It was so hushed and calm that night in her sparse little house, the lights dim and the windows closed up to keep out the chilly wind. Marceline and I had placed a bunch of downy pillows and blankets onto the carpet to rest on, knowing that the couch was far too cramped and stiff to be comfortable. Laced together snugly in our pajamas, we lay on the cozy heap, her still head just beneath my chin. Her breathing was therapeutic, mild like murmurs of breeze through the woods. Marcy's smooth white skin was warmer than it seemed like it would be, for someone so ghostly fair. She inhaled contentedly as she repositioned her shoulder, a strand of long, dark, satin hair slipping down her arm. I felt her heated fingers close around my wrist, her thumb lightly brushing across my palm.

I closed my eyes and nestled my nose into her black cherry-scented hair, my very heartbeat blissful. I wondered if she knew how much I sincerely valued her. Marceline always stayed beside me when she knew I wasn't as tough as I could be. She chased my burdens away, solely with a smile, a spirited laugh, a hug, a whisper. That was all I needed, and she was so readily willing to support me and beyond that. She listened to my thoughts and ambitions and fears, shared her own heart with me, and not once did she back down on something she committed to. She would sing when it felt like the world was drowning, and make a joke when it seemed it was set aflame. They were cruel times we were living in, but she let me forget about that. With Marceline, I was free. She was a harbor of care and reassurance. And she was afraid, too. Glob knows we all were. But she tucked that unease away, so as not to worry me any further. She treasured my well being with a passion I would never truly fathom. How could one repay such kindness, knowing that their Someone would never be able to know how much they were appreciated? I wanted to be to her what she was to me. Marceline thought she was just some goofball of a monster, but little did she know, she was nothing short of a pure, genuine friend and hero.

I sighed, enamored, and slowly formed a lock with our hands. I opened my eyes and tried to think of something to say to her, to formally thank her for all of her selflessness. I noticed her eyelashes flutter and caught a glint of her green irises. The older girl gazed up at me and parted her lips, as if she were about to speak. She looked down again and closed her eyes, and I guessed she had changed her mind. However, a smooth, soft voice reached my ears through the darkness, announcing, "Bonnie, I really like you. I hope . . . you'll never let go of me."

I blinked and froze in silence for a moment, then pulled my Marceline into a tender hug, with my cheek against her neck. I held her there gently, eyes squeezed shut, and breathed, "Never in your wildest dreams, my love."