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Princess Bubblegum had come to enjoy the night, and considered writing it down as a special note to herself.
Sitting on the edge of a balcony, overlooking the slope of a gently rising cliff in the far reaches of Ooo (far from the Candy Kingdom, she thought was a slight pang for her homelands), she considered an electronic notebook she had machined herself, forged every piece of metal and transmuted the silicon and reverse-engineered long lost technology from the Age of Marvels (long before the Great Mushroom War had devastated the world); wafer-thin, a black screen taking up most of one side, a holographic interface of numbers and letters projected from it, as did another screen delivering the read-out of the notebook she currently had it set to.
It was an interesting idea, writing the thought down. Sometimes, she thought that it was a little unfair that the day was considered Good and natural, while the night was at best associated with the more unscrupulous agents of Neutrality; it gave people who loved the night and lived around its clock an unsavory aspect and made them look bad. That was decidedly unfair, she thought; day and night lacked moral or ethical dimension, as natural as each other were. People ascribed poetic concepts to them, rarely bothering to consider that they were amoral and quite frankly an accident of cosmic geography; if Ooo lived encircled by six distant stars, they would only know day and probably wouldn't think anything in particular about it, no more than people thought about the relative morality of the dirt under their toes because it was simply there. If there was no sun at all, and electric pulses from ancient machines in the earth powered agricultural engines that spontaneously generated food for everyone (and of course Bubblegum had plans for something like that, just in case the sun went out), then there would only be night, and again, no one would think much of it.
Bubblegum knew that there were such things as objective Good and Evil. The glorious righteousness shining down from the high heavens to smite the wicked and raise up the virtuous; the slithering horrors from terrible places with ancient imprisoned evils passionlessly obsessed with bringing down every sapient life to their level. Yes, these things existed. Alignments, the scale of where one's accomplishments and personal beliefs put one on the scale of Good, Neutrality and Evil for the moral axis, and on Law, Neutrality and Chaos on the ethical axis… it was a well-researched phenomenon. Only the most jaded and cynical (not to mention ignorant to basic metaphysical science) refused to acknowledge it.
Even so, she disliked how some totally benign things were considered evil just because they were strange, or weird, or simply out of the norm.
After a moment, Bubblegum made a small 'tch!' noise and turned off her electronic device, storing it in a pocket hidden in the folds of the dress she was wearing. It was good enough to know the thought and let her mind encapsulate it like a dire oyster does to a grain of sand; thoughts would grow, unexpected insights and sparks of sudden inspiration flow. She could better define what she knew and thought then; it would be foolish to simply say 'some things are the way they are', it was too simple, too trite. Bubblegum just knew that there was a more wholesome and interesting observation upon the route this minor thought provided.
She breathed in, breathed out, and contented herself with feeling the wind upon her face, her thick gelatinous hair rippling sluggishly in that wind and producing lovely shivers on her skin and down her back; the sensation was fascinating, her mind easily and harmoniously split between a nearly feral perspective glorifying in the pleasurable feelings, and a curious observer noticing every little detail and wondering at the beauty of the world even while determining why it made things so beautiful. People said that measuring flowers ruined their beauty, but it was even better to know how they grew and the miracle of their growth, for that made them even more beautiful.
Beyond her, lining the horizon was a semi-circle of mountains that looked roughly hewn, as if carved by some celestial giant carrying a titanic sculptor's kit bought from a second-hand rummage market (and also the giant was blind and the third-tackiest sculptor in the region). Covered with frost at the peaks; not a climate situation, but lingering frost magic from some ancient war in bygone ages. Here and there, there were irregularities in the mountain's exterior; openings into tunnels carefully mined through the mountains in winding complicated passageways, and though it was hard to tell from here, these passages ways were absolutely gigantic. This was, after all, the Frost Kingdom, home of the twelve-foot-tall humanoids who claimed descent from an extremely lost colony of frost giants from the legendary realm of Jotunheim. Many of the giants who roamed Ooo in one capacity or another could claim descent from this kingdom, and while they'd adopted a pacifistic stance over the last sixteen generations, Bubblegum always sought to make allies out of possible enemies or even totally indifferent bystanders. It was simply more efficient then taking risks.
Here, then, the building on which she stood, was technically Candy Kingdom territory, an embassy that she had taken to retiring to during this mission of diplomacy or good will (honestly, she wasn't actually sure), a considerably large and rather lavish mansion the local queens had generally given out to whatever ambassador was bothering them at the moment. The mission was not particularly hard; in fact, it was nearly simple, though she'd had to bring along some very capable fighters to pit against the most honorable warriors the Giant Kingdom had to offer, the Giant Kingdom having a strong warrior tradition and thus putting an unreasonable amount of faith in trial by combat.
Bubblegum smiled faintly to herself. It was fortunate that she knew some very capable fighters.
She considered the sky above, the moon a faint sight beyond mist-thin clouds pin-pricked by the stars. Bubblegum adjusted herself just so; she had heard a phrase that went something like 'weary down to your bones', and she thought she understood the basic idea. She didn't actually have bones, not like most humanoids, her internal frame composed of extraordinarily tough structures similar to gelatin, though she felt the premise was close enough.
She supposed she ought to be stifling a yawn; this was the appropriate thing to do, when people were tired and about to retire to a bedside made warmer by the presence of a lover, but Bubblegum couldn't honestly say she was tired. She was longing for sweeter company that this admittedly wondrous view of the Giant Kingdom, and with the business for the day, she cheerfully bade the landscape goodbye with a long screeching yodel at the mountains. She waited for a minute to see if it would respond (perhaps one of the mountains open up a mouth to scream back at her, like a properly civilized landscape ought to), but nothing happened. She bowed her head, disappointed at how rude or at least indifferent this landscape was, and without even really turning around took hold of the door's handle behind her, budging it open, and slipped inside before the cold winds could follow.
She shivered, just once, bundling the warm furs draped over his shoulders and dress appreciatively. The giants had a reputation for being very blunt and straightforward, but any accusations of savagery could be promptly put down with how insistently the giants had provided her retinue with proper warmth and clothing. Bubblegum walked down a high hallway designed for much larger beings, a few servants giving her an odd look over the whole 'screeching at the landscape' thing (though they didn't say anything about it) but she didn't pay much attention to them other than noting their presence; the wayward thought about her retinue had given her other thoughts to dwell upon, and certainly more pleasant. Perhaps even more warm than the furs.
She walked through a few hallways (long and wide enough to ride a motorized cart through if you didn't mind the carpets, and it certainly would be easy to make an obstacle course for such a thing; she reminded herself to mention this to Finn in the morning for when they had time to do it), down a staircase or two, and came striding down to the suites where she and her retinue had holed up. She was hardly aware that her back had been even stiffer and upright than usual, and as she came into what was plainly her territory (made by the presence of the people she loved, she thought with a smile) she permitted herself to relax a bit. It was a more physically unusual thing for herself than for others; her skin darkened a few shades as trace amounts of candy bio-mass, firming the muscles of her back for superior posture, was diverted to the rest of her body and swelled her frame out a bit, her shoulders slouching and head lowering a few degrees. The dress and furs were not… tighter on her, exactly, but she felt that it was quite a bit more intimately close to her than before, due to her slightly enlarged figure. Marceline, she thought wryly after taking a few moments to realize this had even happened, would approve.
Step-step-step.
She felt that she was passing through an invisible barrier, an inch-thin boundary between the domain of the outside world (that is to say, everything that wasn't really 'hers' or her friends), and the sheltered and quietly perfect world that her friends… no, something more like her family, inhabited.
Bubblegum breathed in deeply, and exhaled a soothingly relaxed sigh. Far away from the Candy Kingdom though she was, she felt like she'd come home.
There were several open doors in their suites, each leading to the particular one her retinue had reserved for herself; these open doors meant that the rooms beyond were unoccupied. She gave the door that led to the suites that were partly hers a longing glance, though a brief one, and carefully edged open one of the doors that were closed.
Beyond was a spacious bedroom, all the lights extinguished and the inhabitants asleep. At the back of the room were Four-poster beds, all of them exceptionally large and fit for giants, and consequently pleasantly oversized for the ones sleeping in it. Bubblegum's attention was on one of these particular beds, a sense of duty compelling her to do so.
In the bed, a teenage boy and woman a year or so older than him were snugly asleep, breathing softly and unconsciously cuddling each other. She smiled as she came over to them, walking softly and not daring to wake up these precious teens. Finn breathed slowly and peacefully, his hair unbound by a hat for once (the hat in question laying against a nearby table), a big easy smile on his rounded face. Bubblegum smiled, and felt a sense of accomplishment at the matching smile on the woman; Flame Princess, her body transmuted into flesh so that she seemed to be a human but for the soft light emanating from her body. Their blankets and furs lay lazily against them, and the two chubby teens (their body-types well suited for each other, Bubblegum thought) curling with each other for warmth as well as affection.
Finn's light skin, faintly dusted with freckles on his pudgy cheeks, was an interesting contrast with the deeply dark skin Flame Princess had in this magically-endowed form, the two of them laying face to face, tightly cuddling with each other as though they were still small children dearly afraid of a world that seemed made of tragedy and loss solely directed at hurting them. Finn's arms, strong and round, hugged her plump midsection and met just above the small of her back, propping her up slightly to make her more comfortable. Flame Princess' arms, bigger and chubbier, went just under his arms and pulled him to her, so that their bodies lay right against each other, perfectly chubby and curvy bodies mashed right up in a tangle of limbs and knees knocking together. She breathed in and out with a slow unsteady pace, as if instinctively unsure of this new form of existence. She was slightly larger in this form, her flames transmuting to flesh so that they covered more volume than normal, and Finn's head lay across the generous swell of her breasts, the top of his head nestled beneath her throat and threat. Their hair mixed together, blonde and red, flowing together as naturally as rain and lightning, and far more sweetly.
(It had been a good day for Bubblegum when she had uncovered that flame-to-flesh transmutation spell. She'd spent nearly two and a half weeks without sleep or rest and barely any food digging through ancient archives to find something like it, make one little fix to the mess she'd made of both their lives. She'd had a messenger from another kingdom deliver the news of the spell to Flame Princess, something of her shying away from acting like she had a right to be so deeply involved in their lives like that. Marceline had told Flame Princess and Finn anyway, and the two teens had hugged Bubblegum so tightly that she was sure she had been about to fold in two. She was still happy anyway, and smiled at the memory.)
Princess Bubblegum made several cautious steps forward. Noticing that the blankets were askew, she tugged them up properly to the teens' shoulders, straightening the furs and keeping them warm. She smirked a little bit, at the oddness of having to keep a fire elemental (even one shapechanged) warm like this. Finn and Flame Princess mumbled something, adjusting to the added warmth, and for a moment Bubblegum though she might have to explain herself if they woke up. The two settled down, their breathing slow and in complete harmony with each other.
Bubblegum smiled again, her hands meeting over her chest and clasping together. At last, something else she'd done right.
She glanced back, hearing a slight shift in movement; on the other bed, curled around each other in a long spiral that looked something like the top of an ice cream cone, was Jake and Lady Rainicorn. Their bodies, long and neatly shaped like each other with rainbow colors neatly contrasted hearty yellow, went around each other at unexpected angles. Their heads lay against each other on a pile of pillows near the side of the bed, their blankets and furs piled up over them, and Jake snuffled slightly as he wedged his head under Lady's jaw in their sleep, mumbling something. She cooed something back, though the two of them were definitely asleep. She suspected that Jake and Lady had roomed with Finn and Flame Princess specifically to keep an eye on them, though the younger two almost certainly suspected it and had devised ways to get around it. However it came out, it warmed the more romantic part of herself to see two lovely couples like that.
She kneeled down and softly kissed Finn on the forehead. He shifted slightly, smile softening. She hesitated, and then she kissed Flame Princes as well, on the forehead too; the transfigured fire elemental snuggled closer to Finn, mumbling something softly and peacefully. She couldn't help herself; with a big dorky smile, she tugged a small camera out of a pocket and took a quick picture of them before she sidled out of the room, trying not to giggle.
She failed to notice Lady and Jake blinking through half-lidded eyes at her bemusedly. They glanced at her as she left, then at each other. Jake and Lady were puzzled for a moment. Lady whispered something into Jake's ear. Jake murmured, "Oh yeah," and curled back to sleep. Lady followed moments later.
Bubblegum came back into the hallway and promptly moved to the other occupied set of suites, right next to the room she'd left. She opened the door and closed it behind her, walking into a well-lit room and demurely said, "I'm home."
There was only one bed here, in this room with no windows (Bubblegum had made quite sure of that), and floating a few handspans above it was Marceline, dressed in shorts and a tank top and totally refusing to acknowledge that cold was a thing. The tips of her toes just barely touched the edges of ruffled furs below her, and she was scribbling something onto a narrow notebook propped up with her thighs. It looked awkward, but Marceline managed fine; Bubblegum presumed that some manner of telekinesis was being employed.
The pencil stopped when she came into the room. Marceline tilted her head, quickly and almost shyly, a good portion of her hair sliding to the side. Blue-green eyes blinked at Bubblegum, and a smile shining with teeth like razor-blades (though infinitely more refined and pleasing to the eye). "Hey," Marceline said, putting the notebook down. "I, uh…" She made a small noise, suitable to cover up her indecision. She laughed. "I missed you, mang."
Bubblegum giggled. "Me too."
Marceline cocked an eyebrow. Her pale lips twitched at the corner. "You missed yourself too? Kinda narcissistic, Bonnie. Never would have thought it of you."
Precious few people knew her proper name, and even fewer were permitted to speak it. Marceline fitted quite proudly in both. (Technically Finn counted in both two, but for his own reasons, he'd never called her 'Bonnibel'. Sometimes she wondered why.)
Bubblegum made a huffing noise. "I, what? No, no! That's not what I meant! I meant, yes, wait! I don't mean I meant yes about what you said… wait, that's not right either, I was engaged in missing… that is to say, emotionally engaged in desiring the presence of another person, oh dear, I've totally lost the thread of what I was saying-"
Marceline started with a small snicker. It quickly became a louder chortle, and then outright laughing, not unlike the sound gnolls made when something made them laugh (though a great deal more musical and sweet, Bubblegum thought even in her embarrassment). She crashed onto the bed, laughing and kicking and occasionally giggling.
Bubblegum's cheeks flushed a shade of pink that was nearly red. "Ah. Very amusing, Marceline."
Marceline was still laughing.
"You can stop now."
She was answered by more wild laughter.
"Seriously, you're pushing the joke a bit."
More laughter.
"…You're going to wake the others up, you know. I just saw them, they're sound asleep; we've quite a busy day tomorrow of attending gladiator battles, you don't need to put them off their game. Yo."
Marceline contrived to get some measure of control over herself. Bubblegum considered that this was quite a feat. Marceline sat up, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh mang, Bonnie. It is stupid easy getting a rise out of you. Psh, I almost like fell off the bed. And I can float. How does that even happen? I don't know, but you get it going like that. Heh."
Bubblegum snorted. While Marceline was still snickering and congratulating herself, Bubblegum silently walked across the room and right over to the Vampire Queen, when Marceline looked up, Bubblegum put a hand on her cheek, palm spreading out over the delicate edge of Marceline's jawline and fingers gently pressing against her face, and a thumb pressing quietly against Marceline's cheek. "Yes," Bubblegum said simply.
Marceline's eyes widened. A warm red blush spread over her cheeks. "Whuh…?" She managed, indelicately.
"Yes," Bubblegum said again, cupping the other side of Marceline's face with her other hand, and leaning down. "I'd say I'm very good at getting a rise out of you…"
"Dude, huh, that's not what I meant-" Marceline started to say.
Bubblegum tilted her face until she was looking Marceline right in the eye, and whatever the vampire had to say stopped in mid-word, her lovely blue-green eyes big and wide and elliptical pupils widening. Bubblegum leaned in, levering her mouth against Marceline's, and their lips pressed together; first hard and sharp as Marceline was caught by surprise, and then sweet and soft.
Soft, that is, and long; their lips came together with a perfectly measured and wonderfully executed precision. As nice and neat as mechanized arms assembling a frame, the shape of intensity emerged between them, and Marceline's hands began moving forthrightly towards Bubblegum's hips…
Bubblegum merrily danced away, half-twirling off and breaking the kiss, leaving Marceline squirming on the bed and wide-eyed and looking like a kitten that had just been surprised with something shiny. "I told you," Bubblegum said smugly. "Good at getting a rise out of you."
Marceline gaped; she stared a moment longer at Bubblegum in mingled disbelief and shock, and then crossed her arms with a little pout. "You fight dirty," She said, but not without her pout twitching into a smile.
Bubblegum giggled. "All is fair in love and war, as they used to say, and honestly speaking there's not a great deal of difference between them when it comes to you." She paused, and added, "Sometimes, quite literally. Remember when we first started going out…?"
Marceline threw her arms up into the air theatrically. "One time, one time you have to slay an army of dragons and defeat five evil ex-boyfriends and two ex-girlfriends so we can go out in public together, and you never let me forget it."
"If an opportunity to get one over on you comes along, who am I to deny it?" Bubblegum giggled again. "Hold on a moment, would you? This dress is hardly ideal sleepwear."
Bubblegum went to a wardrobe, and selected some suitable pajamas. Marceline picked up the notebook she'd been writing in, and still sitting on the bed, when back to scribbling. Satisfied that Marceline was occupied, Bubblegum went behind a nearby modesty curtain and shrugged her way out of the heavy furs.
"What?" Marceline joked, noticing Bubblegum's form shadowed through the modesty curtain. "No free show tonight?"
"Hardly anything worthwhile is free," Bubblegum said, doing the same with her dress and the various complicated layers underneath it.
Marceline chuckled. "If you say so, lady-biddy."
"Who are you calling a biddy?" Bubblegum said, without any rancor. Down to her essentials, she began going through the process of putting on her pajamas.
"I didn't mean it like that, I just like sort of rhyming words. And how do you know what a biddy is? People haven't used that word in…geez, who knows how long?"
"I do enjoy old slang articles."
"Sheesh. What's with you and boring stuff like that?"
"Academics is fun!" Bubblegum declared passionately, sliding a nightdress on. It was so poofy and voluminous, she had some trouble finding her way through it, and briefly considered the notion of making clothing bigger on the inside than the outside. She wasn't sure what it would be for, but it sounded fun. "What are you writing there, anyway?"
"Well, speaking of fun…" Marceline considered. "Hah. I always come up with cool lyrics and, like, musical arrangements late at night. It's good to like write them down so I don't forget. Play with them later on, mess a bit with them to see if something works or doesn't…"
"Ah! Experimentation!"
Marceline winced. "Yikes. Maybe you could put it as something a little bit…I don't know, sexier?"
Bubblegum gave a quite unladylike snort, putting one leg (somewhat thicker than she remembered, the pants being slightly tighter now) down it. "What's sexier than SCIENCE!?"
There was a pause in Marceline's writing. "…There is so much that is wrong with you."
"You're just saying that because you're jealous of my science-tabulousness."
"Sweet merciful Glob! That's not even a word!"
"If I can pronounce it, I'm reasonably sure that it is."
Marceline shook her head, chuckling faintly. "If you say so, Bonnie-woman."
"Lady, or woman, if you please," Bubblegum said primly, putting her leg down the other pants-leg and shrugging it on. It was certainly tighter around her waist than she would have liked, but not uncomfortably so. She fancied that it would be a touch pleasant once she got used to it; a bit of pressure was pleasant in appropriate circumstances. "Womans are pre-pubescent. Which I am most certainly not!"
Marceline chuckled knowingly. "Oh… that you most defs are not."
"I'm glad we agree." Bubblegum came out from behind the modesty curtain, a feeling of shyness compelling her to walk in a slow measured walk, hands below the small of her back. "How do I look?"
Marceline put her notebook down and gave her a single searching look upon the deep purple nightdress flowing in soft folds over her slightly pear-shaped body, russet-red sweat-pants obvious close to her frame.
The Vampire Queen smiled, her fangs dimpling her lips. "Perfect," she pronounced.
Bubblegum giggled a bit, her hands touching her mouth. "…Thank you," She said quietly.
"Hey, just truth," Marceline said. She smiled wider, and patted the side of the bed next to her.
Bubblegum hopped right on, sliding under the covers and furs with a cheery giggle. "These blankets are lovely," she said, grabbing a hold of them and cuddling. "We must buy some before we go home!"
"Do we have to?" Marceline said. Bubblegum looked at her, and she immediately backpedaled verbally. "Uh, that is…uh…dang it. I kinda like things here a little bit better. Us hanging out and doing the date thing all day without being bugged about what people might think or if it'll like cause problems in our kingdoms… We can just hang out with Finn and Flame Princess all day, kicking back with Jake and Lady Rainicorn…" She snorted. "It just… it feels right, doesn't it?"
Bubblegum breathed in heavily. She slumped back. "It is nice," She admitted. "I do wish we could just like this all the time, without worries."
"Yeah," Marceline said wistfully. "…Like…uh, never mind."
"Like what" Bubblegum asked.
Marceline twisted about in place, bumping against Bubblegum accidentally in ways that made the Candy Princess hum warmly. "Like," Marceline said. "Like, oh geez. Like a family, okay?"
Bubblegum paused. Her hand moved, sliding down the covers, and it found Marceline's. "Yes," She said quietly. "That does sound nice. And proper."
Marceline's grip was first loose, and then tightened around Bubblegum's hand. "Heh. If only. Us and Finn and Flame Princess, Jake and Lady, just one big happy family… yeah. If only."
Bubblegum leaned over and kissed Marceline on the cheek. "We can make it like that," Bubblegum promised. "Just some legwork first."
Marceline smiled. "…Alrighty, then." For a moment, Bubblegum heard an echo of the lonely child Marceline had been a long time ago, curled up in dreams of family and community.
Bubblegum pulled the covers up and laid back, her head propped up by a plush pillow. Her arms took hold of Marceline's waist, snuggling into the vampire sweetly. "Could you hum what you've written so far?"
Marceline smiled down at her. "You got it, Bonnie."
Marceline's voice was sweet and lovely, and the rhythms of her humming alone was… numinous, Bubblegum thought sleepily.
She drifted to sleep with Marceline's voice echoing in her thoughts the whole time, cuddling her vampire, and she dreamed of the future.