Bittersweet - Bubbline AU

Chapter Twenty Five - Three Terrifying Words

Hi, I'm back again!

So, I'll probably update one more time today after this chapter, and after this y'all will have to wait my creativity to help me finish chapter twenty seven sksksk

Well, lest go to the chapter.

Good reading!

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There was a lock, something that prevented her from saying that. She could look at Bonnibel for hours, watching her talk about all the things she loved, even if half the time she didn't even understand what was going on.

It was just the way she gestured, the precision of the words coming out of her, the pose of someone who knows very well what she speaks. And behind that, that eternally innocent gleam in her eyes, that warm smile, the almost childlike energy that emanated from her excitement.

Marceline wanted to say, she really did. But those three words remained stuck in the way, sometimes hanging from the tip of her tongue, and swallowing them again always left a lump in her throat.

She liked to think that she was the brave one between the two of them, the one with the chest to do things. She wasn't. Not when it came to opening up like that.

There was a veiled fear of saying it out loud, the feeling that things would be too real if she just let those words go out into the open, where anyone could see.

Where Bonnie could see.

It was funny for Marceline to imagine that it was the other one who let it slip through her lips for the first time, so natural that she can only think about it after it's done. And as bad as the consequences might have been, she still held on to what she said.

But Marceline knew that she wouldn't say it again, not after the terrible reaction she had received that day in Central Park. At least, not until she was sure of a reciprocal answer.

Marceline needed to take the first step.

[...]

The room moved, alive with the energy emanating from the important guests, all cheerful and communicative. It was another Megan event, but now in celebration of the release of a new book. Her children and their friends talked loudly and laughed at one of the tables, devouring candies like any good teenager.

"Marcy? Can you come here in a moment, heart?" - said the woman, watching her daughter adjust in the dark red dress and walk to her, with an expression of someone who asks how she can help. "I have a piano placed in the central area, could you play something?"

"Sure, mom! I'll be right there."

Marceline drew her friends' attention to the piano and headed over there. She sat down in front of the instrument and was ready to get something excited out of it in that way that only her knew how to do. But then her eyes fell on Bonnibel.

Her pink hair was in a bun, two strands hanging loose around her face. She was whispering to the rest of the group now, as the whole room was silent waiting for Marceline to start playing.

The buzz of the room was gradually fading as Marceline was gradually lost in her. The way her eyes compressed when she smiled, the habit of pushing her glasses through her nose, the straight, imposing stance that she rarely missed. Her gaze hit Marceline's, and her smile made the rest of that room disappear for Marceline.

She had to say that. She knew very well that the words wouldn't just come out, they never came out. Her most important words were only sung.

She took a deep breath once, twice. Closed eyes. When she opened them, she was a confused mix of over determination and childlike fear. A huge smile and shaking hands. Her hands touched the keys as carefully as they touched Bonnibel for the first time.