The Girls Are All Grown Up

Ch. 40

''Uncovering the past isn't supposed to be easy, Bubbs,'' Boomer murmured, holding her hand, ''Especially not with how long you've been running from it. But you gotta trust we'll do it and we'll never let you guys go again.''

Or we'll go with you, Boomer added silently in his head.

''It's not that easy, BoomBoom,'' she said sadly.

Honestly? He was so floored to just hear her say his old nickname that he couldn't stop a goofy grin from taking over his face.

And that's how he knew they could get through this. Because he'd fight for this over and over again. As long as he needed to for his Bubbles.

''Then let's play a different game, you chime in with a word here or there sometimes to complete the sentence-- that's not breaking a rule.''

She thought hard about it and then graced him with a smile fit for her name, ''It's not, let's give it a go.''

Boomer held her hands and let a single tear fall as Bubbles told him what she hadn't said in so long: ''I loved you, I do love you...still. I'm sorry I ran and thought you'd be better off without me and the monsters chasing us.''

She was crying too now as she whispered the apologies in the softest voice.

''Bubbs,'' he moved his hands to her face so she could look at him, ''I never gave up on you, I tried...but I couldn't. And I'll always love you, no matter how far you run.''

She sniffled, ''Thank you BoomBoom.''

After they collected themselves and were ready, they started the game.

''While you were gone, they caught up with you.''

''Yes.''

''In...'' He trailed off, waiting for her to supply a word.

''France.''

''In France, they caught up with you.''

''Yes.''

''And when you were younger, Blossom...''

''Forced,'' Bubbles whispered.

''They took over Blossom and forced her to attack you guys the last night you were superheroes.''

''Yes,'' Bubbles blinked.

''She felt so guilty she couldn't look at any of you.''

''Yes.''

''So you all agreed to not have anything to do with each other,'' Boomer mumbled, as if half in his thoughts and half there with her in the moment.

She nodded her head to show he was correct.

''They made her do it though, they made her do everything-- it wasn't her!" Boomer clenched his fists. The girls...

He and his brothers' Puffs were more scarred than he had realized.

It wasn't just some enemy they had run and hid from.

But each other.

And themselves.

The three girls that had always been closer than anything he'd seen in his life, the sisters that had such a tight bond, hadn't even been able to look at each other.

He couldn't stop his lasers from shooting out and hitting the building next to them, in their little alley way they'd hid in to talk.

He couldn't stop his roar of rage as he slammed his fists into the bricks and stone-- anything he could find close enough to take his anger out on. 

His knuckles began to bleed but he didn't care, he kept going.

Bubbles watched him. Quietly, with large sad eyes. 

Not the bubbly eyes he'd once known.

There was a time, she would've stopped him from taking out his anger and pain on things.

There was a time, when she-- his Puff-- hadn't taken on the world alone because of her shame and love for others before herself.

The sisters he knew that loved each other so much, had destroyed themselves quietly so no one would have to see the pain and suffering.

And then...he stopped destroying the buildings around them.

He stopped releasing his anger for the girls on everything else.

And he sobbed. On his knees right there in the rubble of his destruction.

He sobbed for his Bubbles and what she and her sisters had gone through, all alone and all because they had been far too responsible for far too long, at far too young.

It was then, as he cried, that Bubbles fell to her knees and hugged him fiercely. Because she understood him, just as she always had.

No matter how far apart they grew or went, that had never changed.

********************

Oh cra, I'm crying now.