Shh! It's love

5. Humpty Dumpty.

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Bubbles was beyond used to getting embarrassed. In fact, she was more bummed when someone else embarrasses her instead of her own bizarre actions, or word vomits.

However, humiliating herself this time felt a lot more mortifying for she's never flashed anyone before...in a place filled with kids.

Bubbles wondered if her face would be plastered across the news, later on, condemning her for her indecent behavior while surrounded by innocent children, even if it wasn't her fault but that darn little kid and his freaking sticky fingers.

"Hey, you cursed!" Cole nearly burst with his discovery as amusement radiated off him, hesitantly stepping forward toward her. She grunted, her whole body shaking as she attempted to push herself up. Yet, her injured hands ached and she found herself slumping forward again with a loud yelp.

Her knight, bless his soul, came to her rescue.

Cole leaped onward without a second thought, his hands circling both of her upper arms and pulling her up from behind. However, in his haste, he ended up stepping on her sweatpants that were stuck by her knees and therefore losing his own balance and falling atop her tiny body.

Bubbles groaned, nearly crushed by his weight, her face buried in the ground yet again. "What the hedge, Cole!" She gritted out through clenched teeth. His body shook at first, her tone only worsening his stifled laughter until he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out. "It's not funny," she whined lowly.

"I'm sorry-"

"Mommy, what are they doing?" A tiny girl inquired, drawling each word, furrowing her eyebrows and pouting, her right index pointing their way. "Are they playing Humpty Dumpty like you and daddy?" By the time the mother slapped a hand across her daughter's mouth's face, it was too late. Luckily, she was too mortified to say anything and simply dragged her kid away while covering both her eyes and mouth.

Bubbles counted to ten, making sure to breathe through her nose. "Are you planning to get off me any time soon, Cole? Or are maybe into this Humpty Dumpty thing going on?"

He stammered, his face burning from the blush that covered it. "My foot is stuck in your pants and I was thinking of a way to stand up without injuring or letting you get exposed any further." She sighed, calmed down by his apologetic tone.

"It's okay. Just remove your leg slowly, please."

As soon as he stood up, Cole was by her side, hauling her up. She crushed against his chest. Bubbles scowled, ready to curse him to heck and beyond. However, as soon as she looked up, he was cradling her face, gently moving it from side to side and inspecting it for any injuries, apologies pouring out of his entrancing lips.

Her heart stuttered.

Shaking her head, Bubbles assured him that she was okay and hastily pulled her pants up. Her palms stung and she hissed. "FAQ!"

"You cursed again!"

"I don't curse," she ground out, fake sobs leaving her mouth.

He laughed, gently enveloping her hands and wrapping them with his. "I'm truly sorry, B. Your hands took most of the damage." His lips tilted downward at the sides as his eyes narrowed while examining the multiple tiny gashes covering the small expanse of her soft palms.

Extracting her hands from his warm hold, she grinned at him, her lips wobbling as she tried to mask her pain. "Honestly, it isn't your fault. You were only trying to help." Marcus, you better be hiding in Pluto! Bubbles seethed on the inside.

However, Cole tilted his head to the side, his mouth pulling into a tender half-smile. His hands moved to tuck her messy strands away from her flushed face. Her heart thudded harder. "I know it hurts, B." After fixing her hair, he gingerly fixed her pants since they were twisted, making the front and the back of it on either side of her hips, then gently tugged her by the wrist. "C'mon."

Her skin tingled.

Bubbles walked straight and erect behind him despite the slouching mess she was on the inside. She watched as the breeze teased his dark locks, playing with them and a strange urge to do the same was ignited deep within her. Shaking her head, she huffed, opening her mouth to ask where he was taking her only for Kendra to stagger to a stop before them. "Oh, my. Are you okay, honey? Are you hurt somewhere?" Bubbles smiled softly, yet the woman didn't give her a chance to answer. "Is that blood on your cheek? Oh, goodness! I swear to God, Marcus!"

"Oh, shush, woman! I'm okay-" Prying Cole's fingers off her wrist, she rolled her eyes and clasped Kendra's shoulders. Her actions elicited slight hissing at the pain that shot through her hands. "FAQ!"

"You cursed, again!" His expected, and overly excited, exclamation was met with an unwavering glare until he turned away, clearing his throat.

Ignoring him, Bubbles offered what she hoped was a convincing smile and said, "I'm alright, really. They're simple scratches that'll heal in no time!" The overly cheerful words didn't do much, but Kendra's expression turned to one of surrender. Her chocolate skin seemed to be regaining its shiny, milky color as her black eyes narrowed. "I promise!"

"Alright, alright." She sighed. "You have my number, call me if you-"

"I will. Oh, by the way, this is Cole." She gestured toward his awkward self, lounging behind her. Then, she gestured to her. "Cole, this is Kendra. She's Marcus' mother, the little kid that pushed me down."

"Nice to meet-"

"He did what?" Kendra all but screeched. "That son of a b-" she quickly stopped herself when she realized she was actually insulting herself. Cole coughed into his hand, masking his laughter. She cleared her throat. "He must've skipped that part." Bubbles opened her mouth to assure her that it was indeed alright, but the woman had already whirled around, determined legs taking her further away, incessant mutters following after her. "I keep telling him to stop knocking people down but he never listens. Never!"

"Rest in peace," Bubbles whispered, her head bowed slightly and her palms slapped against each other to mimic that of a praying gesture. She hissed again, the curse on the tip of her tongue but when Cole's eyes glinted, waiting for what she was going to say next, she bit down on her tongue. An intelligible fudge came out instead.

He shook his head, his hand taking its previous place as he tugged her forward again. "Let's go."

"To where?"

His pearly whites were flashed in a dazzling smile as he briefly turned to her, making sure to hold her gaze for the fleeting moment that stretched for eternity as her breath got caught in her throat. "To Forever And Beyond!"

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A/N:

Uhm, so...yeah, that happened. :') Can this get any more embarrassing? 🤭

Guess, we'll have to wait for the next chapter. 🤔

I hope this came out just like I imagined it: awkward, funny, and cute somehow, lol.

Dreams. ❤️