[Author's Note: I claim no rights to Adventure Time, as it was created by the fabulous Pendleton Ward. I also make no profit whatsoever from publishing this work of fanfiction.]
Holy crap. I realize that I didn't post in forever, sorry about that. I won't really make excuses except to say art school is hard. I know some of you out there might not believe me, but it's true. I hope you're all looking forward to the continuation of our little love adventure. The time for the couple to reunite has come. But how will Bonnie handle it when Marceline shows up at her door?
PLINK. PLINK. Bonnibel's ears caught a light sound as she stared at the ceiling from her pink bed. PLINK. There it is again. I wonder what it is...she thought idly. THUNK!
"Oh my glob!" Bonnie had finaly come to the realization that somebody was throwing things at her house. She swept her legs out of bed and stepped to the window. It had only been cracked that evening, and she opened it the rest of the way to press her face close to the screen. "Who's out there?!"
"Who do you think it is? It's me!" Bonnibel knew that voice anywhere.
"Marceline! Where have you been? Why didn't you talk to me?"
"Why didn't you talk to me?" Bonnie was about so scold the vampire girl, but realized that she had a point. Mentally facepalming and making a note to discuss it later, she replied,
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to get you, of course!"
"Came to get me? How exactly do you propose we get away with that? And after the long period of radio silence, what makes you think I would even agree to this?"
"Oh please. You're just being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn." Bonnie knew the other girl was right, but couldn't let it go just yet.
"And how do you know that, exactly?"
"Because I know you, Bonnibel. Now are you gonna let me in, or what?" Bonnie hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't want her here. But it was awfully risky to try and sneak downstairs, open and close the door, and sneak her girlfriend back up the stairs. Never mind what happened after. Screw it. I have to see her!
Clad in pink as per usual, Bonnibel tried as best she could to be stealthy. She crept down the stairs and carefully undid the deadbolt, hoping that the loud CLICK wouldn't awaken her parents. Marceline did her best to step lightly across the threshold. She bent to remove her shoes but Bonnie shook her head and motioned back to her room. As the two made their way up the stairs, every tiny noise made by their feet or breath was unnerving. When at last they were in the relative safety of Bonnie's room, Marceline's emotional wall, the one she had been maintaining all summer, came tumbling down. She wrapped her arms around Bonnie's waist from behind, pulling her close and pressing her face against the familiar pink head she loved so much.
"I missed you, Bonnie." Marcy's voice wavered. "I missed you so much." Bonnie stood there, unmoving.
"This is the first time we've seen each other in so long and...and you go right to this?" Marcy nodded. "But it isn't fair! Just like that...as if nothing ever happened! You didn't talk to me and I...I was so worried..." The strength in Bonnibel's legs was rapidly diminishing. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Where were you? Why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't I talk to you?" She felt wet spots growing in her hair. She's crying too.
"I don't know, Bonnie. I'm sorry. But I promise I'm never going to disappear again." Marcy pressed closer, raising her arms to embrace Bonnibel's shoulders. That was all the pink-haired girl could take. She broke Marceline's grip only to return to it facing inward. She buried her face in the chest of her girlfriend and tried not to sob.
"I missed you too..." They both sank to the floor, and spent a good time crying away the stress of their summer separation. They were finally reunited, and neither ever wanted to be without the other again.
"Alright. Time to go." Marceline took Bonnibel's hand and they both stood.
"I still don't completely understand. Where is it that we're going?"
"Well for right now, Rainy's place. Maybe Finn and Jake's after. We'll figure something out." Marceline smirked her oh-so-endearing smirk. "After all, my girlfriend's a genius." Bonnie was reminded of the incredible amount of charm her vampiric girlfriend had.
"But are you certain that this is the best course of action? Me running away from home?"
"Maybe not. But there are a lot of things you need to know, and your parents will never let me near you long enough to tell it."
"...I'll get my things." Bonnie gathered the materials she knew she would need. She grabbed some clothes, a few personal belongings she couldn't do without, and some of her favorite bits of media. Last but not least, she fished under her pillow. Marcy had been watching and what she saw surprised her greatly. It was a curved blade of some kind, the wood of the handle and of the sheath meeting perfectly with no hilt or grip. The actual steel was secured in the handle by a single peg.
"What is that thing?"
"Uhm...Finn felt I was in danger. So he gave me this tanto from his sword collection."
"And you've been sleeping with it under your pillow...?" Bonnie nodded. Marcy pulled her in and kissed her forehead. "Good girl." The two of them slipped down the stairs and out the front door.
Goodbye Mom and Dad. Until we learn to see eye-to-eye, this is for the best. I'll see you later. Bonnie turned to the vampire next to her. "So it really doesn't freak you out that I was sleeping with a knife?"
"Are you kidding? I keep my utility knife under my mattress." Bonnie blinked.
"Really?" Marceline laughed.
"I believe I warned you at some point in our relationship that I was going to rub off on you, didn't I?"
"You know, I don't recall," Bonnie said playfully.
"Oh? Well, you've been warned!"
"Too late." The girls laughed together, walking down Bonnie's parents' driveway. The tips of their pinkies brushed, and they laced heir fingers together. "So where's the bike?"
"Oh, I left that at Rainy's. She lent me her car. It's parked by that little park a block away so that your parents didn't hear it."
"Smart. Maybe I've been rubbing off on you too." Marcy blushed.
"Maybe so." Her grip tightened. "But I don't think that's a bad thing."
"No. It's not." Bonnie let her head fall against Marcy's shoulder. The two of them walked the block to the small neighborhood park where Marceline had left Rainy's car. Bonnie dropped her things in the back seat, and they left the suburban development of Bonnie's high school days behind.
The couple's arrival at Rainy's house was an affair. Finn had joined his brother and Rainy to welcome Bonnie and Marcy. Hugs were exchanged and the friends celebrated being together again. It may have been late bordering on early, but food was made and soda served as the two couples and the younger brother shared a table for the first time in months. Afterward, Rainy began to clear the dishes with Jake's help. It was time to for a serious discussion.
"I think it's time I got some answers, don't you all?"
"Fair enough, Bonbon. I'll tell you all about it." Bonnie switched from her chair to Marcy's lap, draping an arm around the girl's pale neck to steady herself. Marcy pecked her on the cheek.
"So why have you been silent all summer?"
"Because I found that note that someone sent you."
"You did?! When?!"
"The day you left. You forgot a box on the curb when you drove off." Bonnie stared at Marcy, completely shocked that she had let such a thing fall into the hands of the one she had been striving to protect. "So I figured that you had gotten scared and left for my sake. I wasn't about to let that go, so I decided to do something about it."
"She's been going around looking for all the information she could get. I let her stay here while she did it," Rainy added. "She's been sleeping on my couch and floor."
"So what about you, Bonnie? What have you been doing with your summer?"
"U-uhm...it sounds like pretty much the same thing. I...I met your ex..."
"I heard from Jake. That wasn't a very smart thing to do, Bonnibel Buchman." Marceline gave her a finger jab in her belly.
"Well, what did you expect me to do? You vanished and...I needed to find out why." Bonnibel sighed. "So did you find out what's going on?"
"Mostly. And I've got quite the sotry to tell. But before I do you have to promise me that you'll listen seriously and believe what it is I'm telling you. I'm not making this up, alright?" Bonnie paused for a moment, then nodded, afraid of what it is she might hear. "I've found out that it's our parents who are behind what's been happening with us."
"...what?" Bonnie was understandably incredulous. "I mean...it's more than conceivable but I really didn't think..."
"I know. I wouldn't call it shocking, ya know but...it's rough. Complicated."
"How did you even find out? I mean, what did you have to do?" Marceline smirked again.
"I think you're going to be really proud of me, Bonnie." Marcy folded her arms and smiled confidently. "I became a secret agent!" Her pink-haired girlfriend quirked an eyebrow. "Alright, alright. Point is I did some sneaking around. So here's what happened..."
Marceline proceeded to talk about her infiltration of Turtle Publishing, as well as being caught by Sarah. She also told some of Sarah's story, but left out details enough to spare her privacy. Following that, her subsequent checkers game with Harold was recounted. It was quite the story, but Bonnie already knew that Marceline was a clever girl.
"I admit it, Marcy. I am impressed."
"Ha! Told you, didn't I?" Marceline was just about to ask the specifics of Bonnibel's summer adventures when the doorbell rang.
"Are you expecting someone, Rainy?" Bonnie asked.
"No. Do you two have a guest coming?" The two girls sitting together shook their heads. One of them went to the door.
"I'll get it. Just wait a sec." Marcy went to the door to greet their visitor. "Oh! Hi there, Sarah!"
"Hey. How are things?" Sarah held up a hand in a casual wave. The suit she was wearing was probably the same one she had worn to work that day. "Listen, can I come in?"
"Uhm...yeah, sure."
"Sorry for intruding." Sarah walked purposefully inside and reoved her shoes.
"How'd you find us though...?"
"Never underestimate money combined with knowledge." Marceline followed after her to the kitchen. "Hello everyone." The group looked up from what they were doing to greet the new addition. Their expressions betrayed a bit of awkwardness of sudden introductions.
"Sarah...?" Marceline tentatively asked. "Are you alright? You don't...seem like yourself."
"I have no idea what you mean." Sarah shrugged.
"You uh...are you drunk or something?"
"Ehh? Oh I'm something alright, but I'm not drunk. Anyway, that isn't why I'm here." Sarah approached the table so she could direct the conversation to everyone. "I'm here because Marcy caused a little more trouble than I thought she had. My father suddenly flew in to have some 'emergency meetings' regarding 'the future of our company'. He said nothing else."
"Oh dear. What has she done now?" Bonnie pretended to sigh in exasperation, but broke into a smile looking at her girlfriend. Marcy sent her a mocking raspberry in response and Bonnie stifled a giggle.
"This is serious. They're panicking. And whatever they're going to do to try and get a handle on us isn't going to be good." Sarah wasn't in the mood for jokes, apparently.
"Perhaps you could tell us what it is that's happening, then? And what is has to do with us being a couple?" Bonnibel wasn't sure that the situation warranted the degree of gravity Sarah had spun it with.
"Sure I will. Marceline, sit down." She did, and the table of friends directed their attention entirely to Sarah. "My father is planning a hostile takeover of a local publisher. They're not overly large, but they are growing, and they have a lot of public support. But what my father is most concerned about is that one of our best-selling authors is publishing her next great work with them and not with us. Dad refuses to have this, so he's going to buy their company."
"That's interesting, but I don't see what it has to do with Marcy and Bonnie being together." Rainy told Sarah what was on all of their minds.
"Yeah. I mean...that don't explain nothin', man." Jake grumbled.
"I was just getting there. You see, the target company has hired a private investigator to dig up as much dirt on any of the participating parties as possible. That includes the..." Sarah cleared her throat, "...'unacceptable' activities of their children."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. So things are bad for PB and Mar-Mar because PB's dad works with your dad, and Mar-Mar's is involved somehow?" Finn needed clarification, as he wasn't overly familiar with how business works.
"It's a little more complicated than that but...basically, yes. That is the gist."
"What about the involvement of our parents, then?" Bonnibel queried.
"Well, as the daughters of one of our company's lawyers and a company employee, you've been under investigation as well. As such, your relationship has become ammunition that the target company could use to dirty up Turtle Publishing. However it's unlikely that they are aware of it yet. It was the plan of your fathers' to separate the two of you before your romance was brought to light."
"...that's messed up. Even for my dad," Marceline's disgust was evident in her tone.
"This is absurd. What were they thinking? That they could just break us apart and then explain it afterwards and we would be fine with it?!" Bonnie's rising voice was indicative of her temper flaring.
"Pfft. Knowing dad, he probably never inteded to tell me." Marceline scoffed.
"I doubt that you two were ever a part of the plan. If you hadn't-against all odds-ended up dating, this takeover would have passed by without incident. And...this is just my theory but...I don't believe that your parents actually have a problem with you as a couple. This has my father written all over it." Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose. "He, and his conservative investors, would not look kindly upon anything they consider immoral."
"Fine, then. They didn't mean to hurt us any more than necessary. But that's no excuse for such selfish behavior." Bonnie folded her arms.
"Don't get me wrong, Bonbon. I'm completely furious too, but we can't get angry and not prepare ourselves for what's coming."
"So...what are we going to do?" Sarah asked.
"Uhm...I dunno. Was kinda hoping you had a plan, Sarah." The vampire shrugged.
"Well we have to do something, you know," Finn pointed out.
"We have all night. We can formulate some form of defensive strategy. I am not being separated from Marceline a second time."
"Understandable. Uhm...Marceline...could I talk to you for a second in private? It's...about...you know."
"Ohhhh, I see. That's what's up with you tonight. Sure, we can talk." Marcy stood up. "Bonbon, would you give us a few minutes?"
"Sure I can." Bonnie stood and kissed Marcy on the cheek. "Take your time." Falling back into her seat, Bonnibel returned to the business at hand. "Alright. Does anyone have any ideas?"
Marceline and Sarah went into the adjacent room and shut the door. Marceline had guessed apparently guessed correctly as to what had been bothering Sarah: her love life, or lack thereof.
"So this is about Larissa, then?"
"...yes. Yes that's what this is about." Sarah sighed. "I mean...I can't believe..."
"It's alright. It is. Just sit down, take a breath, and tell me everything that happened."
"Ok...ok. It's like this-"
Marceline and Sarah hugged each other and left the room, rejoining the others at the table. It had been a productive little talk, and Marceline could see that Sarah had her head on straight again.
"So what's been going on out here?" Bonnibel Buchman smirked in a manner vaguely reminiscent of her vampiric girlfriend.
"We've been discussing it. We have a winning strategy."
Wow. I really did not mean to keep you all waiting this long. But school has been rough on me. Very. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I usually didn't sleep more than three nights per week. On top of all of that, yours truly is preparing to study abroad, and that takes a lot of preparation. I hope you're all as happy to see a new chapter as I am to publish one. All the best, and a belated Happy New Year. Make those resolutions count.