I was totally gonna wait to post this next chapter but then my girlfriend was like 'NO POST IT NOW' so you have her to thank/blame for this. I think she just wanted me to be quiet for a while so she has time to knit in peace, she's making me a herringbone Viking scarf.
A quick note on names; it's hard to think of human names for characters who don't have human names in the series. So if you were wondering Lydia is LSP, a hat-tip to Lydia Bennett from Pride and Prejudice because I feel that the two of them are kindred spirits and I can only imagine the kind of mischief they'd get up to together. Jake's surname is Madigan because it is an actual for real Irish surname and also it means 'little dog' and is adorable. Lady is just... Lady. Because that is a legit and fashionable name in Korea and I'm uncomfortable with renaming her to make her more western, why shouldn't she be culturally Korean? A few names have had to be changed just so they make sense in the real world setting but I'll let you know who they are in case you can't work it out. There are only a tiny number of OCs in this story and they are all minor background characters so unlike the Foundlings series it isn't OC heavy.
Review if the mood takes you, I genuinely adore all my reviewers so much!
Content warning: Annoying!Finn, social anxiety, minor bad language, very mild references to ladysexing.
"Are you gonna start actually snogging that card or what?"
Bonnie jumped at the unexpected voice and repressed the panicked urge to slide the business card out of view under her book. She'd fiddled with it so much over the last week that the edges of the card were starting to fray and the ink was nearly illegible. Finn plopped down into the hard wooden seat next to her and grinned in that irrepressible way that always made her a little feel better. He flopped down across her textbook so she didn't have any excuse to ignore him.
"Shut up you dink, I was just looking at it." she mumbled in embarrassment, blushing but smiling back shyly. It was nice to see him even if he was getting in the way of her studying. Not that she'd been studying anyway. Bonnie had been staring at the business card and trying to figure out yet again if Marceline had left it deliberately for her.
"Oooh Bonnie likes a giiiirl." Finn sang, laughing and stretching out a little smugly. He'd heard that testo injections could make him go into another growth spurt and he insisted that even though he'd only been on his new medication for a month his limbs were already beginning to grow again. He was enjoying showing it off despite Bonnie having told him repeatedly that it'd take much longer for the physical changes to really become obvious.
Finn continued to grin at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively until Bonnie sighed and handed him the business card. There was no use even trying to lie to Finn. He'd always been able to read her like an open book. Bonnie blushed again and nodded, accepting that she did in fact like a girl.
"Ok, I will admit that I do like her. She's very charming and charismatic and she is really cute. And, well, really intimidating too. I dunno, Finn. I want to call her but I'm like ninety percent certain she left this card by accident and my gaydar can't get a read on her anyway. She's too… bright. It's like trying to look directly into the sun." Bonnie said with a wistful sigh.
He just smiled back and nodded like that hadn't been crazy and completely disjointed. Finn was one of the few people who stood a good chance of understanding where she was coming from; he knew her better than just about anyone else. She'd missed that. Missed someone knowing what she meant even when she wasn't completely sure herself.
"Most of that's just your social anxiety talking. You're worried she thinks you're fancier than you are because of how you met her. Like, she thinks you're the kind of person who hangs around the cultural displays at museums and knows a lot of pleasantly quirky cafes. Well, you kinda are. You're mostly panicky about how she paid the bill. So she's from money and that's scary for you cause we're all so broke, but so what?" he replied after a while, looking uncharacteristically serious when he saw that his ex was genuinely worried about it. "I mean, even if it's as a joke, who carries around business cards? Or just offers to buy a brand new top-of-the-range camera right off the bat? Takes perfect strangers to lunch and just throws a handful of cash at the waitress? She doesn't have any idea how weird it is to see her casually hand over more money in one go than you've spent on groceries in the last month. But she's rich, and really hot, and took you to lunch. She didn't even have a freak out and leave after Jake outed me, the bastard. She wouldn't have done all that for no reason and she wouldn't have left her card for no reason either. Ask her out, flirt with her, snog her face off, slide her panties off an- hrph."
Bonnie deftly clamped her hands over Finn's mouth and silenced the end of his little speech before she actually exploded from embarrassment. It didn't help that he'd come to find her in the middle of her university library and was talking in an unthinking loud voice. People were peering around the shelves to stare at them. Bonnie could feel the prickle of a hundred curious eyes on her back and her anxiety was starting to peak again.
"Finn! Shut your mouth!" she hissed at him, glancing around apologetically. "Are you even here to study or did you come to the medical building just to annoy me?"
He rolled his eyes but pulled a stack of books out of his bag and pointed at them appeasingly. She reluctantly removed her hand from his mouth.
"Studying, see? Us sports science guys do know how to read, y'know. Besides I had some nutrition lectures here. They don't normally let gorillas like us into the med school unless they need us as lab rats but your library is quieter and I thought it'd be nice to surprise you."
They sat and studied silently for a while, comfortable together in an entirely unconscious way. If she'd have stopped to consider it Bonnie might have felt weird about hanging out with her ex like that. But long before he'd asked to be called Finn and before they'd spent a couple of tumultuous months making out all over their corner of the city and before he'd come out as trans even to himself he'd been her very best friend. The kid over the garden fence she could always talk to, the person who knew her best in the world since she was ten years old and had moved back to England from Germany. Sure, she'd known that kid as Fionna, but they were the same person in all the ways that mattered. And Finn had always had her back. He always knew whatever it was she needed even when she didn't know herself. When her Dad had left and her whole twelve year old world had come crashing down around her they'd sat in the tiny treehouse in Finn's garden together and talked for hours until she'd found some kind of balance again. Finn had been a constant in her life for more than ten years now.
So if Finn stole her phone when she was engrossed in reading about RNA self-replication theories and texted the number from the business card it could only be because he thought it was good for her. He was trying to be a good friend to her. And really how mad could she be with him?
So mad. Just as soon as she stopped having a huge meltdown because oh holy fuck he texted that girl from the museum?
Her phone buzzed with a message and she glanced down at it, thinking it was probably her roommate Lydia. She almost had a heart attack when she saw the name on the screen and read the message.
'Hot Rich Chick': hey bonnie didnt expect youd get in touch its been ages but yeah id love to go to dinner tomorrow night ramiros at 8 sounds awesome cya there x x x
There was a message above the reply that she could guarantee she hadn't written.
Heyyy it's Bonnie, you broke my camera at the museum? So I found your business card and wondered if you'd like to get dinner and talk more about Jake's designs? Ramiro's on Bethnal Green at 8 tomorrow? Let me know and I'll book a table, looking forward to it xxx
"What did you do, you absolute butt?" she hissed at Finn, mortified beyond words.
"I set you up on a date, Bonnibel. She's hot! And rich! Go to Ramiro's and get your lez on tomorrow night and don't forget me when you're looking for a best man." he replied with a smug grin. He slid his books into his bag and danced out of her reach when she lunged across the table to grab him for some form of violent revenge. Finn laughed and waved, sauntering out of the library with a wink. Bonnie rested her face on her open text book and breathed shallowly through her nose to control the panic then counted to a hundred slowly in German to try to calm herself. Ok. Thanks to Finn and his meddling she had a date. With a really hot and probably quite rich girl. Tomorrow. At a quirky vegan restaurant that Finn must have deliberately looked up so this whole thing was premeditated and he was probably just bullshitting her about having lectures in her building. He'd just wanted to steal her phone when he knew she'd be so distracted by studying she wouldn't notice. Bonnie resolved to kill Finn as soon as she could face talking to people again.
After several long minutes of slow breathing and silent counting Bonnie stood. She closed her books and gathered them together into an untidy bundle before exiting the library and heading to where she'd left her bicycle chained to the railings outside. She had a date to get ready for and only- she glanced at her watch- twenty six hours to prepare. God, she'd better hurry home and start choosing clothes.
...
"I'd slip a few condoms into your wallet but you might give her the wrong impression." Lydia called from their tiny sofa, eyes still glued on her phone.
Bonnie paced nervously and resisted the urge to tug on her hair. She'd swept it up into a deceptively elaborate 'casual' up-do and just thinking about touching it could cause the whole thing to tumble back down around her ears. Lydia glanced up and rolled her eyes.
"Like, seriously. You're gonna wear out the carpet. Sit down and chill, you big dork."
Bonnie perched on the edge of the sofa next to her friend and fiddled with her bracelet, then the TV remote, then her bracelet again, then Lydia slapped her hands.
"What if I don't like any of the vegan food?" Bonnie burst out after a moment. "What if some horrifying situation arises where my digestive system isn't used to food without animal products and something really gross and disturbing happens? What if she's straight and thinks we're just hanging out as gal pals? What if-"
"Oh. My. God. Bonnie! Would you shut up for a minute before you give yourself an ulcer from stressing about tonight? I've been to Ramiro's a few times, it's award winning and they do vegetarian food too so you can get pasta with egg and cheese. Is that enough animal product for you? So at least you don't need to worry she's going to make you inflate like a methane filled balloon with her funky vegan gunk. You can have milk and egg all you want. And yeah, maybe she's straight! Most people are, but she's going to a cosy little first date restaurant with you isn't she? You'll only know if you go and like, talk to her. It's that simple. Christ." Lydia finished with a roll of her eyes, then looked back at her phone again. She smiled when she noticed she'd gotten a new message from Brad.
For all she was intensely annoying and permanently texting at least a hundred boys at once, Lydia knew what she was about when it came to dating. And she was a surprisingly good friend to Bonnie as well as an excellent person to share an apartment with. She was often out at book launches and fashion shows schmoozing with big names in the fashion industry trying to find a job as a personal assistant so a lot of the time Bonnie had the place to herself.
"Thanks, Lyds. I'm just nervous. I really like her." Bonnie murmured, earning herself a brief hug.
"Whatever, nerd. Go have an awesome first date, and hurry up because it's seven fifteen already and you have to get halfway across town."
Bonnie was on her feet and out of the door within five minutes. She jogged along towards the underground station swearing quietly in German under her breath to help keep herself calm.
In the end she was actually pretty early. The restaurant wasn't actually as far away as Lydia had suggested. Bonnie ended up perched on a stool in the quirky restaurant bar staring into the depths of an overpriced glass of dry white wine with her stomach tying itself into panicky knots. She tried to fix her messed up hair in the mirror above the bar but gave it up as a bad job when her prodding at it only made it into a bigger tangle than ever. She'd just have to deal with it looking a bit crazy. Besides Marceline would probably think she'd deliberately styled it that way; she seemed like the sort of person who spent a long time making her hair look fashionably messy. It was just a shame that on Bonnie it looked like she didn't own a hairbrush whereas on the elegant hippie girl it looked stylish and interesting.
In a last minute attempt to stop herself fidgeting Bonnie ended up texting Finn, just because she didn't know what else to do and because she'd had time to think about it and partially forgiven him for interfering. He was right, she needed to get out more and there was an outside chance this might actually work out. Then she'd have to thank him.
I'm here and she's nowhere to be seen. My hair is crazy and the wine at this place is so expensive. I hate you and this is all your fault. Damn you and your meddling.
After a minute her phone buzzed with a reply.
Haha you love me really! And your hair is always crazy, it's cute like that. And stop drinking wine then if it's expensive, just have water with your meal. She's vegan, she'll think that's awesome.
Bonnie frowned at her phone and typed out a quick reply.
Yeah well your hair is crazy. Crazy blonde you lucky bastard, try being a redhead and turning the same colour as your hair when you have to run anywhere. Yeah alcohol probably isn't gonna help. I just thought it might settle my nerves but... nah still feel about four seconds away from full meltdown. She's late.
Bonnie fiddled with the stem of her wine glass and waited for his reply. It was already ten past eight; she'd wait another twenty minutes but if her date didn't show she was going home. Bonnie was increasingly certain she was going to get stood up anyway because why would anyone want to go out on a date with her? Especially not mysterious and beautiful girls that smiled like the sun and had intricate tattoos and could definitely do better than some socially inept- her phone buzzed again, interrupting her internal dialogue of panic.
Chill, she's probably just delayed. Breathe slow and calm and remember you're crazy clever and beautiful too. Kind and sensitive and amazing and any girl would be incredibly lucky to be on a date with you. Relax, it'll be fine.
That was... a nice but slightly uncomfortable thing for her ex to say. Bonnie was frowning at her phone trying to work out if Finn had crossed some unspoken line or not when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and there was her date, looking even cuter than she had at the museum in a snugly fitting dark red tunic sweater and grey leggings. Bonnie tried to speak but she was caught off guard and ended up just staring at Marceline with her mouth hanging halfway open, blinking in surprise.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late, I was hanging out with a friend and I lost track of time and then my stupid ex-boyfriend needed to talk to me about something and, anyway I'm here now. Did you look at the menu yet? You decided what you wanna eat?"
She headed off towards the tables leaving Bonnie to grab her glass and follow as she stared at the back of the other girl's sleek inky black head. Ex-boyfriend? ...Dammit.
The conversation flowed fairly well over dinner. Mostly Marceline asked Bonnie lots of questions about her thesis work and listened raptly while she explained the scientific concepts behind her various experiments. It was very flattering, she supposed. So nice to meet someone who was genuinely interested in her work, who found the science fascinating even if they didn't always understand it. Someone who was smart and funny and cute and- straight, her brain helpfully supplied when she found herself gazing dreamily at the other girl and imagining what those lips might taste like. Stop right there, Bonnibel. Straight. Ex-boyfriend. Remember? Straight and beautiful and off limits, so just stop torturing yourself.
Because of course she was straight, she was too damn perfect not to be. She probably thought it was a mate-date. Or even worse, she was only there because she wanted to be closer to Jake's magical new shoe collection. Well Bonnie couldn't blame her for that, she'd seen some of Jake's preliminary sketches and they were phenomenal. He was already getting a name for himself and he'd only been selling his designs professionally for a couple of years.
Bonnie even tried to steer the conversation away from her thesis a couple of times by asking Marceline more about herself. But each time the dark haired girl deflected her pretty thoroughly after giving her a long and thoroughly unreadable look. Then she asked something else about some obscure aspect of genetics. It was too hard not to begin spouting about the joys of her research when Bonnie had a captive audience that actually wanted to hear about it. The other girl was probably just shy, Bonnie figured. Or private. Probably just really private.
"Oh, I just remembered!" Marceline interrupted with a grin. Bonnie had been casting around for a way to describe transcription pre-initiation complex interactions that didn't make it sound impossibly boring and complicated. "I've got something for Mr Madig- Jake. Do you think you can give him this cheque? I was gonna buy him another Lady camera but I figured a guy as awesome as him should have his pick of what's on the market right now. So I wrote him out a decent amount to cover it."
Oh, right then. So it was about Jake's camera after all. She shouldn't be disappointed, Bonnie told herself sternly. That's why she was there; she was an ambassador for Jake and his amazing designs and rapidly developing reputation. She should be proud to help him achieve his dreams, not be harbouring sappy fantasies about leaning across the table and tenderly kissing his enigmatic benefactor.
"Yeah, sure. I'll drop it round to him tomorrow after my lectures." she muttered, accepting the cheque and slipping it into her bag without even glancing at it. She didn't want to know how much Marceline was giving her friend. Finn was right, she was clearly from a very wealthy family and had no idea how uncomfortable it was to watch her throwing that amount of money around in front of a group of broke students. Probably she was a trust fund baby, Bonnie decided. She probably lived in some palatial mansion in Kensington with private butlers and house keepers.
Bonnie stared down into her half empty glass of water as the conversation lapsed. There was a weird empty feeling in the pit of her stomach despite the very good vegetarian risotto she's just eaten. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised that it wasn't actually a date. When she really thought about it she wasn't sure why she'd ever assumed a perfectly gorgeous woman would just stumble into her life and want to go to a romantic dinner with her for no other reason than because she'd asked. It had never happened in the past and there was absolutely no basis for imagining that that was what was happening now. She felt like a massive idiot for ever entertaining the idea.
"Hey, listen. I have a gig this weekend and we're trying to fill up the audience with friendly faces. I was wondering if you'd be interested in a completely free evening of live music with only the fairly usual obligation that you hang out with me afterwards and applaud where appropriate?" Marceline asked quietly. She was staring into her own glass and looking maybe a little unsure of herself, too.
"I, um, yeah, that'd be nice." Bonnie stuttered in reply. Just a gig. Friend-date. Not an actual date. Her heart still tripped weirdly to think about it and she had to squash down the self-conscious grin that wanted to spread across her face.
"Cool. Ask your friends along too, it'd be really cool to get a proper crowd going."
Oh and there was that sharp stab of disappointment again, no matter how many times she yelled internally that the other girl was straight and it was so definitely not a date. Well nobody asked a mess of people they'd only met once along on a date with them. So yeah, clearly it was not a date. More than anything Bonnie wished she could just go home and curl up in her pyjamas and feel stupid in the comfort of her own bedroom without having to make polite conversation with someone who really just wanted to be girly friends. And she'd already said that she'd go, even better. Now she'd have to turn up at least for a while or risk the social anxiety of having to make up an excuse for her absence. Bonnie was uncomfortable with lying even when it was to get out of a gig she really didn't want to go to.
Just like the day in the cafe Marceline insisted on paying the bill. This time she didn't run away but she didn't let Bonnie see how much it came to either and she left what looked like a very generous tip. They walked away from the restaurant towards the nearest underground station together in what Bonnie felt was a somewhat tense silence.
"So, this is my station." Bonnie mumbled when they reached the underground. She shuffled her feet embarrassedly; mortified beyond justification at how much effort she'd put into her hair and outfit to go and have casual dinner with some random straight rich girl.
"Listen, I had a really nice night." Marceline murmured, smiling unreadably at her. "You're certainly better dinner conversation than my normal bowl of vegan noodles and a handful of strawberries. Would you like to do this again some time? Cause I've really enjoyed hanging out with you tonight."
"Mm, maybe yeah." Bonnie agreed unenthusiastically. She stared down at the pavement and wondering if she'd ever felt quite so awkward in her whole life.
She was quite unprepared when she looked up and the pretty dark haired girl was entirely too close and leaning in towards her. Bonnie's heart seized, she went rigid in panic. Was she about to-
Marceline hugged her gently and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, lingering for just a fraction of a second longer than was necessary.
"Call me, yeah? Or text me, whatever. We'll hang out again."
Then she was disappearing down the steps to the underground leaving nothing but warm tingling on the side of Bonnie's face where soft lips had ghosted over the skin just a second before. Bonnie stared after her, confused and a little dazed.