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“Peeeeebles~” Marceline whined, “Please come cuddle with me?”
“No can do, Marcy. I have a bunch of science things to finish!”
“You always say that but then you take all night to finish and you never end up sleeping with me!” Marcy rolled around on the couch.
“You don’t need sleep anyways, ya goober.” Princess Bubblegum clinked a few glasses together, then placed a few droplets of goop into an Erlenmeyer Flask.
Marceline took a break from sulking on the couch and went over to Bubblegum’s science table. Although she had an entire lab in a separate part of the house, Bubblegum thought it would be nice to have a small table in the living room for occasional projects that involved some tinkering. Marceline placed a hand on the busy scientist. Bubblegum flinched at her touch which caused Marcy to back off.
“Peebles,” Marceline sugar coated her words, “Why don’t you take a break tonight? We can cuddle as we watch some cheesy 2000’s movie on Channel 3. It’ll be fun~”
Princess Bubblegum let out a deep sigh of frustration as she set down her tinkering tools. “Look Marcy... I’ve told you a thousand times: no I will not cuddle you, nor will I sleep with you. Now,” she made a brushing motion with her hand, “if you’ll excuse me.” Then she left without another word. Marceline realized that she pestered her girlfriend one too many times today, and decided it was best to give her some space.
Peebles made her way to the bathroom in an attempt to cool off. She sat down on the toilet seat and rested her face in the palm of her hands. Calm down, girl just calm down. It’s okay. No need to rush. You’ve held hands with her. You’ve even leaned on her shoulder in the movie theatre…Even if it was just for a few minutes. Princess Bubblegum couldn’t stand people in her personal space for too long: even her own girlfriend. She didn’t want to bring it up to Marceline because of her fear of rejection. From the start of the relationship, Bubblegum had been trying to get over it on her own without any help. It was a tough journey, but she couldn’t dare tell anyone in fear of burdening them with this challenge.
Deciding she spent enough time freaking out, Bubblegum went over to the sink to splash some water on her face. Exiting the bathroom she noticed a melancholy Marceline slumped over on the couch.
“Hey…” she peeked around the bathroom door. “I’m gonna go hit the hay soon.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.” Marcy replied without looking up from the ground. Bubblegum was upset with herself for snapping at Marceline earlier. She figured she should apologize, but was unsure when.
Princess Bubblegum made it to their bedroom and changed into pajamas. She put on heavy-metal t-shirt that Marceline gifted her a long time ago. The gift signified their first date, which was a trip to the aquarium. Being the excited person she was, she immediately dressed in the shirt as soon as the date began. She can still remember how the innocent bystanders watched as she squealed while taking off her top in exchange for the new one. Before she crawled into bed she grabbed a book to take with her underneath the sheets. The book was titled M.A.Th.M Mathematics. It was more about the concept of money then math, but she chose to read it anyways.
While on a page about exchanging ones for quarters, she noticed Marceline walk into the room. “Marcy…listen,” she placed her book down, “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”
What a cutie, Marceline thought. The sight of her sweetheart wearing the shirt she had given her was enough to make her heart skip a beat. “Ah… It’s okay. I shouldn’t have pestered you too much. I know how you like personal space.” Marceline crawled into the bed, making sure to keep some distance between them. There was a brief awkward silence. Marcy broke the tension in the air by speaking again. “Can you at least tell me why you don’t like to cuddle?” She was afraid to look at Peebles in the eye.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Bubblegum gave a small smile and replied “Sure.” In that moment, Princess Bubblegum revealed why she wasn’t a huge fan of cuddling. She explained how in grade school she was always being touched all of the time for how cute she was. At first, she enjoyed the attention, just as most kids would. However, she grew tired of it. Soon her annoyance became something more serious. What once was gentle hugs and paps soon became glomps and surprise smooches. Eventually, it grew old, and Bubblegum no longer liked the attention. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop people from bothering her. Yearning for personal space in a world where it was nonexistent was nearly impossible. Constantly being poked and prodded by everyone was all too much for her.
As Marceline listened she could tell that Bubblegum was confessing some deep truths about herself. She noticed a couple of tears forming at the corners of her eyes. As much as she wanted to kiss them away, she knew she had to wait until the time was right.
As Bubblegum wrapped up her story, she wiped a few tears then jumped into Marceline’s chest for a hug.
“Thank you for sticking by my side this entire time.” She muffled into Marcy’s chest.
“Don’t worry, Peebles” Marceline stroked the princess’s hair. “It’s going to be okay. I’m actually glad you told me. Now we can work this out together.”
The sound of Marceline’s upbeat attitude made Bubblegum pull back. She took a moment to admire Marceline’s kind face before planting a soft kiss on her cheek. Bubblegum was beginning to feel safe and warm. It was a shame she hadn’t felt this earlier. She had definitely been missing out.
Marceline continued to hug Peebles for a very long time until she noticed something was a bit off. “Peebles..?” No response. She pulled the girl off of her and noticed she was knocked out like a light. Giddy with affection, Marceline placed a kiss on the sleeping beauty’s forehead and cuddled with her for the rest of the night.