A/N 1: Wow! This is the 200th fanfic I've posted on this site. That's amazing. Enjoy readers!
A/N 2: Love how this came out; one of those fics where everything just clicked.
"That was fun Marceline. I never knew riding wolves through the forest could be so…"
"Fun?"
"Exhilarating!"
The vampire queen smirked. "Yeah, well, you know. No big. Do it all the time."
"But the way the wolves howled and how you had to hang on tight for fear of being bucked off!" Bubblegum sighed. "Wonderful. All of it."
"Well thanks Bonnibel; I'm glad I could show you a good time, since you're so uptight all the time." The Princess glared at her. "Sorry."
"Eh. Water under the bridge." She glanced at her watch, a look of horror appearing on her face. "Oh my!"
"What's wrong?"
"It's late! I-I should have been back at the Candy Palace hours ago!" Her shoulders slumped. "But it's eleven at night; how will I make it back? It's not safe to cross the forest this late at night." She yawned. "And I'm starting to get sleepy."
"Hey, no worries Bonnie. You can sleep with me."
The Princess started, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Oh Marceline. That's very sweet, but I-um—"
"I didn't mean sleep with me sleep with me; I meant share a bed. Just so you have a place to crash. It's not like I'll go after you or anything. There's not a speck of red on you. Except for maybe that tiny bit of red on the cuff of your sleeve…" she trailed off, her eyes becoming huge round orbs. A hiss rose from her throat as her tongue forked out.
"Marceline!"
The vampire stopped, blushing in embarrassment. "Um…maybe you should change clothes."
"I would, but…I don't have anything to change into."
"Oh. No big deal." Marceline floated over to her dresser, pulling open a door and rummaging around in it before pulling something out and tossing it to the Princess. "Here. Wear this."
"A band t-shirt?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Oh, nothing. The design is…lovely." Bubblegum held the t-shirt at arms length, examining it. It was black, with a strange graphic of two cinnamon rolls strangling a snake in what appeared to be a pond on it.
"Fine." Marceline grabbed the shirt. "If you don't want to wear it because it's not up to your princess standards, then you can just sleep in that god awful pink poufy outfit of yours."
"It is not poufy!"
"Hmph. Could have fooled me."
Bubblegum marched over, snatching the t-shirt from the vampire queen's hand. "Now you listen to me Marceline; I am a guest at your house and as such, I expect to be treated like one." She threw the t-shirt over her shoulder before marching off. "And I will wear the band t-shirt! After I use the bathroom!" A door slam followed seconds later.
Marceline sighed, counting on her fingers. "One…two…three." The sound of a door creaked open and Bubblegum peeked out.
"Uh Marceline? Exactly where is your bathroom?"
"There. All tucked in and comfy?"
"Don't say that."
"Why not? You asked me to treat you like a guest and since you are a guest in my bed, I'm making sure you're comfortable. Like a respectable host." Marceline smirked. "Would you like me to tuck you in?"
"Marceline…"
The vampire sighed. "Fine." She pulled up a corner, climbing in. Her expression softened. "Seriously though; are you comfortable? Because I can try to make it more comfortable…" she glanced around the room, running a hand through her hair in slight embarrassment. "Not that there's anything overly soft in here since I float…"
"Oh, it's fine Marceline." Bubblegum smiled, wriggling under the covers. "It's not bad."
"Oh. Good then." She reached over, turning off the bed side lamp. "Good night."
"Good night. Sleep tight."
The vampire queen smiled in the dark. "Good night Bonnie."
"Ungh…" Marceline rolled over onto her side, rubbing her eyes. Something had woken her up. She lay in bed, listening. Suddenly, a slight shifting sound reached her ears. "Bubblegum?" She reached out a hand, gently shaking the Princess. "Bubblegum?"
The girl tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling. Finally, she stopped. Marceline was about to go back to sleep when she noticed something. "Oh, Bonnie. You're shaking." As quietly as she could, she wriggled across the bed, gently scooping the Princess into her arms.
"No…no…"
"Shhh…it's okay Bonnie. I got you." The vampire queen drew the smaller woman closer, gently spooning her and running a hand through the girl's pink locks. "It's okay Bonnie, it's okay," she soothed, nuzzling the girl's hair. "I got you." Finally, the Princess stopped moaning, cuddling into the vampire queen and breathing a contented sigh.
Marceline placed a gentle kiss to the woman's temple before falling asleep.
Bubblegum rubbed her eyes sleepily, vaguely wondering what time it was. She yawned and went to stretch, only to discover that one of her arms was pinned. "Huh? Now why…" Her eyes slowly went downward, discovering a familiar arm wrapped around her torso. The Princess blushed. "Marceline…" She gently elbowed the vampire queen. "Ma-Marceline? You're—uh—"
The vampire yawned, sleepily opening an eye. "Hey Bonnie."
"Uh Marceline? Why are we—uh—spooning?" She pointed to the arm wrapped around her.
"Oh. You had a bad dream last night. At least, I think you were having a bad dream. You were tossing and turning and mumbling a lot."
"That still doesn't explain—"
"You were also shaking. I thought you might be cold, so I-uh, spooned you." Marceline sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Is…that alright?" she asked softly. "I mean, if I over stepped—"
"Technically you did overstep, but…" Bubblegum smiled. "It was kind of nice. Uh—being held."
"Thanks Bonnie."
"Anytime."
Bubblegum walked out of the bathroom, Marceline's band t-shirt slung over her shoulder just like the night before. She walked over to the vampire queen, watching for a moment as the woman hovered around the kitchen, searching through cupboards.
"Do you…want anything to eat? It's kind of a walk to Candy Palace, isn't it?"
"It's not that long of a walk. I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not much of a breakfast person anyway."
"Oh." Marceline slowly floated to the floor. "That's good." She ran a hand through her hair. "I probably didn't have any non-red food to offer you anyway."
The Princess giggled. "Oh you." She looked around. "Well, I guess I better get going; my candy servants will probably be wondering where I am."
"Yeah…" the vampire queen glanced to the side before realizing something. "Oh! I'll walk you out." She floated next to The Princess as she made her way to the front door. "Wow. Uh…short walk to the door huh?"
"Yeah…" Bubblegum turned towards the door, only to turn back just as quickly. "Oh! Your band t-shirt!" She took it off her shoulder, holding it out.
"Nah." Marceline waved the gesture away. "You know what? Keep it." She smirked. "Keep it as a reminder of our special night together." She put air quotes around the words special night.
The Princess looked down at the shirt. "Oh Marceline. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. No big."
She flung the shirt back over her shoulder, smiling. "Thanks Marceline." Bubblegum stood on her tiptoes, reaching up and placing a gentle kiss to the vampire's cheek. "For everything."
Marceline blushed from head to foot, a hand absently rising to her cheek as The Princess waved farewell and walked out the front door.
She stayed suspended in mid-air, absently floating as Bonnibel's form disappeared out the cave and over the horizon. "Damn Bonnie. Why'd you have to go and do that?"
The words weren't spoken out of anger, malice or frustration; just spoken out of one simple thing:
Marceline the Vampire Queen had fallen for Princess "Bonnibel" Bubblegum.