It took me centuries but these are finally done!

[essbeejay]

jujuandgetdown requested reds, forced to visit a psychic and get a reading! Hopefully some of y'all recognize the character!

To Make it True

***

This session was going poorly.

Madame Argentina had had a bad feeling as soon as they’d walked in. Given her line of work, she should have listened to that message. Although she didn’t exactly need the spirits’ help to tell her that when one of the Powerpuff Girls floated into her tent it wouldn’t be long before her goose was cooked.

Miracle of miracles, however, Blossom had not appeared to notice or even realize it was her. Granted, she had come in distracted. Or maybe adulthood had dulled her senses. It certainly hadn’t done her any favors when it came to her taste in lovers.

“I’m telling you, this is a waste of time,” her partner had said as she’d walked in. He’d hung back, lingering at the tent’s entrance.

“Brick, shush.” Blossom had taken her seat without casting a glance back at him. “We’re already here.”

“Ugh,” Brick had groaned, trudging in like a petulant child.

“Stop that.”

“This is stupid.”

“Can you not? We have an audience.”

“Well that doesn’t stop you from—”

And then that continued for another twenty minutes.

This was what the spirits had been warning her about—the couple squabbling in front of her, picking and needling at each other and sucking the life force out of everyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. Madame Argentina had an elbow on the table and her chin in one hand, her initial panic at seeing Blossom having long since subsided into bored irritation. The tarot deck arced before her, untouched. She hadn’t even had the chance to shuffle yet.

Suddenly she heard a ruffling of feathers—the telltale sign of Fred having successfully fleeced their unsuspecting patrons. Fantastic. Now she could work on getting them the hell out of her tent.

She turned to the young man and interrupted his whinging to observe, “You are a skeptical person.”

Brick now turned his growing ire on her, clearly welcoming another subject to hurl insults at.

“No, I’m just allergic to bullshit,” he retorted.

“You enjoy her company, but sometimes she drives you crazy.”

“Really covering all your bases there, aren’t you?”

“You’re putting out a lot of negative energy. It will interfere with the reading.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Brick started clapping. “You’re doing great! I look forward to hearing you make broad, generalized statements that someone’s dead cat told you or whatever. I don’t know. You’re the professional here.”

“Brick.” A warning, issued through gritted teeth.

“You wanted me to help, I'm helping.” A riposte. Also issued through gritted teeth.

“You're not helping at all!”

He threw up his arms. “Well, then can I fucking leave? You're not the only one who had shit they wanted to do today!”

She made a face at him, one where the tightness of her lips conveyed Language while the arc of her brow asked what could he possibly have on that list.

“Oh, just because you won't let me do crime anymore I’m not supposed to have any other hobbies or interests, is that it? Should I be running these things by you for your approval to confirm their legality?”

“‘Won’t let you?’ These aren't my special rules that I made up to ruin your day, it is the law.”

“You know, I'm a psychic, not a marriage counselor,” Madame Argentina deadpanned.

“You're not a psychic either because those aren't real,” Brick snapped. “Stop bullshitting yourself.”

“Okay, enough!” Madame Argentina swept the cards fanned out in front of her back into her hand. “Time’s up. We’re done here. Get out.”

“Great,” Blossom threw a glare at Brick. “Now look what you’ve done.”

“Wait, we can’t leave yet. We paid you for a reading, even if it’s bullshit.”

“No refunds,” Madame Argentina said.

“Plus, we’re still stalling,” Brick continued, and Madame Argentina froze.

“What do you mean, ‘stalling?’”

Suddenly her tent collapsed to reveal a swathe of agents surrounding them. A number of them were carting a squawking Fred away.

“Nice to see you again, Madame Argentina,” Blossom said archly. “Did you really think I’d forget you?”

“What is going on here?!”

“You’re wanted for international fraud,” Blossom explained. “We were the decoys.”

“Expensive decoys,” Brick reminded the agents surrounding them.

“I really should have listened to those spirits,” Madame Argentina said, then tossed the deck of cards in her hands at the two of them and bolted. Or, uh, tried to. Blossom already had Argentina by the back of her collar and was holding her a good bit above the ground at that point.

“Nice try.”

***

A high-spirited Blossom suggested they take the scenic route home in the wake of their mini-victory. Brick grumbled something vague about the pointlessness of walking with superpowers but acquiesced anyway.

“We played into those roles a little too well,” he muttered.

“In fairness, we’ve had a lot of practice. And it worked.”

“Because everyone’s so quick to believe it.”

Blossom glanced sidelong at him, sensing A Mood. She thought of what her sisters had told her and dialed the pride in her voice back a bit. “It’s a popular trope. We’re just a modern day Sam and Diane, you and I.”

Brick scoffed and she watched a little of the tension leave his brow. “Nobody our age would get that reference.”

“Mm.” After a moment, she wove her arm in his. He didn’t resist. “You get it.”

“Of course I do. You made me watch it with you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t make you. You had free will.”

“‘Had,’ huh? Quite the slip.”

“This ‘I’m a jerk’ shtick is getting old, Brick.”

“We’re not like them, anyway.”

“No?”

He stared straight ahead, their steps aligned. “They didn’t get together in the end.”

They walked in silence for a bit.

Blossom took a deep breath. “No. I guess not.” She leaned her cheek against his shoulder, then did a slight double-take. “What’s that?”

Brick glanced down to see her reaching for his shirt pocket. “Hey, quit copping a feel in public.”

“Uh huh,” she muttered, and pulled out one of Madame Argentina’s tarot cards.

“What’s it say?” he said, then snatched it away before she could answer.

“Jerk.”

“‘Ten of Cups,’” Brick read, then moved to incinerate it.

“Wait, don’t. I’ll look it up when we get home.”

Brick huffed a breath but let her take it back anyway. “Just text Bubbles. I bet she knows.”

“Probably.” Blossom carefully slipped the card back into his pocket. “The art looks nice.”

“Cool design,” he conceded. “Guess we got our fortune told after all.”

“Yes, despite your best efforts,” she said, squeezing his hand.

“I’m offended that you think that was me at my best.”

Blossom grinned and pressed her lips to his cheek. He leaned into her instinctively, the entirety of his being going through that now-familiar process of softening at her touch.

“In that case, I look forward to seeing you do better.”

---

And with that, requests (from 2019...) are now done! These are currently being x-posted to ao3.

Be safe and healthy and good to each other. ♥

AO3 | FFNet | AskFM