DISCLAIMER: CHARACTERS NOT MINE. UNIVERSE BELONGS TO BLEEDMAN. STORY BELONGS TO MOI.

Aftermath

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

Dexter, Boy-Genius, sighed tiredly to himself as he layed upon a couch in his recently-made friend-turned-crush Blossom's home near the outskirts of Megaville. Sighing once more, Dexter lifted up a wearied hand that was wrapped tight with white bandages. The wounds he had received on both hands came from the destruction of the Omega-Gloves he and Mandark, in essence, co-created for both pairs had been made at the same time. Dexter thought it was rather ironic that both gloves were destroyed at the same time.

However, there was nothing ironic about the death of his greatest archrival, Mandark.

The black-haired genius' words struck Dexter as odd for a time until he remembered his encounter was a long haired youth that, at first, had resembled a girl right down to the name. How was Dexter to know that by laughing at this strange child his greatest enemy would be born and the death of his sister, Dee Dee, would be finalized? Dexter sighed and sat up, wincing at the sharp pain from his ribs.

During the fight with Mandark, Dexter had given thought to letting the evil genius win and put him out of his misery, he thought the world, his sister, and even Mandark himself would have been better off if he never existed. It wasn't until the voice of his sister ripped him out of the darkness of despair that he became aware that, though he was empty on the inside since her death, the void was slowly being filled by someone else.

"Blossom…" Dexter had never felt like this before about anyone. True, he had the odd crush or two on a cute girl, who didn't? But with Blossom… there was more than just a physical attraction to her lovely hair, her shining eyes, her-Dexter shook his head, a bright blush adorning his face. 'Let's not go into treacherous territory Dexter, her sisters are upstairs…' Though the girls didn't dislike him, they didn't really like him that much. Well… Buttercup didn't like him and Bubbles… Bubbles liked everybody. 'Like Dee Dee…'

Dexter stood and slowly made his way into the kitchen where, hopefully, there'd be a glass of milk just waiting for him in the cold depths of the fridge. Thankfully, there was some that his teenaged friend, Coop, hadn't touched. After pouring himself a glass, Dexter took a seat at the small dining table and sighed once more. Where was he before his thoughts returned to his sister? Ah yes, his attraction to Blossom.

He shared with her many likes and dislikes that, at times, unnerved the boy-genius. She liked comics as much as him, especially those focusing on the Justice Friends, she liked to be the leader much like him, and she was quite intelligent, though nowhere near as much as him but that was understandable. He is a boy-genius after all. She liked to study all kinds of scientific texts as much as he did, and she read the occasional story book like he did. Dexter couldn't help but blush when he spotted the latest book she had chosen to read. Even now, in the dark, its title stood out as though it were alight.

YOUNG LOVE STORIES.

Swallowing nervously, Dexter averted his eyes from the book and tried to continue with his train of thought. However, the red-haired youth found that near impossible, especially when he heard a horrified gasp coming from the living room. Living his untouched glass on the table, Dexter stood and made his way over towards the living room of the Utonium household. The very girl he had been thinking about was holding onto his ruined lab coat tightly in her hands as she wept. Her pink tear-filled eyes found him in the darkness of the house and not a second later did Dexter find himself in the vice-like grip of Blossom.

"Dexter! You're okay! I thought you were- I thought you had-" The leader of the Powerpuff Girls dissolved into sobs as she clutched Dexter's torso tightly, though not with all her strength lest she break him in half. Blushing, Dexter slowly reached up and wrapped his own arms around the sobbing girl, ignoring the pain that emanated from his ribs. Dexter was quite glad that Coop had returned back to New Jersey, albeit without the Megas XLR which was in need of further repairs and upgrades, for the stout teen had already spanned everyone in the country of the news of Dexter's recently acquired 'girlfriend' and he did not need to give the blonde any more ammo.

Dexter sighed and gently guided Blossom to the couch that had been his bed just minutes ago. Letting her rest on his lap, Dexter slowly brushed his hand through Blossom's soft auburn hair while his other hand stroked her back in gentle circles.

As her sobs began to slow, Dexter thought back to Mandark's lair. Shortly after Mandark's mech squeezed him and cracked several of his ribs, Blossom's sisters arrived. Though he was in immense pain, Dexter tried to remain conscious but the siren call of sleep was strong. However, shortly before he fell totally into the depths of unconsciousness, Dexter heard Blossom speak words that made his heart flutter in a way that was both pleasant and strange all at once.

"Don't worry, Dexter. It's gonna be okay. I won't let anything happen to you! I'll always be by your side! I just want you to know that I… I…" Whatever else the auburn-haired girl had to say was cut off by her sister and Dexter soon fell completely into unconsciousness. Dexter had a strong clue as to what Blossom was going to say, and he did not doubt that she truly felt that way about him. He had learned earlier that Otto had taken her on a trip through his past shortly before the boy was chased off by an irate Buttercup with the unspoken threat of a serious talk chasing after him. By now, Blossom must have learned as much as he did about her though Dexter himself had learned of her past through Professor Utonium, a man that Dexter would have been eager to meet if the circumstances had been different.

However, though Dexter knew of her crush on him, and she of his own, he wanted to hear the word's from her.

"Blossom…? What were you going to say… back at Mandark's lab…?" The auburn-haired heroine stiffened in his arms and slowly, hesitantly, looked up into his eyes, which were covered by his ever present glasses.

"You… you heard that…?" Blossom's cheeks were as red as her absent bow. It was at that time that Dexter became aware of the fact that Blossom was in her nightdress and his face matched her own in redness.

"Yeah, I did…" Dexter saw how uncomfortable the Powerpuff was becoming. 'Damn it, I guess I was wrong… Yet… why does that thought make me feel so empty…?' "Never mind, Blossom. You don't have to tell me…" sighed Dexter as he continued rubbing her back in gentle motions.

The blush adorning Blossom's face deepened before she pressed her face against Dexter's shoulder. She mumbled something and tightened her grip on his torso once more.

"What?"

Blossom gave Dexter's torso a brief squeeze before she leaned back to look past the blue glass of Dexter's glasses to gaze into the soft depths of his oceanic blue eyes. "I said I… I love you…" Dexter's eyes widened and he froze completely. Taking his silence as rejection, Blossom eased herself out of his arms and turned away from him, tears clouding over her cotton-candy pink eyes. "I'm sorry. I guess you don't want to be my friend anymore huh? I should have known better…" Blossom began to race up the stairs when Dexter, now finally loose of his shock, gripped her wrist tightly.

"Wait, Blossom!" Dexter gulped nervously and eased his grip on her wrist. "Wait…" Dexter gently pulled her back into his arms and embraced her once again. "You're right. I don't want to be your friend anymore." Dexter ignored the utter despair that he felt from the girl's heart and continued, "I want to be your… boyfriend…" Blossom's eyes widened before she slowly leaned back to stare openmouthed at Dexter.

"Wh-What? Really?"

Dexter smiled that cheeky smile of his and nodded. "Of course, you stupid girl. I love you too." Tears of happiness fell from her eyes before Blossom leaned forward to gently place her lips upon Dexter's own.

Up on the top of the staircase leading up to the Powerpuff Girl's shared room, two pairs of eyes watched the scene with different reactions. The blue pair belonging to the somewhat naïve Bubbles sparkled in the night as she smiled at her sister's newfound happiness while the green pair, belonging to the tempermental Buttercup, were aflame with anger at the scene below. The only thing holding her back were the specially made ropes that tied her to her naïve sister and a strip of duct-tape carefully applied to her mouth to muffle her screams of protests.