Chapter 38: The end of a great summer

The night went on relaxed with the four friends all enjoying themselves. No one brought up what was going to happen when summer was over and not to avoid it, but simply because everyone had said all that needed to be said. For now everyone just wanted to enjoy the rest of their little vacation together with nothing to weight them down. It's not like it was all bad anyway. It was a new chapter to their lives and everyone knew that. Whether going into it scared or excited, it's all normal.

As they all sat around the campfire into the late hours, Marceline slowly dozed off. Her head was resting on Bubblegum's shoulder, making the girl smile slightly at her sleeping girlfriend. Yeah, it pained her to leave her. But she promised she'd come back. And if Marceline was there waiting for her, what did she have to fear?

Bubbmlegum slowly brushed some of Marceline's hair behind her ear, smiling more at how she looked. All she did was simply admire her, taking in every feature of her face like it was the last time she'd see her. In a way, it was.

"I'm so lucky" Bubblegum smiled to herself before slowly shaking her head. A small, content sigh escaped her lips before she turned her attention back to Marshall, who was sat near the fire as well.

"You two are really good together" Marshall commented, a wry smile on his face. "I know you'll make it."

"Thank you" Bubblegum nodded. "She's everything to me."

"You don't have to worry though, okay?" he continued. "I'll look after her while you're away. I promise, Bubblegum. I'll take care of Marceline."

Bubblegum gave a small tilt of her head, contemplating Marshall's words before nodded slowly and smiling.

"Thank you. I know she'll need someone by her side. She'll need someone to push her in the right direction from time to time. I trust you and Simon will both do that while I'm away."

"Of course," Marshall chuckled. "But we'll keep that between us."

Just then Gumball came walking out, his pink hair messy and wet while he slowly dried it with a white towel.

"Shower is free" he smiled. "Who's next?"

"Guess I'll go" Marshall jumped up. "Wouldn't want to wake sleeping beauty over there, would we?" he gestured towards Marceline. "Besides, you two lovely ladies can shower together then, too."

"T-together?" Bubblegum blushed brightly at the thought. "Don't be absurd"

"I'm just teasing" Marshall laughed, heading inside.

With that, everyone began settling down for the night. Gumball put the fire out and headed inside, preparing some hot chocolate for everyone while Marshall got dressed and the girls took a shower. Then everyone sat around in the living room with their hot drinks and a tv to entertain them before everyone said goodnight and headed to bed.

The next morning everyone packed up and headed back to town around twelve-ish. As much as they hated it, everyone had things they needed to tend to. The next week was going to be lonely for Marceline because Bubblegum was going to visit the uni.

Not much happened in that time apart from Marceline deciding to take a look at some jobs around town to tide her over. Meanwhile Gumball was preparing to leave for medical school and Marshall was also starting his new job soon. It wasn't a glamourous job, but he was happy doing it so long he had his own money.

Lara managed to secure a job as a sports coach apprentice at the school and Meg was helping out at the nursery as much as she could. She decided that she'd really like to work with children, after all. The court case with her father had finally come to an end now as well, so she felt she could finally move on with her life. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. Sure, everyone felt like he deserved a lot longer. But Meg was just happy he was out of her life for good.

Finn and Fiona were both on vacation now, too, but were pretty busy getting ready for their next year. And Simon was still busy with his little business and things.

But thankfully Marceline's long week was finally over and she was excited to see Bubblegum again. That is, until she was going to leave again in a couple days for good.

The girls had already arranged ahead their next few days together and it was exclusive to one another. Of course, Bubblegum was going to spend time with her parents and the boys too, but for the most part, she was spending most her time with Marceline. No one could tell her otherwise.

Marceline had waited to receive a text from Bubblegum telling her she was back before she ran over to her house as fast as she could to tackle to poor girl to the floor with a hug.

"I missed you so much!" Marceline squeezed her girlfriend in a vice grip.

"I missed you, too." Bubblegum laughed, her voice almost a squeak from how tightly Marceline was hugging her.

"S-sorry.." Marceline blushed, letting go. "How was the trip?"

"Don't be" Bubblegum smiled. "But yeah, it was great. The uni is really big and the dorms are rally nice, too." She replied.

"And…do you have a roommate?" Marceline asked shyly. She felt a little weird about Bubblegum sharing a room with another girl, but she trusted Bubblegum.

"I do, but I won't meet her until we're both there." She replied. "But don't worry." She reassured.

"I-I'm not worried" Marceline retorted, her cheeks burning bright red. "I'm just…making sure you won't be alone."

"Suuuure" Bubblegum smiled. With that, both girls headed back to Marceline's place.

They spend the days enjoying themselves, but at the same time, it was quite bittersweet. Marceline started to realise something more and more as they day drew closer, but she couldn't bring herself to say it to Bubblegum. She decided that she'd wait until they had to say their final goodbye. After all, Marceline didn't want to ruin their last few days.

But during the final night they had together, it really dawned on the girl that she really had to make this move. It wasn't a move for her, but for Bubblegum. Whether Bubblegum would realise that yet, she didn't know. But she knew it was what they had to do.

"These stars are so beautiful" Bubblegum smiled. Both girls lay side by side on Marceline's roof, looking up at the starry sky.

"I know, right?" Marceline replied. "It's for us"

"You think?" Bubblegum asked.

"Yeah. The universe is giving us one last beautiful sky to look at together. So when we're apart, whenever there's a beautiful sky, it's for us to remember this night."

"That sounds awfully sweet coming from you. Are you sick?" Bubblegum joked, laughing a little before she felt Marceline squeeze her hand a little.

"I love you, Bubblegum" Marceline spoke.

"I-I love you too" Bubblegum replied, surprised.

"And I always will, okay? Don't forget. No matter what happens. No matter the distance."

"Of course.." Bubblegum nodded her head slowly.

"I mean it." Marceline sat up a little, leaning on one elbow. She looked down at Bubblegum, smiling a little.

"I know you do…"

"Bubblegum" Marceline whispered, leaning closer

"Marceline?"

"Can I…make love to you one last time?" Marceline asked, no embarrassment behind her words.

"Of course" Bubblegum replied just as softly before their lips met under the starry sky. Marceline leaned over Bubblegum, their kiss filled with love and passion. They didn't care where they were. They just wanted to express their feelings to each other with actions under the night sky. And they did with no regrets.