Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A day after their triumph over the third temple, Sasha and Marcy got some alone time together. Despite Anne's hesitancy to leave them both, Sprig insisted that the bug that needed slaying simply could not wait, and slaying monsters was literally in the job description for heroes, and also could Anne please just spend one day with him?

“You know,” Marcy mentioned offhandedly, “there are supposed to be kill-a-pillars in these woods.”

Sasha stumbled over a fallen branch. “And you only bring this up now?? I would have brought a bigger sword! And maybe a couple more knives.” Marcy laughed at Sasha’s consternation, waving her hand about her head as if to say “it’s no big deal”.

“It would have been an issue, but I came prepared. See?” Marcy pulled out a sprig of mint out of her belt. “Kill-a-pillars hate this stuff. The grown ones especially, which is why we’ve been left alone thus far.”

Sasha didn’t look convinced.

“Uh huh. And why is that, exactly?”

“Oh, you know. Mint back home is already really annoying to most bugs! You know how you get that minty fresh flavour in your mouth after brushing your teeth?” Sasha nodded. “That’s from the same chemical that kills the bugs. To us, it’s a nice coolness that’s refreshing and invigorating; to them, it may as well be mustard gas. But I had to make sure to find the right kinds! It’s really funny how things are almost the same here as back home, only a bit worse. You’d think a different world would be more, you know, different. But no, you have to find the specific kind of mint that drives away kill-a-pillars.”

Sasha smiled as Marcy continued. She’d missed this, she realised with a jolt– she’d missed hearing Marcy spout off about whatever she had on her mind… and all it took was losing her for 2 months to realise it. She had almost trained herself to not turn and expect answers when someone spoke to her about something she didn’t have the foggiest about, for that long, long time she’d spent alone. First as a prisoner, then as a lieutenant, then as a fugitive; even now, as Marcy elucidated about the horrible ways in which kill-a-pillars would shrivel up and turn to dust if they ate a sprig of mint of the wrong variety, she could scarcely believe that she had finally, finally, regained all that she had lost. Even Anne.

She slowly came back to reality as Marcy flushed bright red, sputtering her apologies for being so graphic about the process, that she’d forgotten about Sasha being there in her passion, and that she’d shut up now–

“No, no. Keep going, Mar-mar. I’m learning something.”

Marcy gaped; Sasha had never really paid attention to what she was saying back on Earth, even if she had never really outright told her to shut up. The furthest she’d ever gone was to smirk as Marcy came back to earth, and now she was paying attention? And asking for more??

Marcy stumbled over her next words as she reeled from this revelation– Sasha cared about what she had to say. That wasn’t something she could have said to herself in a long, long time– best not to get her hopes up.

“Um, uh, so! Mint. Right. So,” she took a breath and forged on as Sasha hacked away at the brush in their path. “It doesn’t take much to kill a kill-a-pillar, but it also doesn’t really take much to kill a frog, or a newt, even a toad for that matter. That’s why mint isn’t more widespread as a deterrent. It would be like us using arsenic in our bug sprays. Except the arsenic didn’t just act as a potion of shit yourself, it also turned you into jerky.”

Sasha laughed in amazement. “Potion of shit yourself! Oh, Marce, that’s an amazing way to put it.”

Marcy’s flush, originally receding, returned with a vengeance. Sasha thought she was… funny? Oh. Oh dear god.

“How did you even find this out if the amphibians avoid the useful varieties almost as religiously as the kill-a-pillars do?”

“Oh, a bit of trial and error. And,” Marcy snorted, “I only found out that no one here actually really eats mint because it’s too much effort for most people to differentiate what is and isn’t dangerous. The look on the palace cook’s face when I asked him if they had mint choc chip ice cream, hah!”

Sasha’s face creased into a beaming smile. Of course she would ask for mint choc chip ice cream. Marcy was a creature of habit– even if this creature seemed a lot less meek socially than she had back at home.

“So, did you end up getting your ice cream?”

“Oh, no, not immediately at least. I had to harvest enough mint to even start the process, plus I had to draw up affidavits for every single one of the kitchen staff confirming that their families would be well compensated ‘in the unfortunate event that they should fall in the line of duty’. For frog’s sake, I just wanted a bit of ice cream!”

Of course she knew how to draw up legal documents. Not that she hadn’t tried back home; Mr Boonchuy had wisely stepped in when he found the three of them arguing about the merits of signing over their immortal souls to Marcy for a snack (“The saying is to Satan, girls. You can have your souls, or you can have this corn chip!”).

“But what about you, Sasha? I ended up in Newtopia, Anne ended up in Wartwood– where did you land?”

Sasha froze; she really, really did not want to have this conversation. How does one tell one of their closest friends that oh, she’d been roughing up civilians with a bunch of toads, and also she’d been a fugitive for desertion for the past few months, plus she’d recovered a legendary artefact that had earned her the respect of a massive army that was plotting to overthrow the king, the king that Marcy served?

More importantly… how could she even tell Marcy about Toad Tower? Just thinking back to that gloomy night where it all went wrong made her break into a cold sweat at the best of times. How on earth was she going to cushion that blow? Lying wasn’t an option here, unlike her motivations for joining up with the gang; if she wasn’t at least partially honest about it, eventually Marcy was going to find out from Anne. And if she let Anne have that first strike regarding the narrative… No. She would simply have to omit some of the more unpleasant facts about what had happened that night, and pray to the moist, amphibian deities that surely resided in the heavens of this strange new world that Anne would be diplomatic enough to not bring them up in her absence. Or in her presence, for that matter.

“Well. I started off by landing in an area near the Southern Toad Tower. Grimesy and the other toads stationed there didn’t take too kindly to me at first– good looks and charisma can only take you so far when you look so different from everyone else.”

Marcy coughed and turned her head to hide a grin. Finally, someone had been able to resist Sasha’s charms, at least for a time. Sasha glared at her, but continued on nonetheless.

“They kept me prisoner for a while–”

“WHAT?” shouted Marcy in alarm. “They did WHAT to you?”

Sasha started; she’d forgotten that other people might not be as used to damp, dingy prison cells as she had become in that short time she’d spent chained to a wall.

“Hey, I got better!” Sasha raised her hands defensively as Marcy glared in the general direction of Wartwood, where Grime was currently terrorising Bessie or something. “I helped fight off a heron attack, and then they enlisted me as a lieutenant. I liked having something to do, honestly; even if that something was, ah, tax collection.”

Marcy nodded, knowing very well how unpopular the tax man was; that was one thing that had stayed the same between here and Earth. “Yeah, I get it. Someone’s got to do the dirty work, and you guys probably didn’t have it easy.”

Sasha hesitated for a moment. Should she come clean about what the toads had actually been doing in the valley for decades? She knew Bog and company had had a run in with Anne a while back, and Wartwood had no love for the toad army.

“Yeah. Yeah, no one liked coughing up, but it is what it is, you know?” Sasha hacked viciously at a stubborn branch in their way, still thinking of the best way to lead in to the whole… Toad Tower thing.

Actually, she thought to herself, now was an alright chance for her to segue into explaining that.

“There’s something you should know. Anne and I, uh, we had a run in before we met up.”

“Oh?” Marcy perked up. She’d noticed a bit of tension between Anne and Sasha in the temple, but she hadn’t really thought much about it until Sasha brought it up again.

“Yeah. So, basically, we got an order from higher up to arrest Hop Pop for fomenting rebellion against the crown.” Sasha grimaced as she watched the cogs in Marcy’s head turn until the pieces fell in place.

“Oh.”

“You can imagine how happy Anne was about that,” continued Sasha, noting the mildly green look Marcy had about her. “We… may or may not have lured them to the Tower under false pretences.”

“Ah.” Marcy was starting to get why Anne might have been a bit miffed about what Sasha had done.

“They escaped, as you can see. And blew up Toad Tower in the process.” Marcy’s eyes grew wide as saucers. Sasha hastily added, holding her hands up in front of her before Marcy could shout whatever she had prepared, “I wasn’t in it at the time!”

Which, technically, was true. She’d been on top of it at the time– big difference.

That didn’t stop Marcy from still looking Sasha over from head to toe with a worried look on her face. All those scars, she thought to herself. Are any of those from the explosion?

Sasha noticed her looking, and sighed. “I’m fine, Marce. None of these injuries are from the incident.”

No, most of the hurt she’d suffered was internal. Hopefully, this had satisfied Marcy enough that she wouldn’t go running to Anne for more details.

They continued their walking in silence now, each lost in their own little world. Thoughts raced through Marcy’s mind as she pondered the implications of what had occurred. She would have to speak with Anne later, to clear things up between her and Sasha. After all, she couldn’t have her best friends in conflict on their adventures together, once they’d gotten Andrias to fix the music box for them. As for Sasha, she brooded as she slowly beat back the shadow over her countenance the memories of the events at the tower had cast. She’d worried about Marcy’s reaction and discovery for so long that she hadn’t really thought about the other aspect of it; what about Anne? There would be a reckoning, she knew. And she absolutely was not looking forward to it.

As they wandered into a clearing, Sasha started. Sunset? Surely they hadn't spent that long in the woods. Anne wouldn't be back for another while, but they would have to head back after a short break.

She caught sight of a great fallen log, just long enough to sit 3 people (hold that thought, she thought to herself). Sasha nudged Marcy and guided her slowly over to the log, the physical strain of the day's events clear on her face.

Marcy had always been the smallest of the three back home, both in stature and in personality. The first hadn't really changed, even if the sleeves of her shirt seemed a little less empty; working physically intensive missions probably was doing wonders for her muscle mass. But this… confidence, this boldness? Sasha had never seen this side of her before (yes you have, you snuffed it out a long time ago, a nasty voice in her head whispered). The old Marcy hardly would have dared to ask her to do anything for her, let alone take the reins and…

Sasha choked on air as Marcy settled comfortably into her left side, wiggling closer to secure herself. Instinctively, Sasha's hand came up to Marcy's other side; it hovered for a moment, wavering as she tried to rationalise this action to herself. Marcy was leaning into her so much that she may as well have stuck herself there with super glue, but eventually, Sasha let her hand close around Marcy's upper arm. She noted with some surprise that Marcy now had some pretty firm delts; all that ranger work really was getting her swole. She gave it a tentative squeeze just to confirm, her eyes darting between Marcy's head and her hand, trying to gauge if Marcy was alright with this.

Just out of sight, Marcy squeezed her eyes shut and let herself smile. She knew she'd always been on the smaller side back on Earth; it was a fairly natural consequence of her hobbies being less physically demanding. Now that she'd built up some muscle, it was nice to have someone appreciate it. The Newtopians didn't know any different, even if the palace tailors did occasionally complain about how often she was ripping her shirts. They could see her getting stronger and more durable, but muscles looked a bit different on a human, and no one ever complimented her on how far she'd come. She liked the attention, frankly.

Sasha was so, so very warm. So unlike the cold-blooded amphibians she’d been hobnobbing with for the past few months. It felt just like those sunlit days on the school bus, when they would nap on each other as the asphalt beneath them rumbled under the wheels.

It felt like home.

Before long, Marcy was asleep, with Sasha as her pillow. Sasha didn’t even notice she’d lost consciousness for a good while, so focused was she on trying to distract herself from the sensation of having Marcy against her body. It took a great, rasping snore for her to finally shake herself from her reverie, and return to earth, where Marcy was.

Sasha looked down slightly; Marcy's breath tickled her neck as she shifted to find better purchase. A pang of regret rose in her chest, knowing that if she hadn't acted the way she had all these years, perhaps they could have had more of this– but she quickly shoved it back into the chest of swirling thoughts where it belonged. That was a Pandora's box situation she didn't want to deal with right now, and she had better things to do; like try not to let her heart beat so hard it flew right out of her ribcage.

She fit there, the way she did all those years ago, before time and Sasha had driven them further apart than she would have liked; she fit perfectly still, even after the crook of Sasha's neck had suffered her absence for nigh on 4 years.

Her little sparrow, how she had missed her so. Sasha had built walls built too high for any to fly over, and for so many years, Marcy's absence had felt like an open wound. But here they were again, back together, as if nothing had changed between then and now.

For a moment, Sasha was tempted to just sit there and let the world pass by, for the sun to set as she stayed Marcy's rock, even if it was just for a brief moment. A harkening back to better days, softer days, before she had decided being sharp and lined with edges was the best way to protect herself and her girls. Even if those edges cut them at times, even if they made her heart bleed as they bled, even if that blood caked her fingernails as the years flew by.

But she knew better. Amphibia was dangerous after dark, and neither she nor Marcy were really familiar with this forest. All manner of creepy crawlies could be lying in wait, ready to pounce, and just because Anne had made it for a time out here didn't mean Sasha wanted to take her chances.

She gently nudged Marcy, trying to rouse her from her slumber. In response, Marcy grumbled and burrowed deeper into her side. Was it possible, Sasha wondered, for one's heart to beat so hard and so fast that it gave someone whose face was against their chest a bruise? Because the last thing she wanted was to mar (heh, the voice in her head snickered) Marcy's pretty face.

Face now flaming red, she gave Marcy a firm shake, finally managing to rouse her from her slumber. Marcy stretched and yawned, blinking lazily in the orange glow of the setting sun. Then, she let a small smile creep onto her face, looking straight at Sasha's own as she did so.

Sasha's head was turned firmly away, but her face was still visible; her paleness did her no favours here. No amount of sunlight could have hid her cheeks’ own crimson glow, and Marcy’s heart fluttered at the thought that she was responsible for that blush. How could she not take pride in it? The immovable Sasha Waybright, toppled by the indomitable Marcy Wu.

"This was nice, Sashy. I missed this. Thank you," said Marcy, lightly ducking her head. In the orange glow, Sasha would never have known; but Marcy knew that her cheeks would have lit up the night, a flaming parallel to Sasha’s own.

Sasha spluttered before gathering her composure, straightening up, and gathering everything they'd brought with them. She handed Marcy her backpack full of notes and gadgets, coughing as she did from the odd plumes that arose from it.

"I missed it too. I missed you."

She meant it then, in the clearing where it was just herself and Marcy, and no one else.

She meant it, even as Marcy's betrayal was forcefully dragged into the light and she couldn't help but draw away from her, those soft words clinging to her mind as Marcy begged and pleaded for them to understand, didn't they understand? She gave them this, she gave them everything.

She meant it, when those chocolate-brown eyes overflowed with tears, filled with desperation; so different from the softness that had filled them that one beautiful day, that look of longing and adoration that had been directed at her and her alone.

And when she whispered those words to herself weeks later, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fought to keep down a scream while her brain replayed that moment of Marcy, her Marcy, getting run through by that dreadful blade, she meant it still.

"I miss you… I miss you… I miss you. I'm sorry… please. Come back to me. Come back to us."

Chapter Text

On a bright, sunny day, 15 years after they brought down the Core, Sasha and Marcy collapse on a park bench, slightly out of breath. In front of them, barely 12 feet away, Anne pretended to get taken down by a laughing toddler.

Their laughing toddler.

It had taken a lot of effort, and far too many tears on their part, but they had done it. They'd made their way back together, made a new way forward, a better way; one that they'd wanted for so, so long.

Puberty had not really been kind to Marcy in the height department; she was still the shortest of the three of them, followed by Anne, and then Sasha, who towered over them both. And yet…

Sasha closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned onto Marcy's shoulder. She smiled softly as Marcy kissed her cheek, grinning in triumph at the fact that she could call Marcy hers. Even after all this time they'd been back together, that thought still sent a thrill through her body.

"Remember when we did this, back in Amphibia?" asked Sasha, eyes still closed, listening to the playful shrieks of a child followed by the pretend squeal of her wife.

Marcy giggled as she watched the small human wage war upon Anne's hairdo, her fake struggles becoming very, very real all of a sudden. ("Kiddo, no! No! Mama Marcy worked very hard to get all of this in place this morning!")

"Yeah… the view wasn't half as nice, though."

Sasha smirked; she didn't even need to open her eyes to see the spectacle that was woman versus toddler. She fought that battle daily, when the little hellion did her very best to wriggle her way out of a bath. It was nice to be a spectator for once, really.

All these years growing apart, and finally, they got to return to each other’s side. It was meant to be, it was foretold in the stars; but if you asked Sasha when she’d known, she would have told you: she didn’t need a prophecy to know that to be with Anne and Marcy, to be their protector, their sworn shield, if you will, was the only thing she ever truly wanted in life.

They’re the only thing she’d ever dreamt of.