"What's got you in such a good mood?" Brick glanced at his brother, placing his coffee cup back down.
"I found my mate. I found her last week, but I confirmed it today." Butch gave him a slap on the back, settling on the couch.
"I found mine too. Who knew listening to Mojo would actually work out for once?" The front door opened and closed, and the youngest sauntered into the room shortly after. He paused in the doorway to the living room, genuine surprise on his face.
"You're both home? Is it taco night?" The brothers tried to get together at least once a week, usually eating tacos and watching whatever they found. Butch stood and approached Boomer, laying his hands on his shoulders.
"Do you have good news too?" Boomer blinked, tilting his head to the side as he glanced back and forth between his brothers.
"...You two met your mates?" Butch grinned, dropping his hands and throwing them wide.
"We did. I don't know about Brick, but mine is a vision. I can't wait until those expressive eyes of hers are looking up at me." Butch's grin turned lecherous, and his brothers proceeded to ignore him.
"Mine is stunning, but she's stubborn. And she might hate me, but it's nothing we can't work out." Two pairs of eyes turned to look at him.
"She hates you? Already?"
"What did you do? You said you met her last week."
"I took the internship she wanted. I didn't realize it until after I met her though." Boomer whistled, moving to the pantry.
"That doesn't sound too bad. At least you've found her." Butch nodded, going back to lounge on the couch.
"Mine keeps trying to avoid me. But I'll wear her down soon enough." Brick snorted, snatching the chips from Boomer's outstretched hand.
"How romantic." Butch chucked a pillow at his head at his sarcastic tone.
"At least I'm starting at zero. You're in the negatives."
"Blossom? Are you okay?" Bubbles approached the mass on the couch slowly. She held out a bag of Hershey's kisses and a water bottle, watching as a pale hand reached out to grab them. The hand disappeared under the blanket, her friend never answering her.
"Blossom? Can you even breathe under there?" A snort answered her, causing Bubbles to let out a relieved sigh.
"Can I sit with you?" The blanket shifted, making space for her on the dark gray corduroy couch. Bubbles sank back into the cushions, getting comfortable. She knew her friend would open up to her when she was ready.
After sitting in comfortable silence long enough for her to watch a full season of her favorite show, Blossom poked her head from the blanket, empty wrappers making a small pile on the serving tray on the ottoman. Bubbles turned to her, letting her take her time to speak.
"...the internship went to someone else…" Bubbles gasped, her wide eyes never leaving her friend. Blossom sniffled as she shifted, pulling the blanket with her as she sat up.
"When did you find out?"
"Two weeks ago." Bubbles hummed, putting the pieces together. She'd noticed Blossom had been listless lately. She hadn't brought home any papers from the lab, but she'd assumed things were finally slowing down.
"Who got it?" Blossom glared at her. Bubbles threw her hands up in a placating gesture, scooting further from her.
"What? What I say?"
"Some new guy. Apparently, Professor Mojo recommended him." Blossom practically spat the words. They knew her feelings for the aging professor. He was very old school in his ways, believing the women were lacking compared to the men in his class. He was especially hard on Blossom after she challenged his views, proving him wrong for the whole class to see after she solved an equation that had been plaguing him. He'd made things hard for her ever since every chance he'd gotten.
"What about Professor Utonium? I thought for sure he'd give it to you. You've been basically his right hand assistant." Blossom scoffed, tossing a pillow across the room in frustration.
"He passed me over! And you know Utonium and Mojo are old buddies. But even if Mojo was in his ear, I don't understand how he could see my work and still decide to go with someone else. It just feels like everything I worked for….was for nothing." Bubbles opened her arms as Blossom collapsed into them, angry tears spilling from her eyes.
"Well the new guy sucks. How dare he take your spot!"
"Right! With his stupidly good looks…" Bubbles raised a brow in question, tightening her arms around her friend.
"Stupidly good looks? So he's smart and attractive? I don't know Bloss…I think I'd side with him too." Blossom grinned, swatting at Bubbles's knees.
"Shut up!"
Bubbles hummed a song under her breath as she walked into the liberal arts building. She loved her photography classes, but she was here for her sculpting class today. She settled in her usual spot near the window, loving the way the different angles of sunlight could reshape an otherwise ordinary muse.
She looked around as her classmates filtered in, wondering what they'd be sculpting today. Their professor loved the renaissance period, so sometimes they would have a model come in to help with their human sculptures. Robin settled next to her, lightly bumping her shoulder in greeting.
"Hey Bubs. It looks like we'll have a live one today." Bubbles's eyes lit in excitement. She loved when they got to do sculpts with live people. It made it easier for her to visualize since she was just starting out.
"Do you know who?" Robin shook her head, situating her clay in the middle of her station.
"No idea. But some of the girls last period said he was…distracting." The girls shared a knowing look as the door opened again and their professor walked in, his eyes wide in excitement.
"Good afternoon! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a treat today. We'll be practicing sculpting heads today, so welcome our model who's graciously agreed to be here today!" He waved to the door in a flourish, and Bubbles swore the chatter around her faded to the background. Cobalt blue eyes locked onto her as the handsome stranger walked into the room. He was wearing a simple light blue crew neck sweater and dark wash distressed jeans over blue and white high tops. Robin whistled low beside her, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from him.
He settled in the middle of the classroom, getting comfortable on the barstool. His eyes never left hers for the majority of the class, causing Bubbles to grow increasingly red under his intense stare. When it was finally over and their professor called time, she was the last to get her things, taking her time packing. The handsome stranger fell into step with her as she left, a disarming smile on his plush lips.
"I didn't catch your name, love." Bubbles blushed, shifting her bag on her shoulder.
"It's Bubbles. And you are…?" He held out his hand for her to shake, using it to pull her against him.
"Boomer. A pleasure to meet you."