happy amphibia finale day everyone 🥳 glad I got to finish this in time to celebrate 🥳🥳🥳 amphibia to me has been one of the best celebrations of friendships and found families, and while I wanted to write about so much more, I hope this resonates with y'all nonetheless!
everyone else is long asleep when anne drags herself out of her sleeping bag. next to her, she can see sprig and polly curled up together, she can hear grime's snoring and the sound of hop pop's sleep croaking, giving their camping spot some peaceful ambience. she gives them a fond smile, and then climbs out of the sleeping area altogether, moving forwards on her mission.
at the edge of their camping spot, underneath a tree, yunan and olivia keep watch. well, olivia keeps watch- yunan is fast asleep, her arms around olivia's waist all the while.
"by the lake," olivia says when she sees anne, before anne can even say a word. "maybe you can convince them to sleep."
anne just smiles wryly. "when have I ever convinced them of doing anything?"
"don't sell yourself short, I think you may be surprised." olivia smiles, and anne smiles back at her before she keeps going.
this camping spot had been chosen meticulously by hop pop, yunan, and sprig, working together to pick out the absolute best place to spend one last trip. it had been well worth it, because as anne rounds the bend, the lake unravels before her eyes, dark with the reflection of the night sky, glittering with stars.
two figures sit at the lakeshore, hand in hand. anne shakes her head fondly and she stumbles down the bank to join them.
if sasha or marcy notice her joining them, they don't openly say anything about it. marcy's already leaning heavily against sasha's side, their hands intertwined, and her gaze doesn't stray from the lake even when anne sits next to her, wraps one arm around her shoulder and takes marcy's free hand with the other.
"took you long enough," sasha says, her head tilted so that anne can't see her expression. "we've been waiting for hours."
"how was I supposed to know that?" anne snorts, but she squeezes marcy's hand- marcy squeezes back automatically, an acknowledgement of anne's presence. "you should've said something."
"sorry," marcy whispers. she sounds absolutely exhausted- and anne understands why, after the weekend they've all spent in the amphibian wilds. still, anne squeezes her hand again; a silent you don't need to apologize to me. not ever again.
she's sick of apologies. she'd rather move forward.
"isn't it beautiful here?" sasha sounds wistful, and she's still gazing out towards the lake, the stars reflected off the water and into her eyes. "I think I might actually miss this when we go back."
"even the food?" anne teases, laughing when sasha's nose wrinkles.
"you know what I mean, asshole," sasha retorts, and she reaches across marcy to playfully swat at anne's arm. anne swats at her back, and they both laugh.
"I wish I could've done more to help," marcy laments, "olivia insisted I stay out of the rebuilding, but..." there's an unspoken guilt in her words, one that has lingered since she was awoken from her possession and everything that has followed.
anne doesn't know if it'll ever go away, that guilt. all she can do is be there to reassure her.
"come on, marce, you can't do everything," sasha chides, shaking her head. "I know what you mean though... grime is gonna go back and help rebuild the toad legacy, but I'm not allowed to join him. he's really committed to me going home."
home. what a strange word. anne doesn't know what's home anymore, not when she's equally happy in LA and here. it's been a strange cocktail of emotions, the way she's felt about returning to earth after all this time. will she be just as out of place there now as she was here?
"I still don't know where my parents are," marcy mumbles, mournful. "they might've already left the city; I'd have to go with them immediately. I... I know that, but..."
"it's still scary," anne finishes. she thinks for once, she might understand. "it's okay, marbles. no matter what happens, we'll face it together."
"after everything we went through, I wouldn't want it any other way," sasha says. she hesitates, nose wrinkling again. "is that... okay? I mean, what if we just fall back into old habits?" what if I fall back into old habits goes unsaid, but anne hears it nonetheless.
"you won't," she says quickly, offering sasha a smile. "you've changed for the better: we all have. I'm proud to be your friend."
sasha sniffs, and the choked sound she makes sounds suspiciously like a sob. "that's our anne," she says wetly, "always knowing what to say."
marcy doesn't say anything. when anne glances at her again, she's curled against sasha's side, her eyes fluttering dangerously. she looks peaceful, and something fond swells in anne at the sight, her stomach full of butterflies.
home, she thinks, might just be where the people she loves are, and while she's going to be depressed leaving the plantars behind...
...at least she won't be alone.
"come on, you two: olivia told me to make sure you get some sleep." anne stands, and she offers her arm to the sleepy marcy. marcy reaches up to grab it, but before she does, sasha stands as well, tugging marcy up and into her arms.
"sasha!" marcy laughs as she's lifted into the air, giggling in delight. sasha twirls her around a little - undoubtedly just to show off - before glancing at anne, head tilted.
"lead the way, boonchuy?" she asks, hesitant and soft, uncertain in a way she never was before this, before amphibia.
anne smiles fondly at both of them, and she takes the lead back up the bank, towards the campsite.
yunan and olivia are just where anne left them. olivia gives anne a knowing, smug look, one that anne shrugs at. behind them, grime is still snoring, hop pop is still croaking, and sprig and polly both look so peaceful, enjoying one last night together before going back to wartwood.
anne's going to miss them so bad, her eyes burn at the mere thought. at least, she thinks, as sasha casts a fond look towards grime and marcy stares at the newts they left behind, she's not the only one.
she isn't going to think about that yet, though. instead, she sits in her sleeping bag, patting the one next to her for sasha to set marcy down in. sasha takes anne's other side, and though they have three separate bags, as soon as they're all on the ground, marcy rolls into anne's side, and sasha drapes an arm across them both, and it's warm and snug and everything anne has ever wanted.
with them at her side, she thinks she could face anything the world decides to throw at her- one day at a time.
