It was the dead of night out in the hills beyond the Candy Kingdom. Marceline scanned the vast nothingness without really seeing it as she soared through the sky overhead. It was lame that she had to fly all the way out here now that Bubblegum wasn't an official princess anymore, but she supposed it was no different than the long flights she made normally. She just wished the landscape was a little less samey.
Coming back to attention as a large patch of pumpkins came under her radar, Marceline slowed her flight and turned her head up to the log cabin she was destined for. She lowered and turned herself to hover to a stop in front of it and glided up to the front door, opting to carry on not touching the ground and simply kicking her heels back to hang casually.
Thinking about it for a second, Marceline then scooted to the side of the door and checked the nearest window. It would be easier to just take the direct way in, if she could just find…no, nope, Peppermint Butler, definitely no…ah. She hadn't been here a whole lot, especially not after the rebuild, so she hadn't remembered exactly where it was, but now that she found the right room, the young vampire slid open the window and floated quietly inside the pink princess' home. Still never locked her windows. Good old Bonnie, still considerate of potential late-night visitors.
As expected, Bubblegum was in bed fast asleep, but that had hardly ever bothered Marceline. Bubblegum was often asleep during a vampire's thriving hours. As casually as if she were awake, Marceline floated to the bedside, hands in her jean pockets and greeted, "Yo, Bonnie. Good to see the place is still holding up. Anyway, I thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to…I dunno, do something fun, just the two of us. This night has been super snoresville and I just thought, hey, maybe it's time to try again."
As she spoke, Bubblegum's eyes blinked slowly open and she listened calmly, as if she were used to jumping into a conversation like this. Somehow Marcy's voice still pierced even her deepest dreams and pulled her to consciousness. She was the only one Bubblegum was sensitive to as well, like her mind wanted to be awake for her voice. "Marceline, hey," she returned a bit unsure nonetheless as she shifted to sit up slightly, "It's been a while." For as used to this as she may seem, and for as much as she'd kept her windows open at night, she hadn't gotten a personal visit past twilight for a very long time now. Normally she'd see Marcy most during the day, often alongside her other friends.
"Yeah, well," shrugged the floating girl, "I did try to come see you a while ago, but that was before I knew you weren't at the castle anymore. That was awkward." The two puffed a cheek each as they averted gazes for a moment. Bubblegum hadn't found the right time to tell the other about her move or her being overthrown before Marceline had found out on her own. They'd had a bit of friction there. "Anyway," the black-haired party continued, "Since I know where you are now, and all the vampires are dead again, you're all rebuilt and stuff…yeah. Just wanted to see if you were up for it, I guess. You still leave your windows for me, when you have windows, so…" A slight shrug and half a smile. A long time ago things like this would have been frequent and normal, but after a falling out and a bad break-up, not so much. Things had picked up in recent times, though. For some reason they both wanted to stay on good terms. They were talking regularly again. They helped one another. They were working at it and could call each other friends at least.
Mention of the castle and some more awkwardness led Marcy's eyes to drop to Bubblegum's chest and her brow knitted slightly at the pink sleeveless button-up with lace fringe. It was probably nothing, but…
Bubblegum had turned her head slightly, not sure what she was feeling when her leaving the windows unlocked was mentioned. Why did she still do that anyway? It wasn't like she'd truly expected a visit. Maybe hoped for one? She would have passed that off and settled on declaring that old habits just must die hard, but instead of sharing her callous logical reasoning, looked back and asked, "Did you have anything in mind..?"
Eyes lifted to Bubblegum's again, Marceline couldn't shake all of the suspicion from her voice as she passed off a breezy, "Nope, not this time. Last time having a plan didn't work out, so I just thought I'd see where the night takes us." She put her hands behind her head and drifted backwards in a lazy circle to illustrate.
Now Bubblegum's attention was ever-so-slightly caught. Her own brow wrinkled just a tad, sure she'd heard an odd tone underneath the flippant one, and now that she looked again, she was sure she caught Marceline taking a quick glance at her torso. "I see…" she responded, "Well you know I didn't mean to ruin your plans during your last visit…" Perhaps this was an attack on her and her normally enjoying to have a plan?
Catching that tone in turn, Marceline quirked a brow. "What? I know that; that's not what I'm saying..! I was just…ugh, we've been over that. I forgave you already; I know stuff has been…hard." For both of them, between the kingdom's calamity and the vampiric uprising. Hadn't they managed to re-bond over some of that, though? Come to a little bit more of an understanding?
Alright, so there hadn't been any intended snark…Bubblegum was perplexed. "Ok, alright. I apologize if I misread you, but it did seem like you suddenly became…troubled? Is something the matter?"
Realizing she'd been caught in her curiosity, Marceline paused and wasn't sure whether to retreat or take the opportunity to question. She settled on both. "Oh-ho, what? Nah, it's nothing. Just talkin' about nothing..! Sooo, you, uh, doing laundry..?"
Bubblegum blinked. "Nnnnno..?" she puzzled.
Marceline laughed a little strained. "Ohhh, really..? You sure? Not in the middle of a…wardrobe rotation or anything?" It shouldn't bother her, really. Bonnibel could wear whatever she wanted, but after the things she'd said about that thing and all they'd been through it made no sense for it to disappear now.
The pink-skinned princess gave the other a strange look before realizing Marceline was very clearly staring at her chest now. Bubblegum looked at it herself and gasped, pulling the covers back up over it like her shirt was somehow indecent. "Oh glob..!" Suddenly she was tense and fretful. "Oh butts, that's right, you haven't seen me like this since..!"
It wasn't hard to catch on that Bubblegum had figured out exactly what the problem was. "You 'wear it all the freaking time as pajamas', huh? Where's my shirt, Bonnibel?" the vampire outright demanded upon seeing this reaction. Such a reaction made it sound like something had happened; something the princess was awfully guilty about.
"It's not what you think!" Bubblegum defended herself, "I forgot since you haven't visited at night in so long! I-It felt like I already should've told you..!"
"Tell me what, Bonnie?" an increasingly-distressed Marceline pressed, leaning forward and spreading her arms, "Ugh, are you keeping secrets from me again? Come to think, that new princess-king-whatever, he was wearing your pajamas too! And they weren't my shirt! How long have you not had it? Did you actually get rid of it?" Clearly it hadn't been stolen if she hadn't even been wearing it before the election for a new ruler!
Hearing her crazed uncle slept in her old pajamas, Bubblegum wrinkled where her nose would be if she had one proper. "Eww…" But no, there were more important things to address. Seeing how upset Marceline was getting, she burst, "I am not keeping secrets!" Then realizing getting defensive wasn't going to help, tried again and acknowledged, "I agree that perhaps I should have told you by this point, but it's too late to get it back now. It was ages ago that I gave it away..!"
"You gave it away?!"
Putting her hands firmly on the shoulders of the girl who had now partially transformed into a bat beast, Bubblegum pushed Marceline back to arm's length and sterned her expression. She would not be blamed for this or interrupted. "I gave it away for you!" she raised her own voice.
The snarling wing-armed monster paused in confusion at this assertion. That wasn't a guilty reaction, but it wasn't exactly clearing Bubblegum either. "For me? But…you said you treasured that thing! You said it was your favorite shirt! You kept that shirt for me..!"
"Yes! I did!" professed the princess, "I freaking loved that shirt, but that's why I gave it away! Let me finish!" Before she could be cut off again she clarified, "To the Sky Witch! Remember that? I gave her my shirt so you could get your Hambo back..!"
Marceline started, her mouth opening in stun. In silence her monstrous bat features retracted as she calmed down. "But…why?" she finally managed to ask the obvious, "Why did you do it? And why didn't you tell me? If I thought you would have ever thrown away something so precious to you, I never would've..!"
"I know you wouldn't have." It was the princess' turn to interrupt with a single relenting nod. "Which is exactly why I didn't tell you, before or after the fact. I still should have told you at some point, and I'm sorry I didn't, but I didn't throw it away. You were so desperate for that toy…all that crying and punching…so I gave Masha something better. It seemed more logical than fighting a fight we were going to lose."
Another silence as Marceline processed this information. Her brow was furrowed again and her mouth poised like it wanted to say something, but once more she had to wait for words to come. Her feet slowly touched the ground as she stopped hovering, and Bubblegum took her hands from her shoulders. "I…still…" the fanged girl insisted with a shake of her head, "I never wanted you to lose something too. And you said Masha thought it was better..? That means it meant more to you than Hambo. If you'd just said something…I-it would have been ok..! I'd have gotten over it. And now you don't have anything from…back then. You don't have anything to remember me by."
With a soft smile, Bubblegum crossed her wrists on her lap and repeated, "I didn't tell you because I knew you would react this way. It seemed a shame to go all that way and not accomplish our goal. Besides, the way I see it, I don't need to remember you. You're right here, same as you ever were. Ice King-I mean-Simon…well, he's not there for you to see whenever fancy strikes. At least, not in the sense that you want. You do need to remember him. It was clear by how you were acting that day, and your happiness means more to me than any t-shirt ever could."
Marceline felt her eyes welling and her cheeks burning with emotion. It wasn't fair. How could Bonnibel say such things so easily? Make such a hard choice so readily? Admit her feelings in such a calculated way? And worst of all, she was right. Of course she was, that big-brained…butt! As much as Marceline wanted to reach into the past and make her undo giving up that shirt, she knew that day couldn't have worked out the way she'd wanted. One of them would have had to lose something in the end, or they both would have lost the fight with the witch and her crony. Marceline had been emotional. Marceline had been desperate to get Hambo back. Marceline needed to remember Simon as her caregiver, back when he was sane and acted as her father figure. Back at Masha's house, Bubblegum's cold, stoic reasoning had been needed to make that hard decision, and the fact that she'd made it showed more than anything how much she valued Marceline.
"Oh, Bonnie…" the vampiric girl sniffed. She didn't have an argument or anything better to say, so simply leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the pink one seated in bed.
Bubblegum let herself be hugged. Her eyes closed in both sympathy and affection, and after a moment let her own arms raise to put themselves around Marceline in return. "There, there," she assured, patting the other girl's back and not really knowing what else to say as consolation. Cheering people up wasn't exactly her strong suit, and she'd already been honest. Blunt honesty was about the best she could do. Unless…
"Oh! Marcy!" she perked, pulling back and beaming at the black-haired girl now looking confused through wet eyes. "I've just had a brilliant idea," the princess declared and pushed Marceline back to stand and trot over to her closet.
"I may not need to remember you, in a certain sense," she elaborated as Marceline stepped behind her to wait in puzzlement, "But I can create a memento..!" Turning around with a victorious flourish, she presented a baggy white sweater with one yellow and one red stripe across the top of the body, and a blue stripe across each sleeve's forearm only.
Wiping her eyes with the back of her wrist, Marceline looked at the sweater. "Create..?" she echoed.
"Yes," affirmed Bubblegum, "Marceline, this is my current favorite garment. It might not be for as deep a reason as my old favorite, but I can make it as important. I want you to have it." She stepped forward and pushed the sweater as a clear indication for Marceline to take it. "This can be the new t-shirt, only I want to give it to you. Think of it like an apology for losing the old one, and as a promise that it won't be given away. Because you'll have it."
Marceline turned her head and cracked a slight, confused smile at what she heard, putting her hands up in defense from the gift. "Wait, what..? Bonnie, you don't have to apologize..! I…I get it, ok? I know why you gave my shirt away. I don't want to make it better by taking more stuff from you."
"Well I do," the princess stood firm, "I insist. Take this sweater as my token of affection. And whenever I see you wear it, we can both remember the good old days, and the good new days. Remember? I was wearing this during the vampire hunt, so it's already got some bonding built into it." She smiled at her own little joke, enticing the other girl by lightly pushing the sweater at her a couple more times.
A crooked smile cracked on Marceline's lips. Admittedly, she did like the sound of what Bubblegum was saying and having something like the t-shirt; just something to signify their importance to one another and what they were still working at repairing…she rubbed one of her own arms hesitantly. It did feel a little weird that she'd be the one ending up with that token and Hambo. She wasn't about to start some sappy memorabilia collection now, was she? Glob, she hoped not.
"It would really mean a lot to me if you'd take this, Marceline." Those words cut through the black-haired girl's thoughts and she realized she'd still been dawdling. Those words were also more than enough to convince her. Putting her arms out, she smiled properly as the sweater was put in them. Bubblegum smiled too, and just to avoid another awkward moment Marceline tossed the sweater over her head, put her arms up and let it fall into place. She swept her hair through the neck hole, opened her arms for a quick critique and then looked at herself wearing it. "Does this count as one of those good times?" she quipped with a soft chuckle.
"I'd like to think so," grinned Bubblegum, a dainty amused hand to her chin. Her eyes swept the other now sporting the gifted garment. "It looks good on you," she answered the offer of critique.
"Eh, it's not my usual style, but I'm sure it'll grow on me," Marceline posed with some of her regular bravado, but before reverting fully she took one more moment to give a quieter, honest, "Thank you." For the past, for the t-shirt, for the sweater, for what she'd done over Hambo, for this talk…just in general.
Bubblegum's head tilted slightly, though she retained her smile. "You're welcome." She was sure she understood the multiple meanings behind those brief words of gratitude.
The two stood smiling at one another for a moment more before Marceline, hugging the sweater to her, felt a rush of warm emotion and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on Bubblegum's lips. It was short, and so very sweet, but even as she was pulling back Marceline already felt like she'd jumped the gun. "But maaayybe it's still too soon to be thinking about doing that…" she admitted with a sheepish smile this time.
Bubblegum hadn't retreated, and in fact had enjoyed the moment of familiar contact, even closing her eyes for that second. It was almost like a day hadn't gone by where a casual kiss between them was the norm. Still, she was of the same mind when it was over. "Agreed. I understand the value of sentiment and I appreciate the significance of attaching our past to a favor, but we've got more to work through before we're there again." Not to sound like she hadn't been feeling warm things at all, however, she added, "But I think a moment of warm fuzzies earns you one free kiss. It feels like I earned it." She gave a short giggle and touched her face again.
Marceline smirked and tutted in a good-natured way, glad Bonnie wasn't mad at least. And hey, she hadn't hated it. That sounded like a good sign for the future. Then the princess surprised her by going one step further and proposing, "So, you came to invite me out, right? How about we do that now before we end up chatting all night and the sun comes up?"
Blinking, Marceline replied, "Huh? Oh, yeah, if you still want to, sure." She hadn't been certain on how to proceed after a conversation like this one, but would hardly say no to keeping her initial plan. She did still want to work through all those other issues and re-bond with the princess properly. She was pretty good at winging it, too, so whatever they ended up doing was going to be fine. "You want to dance, or rave, or…eat..?" She shrugged, knowing not a whole lot of recreation went on at night for the diurnal folk.
"Actually, how about we just go for a fly?" Bubblegum shared her own thoughts, "That way we can really spend some quality time together, without the background noise. Plus, I don't remember the last time we got to do something so simple."
Another tut from Marceline, and in response she put her hands on her hips and curled her knees, lifting her shoes from the ground as she began hovering in response. "Whatever you say, princess. Sounds good to me." On an average night she might whine and complain about how boring that sounded, especially when she'd been complaining about an uneventful night to begin with, but right now it sounded perfect. Drifting behind Bubblegum and hooking her hands under her arms, the floating girl warned teasingly, "It's been forever since I've carried you for that long, though. I just might end up dropping you~..!"
Bubblegum was not amused as she was hoisted and escorted out her own window. "Oh, ha ha," she returned dryly, "Do that and I'll stake you everywhere but your heart." Dropping her would be very rude considering everything.
"Do what?" Marcy countered with a coy playfulness, "Doooo this~? Oooor this~?" She tossed Bonnie up and caught her arms again a few times as they ascended into the sky. Doing so was child's play for a vampire and both of them knew it.
"Marceliiiiine!" Bubblegum protested anyway, despite a forming grin spoiling her upset. Vampire tricks were always fascinating to observe up close, and admittedly, fun to experience.
"Bonnibeeeeel~!" Marceline mimicked immaturely, aware the lady protested too much. She flipped over and set her passenger side-saddle on her stomach, gave Bonnie a knowing smirk and got a pout in return. Then the two cracked and shared a giggle as they headed off into the moonlight, conversation starting anew.