Chapter 18: Ways to Do It
"Marceline I don't know if I can do this…" The candy princess said quickly, backing away from the door and into the Vampire Queen.
Marceline took a deep breath and sighed. I guess I should have known better…To Marceline, it didn't seem that hard at all. Lady Rainicorn was on the other side of the door, and Bubblegum had promised to tell her. Lady isn't a very good best friend if Bonni thinks bad things are going to happen when she's told. I mean, grod, she probably already knows! She heaved a sigh again.
"I mean what if she hates me or disapproves or never wants to speak to me again or tries to hut one of us or–"
"Bonni." Marceline said quietly, cutting off the nervous rant. "I'm not…I won't force you, Bonnibel, but…" she turned her eyes down, still terrible at telling her feelings. "Bonni this means a lot to me and, like…I just-I mean I wanna–" She grumbled, the sappy words fighting to make their way out but fighting to stay in all at the same time.
The candy girl looked up at her, nerves still etched clearly on her forehead. "Want to what, Marceline?"
Marceline's entire body clenched up and she floated animatedly off the floor, hair flailing, body buzzing up and down. "I-just-wanna-be-able-to-wake-up-to-you-in-the-morning! Grod!" She forced out, all in one word. Ugh! Why does she make me feel all this gooey un-vampire junk? Oh duh–I'm in…like love or whatever…with her…She sighed again, opening her eyes to look at her girlfriend. "Look, Bonni…it's just Lady. We already agreed that she probably knows! I mean, she's like, your best friend! And if she doesn't support you that she's just a–"
Soft, sweet lips cut off her hurried explanation, pink hands having pulled her lower from her hover. It was short, but not too short. Soft, but not too soft. In a word, it was perfection to the Vampire Queen. She always knows just how to kiss me…She let out a contented sigh as the two parted.
"You know I want to be able to wake up to you, too, right Marci? More than anything." Pink hands never left angular features. "And I'll be pickled if I'm going to let myself stand in the way any longer! So we're going to march in that room and I'm going to tell Lady and then everything will be one-hundred percent fine!" Bubblegum announced, nodding her head in assurance.
A huge, unrestrained grin spread all across Marceline's face. "Oh Bonni, you mean it?" she asked excitedly. Before she could even get an answer, she had picked up the shorter girl and twirled her around mid-air in a giant hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she yelled over the girl's laughter. She lowered them both down and her smile softened. She grabbed Bubblegum's hand and placed it right over where her heart-guts would be beating and looked at her with sheer adoration.
Bubblegum understood. "I love you too, Marci. Now let's do this!" She opened the door to Lady's room and approached the rainicorn, clearing her throat more than a few times. "Lady I um…well I guess I…" She cleared her throat again as Marceline looked at her pointedly, offering support in her own teasing kind of way. "Lady I have something to tell you." She finally managed.
The girl (of course) replied in Korean. "Yes, princess. You are at liberty to tell me what it is." She said in her own, off-beat way of speaking.
"Well you see I…what I mean to say is Marci and I–well really it's we that–I mean us two–and it's been a while so we–Marci was the one who thought, rather–but I agreed!–and so here I am telling you!" She said in fragmented sentences, as though her long-time companion would understand the meaning she was trying to convey.
Of course, that was too much to hope for, as no one in their right mind could have made sense of the jumbled whatever-it-was that had fallen from her lips. Marceline stared at her for a moment, before bursting out in uncontrollable laughter. "Bonni–you're–such–a–dork!" She guffawed between gasps. Lady Rainicorn looked between the two and quirked an eyebrow.
Bubblegum bristled. "Well it isn't exactly easy, you know!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "Anyway I'd like to see you try…" She added quietly without thinking, as she almost always challenged the vampire when she was teased.
But of course, Marceline heard her (vampire ears) and decided to push her further. "Oh I'll try, all right! Hey Lady, guess what? Bonni and I are–" A hand quickly found its way over her mischievous mouth. The candy princess knew all too well what Marceline was going to say, and it was far too intimate for anyone else's ears.
"What the nuts, Marceline! I didn't mean for you to actually try!" she scolded. "And what you were going to say was…private..." she whispered hurriedly, hoping Lady hadn't heard.
"Well, Bonni, you shouldn't issue a challenge unless you expect it to be met! I am the Vampire Queen, after all, and I never back down." Came the taunting response.
"Marceline will you please just let me do this!" Bonnibel said, far too exasperated for anymore of the vampire's playful antics.
"Sure…if you can get a whole sentence out this time. I mean…I've like, never seen you struggle for words, Bonni. Well…almost never…" She laughed a little and wiggled her eyebrows; the princess' face went scarlet at the innuendo.
"Marceline!" She chided fiercely.
Holding up her hands in defense, Marceline acquiesced to her defeat. Glob knows Bonni always wins. All she has to do is say my name like that anyway. "Okay, okay. I'm done." She said
Bubblegum cleared her throat and turned back to Lady who, unbeknownst to the two lovers, had been watching the whole exchange very observantly. It didn't take a brainlord to figure out what was going on between the pair after a word volley like that, and she had always had some sort of inkling about the Vampire Queen and her Princess. Still, she waited patiently for Bubblegum to tell her, not wishing to steal the girl's thunder, and stood calmly with a smile edging at her cheeks.
"Right. Lady. As you could tell the subject has left me quite speechless, but that is not surprise considering that happens often when I'm…well it happens often when one is in my situation, you understand. You do understand don't you?"
Lady shook her head, laughing inwardly at the princess' nervousness. "I am afraid I do not, my lady." She replied, even though she did understand completely. Who said she was above some light teasing herself? She glanced at Marceline, and winked. A smirk spread across vampire lips.
"Argh! Lady we have never had trouble understanding each other before and I cannot understand why you do not understand me now! It isn't a hard thing to understand and I think you would understand more than anyone else would understand and in fact you should understand more because you are in a similar situation if it is my understanding!" She railed off.
Rainicorn laughed. "That is a lot of understanding to be had, my lady."
Bubblegum, having grown more and more exasperated with each attempt (and failure) to make her companion get what she was trying to say, exploded. "Marceline and I are sleeping together and are in love!" she yelled, full force into the small room. She gasped and covered her mouth, quickly realizing what she had said.
Marceline hovered curled up and laughing off to her side. "That's one way to do it, Bonbon!"
Lady smiled full on. "Well I am glad you are not doing one without the other, my lady!" and soon joined Marceline in laughing and Bubblegum's unwitting confession.
The pink (red) girl removed her hand from her mouth. "You mean you are not…I don't know…disgusted or offended or some such?"
Lady shook her head and smiled at the still young princess. "Perhaps I would be upset if I heard from somewhere else. Or perhaps if I thought Miss Marceline bad for you. But if you are in love, than what is there to do. It is a happy thing, no?"
Bubblegum flushed full at her friend and wrapper her arms around Lady. "Oh I am so pleased! It's a happy thing indeed!"
Marceline looked on in approval. When the hug broke, a though arose. "Hey Lady, why can you understand English, but only speak Korean?"
"My tongue and vocal chords are only equipped to handle one language."
Marceline nodded. "Makes sense to me."
Suddenly, Bubblegum realized her girlfriend completely understood Lady. "Marci since when do you speak Korean?"
"I'm a thousand years old, Princess. Ich bin in vielen Zungen versiert." She said, snaking her tongue out, causing the princess to blush and cover her face.
"Marceline you are so distasteful…" She said, very glad that Lady didn't speak German; for Marceline had just told her she was 'versed in many tongues,' and had made it abundantly clear that she didn't just mean language-wise.
"Marceline I don't know if I can do this…" Bubblegum squeaked as a vampire hand went up and rapped on the door to the tree house in front of them.
Marceline sighed. "Bonbon you said the same thing a week ago when we told Lady and that worked out fine!"
She heard a ruckus coming from inside the large expanse of a home and knew the boys were on their way. "Yes but that was Lady. This is Finn and Jake! And I did all the telling thank you! And you know I don't like it when you call me that!" she rushed out in nervous anticipation of the door opening.
"So? This is Finn and Jake. And Beemo. And you did, with my push. And…you totally love it!" Marceline had leaned close and the two were nose-to-nose when the door flew open and Finn appeared. Bubblegum jumped back, but the vampire floated away lazily.
"Marceline! PB! Hey guys, what's up?" He said, a smile finding its way onto boyish features.
"Who's at the door, bro?" Came a call from inside, accompanied by the sounds of one of Beemo's games.
"It's Marceline and PB!" Finn hollered in. "Oh grod, guys! Where are my manners? Like, you can totally come in!" He said, stepping aside, letting the ladies enter.
Finn walked in past them and slumped down onto the couch next to Jake, munching on a sandwich. "So guys, what's up?"
Marceline looked to Bubblegum, who gulped audibly. "Right. Finn, Jake, Beemo, I would very much like your attention in this matter, if you please."
"Right Princess. You got it!" Jake said, not leaving his game. Bubblegum scowled, Marceline smirked (as usual).
Finn elbowed Jake in the ribs. "Pause the game, dude! This looks serious."
Beemo paused for the dog, and Jake groaned. "Man, I was about to get a high score!" Still, Beemo turned around and Jake gave his full attention to the two.
"Thank you, Finn." Bubblegum said. The boy blushed. "Right, as I was saying, there is something very important that I would like to tell you. It's about…" she cleared her throat, "it's about me and Marceline." Quite proud of herself for getting this far without half-sentences and stammering, she took a breath, only to be berated by two of the three who sat before them.
"Yeah what's with you two coming here together?" Finn asked.
"Don't you guys like, royally hate each other or some junk?" Jake added.
Bubblegum scowled a little. Marceline floated to her side, offering silent support. "No, Jake, we do not 'royally hate each other' or anything like that for that matter! In fact, Marci and I are, well…together." She said, and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Of course, take it upon Finn and Jake to misunderstand. "Together? Well, yeah you came here together, but so? I don't get it. Jake?"
"I don't know dude. Maybe they mean like, they're together on something. Like, we're together on this. But I don't know what 'this' is."
Finn nodded. "That makes sense. So what's 'this,' Princess?" Of course, Beemo sat quietly as an observer, as usual.
Marceline fought off laughter for her girlfriend's sake. Those two can be such idiots sometimes. Bonni scowled, quickly growing frustrated. "No, Finn. I mean together together! Like, she's…she's my girlfriend!" She managed.
A moment passed in silence before Finn, Jake, and even Beemo erupted in laughter. "Oh man Princess, that's a good one!" Finn gasped.
"Did you think of this Marceline? Because dude, that is wicked funny!" Jake seconded.
The three of them laughed on as Bubblegum turned to the vampire. "What are they talking about?" She asked, more than thoroughly confused.
Marceline looked at the three, observing their behavior. "I think they think we're pranking them, Bonni." Marceline said, and shrugged at the princess' flustered look, offering silent sympathies.
The laughter died down, and Finn wiped tears from his eyes. "I assure you this is no prank, Finn!" Bubblegum said earnestly.
"C'mon, princess, we called you out. There's no way that you'd go for Marceline." Jake said.
The vampire flew to him quicker than eyes could see and hissed, "What's that supposed to mean, dog?"
Naturally, Jake quickly slinked behind Finn and away from the all-too-frightening Marceline, whimpering a little.
"Marci, knock it off." Bonni upbraided lightly. Ever the faithful servant to Bonnibel's wishes, Marceline softly retreated back to her girlfriend's side.
Finn put his hand on his chin, thinking. "Hmm…all right, if you want us to believe you, Marci, tell PB you love her." He said, pointing from one girl to the other.
"What?" The vampire gasped. "Why can't Bonni tell me?"
"Because it's probably easier for Peebles to say it. She could like, mean as a friend. But if you say it, you mean it. 'Cause I've never heard you say it before."
Marceline gulped, and looked nervously between her expectant girlfriend and an equally expectant Finn. Really, the boy looked like he had won. He had his hands on his hips and a triumphant air about him. The vampire took a deep breath and sharply turned to Bubblegum. "Right." She took a breath. "Bonni." Another. "I luh...I-I-I" she stammered. The vampire turned desperately to Finn. "Look can't we just kiss or some junk?"
"Marceline!" Bubblegum gasped. "You can't even tell me?"
And just like that, two conversations started at once, completely overlapping each other.
"It's not like it's easy for me to say in the first place!" The vampire explained.
"See I told you it was a prank." Jake said to Finn.
"But to even suggest such a thing in front of company! It's private, Marci!" The princess said.
"Well they did seem kind of serious." The boy replied.
"And like emotions aren't? I've never said it in front of anyone the way I mean it with you!" She argued, hovering half a head above the princess, nose-to-nose.
" Yeah dude, but just look at them! There's no way. They fight like, all the time!" Jake said, and they glanced at the arguing girls for only a moment, not taking in any of the conversation.
"Well I've never kissed in front of anyone else! It's personal, Marceline! Personal!"
"Perhaps this is how they show love to one another, yes?" Beemo asked the boys.
"Well I'm more comfortable with physical shows than verbal ones, so to me, that's more personal!"
"Naw, Beemo, no way! I don't think that's how people in love act." Finn said, trying to explain to the robot.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Bubblegum yelled.
"But it is possible. Love is expressed different ways?" Beemo asked again.
"Well physical stuff didn't seem so personal when you yelled at Lady that we were sleeping together!" Marceline hollered back.
Of course, Jake only picked up on a fraction of that sentence. "Whoa, you yelled at my Lady?" He said, in a 'thems fighting words' fashion.
"Shut up, Jake!" the two yelled in unison before turning back to each other, breathing heavily. They stared intensely for only a moment, before peeling out in laughter.
The three watched each girl gasp and shake in laughter. "Girls, man…" Jake said.
Beemo put a heat on his screen, and Finn just shook it off. "No Beemo. But I know what you mean, Jake. Like, no sense."
Their laughter subsided for a moment, and Marceline gasped, "All because Finn and Jake won't believe us!" And they erupted in laughter once more as the boys looked on, absolutely confused. Their entire stupid argument had been caused by those same boys not believing them, and they both found it utterly ridiculous looking back on it.
Finally, each of them caught their breath and wiped tears from their eyes. They looked at each other and turned towards the door. "Bye Finn, bye Jake, bye Beemo!" Bubblegum said as they walked out.
"See ya!" Marceline seconded, and closed the door behind them as they left, leaving it up to the boys to decide whether or not to believe them.
As the two walked home, Bubblegum said to Marci, "Do you think they believed us?"
"I guess they can make their own way on that one, Bonni."
"What was that all about?" Jake asked back in the tree house.
"You don't think they really…?" Finn responded in open question.
"Nawww…" The dog replied, but looked confusedly at the door the two had left through. Marceline had left with her arm around the princess' waist. Beemo tapped his screen, which still had a pixilated heart showing on it.
"Marceline I don't think I can do this…" Bubblegum said, standing on the cloud in Lumpy Space.
For the third time, Marceline sighed. "Do we have to go through this every time? It's fine! I promise! Nothing bad has happened and we've told three people and a robot. Besides, we waited a whole month and you said you were ready."
Bubblegum shuffled nervously around. "But Finn and Jake don't even believe us still! And LSP is…different…she's such a gossip…" She said nervously.
Marceline grabbed lightly at pink shoulders. "The boys will totally come around. And we decided on LSP because she's a gossip. She'll call up all the other princesses and you'll only have to do this in front of one person instead of a whole group. Remember? This was like, your own logic, here, Bonni."
Bubblegum nodded. "You're right. This is easiest and most logical." And Bubblegum knocked politely on the door.
LSP's parents opened. "Oh! Umm…Majesties of Lumpy Space, is LSP home? We'd like to talk to her, if you please." The princess said in her most civil tone.
"Of course!" the King said.
The two of them turned around. "LSP!" The Queen hollered quietly, if that was possible.
"What, ma? What do you want?" Came the voice of their daughter, who slowly came into view. "Oh my glob, ma! Why didn't you lumping say PB and Marceline were here? Ugh! You are so embarrassing! Just leave us the lump alone!" She yelled, full of annoyance. She grabbed Bubblegum's hand and dragged her through the house and Marceline followed after, exchanging small bows with fellow royalty, as was the appropriate thing to do between Kings and Queens. Princesses she figured she could slack on.
Soon enough, the three of them were in LSP's room with the door firmly slammed shut behind them. "So like, what's up?" She asked, as she started gobbling down on a large pile of sandwiches.
"Well, LSP, really it's not that big of a deal but–" Bubblegum began
"Oh my glob, drama bomb! What is it, what is it, what is it?" She asked, floating up and down in quick succession.
Bubblegum cleared her throat. "Well, um…Marceline and I are together." She said simply, finding it easier and easier to say. And in fact, it was like a weight off her shoulders, not having to keep it a secret anymore. She and Marceline shared a smile.
"Oh. My. Glob." She said, and quickly picked up her cell phone. Dialing frantically, she was soon had her intended target on the other line. "Jake! Yeah! LSP! You'll never guess what PB and Marceline just told me…..no, they said they were like, lumping together! …..They told you too? …..A prank? ….." Bubblegum turned to Marceline and the vampire just shrugged. The princess tried to find it in herself to care, but just couldn't. She had the weight off her chest and was happy. That, to her, was more than enough. Whether or not people believed at this point was entirely up to them. "No. No, Jake I gotta go!" She hung up and dialed another number. "Hotdog Princess? …..yah, LSP. Guess what PB and Marceline said? ….."
The Lumpy Space girl lost all interest in the couple she was talking about who, ironically, were in the same room. Marceline floated up and rested her head atop Bubblegum's, wrapping her arms around a pink neck. Bubblegum's hands clasped onto the vampire's forearms, and they swayed slightly. "Well, there you go, Bonni. The information makes its way from princess to princess." Marceline said, looking on as LSP gossiped from one girl to the next.
Bubblegum just hummed in contentment at the feeling of the other girl's arms wrapped around her. "I guess a royal announcement is next…" She said lazily.
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Marceline I don't think I can do this…" Bubblegum said.
Marceline didn't sigh. "Yeah, dude…I totally get that…" she said, looking out the window, past the balcony and on to the giant crowd of people that had formed to hear the Princess' important royal announcement. I frickin' hate public royal announcement junk. Never do it in my own realm. But then…guess that's a little different. Things were always a little different in the Night-O-Sphere. That's why the couple hadn't gone off to tell anyone Marceline knew. One: Everyone there probably already knew, because they are just sneaky and conniving like that. Two: no one would care if they didn't know and found out. Three: If they held a thing like the one Bubblegum was holding to publicly tell the Candy Kingdom and all the adjoining Kingdoms, no one would come. People there aren't exactly civil.
"Marceline I really, really don't think I can do this…" Bubblegum reiterated.
Marceline just nodded. "Call it off. You're the Princess; you can do whatever you want!" She said. The Vampire Queen didn't even want to go out there, even if all she had to do was float next to Bonni as she made the announcement.
The two stood right inside of the double glass doors that led to the balcony. "If we stay here we're going to be late to our own convention." Bubblegum said, shell-shocked a little that she had even decided to do this.
"It's really soon after LSP. I mean, it's only been like two days. You could totally wait, if you aren't ready, I mean…" Marceline mumbled.
"Are you afraid?" The princess asked quietly.
"Terrified." Marceline responded even softer.
Bubblegum nodded in understanding. If anything, Marceline was more at risk than she herself was. People could think that Bonni had been hypnotized or threatened into it or any number of things. Any way it could go, the Candy Princess was completely safe. "We have to go out. I have my speech all ready. I practiced it like, a bunch."
"Okay." Marceline said simply.
"And all these people are here…" Bubblegum said, convincing herself.
"Okay" The vampire said again.
"Right." The princess nodded. "Right." And she opened the door, stepping out with Marceline floating beside her, a large had and long gloves and pants protecting her from the sun. The vampire made the executive decision to float upright, almost as if she were standing, and held her best posture, even though she kept her eyes just slightly downcast.
The crowd quieted of its own accord.
Marceline waited patiently for Bonni to start speaking, praying for it to be over and to come out on the other end alive(ish) and well. She heard nothing. The vampire glanced over at the pink girl to see her absolutely frozen, mouth gaping and eyes wide as she stared at the crowd below them. She turned in concern to face her girlfriend. She was going to say something, but just then, a steely resolve dominated pink features.
Bubblegum turned abruptly to Marceline, grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her in, and kissed her full on the lips.
Marceline floated shell-shocked for a moment, before losing herself in her girlfriend. They kissed slowly, languidly, and the crowd didn't matter. LSP didn't matter. Finn and Jake didn't matter. Lady didn't matter. In this moment, it was just the two of them, so in love they could care less where they were because the world melted away in the most exquisite manner when they kissed like this. All too soon, Bubblegum pulled away, and Marceline's eyes snapped open.
"We're in love! Deal with it!" Bubblegum shouted out to the crowd.
Marceline laughed. "Now that's the way you do it, Bonni!" And she wrapped the pink girl in her arms. Bonni clasped her wrists behind Marceline's neck, stepped on her toes, and the two floated up, just the way the princess loved. Marceline was kissing her again so completely, and Bonni was kissing her again in just the right way, that the crowd could have been rioting for all she cared and she wouldn't have noticed.
Under them, the crowd cheered; overjoyed to see their princess, neighbor, mentor, student, friend so in love and so happy…even if it was with a ruffian, hooligan, no-good vampire.
A/N
This, of course, is their coming out. Hope you enjoyed it. It was suggested by various people, Freecathugs, Toolazytosignupforanaccount, Monochrome Masquerade, and Tigerlilly22. I hope I did the idea justice. (Yes? No? Hate? I'm [crazy stupid very] nervous about this one...) Also, I feel like this counts for Marceline teasing Bonni. Don't worry, she will do frequently throughout, I just don't know if I can write a whole chapter on it. So for the teasing suggestion there's Shadowfox and AlexandraAuditore (but I feel like the undertone was in may reviews).Hope everyone was satisfied! (Nervous, nervous, nervous)
PLEASE REVIEW AND SUGGEST!
Sorry I took so long to update, but this chaps the longest yet, so...yay? (terrified, nervous, kill me now) Also, for those of you wondering about the story in the previous chapter, that was all me, baby. That's right, no inspiration (other than the weather), no former knowledge (other than the weather), just pure imagination (and the weather). Haha. So thanks so, so, so, SO much for the kind words and wonderful reviews. I think Marceline after the break up will be the chapter after next, for those of you waiting. Thanks so much and congrats if you made it through the whole (very long) author's note! Bonus points to you!
-JD