Just something I whipped up after watching some Adventure Time with the hotdog to this mustard and she said something that got me thinking, 'living forever can't be all that great. I mean, she has to watch everybody she cares about age and she can't'. Seriously, you are so profound sometimes that you truly marvel me. So this is for Hotdog and the cartoon that we both love. Enjoy.
Too Much of Forever
"Finn."
"Yeah, Marce?" The boy replies, glancing to the vampire at his side and for a second she is silent.
"Don't ever change," She says and for a while they stop walking, and floating, and Finn just looks at her and puzzles it over. She's avoiding his gaze; she's staring up at the sky but she isn't ignoring him either.
"Why would I ever change?" He asks and then Marceline's eyes lower to his face and she gnaws on her bottom lip with a fang as she thinks.
"Everyone always changes," She says softly and she turns her head away from the boy.
"What do you mean, Marce?" Finn presses coaxingly and Marceline huffs a breath then wipes her frown off and replaces it with a smirk and she snickers. Her usual self is back in full force.
"It doesn't matter, Finn. Just keep being cool."
They head on in comfortable silence for a while with just the sound of rustling leaves and Finn's steps to fill the quiet.
"You really think I'm cool?" He prompts eventually.
"Sure… In a supremely lame way."
"Right," Finn agrees but he still has to look down at the dirt to hide his smile.
...
She strums her bass as she hovers in the middle of the room. Her eyes are closed as her pale fingers wander along the strings with practiced ease. She hums in harmony with the thrum from her axe bass and Finn can't bring himself to disturb her. She's off in her own world. He listens to the music, feeling a bit stupid at hiding in his own house but still… He doesn't move. The music is slow and some kind of heavy feeling that isn't quite sadness. Regret maybe? It weighs heavy on his shoulders. Marceline is playing for a long while before she freezes. Her eyes snap open in a flash and the crimson red orbs are instantly upon Finn. He tenses but the look isn't mad or anything. It just is…
"That was beautiful, Marce," He says gently. He kind of hopes Jake isn't around to hear him use that word but it was. Marceline's hair falls over her face as she looks out the window, her curtain of hair hiding her from view.
"Thanks, Finn," She says and there is a pause. "I gotta get going. I have vampire queen-ish things to do," She adds and she floats over to the door.
"Right… See ya soon, Marceline," Finn says after her and his friend hesitates a moment.
"See ya soon," She returns and she slips out and floats away into the darkness with her bass across her back and gleaming in the moonlight. Finn frowns and watches her go. He feels like he's missed something really important but he can't think for the life of him what it is.
...
Marceline laughs mockingly as she yanks PB's hood down over her eyes. The Princess gives a cry of surprise then another of anger, shaking her fist as the vampire hovers just out of reach.
"Marceline! Get down here!"
"No."
Marceline sticks a forked tongue out at the candy princess who scowls at her, reddening with irritation before she folds her arms.
"Lighten up, killjoy!" Marceline teases and she prods the other woman in the face.
"Marceline…" PB growls warningly and Marceline laughs as she rolls onto her back then lounges above the princess' head.
"Gardening, eh Bonnibel?" Marceline smirks and the princess' arms unfold.
"What do you want, Marceline?" PB questions, her tone laced with annoyance and Marceline spins back round to better look at her. She glances away from the hard stare on her then rolls her eyes.
"Iwannahelpyoudosomegardening …" She mumbles and PB frowns.
"Huh?"
"I want to help you do some gardening," Marceline repeats slowly and PB's eyes widen.
"Why?" She asks and Marceline sniffs.
"Does there need to be a reason?"
"Guess not… As long as you promise to behave," PB says sternly and Marceline groans.
"Fine!" She concedes and the princess throws a glove in her face. "Hey! I need that eye!"
"If you damage my plants, you will regret it."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No… I'm telling you. Now pull some weeds…"
"Yeah, yeah… I'm on it, Princess."
...
"Hey! Finn!" Marceline calls and the boy looks over from his spot on the couch then gestures to Jake who is sprawled across his lap, snoring softly. Marceline nods then floats in quietly. "I got you a present…" She states then she looks to Jake as his legs twitch and she raises an eyebrow.
"A… present? Why?" Finn questions. "Is your dad visiting? I mean, he's pretty math really. It's just the whole soul sucking thing that-" He continues.
"No," Marceline interrupts. "I got you a present because I got you a present…" She shrugs.
"Oh…" Finn says simply. "One sec…" He adds and he carefully slides Jake off his lap, propping a pillow under his head before he rises and brushes the fur off his shorts. Marceline leads the way out and almost instantly Finn stops dead. "Whoa… Dude…" He murmurs.
"Yeah."
"That's a…" Finn trails off.
"Yeah… It's a tree," Marceline confirms and Finn blinks. It isn't particularly big, maybe twice his size but it's blue. A soft kind of blue like the ocean… except less scary.
"I don't think I understand, Marce."
"It's a special tree," Marceline informs him.
"How come? Other than the colour, o' course…" Finn says.
"It's my favourite tree…" Marceline mutters and her cheeks turn a soft pink beneath her sunhat.
"Your favourite?"
"Yeah… I mean, I planted it in the Candy Kingdom a while ago. I helped PB do some gardening and I took it back."
"You stole the tree?" Finn gasps in horror.
"It's my tree!" Marceline replies indignantly.
"Then why are you giving it to me?" Finn asks and Marceline looks to him then away again.
"It's erm… My erm… memory tree," She begins. "It helps me remember people. I mean, I'm gonna be living a while and I just don't want to forget everybody so now I can remember the time I gave it to Finn the Human and I won't forget you."
"Gee… Thank you, Marce…" Finn says softly. Marceline coughs lightly then sniffs.
"Yeah. Sure…" She shrugs with painfully forced casualness. "So where do you want it?" She questions.
"I dunno… Erm… Outside my window, so that every morning I can wake up, look outside and know you care," Finn smiles and Marceline returns it slightly.
"If you tell anyone you're toast."
"Your secret's safe with me, Marce."
"Yeah. I know."
They plant the tree and Finn waters it, his gaze trailing up the trunk.
"How old is this tree?" He asks and Marceline looks at him from beneath her hat as she hovers close to the ground in the shadows of the tree.
"As old as me," She says simply.
"It's a thousand years old?" Finn whispers.
"Yeah…"
"How come you need it to remember us by, you're not going away are you?" Finn asks and Marceline flinches. It's sharp and he almost misses it but he looks to her and her hands are clenched and the brim of her hat shields her eyes.
"No… No, I'm not going away…" She says softly and her voice cracks.
"Then… How come…?"
"Because though I'm not going anywhere, you will," Marceline says.
"No, I won't! Why would I want to leave?"
"Not leave," Marceline replies and she takes a breath then gazes at Finn, her fangs pure white against her skin. "You'll die, Finn… You age. But I don't…" She continues quietly and she sniffs again. She stares into the trees then tenses sharply when arms wrap around her neck and she looks to her left at the human.
"We've got time, Marce. We've got years," Finn assures her and she hesitates before returning the embrace.
"Sure, Finn. Years…"
...
She looks him up and down and he smiles hopefully. It drops from his face when she sighs. She floats over and she undoes his tie and reties it.
"One end needs to be nice and long. Over, over, all the way round and down through the middle," She instructs. "Over the Candy Kingdom, across the ice mountains, around the world, down to the Nightosphere," She adds and she tugs his tie up to his neck and dusts him off. She floats backwards and takes him in before nodding her approval. "You're looking pretty math, Finn," She concedes and the human grins.
"Thanks, Marce…" He says sincerely and he gives her a hug which she reluctantly returns. Her face reddens.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," She mutters as she is released. "Don't you have some loser-tastic party to get to?" She says and she folds her arms. Finn laughs.
"Right… You're just jealous because you weren't invited!" He replies.
"Pfft!" Marceline huffs as she rolls her eyes. "Ponsy parties? They're not my scene."
"Sure," Finn grins. "You ready, Jake?" He calls and his friend appears through the doorway, donning a tuxedo of his own complete with bow tie and top hat.
"I was born ready, bro," He declares.
"We'll see you later, Marce," Finn smiles to the vampire.
"Have fun at your party," Marceline returns.
"We will!" Finn states and he heads off.
"See you later, Marceline," Jake says then he runs off.
"Later, Jake!"
Marceline unfolds her arms and glances around then looks to the clock and she sighs heavily. What to do…?
...
Finn is happy to be chilling with his drink and watching his bro slow dance with Lady Rainicorn. They're good together. Finn chuckles at the blush that floods Jake's face then he looks to Princess Bubblegum. She's royalty… and she is rather out of his league. He knows that but he can't help try. She's dancing with some Lord or Prince or something, chatting away about royal things. Finn sighs. She's a Princess and she needs a Prince. Simple as that.
"Psst!" A voice hisses and Finn spins around and instantly he is stunned into silence. Marceline… is there. At the 'ponsy party'… and she looks so very algebraic. She's in a dress. It's a deep blue and to her knees. She's… pretty.
"Marceline?" He gawks and she gives him a flat look.
"No. It's some other Vampire Queen- Of course it's me!" She returns.
"But… you're here," Finn points out and Marceline rolls her eyes.
"Well duh. PB made me come. She was whining and whining…" She explains then she flashes a fanged smile. "So Finn… Wanna dance?" She says and he jumps to his feet, almost spilling his drink all over himself and he dusts himself off and coughs nervously. Marceline snickers. Finn smiles sheepishly, the blood rushing to his face then he offers his hand. Marceline takes it and glob, he can't remember for the life of himself how to breathe.
...
She laughs uproariously when LSP trips him up and he falls into a chair then flips straight over the back of it. He gives a cry and Marceline laughs harder. He stares at the ceiling, arms spread eagle about him and his face redder than Peppermint Butler's stripes. Then Marceline is floating above him and grinning widely. He smiles and chuckles weakly.
"You're such a goon, Finn," She says with humour in her voice as she lounges on her front and gazes down at him. Finn can't think what to say.
"… Yeah," He mumbles and Marceline laughs again and he finds himself laughing too and his embarrassment fades as he and the Vampire Queen laugh about it.
"What a hero…" Marceline snickers and she pokes him in the nose. "C'mon dweeb, all that laughing has made me thirsty," She says and she pulls Finn to his feet, dropping to the ground as she does and they fetch their drinks and Finn can't seem to stop looking at her. She smiles over at him, her fangs gleaming then she sticks out a forked tongue. He huffs and perhaps quite childishly, returns the gesture.
"Whatever, dude. Mines longer," Marceline smirks and she flicks a candy corn in his face. It bounces of his cheek and his eyes narrow. A square of chocolate hits Marceline in the face and she freezes then turns slowly to look at Finn. His head tilts up and Marceline glares. "It's not nice to throw things at your date," She growls and that's when all Hell breaks loose. They're lobbing sweets, trifles, sponge cake, chocolate cake, cupcakes, all kinds of cake and just about anything else they can get their hands on and they're laughing. Finn doesn't think he's ever had quite so much fun…
...
"I can't believe we got kicked out," Marceline says as she walks beside Finn. She's walking… which is odd. Finn laughs.
"Totally worth it," He replies and Marceline chuckles.
"It really was," She agrees. She's a mess. Her hair is a mess, her dress is ruined and she's covered in sauces and icing. Finn looks worse though. He pulls off his shoes which are squelching from the custard Marceline had tossed at him.
"I'm sorry about your dress," Finn says sincerely.
"Meh… Hardly matters. I think we made history with that food fight," Marceline replies with a smirk.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going?" Finn questions and Marceline pauses.
"I wasn't going to go," She concedes.
"What made you change your mind?" Finn asks curiously and Marceline grins at him.
"I was bored without my number one dork around. I figured a posh party couldn't be that bad if you were going," She explains.
"Because I'm cool… in a supremely lame way, right?" Finn recalls.
"You learn fast, Finn."
Marceline taps his nose and he bats her off lightly. They walk on for a while longer in companionable silence before Finn clears his throat nervously. Marceline raises an eyebrow at him.
"So… You were my date and you didn't tell me?" Finn says and Marceline smirks.
"Telling you would spoil the fun," She returns teasingly and then she sweeps in, feet lifting off the floor, and kisses his cheek. "Later, Finn," She grins and she floats backwards and over the trees before he can do anything more than blush beet red. He slaps a hand to his face.
"Totally not rhombus, Finn…"
...
"Finn..."
"Yeah, Marce?" The young man replies and the vampire at his side pauses for a moment.
"If you ever feel like you have to go on some dangerous adventure where... something bad could happen to you, I want you to promise me that you'll say goodbye and that you'll do your best to come back, okay?" She asks and Finn gazes at her.
"Y'know I'd never bail on you, Marce..." He replies softly and she lands beside him.
"You've grown up, Finn..." Marceline tells him and Finn waits a moment for her to continue. "And... I just really wish that I could grow up with you."
Finn the Human smiles at her crookedly then takes her cool hand in his; holding it gently but securely.
"We've got time, Marce... We've got years," He says and she returns his smile.
"Sure, Finn... Years..."
Review if you want. Don't chew out my grammar too bad though, I know it sucks but I'm too lazy to proof read. Plus, I'm just really bad at this... Why am I even here? I'm gonna go now...
EDIT: This apparently doesn't suck as bad as I thought it did and a lot of reviews requested a follow up. I'll be working on that and hoping that inspiration strikes at some point. Thanks for all the love.