Happiness within Darkness Chapter 4
The two teens walked down another alley on the other side of the city, this one thankfully much less hostile than the last one. At the end of this stood a burly, red-faced man in front of a set of black double doors. Through the small reinforced glass windows, a soft red light throbbed, with the slightest tremor of loud music reverberating through the ground.
At the sight of Finn, the bouncer quickly moved aside, pushing the doors open with one arm and allowing them in. He smiled slightly at them as they went in, dissapearing behind the doors a moment after.
As Flamme first walked in, she was pretty much overwhelmed by the place. The Nightosphere was a small-ish bar, lit by pulsing red lights and filled with a soft smoke. Loud electronic music echoed around the room, people dancing to it on a central floor whilst others sat at the bars on the sides of the room. The place was packed, to boot, with jostling bodies occupying every square foot of floor. She looked over the spectacle, eyes wide, trying to absorb all of the sensory cacophony.
Finn seemed unperturbed, instead scanning the crowd for PB and Marceline. His eyes fell on the bar, and he smiled. He squeezed Flamme's hand, and nodded toward two women, facing away from them, one with tied-up pink hair, and the other with flowing midnight.
They walked over, and Flamme felt a growing sense of unease. Bubblegum was her father's enemy. Might she be used? Bargained with? Used to kill her father? Finn seemed to trust her, but still... Swallowing hard, she put on a brave face and walked over to the two women.
Finn sat down next to them, Flamme taking the next one along. He coughed, drawing their attention.
"Sup Marcy, P-Bubs." The two women looked up, smiling at the man. Flamme got a good look at both of them as they did. Bubblegum she had seen before, briefly at least, during negotiations between her and her father. When they were held in the Fire Kingdom, the King had asked her to watch from behind one-way glass, in order to help her "learn the ropes". Marceline was another story, however. She was oddly, some might say unnaturally pale, with long raven-black hair. Small hooped earrings hung at her ears, and when she smiled, she showed glinting pointed teeth. Juxtaposing PB's current state of dress, a practical working set, Marceline was practically dressed up, with a leather jacket, heels and skinny jeans. She responded to Finn first.
"Hey, Finn. Wondered when you'd show up. Let's get you a drink." She waved at the barkeep, making a small set of complex gestures that he seemed to understand perfectly, instantly getting to work. She looked back, only now noticing Flamme. She leant forward, trying to get a better look at her. "And who're you?" She raised an eyebrow at Finn. "This your girlfriend, Finn?" Instantly, both Finn and Flamme became very interested in the grain of the wooden table top, a fiery blush spreading over their cheeks. Marceline chuckled, shaking her head. PB, on the other hand, was intensely analysing Flamme. She noted the facial structure, the hair, the slight disarray in her clothes... It only took a moment to come to a conclusion.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is Flame King's daughter." Flamme froze, looking up at Finn, who looked a little apologetic. Nothing ever got by PB unnoticed. Marceline looked surprised, and PB scrutinised the redhead further. She quickly noticed the social faux pas, and added: "Oh, don't worry. I don't bear any grudge against you. I'm not going to try anything, trust me." Flamme relaxed a bit, and Marceline gave he two other women a look. She turned to Flamme.
"So, what's your name, then?"
"Flamme. And I guess you're Marceline?"
"Yup. Welcome to the Nightosphere. You know, I didn't know Flame King had a daughter."
"Well, I... Haven't been outside for years. My father is... Kinda overprotective."
"Whoa, girl. That's heavy. How'd you get out, then? And how did you end up in this little place?" Flamme hesitated, and Finn supplied for her.
"Well, PB sent me to go and get some stuff from the king, and when I got there... It got a bit messy." PB and Marceline noted the bloodstains on his clothes. "And when I got there, I got shot a bit, (thanks for the vest, Bubs, lifesaver) and I got the stuff, and Flamme was just around the talked a bit, then FK made me leave." Flamme giggled slightly, remembering her father's state.
"Yeah, then I found him on the side of the building." She said. PB frowned.
"Finn, I told you to stop doing that. One day you won't be quick enough to catch yourself."
"I know, I know..." Finn mumbled. "It's just... Nice, y'know?"
"Plus it meant that he ended up taking me with him." Smiled Flamme, giving the man another hug. Marceline looked at them before glancing back to Bonnie, waggling her eyebrows. The pinkette rolled her eyes and looked back to Finn, now released from the hug.
"You did get the deeds, right?"
"Yup. On your desk back at your place." Marceline sighed.
"Come on, Bonnie, I dragged you out here so you'd stop thinking about work. Cut loose a little, for crying out loud." PB opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the clunk of drinks being put down in front of her and Finn. They both eyed them suspiciously, both knowing what Marceline was like. "Sorry, didn't get you one." Marceline apologised to Flamme. "And another something for Flamme here." She looked back to Finn and Bonnie. "Oh, come on, they're just margaritas. I promise I didn't put anything in them this time." She grinned. They tentatively took a sip each, and the four lapsed into small talk. To Flamme's relief, the topic of PB and her father's line of work was resolutely avoided. She found herself comfortable with the three, more so as she slowly ingested more alcohol, pacing herself well, but still getting a little tipsy.
Soon, a particular song came on, and the lighting changed, the red smoky atmosphere turning green. Marceline's eyes lit up, and she leapt to her feet. "I love this song! Come on Bonnie, out on the floor!"
"But I can't- hey!" Marceline wasted no time yanking her companion to her feet and onto the dance floor, pulling her almost uncomfortably close for a second before disengaging and starting to dance. Finn laughed at how uncomfortable Bonnie looked, before turning back to his drink. He took a gulp, then looked to Flamme.
"I think Marcy has a think for her." Flamme smiled. That was certainly believable.
"Heh. Yeah. Looks like it." She looked around for a second, suddenly realising how alien the place truly was. It was invigorating, yet still frightening. She definitely liked it, though. She'd met some not-so-nice people, but just as many nice people as well. PB seemed nice, if a bit stiff, and Marceline was a lot of fun. And Finn... He was really nice. And kinda cute. She decided to keep the conversation going.
"So, how do you know those two?"
"Well, me and Jake have known Marcy since forever. We were really young, and we found the treehouse in the park. Then we climbed up and found Marcy sitting there, eating beans. Turns out she was living there after her and her Dad had an argument. You know, she's older than she looks." He took another sip of his drink, staring wistfully into the distance, lost in memories. "I met PB when I was a bit older, like seventeen. I was working at this shop on the counter, to help pay our bills. Jake was busy with something or other most days, and we didn't have much money, so I was trying to help. Our parents had just died-" Flamme's eyes widened, but Finn pressed on, the wound old and well-healed. "and Jermaine had left the city, so it was just us. One day, these two guys came in and tried to rob the place. One of them had a gun, and I kinda... Well, killed them." Flamme's eyes widened further. When he had first walked into her life, he had been covered in blood; in fact he was still covered in blood; but he was usually so nice... She'd thought... What had she thought?
Finn carried on: "a couple days later, PB called me up, said she needed my help, and started paying me loads just to go and get stuff, or follow people to places. And she's alright, so... It's a job, y'know? Pays the bills." Flamme got (a little unsteadily) to her feet.
"I'm just going to the Ladies room." Finn nodded.
"Cool. See ya, then." Flamme made her way around the dance floor, finding the toilets. She shunted the door open, and found Marceline staring in the mirror by the sink. She noticed the new arrival, and looked over, slightly worried-looking.
"Oh, hey, Flamme. Do I, uh... Do I look okay?" Yeah, this girl was all over Bonnie.
"You look great." She smiled a little.
"Thanks. Hey, are you okay?"
Not really. Thought Flamme. I just found out that the guy I ran away from home with is basically a hitman.
"...No. I'm not."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"...Okay. Well... You know Finn?"
"Yeeeeaaah?"
"Well... He's basically an assassin." Marceline looked back to the mirror, her expression grim. She stayed that way for a long time.
"Bonnie could explain this a lot better than me. Come on, let's go find her. I'll distract Finn for you." She then, mumbling under her breath quietly: "Looks like I'm not getting any tonight after all..."
As they walked out, PB was just leaving the dance floor, a small smile on her face. Before she could head back to Finn, however, Marceline grabbed her arm. "Flamme wants to talk to you." She quickly whispered in her ear before assuming Bonnie's intended path herself, sitting down next to Finn.
PB turned around, finding Flamme fidgeting a little. She gave a small, comforting smile.
"Shall we go somewhere quiet?" She asked. Flamme nodded, and they quickly slid away, finding a door leading to a quiet back garden, really just a concrete square with some dirt. The music still throbbed through the air, but at least they were alone now. They sat down on a rickety worn bench. Flamme started talking again.
"Sorry about this, it's just... Finn."
"What about him?"
"He's your... I dunno... He's an assassin." PB sighed, leaning on her knees.
"I know. Believe me, I know. And I feel absolutely terrible about it." She said resignedly. "He told you what happened, then? Before I... employed him?" Flamme nodded.
"He killed two robbers."
"That's right. Two slime goons if I remember correctly. One of my informants slipped me the note, and I managed to save him from their gang's retribution by placing him under my jurisdiction." She smiled at the young woman wanly. "Your father is one of the only men in the city who will mess with me." She looked up at the dark sky, a solid cloud cover reflecting the sodium orange light of the street lamps. There were no stars. She continued: "After that, I did some digging on him. He was abandoned at birth, born with brain damage of some kind from what I can tell. He was adopted by another family. Good people. Sadly, good people don't tend to last very long around here." Her fingers drummed in her lap as Flamme listened intently. "The brain damage gives him both his charming personality and prodigious strength. The human brain imposes a physical limit upon its body in order to prevent irreparably damaging its muscles. In times of great stress, this limit can be overridden. Finn never had this limit to begin with. Hence, he can snap a bone like a twig, kick down doors with ease and much more." She sighed again. "His mind... is that of a child. He understands little, with a very basic understanding of morality that I like to think I reinforced. I tell him never to kill unless absolutely necessary, to try and prevent harm when possible. He's a good person, with all the tools to be one of the worst this world has ever seen." She was silent for a moment, then resumed. "I'm trying to clean up this city. Laws, justice, order and the like. Finn is invaluable to me. He can do things nobody else can. And he... He's just... So nice... You never see anyone as uninhibited as Finn is. You live in this city long enough, it takes you. It makes you less than what you think you are. Finn... Everybody he speaks to gets just a moment of respite, a precious few seconds that they can feel good about. Finn is the one good thing in this nightmare of ours, and I can't let him be it. I've tainted him, and I'll carry that burden until the day that I die." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "But it's not his fault, okay? Don't think any less of him for what I've made him do." A tense silence between the two followed as Flamme reeled from the story. PB looked up at her imploringly. Finally, she croaked out:
"I... I won't." PB smiled at her.
"Thank you." She wiped her eyes and smiled a little wider, less sad now. "You know, he really likes you. I can tell. And I wish Flame King and I were on better terms now."
"It's okay." Flamme replied. I'm going to call him later. I'm not going back to that tower. There's so much here I want to see." She blushed a little. "And... I think I'd like to keep seeing Finn. You're right. He's a good guy."
The two women smiled at each other, and got up, heading back inside. The music began to assault their ears once more, and they looked around for the two they had left. They were in a corner, playing darts. Finn was seemingly losing. Badly. His hand swayed a little, no doubt from the liquor.
The two looked over, both smiling. Marceline exchanged a glance with PB, then relaxed. All was well.
They relaxed back into an easy rhythm, drinking and laughing. Eventually, they grew tired, and staggered off home. Marceline left with PB over her shoulders as she mumbled something about polar bears. Finn and Flamme walked, or wobbled, down to the cafe. Jake opened the door for them, eyebrows shooting up when he saw Flamme. He was simultaneously concerned and relieved when Finn explained what had happened, but let them by, smiling slightly to himself. They headed upstairs, and Finn, opened the door for her, bowing.
"Milady." He grinned. She walked in and he balked a little at the state of his room. "Uh, sorry about the mess."
"It's okay." She reassured him, sitting down on the bed. He shuffled a little awkwardly on the spot.
"Well, the bathroom's right here, if you need to do your business,and... Uh... Well, goodnight, then." He turned to leave.
"Uh, Finn?" He stopped and pivoted back.
"Yeah?"
"Where are you going to sleep?"
"Uh, we... We have some blankets downstairs..." Flamme shook her head.
"I'm not kicking you out of your bed, Finn."
"But you- oh. O-okay. Sharing. Cool." He gingerly stepped over, sitting down next to her. She smiled, and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down to the bed and snuggling into his chest. Tenderly, he wrapped his arms around her in turn, pulling the covers up over them.
"G'night, Flamme." He whispered.
"G'night, Finn." She replied.
They lay there for ages, Finn soon falling asleep, producing soft, rhythmic snores. Flamme adjusted herself in his grip. He was so gentle... Arms that had caused so much pain to others now benignly encircling her. It felt nice, even.
Was this really wise? She was in bed with a murderer...
Then again, her father was a murderer...
And so was everybody else in the tower she grew up in...
And she had almost been, back in the alley...
She sighed. PB was right. This city was rotten to the core. No one was completely innocent, not even her. Best to just make the most of it. She clutched Finn tighter. Tomorrow she would call her father and let him know that's he was not a child anymore, and could protect herself perfectly well. She'd walk the streets, make friends, live her life. And she'd find happiness. Even here, down in the dark.
Finito! Anyway, there you have it. To be honest, I thought it would come out better, but I still think it's alright. Let me know what you think. Well, see you at some point in the future.
Bye!