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Ugh. Let’s get this over with.
Brick made his way to the front door of Butch and Buttercup’s house, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently while tapping his foot aggressively against the concrete.
Stupid Butch. Stupid Buttercup. Stupid kids. Stupid—
The front door flew open and a blur of green launched itself at him. “Uncle Brick!”
Before he could react, his nephew slammed into his chest. He didn’t expect it and came tumbling down the porch.
Thud.
Ow. Damn it.
“Hi, Uncle Brick!” the child chirped happily, completely unaware that he just hurt his uncle’s head.
What a great way to start the night.
Brick sighed while still on the ground with his nephew on top of him. “Please get off me, Blaze.”
“Oops, sorry!”
Blaze scrambled off his poor uncle’s chest immediately.
Finally able to breathe again, Brick sat up and rubbed the back of his head. It still kind of hurt a bit. Chemical X should do its magic later.
From the doorway came the unmistakable sound of snickering. He looked up and there stood Butch, Buttercup, and his other nephew, Bruce.
“Brick, thanks for coming, man,” his brother waved.
Buttercup wore a black satin dress while Butch had traded his usual casual clothes for a suit jacket. The two parents were dressed all fancy for tonight because it was apparently their “anniversary” or whatever. Brick really did not care.
“Boomer and Bubbles really couldn’t do it?” he asked. Originally, the Blues had been the first choice since they had watched Bruce and Blaze plenty of times before. Unfortunately, they were unavailable tonight for some reason so then they thought about Professor Utonium. But even Brick had enough sense to know the man was too old now to handle his grandchildren alone. Especially since he had heard Blaze usually liked to roughhoused. Soon followed the rest of their friends. Mitch? He had sprained his ankle recently. Robin? Visiting a relative. Mike? Allegedly was away on a business trip. Everyone else was either busy or completely unqualified to handle super powered children.
That left him and his counterpart.
Brick had thought he was safe since it was Pinky after all and she was usually better with kids than he was but apparently she declined due to her being “busy” on a project. That automatically meant that Brick needed to be the one to babysit.
Bullshit. Who’s to say he wasn’t busy as well?!
…
Okay, he wasn’t busy at the moment but still!
He had initially refused. He hated kids and they knew that. But Butch and Buttercup had reasoned with him.
“C’mon, Brick. Just one night,” Butch pleaded over the phone.
“I said no.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Damn it, I said no!”
“Me and Cup rarely go out nowadays, man.”
Was that his problem?
“Who decided to have kids in the first place, hmm?” Brick immediately retorted.
“Technically, they were accidents…” If Brick could smack his brother’s face right now, he would.
“Doesn’t prove your point.”
“Hey, Brick.” Just then, Buttercup's voice cut through the line, sounding suspiciously sweet which meant she had something up her sleeve. “Are you lonely? I know running a whole business must be tiring.”
Brick asked slowly. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I can hook you up with someone.”
“No,” came his instant answer. If Brick could also smack his brother’s wife’s face, he would. This was getting ridiculous.
“I have this friend at work.”
“No.”
“Wait, lemme send a picture."
“No—“
The call disconnected.
Brick shook his head from Butch and Buttercup’s antics. Seriously. Brick had no interest in hooking up with someone. No matter how attractive the girl was, he wasn’t—
Ding.
A picture appeared on his screen.
He blinked—and blinked again. He couldn’t lie, he was captivated. She was hot. Like really hot. A redhead, curvy, and really seductive eyes… She was very very beautiful. Absolutely Brick’s type. You know, if it weren’t for the blue eyes, she looked kind of like—
He shook his head once more and locked his phone. Nope! Nuh-uh—not going down that lane.
He unlocked his phone and stared at the picture of the woman before him once more. His thumb hovered over the keyboard as he contemplated.
Brick: Fine
Brick texted before he could stop himself.
And now he was here, regretting it already. Why did he say “fine”?! He wasn’t a horny teenager anymore—goddamn it! He had completely been persuaded just because that woman vaguely resembled…
He groaned.
Buttercup ignored him and started. “They already ate dinner so you don’t have to do that. They’ll probably just want to play around for a while, and if they do get hungry, check the pantry for snacks. Don’t give them candy or anything with too much sugar. Bedtime’s at 7:30…” Blah blah blah. Too many details to remember.
Brick leaned against the porch railing and crossed his arms as Buttercup kept listing other unimportant things that he probably would not even remember. He’d already forgotten half of what she said. Was there bedtime at six or seven? Six seven? Nope, that’s a meme going around the internet. Whatever, he’ll just put them to bed whenever he pleases.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, a familiar pink light from behind him flashed for a brief second.
“Blossom?” Buttercup stopped mid-sentence as she realized her sister was here.
“Auntie Blossom!” Bruce and Blaze both sprinted and hugged her. Brick turned around and sure enough, she was there.
“Oh! Hey, you two.” Blossom smiled at she hugged her nephews back. The boys instantly started talking over each other.
“Are you also babysitting us?”
“Dad said Uncle Brick’s babysitting.”
“Blaze tackled him earlier!”
“I did not!”
“Did too.”
Blossom giggled before finally looking up at the adults. “I… I thought you said Brick didn’t wanna babysit, so I came.”
“Did I not text you he agreed?” Buttercup checked her phone. “Shoot! Sorry Bloss. I know you’re busy.”
“That’s alright… I guess I’ll just go.”
The two kids gripped onto her clothes to stop her. “No! Not go! Both babysit!” Blaze protested as Bruce nodded furiously.
At that moment, Blossom looked down at the boys clinging to her then glanced over at Brick with those stupid pink eyes of hers. The same eyes that somehow managed to make him forget what he was thinking every single time. “As long as it’s okay with Uncle Brick.”
…
“Dude,” Butch elbowed his side to snap him out of it.
“What—I mean… ahem.” He looked like an absolute idiot right now. “Fine by me.” He cleared his throat and looked away before anyone could question him further.
It was always her that made him feel this way, no matter how many years passed.
Both kids unaware of their uncle’s inner turmoil, jumped for joy. “Hurray!”
“Bye! Have fun!” Blaze and Blossom said as the two parents drove off to go celebrate their anniversary.
Bruce gave a small wave from the porch. “Bye…”
Brick still looked miserable, which wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was that Bruce looked miserable too. What was his deal?
The kid continued staring down the road long after his parents were gone. It seemed Blossom noticed it too. “Now, Bruce,” she said gently, crouching down beside him. “Are you not keen on babysitter putdowns?”
He nodded and said. “I don’t like it.”
“Why not?”
Bruce shrugged. “It’s just really different.” Wow. Brick resisted the urge to roll his eyes. So much info from that. He didn’t realize how much of a sissy Bruce was. Was he really Butch and Buttercup’s son?
“Well, don’t worry!” Blossom stood up with her usual enthusiasm. “Your uncle and I will make this exactly the same as a Mom and Dad putdown.”
The kid still looked unconvinced. “But I don’t know you as well as Mom and Dad.”
Blossom hummed thoughtfully. She was probably already thinking of a solution. And sure enough, she said. “I know! Why don’t we play twenty questions?” She sits down on the living room floor and the kids followed.
That’s what she comes up with?
“You ask us questions and we’ll answer them.” She continued explaining. “Go!”
Okay, guess they were doing this.
Bruce didn’t even hesitate. “Why don’t you have a wife?”
Out of every possible question he could’ve asked. Every possible question. That was what he wanted to know?!
Brick shot back. “How would you know I don’t have one?”
“Do you have a wife?”
“…No.”
“Then, why don’t you have wife?”
“Uhh…” He really didn’t want to answer that so instead he pointed at Blossom. “Her turn.”
Blaze’s turn to question his aunt. “What do you do for fun?”
“Oh, um,” She was taking quite a long time to answer. “I’m kind of busy most of the time, so I don’t really do anything…”
Brick snorted which definitely didn’t go unnoticed by Blossom since she shot back a glare right after. What? He couldn’t help it. It was just funny hearing that after all these years was still the exact same boring workaholic she’d been in high school.
“You don’t do anything for fun? Can’t you just stop working so much?” Blaze wondered.
“Well—back to him!” She pointed back at Brick.
They diverted their attention back to their uncle. “Why do we only see you at holidays?”
Because I’d rather spend my free time literally anywhere else than taking care of little kids like you would be his honest answer. Thankfully, he kept that to himself. “I’m busy managing my company.”
“Is that why you don’t have a wife?”
…
“Maybe.” He never thought about it like that but… maybe indeed.
“Do you two want to have children?”
“Hell no.” “Yes.” The answers came at the exact same time.
Blossom gave a him a look. He guessed she still has a problem with his crude language especially since they were in front of children. Did Brick care? Of course not. Hell isn’t even that big of a word to begin with. Plus, Butch and Buttercup were their parents, they definitely heard far worse things from them.
“Why don’t you want to have children, Uncle Brick?”
Hmm, where to start? The noise, the mess, the responsibility… He could keep going if he wanted to but it’ll probably take days for him to get his point straight.
Instead, he shifted the question to Blossom. “How about we ask your Aunt Blossom why she wants to have kids?”
Blossom’s eyes narrowed. The boys, however, loved the idea.
“Will Justin be the dad?” The two kids asked her another question. Brick’s expression suddenly darkened, and his mouth set into a frown at the mention of that name. Why did they have to bring him up of all people?
Justin Smith—Blossom’s boyfriend since college and now fiancé of over two years—was someone Brick didn’t exactly like. Why? That’s the problem. He didn’t have any real reason to hate him… except for the fact that he was dating Blossom—the very person he had liked for ages. He supposed it was partially his fault too. He’d had countless chances to ask her out, yet every time, he never did and stayed silent. In the end, Justin had come along and won her over. That was the only reason he resented him.
But he was so surprised when Blossom answered. “…No. Him and I aren’t friends anymore.”
Did he hear that correctly?
“Why aren’t you friends anymore?” Blaze asked.
Blossom didn’t answer. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground. The cheerful energy she had earlier seemed to disappear completely.
Brick found himself staring at her. He really shouldn’t care and he definitely shouldn’t be curious. His feelings were in the past now but… what happened? Did they…?
Bruce and Blaze were still waiting for her to say something.
Yeah. That was enough questions.
Brick pushed himself from the floor and said. “Alright. Let’s go play in the backyard.”
The boys immediately forgot about the conversation and dashed towards the back of the house before their uncle could change his mind. Obviously, he didn’t want to play but if it could divert their attention away from her then he was going to do it.
Not that he cared.
The two children continued chasing each other around the backyard, playing tag after having eliminated the adults from another game earlier. Bruce was trying his best to get away while Blaze flew circles around him. Their laughter echoed through the yard as they zigzagged and darted all over the place. Brick could describe them with only one word: Wild. He takes it back—Bruce was definitely Butch and Buttercup’s child.
And they asked him earlier why he didn’t want to have kids—isn’t the scene in front of him a good enough reason? So loud and noisy…
Meanwhile, he was with Blossom as they both sat on the grass.
Brick figured now was a good time to as any. He turned toward her but was immediately shut down. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
He blinked. “I didn’t even fucking say anything yet.”
“But you were going to. And watch your language, the kids could hear you know!”
“Oh, shut up.” He was aware the kids had super hearing as well but like a tale as old as time—he did not care. “They’re distracted right now. And maybe I was, is being curious a crime now?” Brick scoffed.
Blossom groaned and turned away from him. “God. Men are so insensitive.”
Insensitive? He was just trying to—
You know what? Never mind.
He crossed his arms and turned away from her also. So much for trying to show he cared. If she didn’t want to talk about it, then fine! Not his problem. This evening turned to be even more irritating…
Bzzt. Zap.
Crash.
“Oops,” Blaze said as he was on top of his big brother Bruce after tackling him on the ground and making a big crater in the middle of the backyard.
Blossom immediately sprung into action as Brick followed and flew over to them. “Blaze! What did we say about roughhousing and using your powers?!”
“Sorry, Auntie Blossom.”
Blossom pinched the bridge of her nose before flying down into the crater. “Are you alright, Bruce?”
“Ehhh…” was all Bruce could say as he gave a weak thumbs-up to his aunt. That wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“Alright.” Blossom sighed. “Everybody back inside!” The boys immediately obeyed since they didn’t want to get in Blossom’s bad side.
As she ushered them toward the house, she paused beside Brick. “You deal with the mess they made.” She pointed to the absolute disaster of a yard created by his nephews.
“What? Why do I have to fucking to do it?!”
“Language! And would you rather clean them up instead?”
Brick looked toward the boys. Both of them were covered in dirt from head to toe.
…
“Ugh, fine!”
Brick watched them disappear into the house as he stared once again at the backyard.
See? Another reason to not have kids.
Stupid Blaze. Stupid Bruce.
Stupid Blossom…
“Can we play pretend?” Bruce asked as he jumped up and down on his bed. Wasn’t he just barely conscious a few minutes ago? Guess that was the work of Chemical X.
“Aren’t you a little too old for that?” Brick replied. It had already been an exhausting night. The last thing he wanted to do was play another game.
“Bruce is six and I’m four!” Blaze countered.
“Let’s do it then.” Before Brick could protest, Blossom was already rummaging through a large basket stuffed with costumes and props. Toy swords, capes, masks, and random pieces of clutter spilled out as she searched through it. “Aha!”
She pulled out a lasso and immediately struck a pose. “I, Liberty Belle, promise to protect the City of Townsville!”
Liberty what now…?
“Hurray!” The two kids cheered and quickly dove into the basket themselves, finding their own respective costumes.
Blaze emerged first, wearing a shirt with a giant lightning bolt across the front. “Name’s Static Boy!”
While Bruce adjusted a jester hat that was slightly too big for him and said. “And I’m Vex!”
The three heroes high-fived one another. Then, with a blur of super speed, the boys darted around the room gathering blocks from every corner they could find. Within minutes, colorful towers and buildings had taken over most of the bedroom floor representing the City of Townsville!
They sat back and admired their work.
Then Bruce frowned as he quickly realized. “Who’s going to play the villain?”
Brick didn’t like the look that suddenly appeared on Blossom’s face. An evil smirk spread across her lips and Brick instantly knew where this was going.
Shit.
“Rahhh. I’m evil and I’m gonna take over Townsville or whatever.” Brick delivered the line in the flattest voice imaginable. He wasn’t trying, okay? Sue him. The three made him dress like a cliche villain. Dark robes, a scarred face, and all. At one point, Blaze had suggested drawing a goatee on his face. Brick had stared at him so seriously that the idea had been immediately abandoned.
This was all Blossom’s fault.
Speaking of said redhead. “Hello?” Blossom placed her hands on her hips. Along with her lasso, she also wore a red cape draped over her back—one Brick was pretty sure used to be an old blanket of Bruce’s. “Can you actually try to act like a villain or what? Weren’t you one?”
“That was such a long time ago.” He replied. His villain days were over like two decades ago. He was now a changed and well-respected man, managing his own company and doing very well despite his horrible upbringing. So, no—he wasn’t going to act like the villain they wanted.
But before he could say anything else, both of his nephews launched themselves at him. The impact sent him crashing onto the carpet. “Ow—stop tackling me!” Seriously, why did everyone keep tackling him tonight?!
The boys paid no mind to his warning and continued to attack him with pillows while laughing.
“Go get him, boys!” Blossom cheered from the sidelines.
A pillow smacked him directly in the face.
That was it. She wasn’t going to get away with this.
Brick shoved the pillows away and successfully climbed back to his feet, escaping his nephews’ torture. He dashed toward Blossom, hoping to capture her. Blossom saw the action and darted out of the way. As a result, he lunged and missed her completely, stumbling on the ground. Okay, he hadn’t fought in a while so he was a bit rusty.
Somewhere nearby, someone blew a raspberry at him. He whipped around and saw Blaze or “Static Boy” near him so he targeted him first. “C’mere Flash!”
“I am not Flash—!” Blaze protested and ultimately got caught. Brick scooped him up with one arm and tossed him onto the bed, covering him with a blanket. “Hey!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Brick spotted movement. Blossom was sneaking toward him with her lasso while Bruce crept around from the opposite side. He ducked just as the rope sailed over his head and instead, turned toward Bruce.
In the midst of panic, the boy ripped off his jester hat and threw it directly at Brick’s face. “Go away!”
What a great superhero he was.
Brick took the opportunity and grabbed Bruce. Unfortunately for him, his uncle knew he had a weakness. Brick started tickling him nonstop as his nephew erupted in laughter. “Stop—stop!” Bruce shouted while laughing.
He would’ve continued too if it weren’t for “Liberty Belle” grabbing him successfully this time in a chokehold. “Not so fast, evil villain!”
Brick rolled his eyes. He placed one hand on her forearm while the other shot backward, catching her by the waist. Then he threw his weight sideways.
Thud.
The two of them crashed into the floor. Slipping out her hold, Brick caught her wrists before she could recover. He was now on top and had her pinned. “Not so smug now, huh Belle?” He smirked.
“Let me go!” She tried to squirm away from him.
“No, you don’t. I think I’ll stay right here, actually.” Brick tightened his hold. “You’re getting old. Can’t even escape my grasp.” She looked quite cute trying to shimmy away.
Blossom huffed. “It’s been a long time since we sparred.” He felt her go limp, not trying to escape anymore.
“I guess so.”
Red and pink eyes stared at one another.
…
“Please don’t kiss.” Both adults immediately looked over. Blaze was staring at them with a horrified expression. “Mom and Dad always kiss after,” he said with a scrunched-up face. “Yuck.”
Bruce didn’t agree. “Hey! I like when Mom and Dad kiss. That means it’s a happy ending.”
Brick and Blossom immediately let go of each other and scrambled to their feet. Both of them were red in the face and suddenly finding the carpet very interesting.
That was…
Blossom recovered from the embarrassment and cleared her throat first. “Alright! Time for bed now!”
“Aww,” The boys groaned in unison.
Blossom had already tucked Blaze into bed, and he was fast asleep within minutes. That kid snored loud as heck from across the room.
“How do you deal with him?” Brick asked Bruce since the two shared a bedroom together. “That must be agitating.”
“I’m used to it,” Bruce replied. “Plus, Dad is worse.” Brick could agree to that.
“Well, anyways,” Brick said as he stood from the edge of the bed. “Sleep, okay?”
Just as he reached the door, Bruce grabbed his hand. Brick groaned. “We already played pretend. What else do you want?”
“Oh, well…” Bruce hesitated.
Come on, he didn’t have any patience for this. “Spit it out, little man.”
“You and Auntie Blossom aren’t going to watch TV after I fall asleep, right?”
Huh?
“Why do you ask?”
Bruce shifted awkwardly. “Um, one time Uncle Mitch babysat us and I woke up in the middle of the night. The TV was really loud.” He explained. “He was watching something scary.”
“Is that so?” Mitch was absolutely getting snitched on later. Brick can’t wait to tell Buttercup. “That’s the reason you don’t like babysitter putdowns?”
His nephew nodded. “Yes… promise me you won’t?”
“We won’t.” He sighed but relented. He had honestly planned on finding something to watch just to kill time but he’ll let Bruce get his sleep. Plus, the kid already had a little brother who snored a lot.
The boy visibly relaxed and snuggled deeper into his blankets.
Brick finally exited the room and made his way downstairs. The lights in the kitchen were still on. Blossom stood by the counter, pouring coffee into two mugs.
“Do you want some?” She asked as she saw Brick.
Brick pulled out a chair from the dining table. “Yeah. That would be nice.”
…
It was so quiet. The only sounds were the occasional chirping of crickets outside and the soft bubbling of the coffee pot.
…
This is so awkward. Why couldn’t he just talk to her like a normal person for fuck’s sake? He could run a whole company but put him in a room with his counterpart and suddenly he’s like Boomer when he was a teenager in love with Bubbles.
…
Maybe because he barely talked to her anymore. Most of the time, he'd only see her during holidays or family gatherings due to his busy schedule. And even then, their interactions rarely went beyond a simple hello.
Brick would be lying to himself if he said he’d never been attracted to her because he had been—a very long time ago. Maybe since high school and that was almost a decade ago.
Maybe even now, he still did… How pathetic was that?
If it weren’t for Justin, maybe he would’ve—
…
No, he wouldn’t. Who was he kidding? Justin wasn’t the reason—Brick was. Instead of taking the risk and possibly getting rejected, he'd chosen the safer option—doing nothing, like a coward.
“Here.” A mug was placed in front of him, snapping him out of his zone state. Blossom sat down on the other side of the table.
“Thanks.”
She nodded and silence settled between them again.
…
Come on! Just ask her, damn it!
…
“I’m sorry for being insensitive again but do you really not want to talk about it?” Brick really wanted to know the situation.
“I knew you were going to be nosy.” Blossom sighed.
“Can you blame me?”
…
Did he overstep again?
…
Was she just giving him the silent treatment?
…
“He cheated on me a month ago.” She said after a minute of silence.
Brick’s eyes widened at the information he just heard. What? What?! “What the actual fuck?!”
“I really don’t want to warn you again with the swearing.” Who the fuck cares about that right now?!
“Of course, I’m gonna react this way. He cheated on you!”
Blossom sighed once more and had covered her face with her hands. “This is why I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Brick tried to calm himself down for Blossom’s sake. But it was hard. Hello? That fucker cheated on Blossom fucking Utonium. The Blossom Utonium. The next head to Utonium Labs. One of the smartest people he’d ever met. And the commander and the leader of the Powerpuff Girls! That filthy lowlife cheated on her?!
“I think I made him do it.” Blossom said, her hands still shielding her face. “I wasn’t a good fiancée to him.”
Bullshit.
“There’s never a good reason to cheat on someone, Blossom.” He said firmly. “You of all people should know that.”
“Yes, but—”
“Please don’t tell me you’re defending that stupid ass.” That bitch was lucky he wasn’t near Brick right now because he would have definitely sent him to the hospital. It was that serious.
“I just wished I could’ve done more to prevent it.“
“No. No, you couldn’t.” Brick dragged his chair a little closer to her. “Don’t ever blame yourself for what he did because he made that decision himself.”
…
Blossom contemplated saying it out loud but relented. “He said I was boring to be around and that he was glad he could finally get it off his chest.”
Oh, that fucker.
“No, you aren’t—“ he immediately protested but she cut him off.
“You said it too.”
“What?”
“In high school.” Blossom gave a weak smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. “You used to call me boring all the time.”
Shit.
“Okay, I might have said it—but!” He stopped her before she could retort back. “It was only to tease you. You’re super-powered for fuck sake.” Can’t she see how perfect she was?
“But that’s pretty much it, right? The only unique thing about me is that I’m a Powerpuff Girl.”
Brick frowned. That stupid cheater. “Is that something he said to you too?”
…
He sighed and his eyes landed on her hand at the table. Without really thinking about it, he reached forward and took it, caressing it with his thumb. Blossom was taken aback by the gesture but let him. Honestly, he was also taken aback by what he was doing. Her hand was warm and soft, he wished he could hold it longer. But he wanted to make one thing clear to her first. “You will always be unique. Don’t let one fucking guy that wasted your time for years change what you think about yourself.”
Blossom opened her mouth. “You’re just saying that—“
“I’m serious, Blossom.” Brick stared at her, never leaving eye contact. He wasn’t joking and he definitely wasn’t teasing her now. She still looked uncertain but he hoped his words were enough to persuade her. He was embarrass to say it but she needed to hear. He had already let his cowardice ruin him in high school, he wasn’t going to do the same mistake again. “I don’t care what that idiot told you.”
Blossom’s eyes widened, seemingly trying to find any sign of sarcasm in his face. But she’ll never find it because everything he said was true.
“You’re kind, you’re smart, you’re beautiful…” He was so busy listing of all her traits and trying to tell her that he failed to noticed how close they were to each other. So close. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
The words hung in the air and neither wanted to move away. All Brick could see was her. Her personality. Her face. Her hair. Her eyes. Her lips…
So close. Close enough to feel each other’s breath. Close enough that neither of them should’ve been comfortable and yet there they were.
Blossom lifted her hand. Brick thought she was going to pull away but instead, her fingers gently touched his cheek which made him froze. Was this really happening? Please tell him this wasn’t a dream.
Then she pulled him toward her and Brick stopped thinking altogether.
Brick’s mind wasn’t present. Can you blame him? One moment they had been talking. The next, Blossom was kissing him. And somehow, he was kissing her back.
Years. He had spent years imagining what it would be like. Years! He was in cloud nine!
At some point, Blossom had ended up sitting on his lap. At some point, his hands had found their way to her waist. At some point, he was nibbling on her neck, leaving little hickeys that would probably fade later because of Chemical X. And at some point, the rest of the world had completely disappeared as they kiss each other passionately.
She just tasted so good. Strawberry—definitely strawberry was what he was tasting. Mmm.
All that mattered was her.
“Brick.” She moaned out his name. He wanted to hear more of that. He really wanted to but reality came crashing back.
The fact they were sitting in Butch and Buttercup’s kitchen. The fact that Blossom had just ended almost a decade old relationship a month ago. The fact that she was hurting and he had just took the opportunity when she was in such a vulnerable state.
He froze and stopped. Blossom had noticed and stared at him. “We can’t…”
“What?”
“We can’t do this,” Brick said firmly.
The words felt awful coming out of his mouth. Because he wanted to. God, he really wanted to. But he couldn’t—that wasn’t fair for her.
The color drained from Blossom's face. She quickly climbed off his lap and stepped back. “I’m sorry. I just thought—I shouldn’t have done to you. I’m so sorry.” She covered her face with both of her hands again.
No! He didn’t want her to misunderstood.
She turned as if she was about to leave when Brick grabbed her wrist. “No—no. I don’t hate you, Blossom. Can you please look at me?”
Blossom was unwilling to do so which was understandable. He was a douchebag. “I shouldn’t have done that to you. You’re going through a rough time and I feel like I’m taking advantage of that if we kept going.”
“You’re not!” She uncovered her face and immediately protested. “I was the one who kissed you first.”
“Yes, but I went along with it. I shouldn’t have. You deserve better than that.” She really did.
…
Were they back to not talking again?
…
Blossom said shyly whilst looking at the ground. “I liked it though.”
It was Brick’s turn for his face to go red. “I quite liked it as well… though I don’t think it’s wise to continue to do so at our siblings’ house. Not too mention, our nephews…” He didn’t want the kids to see them in that state.
“Right.” She chuckled.
Brick smiled. He liked her laughing.
…
He rubbed the back of his neck. Now or never. He said he wasn’t going to be his high school self anymore so he wasn’t. Here goes nothing. “I really want to pick up where we left off… but I do want to do it the proper way.” Blossom raised an eyebrow.
“Let me take you out, Blossom.” He continued. “You can decline if you don’t want to, but I promise I’ll treat you better than that douchebag ever did. Believe me on that.”
He’s probably being a douchebag himself for asking her this after she literally broke off a relationship just a month ago but he decided to shoot his shot. The timing was awful but he wasn’t going to stay quiet and regret not asking later anymore. No matter the outcome, Brick would respect on whatever decision she chooses.
A long silence ensued. They tend to do that a lot, huh?
Finally, Blossom held out her hand. “…Lend me your phone.” Brick nearly dropped it trying to get it out of his pocket which made Blossom laughed again. “Text me the place, date, and time.”
Brick looked down at the screen. A new contact labeled Blossom. “Will do.” He smiled as he was already changing her name to Pinky. “Can I be your booty call?” He said sarcastically.
Blossom snorted. Yes, he definitely preferred a laughing Blossom than a gloomy one. He didn’t expect her to answer though. “You never know, I might just agree.”
“Well, I hope you don’t.” He said firmly which made the teasing expression on her face soften. “I told you. You deserve more than that.”
Blossom smiled.
In the next coming days, he hoped he could keep that smile.
Outside, they could hear the sound of a car pulling in the driveway.
Earlier that evening…
After successfully convincing Brick to babysit, Butch couldn’t help but wonder something. “Hey Cup. Who’s that girl you sent Brick a picture of? Never seen her before.”
Buttercup was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, applying makeup while getting ready for their dinner. “Oh, that? I just took a pic of Blossom from my gallery and asked AI to generate a girl that looked like her but with blue eyes.”
Butch blinked. “So technically… it’s Blossom?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Buttercup went back to doing her eyeliner. “Everyone knows your brother had a crush on her since high school.”
Fair.
Another thought suddenly occurred to him. “Wait.”
“What?”
“How was he supposed to meet the fake girl?”
“Oh, um…”
“Cup.”
“I’ll just make up an excuse that she no longer works here—or something.” Butch sighed and thought about what his brother would think. He hoped Brick wouldn’t be that angry that they had tricked him.
…
Who was he kidding? He’d totally be mad if he found out the girl he was hooking up with isn’t real. Fuck.
“Let’s not use AI in the future, babe…” Butch said.
She called out from the bathroom. “I got him to babysit, didn’t I?”
“Yeah… but still!” He definitely didn’t want to end up in this situation again. Plus, he heard it was bad for the environment. Something about having massive energy and water consumption. Butch didn’t know much but it’ll probably be better to stay away from it from now on. “Just don’t use it anymore, okay?”
Buttercup sighed but relented. “Alright, I won’t.”