I wrote this on New Years Day because I wanted to get some ideas laid out. This is my first fan-fiction-type-of-thing in three or four years, but that's only an excuse! Also, yes, the candy people were meant to sound innocent and hard to take seriously.

I hope to write something more exciting in the year to come.

420 5ever!

(I'm just kidding.)

- Author's Note

Thud.

She stirred and rolled over, midair.

Thud, thud, thud.

Marceline brought herself to a sitting position, while continuing to hover over her bed.

Thud, thud.

"Marceline! Are you in there?" A voice shouted from outside.

The vampire brought her hands to her head and massaged her temples. Pushing her disheveled hair back and out of her face, she floated to her bedroom window and pushed open the curtains. It was dark outside. Time to get up.

The girl glided lazily down the stairs and to the front door, still half asleep. She grasped the door handle and swung the door open, revealing Finn and Jake. The both of them were wearing party hats and smiling broadly.

"What are you...?" The girl drawled, looking the two up and down with half-closed, pale yellow eyes.

"Everyone's at the Candy Kingdom palace!" Finn exclaimed, "We were wondering if you were gonna come!"

"Why would I...?" Marceline asked, puzzled.

"There's only about an hour left until midnight, and we thought that you might want to come celebrate with us!" Finn yelled, practically jumping up and down.

"That is, if you're not busy!" Jake interjected nervously.

"Well, I was sleeping..." Marceline muttered, pointed over her shoulder in the direction of her bedroom.

"You can't be sleeping on New Years!" Finn said, placing his hands on his hips, "Come on, Marceline! Come celebrate with us!"

"Oh," the vampire deadpanned, slowly remembering what day it was, "M'kay. Just give me ten minutes, alright?"

"You better hurry!" Finn said, "Or we'll miss the countdown!"

Marceline shut the door.

"Hey... can't we come in?" She heard Jake ask timidly.

Opening the door just enough so that she could see the dog and his boy, she whispered, "No," and shut the door once again.

"Ten minutes," she muttered, turning her back to the door and scanning her surroundings. Her eyes landed on the clock in her living room. It read 11:20. "Shit."

The vampire flew with speed back to her bedroom, where she threw on a long sleeved, short black dress, which exposed her collarbones, and black stockings. She hopped around her room, attempting to put on a pair of yellow pumps and brush her teeth. The teen ran a comb through her hair vigorously, and then messed it up quickly with her hands. She checked the clock. 11:24.

"Yes", the girl pumped her fist in the air, "Six minutes left."

She quickly flew downstairs and into the kitchen. Marceline peeked around the wall dividing the room she was in and the living room. She saw Finn and Jake peering curiously through the living room window.

"Oh for -" she ducked back behind the wall.

The vampire went back up to her bedroom, and began digging frantically under her bed. Her hands found what she was looking for, and she pulled a cloudy grey canister out into the open. Dropping it on her bedside table, Marceline opened the table's top drawer and pulled out some rolling paper, scattered on top of her tattered journals containing self-composed lyrics and bass tab.

iii

Smoke rolled around the room. Marceline dropped onto her rock-solid bed, inhaling, and then exhaling, and then relaxing. She gazed at the ceiling, white smoke momentarily clouding her vision. The vampire fell into a comfortable high.

More thumping on her front door brought her back to the present. Rolling onto her stomach and checking her bedside clock, Marceline noticed that her ten minutes had long passed. She groaned and put out her cigarette. As she left the bedroom, she grabbed her large black purse and slung it over her shoulder.

"Hey," the girl met her friends outside with a lazy smile, falling back into the character that they knew her to be. Together, they made their way towards the Candy Kingdom.

iii

"Peebles!" Finn cried, running towards his friend, who was standing in front of a narrow punch table draped in a red and white tablecloth. She was greeting a crowd of candy citizens in a long, extravagant pink gown. When the crowd saw Finn and Jake coming, they scattered to occupy different quarters of the palace hall.

"Hello, Finn," Princess Bubblegum said with a smile, bending down to hug the boy.

"We got Marceline," Jake said enthusiastically, coming up behind Finn. He glanced around the room, suddenly realizing that the vampire queen was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh..." Bubblegum said stiffly, ending Finn and her embrace, "That's who you went to get." Her expression, which only moments ago had been lighthearted and welcoming, was stiff and cold.

"What's with the long face, Bonnibel?" Marceline appeared behind the candy princess, hovering over her shoulder, her mouth close to Bubblegum's ear.

The princess reeled away from the vampire queen, but not from surprise.

"You smell like skunk," Princess Bubblegum cried, grabbing the other girl by her shoulders and shaking her. Dragging the vampire down to eye level, she whispered harshly, "Aren't . Sober?"

"Hello to you, too," Marceline scoffed, pushing the other girl's hands off of her shoulders. She met Bubblegum's cold eyes with her own, but only for a moment, as she noticed the punch bowl.

"Red!" She chimed, "I'm starving!"

As the girl brought the ladle of pomegranate punch to her lips, the bubblegum princess slapped the back of her neck, causing the ladle to slip from the vampire's grasp and fall back into the punch bowl. The ladle made a loud crashing sound as it struck the bowl, and punch splashed onto the floor. The hall grew quiet. Finn and Jake stood by awkwardly.

Marceline spun around to face her attacker, this time with her feet on the ground, looming over the other girl. Her fangs began to show as she barred her teeth and grew more and more agitated.

"Buzz off," the vampire queen hissed, her long, forked tongue oscillating behind her slightly-parted teeth. The princess's eyes fell upon the other girl's mouth, watching. She bit her lip.

Bubblegum shook her head vigorously, snapping herself back to reality. Her small hands clenched into fists, and she stepped closer to the vampire.

"We don't need someone like you here," Bonnibel announced, her voice louder than she had intended it to be. Her words echoed throughout the hall as she said, "Get lost, you... you... you... stupid druggie!"

The entire crowd gasped at the princess's last word. Marceline snorted and rolled her eyes. The candy people always seemed to act like innocent children.

"Whatever. I'm out of here," the pale-skinned girl raised her right hand in farewell, and floated calmly towards the great double doors at the front of the hall. As she took her leave, the candy people began to talk again, but this time in whispers, as if they thought the vampire couldn't hear.

"Drug… druggie? Doesn't that mean that Marceline Abadeer… takes… drugs? Bad drugs?"

"I knew she was up to no good. I mean, just look at her, and her clothes, and her music… and now, this!"

"I suspected she wasn't very smart, but only an idiot would do something so harmful!"

"Princess Bubblegum… Poor Princess Bubblegum! She always has to deal with that girl… Oh, how hard it must be to protect our kingdom from that crazy demon!"

"What's "druggie" mean?" Finn asked.

Marceline made her way out of the castle. Once she was outside of the palace doors, she began to laugh. The vampire laughed so hard that she collapsed on the steps, banging her fist on the ground.

"Stupid druggie? Marceline Abadeer takes drugs? Bad drugs? Harmful drugs? Poor Princess Bubblegum?" The girl snorted and took her face in her hands. She laughed so hard that tears began to fall from her eyes.

After a few minutes, Marceline was able to stifle her laughter and make her way down the stairs and to the drawbridge. She stopped there, and sat down so that her feet hung over the edge of the bridge, a river of orange corn syrup flowing beneath her.

With a sigh, she slipped her large black purse off of her shoulder and began to rummage through it. The pale girl pulled out a red lighter and a half-empty pack of cigarettes. After taking a few drags, she reached down and pulled off her pumps, setting them beside her purse. The vampire queen propped herself up with her hands and leaned back slightly, so that she could look up at the night sky. The stars danced quietly, and the night was silent.

"I thought you stopped smoking."

Marceline turned her head. Princess Bubblegum sat down beside her, tucking her gown neatly under her legs.

The vampire snorted, "What made you think that?"

"I don't know... That t-shirt?" Bubblegum traced a circle in the air in front of her and drew a line through it, attempting to recreate the picture on Marceline's 'no smoking' tee.

"It's called irony, Bonnie," the other girl teased, "Plus, I have to set a good example for the kids." The vampire smiled halfheartedly.

"You call getting stoned out of your mind every time you go on an 'adventure' with Finn and Jake setting a 'good example for the kids'?"

The vampire queen laughed out loud at that, then began coughing, choking on smoke.

"You have quite the vocabulary there, princess," Marceline taunted the pink girl, spitting into the orange river.

Bubblegum said nothing. The vampire queen looked back at her, and saw the princess staring down at her hands, which were resting gently on her lap.

Marceline looked up to the sky again, and took a drag from her cigarette before asking, "Why did you come out here?"

Silence.

"What do you want to say?"

The candy princess took a deep breath.

Marceline glanced at her, then sighed, returning her gaze to the quiet calm of the stars.

"I'm sorry," the pink girl mumbled.

"What was that?" The vampire inhaled deeply, then blew smoke into Bonnibel's face, "I couldn't hear you. Do you mind repeating what you just said?"

Princess Bubblegum glared up at Marceline, coughing delicately. The vampire queen was grinning cruelly, her fangs completely exposed. Her wide eyes shone bright yellow in the moonlight, with hints of green and red. The princess swallowed, fear beginning to knot in her stomach.

"I... said...," she began reluctantly, "That... I'm sorry for saying those things... so loudly... and stuff."

Marceline looked away, any traces of a smile disappearing from her face. Her head lulled back in Bonnibel's direction, her eyes lazily looking the girl up and down.

"Do you expect me to accept that?" The vampire slurred, "Like,'Oh, it's no big deal, Princess. I know you didn't mean it. I mean, I've caused you enough trouble already. Your life must just be so hard. Hey, I'm sorry, too!'" She paused, then added, "Is that what you want?"

Bubblegum made a gurgling noise, as if she was being strangled. Their eyes locked.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Marceline asked. This time, she sounded genuine.

"I... don't..." Bubblegum's gaze dropped back down to her hands, "I... just..."

"THIRTY!"

Both girls jumped.

"What the -" Marceline began.

"... TWENTY-NINE, TWENTY-EIGHT..."

"Oh, the countdown!" Bubblegum hurriedly stood, struggling to keep her balance, "I have to go! Oh! I have to make a... speech... Ah!"

Marceline leapt to her feet. She grabbed the princess's wrist as she began making her way back towards the palace. Bonnibel spun around.

"... TWENTY! NINETEEN, EIGHTEEN..."

"Let... go!" Princess Bubblegum desperately shook her arm, trying to break the pale girl's grasp. The sound of the candy citizen's countdown beat into both of their eardrums.

"...TWELVE, ELEVEN, TEN! ..."

"Bonnie, wait -" As Marceline's grip loosened, Bonnibel broke from her grasp.

"... NINE, EIGHT..."

As the princess rushed back towards her castle, Marceline stood on the drawbridge, her right arm extended, watching the other girl go.

"... SEVEN, SIX..."

The vampire took off.

"... FIVE, FOUR..."

Princess Bubblegum found herself caught in the vampire queen's grasp once again. Marceline spun the other girl around, grasping her upper arms. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"... THREE, TWO, ONE..."

As the roar of cheering surrounded them, and fireworks flew into the sky, Marceline pulled her prisoner towards her and leaned in, their lips meeting as the crowed chimed "Happy New Year".

Bubblegum squealed, her eyes opening wider. As Marceline's long tongue snaked between her lips and into her mouth, Bonnibel felt her eyes close as she gave in to pleasure. Her head spun and her ears rang, and even though the taste of tobacco lingered on Marceline's lips, the princess enjoyed every moment of the kiss.

The two pulled apart when Bubblegum ran out of breath. Panting, she fell into Marceline. The vampire wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, and they stood there, as the quietness of the stars was interrupted by blazing fireworks. Yet, the night had never felt more calm.