Details in the Fabric - Old Version: Chapter Five
"Gumball thinks he's fucking dying, Marshall, I can't put up with his whiny bullshit."
Marceline's voice is loud and harsh as she speaks through the phone receiver. Marshall twirls the long cord around his finger. "Give him a break," he says. "It's his first hangover."
"Whatever, I'm still going to piss him off!" Marceline says the last few words loudly and Marshall hears a groan, presumably Gumball. Marcy continues, "I can't believe he made me come over here."
"Just eat all of his food, Marce."
"Gumball! Do you have any-ugh!" There's a loud bang and a few seconds later Marceline is cursing. "He threw a fucking book at me, that goddamn asshole."
Marshall Lee snorts. Someone knocks on the door and he frowns, turning away from the coffee maker. "I gotta go."
"Whoa-"
"Bye!" Marshall hangs up the phone. He takes his coffee with him and walks down the hallway. Who could it be? No one ever comes here. The word police enters his mind, but Marshall shakes away the thought. He opens the door.
Marshall drops his cup of coffee. It shatters against the floor and the warm liquid soaks through his socks. Marshall staggers, not really going back or forward. His hands are held up, because he doesn't know what he should do with them. His heart hammers and his eyes are watering because he hasn't blinked in so long.
A battered and bruised Finn smiles weakly, swaying in the doorway. He falls forward and Marshall rushes to grip the blonde boy's arms. Marshall looks down and opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again. He gapes at the blood caked in yellow hair, the purple ringing the eyes, the bright red lines across Finn's arms and cheeks.
"What-" Marshall's words die on his lips. He can't talk, can't speak. He awkwardly lifts Finn a bit higher, and the boy sags into Marshall's chest. Marshall just now realizes Finn is crying and he shuts the door with his foot.
Finally, Marshall manages to say something. "Finn-Finn, what the fucking hell?" His voice is high pitched and panicked and Marshall Lee feels sweat gather in his palms. Finn whines and Marshall swears under his breath before leading his friend down the hallway. Miraculously, they make it to Marshall's room after the obsidian haired boy basically carries Finn. Marshall gently sets the blonde on his bed, and then starts chewing his fingernails.
"What the fuck happened, Finn?" Marshall asks, going a mile a minute. He looks at Finn more closely, inspects his friend's black eye, cuts, and the nasty blood trailing from his temple to his jaw. Marshall glances at the shirt Finn is wearing, and can only imagine what is underneath. When Finn doesn't answer and only looks at the ceiling, Marshall tries a different approach, one that will surely make Finn talk. "Where's Fionna?" Marshall asks.
Finn moves to talk, but moans and quickly closes his mouth. Marshall hurriedly stands and wrings his hands. Fuck, do they even have a first aid kit here? He rushes to the bathroom and rummages in the medicine cabinet, under the sink. He finds a plastic box and sprints back to his room, setting it on the bed next to Finn. He opens it and finds bandages, disinfectant, and creams. Basic stuff, but it will have to do.
Both of them silent, Marshall helps Finn sit up and he gingerly peels off Finn's t-shirt. Trying not to look too scared, Marshall's eyes trail down Finn's skinny, pale torso. He examines the bruises-yellow, black, and blue-and counts Finn's ribs.
"Can you walk?" Marshall quietly asks. After Finn shakes his head, Marshall picks him up again. "Come on, then." He takes Finn to the bathroom, and, tossing modesty and personal space aside, strips him down, and runs the water, and sets him in the tub. Finn immediately curls up in a tight ball.
"Sorry the water's a little cold," Marshall apologizes. Finn doesn't respond and Marshall starts washing his back, just like he used to wash Laney when she was little. Unconsciously, he starts singing under his breath to calm the both of them down.
"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little ponies."
It gets a smile out of Finn, so Marshall beams, skimming his thumb under Finn's tender eye to swipe away some soap, and continues with the song:
"Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,
Go to sleepy you little baby,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
Daddy's boy, Mama's joy
Go to Slumberland my baby.
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little ponies."
Marshall pulls the plug and lets the water run down the drain. As if he were a child, Finn lets himself get toweled off. Marshall goes and grabs some of his own pajamas, and Finn puts them on. He looks like he's drowning, and Marshall thinks it's a weird, scary sight, one he never wants to see again.
Back in the bedroom, Finn is somber as death. Marshall fixes up his face and neck, but doesn't dare do anything underneath the shirt. He doesn't want to look at that.
Just as he gets up to leave, Finn grips his wrist. Marshall freezes and looks over his shoulder. Finn is shaking, and he whispers his first words. "You didn't finish the song."
Marshall smiles sadly. He lies with Finn underneath the blankets and continues to sing. Finn burrows into his chest like a toddler.
"Hush your cries,
Close your eyes,
Dream of pretty little ponies.
Hush a bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby.
Darkness falls and man calls,
Go to sleep my little baby.
When you wake, you shall have,
All the pretty little ponies.
Up and down, round and round
Dream of pretty little horses.
Hush a bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby,
Go to sleep my little baby."
A/N: This is an insanely important but insanely short chapter; kind of like a filler but not boring as fuck. I didn't want to continue with it because then it would feel like numerous chapters in one (there is a lot to cover) and it would be awkward and none of that made sense omfg but play along ok.
I wanted to err away from Gumball and Marshall's romance a little. That is the center of this story, but a lot of other (much more dark) things are happening too!
The lullaby is called "Pretty Little Horses", which I don't really understand seeing as it's talking about ponies. Nonetheless, it's really pretty.
Please review! Next up we find out where Fionna is, and what happened.