Family Matters

Chapter 6: The First Night

In that same evening, Bubbles was roused by the feeling of her body shaking. At first, she tried to ignore the shaking and try to go back to sleep, but it was persistent and grew stronger. Still feeling sleepy, she held on even tighter to her octopus, and one of her hands went out and tried to swat the unknown shaker away. She felt her palm connect with something, and her ears picked up on a thump, followed by a small groan.

That wiped away any sleepiness Bubbles had, and she opened her eyes. Her vision was bleary for a moment, and all she could see was the darkness, dulling the colors of the room. Then, she became vaguely aware of a splash of blond, a sharp contrast from the rest of the bedroom. A blue eye stared at her, almost seeming to glow in the darkness.

Bubbles blinked, and the room became clear. This time, she could clearly see Boomer sitting on the floor, one hand bracing against the floor, and the other nursing a red mark on his cheek.

"That hurt," was what he said to her.

"Boomer!" Bubbles whispered, and she climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake her sisters. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to hit you." She pulled down his hand and gingerly touched his cheek with her palm.

Boomer seemed to calm at this. His eyes closed, and he leaned into her touch. His face took on a contented expression.

For a moment, Bubbles was surprised to see him like this. It was so unexpected that she just suddenly pulled back her hand. Boomer's eyes opened, and he straightened, his eyes wide and looking at her with a curious yet dumbfounded expression.

"Uh, is there something you want Boomer?" Bubbles stammered.

The blue ruff was silent, as if he'd just forgotten something, then he nodded. "I want to talk to you." He stood up and took Bubbles's hands, pulling her up as well. He took her to the Rowdyruff Boys' sleeping space. He sat down on his sleeping bag, grabbed a pillow, and wrapped his arms around it.

Bubbles sat down on a pillow right across from him and leaned against the bed. "What is it?" she asked him.

"Did you tell the professor?"

"What?"

"What I told you. Did you tell the professor about it?"

For a moment, Bubbles was confused as to what he meant. Then she realized it. "Um, will you get mad at me if I did?"

Boomer tilted his head slightly. "Why?"

"Because you didn't mean to tell me all that stuff. Those were only supposed to be yours, and I shouldn't be butting into your business."

Suddenly, Boomer shoved the pillow he was holding over her mouth, abruptly silencing her. She let out a muffled cry of protest and pulled it down. She looked at Boomer incredulously.

"I didn't mean that. I want to know why you told the professor about it and why you got him to adopt us."

"I didn't mean to tell the professor about what you said to me. It was all an accident. All of them were asking me why I wasn't paying attention to them. And, as for the adoption thing, I didn't even know he was going to do that! It was all the professor's idea; he wanted the three of you to have a more normal life, and adopting you was the only way."

Boomer's eyes lowered to his pillow. "Oh. Well, at least that means it wasn't my fault."

His choice of words confused Bubbles, and she frowned at him. "Why would you think it's your fault? Shouldn't this be something good for you and your brothers? You'll finally have a family."

"I don't think Brick or Butch would think living with the Powerpuff Girls is 'good'. You should've seen their faces when Brisbaine broke the news. They might get mad at me if they find out I'm the reason we ended up living with you."