"Ok, ok." Princess Bubblegum spreads the plaid blanket over the small table and smooths out the wrinkles. Marceline smirks from where she sits on the counter.
"Nice tablecloth." She remarks sarcastically. The blanket used to be blue and white checkerboard, but now it's just white. The edges ripped and frayed, and the whole thing covered in dust. "Where'd you even find that?" Marceline coughs.
"I found it in the back of your closet, I thought it looked nice…" Bubblegum pouts. "I don't think you're appreciating what I'm doing for you." She folds her arms in discontent.
"I never asked for this. I didn't ask you to come over, and I didn't ask you to cook a freakin' 9 course meal either!" Marceline snaps.
"It's not 9 courses, it's steak. Sorry I guess." Bubblegum turns back to her dish and continues cooking in silence. Marceline sighs heavily and picks at a stray thread hanging from her sweater. She tries to speak, say something worth the oxygen. But the words are stuck on her tongue. I'msorryforbeingajerkyoureactu allyreallyniceandsweetandtha nksfortryingtomakemehappy. But the words are stuck on her tongue.
Bubblegum knows she's being irrational, that she has to be considerate of Marceline's feelings, after all she's been through, she knows she should be more patient. But she isn't.
So no one says anything for awhile. But that's okay, the silence between them is never awkward. It's just there.
Bubblegum is the first to speak again, a faint question coming from the stove.
"What?" Marceline asks.
"I said, where's Ash? Doesn't he know this is important to you?"
"Oh. I don't really know, he said he couldn't make it." Marceline says coolly.
"And you still blow me off for that asshole every time." Bubblegum mutters bitterly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Dinner is served!" Bubblegum puts on a bright smile and carries two plates to the table. They both sit and begin to much quietly on the attempt of a Thanksgiving Dinner that Princess Bubblegum has made.
"Bubs, want me to tell you a Thanksgiving story?" Marceline smiles when Bubblegums eyes light up. She was always so eager to hear Marceline's stories about the world before the war. So Marceline recited the story she had been telling Bubblegum for years about the Pilgrims and the Indians while they nibbled on overcooked steak.
After they finish their meal, they laughter bounces back and forth between them while they clean everything up and Bubblegum folds up the beat up blanket and brings it back to the closet where she found the dusty old thing. When she swings open the door, the entire closet's contents spills before her. Marceline runs to see what happened, laughing while Bubblegum stutters an apology for messing everything up. Bubblegum picks up an old backpack to put it back in the closet, and a piece of paper flutters out and floats to the floor. Marceline has an aching feeling as she bends down to pick up the piece of paper, and Bubblegum winces because pleaseIdon'twanthertogothroughthisagain . They both know it's a letter, but neither of them want it to be.
Marceline,
I'm sorry we couldn't eat turkey this year. But thank you for sticking with me all this time.
Simon
How funny, that they should find a letter written on that exact holiday.
Bubblegum is Marceline's shoulder to cry on, hugging her and telling her "Marcy, it'll be okay…"
She hates when Marceline cries.