Good Night

by Bookman230

In the aftermath of Maja's attack, Marceline gives Bonnie some much delayed support.

A/N: This will make a little more sense if you read my previous AT story, Routine, but it stands alone just fine too. Edited by the great Professor-Piggy

Crud. Crud crud crud crud crud. Marceline, the Ooo-and-beyond-famous Vampire Queen, flew over the Candy Kingdom a lot. But she rarely flew anywhere when she was worried and feeling like… well, crud. Yet here she was, flying all over the night sky of Ooo in a distinctly less awesome way than usual. Though still awesome 'cause, c'mon, she's her. Even worried and out of her mind with guilt, she's still the stealthiest, coolest flyer around.

Anyway, the story of why she was in such a panic started with a wild rager at the Party Bears' party cave. In fact, that rager'd been so rageful that the Party God himself had turned up, and then everything'd been off the hook! She beat the Party God in a rap battle! And played Through the Fire and Flames off the top of her head on her axe while completely out of her mind. It'd been awesom- er, the party wasn't the point. The point was, after the party she'd flown clumsily home and slept the next day away. So what, right?

Wrong. The what was that it'd been that day that apparently Maja the Sky Witch had chosen to attack the Candy Kingdom. And that Bonnibel had sent her like, a dozen texts asking Marceline to help that she'd slept straight through. Glob, it was just a relief to see that the kingdom was intact! Bonnie was gonna have her head for this, and this was one time Marceline was going to let her. As soon as she could find her. She had flown to the window of Bonnie's bedroom, and it'd been empty. Now she was using her finely honed senses to track her down and make sure she was okay and apologize like, a gazillion times. Finally, her keen eyes spotted a door, slightly ajar. Picked open, not kicked down. Whoever'd done it knew what they were doing. She landed, and looked at the place. The Candy Tavern. It was a while after closing time, and she'd never known Bonnie to visit the place. Yet her scent… it ended here. Cautiously, she entered.

And there she saw Bonnibel, drinking and mumbling to herself. Maybe singing? ...It'd been a long time since she'd heard that. What was going on?

"Bonnibel?" she asked, gently. Bonnibel jumped, but only slightly. So controlled, even now.

"...Heh. Hehehe. You show up now. Better late than never, right?" A sharp pang of guilt.

"Bonnibel, I didn't… I slept through your texts, I didn't see them till…" No excuses. "I'm sorry, Bonnie."

Bonnie just waved her off. "No, no! I'm not… I'm not mad. It's just… funny. Ironic. Sides. You didn't see them. So you couldn't have known. And it's not your kingdom. Not your fault." The 'Just mine,' lingered in the air. Okay. Clearly, something was up. Bonnie was subdued, looking down, drinking, and...she'd broken into a tavern in the middle of the night. This wasn't about Marceline anymore. It was about Bonnie. It was time for Marceline to catch up on her long neglected best friend duties. She dropped down on the stool next to Bonnie.

"What's up, Bonnibel?" she asked casually.

"Nothing's up," she replied, slightly defensive.

"Right. 'Cause you breaking into a tavern at night is just business as usual," she teased.

Bonnie chuckled, but it wasn't a 'ha ha' chuckle. It was a 'my life sucks' chuckle. Marceline knew that chuckle from experience. "Kind of has been, lately."

"...Why's that?" she asked. Bonnie just… looked away. "You can tell me."

Finally, after a moment, "...Root Beer Guy died."

"Bonnie, I… I'm sorry."

She continued like Marceline hadn't said anything. "He died like a hero. Sacrificed himself to put up a forcefield around the kingdom. To save everyone." More guilt hit Marceline. If she had been there, maybe Root Beer Guy would… but it didn't matter now. This was about Bonnibel. "Had to… had to inform his wife. Cherry Cream Soda."

"Bonnie…"

"She… didn't take it well. Why didn't I save him? Why did this even happen? I'm supposed to be a genius, right? Why didn't I stop this before it happened?" Marceline stayed silent. Let her talk. "I said I could try to clone him. She took that worse. The suggestion that her husband wasn't… unique. That who he was and what he did could be put down to a bunch of genes. That I could… dishonor his memory like that. ...Heh. My people… they were always too… sentimental." She took another swallow of her drink.

"...She was a widow, Bonnie. Grief, and stuff. She didn't mean it. It wasn't your fault."

"She's right, though," she said. Not passionate. Not sad. Just… resigned. Which only made it sadder, really. "Why didn't I? Why did it? Everything I do… and people still die. What's the point?"

"...To try and save everyone. Not to actually succeed. Cause you can't. You can't save everyone. You know that. But the point is in trying. And you always do. Part of what makes you incredible." Bonnie looked at her, wide eyed and surprised, and it broke Marceline's heart.

"You think I'm incredible?"

"Duh. Always have, always will. You're my best friend, Bonnie. Course I think you're incredible."

"We're… best friends?"

"...You didn't know?"

"No, not like that, I just… didn't know we were… that okay again."

"Well… we are. Promise." Marceline gave her a smile, and Bonnie smiled weakly back. Then it faded, as quick as it'd come.

"...No. Er, not to the best friend thing! You're definitely mine! E-er, not mine as in… y-you know, m-mine, mine as in my best friend, as you-"

"Bonnie. I know."

"...Right. I mean… it is my fault."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I…" she looked ready to spill, but suddenly realization dawned in her eyes. "No. You can't know how."

"Excuse me?"

"You can't. Accept it." Indignation, annoyance, and anger bubbled up.

"So what? You're gonna shut me out, like usual?"

Bonnibel smiled, without mirth. "Yeah. Yeah, this is usual, alright." Marceline's face softened, and the anger shifted into guilt. "Go ahead and hate me. I can't tell you."

"...I don't hate you. Is that how you think? Either I agree with you or I hate you?"

"...Seems like that's how everyone works."

Marceline sighed. "Well, I don't. Never have."

Bonnie smiled again, a little teasingly. "Liar."

"Well… okay. There were times when I hated you. But only cause you weren't there. Cause I…" Careful, Marcy. "... cared about you too much."

"Hatred from care. Yeah. I was there too."

"Look, why can't you just… tell me?" Unless… "And how did Maja have enough power to attack anyway, after we took Hambo back?"

"...Dunno." The pause told all. "She just found… something else, maybe."

"Right after?"

"I don't know, Marcy. I don't know her every move."

"...You never told me. How you got Hambo back."

"Because you don't need to kno-"

"Your shirt." Bonnie stopped. "The one that I gave you. It's late. You say you wear it as pajamas. But you don't have it on."

"I…" And then it all came together.

"...A trade. That's it, wasn't it? That's how you got Hambo back?"

"...Hambo was… older sentimentality. Centuries old. Used for a while. The shirt was… relatively fresh."

"You… for that to work you… you must have cared about that shirt a lot."

"...Yeah," she replied in a forced nonchalance. "Course I did. You gave it to me. But the look on your face when I gave you Hambo… worth it. Even now. Worth it."

Marceline'd given Hambo up to help Simon. She'd had to, but… the guilt came anyway.

"It… it was the shirt, huh? That gave her enough strength to…" Oh, look. More guilt.

"...That's why I didn't tell you. You'd blame yourself."

"Cause I should! I brought you along! You gave up your shirt for me!"

"Exactly! My choice! My kingdom! It was my responsibility to prepare, my responsibility to protect, to get that shirt back or be ready to fight her if she came and I failed!"

"Why the glob didn't you tell me? I could've helped! I could've gotten the shirt back or helped you prepare or… something!"

"Cause I… I… I don't like you sad, okay!? Or guilty! You deserve to… to smile and it seems like all I do sometimes is make you sad or angry, like right now, and I… in that moment I… I made you so... happy. I didn't want to ruin it."

There was a silence between them, until Marceline finally spoke, "...Bonnie?"

"...Yeah?"

"...For a genius, you can be really stupid sometimes."

Bonnie laughed, for real this time. "Story of my life."

"I… I'm never… happier. Than I am with you." This was… not 'best friend' talk. But screw it. "Never. So cut that out, okay?"

"...Kay."

Marceline smiled at her, and Bonnie actually smiled back. "C'mon. Let's get you back."

"Okay." She tried to stand up, but wobbled back down on her seat. "Er… help me up?"

"Yeah, yeah." Marceline wrapped Bonnie's arm around her neck, and helped her up. "You okay?"

"Relatively."

"Would it pain you to just say 'Yes' or No' or 'Kind of'?"

"Affirmative." She grinned teasingly at her, and Marceline couldn't fight back a grin of her own.

"When did this start, anyway?" Marceline began, as she led them outside. "The lockpicking into the Candy Tavern thing? Kinda hardcore."

"...Stole it from LSP." Bonnie put in a light tone there, but Marceline could still hear the sadness, the story in there.

"...LSP, huh? Why am I not shocked? She's a fun girl, but she doesn't always think things through, you know? Stuff like that? Completely her own fault. No matter what she probably says." Bonnie made a noncommittal hm as they took to the skies. "Next time you wanna do this, invite me?"

"What? Why?"

"Cause breaking, entering, and drinking is most definitely my style. C'mon. It'll be fun." She smirked as Bonnie thought it over. "C'mon." Bonnie put a hand to her chin in thought, clearly teasing her now. "C'moooooooon," she groaned, shaking her around.

"Alright, alright!" Bonnie exclaimed, giggling in that way that just made Marceline's heart soar. "Next time, I'll invite you."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah. ...How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"When I feel cruddy, all you need to do is… be there. And then I don't." Marceline blushed in surprise and looked away, taking a moment to put her cool face back on.

"Hmmmm. How about this? A question for a question. I'll answer yours if you answer mine."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Sure."

"Okay. The answer to yours is… I dunno. I'm just that charming."

Bonnie rolled her eyes harder and elbowed her. "Butt."

"Ow! I could drop you, you know."

"You could. But you won't."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Cause you're a softie."

"And a butt?"

"Yup. A soft butt." Bonnibel stopped as she realized what she said, and they both looked away with a blush. "A-anyway! Was that your question, or?"

"O-oh. No. My question is… what if I did? Went ahead and hated you?"

Bonnie looked down. "I… would've let you. Better you… hate me and be happy than… like me and not be."

"...Idiot."

"So you've told me."

"Cause it's true. Like I said, I'm happiest with you. I wouldn't be happy if I hated you and stayed away with you. I… I know that from experience. So just… be honest with me. Kay?"

"...Okay. ...Sorry."

"Don't be. I asked, right?"

"Not… just for that. For… everything."

"...Hey. All that? Water under the bridge. We're cool now. I… I'm sorry too."

"...You're forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."

Marceline smiled teasingly. "You steal that from something?"

"Wha- No!"

"Suuuure."

"Shut up!" Marceline giggled. There was a moment's silence. "Then, "...Marcy?"

"...Yeah, Bonnie?"

"...Sing with me? It's… it's been a while, I know, so if you don't want to, I…"

"No! Nah, that… that sounds… cool. Really cool. I uh… what do you wanna sing?"

"Good Little Girl?"

Marceline blushed faintly. "You uh… know that story, huh?"

"Of course. Slime Princess told me. She'd never forget a story told by the great and sexy Vampire Queen. And Marshall Lee is soooo hot. Unlike that stuck up prissy Prince Gumball." She gave Marceline a mock glare.

"Er… Bad Little Boy isa work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental."

"Riiiiight," Bonnie teased. "I think half of the royalty in Ooo has a crush on you."

"Only half?"

"What? Is that below your estimate?"

"No, just uh…" Careful, Marcy. Flirting is a dangerous game. "You did call me sexy, so by my estimate, that would bump it over to slightly over half."

Instead of getting mad or calling her distasteful though, Bonnie just giggled. "You are incorrigible."

Marceline smiled. "You know it." She didn't know whether it was just because things were going well between them, or if it was all the drinking going to Bonnie's head, but best not to push her luck. "So uh… the song?"

"Right. You start."

Marceline nodded, and started humming the tune to get into the zone. Then, "Good little girl," she began gently and softly into the night, "Always picking a fight with me." She looked down at Bonnibel. Her eyes were closed, like she was just absorbing the sound of Marceline's voice. She looked… peaceful. "You know that I'm bad, but you're spending the night with me. What... do you want... from my world? You're a good little girl."

Had… had this song always have so much reality subtext?

Bonnibel swayed her head gently to the tune playing in their minds. Then quiet but firm, "Bad little girl. That is your acting role. I don't really buy, that you're that kind of girl." Oooh, Bonnie was altering her lyrics. Her artistic integrity should have been wounded. That, and girl and role wasn't the smoothest rhyme, but eh. She could let it slide. Bonnie opened her eyes, and looked back at Marceline. "And... if you are… Why do you want to hang out with me?"

Marceline blushed, and looked away. Yeah, there was definitely subtext. ...Oh glob. The next part was the rap. Where he accused the good little girl of having a thing for him. But Bonnie's looking at her like it's her turn to sing. Uh…

Luckily, they got to Bonnibel's balcony just in time. Marceline set her down gently. Bonnibel turned her head and smiled. "...I missed that."

Marceline returned it. "Yeah. Me too. Glad you've kept that voice up. Still do the exercises?"

"Of course!" Marceline gave her a scrupulous look. "...Mostly." She gave her a scrupulouser look (that's a word, shut up). Bonnie blushed as she exclaimed, "I get busy, okay!?"

Marceline just chuckled. "This was fun, Bonnie. See you on Princess Day?"

Bonnie groaned. "Yes. I'll endeavor to bring my best crossword puzzle to drown out Breakfast Princess' complaining."

"I was just gonna practice my stoic and sexy 'I'm too cool for this' pose."

"Really? Looks fine to me." Marceline blushed. Again. Seriously, was Bonnie doing this on purpose?

"T-thanks. I'll uh… see you." She began to fly off, when suddenly there was a "Wait!" behind her. She stopped and turned back around.

"I… no, never mind. It's stupid. Forget it."

"...Hey. We're best friends, aren't we? You can tell me. I'm the queen of stupid, I can't judge."

Bonnie laughed lightly. "I… just… don't. Go. Stay. Until I… fall asleep. I know it's… dumb, but I don't…"

She smiled. "Hey," she put in gently. "It's cool. We all have those nights. I can chill 'til you fall asleep. Nothing better to do."

Bonnie beamed, and Marceline knew right then she made the right choice. "Thank you."

"Y-yeah." Bonnie went inside, and Marceline followed. Bonnie went to bed without any pomp or circumstance, just lifting up the blankets and dang near collapsing into the bed. Marceline floated there in the dark, silent but reassuring. As Bonnie laid there, closing her eyes, she smiled again.

"Night, Marcy."

"Night, Bonnie," Marceline whispered back. She stayed there, until Bonnie's breathing grew slow, and her body relaxed. She seemed to.. sink into the bed. Glob, when was the last time she'd slept? She looked at her face. Asleep, Bonnie looked so… relaxed. Marceline smiled, then floated away, going on gentle into that good night.