A/N- So, I wrote this short story after being inspired from this picture right here. This work of fiction is basically a continuation of the picture, so if you don't view it, I don't think you'll understand it. And I'm not trying to be mean, but if there are tears, please tell me, thanks :D

All characters of Adventure Time are copyright Pendleton Ward. I make no moolah off this fic. All picture links are copyright with respect to their rightful owners

I've got you...

The words echoed in Marceline's head over and over again. She thought it would drive her mad; the constant thoughts she'd been having over Bonnibel.

It was like a sweet poison; a soft gasp of sullen repose.

They had stayed in each other's arms all night, neither one moving a breadth.

Only two beings had existed in the room that evening. Both felt as if there were no one else in the world at that moment in time. There was no need to talk, to sleep, to whisper.

Solitude said it all.

The Vampire Queen glanced down at the woman she had loved for so long, memories clouding her mind, remembering the days when they were so content just being in a closing embrace.

She remembered when Bonnibel would sleep during the day and stay up at night just to spend time with her lover. When she was finally asked to move into the castle.

Thoughts went back to when she finally learned what the experiment her Princess was working on, and how it resulted in someone she cared for deeply. Someone they both loved.

There was a time when she was knighted by Bonnibel herself to protect the kingdom. She wouldn't bat an eye if it were for the good of Princess Bubblegum.

The night was perfect, until that dreaded moment.

4:18 a.m.

That's when everything ceased.

The vampire refused to break her silence, but in her mind she continued to scream the woman's name.

A vision blurred as she pulled the blankets over her Princess' head, reaching over to forever close the woman's tired eyes.

So many emotions clouded her at once, but the only one she felt was dread.

Flying out the window, back to her home she lived in before Bonnie, Marceline planted herself on the bed inhabiting the cave and broke down, weeping from the pain of loss.

It was enough to disable her from escaping to the place they had both once called home; the only other vindication was to seclude herself until she was able to roam the grieving kingdom.

Detachment enabled her to do nothing but become still and lifeless in her ideation.

Her mind had been contemplating the idea for weeks. She was unable to wrap her head around anything else.

A solution that would vex so many others appeared tranquil to the Vampire Queen.

But there was one last person to talk to.

One last person she decided she had to see.

So she made the journey, disembarking to find her friend.

He had surely grown over the years.

Now standing at 6'1, forty-four years old, Finn the Human wasn't a little thirteen year old boy anymore.

He was a man; and the only friend Marceline still had.

"Marceline..." The deep voice was soothing, a sense of comfort that she needed, "I...I know that you're upset but...But I'm sure that she wouldn't want you to be like this...When's the last time you've slept? You look terrible."

"Finn, I can't expect you to understand everything, but I want you to know that I really did love her. I just...I know it was hard for us in the beginning, what with my father and everyone around the kingdom unable to truly be supportive. But Bonnie always kept her head up. She always managed to smile among tragedy. As long as she was happy, so was I. How can I go on to be happy now?"

The man who had been her ally for over thirty years pulled her in for a tight hug; he didn't budge when he felt tears leaking into his shirt. Marceline had been there for him during so many times, especially when he lost Jake to the Lich, it was only right to do the same for her.

After she cried in his arms, they sat back in dead air unable to find any words to say.

It was Finn who was first to utter any expression, doing anything possible to find that long lost tender smile his friend once flashed around.

"Remember when you and PB were caught making out in the woods by LSP's home? She was so pissed, she wound up telling everyone about it. And you got back at her by telling her that Brad wanted to meet her by Ice King's castle?"

A tiny smirk made its way to Marceline's face as she nodded. "Yeah, I think she disappeared off the face of Ooo for a while, didn't she?"

"Heh, yeah. Lucky Jake and I were there to save her, or you would've been in major trouble."

"I was! I thought Bonnie would've thought it was hilarious, but she told me I was being...distasteful, and she made me write an apology note to Lumpy Space Butt."

Silence again.

"Do you miss him?"

Finn glanced up at the vampire; Marceline could see the sorrow that still wedged itself inside his deep blue eyes.

"Every day, you know? It's like...I always thought we'd live on until our old age. People always saw us as friends, as partners, Adventurers. But he was more than that. He was my brother. And he gave his life for me in the end. That's what I think really matters...People just give their lives up for no reason at all. But then there are those that sacrifice everything just to keep that one person happy."

His words quieted her for a moment; unsure if she should've come to see him at all.

"I know what you mean, Finn. And that's why...That's why I've come to see you. I..." She grasped the man's hand, smiling up at him. "There's something I want to feel that I haven't been able to truly feel in my entire life."

"What is it, Marceline?" The vampire leaned forward to whisper in his ear, pulling away to watch his eyes widen.

"Why? Why would you want such a stupid thing?"

"I didn't come for questions, Finn. I came to tell you, because you're my friend. You're the only friend I have left in this world. It's not stupid...It's...It's something I've never had before."

But the human wasn't buying it. "What about Gumball Lee?"

Her mind thought back to her and Bonnie's seventeen year old son, the one they had left with Finn's wife, Flame Princess, so he would have someone to grieve with regarding the death of his mother.

He was half vampire, half candy person, and the only heir of Ooo and the Nightosphere besides both parents.

"I wanted him to have the best life that I could've given him. Bonnie and I both wanted that. That's why we let him adventure with you. That's why you're his Godfather. Finn...There's nothing more to say, there's no more pieces to the puzzle. This is it. This is the...The best thing I could do. I don't think I've ever said this before but...Thank you. Thank you for everything. I'm sorry I wasn't always the best friend you've could've had. But you've...You've always been like a brother to me, and I have always appreciated that."

"Marcie, please..." Tears were in his eyes as he watched her stand, grabbing her arm as she started to withdraw.

"This is for you. I hope you can understand."

Looking in hand to see a folded up piece of paper, his grip loosened as he watched Marceline walk away.

She had returned home to the place that she shared with Bonnie and Gumball Lee, taking in the scent her lover left behind.

The house was eerily quiet, as if a soul hadn't resided here in so long.

Marceline knew what she had to do; what she planned to do. Yet, the pictures of family, of herself, Bonnie, and Gumball Lee, started to interrupt how she initially felt.

And then she recalled the earlier events, the inner wound she felt, the person she had lost.

Without another thought the vampire left her hat and her gloves situated upon the couch, nightfall so many hours afar.

Her destination seemed so far away. Managing to take a step closer started to feel as if an eternity had gone by.

Finally arriving to open the door, her vision filled with a mixture of pleasure and distress; fruition softly appeared in her eyes as she fully gazed at the sun with different sentiment.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen; she was finally able to stand before it and feel its true warmth for the first time.

Her skin started to sizzle, but that didn't stop the vampire from advancing towards the light, bracing for what was yet to come. A grin rested on her face as the last thing that went through Marceline's mind was Bonnie.

The human couldn't comprehend how this could've happened.

He had watched two of his friends wither in a manner of weeks.

And now, the only thing he had left of Marceline besides the discarded sun-protectant clothes was the letter she had given him. Opening it, he started to read the handwriting scribbled on the paper.

Finn,

tell Gumball Lee I love him. Tell him I'm sorry I wasn't always there for him; that I didn't choose the ridicule that I endured while being with his mother, and that sometimes that comes with the ones we love, the happiness we want. Tell him I'm sorry for what I've done. I didn't choose to do this because I despise him. I did it because the person I loved most in the world was gone, and there wasn't anything else I lived for. He's still seventeen, and so I'm giving you legal guardianship. Hopefully you and Flame Princess can give him a better life that what he's had with me. And as for you? I want you to know that I don't regret this. I know you loved Jake, that you had to cope with his death like I had to cope with Bonnie's. I know he was your brother, the only being who understood you; but you have to understand that we are two different people. And to me, Jake was like Simon in closeness with me. He was more of a father than anything..Bonnie was the one who kept me sane through it all. Tell my son everything. Tell him all the stories he's probably missed out on. Let him know how much fun all of us used to have. Don't skip a beat with that kid, he's a sharp one. And be happy. As long as you're happy, the people you love will be happy too.

Thanks for everything, my brother. This will be the last song I ever sing.

-Marceline

"Why would she do that?" Gumball asked Finn, angrily staring at the piece of paper that proclaimed his mother's suicide.

The Adventurer glanced down at the prince, noting how he was more than just Gumball Lee. He was now the only ruler Ooo had left.

"I think she knew that even if she lived, she couldn't bear to be on this earth without your mother. She felt like she probably would've neglected you due to her being dispirited, along with her own feelings...So she made the ultimate sacrifice for you. She chose to love you by letting you go."

"Should I be proud? Or...Is it right to feel upset Uncle Finn?"

"I think..." He closed his eyes, remembering the day the life of his family was snatched before him, "...I think there isn't a soul that can truly tell you how to feel, but I do know what its like to have someone let go for happiness."

"Yeah?" the boy wiped any sign of weeping from his eyes, peering at the only relative he had left. "What happened?"

"...My brother Jake gave his life up so I could live to tell his story. Maybe...Maybe that's what Marceline saw in you."

"Maybe...I feel like...I feel like I barely know anything about her, though. What was it like growing up with her?"

"Your mom? Oh she was a true weirdo, that one. Strong as an ox too. I'm not surprised the Princess knighted her. When we first met her, your Uncle Jake was so terrified of her vampire powers that he hid in his room for weeks. Of course, she tried to kick the two of us out of our home..."

"Hey Uncle Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"What was the last thing my mom wanted to feel?"

The human contemplated on telling his nephew the truth; but he knew its what Marceline would've wanted.

"She wanted to feel the sunlight on her skin. I guess...In her entire life, she had never been able to experience it before..."

Finally content to know the answer, the young prince nodded his head; and then he dropped the subject all together.

Finn noticed the final question in his eyes, able to guess what it was, "I know you've grown up mostly around PB-er, the Princess, your mother. And I know Marceline wasn't always around. How could she be? She was protecting the very kingdom you were brought up in. But...They both really did love each other. I don't think I've ever seen a purer form of love. Mostly because it was a banished love. But they went ahead with their heart instead of listening to the persecution from others. Marceline did have friends growing up, but she never truly had someone who loved her as much as your mom did. Don't ever forget that."

Through his uncle's words, Gumball Lee realized that both Marceline and Bonnibel wanted the same thing for him; they wanted him to grow, to have a good life though they weren't there.

He felt wherever they were, they were at peace; content in each others arms once again.

To carry their story on wasn't his only destiny.

He'd make a tale of his own.