Chapter Text
The Tree House was a cozy refuge for the citizens of Ooo on that chilly January night. The old bell rang, announcing bustling customers’ entrances to the cozy safe haven, and they undid their scarves in the warmth of the shop. They ordered their drinks against the background hiss of milk frothers and settled into eclectic, well-worn chairs, peering out foggy windows at the busy street outside.
Marceline reflected on this as she wiped down the counter and quickly took another order, surveying the space with exhausted pride. The shop had been busy since they opened for the evening four hours ago, never once letting up, and she’s started to wear out.
“Buck up Marceline!” chimed Keila from her station at the espresso machine.
“I’m plenty bucked, Keila. You could even say I’m fu-” Marceline clipped the end of the word off as the lady at the register gave her a pointed look before gesturing to her small child.
“Anyway, I’m fine. It’s just a busy night,” she tossed over her shoulder as she rang up the lady’s latte and the wide-eyed child’s muffin. “Didn’t get much sleep today, Simon had another one of his fits.”
“How has he been lately? You’ve been missing practice more than usual.”
Marceline heaved out a tired sigh, “It’s been better for sure, but he’s been acting up more lately, and it’s really started taking a toll on Finn. It’s fine though, I’ve been through worse, you know?” She let out a dry chuckle. “Anyway, how are you holding up?”
Keila visibly deflated. “I just miss Guy. We’ve been texting, but it’s just not the same. I mean, we didn’t even get to start dating and now he’s gone, and what if he finds another person, and what if that person is prettier than me, and what if?” She sniffed, trying to pull herself together. Wiping her eyes, she continued “I know he’s going to be back after he graduates, and I’m proud of him and everything, of course this is an amazing opportunity, and he got such a good scholarship, and…”
Keila’s rant started fading out of Marceline’s tired ears. She’s heard all of this multiple times since Guy, aka Bongo, their lead guitarist, left for college at the beginning of this month. Keila had had a crush on him since middle school, and just as she was finally gearing up to talk to him about it, he got accepted to his dream school and moved to Amstice 5 hours south. He’d been drifting since the gang graduated highschool almost a decade ago, bouncing between jobs and never quite settling, so they were all happy to see him excited about the welding program. That didn’t stop Keila from rehashing the five stages of grief to Marceline at least once a week.
“And I just can’t believe he never noticed! Surely he must have known, I mean I know he could be dense sometimes but…” Ah, she’d hit anger earlier than usual this time, maybe this would be over quickly. Marceline nodded along at the appropriate times and continued taking orders as her mind drifted to practice later tonight. They had just found a new guitarist, Pete, who was starting residency at Royal Hospital across the street. He’d been pretty decent when they tried him out, and he seemed to have a good attitude, even if he was a little stiff. The only thing she wasn’t looking forward to was-
Bzzt. Speak of the devil. She pulled her phone out in a much needed lull in the shop’s traffic, and sure enough:
Ass(h): See you at practice tonight ;)
“Is Ash still texting you outside of practice?” Keila piped over Marceline’s shoulder. “I thought you asked him to stop doing that.”
“We ask for a lot of things in this life, Keila,” Marceline sighed, leaving the message on read and slipping her phone back into her pocket. Just as she did so, the bell at the door announced another wave of shivering customers tumbling into the shop. “Looks like the Ghosts are back. Start brewing up extra shots.”
The night slogged on without much to note, staying steadily busy as midnight came and went, slowing only as 3 am, closing time, came around. Marceline and Keila shooed the last lingering customers out into the night, before quickly clearing out space in the middle of the shop floor with practiced ease. Pete was first to show up, at 3:15 on the dot. The three continued setting up the space, plugging in amps and setting up Keila’s drum set, waiting for Ash who deigned to show up at 3:45.
The Scream Queens were quite the crew when viewed through the now frosted windows of The Tree House, Pete out of place in his sweater and pressed collar set against Marceline’s ripped black jeans, Keila’s worn leather jacket, and Ash’s spikey piercings. Nonetheless, practice went smoothly and without any complaint from Maja, the owner upstairs, and Pete’s sound blended remarkably well with the other, more established Queens. As 5 neared, the band packed up quickly, Marceline deftly dodged Ash’s offers to walk her home, and as the clock hit 5 she left the shop, locking up behind her and heading home, alone.
“I’m home,” Marceline whispered as she stepped off her heavy boots in the mudroom of the brownstone she shared with Simon, Finn, and now Gunter and his husband. The lights were off but the tempting smell of coffee wafted over from the kitchen, and she meandered in through the dark living room and hall, stretching and yawning as she went.
“What are you doing up, kiddo?” She asked, startling Jake into letting out a quiet yip as she flipped on the lights.
“Oh hi Marcy!” Finn chirped from his spot at the coffee machine, gently stroking Jake’s head to soothe him. “Today is my first day on outreach so I have to get into the central office early.”
“Damn, kid, like ‘wake up at 5:30 am’ early?”
“Well,” Finn blushed a little as he turned his head in the direction of Marceline’s voice. “Me and Jake are kind of going on a run with Hunter before we go to work this morning.”
“Ooooooooh,” Marceline cooed, making sure to occasionally tap the counter so Finn could follow her movements as she made her way towards the coffee machine. “Looking forward to your date, then, lover boy?”
“It’s not like that!” Finn protested. “Hunter just knows all the good routes, and she was going to give me some tips since she’s been at Rooted for so long.”
Finn had just started at Rooted, an outreach center for the homeless and vulnerable of Ooo, a few months ago, and he had mostly been training and helping run the shelter. Today was his first day on outreach, and he was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Tree Trunks asked me yesterday if I was sure I could handle it considering ‘My Condition’,” Finn made big air quotes at this, gesturing to his cloudy eyes, “but I told her I was up for the challenge!” At this he jumped a little, strumming an invisible air guitar and striking a pose as Jake wagged excitedly and trotted in little circles around him.
“I’m just giving you shit kid. You’re going to do amazing, and I’m sure Hunter will have a lot of good advice,” Marceline said, reaching around him. Finn was still strumming a silent melody that was clearly very exciting on his imaginary guitar while she grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a generous mug.
“Hey, shouldn’t you be going to sleep soon?” Finn asked, finally ending his imaginary solo.
“Nah, I’m going to hang out with Simon for a while, and this coffee is going to revive me after the exhausting night at work I had. You would not believe how fucking busy we were, Finn, it was crazy,” she said, powering through Finn’s continued attempts at protest, “but Pete was at practice today and he was actually so good. He showed up looking like he lost his mom on the way to Sunday school, but his technical skills are top notch. He just needs some character and to loosen up a little, but we can do that for him.”
“Well,” Finn replied, leaving Marceline’s caffeine habits alone for now, “I’m glad he fit in. Replacing Bongo was always going to be difficult-”
Finn stopped abruptly and whipped his phone out of his pocket.
“Hello?” he answered, voice suddenly mysteriously deeper. “Great, I’ll be right out.”
“That was Hunter,” he explained needlessly, voice now in its regular register. “She’s outside.”
He stood there and vibrated a little in place until Marceline prompted him, “Hey bud, you need to actually go outside to see her.”
“Right! I’m going! See you later!” He and Jake darted out the front door, the lock clicking behind him in agreed excitement.
Marceline laughed a little to herself as she made her way upstairs with her coffee, peering down the hall to check on Gunter and Hudson, finding their door closed, and continuing on to Simon’s room where lamp light spread warmly out the door in the dark morning.
“Hello, Elise,” Simon greeted warmly as Marceline walked in, his dark skin wrinkling as he smiled widely at her.
“Hi, Simon. It’s Marceline, I’m your niece. You raised me. We live in this house together, I sleep right down the hall. I work at a coffee shop and I’m in a band, and sometimes you come to my shows,” she explained, setting her coffee on the side table next to the lamp and collapsing into the worn red armchair set next to the head of the bed.
“Oh,” he said. “Ok. Hello, ‘Marceline,’” he said with a twinkle in his eye, like he was in on some joke. “And how was your day at this ‘coffee shop’?”
Marceline unloaded her whole day to him, with Keila’s relationship woes, the way one of the Ghosts had changed up their order throwing off her whole rhythm, Pete and his silly pressed shirt and promising technique, deftly leaving out Ash’s texts and carefully suppressing her yawns which were pressing in with increasing frequency as the sun began to rise. As the birds started to sing, Marceline excused herself to go to sleep, giving Simon a hug before heading for the door.
“Good night, Elise, I love you,” he said to her back.
“I love you too, Simon,” she returned softly without turning around.