She held Marceline's hand tightly as they walked up the driveway and onto the front porch. Bonnie waited for her to knock on the bright green front door, but Marceline hesitated. "Just- if he says anything weird, please just… ignore it? It's not really in that stage yet, but… I just- it really means a lot to me that this goes well, and-"
"Hey," Bonnie interrupted her rambling and flashed what she hoped was a comforting smile, "It's okay. It'll go well. You know I'm a future doctor, and basically a genius, right? I know what to do in situations like this."
Marceline sighed, and managed a weak smile. She looked a little nervous, but she guessed that was natural. In a way, this was kind of a 'meet the parents' thing. "Okay."
She finally knocked on the door. Quiet shuffling sounded inside, then the scraping of a key, and the door swung open to reveal an older looking man with brown hair that was speckled with grey. He was wearing glasses similar to Bonnie's, just with smaller lenses, and a crisp looking suit with a red bowtie. He looked like he could be some kind of professor.
"Marcy!" Simon beamed, and pulled Marceline in for a tight hug. Already, Bonnie saw more love there than she'd ever seen between Marceline and Hunson. It helped the seed of an idea form in her head. "Oh, and you brought a friend!"
He said it like it was a surprise, and Bonnie saw the worry on Marceline's face when she pulled away and took Bonnie's hand again. "Um, yeah. I hope that's okay."
"Of course, of course," Simon said as he ushered the two of them inside, "The more, the merrier."
"Simon, this is Bonnie," Marceline said as she unlaced her boots. Bonnie took her own shoes off and smiled politely. "She's my… uh…."
Bonnie watched the cogs turning in Marceline's head and waited to see what descriptor she'd come up with. She wasn't her girlfriend, not yet, because neither had asked. But she wasn't just her friend, either.
Eventually, Marceline thought of something. "I'm seeing her."
"Oh! Well, I'm glad you're not with that horrible Ash fellow anymore, some of the stories you would tell me about him were…" Simon shook his head as he trailed off, "I don't entirely remember the details, but I do remember that they were unpleasant. Anyway, I expect I'll have to get the childhood photo albums out."
Bonnie laughed at the way Marceline's green eyes widened, and she murmured a soft, "No."
"Yes," Bonnie countered with a teasing smile. She was certainly looking forward to that. "Please get the photo albums out."
"Oh, you're English!" Simon commented, and Bonnie kind of expected that. It was the default response she got any time she opened her mouth to someone new over here. "Was she the girl who was 'so pretentious with her stupid accent and had everyone under her spell except you'?"
If anything, Marceline's eyes just grew wider, and she pushed past Simon to go into a different room, "Of course you'd remember that."
Bonnie just laughed. "That's a yes, then?"
"Oh, shut up," Marceline grumbled from the sofa, "You owe me cocoa for telling her that, Simon."
Simon chuckled quietly. "I'll get right on that. Would you like some, Bonnie?"
"Yes, please," Bonnie replied, and walked into the small, comfortable living room. There was a cosy looking armchair and a soft brown sofa, and Marceline had sprawled herself out over the whole thing. When she saw Bonnie, she sat up and made room for her, and Bonnibel laughed. "I suppose you're under my spell now, too."
Marceline cringed. "God, I can't believe he told you that."
"I can't believe that you showed up here, bitched about me, and then left," Bonnie replied, but she bumped against Marceline in amusement, "No hard feelings, Marcy. I said plenty of nasty things behind your back, too. Though it is rather hilarious that you're the most under my spell."
"Yeah, well… you were always going to get through to me eventually." Marceline showed a smile, and Bonnie took her hand again, bringing it up to her lips and kissing the back of it. "I guess we're even."
"Mhm," Bonnie looked around the room, over the bookcase, the little TV, the coffee table with its numerous drawers, "so where are these photo albums, then?"
Marceline scoffed. "Up your ass."
"Marcy, that's not very nice," Simon said, and when he placed two mugs of cocoa in front of them, he leaned down and opened one of the drawers in the coffee table. "They're right here."
Marceline let out a loud, frustrated groan. "Oh my god, please, no."
"Come on, Marceline, it's like a rite of passage," Bonnie said as Simon put three albums onto the coffee table. "Let me see?"
If she could return the favour, she would, but Bonnie didn't have any childhood photos to show. Her parents had given her fifteen minutes to pack, and her thought process had mainly been on clothes and money, not photographs. She assumed her parents would've cut her out of all of the photos by now on account of her being an 'abomination'. All she had from her childhood was her old teddy bear, which was somewhere in her closet. Or perhaps in the attic.
She tried not to think about it.
She used the puppy dog eyes, because she knew it worked on Marceline. Coupling that with a kiss to the cheek, Marceline caved. "Okay, fine, but no baby pictures. Especially not bathtub pictures. Because I know some of those exist somewhere."
Bonnie smiled as Simon offered the first of three albums out to her. "I ordered the pictures in them chronologically, and this should be from the early ages. You might have to check them through for baby pictures just to be safe, Elise- oh, sorry, Marcy."
Bonnie's attention went immediately from the photo album to Marceline. Her eyes were a little bit watery, but she managed a shaky smile and said, "Yeah, I will."
"I'm going to start on dinner, it'll have to be something quick out of the freezer. I lost track of when you were coming." Simon pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll be right back."
When she was sure he was gone, Bonnie left the photo album unopened and asked Marceline, "Who's Elise?"
The sigh Marceline breathed out was shaky, and Bonnie felt a lot of weight come out of it. "My mom."
"Oh," Bonnie shuffled closer to her and put an arm around her waist, letting Marceline rest her head on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Marceline sat quietly for a few moments, and Bonnie saw the way she tapped out the rhythm of her thoughts against her thigh with her fingers. Slowly, she shrugged. "I don't… I don't really know."
"Well, I'm going to give you a hug anyway," Bonnie said, abandoning the photo album in her hand to wrap her other arm around Marceline, too. "I know you love hugs, so even if you're fine, it'll still give you at least a little mood boost."
Marceline sighed into her, and quietly confessed, "I don't know if it's like… wrong for me to feel kind of… okay with that?"
Bonnie hummed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, like… I kind of… like it," Marceline admitted, then cringed, and quickly rectified, "Obviously I know that's really bad to say because the reason he got me mixed up with her in the first place is because he can't help it, but… I don't know. It kinda makes me feel good that he sees her in me, because I always thought that except for him being white, I looked more like dad. And I don't know if that's wrong."
"I don't think it's wrong," Bonnie said, "You love your mum a lot, and obviously you want to feel like you've got her in you. I can't speak for the whole 'which parent you look more like' thing, since I don't know what she looks like, but I don't think it's wrong that you took what he said as a compliment."
"I don't know. I still feel kind of guilty about it." Marceline sighed, but pulled away from her and flashed a small smile. It was a little bit forced, but there was still some genuine quality to it. "Thanks, though. You always know how to make me feel better."
"Just looking out for you," Bonnie kissed her cheek, and she loved the way Marceline's face tinted pink straight after. She reached out and grabbed the photo album again, holding it up. "Anyway… may I?"
"Ugh," Marceline forced out, but it was quite obvious that she was trying to hide a smile, "fine. Go on, then."
"Yes!" Bonnie celebrated, flipping the book open to the first page and positively cooing over toddler Marceline playing in a sandbox, "Oh my god, you were so cute!"
"Um, were? I'll try not to be offended at the past tense," Marceline scoffed, but she was blushing, so it kind of ruined her whole 'annoyed' act.
"Oh, look at you," Bonnie stared down at the picture and then looked at Marceline, kissing her cheek again, and then glancing back at the picture, "with your chubby little cheeks and your big green eyes. Adorable."
"Oh my god," Marceline murmured, "I'm already regretting letting you look at them."
Bonnie flipped to the next picture and smiled even more. It was Marceline and Marshall with Santa Claus. "Aw, what did you ask for for Christmas, Marcy?"
Marceline scoffed and muttered, "Like I remember."
"I like your Christmas jumper, all bright and obnoxious," Bonnie commented, "you know, I think that's the most colour I've ever seen you wear. Your present wardrobe is just full of black, white and grey."
Marceline looked down at her outfit and scoffed again. She pulled at the fabric of the grey sweater she was wearing with the red cat face and two red stripes on the arms. "This has red on."
"Doesn't count, the main body is still grey." Bonnie teased her, flipping to the next photograph. She heard Marceline's sharp intake of breath, and Bonnie looked a little closer at the picture.
It was little Marceline – she looked incredibly adorable, dressed in a little red spotted swimsuit, her hair short and sticking up all over the place – and she was sat on a beautiful woman's lap, cuddling into her, both of them sharing the same beach towel. The woman looked young, and there was a certain air of freedom about her. Bonnie didn't know how that was captured in a photograph, but it was just an assumption she got from the woman's smile. She was looking down at little Marcy like she was the greatest thing in the world to her with the same green eyes she shared with her little girl.
Bonnie saw the golden ring on the woman's finger, the same one on the hand she was holding, and she smiled. "You so look like her, Marcy."
"I-," Marceline paused and smiled softly. Her eyes looked a little watery. "You really think so?"
"Yeah," Bonnie said it like it was obvious, because it kind of was. She let her finger hover over the picture as she pointed out the blatant similarities. "Well, first off, the hair. Hers might be short, but it's still the same colour. You have her eyes, but you knew that already. You have the same bone structure in the jaw, the same mouth… really, the only traces of your dad are how your skin is a little bit lighter than your mum's and your nose. The rest of you… you're all her, Marcy. And not just with looks, either. Even just from a photo, I can tell you've got her heart."
When she heard Marceline's sniffling, and turned around to see tears in her eyes, she quickly pulled her in for a tight hug and started blurting out apologies. She'd never actually seen Marceline cry before, even with everything she'd had to go through with her dad. At times, she'd been the one comforting Bonnie.
"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," Bonnie murmured, kissing the top of her head, "I was just-"
"No, no, it's not," Marceline let out a watery laugh into Bonnie's shoulders, "happy tears, you know? I just- it means a lot, what you said. I've always kind of worried I've got too much of dad in me. In more ways than one."
"No," Bonnie held her tighter, because if there was one thing she knew, it was that, "you're nothing like your hateful dad, Marceline. You have a good heart and I know your mum would be so proud of you."
Marceline clung to her more firmly, and Bonnie felt her press a kiss to the crook of her neck. "Thank you for seeing the good in me."
"You're all good, Marcy. I'm just seeing you." Bonnie shrugged, and when Marceline kissed her neck again, she laughed, "Okay, not another hickey, you don't know how much my friends interrogated me for that."
Marceline chuckled quietly but lifted her head up and tilted Bonnie's head up by the chin, pulling her in for a soft kiss. When she pulled away, Marceline wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and managed a watery smile. "Okay. I'm good. Next picture. Promise I won't cry at this one."
Bonnie took her hand again and shifted the photo album so it was rested across both of their laps. She flipped to the next page and let out a loud aw. It was obviously taken on the same day as the other photograph, because it was little Marceline, Marshall, and their mother on the beach. The twins were clearly running circles around her, but she looked at both of them with so much love.
"Uh oh," Simon said when he walked back into the room and noted Marceline's teary eyes, "do I need to make more emergency cocoa, Marcy?"
Marceline laughed, and didn't lift her head up from where she had it rested on Bonnie's shoulder. "Nah. These ones were happy tears."
Simon sat down in his armchair and leaned over to see which picture they were looking at. He smiled reminiscently. "Ah, yes, that was a good day. Hunson was busy doing… something or other… and Elise and I decided to take the kids to the beach."
When Bonnie flipped to the next page, she laughed at the picture. It was Simon, a beach ball half bouncing off his head, and a giggling little Marceline in the background. "Caught in the act there, Marcy."
Marceline laughed. "Oops. Don't worry, Bon, now I'm a lot sneakier about my life of crime."
"Sure," Bonnie flipped to the next photo and smiled. It was Marceline and Marshall on what must've been their first day of school. "You know, if you weren't wearing a dress, I wouldn't have known which one of you was which. It's because your hair is short too, you guys look like identical twins."
"Plot twist, Marshall is the one in the dress," Marceline joked, and Bonnie chuckled. "There's probably a picture somewhere of him dressed as Snow White, though. He was her for Halloween one year."
Simon laughed, "I'm sure your brother will be thrilled you're telling people about that."
"Hey, as his sister, it's basically my duty to tell people about it," Marceline said, flicking through a few photographs quickly and grinning when she found it. Bonnie had to stifle her giggle, not even at Snow White Marshall, but at Spongebob Marceline. "Here."
"You realise you just willingly showed me a picture of you dressed as Spongebob, right?" Bonnie laughed, and the realisation seemed to dawn on Marceline. "Was it worth it to embarrass your brother?"
Marceline pouted. "It wasn't even worth it on the night. People thought I was dressed like cheese. I cried myself to sleep that night."
Bonnie laughed at the dramatics and smiled down at the picture. "Oh, Spongebob and Snow White. What a duo. Did you two never do themed costumes? I would've, if I'd had a twin."
"Oh, when they were babies, Elise got them in… oh, what was it?" Simon paused, frowning to himself. "Something matching, anyway. Salt and pepper, possibly. I'm not sure if I have a picture."
She saw the way Marceline's mood seemed to dip, and she quickly nudged her, "Well, I've got to get loads of pictures when you, Keila and I do the PowerPuff Girls this Halloween."
Marceline rolled her eyes, "Oh my god, we're not doing that. It's my birthday, I believe I have a right to decide what I wear."
"I'll get you to cave." Bonnie promised, because she knew all it would take were a few kisses to get Marceline to do it.
The oven timer beeped, and Simon pushed himself up from the armchair. "I'll get that. Marcy, will you set the dinner table?"
Marceline flipped the photo album closed and stood up. "On it."
Wanting to be polite, Bonnibel asked, "Anything I can do to help?"
"Nah," Marceline told her, and she flashed that soft smile when she added, "just sit there and look pretty."
Bonnie's stomach fluttered, and she watched after her as she headed into the kitchen, sighing happily. She looked back to the photo album again and smiled nostalgically. Yes, she was very grateful that Marceline had brought her here. It felt like a real 'meet the parents' thing, because she knew that Marceline saw Simon as her father figure.
Simon walked back into the living room, glanced over at the kitchen worriedly, and then looked at her with a fatherly smile. Oddly, she was reminded of Santa Claus. He seemed to radiate warmth.
"I thought I'd better say my piece while Marcy is occupied," Simon prefaced, and Bonnie must've looked a little wary, because he smiled and added, "nothing too serious. I just wanted to ask that you're careful with her. She acts a lot tougher than she is, and I rarely see her as open as she is with you. She's dealt with a lot at a very young age, and I just ask that you take care of her and treat her the way she deserves."
"Oh, of course. She means a lot to me. More than she probably knows." Bonnie glanced in the direction of the kitchen and allowed herself a smile. For a moment, her mind had a fleeting thought. What did Simon know of Marceline and Hunson's relationship? She didn't believe that he'd just allow it to happen or maintain a friendship with Marceline's father if he knew. Should she tell him? He was an adult that Marceline trusted. She'd lived with him before, why couldn't she do it again?
She almost opened her mouth to ask just that, but Marceline popped her head around the doorway. "Come on, nerds. Dinner."
Simon laughed. "Just because we wear glasses, Marcy, it doesn't make us nerds."
"Nah, it's because you were a legit professor and Bonnie's the future doctor of the century," Marceline said, "but the glasses do add to the effect."
Bonnie rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up from the sofa and followed Marceline and Simon into the kitchen. Dinner was set on the table, and Bonnie took the seat that Marceline pulled out for her. "Wow, okay, miss chivalry."
Marceline blushed and dropped down into the seat next to her. "Next time I'll move the chair at the last second so you fall on your ass."
"You'd never do that to me," Bonnie knew that for a fact, and she flashed Marceline a teasing smile, "you like me too much."
Marceline rolled her eyes and helped herself to the lasagne in the big dish, "Unfortunately."
Simon sat down across from her, and once he'd helped himself to the lasagne too, he asked, "So, Bonnie, did Marcy say you want to be a doctor?"
"Yes," Bonnie said once she'd had a mouthful of food, "I have a love for science, and being a doctor is one way of helping people by doing what I love."
"Ah, a scientist. My fiancée, Betty, she… was a scientist too." Simon commented quietly, and Bonnie wondered where she was. Marceline seemed to tense next to her, but before she could ask, he asked something else. "General practitioner, or are you looking at a more specific field?"
"I think general practitioner. I love all aspects of medicine." Bonnie said, because picking just one field would be a hard decision to make. "I've been looking at schools over here as well as mulling over my choices back home."
Simon hummed. "Yes, I suppose you'll both be looking at schools now, won't you?"
Marceline seemed to sink down in her chair a little bit and started eating faster. Bonnie raised her eyebrows and asked the question her body language had elicited. "You are looking at schools, aren't you, Marcy?"
Marceline mumbled something into her fork, and when Bonnie asked her to repeat that, she said at whisper volume, "I don't want to go to college."
"Oh," Bonnie blinked. She supposed she should've expected that, even though she knew how smart Marceline was. For herself, university wasn't even a question, it was a certainty, but it wasn't that way for everyone. "Well, university isn't for everyone, I suppose. What do you want to do instead?"
Marceline looked up at her in complete surprise, and almost dropped a little lasagne onto her jeans. "Wait, what?"
Bonnie shrugged. "I said it's not for everyone and asked you what you-"
"No, no, I know that, but…" Marceline frowned at her, looking her over, like she was trying to detect any falseness, "I thought you'd be all 'you can't not go' about it. Or at least think I was being dumb."
"Well, I for one agree with your father. I assume he's the one that gave you that mindset," Simon interrupted, "I fully support that you want to play music, but it's important to have a backup plan."
"Universities aren't going anywhere," Bonnie said, her usual instinct to defend Marceline kicking in as per usual, "Lots of people go later on, rather than straight out of school. And there's the people that go back to retrain because they decided to change their career path. It's never too late for it. And some people never go at all, which is fine too. It's an individual decision."
Marceline looked at her with so much surprise and amazement and feeling that it made Bonnie's heart clench. Bonnie smiled at her and placed her hand on top of Marceline's, giving it a soft squeeze, trying to communicate her support through touch.
Simon just chuckled and murmured, "Well, I really didn't need to give you the 'don't hurt her' speech, did I?" He looked to Marceline and sent her a stern look. "Don't let this one go. She's good for you."
"I… I know," Marceline was still looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, and Bonnie leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'll try my best to keep her around."
Two hours later, when they finally sat back in the car, Marceline hesitated, her hands playing with her keys. They clicked and jingled, and Bonnie watched her, waiting patiently for whatever she wanted to say.
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Bonnie's stomach fluttered wonderfully. That was an unexpected, but lovely surprise.
Marceline barely gave her chance to reply before talking again. "I know it might be too soon or whatever, and I know that we've technically only been on like, one legit date, but then that date was actually like, three dates. And it's just- I don't know, it feels different with you. It feels like the trivial stuff, like the number of dates, or whatever… it doesn't seem to matter. You get me, even though we're so different. You're so patient and you're always fighting my corner, and you really believe in me, probably more than I believe in myself, and I just- god, Bonnie, I think you're an angel."
Bonnie's mouth worked, because she hadn't expected all of that, either. It was like her brain couldn't process every kind thing that Marceline had said, not enough for her to formulate an articulate response. She blinked away the happy tears in her eyes and pulled Marceline in for a kiss, hoping that it would translate to some kind of heartfelt response in Marceline's head.
When she pulled away, she took her hand and nodded. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."
"I- okay, wow," Marceline met her gaze, smiled, let out an adorable laugh, and mumbled, "I didn't- damn. I've got a girlfriend."
Bonnie laughed. "Me too, as of about thirty seconds ago."
Marceline sighed, leaning back against the headrest on her seat. She was quiet again, contemplative, and Bonnie waited for her to say what was on her mind. "Thanks, by the way. With what you said about the whole college thing."
"Just telling the truth," Bonnie shrugged, "but you never did tell me what you wanted to do instead."
"We're moving to L.A. Basically the moment we graduate," Marceline said, and then clarified, "We being me, Keila and the guys. We've all been saving up for years and we've been sending demos to record labels, posting songs and covers online, doing everything we can right now from here. I just… you know I don't want to do anything other than play music."
"Well," Bonnie flashed her a small smile, "UCLA is actually quite high on the league tables for medicine."
Marceline turned around to look at her in total bewilderment. "It is?"
"Mhm," Bonnie answered, "so I suppose there's some food for thought. Anyway," she reached forwards and tapped the steering wheel, "drive, servant. I'd like to go home and cuddle my girlfriend."
Marceline looked at her thoughtfully for a few more moments, before that soft smile showed itself and she leaned in to kiss Bonnie's cheek. "You got it, princess."
