She had just finished changing into her pajamas and was powdering her bubblegum hair with confection sugar when she heard a soft rustling at her window. She dusted the powder off on her pink sweat pants and tiptoed to the bathroom door, leaning around it slightly to peek into her bedroom. She scanned the room for a moment, and when she couldn't see anything suspicious or out of place, she turned to go back to her bedtime routine. That was when her eye caught sight of a bat sitting up on one of her bookshelves, wings tucked back and slouching forward slightly so that it wouldn't hit its head on the ceiling.

"Marceline. I can see you up there," Bubblegum said softly as she walked into the bedroom.

The bat unfurled its wings and flapped its way over to meet Bubblegum in the middle of the room. And then the bat was gone and the Vampire Queen was floating in front of her. Her dark, midnight-blue hair caught the light for a moment and Bubblegum's eyes followed the rainbow of colors that danced in her hair, before gathering herself and turning her attention to Marceline.

"What are you-"

"You really do wear it to bed, huh?" Marceline cut her off. Her voice was light with curiosity, and she circled around Bubblegum in mid-air, looking thoughtful.

"Of course, I told you that already," Bubblegum huffed and folded her arms, giving Marceline her best stern look. "Now, tell me what you're doing here."

"Oh, nothing really. I just in the neighborhood, felt like lurking around I guess. You know, vampire stuff," she threw in a dramatic hiss just for show, lips pulled over her teeth and tongue darting out of her mouth like a snake.

"Right," Bubblegum eyed her warily.

"And also maybe to mess with your science stuff. Move things around. Just to frustrate you a little," Marceline conceded.

Bubblegum rolled her eyes and then turned away from the vampire to march off, business-like, to her bed. She pulled back the covers and settled in.

"Well, its late now and I think its time for me to go to bed. So why don't you go home and I'll get some sleep."

"So do you like that shirt?" Marceline questioned, hovering over the princess.

Bubblegum rolled her eyes again and turned over on her side so she was no longer facing the vampire. "Obviously I like the shirt, Marceline."

Marceline reached down and tugged on the sleeve of the shirt until Bubblegum was on her back again facing the vampire. Bubblegum was about to snap at her until she saw the very earnest expression on the undead girl's face.

"So then, do you like me too?" the vampire asked, her face had gone blank.

"Well, yeah. We're friends. In a way," the princess replied, watching Marceline's face closely.

Marceline looked off for a moment, as if she were thinking this over. Then she nodded and turned back to Bubblegum, giving her a smirk.

"Alright then," she said as she floated up and out the princess's window.

"That was weird," Bubblegum grumbled, before rolling and going back to sleep.

When she went to her laboratory the next morning she found her notes completely out of order and various tools hidden about the room. She put things back in there place, of course, and the next time Marceline showed up in the Candy Kingdom with Finn and Jake she didn't say a word about it.

This was written when my Sugarless Gum feelings were just developing. This is kind of short and 'bleh' all around, but I wanted it here before I started posting any of my other fics. Hope it was enjoyable.