Candy Fangs

Disclaimer: Adventure Time is owned by Pendleton Ward. I make no profit from this story.

Part 1

Candy Fangs

Marceline drifted through the forest on her back, catching glimpses of the starry night sky through the trees. It reminded her of the night when she had taken Bonnibel to that concert with that wicked bass.

She watched her thick, pink gum hair toss around as she slung her head back and forth to the beat, her eyes squeezed shut as she jammed out. For a minute Marceline had forgotten all about the concert, watching the princess as a slow smile formed on her face. It was a good thing she’d left her crown back at the castle, or they would have lost it that night with all those candy people bouncing around and rocking out.

Suddenly, a couple of marshmallows who had been trying to form a mosh pit behind Marceline slammed into her, causing her to fly forward a bit. She growled and was about to transform into a horrific bat monster when she caught sight of Bonnie watching her through dark, heavily lidded eyes. She blinked once, the snarl on her face slipping away as she stared back into those beautiful black irises, the light reflecting off of them just perfectly. If she had a heartbeat, it would have stopped right then and there, her forked tongue licking at her suddenly dry lips. Months of suppressed feelings welled up inside her, forcing their way out to the surface and manifesting into words.

“Bonnie… I like you... as more than a friend.” She said hoarsely, her voice just barely loud enough to hear over the thunderous music. The other girl smiled softly, moving closer to her and taking her cool hand in her warm one. She leaned in, sweet, sugary lips so close to Marceline’s she could taste them. She shivered at the thought of that soft, pink tongue in her mouth, anticipating the most delicious kiss of her life as the other girl leaned in.

“I like you too, Marce.” She said, smiling. The Vampire Queen could feel a red hot blush coloring her gray cheeks as a wide grin stretched across her face. She cupped the other girl’s pink cheek in one hand and kissed her nose sweetly, kissing on down to her lips to fulfill months’ worth of fantasies. Bubblegum’s slender hands slipped around her neck in turn, threading through silky black hair gently as she sighed against cool lips. It drove Marceline wild, her tongue tasting deeper into Bubblegum’s mouth, which drew a soft moan from between her lips.

 “Yo, Marceline!” She jumped slightly, whirling around in midair to see Finn and Jake on the path, Finn’s hand waving frantically.

“Hey, did we scare you?” Jake asked, giggling smugly.

“No!”  She snapped, hissing at him so that he yelped and jumped behind Finn, who laughed.

“Yeah, so were you going to PB’s birthday party too?” He asked. Marceline thought about it for a split second before smiling. Why not pay the Princess a little visit?  After all, it was the second anniversary of their breakup.

“Yeah, I was, before I ran into you dweebs.” She lied smoothly.

“Well, come with us then!” Finn said as Jake edged out from behind him. The three headed off toward the Candy Kingdom gates, Marceline floating alongside Finn while Jake stayed a good distance back, the Vampire Queen throwing him evil looks and distorting her face at him when his friend wasn’t looking.

The candy people looked at her oddly as she floated by, confused by her presence after her long absence. Their inquiring and fearful faces brought back bad memories that she tried to ignore as she went by, her stomach twisting a little inside as she pushed down unsavory thoughts. It’d been a long time since she’d been in the actual kingdom, not just floating by or glancing at it from afar, and it was surprisingly daunting now to be back within its walls in plain sight.  She floated into the castle with misleading ease, to which almost all activity ceased inside and everyone directed their attention to her with confused faces.

“Hello, Candy people!” Princess Bubblegum called from the stairwell, hands raised. “Thank you all for coming and welcome to my royal birthday bash! Now let’s get this party started!” Her eyes found the vampire just as she finished speaking, a brief flicker of frustration crossing her pink face before smoothing out again. Finn ran to greet her and Jake followed suit so as not to be left behind with Marceline, who floated away casually, smirking at uneasy partygoers and flicking her forked tongue at them.  As she drifted by Cinnamon Bun, she took his cup of punch, sucking the red from the juice and then letting the cup carelessly drop to the floor, gray liquid splashing his legs and the smooth marble.

“Hey!” He yelled, scrunching up his mushy face.

“What, you got a problem?” She hissed, baring her fangs at him. He let out a yell and ran away crying, causing several people to turn and stare. She was about to say something when she felt a hand grabbing her wrist.

“What are you doing here?” She turned her head to see the Princess as she was being dragged away, her skin tingling from the touch.  She looked mad, and Marceline was a little surprised she’d even acknowledged her presence. Maybe she should’ve started crashing her ex’s parties earlier. It was much more like her to ignore her and pretend she wasn’t there until she left, or speak to her long enough to say she didn’t have the time to “stay and chat”.

“What, was I not allowed to come or something?” She asked, scowling back once they were outside.

“No, you weren’t. Now leave, Marceline.” She said. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the princess incredulously. Before she had time to shoot back a snide remark or even get mad, her back was turned and she was heading back inside.

“Wha… How could you even…!” She roared, about to transform into a wolf and storm back into the castle to wreck the party when suddenly the feeling melted away. Her chest tightened up and she felt like she’d been pumped full of cement. She looked around to see if anyone had seen, and then rose up high into the sky, floating off in the direction of her cave. But just moments after leaving, she heard a familiar Finn-rage-scream.

“Ice King!!”  A moment later the maniacally laughing old man flew past her, bumping into her and making her fall slightly before catching herself midair. In his arms was Bonnibel, bound and gagged, wiggling around and making angry muffled noises. Glancing down, she saw Finn and Jake running after him on the ground, already several yards behind. She felt a sudden spike of intense anger at the Ice King, (or as she knew him, Simon,) a red hot spike of rage shooting through her spine and prickling her gray skin. She knew he couldn’t control himself, but this was too much. She shot off in the sky after him, reaching out to snag his blue robe when he suddenly noticed her presence.

“Huh? Hey! Get your own princess, ya creepy crawly! Bubblegum is mine!” He yelled, kicking her in the face and shooting ice sickles at her. She hissed in pain as one snagged her leg, ripping her pants and leaving a shallow cut, while another one pierced her right arm. She dropped to the ground all the way this time, kneeling in the dirt as a cloud of dust settled around her. She growled furiously as the wounds healed themselves in a hiss of steam, Finn and Jake catching up to her, panting.

“You ok, Marceline?” Finn asked, looking her over quickly.

“Yeah.” She growled, scowling as her red eyes blazed. The three took off, Marceline in front until they reached the barren Ice Kingdom. Jake had to take Finn on his back to make it over the mountains quicker, but Marceline’s flight put her a good distance ahead of them when finally she reached the mouth of Ice King’s palace, sending angry penguins waddling off in all directions. To the group’s surprise, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Ice King!” Finn screeched, but there wasn’t an answer.

“PB?” Jake called, and the two ran off looking, checking the dungeons and basement. Marceline floated off in the opposite direction, finding herself in a bed room where she saw the old man with Bonnibel in his lap, ungagged as he tried to kiss her. She desperately twisted her face away from him, his skinny blue fingers pulling the shoulder of her dress down and exposing the smooth skin underneath. 

Marceline hissed and flew across the room at light speed, swiping Bonnibel out of his arms and cradling her against her chest as her fist collided with Simon’s face. She hit him so hard that he was flung backwards and into a wall, cracking the ice so that it looked like a spider web.  Her eyes glowed crimson, fangs bared as she held onto the princess in a firm, possessive grip. Finn and Jake ran into the room a second later, stopping dead when they saw the Ice King out cold.

“Is the princess ok?” Finn asked, running over to her. Marceline looked down, her eyes meeting Princess Bubblegum’s. They shared a brief glance, dark eyes meeting red ones. Her throbbing rage fizzled for a moment, that pink mouth drawing her eyes in when suddenly Finn’s voice reached her pointed gray ears.

“I’m fine. Put me down, Marceline.” She said, struggling out of her arms and dropping to the floor, landing neatly on her feet.

“I don’t know about him, though.” She said, approaching the Ice King. The three crowded around him as Marceline floated in place, staring at Bonnibel.

“Holy schmoly Marceline, what’d you do to him? Can you teach me!?” Finn cried, hanging on her arm and tugging her shirt excitedly. But she didn’t hear him, or even seem to know he was there.

“Not even a thank you? I just saved you from… from that! And you don’t even care?” Her voice broke a little at the end, a pained expression on her face.  Bubblegum stared back at her levelly, expression blank, not saying a word. They held one another’s eyes for what seemed like forever, confusing Finn and Jake with the oddly tense silence when suddenly the Vampire Queen was gone. Rage boiled in her veins all over again, burning her from the inside out, the pain she felt searing her heart like a red hot brand. Her chest ached terribly, like a hole had been torn wide open, and tears began to drip down her cheeks as she flew through the air. She needed a release, a scapegoat of sorts. And then she saw the village.

She dropped down to the ground in the center of the town, her boots making a soft clicking sound on the cobbled streets before she transformed herself into a mass of writhing shadow, tendrils reaching out and grabbing nearby citizens, robbing them from their beds and dragging them out into the streets. It wasn’t long before horrified screams erupted all over, people running in circles and all about in their panic, others throwing tiny, useless spears at her shadowy body, which bounced off of her harmlessly. She dangled her prisoners over her abyss-like mouth threateningly, their terrified shrieks bringing her some relief.

Maybe an hour later, she spotted Finn and Jake running through the hills toward her. All around her carnage took place, from  buildings lit on fire, to the wreckage of houses and other buildings. But before the pair of heroes could reach her, she disappeared into the night without a trace, going back to her cave to suffer in silence. She sat down on the rock hard couch in her living room and cried, the tears flowing freely as she buried her face in her hands, grinding her palms into her eyes to stop the waterworks.

“Why can’t I hate you? Why?” She moaned. A sudden knock at her door made her look up long enough to spot the two boys outside her house.

“Go away!” She yelled angrily.

“Marceline!” Finn screamed, kicking the door in, sword drawn. “What the math, dude!? You just jacked that village up bad!”

“I said,” She transformed into a giant bat, “go AWAY!!” She roared, reaching for Finn as he launched himself into the air.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jake yelled, coiling his arm around Finn and catching him, his other arm tying a knot around Marceline’s wrists. “What’s goin’ on? I mean, she is a vampire and all, but she’s our friend, and this isn’t like her man. Let’s try to solve this one with our words, ok?” Finn made a little hmph noise, but crossed his arms and managed to calm down to some degree. Marceline shrank back down to her normal size, sitting down on the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs and pulling them to her chest, a sour look on her face.

“Marceline…?” Finn asked, his voice expecting.

“Yeah, what?” She snapped, not meeting his eyes. He moved closer.

“Hey, wait, were you crying?” He asked.

“NO!” She snapped, scowling at him.

“Well… then why are your eyes all puffy, and your cheeks wet ‘n’ stuff?” He leaned in closer, invading her personal space.

“Because… Well, because….ugh, fine. I was crying. But it’s nothing.” She grumbled, burying her face between her knees.

“Well… if it was nothing, then why’d you destroy that town? That’s pretty uncool, y’know.” He said slowly. She sighed heavily. He wasn’t going to leave her alone unless she gave him an explanation. And she knew very well he wouldn’t be able to handle the truth.

“Because I’m mad at my dad, ok? I’m still messed up from when he brainwashed me and tried to make me take over the Nightosphere.” A thoughtful look settled on Finn’s face, which looked a little painful, before nodding his approval of this explanation.

“Yeah, ok, that makes sense. So… you ok now?” He asked cautiously.

“Yeah, I’m fine now.” She lied.

“No more destroying villages?”

“No more destroying villages. Would you please leave me alone now?” She asked tiredly. “It’s almost daylight, and I want to go to sleep.”

“Yeah, sure. C’mon, Jake.” He gave Marceline’s shoulder an awkward pat, then left through the open doorway, where the door sagged on its hinges. “Uh, I can fix that.” He said awkwardly.

“It’s fine.” She muttered in exasperation, and Jake followed the human outside.

“Sorry. Bye.” He said and the two left, Jake throwing a last glance at her over his shoulder, a suspicious look on his face. When she met his eyes, he turned away and the two left silently. With a heavy sigh, she headed off to her room, drifting down onto her bed and closing her tired eyes…

"Marceline," PB began, causing Marceline to turn around, "We can't see each other anymore." Marceline blinked once, then laughed and floated over to her.

"You don't mean that Peebs, you know you couldn’t live without me." She drifted closer, her lips a hairsbreadth from the princess’s when she  turned her face away and stepped back.

"I'm serious, Marceline." She stayed still, floating in place and staring at the pink girl with wide eyes, a little slack-jawed.

"No, Bonnie, don’t--" She began, but the Princess shook her head.

"Don't make this any harder on yourself."

"Harder on me?" She drifted forward, reaching out to touch her. But the princess stepped back, turning her face away and staring hard at the marble floor.

"You need to leave at once, or I'll call the guards." She said softly. Marceline couldn't believe what was happening. It was all so sudden. It was just last week that she had started acting so coldly towards her and now she was being dumped? Try as hard as she might, she couldn't think of anything she could’ve said or done to deserve it. But she couldn't lose her. So she pulled out her last card, ripping herself wide open and speaking the only words she felt could change her princess's mind.

"Look at me. Look at me, Bonnie... you know I love you. I love you more than anything...I can't live without out you..." Her words dripped with sincerity, and yet the look in those dark eyes was resolute.

"You’re not even alive, Marceline." She said, her voice like ice. "Guards!" She called, her voice steady. In an instant she was surrounded by Banana guards, seizing her and taking her away, dragging her by the wrists like a dog to be thrown out into the yard.

"No!" She screamed, jerking free and transforming into a werewolf, snarling viciously at them. Her yellow and red eyes gleamed as she stared at the Princess, betrayal flashing brilliantly before she turned and ran away on all fours. Tears dripped down her furry cheeks as she ran away, deep into the forest. She ran and ran until she found herself on a ledge. It was all so perfect, like a ridiculously tragic Shakespearian poem. Sitting on her haunches, she threw her head back and howled as long and loud as she could, until she felt like her lungs would burst. She hoped the princess could hear her and recognize her call, and maybe just feel the pain in her voice.

Marceline woke up feeling worse than when she had went to sleep, her mood just as sour but the energy to terrorize sapped out of her. With a heavy sigh, she rose from the bed and flew out into the cave. She ventured near its opening, floating there for a moment and looking out onto the painfully bright open waters, the sun’s bright light reflecting off the surface and into her sensitive vampiric eyes. For a few moments, she actually considered drifting out there and letting herself cook. But no, she wouldn’t let Bubblegum have that much control over her. Maybe her happiness was more than a little compromised, but she would not die for the sake of someone who cared nothing for her.

She resorted to playing her bass for a while, but her heart just wasn’t in it. She strummed a few chords and mumbled a couple words, but the sound was hollow and soulless, until she eventually lost herself in a thoughtful silence. When night finally arrived, she realized she needed to do something to get her mind off of the princess. Of course, what better way to do that than spend some good old quality time with a pair of friends? It was an awkward time, and maybe Finn and Jake weren’t the best option, but Finn could always make her laugh. So she left her cave in search of the boy and his dog, and found them fighting a rather large, ugly purple hydra in Eastern Ooo.

Deciding to join in the fun, she raised her axe bass and swung at one head, where two more ugly heads sprouted out.  Finn chopped off those two heads, and four grew in their place. This went on and on until Finn and Jake were scratched and burned all over, but laughing along with Marceline until the monster had over three hundred twenty two tiny heads writhing from its body, hissing and spitting at them. With one final blow, it collapsed into the lake and sunk down deep into the depths of the murky grey waters. Marceline lowered herself to the bank with her friends, panting along with them, smiling genuinely for the first time in a few days.

“That was fun.” She said.

“Heck yeah it was!” Finn yelled.  “Hey, you feelin’ better today?” He asked, and he looked her up and down carefully.

“Yeah, yeah.” She said. “Hey, let’s go have some fun.  Like… go kill some more stuff… or ride some wild wolves?”

“Yeah, totally dude.” Finn said, beaming at her.

“Ehh… I’m kinda tired guys. You go do what you want, I’m gonna go back to the tree house and catch some Z’s.” Jake said.

“Psh, nuts to that. C’mon, Marceline.” Finn said, running off ahead of her in his eagerness. She smiled and flew up to him, catching him under his arms and pulling him up into the air with her. He laughed and kicked his legs as she rose higher and higher into the dark indigo sky, staring down at the shrinking world below. They spent the night flying through the sky, meeting up and reuniting with the wolf pack that they’d ran with so long ago, and fought an evil but weak Warlock to the death until finally they wound up on a hill stargazing. Finn got tired as he lay there sprawled out on the grass, his eyes drooping as he stared up at the full moon overhead.

“Hey Marceline… I have a question.” He said out of nowhere, his eyes barely open.

“Yeah?” She asked, glancing over at him.

“Do you think that even if it’s is like, impossible to be with someone, you should still try to be with them anyway? Ya know, like if you really love them?” Marceline was caught off guard by the surprisingly personal question. If she had a heartbeat, it would have stuttered as thoughts of Bonnie flashed through her head. She wasn’t sure what to say, and so she thought about it for a few minutes before deciding to go with the truth.

“I think you should try if you really love them. It’s like a test really, and you fail if you don’t try.” She said earnestly, staring upward and falling into silence. Had she tried hard enough for Bubblegum? Was she failing by stopping her pursuit? She didn’t even know why they had broken up in the first place. She sat there for a while just thinking before realizing Finn was fast asleep beside her. She lifted him up into her arms and flew him back to the tree house, laying him down on his bed and then floating off again, now in the direction of the Candy Kingdom castle.

The banana guards were just as inattentive as they had always been, and she flew right over their heads as she made her way to the Princess’s chambers via the window. As expected, the window was open, just as it always was, letting in the cool night air. It was funny, because she remembered when she and Finn were standing outside, Finn spouting ridiculous nonsense to get PB’s attention. The only reason she’d even agreed was so she could see the look on Bonnibel’s face when she saw her again, and invoke a tad bit of jealousy. And the fun she’d had seeing Finn wrestle her, or the look on her face when she came running out of her room, wolves throwing themselves against her door…  Not that the things she had told Finn were untrue. Girls really did love fun and excitement… just not that kind of fun and excitement. She felt a little bad for sabotaging Finn the way she had, but she couldn’t let anyone else have Bubblegum. She especially wouldn’t help them, either.

She drifted in through the window, silent as she watched Bonnie sitting at her desk, writing furiously. She drifted by the door, pulling the bolt in place and smiling when the Princess looked up in shock, surprise turning into a scowl. But the vampire wasn’t affected, having already expected such a reaction.

“Marceline…” She said slowly.

“Bonnibel.” The Vampire Queen drifted closer. “Look, all I want to do is talk. Ok?” She said smoothly.

“I don’t want to talk. I’m busy right now and I don’t have time for your shenanigans.” She said impatiently. “Go away, or I’ll call the guards.” Oh no, she wasn’t going anywhere. Not tonight. She’d never had an explanation, and now she was going to get one.

“Well, I guess I’ll get have to take you somewhere they won’t hear you.” She said, and grabbed her, covering her mouth with one hand and swooping her up into her arms, carrying her out through the open window and into the night. She flew high up into the air for cloud cover so they were less likely to be seen or heard, holding onto Bubblegum tight in case she tried to wiggle free. At one point during the flight, she tried to bite Marceline’s hand, but by that time they were far enough away from the kingdom that no one could hear her. Bubblegum wasn’t stupid, and to her relief did not scream or yell, but merely sustained a hateful, unwavering glare. When they finally dropped down into a meadow somewhere near the center of the forest, she sat Bubblegum down on a stump and floated a few feet back, circling around her.

“What is the meaning of this, Marceline?” PB asked angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I told you, I just want to talk. That’s all.” She said, floating back in what looked to be a sitting position. “So uh, how have you been?” She needed some time to think through what she was going to say. That hadn’t crossed her mind back when she’d made up the plan to kidnap her ex in the dead of night…

“If that’s all you want to talk about…” She growled angrily.

“Always right to the point with you. Alright, fine. So I just wanna know one thing.” She paused, butterflies fluttering around in her undead stomach as she tried to get her thoughts straight. She was suddenly very hungry, and Bubblegum’s pink skin looked oh so inviting. Maybe running off with her before a meal wasn’t such a great idea. And being hungry always seemed to make her sexual appetite spike a little…

“Well?” Bubblegum asked impatiently. The Vampire Queen opened her mouth to speak just as Ice King popped out of the bushes, shooting ice sickles left and right, one catching PB’s arm and cutting her right bicep shallowly.

“Ah!” She yelped, and fell over, the Ice King laughing hysterically, completely oblivious. Marceline snarled furiously, transforming into a giant bat monster, hissing furiously and seizing Simon in one giant fist.

“FUCK OFF!!!” She roared, and chucked him as far and hard as she could. He sailed through the air, far off into the night before disappearing. Transforming back to her normal form, she bent down next to Bubblegum and inspected her arm.

“Are you alright?” She asked, her face concerned.

“I’m fine.” She said coolly, standing up and straightening her ruffled dress with her back facing Marceline. “Will you take me back to my palace now?” Marceline looked at her darkly.

“Why did you leave me, Bonnie?” She asked, her voice unwavering. “What did I do?” There were a few moments of silence, but to Marceline it seemed to stretch on for decades.

“I…You… It was everything. We’re just too different, Marceline.” She said after a minute.  Marceline didn’t buy it.

“No, I’m not taking that answer. Everything was just fine and then you changed. Why did you stop caring? Look at me when you talk to me, Bonnie.” She grabbed her by her upper arms, spinning her around to face her, forcing the other girl to meet her eyes. There was so much pain in the vampire’s voice, oozing like blood from a fresh wound. For the first time, Bubblegum’s stoic mask had cracked, her eyes unguarded as her mind raced for any viable answer but the truth.

“I…” She struggled to answer the question, and tried to pull away from the other girl, her crimson eyes too intense to meet. She couldn’t say what she needed to with Marceline looking at her like that, reviving buried feelings so that they clawed violently to the surface. “Marceline, please…” She croaked. But the vampire wasn’t going to release her, not when she was so close to the truth, when she’d finally broke through the barrier separating them for the last two years. If she let her go now, she’d rebuild that wall twice as fast, twice as strong.

“No. I need to know, Bonnie.” She said, her voice rasping. The tension between them was almost tangible and Bubblegum quivered, her jaw pumping wordlessly for several moments. Their faces were so close together, sweet candy breath washing over Marceline’s face. Bubblegum squeezed her eyes shut, mind racing as she took a deep breath.

“Answer me!” Marceline snapped angrily, her grip tightening on her arms almost to the point of pain.

“I didn’t stop!” The other girl yelled in frustration.  “I didn’t stop caring about you, Marceline. I never did. Now let me go this instant!”  

“Then why did you…?” She began, her face confused as her hands released their grip on the princess. She had prepared herself for a variety of painful answers, but this wasn’t one of them. Somehow, this answer seemed much worse than even the most hurtful response Bubblegum could’ve possibly managed. Bubblegum turned away from her, storming away in the direction of her castle. The vampire stared at her back as she walked away, in a daze as her mind reeled.

“Hey, wait!” Marceline said, flying after her and catching her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me.” The princess said harshly, pulling away from her touch, but the vampire didn’t miss the slight hitch in her voice.

“Are you…crying?” She asked in shock, recognizing the slight tremble in the girl’s shoulders, the smell of tears tickling the inside of her nose. The princess refused to answer the question, her eyes shut tight and her jaw clenched as the tears squeezed from between her eyelids, as she somehow hoped in vain that she would be able to stop herself. A tiny sob managed to escape from her throat when she felt arms wrapping around her, holding her close, and she couldn’t find it in herself to speak or even move.

“I’ll take you back now.” Marceline said softly, her feet touching the ground as she lifted Bubblegum into her arms and rose up into the sky. The girl kept her face down the entire way, wiping her face with the back of her hands only once when she thought the vampire wouldn’t notice. It seemed they were back at the castle in moments, Marceline landing on her windowsill and slipping inside, setting the princess down on her feet near her desk.

“Bonnie, I…” She began, but paused, not knowing what to say. Bubblegum turned away from her then, going to sit at her desk, her body sagging tiredly.

“Goodnight, Marceline.” She said quietly, her voice barely above a hoarse whisper. The vampire stared at her silently, wanting to say something but not knowing what, until finally she just turned and left without a word. She flew out to the sea then, reaching her cave just as the sun started to rise. Exhausted, she didn’t even have the energy to float anymore, lowering herself to the ground and walking to her front door instead. Once inside, she couldn’t remember the last time her house had felt so cold, making a b-line straight for her room, collapsing onto her bed in an exhausted heap, moaning loudly into her pillow.

“Why do things have to be so lumpin’ complicated?” She groaned to herself as sleep pulled her deep down into welcoming darkness.

It had been about two months since they had started seeing one another as more than friends when Marceline came to terms with the fact she was falling in love. At first, she had denied all the signs, pushing them off as one of those things you feel when you first start seeing someone. She told herself it was normal to feel that burning ache in her chest when they were together, like her cold, undead little heart was gonna swell up and jump out of her throat. Usually that feeling went away after a few days of dating someone, and she could stand being apart from them for more than a day or two without going out of her mind. But then again, the situation was already a little different, seeing as that she and Bonnie had been best friends before anything romantic had even happened between them.

The evidence just seemed to mount up from then on, the way she would bend over backwards to do what Bonnie wanted, although she fought damn hard to keep it from being obvious. She didn’t doubt that if Bonnie asked, she’d do a back flip off the highest mountain Ooo and topple on down to the bottom without catching herself in flight. She couldn’t deny she thought about the candy princess day and night, sometimes for hours on end, and that she was the only person she could bring herself to think of anymore in order to get off. Normally these feeling went away with other people, but not this time. This was the real deal and she knew it. But she was so terrified of what the princess would say, or worse, what she wouldn’t say.

She had worked out over a million scenarios in her head in which the princess rejected her feelings, from the practical to impractical and ridiculous. She couldn’t bear the thought of being turned away, and so she tried desperately to keep quiet when those three little words threatened to jump right out of her mouth, whether it was in a song or just an average conversation. She did her best to think of ways to tell the princess, had even wrote an entire song to explain her feelings, since singing had always come easier to her than actually talking, but decided against it in the end. She kept quiet for as long as she could, until one night she felt she actually had the courage to do it. Hah, the Vampire Queen, heiress to the Nightosphere, daughter of the ruthless Hunson Abadeer, actually afraid to confess her feelings to one measly princess!

"IthinkIloveyou." Marceline said in a rush, her face blazing in the glow of the moon as they lay there alone in the meadow. Bubblegum lifted her head from where she had been resting it on the vampire’s chest, her face confused.

"What did you say?"  She asked, genuinely confused. The vampire’s cheeks flamed.

"Nothing, never mind.” She said quickly, averting her eyes.

"Uh...ok." The princess said slowly, laying her head back down. Marceline was thankful she didn’t have a heartbeat, because it would be doing backflips right about then.

‘Stupid, stupid, stupid...’ Marceline thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut tight and biting the inside of her cheek to quell the embarrassment. They spent quite a while in silence then, Bubblegum staring up at the full moon while Marceline mentally berated herself. Finally, she heaved a heavy sigh and took a big breath, although she didn’t actually need the oxygen.

"Bonnie, what would you say if I told you I was in love with you?" She asked, staring hard up at the moon in order to avoid the questioning eyes she knew were on her. There was a moment of silence in which she felt like she ground was going to swallow her whole.

“I would say I am in love with you as well.” She said, and Marceline looked down at her with wide eyes, to see the princess smiling up at her.

"You're so cute when you blush." She said, giggling softly.