Disclaimer: This scene was inspired off of the episode "I Remember You" and has mention of the content in "Simon and Marcy." For it to make sense, if you haven't seen those episodes you might want to watch them or this will sound kind of cryptic. You probably have seen those episodes already, but I am just rambling because I am nervous about posting my first attempt at a Bubbline fic that actually fits in with the show and is not an AU. I worry that it sucks. I will stop rambling and let you get on with the reading, though.

I do not own Adventure Time or any characters.

Alarms blared through the kingdom. Everywhere, Candy Citizens hurried into the streets in their nightclothes asking in a combination of loud and soft, old and young voices about the reason for the commotion.

"I heard that someone broke into Princess Bubblegum's castle."

"Someone opened all of the windows, even the ones that were locked! On every house!"

"All of my yard ornaments are upside down." One of the citizens cried.

"Everyone! Everyone! Calm down." Princess Bubblegum's voice was amplified through one of the devices she'd made on one of the many days she spent far too many hours in her lab. "There is nothing to worry about. Please carry on with your normal business." She returned to her castle as the guards ushered out to undo the 'damage' done by the unknown troublemaker. "I don't know why you had to upset every citizen in the Candy Kingdom. You could have just knocked." Princess Bubblegum spoke, aggravation easy to hear in her tone. She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched her lamp lift itself up from her bedside table and float around the room. "Would you knock that off?" She huffed out a breath and snatched the lamp from the air. Laughter filled the room.

"Chill out." Marceline appeared beside the princess. They were eye-to-eye, though Marceline was upside down while Bubblegum was right-side up.

"What do you want?" She asked, unfazed by Marceline's tricks.

"Is it so unusual for a friend to drop by?" Marceline flipped and landed on her feet at the word 'drop'. She brushed the hair from her eyes, amused with her joke.

"Maybe not, but it's unusual for you. Why are you here?" Bubblegum remained unchanged in posture and expression.

"You can drop the high and mighty act. It's not like there's anyone around to impress." Marceline's faux smile shifted into something much closer to a jeer. "Or do you have security cameras in here too now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I am not trying to impress anyone." An edge of defensiveness crept in to her voice.

"Sure." Marceline scoffed. "It might mess up your perfect reputation if you get caught talking to someone like me."

"Would you stop with the perfect thing? Jeez, Marceline! Did you come here just to insult me?" Bubblegum dropped her arms to her sides and walked toward the window. "If you did, you can leave." In the reflection of the mirror, Bubblegum caught a glimpse of Marceline's appearance. Though it was barely visible, it was there. Bubblegum turned around, alarmed. "Marceline? Were you crying?"

"What? Me? No way." Marceline rubbed at her eye to make sure that her skin was dry. Bubblegum kept her distance, concern clear on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I've got to get going. See you around, Bonnibell." Marceline lifted up and moved toward the door. Before she could leave, Bubblegum caught her by the hand.

"What happened?" She asked, only letting go of Marceline's hand when Marceline's feet were both back on the ground. The two stood in silence for a long time. There was no indication that her question would be answered or that it had even been heard, but Bubblegum did not ask it again nor did she make any gesture that she wanted Marceline to hurry up.

"Simon came over today." Marceline started and sighed heavily. Bubblegum cocked her head to the side. A look of confusion crossed her face but was quickly replaced with understanding. She mouthed the words 'Ice King' to herself. Marceline did not notice.

"What did he want?" She asked, tentative.

"He wanted me to help him write a song." She laughed once and rolled her eyes. "To impress the ladies." Bubblegum groaned.

"The Ice King can play an instrument?"

"He's pretty great at music. Or well, he used to be. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I'd have learned to play the bass or you know," she shrugged, "things like that." Silence resumed for a while, but it was a shorter one than before. "He had some things from his journal with him. Lyrics inspiration or something. He had a picture of me from when we first met. News clippings, pictures of him before the war." Marceline shook her head. "He doesn't remember any of it."

"Oh Marceline." She took a step forward but Marceline put up a hand.

"I mean, I knew he didn't remember. Or at least I had an idea, but..." She sighed again, trying to keep her emotions in check. "He knew it too. He knew the crown would make him lose his mind, but he kept using it and using it to protect us. To protect me." She lowered her gaze to the ground. "I keep thinking that if I hadn't been there, maybe he'd still be the Simon he used to be."

"But-"

"Then he'd be dead. I know." Marceline looked up from the floor but still did not make eye contact. "I'm a thousand years old so it makes sense that I'm the only one who remembers this stuff, but sometimes I just feel so..."

"Alone." Bubblegum stepped closer but did nothing more.

"Yeah. It's like, in another dozen years, I'll be the only one that remembers Finn, Jake, everyone. What if the Lich is able to destroy everything? Then I'll get to see another demented post apocalypse." Marceline lowered her head again. Her tone far from indicated being done talking, but she faked it with her body language. By then, the two were standing side by side.

"There's more though, isn't there?" She asked, her voice quiet. She did her best to push from her mind the thought that Marceline had not said her name.

"I'm not worried about eternity, being immortal, none of that junk. I hate knowing that I'll see everyone I love die, but if I get a chance to say goodbye, I think I'll be all right."

"I don't understand. You said that..." Bubblegum let her sentence trail off, knowing that repeating Marceline's words was not necessary.

"There's a lot of stuff going on in my head when it comes to Simon, but I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was that the worst thing that can happen is having something end before you get a chance to figure out what could've happened. Whether it's your best friend or someone else very dear to your heart, even if it's going to end, sometimes it's better to just... know." Marceline looked up finally making eye contact with Bubblegum. Everything that had happened before whirled through their heads but ceased to matter for that moment.

Marceline took Bubblegum's hands in her own, minimizing the distance between them with only one step. Bubblegum's eyes widened. Surprise colored her face almost as deeply as her blush. Marceline laughed under her breath and touched her forehead to Bubblegum's.

"So how would things end?" Marceline asked, wary of Bubblegum's response but unwilling to give into her nerves again and let it drop.

"Well..." The short silence that ensued was enough to make Marceline's heart stop. Bubblegum took a small step backwards. Crushed, Marceline shut her eyes in a last ditch attempt to keep her composure. The grip on her hands tightened and she felt Bubblegum move, but it was not away. The soft feeling of Bubblegum's lips against hers froze every thought in her mind. "I don't know how it would end, but it would probably start with something like that."

A/N: I hope that you guys liked it or at least the idea of it. Have a good night and happy Fourth of July!