been since the very first time you contacted him, again?"
Less than 24 hours.
"Long enough," Blossom shot back, "He's definitely back in the picture, so if I were you, I'd refrain from worrying about our parenting style."
"Oooh, is it?" Princess drew a breath, taking a step forward, which left no room between her and Blossom. Buttercup and Bubbles just awkwardly scanned their surroundings, noticing the rest of the restaurant was also paying attention to the quarrel between the two redheads, "If that is true, then I assume he'll have no problems gracing us with his presence at our little PTA afternoon party, right? Socialize a little with Mike, maybe?" Princess said, wiggling her fingers towards an uncomfortable Bubbles. The heiress grinned evilly, sensing Blossom's smugness falter, "...I mean, I'll only invite the society's créme de la créme, and all parents will eventually bring their kids, so most reasonable parents would accept coming by in a heartbeat... Right, Blossom?" The heiress smacked her lips with malice, "Unless he's just back for a little vintage pump and dump, of course."
The reasonable option for Blossom would be to sit down with her tail between her legs, but that option had flown out of the window once Princess said the words "pump and dump".
"That's right," The redhead hissed at the heiress, "You can count us in. We both will be there, with Jacquotte."
Princess's evil smile widened, "Good! So, why don't we extend this invitation?" The heiress hiked up her bet, "Bring his brothers if they feel like it... And you two can bring your spinster sister!" She suggested, pointing her head to a very unamused Buttercup, "Let's bring as many people as possible to see how much of a good relationship you and Jackie's dad have!"
Blossom hardened her glare, "We'll see you there."
The raven-haired man watched his brother put on a clean, white shirt for the first time in weeks with a wide smile. Butch leaned against his brother's bedroom door as he munched on a package of chips, "Brick, what did the ocean say to the beach?"
Brick just squinted his eyes at him, "What-"
"Nothing, it just waved!" Butch burst into laughter, as he pointed finger guns, "A dad joke you can start with."
His brother growled in exchange, "You make one pussy joke..."
"What!" The raven-haired burst out laughing again, with his chips-crumbs-covered hands raised in defense, "I didn't say anything. Plus, I'm excited to be an uncle! I even called Boomer," he munched, slumping down his brother's king-size bed, "but he's on that graffiti gig thing, and doesn't have time to be an uncle and main henchman."
Butch was Brick's main partner in businesses, but the brunette had his own way to go about certain operations - and loved doing it.
In a matter of seconds, the intercom rang. Brick was the one to walk over and pick it up to hear Blossom's voice on the speaker. He agreed and pressed a button to let them in.
Brick and Butch shared an industrial-style loft apartment, with a living room large enough to skate around, and enough bedrooms and bathrooms for the two of them. It wasn't an issue, whenever Boomer needed, he'd just crash on their sofa if he was visiting Townsville.
"Hey, how are Blossom's tits, by the way?" Butch surged in the living room with a grin, as if he was talking about an old friend.
Brick just opened up the door, and shot his brother a cold stare, mouthing 'Watch it!'
The elevator door opened, and Blossom walked out, clad in a pencil skirt and heels. The man opened his mouth to speak, before realizing she was frantically speaking to someone on the phone.
"Yes, Dan. Yes. Use that contract I showed you before, wait a minute," she covered the phone speaker, turning to Brick, and towards the elevator, "Hi, B... Jacque!"
Brick's and Butch's gaze turned to the elevator to see a girl walk out, popping a pink bubble gumball. She must've been shorter than 5 feet, with thick hair messily tied in a ponytail, and intense red eyes.
Jacque simply stood still and folded her arms while her mom frenetically spoke to Dan, going through every single detail on what he was supposed to do during the meeting she'd be absent from. Finally, the girl sighed and walked over to Brick and Butch.
"Hey," she greeted them blankly, as she popped another bubble gum, looking her father up and down with dropped eyelids, "Brick?"
The man silently gulped. He was not the kind to be emotional, but it felt hard at that moment. Her absolute blank stare only added to it, it was looking at his younger self. Brick smiled down at her and said, "Hey. You can call me dad, if you want..." in a way that made Butch, of all people, almost go 'Aaaaw'.
Contrary to the men's expectations, Jacquotte grimaced, "Yeah, I don't do that." She told Brick, looking him up and down once more, before looking away with an unamused gaze.
"Oh?" Brick was a bit taken aback but a sneaky thought ran across his mind, "Fine, Jacquotte." Brick smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.
The girl didn't even look at him as she ordered, "Call me Jacque."
"Call me 'dad'," Brick shot back. He'd known, years before, that the girl would go through an annoying "I-hate-my-name" phase, so why not use it in his favor? The girl sharply turned to him with a raised brow, while Butch's mouth went agape, as he mouthed 'oh shit!', mostly to himself.
Jacquotte crossed her arms, slowly floating up in the air, so she could look Brick face-to-face without making him look down at her. She stared him in the eyes for a moment before scoffing, "Suit yourself, Brick," with an attitude that made her father's confident smirk vanish.
Butch snorted, still eating the chips by the fistfuls. "She did come from you, man" he whispered in his brother's ear.
"Sorry!" Blossom turned around, as she hung up the phone with a smile, which immediately faltered, "So, you two..." she trailed off shooting Jacquotte a warning stare, "are already introduced?"
The girl smirked, "Sure are, Blossom."
Blossom stared at Brick, who glanced at the teenager for a moment before smiling at her, "Yep, Jacquotte introduced herself," he stated with a cheeky smile that the teenager ignored.
"Wait, who are you?" she asked curiously, nodding at Butch, who was leaning against the door with a mouth full of chips.
Blossom scowled, "Jacquotte, manners!"
Butch just waved a hand, decided on being the "cool uncle", he was born to be, "Nah, that's ok, Bloss... lookin' good, by the way," he winked at her, before turning back to Jacquotte, dusting his hand over his wifebeater, "I'm Butch!"
The girl gazed at him curiously, "Do you live here...?" To which the man nodded, making Jacque slowly gazing from one man to the other, gradually opening her mouth open, "Ooh... so, ok I see... Totally understand! Nice to meet you, Butch!"
Butch smiled, "Hey! Nice to meet you too, Jacque!" he shook her extended hand, before turning to her father, "See, Brick? She's cool!"
Jacquotte nodded vigorously, "Yup! I'm totally open-minded about these sort of things, don't worry about it!" She winked at him with a smile.
Blossom's eyes immediately widened once she realized something, "Jacquotte!" She reprimanded, putting a firm hand on the girl's shoulder, "Butch is your uncle!"
The teenager's eyes widened, as she immediately grimaced at the man, yanking her hand away, "Ew! Not that open-minded!"
r&r
Oh, what? Did you think it was going to be an emotional Father/Daughter encounter? HA!