When It Started
Think things move pretty fast down here
But just wait my dear 'til we get up there
- The Strokes
They leave the noise and the searing heat behind.
"You know I don't judge," Marceline reminds him.
"On this one you might," Marshall Lee replies.
"I won't."
Their fingers stay intertwined, easily. Marshall Lee's knuckle bumps against her hip as they walk – not fly– beside the highway. They won't get anywhere at this leisurely pace but he says nothing about it and neither does she. By now, Marceline knows not to expect anything but he's mullling over the right words to say and that makes her on edge. Marshall Lee is never careful with words.
Then finally, he says "The truth is..."
For the dozenth time Marceline finds herself listening to every word.
"... I'm a douchebag."
And for the dozenth time she wonders why she's such a sucker for anticlimax.
"Forreal, hear me out," Marshall Lee adds when she makes an impatient noise. "I'm talking giganto-douche. Douchier than Ash."
That's coming from a guy who describes himself as nothing short of 'hella awesome' and 'sick-nasty'. Marceline is too alarmed to be disappointed.
"What chu talkin' bout?"
"It's been coming back to me the past couple days," he motions with a free hand. "Killing people, I mean. I thought it was normal at first, they were just memories about before I went vegan but nah, brah. I did it for fun."
"We're vampires," she reassures him. "Everybody's done it."
"This was different," he insists. "I was hardcore."
She doubts he's been on her level of evil.
"I..." Marshall Lee gulps and the muscles of his throat bulge. "I remember torching villages... cities... I wouldn't even be hungry or anything, I just wanted to hear everyone run around and scream and maybe die if they had shitty luck that night..."
What do you say to something like that?
Marceline keeps silent.
"I'd get close to people, make them trust me. I'd wait years, even, just to see that look on their faces when I turned on them..." Marshall Lee has a faraway look in his eyes as he stares at the horizon. "They gave me the same look. All of them."
This is most definitely a guilt trip and she can't blame him for having one. He's been all about the easygoing life for as long as the three weeks that he can remember. Marshall Lee talks about memories of an indescribable time - all about killing-maiming-destroying, all on a whim. Even now he sounds surprised at the sheer wantonness of it. Confounded, even. Marceline knows the kind of conscientiousness he's feeling.
Maybe he has been on her level after all.
"And you know what the worst part is?" Marshall Lee asks her wryly in the end.
"What?"
"I forget all about it when you come downstairs."
Marceline just might be the real douchebag here because even after that earnest confession, the part she finds herself interested in the most is that one last part about the stairs. She bites her bottom lip but the twitch of her mouth doesn't go unnoticed. Marshall Lee eyes her expectantly.
She takes a deep and unnecessary breath. "I ain't judging. You know why?"
"Why?"
"I used to do all that too."
All his sadistic fucking-around with the living, all those ways to play God – yeah, she's done each and every one. Maybe douchebag minds think alike.
Marshall Lee slows down to a halt. "No way."
"Yeah way."
"You did that to homeless kids? And little blonde nymph chicks?"
"Guess I'm just a total douche," Marceline shrugs.
"Marcy," Marshall Lee stares at her and she stares right back, daring him to think the worse of her. Now they've stopped walking altogether. "You had problems."
She smirks. "That was your big secret? That's all you didn't want me to know?"
"Yeah that was pointless. I should've known you'd be as big of a douchebag."
Later, she'll remind him of how laughably relieved he actually looks.
"Good thing we changed our ways, yeah?"
"We see the light."
"Praise Glob."
"Halleluyer."
Their glaring-turned-staring contest is a standstill but eventually Marceline snorts one of those man-snorts and Marshall Lee snickers and in a surge of overwhelming most-definitely platonic affection she wraps her arms around his waist and buries her laughter into his shirt.
He's getting better, alright. She'll be sorry to see him go.
The hug doesn't last that long because they both take a step back at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Hey you guys!" Finn shouts out.
Marceline looks up about twenty feet and sees Finn atop Jake's back, holding onto a sizeable water tank.
"You guys okay?" Jake asks. "You look kinda burnt, Marceline!"
"Yeah, go! The fire's that way!" she shouts back the obvious and points at distant smoke columns and the heroes continue their hasty way shouting on it like a bonnet.
Back where they're standing, apart again, the moment is over.
"Oh by the way," Marceline says casually. "I heard about this crazy sale going going on today..."
Marshall Lee is not impressed. "Ermahgerd."
"70% off designer boots," she insists.
"Your face is purple and you reek gas. Girl you can't shop."
She smirks. "You just don't wanna be seen with me looking ratch."
"Damn right I don't. Look at you."
"Fine I'll go by myself, all alone and injured-"
"You're not going anywhere," Marshall Lee retorts, oh no he did not just tell her what to (not) do. Marceline does what she she wants.
He mutinously starts dragging her home anyway.
"Shame on you, tryna go shopping when you're looking like a burn victim!"
"Shut up you're freaking primeval!"
But she supposes she can't sock a bro in the face over footwear. The way he grips her hand when flying is as easy as when they were walking; Marshall Lee successfully drags her all the way back to her front door and into the kitchen. Marceline must not have wanted designer boots that badly.
"Bogus day, huh?" From across the counter, Marshall Lee watches her apply an ice pack to the sore cheek.
"So bogus," Marceline agrees.
"Good thing you didn't get blown up."
"Yeah I would've been mad."
"Me too."
Being concerned just isn't their style. At dawn they part ways at the foot of the stairs like they always do and Marceline goes to bed with Hambo in one hand and the ice pack in the other. She may have dreamt of ex-boyfriends again but who cares about that. Marceline wakes up looking forward to going down the stairs.
\/\/\/\/
The day comes when Marshall Lee beats her at Guitar Hero at last. Marceline takes the showdown to real instruments and oh Grod he wins at that, too. But not without cracking the neck of her butterfly guitar.
Hell.
They head for the nearest music store asap. It's crowded there, full of metal heads punk heads and all kinds of melophiliac heads in general. Marceline thinks she can't look at Marshall Lee's face right now so she leaves his smug ass waiting in line with the guitar and browses through the records section. But she can't be annoyed for long when every vinyl cover reminds her that they're musical soulmates. One day soon Marshall Lee will go back to wherever he came from and for good times' sake she might just get him this Springsteen record in her hands (Grod knows he hollers Born To Run in the shower all the time).
Marceline bumps into a pale guy dressed all in black. Her jaw drops. Pigs must be flying because Ash of all people is in a music store carrying a guitar of all things.
"Mar-mar?"
"Ash?" But Marceline is too fly to be awkward around old boyfriends. "Nice bass."
It's more than nice, actually. The guitar in his hands is a shiny red bass. It's made out of an axe, uncannily like hers except the blade is one-sided and the blunt end is curved. Clearly, someone had the badass idea to turn an ancient war axe into a bass and succeeded with a badass end-product.
"Can I?" Marceline can't resist asking and Ash lends her the axe bass. Her fingers fall in love in an instant. She plucks a few chords. "Where'd this baby come from?"
"Picked it up at the bazaar," Ash rubs the bald side of his head nonchalantly. "I thought it looked cool so I had it fixed up in here."
"It's way cool," Marceline caresses smooth wood.
"I'll look way cool when I learn to play it. Chicks dig bassists, didn't you know?" She rolls her eyes and Ash laughs. "Just kidding babe. I'm just broadening my skillsets."
"Really," she smirks skeptically.
"Yeah. Wanna hear me riff?"
"You can riff?"
"Well no... yet."
Marceline snickers and hands the bass back. "Sure, Ash. Call me when you're ready to quit it."
Ash smiles. "We'll see."
The old Ash would've jumped at the chance to sell a guitar for wand/weed money. Maybe he's not so hopeless after all.
"How's Hambo? How's... everything?" he asks casually, making obvious small talk.
"Hambo's good. Everything's good."
"You're doing okay?"
"More than okay," she grins and Ash looks like he expects her to say something but what else is there to say, really? He slips into her mind sometimes but she's much more engrossed real-life happenings with Marshall Lee and Bubblegum and Finn and Jake.
"Marcy," Ash's sights settle on her left cheek. "Is that a..?"
"Freak accident. No biggie," she shrugs. The bruise has faded to a pasty yellow color now.
Ash touches her face. Softly, with the kind of intimacy from way way back in the day. Suddenly Marceline feels nostalgia surge and it's seeping from his fingers through her veins and to the tips of her toes. She's going to lean into his touch and let him put an arm around her and let things go from there. She sighs.
Marceline sees green plaid from the corner of her eye and the nostalgia is gone.
Ash feels her stiffen. He sees Marshall Lee approach and steps away, but not without squeezing her shoulder first.
"I gotta go," he grins and walks off with total smugness. "Call me."
Moments later, Marshall Lee is by her side. His presence is completely different from Ash's.
"Do I want to know?" he inquires.
"Nah. He just wants to get on our level."
"People in hell want ice water." He picks up the Born To Run record reverently. "Repair dude said to come back in three hours. Also said I jammed most excellently."
"Yeah you did," Marceline says grudgingly.
"What do you wanna do for three hours?"
In tandem, they turn to look out of the window and at the furniture store across the street.
\/\/\/\/
True to his word, Marshall Lee helps carry the new couch from the delivery van to the living room. It took them three whole hours to pick one worthy of Marshall Lee's ass's seal of approval and now it takes another hour to maneuver the couch through her front door. Inside, they set it down at an aesthetically terrible angle but rearranging can come later. The Couch feels like heaven on three cushions and weighs like a rhino and they sink into it gladly.
"I broke a nail."
"I broke a back."
"Totally worth."
"Totally."
They sigh in contentment and exchange tired high fives. Marceline leans sideways against Marshall Lee's shoulder and her legs dangle off the couch and she remembers that they've been like this before. Just like that time at Finn and Jake's house, sitting doing nothing is hella comfortable.
"We gotta get that one out," Marceline looks at the old couch that they shoved over by the door.
"I'll move it with my mind," he tells her.
"Me too."
The couch doesn't move and neither do they.
"However much time we have left, I'll treat you right," Marshall Lee pats brand-new cushions fondly.
"Like you'll never come over after you're better," Marceline says dryly and he grins. For them to grow distant is inconceivable.
"When I'm better you can crash at my place."
"It's gonna be a pigsty."
"My couch is yours."
Marshall Lee's offer is heartfelt in his own little way. Marceline laughs (but she's actually quite touched) and for no particular reason leans over. His cheek is right there, one small turn of the head away. She pecks it lightly.
"Okay."
A change in their easygoing bromance is inconceivable, too. Then Marceline glances at Marshall Lee's expression and he's not surprised or annoyed or even confused.
"Did you miss?" he asks.
It's an honest question.
She answers "Yeah."
Marshall Lee kisses her, easily.
\/\/\/\/
A/N: Lol I'm not done yet. Recap:
- Ash has an axe bass say whaat
- Marshall Lee makes a move say whaat
Douchebag cliff I know so I'll update in a few days :D
Thanks for those reviews last chapter! How was this one? I like writing critique forreal.
idkdontask: Hehe. I like messing with LSP too.
For These Texts: I gotchu my sistah no tears
Doctor: Lool use the power of fuck you wisely pls k
OhHeyAl: WAIT MORE BRUH
mishemoo: Look I diiid xD
marceleeluvr: I always deliver.
Marceleeregina: Nah he doesn't remember everything. Yet.
Marceleegirl: Here, take this cliffhanger
lilysash97: All gooddd
XoX- Sugar Quill and Ink -XoX: Marshall Lee episode is dank. Glad you like!
dead breathing: Oh sweet jesus I didn't realize this was getting angsty.. LOL ty Jenna