Chapter Text
Valentine's Day. Hhrmph. What a strange and useless holiday.
Tisha huffed as she mopped away on the aquarium floors, getting ready for the Valentine's party Yatta, Blot, and Looey were throwing that night.
Hopefully she cleaned up after herself..! Tisha was tired of finding candy wrappers laying around Gardenview.
Carefully dusting corners and scrubbing the thick glass encasing the fish that somehow still swam despite the horrors of the ichor operation and what it produced (also, the last time they'd been fed had to have been months ago), Tisha finally stepped back with a sigh. The floors were sparkling, the glass was crystalline, every last dust particle had been disposed of.
"Finally, I can- Awh man!"
Tisha's feather duster broke with an abrupt snap, the top falling clean off the handle.
Exhaling wearily, Tisha rubbed her sore back and trudged back to the elevator to go back up to her room. She had a menagerie of dusters, all completely identical. Bobette had gifted them to her over the years, along with an awkward smile and a complimentary bottle of cleaning spray.
As she ascended, Tisha drifted a stop on a floor that wasn't hers. Her brow wrinkled slightly- she thought everyone was running errands for Yatta. Maybe they were dropping something off.
The elevator doors opened to reveal Brusha standing there, arms full with a cardboard box of party poppers, plastic straws, and rainbow cups.
"…H-Hi." Tisha stammered. Her heart started pounding. Every time she was near Brusha, her palms began to sweat and her face flushed and her thoughts ran wildly in her head-
"Hey Tisha." Brusha smiled slightly, eyes wide and slightly nervous.
Her bristly hair fell in her eyes, the tips dyed a deep shade of purple. Tisha mentally chided herself in embarrassment as her racing thoughts selected one where Brusha's neck was imprinted with a deep purple hickey, the same shade as her hair, looking up at Tisha with heart-shaped pupils-
Friends. That's what they were! Friends.
Maybe friends with benefits, but still. They'd never fucked or anything! The most it went was a heated makeout. And tht had stopped recently, anyways.
Tisha began to sweat as Brusha inched closer to her, making room so she could set down her box.
"Wheeww!" she sighed, shaking out her hands. Looking over at Tisha, Brusha quirked her mouth apologetically. "Sorry Tish! I needed to put that down for a sec."
"It's okay," Tisha recited robotically, face still pink with the memory of those same lips pressed on hers, a husky whisper of Tish passing through them. Brusha's face fell slightly.
"… Uhm." Tisha scrambled for something, anything, to stop Brusha's pretty face from being sad. "Are you... still doing comissions?"
Brightening, Brusha beamed.
"Yeah!! I don't just take them from the Circus Troupe or Vee for their shows anymore, now I'm starting a line of work in Holloway Graveyard. Gourdy's been spending all his ichor on paintings from me… someone should probably teach him about savings even though he does run his own shop… and Ribecca paid for a personalized jacket!! It was cool experimenting with the denim, though I didn't have a lot of paint options…"
Tisha watched affectionately as Brusha eagerly talked away about her art, waving her hands in the air and describing in her own world.
Suddenly, impulse took over-
Tisha leaned over, stood on her tip-toes, and pecked Brusha on the cheek.
Silence.
"Oh- oh, my god Brusha- I'm so sorry-" The elevator door opened and Tisha scurried out, leaving her broken feather duster behind without a secound thought.
Brusha stood there in the now vacant elevator, pressing her fingers to the side of her face where the ghost of Tisha's lips still burned like a brand. Face flushed, the paintbrush toon's gaze landed on the broken feather duster.
*
Curled up like a pillbug, crinkling her carefully smoothed sheets, Tisha groaned. Why did she do that?! Things were awkward already, now she absolutely ruined the friendship. Or whatever scraps they had of one.
Sitting up when she heard a knock, Tisha flattened her rumpled dress quickly. "Come in!" She called.
Damn it.
Brusha stood in the doorway, clutching Tisha's duster in one hand. "Hi."
"Hey." Tisha said warily, rubbing her arm. Was Brusha going to ask about the kiss? Reject her? Kiss her back?
"I. Uhm. Saw you left your feather duster in the elevator. I always keep superglue on me, so I put it back together." Brusha blurted, handing Tisha the duster shyly.
The top was glued on slightly bent, the dried glue peeking over the edges. A small splotch of purple paint was dotted on the handle, presumably a stain from Brusha's own hands. It was imperfect, it was messy, it was-
The sweetest thing anyone had ever done for Tisha.
Tears welling up in Tisha's eyes, she threw her arms around Brusha's neck, standing up straighter to reach. Flustered, Brusha's mouth turned up in a grin impossible to hide, her cheeks darkening as she leaned into Tisha's embrace.
"Thanks, Brusha," Tisha whispered, making Brusha's eyes sparkle. "That's really nice of you to do.."
"Ouh, it was n-nothing!" Brusha stammered, rubbing her neck sheepishly as Tisha retracted her arms, a bit embarrassed. "But, uhm, I did have a question.. ah.. that kiss?"
Double damn it.
"Oh, yeah! Hahah!!" Tisha laughed awkwardly, crossing her arms quickly, scouring her brain for an answer. But the only thing her brain produced was imagery of Brusha in her prettiest moments, long lashes framing her pretty dark eyes, spindly form perfect under Tisha's warm hands, silky hair falling into place.
Frantically Tisha saw Brusha still waiting on ananswer, so she slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Well, honestly, I like you. Like,a lot. I know that you saw me as just a hookup, so it got awkward fast… and I guess what they say is true, love is in the air, because otherwise I wouldn't have kissed you even though I know you're uncomfortable… Gosh, I'm sorry!!"
"Wait." Brusha grabbed Tisha's hands seriously, causing Tisha to shiver as the paintbrush toon's stoic gaze settled on her. "You thought I saw you as just a hookup?"
"Eh, yeah," Tisha coughed a bit too loudly to try to dampen the rising attraction she felt. "I mean, you didn't seem like you'd waste your time on a toon like me, who just is boring and cleans all day. With your arty chick style, and your too-cool-to-care attitude, and-"
Brusha laughed, a charming and pretty sound ringing through the air. "Really? That's hilarious. I thought you wouldn't want to be seen with a toon like me, who is too messy and chaotic to be like you, with your perfect organization skills and how smart you are and how you're so calm and collected."
The two both stared at each other before bursting out laughing, rocking on Tisha's bed.
Wiping her eyes, Brusha giggled, "Ohh. Well, I guess we both have our flaws. But for the record, I do really like you too, Tish. I wasn't uncomfortable with the kiss at all."
Glittering at the familiar nickname, Tisha beamed back, "So…"
Brusha smirked. "So…"
The two gently scooched toward each other, coming together in a butterfly-inducing kiss, nerves like sparklers fizzling off into their shared intimacy. Holding each other tenderly, the two toons smiled against each other, the holiday becoming just that much sweeter- because they had each other.