What one would classify as a "lazy morning" outside of the mansion was the norm in the mansion itself, and it was Marsh's favorite thing.

Apple remained cuddled up to her on the bed even well past nine o'clock, snoring gently. Left without one of her books (and with improper lighting to read, anyway), Marsh partook in the rare activity of browsing through the photos on her phone.

There were pictures of random stuff, like pre-show homework assignments. There were some featuring the contestants from during both the first season and second season that she went through quickly, not really wanting to remember those times.

She did still get a chuckle from the pictures Lightbulb had taken when she got access to her phone, though.

Thank goodness Test Tube had a bag of rice handy that day.

'It's been two and a half years since I saw them.' She glanced at the date, and corrected, wait, isn't it almost three by now? Wow, that's crazy. Where does the time go?'

Apple mumbled something in her sleep, squeezing Marsh a bit closer. Marsh stroked Apple's stem, feeling a gentle thrill when she sighed happily in her sleep.

'I wonder if Apple and Bow are all I have left. The others might not forgive me for not saying where I went...'

Her thoughts were broken by a long creaking sound... Then a near-foreign sound.

Footsteps.

'Crap, is that a burglar?!' Marsh tensed up.

There was a horrendous roaring sound; there was a familiar scream, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

'Sounds like Bow's taking care of it, but I should probably head over here too...'

Marsh glanced ruefully at Apple before dashing out, leaving her in a heap of blankets. When she charged out into the foyer and peered over the railing of the stairs.

"Ohhh man, I got you good!"

Collapsed under a defunct lamp was none other than...

'Fan?!'

Marsh dashed down the stairs and hastened to lift the lamp off him. "Oh my Marsh, Fan! Are you okay?"

Fan laughed. "I've never been better! I can't believe I finally get to meet the ultimate fan favorite!" He jumped to his feet. "It's such an honor, Bow! I'm so excited I don't even know how to contain it!"

"Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal," Bow said. "You look a lot different in real life."

"And you're even cooler in person than in your Snapchat photos!"

Marsh cut in, "Wait a second, you two know each other?"

Fan's face brightened with recognition as he seemed to notice her. "And I'm so excited to see you too, Marshmallow. We fans have so many questions!"

"But how'd you-"

"The power of social media's pretty amazing," Bow replied, phone in hand. "We've been chatting for months."

Marsh blinked. "Were you disqualified or something? All communications outside the show are, far as I know, completely prohibited. Aren't you way outside the boundaries of the game, too?"

Fan looked at her strangely. "Marshmallow, the show's been over. The finale happened a few months ago."

"What."

"It's been over two years since episode eleven. The finale was so wonderfully dramatic, and the action got so close to you, I'm honestly surprised you had no clue."

'Seriously?! Just... darn. The final season of Inanimate Insanity, and it's behind us.'

While Marsh stood in shock, Bow materialized out of nowhere and flew near Fan with a grin. Fan turned his attention to her. "Anyway, whoa. I've always wanted to meet you in the flesh."

"Haven't been in the flesh for a long time, but heeeeeey!"

"We'll start the interview post-haste!" Fan declared, then turned to Marshmallow. "I also wanted to ask you if you wanted to attend the first ever Inanimate Insanity reunion."

Marsh gave him a blank look.

Fan explained, "Because the show has been over for a few months now, there's going to be a reunion special starting on Friday, lasting for a week. All the contestants from seasons one and two are invited. Then everyone will be able to see their old friends again."

"Oh." Marsh chuckled uneasily. "Really? That's..."

"You guys should totally come. I'll be conducting most the interviews, and it'll be pretty cool... Hang on, Apple is here with you, right?"

"S-she is."

"I knew it. You should both come!"

Bow chimed in, "You two should totally go, Marsh; appliance represent!"

'No. No way. I'm not going.'

She chuckled uneasily. "I have to talk to Apple about it, really... maybe...?"

Fan shrugged. "Everyone wants to know what you've been up to since abandoning the show! Including me! I guess you guys can go ahead and, y'know, talk it over while I get the interview done."

"R-right..."

Bow floated off in the opposite direction, Fan following. "We'll be over at the bar if you need us. Give you two some privacy." Bow gave her a little wink.

Marsh was soon left alone in the grand foyer alone. It was seconds before she ran back up the stairs, slamming the door open. Apple woke up with a yelp, glancing feverishly between the pillow she was cuddling and Marsh.

Marsh shut the door behind her.

"We have a big problem."

Apple sat up. "We do...?"

"Fan is here at the house right now. He's conducting an interview." Marsh walked closer to the couch and dropped her voice. "He says there's a reunion of old contestants going on."

"What's a reunion?"

"Everyone from the show is going to meet up. It'll mostly be an excuse for a channel to run a lot of ads and take advantage of our fame, probably."

"Ohhh. Sounds like fun. We're going, right?"

Marsh rubbed her hands together nervously. "Fun? That's rich. I really don't want to go."

Apple raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"I hated Inanimate Insanity," Marsh burst. "The first season was miserable because I kept getting beat up. The second season was miserable because I had no idea what was real. It became some bizarre purgatory in the second half. I hated being a contestant, and I'll hate this too."

"Can you slow down? I don't know what some of those words mean."

Marsh crossed her arms. "I hardly even felt like I was alive in season two, Apple. But that's somewhat besides the point."

"Oh. What is the point, then?"

Marsh marched closer, hopping on her bed beside Apple. "Nothing is worth going back to being 'reality TV Marshmallow'."

"You were cute on TV," Apple remarked, slipping an arm around her.

Her heart gave a little thrill, but Marsh groaned. "If moping and jumping to conclusions are cute."

"Whatever collusions are, I think you're cute no matter what you're doing. Even when you're just reading, wearing homemade mittens, you're cute and even a knucklehead like me can see it."

Had they been about five months earlier in their relationship, Marsh would have blushed. But by then, she'd grown used to her cheesiness.

It never stopped, after all.

"T-the point is, I don't want to go."

"Don't you think you're missing out on life? Don't you miss your other friends? Or seeing real, living plants and animals outside?"

"More than anything," Marsh admitted, "but that's besides the point. We could sneak to the park for any of that."

"But you remember Hotel OJ, right? We'd get to stay there."

'I hardly did anything between seasons. All I did was stare into space thinking about Bow, rage at MePhone4, and get assaulted. So I never got a taste for the luxuries.'

Knowing it'd upset Apple, she summarized it as, "I never really spent time in any of the fun rooms, so I don't miss it."

"You should experience them all at least once. Nobody played with me and I still had a good time."

"Cameras will be everywhere. I can't go."

Marsh's voice cracked. Apple stared at her with deep concern, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. Thus, Apple sighed. "...Look, Marshmallow, I really want to agree with ya because you're so smart... but this is one time I can't. You NEED this, and you can do it. Staying here all the time isn't what's best for you."

"But-"

"Leaving your comfort zone a little is. I'm lookin' out for you."

Her authority in the house had never been questioned before. Bow and Dough could do almost whatever they wanted, and Apple hardly ever put up a fight.

Considering it'd been over two years since anything of consequence was brought to forum. Marsh had to admit, it was pretty surprising.

"...Fan said we'd be getting a lot of attention as-is," Marsh said, "which means that, if we go, it's on the condition that we attract as little attention as possible."

"What's a condition? And what's it mean to attract?"

An irate sigh. "If we don't do it unless we do something, that something is a condition. And attraction? It's what drives you to stare at me when I'm reading, wearing my homemade mittens," she deadpanned.

"Oh! I see where you're coming from. It's almost like a compromise, right?"

"Sure. Which means we need to make it seem like life here is boring. It is, so all we need to do is keep the fact that we're dating a secret and it should be bearable at least."

The grin fell off of Apple's face. "What? Why?"

"Anything that makes us stand out needs to be hidden," Marsh hissed. "I'll bet most of the others haven't been in the middle of nowhere kissing their enemy-turned-friend-turned-lover all the time, now have they?"

"I get that, but who would even care?"

"You'd be surprised," Marsh muttered. "It comes down to this: I want to keep this private. Us dating is really personal, and if it got out... it'd feel like a huge part of me was being exposed."

It felt weird to be so forthright, so honest. It felt a bit like a confession of guilt, really. There was a silence as Apple processed what she said, then smiled.

"I get it. You want to save the gooey parts for me, right?"

Because she was done with being forthright for the day, she hugged her knees close and sighed. "If we're going, I need you to promise that you'll keep it secret."

"Sure. I promise." She extended her a single finger, her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Marsh stared at the finger, slightly vexed; the last time anyone had tried to seal a deal with a pinky promise had been years ago. Hadn't it been with Bow once, between challenges or something?

Nevertheless, Marsh let her pinky link with hers.

"...I hope you realize, we can't act like a couple. Be careful not to let anything slip out."

"You got it." Apple beamed. "I'm so glad that we're trying it. Being around your living friends should be really good for you."

'...Make that one of us. Dear Marsh, this is going to be rough... but she does seem excited, at least. Well, hopefully this doesn't go so badly I'm traumatized. And, who knows, maybe there won't be as much press coverage as I think...'

'Guess it's a waiting game now.'