Author Notes - I said before that I would only write more Bubble Guppies fanfiction if I could come up with an idea that I wanted to write about. Lucky for you guys, I find it impossible to not come up with new ideas every two seconds. Of course, only a small fraction of those ideas are actually worth writing about, but with how many ideas my crazy brain can shoot out, we're bound to get a good one in a reasonable time.
This idea was inspired by multiple Super Mario fanfictions that address how Luigi might feel about being constantly overshadowed by his big brother. Not to mention the fact that Mia hasn't appeared in nearly enough fanfictions, considering how fantastic the episode 'Bubble Baby' is. I know that ReaderandWriter9000 has her appear from time to time, and she even plays a major role in one chapter of Bubble Guppies Teen Years: Season 2 (and you should totally read that entire series, if you haven't already) but that's about it.
Between this and New Student Zooli, I clearly like focusing on lesser used characters.
IN YOUR SHADOW
Mia could hardly stay still, little excited squeals escaping from between her smiling lips every now and then. She was done up in a fancy pink dress because, any moment now, her sister would swim up onto this stage and receive her award! Her giggles were liable to give away her position as she hid behind the curtain, but she couldn't help it.
'It's almost time, Molly!' She said. 'You're gonna get your award thingy!'
Her big sister stood before her, looking as confident as ever, wearing a blue dress even more fancy and sparkly than Mia's. Since her tenth birthday a few months ago, Molly had her hair tied up in a ponytail, in contrast to her five-year-old sister who kept her hair flowing free, but otherwise looked just like she did five years ago. Well, aside from the bigger tail - Guppy tails always grew longer as the Guppy aged, after all.
Molly giggled. 'I know, Mia, I know. This has been planned for weeks. People in Bubbletucky just can't go without honouring my achievements, can they?'
Mia gave her a playful little shrug. 'Com'on, sis. You know you love all this attention. Admit it!'
'I try not to let it all get to my head.'
The little sister peeked out from behind the curtain, staying hidden in the darkness. The indoors theatre was absolutely packed to the brim with as many Bubbletuckians as possible, many of whom Mia could recognise. Sandy and her sisters, 'Arctic' Dan, Sir Mulligan, Princess Demanda, Dusty, the 'Amazing' Daisy, Buddy, Mr Grumpfish… just about anyone you could think of was there. Even Stylee! If it wasn't for Molly introducing her little sister to all the people she had met over the years, Mia wouldn't recognise a single one.
Of course, the Bubble Guppies themselves and their teacher were there, right in the front row. Mia could see Gil sitting right next to his big brother Dorson, with their parents on either side. Deema sat between her parents on the armrests, while Goby's family took up five seats thanks to his sisters Minnow and Tetra taking up both seats next to him. Oona and her brother shared a seat right between their mothers, while Nonny's and Zooli's small families sat next to each other. Bubble Puppy, Dottie the firefighting dog, and their fifteen puppies sat in a nearby corner.
It was shocking how many people Molly could gather.
Mia was about ready to explode from the anticipation, but finally a snail slithered into the stage with a special golden trophy of sorts in her hands. It resembled a Guppy holding a microphone into the air with both hands, a custom from Bubbletucky. She stood behind a podium, tapped the microphone to see if it was working, and shielded her eyes from the spotlight that was suddenly shining down upon her.
'Ladies and gentlefish!' She said, waving to the crowd. 'We are all gathered here tonight to, once again, acknowledge the talents of our best young star. I'm sure none of us expected such talent to come from our little town, but here she is right with us!'
The excitement brimming within her forced Mia to swim around in circles, squealing like she ended up in a free candy shop.
'She's quite the ambitious young girl.' The snail continued. 'For not just her brilliant singing voice, but being the de-facto leader of her band. Talented, clever, kindhearted… is there nothing this young girl can't-?'
'WE WANT MOLLY!' Deema shouted from the crowd, with no regard for anything.
'YEAH!' Gil yelled. 'Give us Molly!'
The snail presenter stared at the two kids for a few seconds, until she smiled and shrugged.
'Everyone…' She said. 'Please put your hands together for… MOLLY!'
The crowd erupted into a delightful cacophony of claps and cheers, before the young girl in question even appeared on stage.
'You ready, sis?' Mia asked, shaking her fists about.
'Always ready.' She took her sister's hand. 'Come on!'
Molly swam onto the stage with her little sister in arms, making the crowd cheer even louder than they did before. The superstar herself hardly reacted to all the attention coming her way. Not only was she used to such praise coming from her fans and the people of Bubbletucky, but she didn't really care about it. Any outsider may have been baffled to see her swimming across the stage like there was no one else in the room, doing nothing but acknowledging her fans' presence by giving them a quick wave.
Mia, on the other hand? If Molly didn't have such a good grip on her hand, she would be flying around the room with all the excitement brimming up inside of her. She could hardly believe that all of these people were cheering for and celebrating her sister! Now, of course, she already knew that Molly was the greatest person in the world, but it was simply astounding to see that everyone else knew that too.
'They're cheering for you, sis!' Mia said. 'For YOU!'
Molly giggled. 'I know that, Mia. Like I said, I try not to let it get to my head.'
Even when Molly swam up to the podium and took the award from the snail presentator, she grabbed it like she was just picking up the newspaper instead of a prestigious trophy. In fact, she only held it up for the crowd to please everyone, and they cheered even louder than before. If that was even possible. Unsurprisingly, the one who cheered the most - if it wasn't Gil - was Mia.
'MOL-LY!' The crowd chanted. 'MOL-LY! MOL-LY! MOL-LY!'
Molly laughed again. 'Okay, I know what my name is. I think you can chant someone else's name for once.'
Mia grinned wider than she had in quite a while, her excitement bubbling up even more. As much as she loved hearing people chant her sister's name, she couldn't wait to hear her own name chanted for the first time!
'This is my little sister, Mia.' Molly said. 'And she-'
'MOL-LY! MOL-LY! MOL-LY!'
Molly laughed a little awkwardly. 'Yes, I know you like me. But how about you give a little more attention to-?'
'YOU'RE THE BEST, MOLLY!'
And then, just like that, Mia's smile faded away like mist on a window. There was no more cheerful squealing or shaking fists. Only the other Bubble Guppies sounded like they were chanting the name of the little sister, but the voices of six - even with someone as loud as Deema - got overwhelmed quickly by the voices of a few hundred.
'Wait!' Molly cried. 'You should-'
'MOL-LY! MOL-LY! MOL-LY!'
Seeing as the crowd wasn't listening to her, Molly took matters into her own fins and approached the edge of the stage. Taking a deep breath, she hopped down into the crowd with her fists clenched.
'Now listen!' She yelled. 'I want you to-'
'MOL-LY! MOL-LY! MOL-LY!'
Suddenly, Molly found herself surrounded by her hundreds of fans, each asking their own questions until their voices became nothing but white noise.
'Can you sign my lunchbox?'
'How does it feel being so talented?'
'Could you rate my Golly fanfiction?'
It was nothing Molly wasn't used to. For her, it was no more stressful than a walk through the park. But she glanced back to her little sister, all alone on the stage, for as long as she could until the crowd surrounded her so much that she couldn't see anything or anyone else.
'MIA!' Molly yelled, her voice getting swallowed by the crowd.
Mia's heart sank, and her breathing grew heavy, but still she swam up to the crowd. Even when looking down at them from above, she couldn't see her sister or any of her friends anywhere.
'Molly!' She called, hoping for an answer.
Her voice was lost in the sea of questions, sounding just like everyone else who was yelling out the star's name. Seeing no other options, Mia swam back down to the ground and tried to push her way through the crowd. But no one was giving her any room.
'Uh, hello sir?' She asked, swimming around to find a gap. 'C-Can you move aside? Ma'am, please? I-I need to go see her.'
She tried to squeeze through a small gap between two lobsters, right above a crab, but she couldn't even get her head through.
'I'M HER SISTER!' Mia shouted, in a desperate plea for someone to realise she was there.
Any hope she had of getting through the crowd crumbled away when one of the lobsters reacted in the worst way they could have: they knocked Mia back and pushed her to the floor with a dismissive shove of the claw, as if they didn't even know she was there. Yet, the shove was so forceful it had to be intentional. Whether or not it was didn't really matter, for Mia fell to the ground regardless.
'MOL-LY! MOL-LY! MOL-LY!'
Mia looked up at the crowd, her heart racing. For so long, she didn't think she minded being the little sister of such a famous singer, but now…
She couldn't even face the crowd who refused to cheer for her anymore, and tucked her face deep into her arms. All she hoped for at that moment was for a sinkhole to open up and swallow her, if only so she could escape this chanting crowd.
'Mia?'
'Mia!'
For a moment - just a flickering moment - a slight glimmer of hope swelled within Mia. But, as the name was called to her again, she realised it was merely the voices of her sister's closest friends. Which was certainly better than nothing, but compared to the amount of people chanting her name…
'What's wrong with her?' She heard Deema ask. 'She was happy to see her sister get a trophy thing a minute ago!'
'It must've been the crowd.' Goby guessed. 'No way she could get to her sister through that.'
'That's part of it, but I don't think that's the whole story.' Nonny said. 'She seemed rather distressed beforehand.'
'The poor thing must feel so overshadowed by her sister!' Oona cried. 'She started looking sad when the crowd didn't chant her name.'
'Oof…' Zooli said. 'No wonder she's feeling so down. That's gotta hurt.'
The rest of the world was dead to Mia, and she forgot the words spoken around her mere seconds later. It seemed as though all the times she had been ignored - which she had been ignoring herself - had hit her all at once…
After an unknown amount of time, Mia felt someone lifting her up into a warm hug. It certainly didn't solve the problem or help her forget it, but it brought a smile to her face.
'Come on, Sweetie.' Her father said, slowly carrying her out of the hall. 'Let's go home.'
Mia lay on her bed, her face buried deep in her pillow. The sun was about ready to set, and it would be dinner time soon, but she was in no mood to eat or do much of anything else.
'Mrow?'
The family cat - a recently-adopted ginger appropriately named Gingersnap - scampered into the room through the small gap in the door and hopped onto the bed, cuddling up to Mia's tail. The young girl paid her no mind, which alone worried Gingersnap. The little kitty gave her the loudest purrs she could manage, but Mia still did not look her way or stroke her.
Mia's attention could not drift away from one single thing: a Bubble Guppies poster, one that had been signed by all seven of the Guppies back when each band member was only five years old themselves. The entire band could be seen right above their logo, though one Guppy was noticeably bigger and brighter than the other six…
Her own big sister…
The door creaked open, managing to catch Mia's attention.
'Sis?' Molly said, as she swam into the room. 'Are you feeling any better?'
Mia did not respond, and merely looked back to the poster. The little girl wasn't even crying - just staring with an expression that could be described as 'tired' just as easily as 'sad'.
'Come on, Mia.' Molly said, sitting on the end of the bed. 'You gotta talk to me. If you can, of course.'
Mia whimpered. 'N-No one even knows I exist, do they?'
'Well…' Molly stared down into her lap. 'I guess I can't lie… they don't. We kept you out of the spotlight for years because we didn't want you to be harassed, but even now…' She smiled. 'Hey, that isn't so bad. There's a lot of people out there who aren't well-known, and-'
Mia gave her big sister a mighty glare. 'Coming from you!'
Molly flinched, so much she nearly fell off the bed.
'W-What?'
'You can't tell me that when you're one of the most famous kids in the world!' Mia yelled, sitting up and leaning forward. 'You don't know what it's like to be overshadowed by your own big sister, do you?'
Molly opened her mouth, to tell her that she did know what it was like and that Mia had no reason to be so upset. But, the more she thought about her sister's words, the more she realised the truth.
'You're… right, Mia.' She said, with a sigh. 'I really can't know what it's like. Yeah, sometimes I'm told I'm 'no Judy Garland' or that I'll 'never be as beloved as the Olsen twins' - and look at what happened to them - but… that doesn't really compare to what you're going through, does it?'
Mia's eyes narrowed, just a little bit more, before she turned herself away from her big sister. She was in no mood to have a conversation with anyone right now. Molly, seeing as she didn't want to talk, turned around and headed for the door. She stopped herself, however, when she heard little Mia beginning to weep. It was one of the only sounds in the world that could truly break Molly's heart clean in half.
'Just leave me alone…' Mia muttered. 'You would never know what it's like to be ignored.'
Molly closed the bedroom door, but not after leaving the room.
'Mia, I'm staying.' She said. 'And I'm not leaving until you're back to being your usual bubbly self. You never let this kind of stuff put you down before. What changed?'
Mia was silent for several seconds, before she replied in a shaky voice. 'I-I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it before. But, s-seeing that massive crowd cheer for you instead of me, even when you told them to, it… it hurt.'
Molly sat back down on the bed, seating herself much closer to her little sister. The little one looked so much like her sister, with the only real difference being her tail was a swirly pink instead of blue. It made Molly realise that this must've been what it was like to be her father, five years ago, when he would come in to comfort her (he was quite a bit better at it than her mother was).
And it reminded her of when Mia was born. Despite only being about five years old when it happened, Molly could remember every detail. Everything between how ridiculously excited Gil was, so much so that he wondered if the baby would be a boy or a 'Gil', to bumping into that shark patient on the way to see her. She giggled just a little thinking about how Gil reacted when he found out about the news. Somehow, she just knew that's the same way he'd react if he was ever told he was going to become a dad. She could see 'will it have pink hair like yours, or blue hair like mine?' in particular being spoken once again one day.
As Molly ran her fingers through her sister's flowing pink hair, she thought back on the first moment when she saw her little baby sister. It was the most adorable thing she had ever seen, bar none. Even cuter than the cutest baby squid. When she held the little baby in her arms, it made every other achievement in her life look worthless. She could remember when Deema asked what her name was, too.
'Her name… is Mia.'
The giggles, the coos, the smile on Mia's face when she heard Molly's voice...
'I think she likes the sound of your voice.' Mr Grouper had said.
Mia, in the present, squirmed just a little bit as Molly played with her hair. The weeping ceased, for just a moment, and Molly could've sworn she heard a little sound of contentment coming from her. That meant she was doing something right.
'You know,' Molly said, in the softest voice she could. 'You're not the only person related to a Bubble Guppy. I'm sure you know Dorson, Gil's older brother. Oona's got an older brother too. You know Kian, right? And then there's Minnow and Tetra, Goby's older sisters.'
'H-How do they feel about being the big brother or sister to a Bubble Guppy?' Mia asked.
Molly paused, for just a moment. 'Well, I'm not sure. Maybe you should ask them one day. But you've met them before, and they seem like happy people, don't they?'
Mia shrugged. 'I guess…'
'I know it hurts to know that you're being overshadowed by your own family, but you're not the only one. You need to remember that.'
Mia had stopped weeping, yes, but she still refused to look at her sister. It helped a bit to think about how the older siblings of the Guppies may have taken it, but it didn't fix it. After all, knowing that a lot of people have dying pets doesn't make it any less sad when your own pet dies, does it?
Molly continued to run her hand through her sister's hair to calm her down, which seemed to be working as the little girl wasn't shaking anymore.
'Maybe it's for the best that not many people know about you.' Molly said. 'Being famous isn't as fun as it seems.'
Mia scoffed. 'You're just saying that.'
'Look, I won't deny that I enjoy it, but it isn't always fun. Just ask Zooli. When she first joined the band, she got a lot of hate thrown her way. And I have to be careful about what I say. If I say the wrong thing, my reputation can be destroyed forever. I've had so many times where I leave my house, and can't get anywhere because my fans keep hounding me. A-And there's a lot of pressure piled on top of me. If I screw up, just once, I'll receive the brunt of a massive outrage.'
She inched just a little closer, and Mia scooted over just a bit too.
'Not to mention,' Molly continued. 'You've heard a lot of bad stories about famous people, haven't you? My parents told me a lot about Judy Garland, because they don't want the same thing to happen to me. Any young star should know what happened to her.'
Mia finally turned her head, giving her sister puppy-dog eyes. 'T-That won't happen to you, will it?'
Molly shook her head with a smile. 'Not ever. Not with a wonderful family like ours. And if you ever happen to become famous, your family will be there to make sure nothing like that ever happens to you either.'
The little girl sighed. 'If that ever happens. Your fans probably don't even realise I exist. And even when they do notice me, they always call me 'Molly's sister'. That's all I am to them. They probably don't even know my name…'
Molly could see the tears swelling in her eyes, her heart breaking once again. Looking down on her crying sister brought her back to those memories in the hospital.
'I'm nothing to them!' Mia suddenly yelled, tears flowing from her eyes. 'N-No one remembers me! I-It isn't fair… if I was born first, maybe everyone would know me instead! I-I know it would make you the one everyone ignores, and that would make me sad, but… it just isn't fair!'
Molly held her arms out for a hug, and Mia rushed into the embrace in a matter of moments. She cried into her big sister's chest, who could feel the tears trickling down her body. Molly couldn't help agreeing with her… it wasn't fair that Mia had to suffer through all of this just because she happened to be born after the famous Molly Andersfin.
It reminded Molly of the memory that she liked looking back on the least, for she never wanted to think about her little sister crying at any time, though she could remember even Gil's worried 'uh oh'. It broke her heart at the time, and it still did now.
But the part right after would always be a favourite memory for Molly. She could still remember the words to the lovely little lullaby she sang for her sister with all her heart. It was a soft, soothing little song that she was certain also relaxed her friends too. Molly could easily remember seeing her sister's frown curl back into a relaxed smile, before she drifted off into a peaceful sleep. How were cute things even cuter when they slept?
Molly smiled. Maybe, just maybe, it could work again…
'You'll never be completely forgotten, Mia.' Molly said, hugging her sister a little tighter. 'And do you wanna know why?'
The young weeping girl nodded.
'Because you have a biggest fan. Perhaps even bigger than most of my fans combined.'
Mia gasped, and looked at her sister with those teary eyes. It was like looking at a little puppy dog who was begging to know when the treats would arrive.
'Who?' She asked.
Molly couldn't help chuckling, just a little. To most people, it may have been blatant who Mia's 'biggest fan' was. No doubt you, dear reader, already know the answer. Yet, Mia was so young and naïve that she genuinely didn't know. And who could blame her? Molly certainly couldn't; she had her own fair share of falling for such simple puzzles.
'She adores you, Mia.' She said, giggling. 'In fact, she loves you more than anything else in the world. She even has photos of you all over her room! She spends every day thinking about you and wanting to be with you too. She worries about you every time you're sad, and hates to see you scared, and has a nightmare every time you get hurt.'
Mia's eyes widened. 'Who is it, Molly? Who is it?!'
Molly brushed her sister's hair back. 'You're looking at her, Mia.'
At first, Mia seemed rather confused. Then, she gasped and looked at Molly with her eyes as wide as they could go. This was followed by a look of indignation, as if she were angry to be 'tricked', which got another giggle out of Molly.
But then, she smiled. Tears came to her eyes again as she gave her big sister an even tighter hug.
'D-Do you really mean that?' She asked.
'Of course I do.' Molly said, holding her as though she could lose her at any time. 'Every single word. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me, even greater than all the fame I've ever gotten from being in the Bubble Guppies. And I mean that. When the fame becomes too much for me, I'm happy knowing I'll return home to the greatest little girl in the world.'
She could feel herself becoming a little misty-eyed… but she wasn't done yet.
'I've watched you grow since the day you were born.' She said. 'I heard you say your first word. I watched you take your first swim. I felt your first hug. I tasted your first mud pie. I even smelled your first diaper change, unfortunately.' This got a little laugh out of Mia. 'And you never failed to surprise and amaze me. You continue to grow and grow into the most awesome girl the world has ever seen. And… and I look up to that.'
Mia's jaw fell wide open. 'You look up to me?'
Molly nodded. 'How couldn't I? You're the greatest person in the world. And if my fans can't recognise that, well… it's their problem, not ours.'
Once again, tears trickled down Mia's cheeks, but Molly wasn't upset by them anymore. The little girl gave her big sister an even tighter hug, this one much better than the last thanks to the positive energy it gave off.
'You're the best big sister ever!' Mia cried, giggling much more like herself.
'Thank you, Mia.' Molly replied. 'And just remember this one thing - you're the little sister of the most famous Bubble Guppy. Now how many people can claim to have a prestige like that?'
Mia giggled again. 'No one else but me!'
With Mia secured in her arms, Molly looked out the window. The sun was just about setting, meaning it would definitely be dinner time soon. But then, she saw her little sister give off a little squeaky yawn. It was a pretty big day, after all, and she knew her parents wouldn't mind if Mia was just a little late to dinner.
'I'll make sure more people know about you.' She whispered. 'I'll invite you on the stage, and we'll sing duets together. Even if you don't become as big as me, you will be known.'
'Nah…' Mia said, with another yawn. 'I mean, I'd love to sing on stage with you, but… I already have the greatest fan in the world.'
Molly's heart was more than repaired after such a lovely sentiment, but in fact glowing and soaring right out of her chest. Now what did she do to deserve a little sister this amazing? Seeing as Mia was positively exhausted - the poor thing couldn't even keep her eyes open anymore - Molly took a deep breath and sang the very same song she had been singing for years.
It was Mia's favourite after all. (Well, second-favourite, but 'Australia' was just too good!)
'Baby baby, please don't cry.' She sang, in her gentlest voice. 'Just listen to me sing this lullaby. Your big sister's here, and she loves you so. So close your eyes and off to sleep you goooo…'
When she felt the calm breathing and heard the light snoring coming from her sister, she knew her song had done the job, like it had done for the past five years. Being as careful as possible, she lay her sister down on the bed so her head would be resting on the pillow. Mia looked so peaceful that Molly couldn't help muttering a quiet 'awww!', especially when Gingersnap crawled across the bed and cuddled up to her too.
She hopped off the bed and headed straight for the door, to give her sweet little sister all the time she needed to calm down and relax. Mia needed it after the stressful award ceremony. She opened the door, but just before she closed it behind her, she glanced back at her sleeping sister. No matter what, she was going to give that little girl all the attention that she deserved and wanted.
The greatest little girl in the world had long earned the right to be just as famous as her big sister.
'I love you, Mia…' Molly said, just before closing the door. 'And I hope the world does too.'
THE END
Author Notes - I could've easily gone all New Student Zooli on this and have this be a multiple-chapter story with a couple of recurring characters showing up, but I specifically chose to make it a more short and personal experience to mix up my stories a little bit more. Like I said in Molly the Fearless, it's a good idea to have a bit of variety to your writing. Granted, being good at one thing and one thing only is perfectly fine if it's what you like doing, but I personally like knowing I can pull off multiple genres.
