"You're not supposed to be here."
"I can be wherever I want to be."
"Who says?"
"I do. Now let me in before I suck all the pink out of you."
She sighs, defeated, and moves to the side. I remember the room well. It's pink, like her, but with touches of pale purple, white, and tiny black and red objects trying and failing at hiding. I float into the room, look around, and lay down on the bed.
"Turn the lights out," I say.
"Say please," says Princess Bubblegum.
I roll my eyes. "Please."
"Thank you." Bubblegum turns the lights out, and I light a candle. Bubblegum looks uncomfortable with the open flame, but says nothing and sits down on the bed by my feet.
"Why are you here?" she whispers.
I look up at her. "Bonnibel, we need to talk." I sigh. "I never thought I'd say that."
Bubblegum says nothing, just stares at the wall. I sit up and resist the strong urge to put my arm around her. She is silent for a long while, and then says, "I miss it too, you know."
"You miss what?"
"Us." A weak smile appears on her face. "I miss being able to see you every day and just being able to talk to you and hug you and…" She sighs. "It was nice."
"It was more than nice!" I snap. Bubblegum looks at me, taken aback.
"Marceline?"
"Look, you have no idea how much I've missed you!" I float up off the bed. "And you just avoid me…you even did that while we were together!" I flip over her head and glare down at her. "Did you break up with me because you liked Finn too much, or because of your kingdom or whatever, or are you going to tell me the truth?!"
"It's not like that!" she pleads.
"Yes it is! You know it is!" The anger bubbling inside of me is beginning to boil. "Is it because I was bad for your reputation? Is it because you were afraid of me? Because sweetie, if you want something to be afraid of, I can be scary!"
"I'm not afraid of you!" she shouts. "I want to be friends!"
"Oh, do you?" I float to where I'm almost standing in front of her, my feet just inches off the ground. "If you wanted to be friends, you could have just accepted that I am the opposite of you!"
"Marcie, I never said you had to be perfect!" She steps towards me. "I love you for who you are! And I'm not perfect, either!"
"BUT YOU ARE!" I scream. She takes a step back, and I choke on my words. She's beautiful. I remember now why I loved her in the first place, this fun-loving sweet girl. Those emotions were strange to me back then, but she taught me how to use them. I loved her, and she loved me, and she's perfect. She's just perfect.
So I burst into tears and kiss her simultaneously.
And in this moment I realize it. Anything, anything I ever did with a guy was to convince myself that I wasn't like this. That I didn't love her. That she wasn't the most amazing thing that would ever happen to me. Ash was the closest I ever came to this, but when he sold Hambo I realized that I'd never loved him. It was all a mask. A clever mask, indeed, but a mask that I hated to tear off and see this face beneath it. The face of the real Marceline. And the real Marceline is a lesbian. A lesbian who loves Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum. And, no matter how much I detested it before, I'm so happy now that I love her.
And I hate myself for it.
I stop the kiss and look into Bubblegum's eyes. She blinks gently and looks back. I can feel myself blushing, and I float away, scared of what I've done. She takes a single step towards me, and I float away faster. I rush myself out the door, into the night.
"Marceline! Wait!"
I hear her calling me, but I'm too scared. Scared to hurt again, like I did when she left me the first time. It's as though all of the doors are closing in on me, and I'm alone again. My dad ate my fries. My ex-boyfriend sold Hambo. And now I'm too scared to love someone again. Great work, Marceline. Just great.
I find myself home quickly, and I lock the doors. I grab my bass and sit down on the floor and cry. I start strumming at random strings, and I sing, so quietly at first that even I cannot hear the words, but then they get louder, and I bathe in them, relieved, content, miserable, heartbroken, dead.
"Don't push me out...
Just let me stay here with you
Well, don't let me fade alone, at least,
I've been losing myself, and I know I've lost you."
I pause, take a deep breath, and continue.
"No one is ever gonna love you like I do
And through any circumstance, my love remains true.
But I'm still alone. I'm still here by myself.
I'm trapped in my emotions, nobody can help.
And I miss you, through it all I miss you,
And I'm sorry. All I can say is I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I'm here, I'm sorry I bothered you,
I'm sorry I didn't leave you alone,
I'm sorry I want you, I'm sorry I love you,
And I'm sorry that this love is my own."
A/N: The song at the end is an original, so don't report me for copyright infringement. If it bears any resemblance to any existing song, that is a complete coincidence.
This is my first Adventure Time fic. I just recently became a fan, so some things may be inconsistent with the series. Please forgive me for any inconsistencies.
Thanks for reading!
