Because He Cares
Disclaimer: Adventure Time doesn't belong to me.
...
"They're quite cute," Marceline noted off-handedly as she bit into her lollipop with a satisfying crunch. It was cherry flavored, of course.
"What?" Marshall Lee yawned, sprawling himself out even further, his back leaning against the armrest while his legs were on the other. He blinked at her blearily, groaning as the midafternoon sun shone merrily from the sky into his sleep-deprived mind.
"Bubba and Bonni getting at it again?" He smirked, "Don't tell me she forgot to label her paste mixture again and Bubba ate it thinking it was yogurt?"
Freshman year rocked; even more so after That Event – watching a grown man burst into tears due to his glued teeth was therapeutic even more so after the first stressful weeks of college.
She chuckled, slowly rocking back in her chair. "As much as I'd like to see Bon Bon knock her brother on his behind, unfortunately, no. However," Marceline nudged him on the shoulder with the end of her shoe, earning her a half hearted swat at the ankle, directing his line of sight toward the courtyard.
Directly on the other end of the expansive quad, was a set of twins, completely unaware of their newly garnered attention by the two most notorious siblings on campus. If the fact that they didn't have the same golden colored hair and dopey grins wasn't a dead give away that they were also related, than the similar color scheme in their clothing would help. Cheesy, but surprisingly adorable given the fact either twin offset it with a different accessory – the boy with his baseball bat in his book bag and the girl with her pink and green satchel. They were pressed close to one another, their identically blue clad shoulders touching one another as they lean toward a shared map, discussing something – probably their classes like any good freshman – with half sentences and cryptic smiles and nods.
"Oh," Marshall grinned. His eyes lingering on the girl's bag longer before he turned around back to Marceline.
Marceline knew her baby brother well enough to grasp the end of his plaid shirt and use the momentum of his body rising from his seat to abruptly tug him downward, making him lose balance until he was sprawled against it again.
"Marshall Lee." Marceline flung her empty lollipop stick at his hand. He caught it, placing it in his empty drink with a flourish. She rolled her eyes as she unwrapped another cherry-flavored lollipop.
"I'm going to say hi to the freshmen," he said simply as he swiped the treat. Before popping it into his mouth, he attempted to widen his eyes and smack on a patented grin that had an unusually high rate of success in charming unwitting people and small animals.
Marceline knew her adorably precocious baby brother a little too well.
"Don't forget baby bro, you're still a wee sophomore." She flicked him on the nose with her fingers, earning a yelp and a glare. "Don't think just because I pranked you all last year means that you can use my pranks on other freshmen. Find your own creative mojo, Marshie."
Marshall Lee gasped, or something along the lines of a gurgled gasp due to the lollipop still in his mouth. He placed a hand over his heart and the other over his forehead, a look of hurt across his features, "Marceline, I can't believe you would accuse me of such deviousness."
His eyes flickered over to the sound of laughter – the twins were talking to the Gume siblings. Already, Bonnie was sitting next to the boy while Bubba was obviously in the midst of one of his tales. It was probably one of his cheesy baking stories and how his soufflé nearly collapsed on him.
How was Marshall supposed to know playing baseball in the kitchen was a no-go?
"C'mon Marshall," Marceline grasped his shirtsleeve, tugging him toward them. "No deviousness, but if B-squared are interested in them, then we should be as well."
"Anything her royal evilness declares!" Exclaimed Marshall Lee as he saluted her with his (technically, her) lollipop, his eyes straying on the giggling twin, her smile like the wisps of a faint memory.
He was going for casual as he swung an arm around Bubba's shoulders, "Hey Bubba, you should stop harassing the freshman girls," he squeezed the other's shoulders, "Don't you think you're a little too old to be flirting with recent high school graduates?"
Bubba turned noticeably pink. "Marshall Lee, your behavior is unbecoming as ever!"
"Takes one to know one Hubba Bubba Bub," teased Marshall, just as he dodged a discrete jab to the stomach with a laugh. He made clucking noises, snide comments like 'you punch like a chicken' before he ended up sprinting away with Bubba on his heels.
Marceline sighed, whispering almost inaudibly, "No deviousness, huh?"
"Ignore our two brothers," said Marceline as she squeezed between the twins, wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders. "You know how brothers are. So immature."
"Don't I know it," the smaller of the blondes giggled. Her eyes shot downward before looking up at Marceline shyly, "I'm Fionna. And that's my brother, Finn."
"We're twins," said Finn, "We're chromosomally tied. Like peas in a pod except there's only two of us and not like, three or four."
"Brothers," all three chimed.
At Fionna and Finn's blank looks, Bonni motioned toward Marceline, "Her family and mine have been friends for a ridiculously long time." She rolled her eyes, "It's a gift and a curse."
"Duh," Marceline replied, sticking out her tongue, "You should be grateful to be associated with me and Marshall Lee. Someone's gotta keep you two from getting even lamer." She glanced at her watch, and leaned forward, lowering her voice, "The gaming geeks are getting antsy that you're taking their place on the social reject hierarchy."
"MARCELINE!"
"Catch you two on the flipside. I have some residents to take care of," she winked before she bolted. Laughing out loud as she skipped away. She briefly turned around, waving a hand back as Bonnie fumed, "Check your pockets."
"She gave us her numbers," Finn said as he untucked the small slip of paper from his pant pocket. Fionna pulled a similar piece of paper from her own purse, it was sticking out next to her little black bat keychain. They both looked at each other and simultaneously said, "When did she…?"
"She's a little," Bonni sighed, her arms crossed over her chest, "Eccentric." The corners of her lips upturned in a small smile, "But she's good. She likes to mess with your mind."
"Like jokes?" Finn said, eager.
"Something like that," Bonnie said slowly, a perplexed look on her face. "She's a senior this year so she'll be either too busy with her papers or outdoing her past pranking records to make up for her remaining time in college."
"You both are seniors?" Finn and Fiona gaped.
"Of course not," Bonnie giggled. "I'm a sophomore like Marshall Lee, Marceline's brother. Marceline and my older brother, Bubba, are the seniors."
"It must be nice to have older siblings," sighed Fionna as she looked dejectedly at Finn. "All I have is this brat."
"I take offense to that remark," said Finn as he lightly punched her on the shoulder, which she retaliated by pushing him off the bench. "Uhh, ouch." He groaned, raising a hand to the air, "I'm only ten minutes and twenty-three seconds younger than you. Essentially, we're the same exact age."
"To my complete and utter shame," Fionna groaned into hands.
"Speaking of embarrassing," Bonnie tucked her hands into her coat jacket, resigning herself to the inevitable. "Here comes Marshall Lee with my brother in tow. Time for placating." She shook her head, "This is basically the story of my college career since I've been here."
"Yo, Bubble Brain!" Yelled Bonnie, an unbecoming statement for a young lady that seemed so initially prim and proper. She managed to cut her brother off before he could resume chasing the rogue brunette, placing herself between the two men. Her hands were on her hips, and everyone around could see the color drain from Bubba's face as he faced his younger sister.
The twins glanced at one another, finding the situation more amusing and endearing than anything else. Fionna nudged Finn, a small smile on her face.
"Go," she whispered, her eyes darting between Bonnie and her twin.
Finn's face automatically turned pink, almost as vibrant and pink as Bonnie's hair. "I-I don't-"
"Just go," she giggled as she nudged him further toward the scolding girl. He bit his bottom lip, the blush creeping from his cheeks down to his neck. He hurriedly said, "I'll be right back. I'm just going to make sure Bonnie can take care of herself with her brother."
Bonnie could more than handle her brother – it was obvious from the way Bubba's slouching shoulders, but Fionna remained quiet.
"So," said a voice from behind her. "The peanut gallery already gone?"
"After Bonnie finishes lecturing Bubba about chasing down other students, especially underclassmen across the yard," she giggled, turning around to face a smirking face.
She tilted her head to the side, scrunching her face in a face, "You're not going to prank me because I'm a freshman, are you?"
"Maybe." He climbed over the bench and sat beside him, an arm thrown casually on the back of the bench, around her.
"Well," she looked down, her fingers gently playing with the black bat keychain, "If this is one of your pranks, then I suppose I should feel special?"
"Nah," Marshall replied casually, shooting her a small smile very different from the ones that he paraded around campus as Bubba chased after him.
He remembered now.
...
Waiting at a bus stop, his duffle bag sitting beside him was the last thing he needed to bring to his dorm, and vaguely categorizing his classes in the upcoming week, he watched the pedestrians slowly walking by. Marceline left for campus earlier, already busy fulfilling her obligations as a resident advisor to her dorm. He was yawning, bored and then –
A sniffle.
He blinked. He hadn't noticed someone had taken the seat on the other side of the bus bench.
She was such a small thing, curled up on the corner of the couch, her head downward, one leg propped up on the seat of the bench, an arm wrapped around one leg while her free hand fiddled with the strap of her little green and pink satchel that lay against her side.
"You okay?"
She looked up, her eyes red but her cheeks otherwise dry.
"I-I'm fine," she croaked. If possible, she tucked herself further away from him in the corner of her seat, turning her head away.
Silence reigned.
Sigh, he was, but of course, a gentleman, although not as noticeable as Bubba.
"Obviously, it's not or you wouldn't look like you were on the verge of crying?" Marshall said, scooting next to her. He was also way more blunt than a normal gentleman.
"It's not your business," she said, but paused. She bit her lip, her eyes darting toward Marshall.
He sat and waited. It wasn't like he didn't have the time; the bus wouldn't leave for another twenty minutes.
She sighed, "My twin brother and I aren't living in the same residence hall and we don't have any classes together." She glanced downward, biting her bottom lip, "We've never been separate for so long a- and," she balled up her fists, "He's acting as if this isn't important."
"Aren't you a little dramatic?" Marshall asked wryly, pulling his gym bag on his lap.
"No!" She said, turning to him in anger when –
"Here," he replied, holding out a keychain merely inches from her face. On the delicate piece of metal was a little bat. It was completely black with little red eyes. It looked slightly demonic. He bought it from the fair a few weeks ago, and Marceline was giving him hell about owning such a girly item.
He liked it, it called out to him.
Just like her.
"What….?"
"He's a vampire bat. But, he looks scary because he cares," said Marshall as he placed the small bat figurine in her lax hand. "But otherwise, this little bat will be someone by your side when you're feeling sad and when your brother is ignoring you."
She looked down, staring at it questioningly, "I – "
"FI FI!" A voice hollered at her from across the street. A boy similar to her was frantically waving his arms at her. "I was looking for you everywhere! C'mon! Mom managed to harass the housing office, so I'll be living in the same dorm as you! I'll be the floor below you!"
He was frantically looking at either side of the street, contemplating the chance of crossing the busy street and surviving.
"Finn! You idiot!" She choked, standing up and running down the street to the crosswalk, "There's a crosswalk right over here!"
"But it's more algebraic to J-walk across the street!"
"And illegal!" She giggled. She stopped and turned around to Marshall who was watching the scene with amusement. She waved a hand at him, the demonic bat charm still in her hand, "Thank you!"
…
"It's you," he finally said.
She smiled, her fingers straying to her bag.
"Lucky charm," Fionna said in finality. She patted the charm hanging from her satchel fondly, "I hope you weren't expecting it back."
"Nah, I gave it to you for a reason." Marshall replied, leaning closer, "I was hoping more for a formal introduction."
"I think…" she said slowly, "I can manage that. Fair trade off, I would think." She raised an outstretched hand, "I'm Fionna Hummel."
He grasped her small hand in his, "I'm Marshall Lee Eliv." His smile matched hers, "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
Neither let go.
"Likewise."
A/N: Whoo! Happy 11.11.11 everyone! I hope you liked my oneshot. Some comments and critique are forever bombastic!