Epilogue: Shipping News

"Buttercup? Could you go knock on your brother's door and make sure he's up? Dinner's in half an hour."

Glad for something to do besides finish her history homework, Buttercup hopped to. "Sure thing, Professor. I'll get 'em."

"Just knock, honey," repeated the Professor, intent on dinner.

She zoomed through the suite and up the stairs to the bedrooms. Dexter's was the only door that was closed at this time of day. With a little frown she realized that she had not seen Ben since yesterday. Probably he'd fallen asleep waiting for Dexter to come back to the land of the living. Tennyson had been lumped up pretty badly by those Fusions and Dexter was not only working his tail off, but the hormone treatment he was getting to stop his growth seemed to knock him for a loop and he could sleep like a champ.

"Yo, bro!" she called, rapping on the door. "Dex-ter!"

Nothing. There were no sounds within, no grumbling, no muttering, nothing. She knocked again a bit harder.

"Dexter, wake up! Dinner!"

She waited. Still nothing. Buttercup glanced to the side and as Bubbles joined her outside Dexter's room, a ready laugh filling the silence between knocks. With a grin Buttercup shook her head, rather impressed by Dexter's ability to sleep in.

"Let me." Bubbles knocked lightly and called in a sweet voice, "Dexter! Oh, Dexter! Wakey, wakey! Hey, wake up!"

Both girls were giggling when Blossom joined them. "What are you two doing?"

"Trying to wake Dexter. It's almost time for dinner," said Bubbles. Buttercup rapped her knuckles on the door in a rapid staccato.

Nothing. No shouts for them to go away, nothing thrown against the wall to shut them up, nothing. Blossom joined in their amusement.

"He was up earlier," said the redhead. "At least, I saw plates in the dishwasher when I loaded it after lunch."

"It's not like he can go anywhere," muttered Buttercup.

"Well, he won't want to miss dinner," decided the leader of the Powerpuff Girls, laying hold of the knob.

"The Professor said just to knock," warned Buttercup.

Blossom opened the door. "To you."

She led the way into the shadowy room. They rarely came in here, mostly because there was nothing that interested them in what they considered to be a very boring and unremarkable space. Buttercup had described Dexter's bedroom as 'a hotel room out of Star Trek' and she wasn't far off the mark. They looked around. The bed had been slept in and the pillows had been removed. They moved further into the room where a sofa faced a widescreen TV. The TV was on, the volume turned almost all the way down. All three girls crept close enough to look over the back of the sofa and all three got the shock of their lives.

The two young men they were looking for lay on the couch, fast asleep. Ben's injured shoulder was braced by the bed pillows, angling him away from the edge of the sofa. Wedged between Ben and the back cushions was Dexter, his head resting on Ben's good shoulder, his right hand beneath Ben's black t-shirt. The brunet held him close, leaning his head against Dexter's. Despite the brace Dexter wore their legs were tangled together, and despite the differences in their sizes they fit together very neatly, snuggling in together close and warm and content. Physically and emotionally spent and knocked flat by pain killers, they were completely unaware of the wide blue, green, and pink eyes fixed upon them.

For an eternity of several heartbeats Blossom stared at the two young men she loved so completely and so differently. A wave of heat swept over her and she felt faint, then sick, and finally numb. It wasn't really betrayal, but it certainly felt that way, and panic – something she never felt in battle - gripped her. Seizing her two sisters by the wrists, she yanked them down to the floor with her. The Powerpuff Girls sat in a row against the back of the sofa. Blossom stared off into the darkened room, trying to comprehend what she had just seen while Bubbles and Buttercup held a heated, whispered exchange, talking right over her.

"Ha!" Buttercup softly crowed, pointing in triumph. "I told you!"

Hissed Bubbles, "You said he likes Mandark!"

"Mandark, shmandark." Buttercup waved dismissively. "That uber-dork likes DeeDee. Dexter's got better taste than that."

"Ben likes boys?" Bubbles was thrilled with the notion.

"He sure seems to like Dexter!"

"Who knew?" wondered the blonde in amazement.

"Not me, but you've got to admit they look pretty hot together."

Bubbles climbed to her knees and then her feet for another look before dropping down again. She nodded her agreement. "They really are cute. Both of them."

"To the power of cute, sister. How long has this been going on?"

Bubbles shook her head, sending her pigtails wagging, a slow grin spreading across her face as she found herself embracing the idea of her adorable older brother and his equally adorable best friend being boyfriends. She leaned across Blossom's knees. "Who do you think asked who out?"

Without hesitation Buttercup said, "Dexter. Definitely."

"But Ben's older!"

"So?" was the whispered response. With unmistakable pride she asked, "You think that would stop our bro?"

"You think maybe they were kissing before?"

"At least," said the black-haired girl with obvious delight. She got to her feet to stare some more and Bubbles joined her, leaving Blossom with her heartache on the floor. A moment later Bubbles frantically gestured Buttercup down behind the furniture again.

"Dexter doesn't have a shirt on!" she breathed through clenched teeth.

That was almost as shocking as finding them asleep together. They had been a family for four years, known Dexter for five, and in all that time they had never seen more skin than Dexter's face, sometimes his hands, rarely his feet (and then never for very long). Buttercup gaped, popped up to verify her sister's observation, and almost fell over.

"I didn't think his clothes came off!" squeaked Bubbles, pointing frantically at Dexter's discarded shirt a few feet from the bed. Had it been a viper poised to strike she could not have been more wound up. This scandal was almost on par with the boys being an item.

"Well, duh, Bubbles, you've seen him in other clothes." She smirked wickedly. "Too bad Dexter didn't return the favor."

At the suggestion of a semi-naked Ben on top of (possibly literally) a semi-naked Dexter, Bubbles gaped, her mouth a perfect 'o'. Buttercup found her expression so laughable that she clapped a hand over her own mouth to keep from giggling out loud and waking the boys. A moment later she leaned on Blossom's knee to whisper tightly to her sister,

"Bubbles – we're shipping our own brother!"

"With his best friend!" squeaked the blonde before clamping her hands over her mouth and closing her eyes as she fought to keep from bursting out loud with glee.

"Benter," suggested Buttercup when she could breathe again.

Bubbles dashed away her tears and said, "Bexter."

"Bex for short," grinned Buttercup, and they both collapsed in silent hysterics.

A faint sniff emanated from between them, and both girls turned and looked at Blossom, only now realizing she had not been celebrating this discovery along with them.

"Blossom?" whispered Bubbles.

She sniffed again, pursing her lips as she tried to hide her distress. Ducking her head down, she tried to hide behind her long, red hair.

"Oh . . ." Buttercup caught on faster than Bubbles. With a grimace of understanding she asked, "Which one?"

After another sniff Blossom raised teary eyes to her sisters and hoarsely murmured, "Ben."

In light of her upset they sobered up immediately. Bubbles gazed at her with wide, sympathetic eyes.

"Did he ever say anything?" asked Buttercup.

Blossom shook her head, not meeting her sister's eye. She looked perfectly miserable. "I tried to let him know but . . . now I know why he didn't say anything."

"Yeah. Dex called dibs," muttered Buttercup. A thought occurred. "So that's why the Professor wanted us just to knock on the door."

"I'm sorry, Blossom," said Bubbles, laying her hand on her sister's arm.

"I should have known," sighed Blossom. "Dexter was always so much happier when Ben was around, and they were always together. I guess I was just fooling myself."

"Nothing wrong with having a little hope," Buttercup said softly as Blossom gained her feet. She gave the sleepers one last, disappointed look, tried to smile, and then rushed from the room. Her sisters watched her go, considerate of her distress. They were quiet for a few moments.

"You think she'll be okay?" whispered Bubbles.

"Yeah. She'll be fine. Don't worry. We'll convert her to our side."

The sweetest Powerpuff looked thoughtful, and finally admitted, "I think Ben's better for Dexter than he'd be for Blossom. Blossom would want to change him and Dexter wouldn't dream of it."

"Plus they're really hot," grinned Buttercup.

"Well, yeah!"

Buttercup stood up for another look. Her green eyes flew wide and she desperately swatted Bubbles on the head to get her to stand up. Yanking her sister close, she pointed at their brother. "Is that a hicky?"

Bubbles stopped rubbing her scalp as she gaped and then clasped her hands in ecstasy. "No wonder why he always wears turtlenecks!"

Christmas had come early for two out of the three Utonium girls.

()()()()()()()()()()

"Professor?"

He turned as he pulled the roast from the over, surprised at Blossom's subdued tone and immediately concerned. Clearly something had upset her, and he set the food aside as she entered the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Blossom?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She swallowed, not quite meeting his eye. She took a breath, started to speak, hesitated, and finally asked, "Did you know about Ben and Dexter?"

He gripped her tightly for a moment, then loosened his hold and quietly said, "Yes. I did."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

There was a hint of censure in her voice. He understood she was struggling with the loss of something she never really had, but desperately wanted. Quietly he replied, "It wasn't my place."

"What? Then who was going to tell me? Us?"

"The parties involved. When they wanted you to know."

"But . . ."

He smiled fondly, brushing the hair away from her face. "You know how private your brother is. Besides, he and Ben see one another so rarely that what they have is still very new to them both."

"Did you know when I told you I liked Ben?"

The Professor nodded.

"Why didn't you . . . ?"

"Did Ben ever give you any indication that he liked you back?"

"No," she admitted softly.

"When did you start to like him like this?"

"Just a little before I told you."

Gently he said, "Your brother has been in love with Ben for years, Blossom, and they started their relationship almost year ago."

She blinked, astonished that she'd come so late to the game.

"I couldn't say anything, honey. For safety's sake no one can know. What Vilgax did to your brother he did because Ben cares so much for him. Back when you and I talked that day, they'd had a falling out that they just patched up last night. They've both had a hard time of it, but they love and need each other very much."

She looked down, trying to come to terms with her heartache and having been beaten out to Ben by the boy she considered her brother. Somehow knowing that Ben had been seeing Dexter for so long made the hurt seem a little less. She'd never really had a chance after all, and Dexter . . . Ben would be good for him. Before she could speak, Buttercup and Bubbles came piling into the kitchen. They were giggling and grinning and Bubbles piped,

"They're awake! They'll be down as soon as they're dressed."

She gasped, realizing she'd just revealed that the boys had both been in Dexter's room and asleep. Blossom managed a little laugh, somehow finding amusement in her sisters' new hobby. Buttercup rolled her eyes in disgust at Bubbles' inability to keep quiet while Utonium smiled and shook his head.

"Took you long enough. Bubbles, can you drain the carrots? Buttercup, would put the drinks on the table?"

"Professor?" asked Blossom. He could tell she wasn't speaking about helping with dinner as she pled, "What am I supposed to do?"

Still smiling, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as he lovingly said, "Be happy for them."