Marceline stood in front of the large monument with her head down. No crying in front of these people, she thought. No, not for this. It was a joint monument, once side nearly six months old, reading FINN THE HUMAN, HERO OF OOO AND CANDY KING.

She'd been here for that, hoping that the stupid barkeep from the Fire kingdom had been lying. He hadn't. Marceline saw Jake and Lady, and the triplets Indigo, Violet and Fiona. They were twelve now, and gave her hugs when they saw her, called her Aunt Marcie, and went to help their mom escort their dad away. Jake barely could say anything at all, he had been crying so hard. Lady gave a sad nod her way, nothing more. Marceline left after that, doing her best not to cry. They said Finn died doing what he did best, saving people, by diverting a herd of crazed buffadillos from running over a valley town south of the Candy Kingdom.

Oops, one slipped. She couldn't really help it. She had missed five years. Five years of silence, five years of pain she couldn't get past for her best friends. Who could blame her though? The reason was something that was best left unthought. Besides, it was the newer grave that brought her here today. The one beside it, the one she couldn't bare to look at.

QUEEN BUBBLEGUM, RULER OF THE CANDY KINGDOM, WIFE OF FINN, MOTHER OF SUGARCANE

That simple glimpses of those words sent pain crashing down through the Vampire Queen. No, this isn't real, this isn't happening, no no nonononono...

She couldn't take it. Abruptly, she took off into the air and flew away from this gruesome display. Unconsciously leading herself to the one place in the world she had ever felt safe, with the only person she had ever felt safe with...

The princess quarters had been abandon after Bubblegum, it looked like. A nice layer of dust coated everything, yet not a thing was out of place. Yet it no longer held the comfort and reprieve it once did. Because Bubblegum wasn't here anymore.

"No, she's in a fucking pine box in the ground in the fucking candy graveyard." Marceline muttered under her breath, letting the waterworks flow. Chances are no one would come in here, out of respect for Her Lateness and to avoid the sadness all the memories would bring. So why the hell not?

Marceline sat down in the middle of the room, and just cried. Cried for her mistakes, for everything she missed, but most of all for losing PB. Losing the only girl she ever loved. She cried for them fighting, for not fighting for her girlfriend, for letting her go and allowing Bubblegum to fall into expectations and marrying a great hero, having kids, and ruling her kingdom. Marceline cried because there was nothing else left to do.

But even vampires get dehydrated, and the flow slowed down to a trickle, and mindless crying turned into painful reflection. She looked around the room, taking in the familiar pink walls, the Tyrian carpet, the fushia bed where so many wonderful things had once happened...

Out of the corner of her eye, the Vampire Queen saw a pearly pink binder stuffed in between the mattress and the bedframe. Huh. A diary of some sort? A slight smirk crossed her face as she reached for it. It was just as badly hidden as the fuzzy one that PB had hidden in the shoebox under the wardrobe, but it was definitely not meant for anyone to find. Damn, she was gonna have to school PB again on hiding things. The smile that had been building fell off of her face faster than butter from a knife. There was no more teasing PB about her hiding skills, no more tickling her till she was red, no more making her laugh to the point where her nose crinkled up and her eyes squished shut and she was so cute that Marccline was compelled to kiss her over and over again. No more Bubblegum's soft lips against her own, molding and moving in time perfectly as if they had done it a million times before but with the same passion and longing as the very first. The tears started again, as much as they could when there were no more tears to cry.

Before she dissolved into a blubbering mess again, Marceline looked down at the binder in her hands. It was shiny, and had a piece of tape placed over the engraved words DIARY. On the tape, written in careful cursive, was TO MARCILINE. Her own name on the front shocked her, and immediately she flipped open the front cover. There were dozens of pages, all shapes and sizes and types, all crammed into the binders side clips. The first page was very formal, stating that the internals of this binder were not meant for any eyes sans the Princess's and that she would royally kick your patoot if you dared to read any of the utmost sacred documents inside. The next page, however, was radically different. Marceline, it said,

I really want to send you a letter, but i'm unsure I'll have the guts to do so after the last time we talked. You looked so angry, I thought you might actually hurt someone. I didn't mean what I said. I do love you. Alot. Forever, really. I was so close to taking you up on that offer, becoming your romantic vampire mate and traveling with you for all eternity Some days, I wish I had. But you have to realize, i have the utmost loyalty to my parents to take care of their kingdom, and ensure the family bloodline to the next generation. I had to do what was right, and that meant I couldn't be with you anymore. And if you kept around, and kept looking at me and whispering your sweet temptations in my ear...I would have eventually gone with you. Screw properness, screw responsibility, I would have followed you to the ends of the Earth, and back again just to make sure you loved me as much as I love you. But the people needed me, and I did what is right... so why do I still feel this painful emptiness in my chest, like someone sucked a bit of my soul out and took it with them?

I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I never stopped, I never thought you were against nature. In fact, you are everything good in nature that was molded together into one perfect being. You were endlessly smart, attentive when you wanted to be, you took no baloney from anybody, and confidence was your middle name. I was so jealous of how outgoing and free you were, how strong and fearless and talented. And, how did you always put it? 'Sexy as all get-out'? Either way, you knew my personal reactions to your body. Oh gosh, I can't believe I just wrote that. I'm so very not going to send this now. Heh, well you get my point, I hope. I love you, forever, Miss Marceline the Stubborn, Wonderful Vampire Queen, no matter what happiness.

Always and forever, PB.

She had to put the binder down then. Despite having run out of tears long ago, the vampire was crying again. Closing the letter and hugging the thing to her chest, she cried even longer than the first time. Some of it smiling, some of it in gutwretching sobs. What if she had convinced Princess Bubblegum to go with her? What if they would have been together, right now?

All questions that would never have answers.

Marceline lifted into flight as best she could. She would go home and read that letter again. And again and again. And all the other papers on the binder, until every single one was permanently burnt into her mind. And when that was done, she go on her own quest. A quest to find some way to end the ripping of whatever bit of soul she had left, because was life not worth it without the love of her existence.

Not really, not anymore.

I am so sorry. I disappeared for a while, didn't I? Well, I have no guarantees I'm really back at all, but I have a little more freedom with my time now, so who knows? I'm sorta losing power one my sollux story, but the johnkat still burns bright! Plus, trying out a whole new type of story, Adventure Time! Cuz I like Marceline and PB. Sorry, Im dumb, but thanks for reading anyway. :) Love, Beep.