Just Beyond Reach

Marceline floated lazily in the empty airspace of her living room, plucking away at her axe bass. She'd spent most of the day being lazy around the house, but now that the sun had set, she was feeling restless. She thought about what kind of mischief she could get herself into. Finn and Jake were probably in their treehouse playing games with Beemo. Barging in on them hasn't been fun since Jake mostly got over his fear of vampires. She definitely wasn't going to see what Ice King was up to. Every time she came across that guy, he acted like a total creeper, even though she's known him for ten times longer than any of her other companions.

After a forced sigh of discontent, Marceline strapped her axe bass to her back and floated out through the window. She let her body guide itself through the night sky, soaring over Ooo with little interest. She watched the ground pass her below, seeing the naturally unusual nightlife of Ooo beginning to awaken. In a clearing in the forest, Lumpy Space Princess snored loudly next to a poorly built fire. She'd be a fun target if Marceline didn't have to listen to the fluffy purple princess whine and complain afterwards. Even the sound of LSP's voice grated on the vampire's nerves.

Continuing over the forest she smelled the signature aroma of Tree Trunks's fresh apple pies and heard the quiet lament of night time birds. Passing over all of this, Marceline still felt incredibly bored. Before long, she found herself floating in the Candy Kingdom, hovering in front of Princess Bubblegum's bedroom balcony. The faint sound of whistling could be heard through the door, meaning the pink monarch was giving up sleep for more whistling practice. A high pitched squeak followed by a loud "Himmel, Arsch, und Zwirn!" Bubblegum had clearly messed up a note.

Marceline had no idea what brought her here or rather, why her boredom brought her here. She hadn't been anywhere around Bubblegum without the company of Finn and Jake for quite some time. Not since she fell out of the candy Princess's favor. Whatevs, Marceline thought with a shrug, I'll bug her anyways. It's kinda fun when she gets mad. With a playful grin, Marceline floated to the door of the balcony. It was cracked open slightly so she peeked in. Bubblegum was no longer in her special whistling chair, but was instead standing at her desk holding a photograph in a frame. Deciding it was best to wait a minute to burst in, she quietly watched the Princess through the crack.

"Ugh, she's such a butt!" Bubblegum sighed. "Why doesn't Marceline understand that being the ruler of the Candy Kingdom is a full time job. I can't just run off with her on a whim...even if I want to." Bubblegum sat down at the desk and held her head in her hands.

They had argued about something silly, it seemed to her. Marceline had wanted to drag Bubblegum out of the kingdom and go to a music festival in the Hazy Desert. But the kingdom couldn't afford for Bubblegum to be gone for very long. She had already spent enough time away with Marceline and her band, taking more time away could severely damage the mental stability of her people. Lemongrab was not an optional backup either.

For reasons that Bubblegum didn't understand, as there was no logic to it, Marceline had blown up at her and stormed off, complaining that Bubblegum was too uptight and that she could never live up to the Princess's standards. Bubblegum had angrily snapped back at her closest friend, accusing her of being inconsiderate of peoples' responsibilities. Marceline left Ooo and disappeared for quite some time, leaving Bonnibel to suffer without her friend and the one person who made her heart guts feel as if they'd burst at any time. When Marceline finally returned, she didn't immediately seek out Bubblegum. She spent time teasing two new tenants in her old tree house; a human boy named Finn and his brother-dog Jake. In their company, she had encountered Bonnibel once or twice, but most times had been as a royal representative of the Nightosphere or as a cohort in Finn and Jake's adventures. After that, their exchanges had been short and heated at every instance. They'd have broken out into a shouting match if Finn and Jake weren't around most of the time they were on edge with each other.

But they were, for a time before their fight, very close. So close that Bonnibel nearly confessed her affections for Marceline on more than one occasion. She shared a long history with Marceline, the vampire girl who taught her about the night, who gave her her first kiss and who made the young Princess feel as if her heart guts would burst. But the vampire's emotions were constantly closed off and the Princess felt that if she told Marceline she was in love with her, it would shatter their well built relationship of friends with some sort of benefit. Little did she know that a ridiculous spat would be the cause instead.

Marceline lowered her head and frowned. She recalled the time when a Door Lord took their precious things and she nearly confessed all her frustrations to Bubblegum in a song. All she had wanted was time with Bubblegum. The Vampire Queen had loads of it, but the Candy Princess didn't. Sure, her existence was dependent on the occasional consumption of candy people to maintain her biomass, but that wasn't guaranteed to be forever. Marceline had already seen centuries and centuries pass by. It was rare that she enjoyed anyone's company and until their little fight, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum was the only one Marceline wanted see the most. She had seen the world change and become what it is today after the Mushroom War, which is to say, it changed significantly and beautifully. There were many things that the Princess would never see from her precious Candy Kingdom and Marceline wanted to share it with her.

The vampire continued to hover quietly outside of Bonnibel's room on the balcony. Feeling somewhat like a stalker-pervert, she watched as the Princess undressed herself from her pink gown and bra, then reached into a drawer and pulled out a familiar black band t-shirt. It was quite wrinkled as Bonnibel had worn it for four days this week already. Peppermint Butler hated the shirt and tried to discard it several times, but the Princess always managed to find it and take it back.

Marceline smiled to herself, taking comfort in the thought that Bonnibel needed to sleep in something that she had given her. It wasn't new when she passed it on to the Princess. In fact, Marceline had favored the shirt herself. She recalled how excited Bonnibel seemed when she handed it to her. The Princess hugged the shirt and commented on how it smelled like Marceline, strawberries and spices. Turning back towards the crack in the doors, Marceline placed her hand on one, ready to push it open.

Bubblegum had thrown herself on her pink and purple fluffy bed with an incredibly large book in front of her. Gathering from the look on Bubblegum's face and the tint of red on her cheeks, it wasn't one of her usual science-y books. Now Marceline's curiosity had peaked. When the girl was younger, Marceline used to read to her and they had shared quiet moments together in that same bed, curled up with books on logic and history. She had never made a face like that before. Drawing upon a bit of her power, Marceline made herself invisible. She slinked her way through the crack like a spirit of smoke and hovered noiselessly above Bubblegum to peer at her book.

"…her hands clawed at the sheets in raging passion as her lover ravaged her body like a beast in the night. His sharp fangs brushed against her skin, threatening to puncture the flesh protecting her blood filled veins. It scared her. It excited her. His vampirism captivated her in such a way that she yearned for it."

Marceline held back a giggle and a gasp, though she felt a bit of heat in her face. Bonnibel was reading vampire smut! The widely feared Queen of the Night wondered where such a sweet thing as the Candy Princess got such a book. Deciding that this may play to her advantage and perhaps finally clear the tense air between them, Marceline slinked back out onto the balcony and reassumed her natural humanoid form. Her adult body was clothed in nothing terribly seductive, but after the years she had spent at the Princess's side, she knew exactly how to get Bonnibel's gears going. She only hoped that after their spat and their slow growth back to civility that she could achieve her goal.

Just as Marceline was ready to quietly pushed the door, she heard Bonnibel's voice, very softly whisper her name. She pressed closer to the door to listen in. Marceline felt worse and worse about her position, as she felt more like a stalker than someone who wanted to prank an old friend. But her curiosity won over her and more information would not hurt her at this point if Bonnibel was willingly giving it, although she had no idea Marceline was there.

Bonnibel was laying on her back with her arm over her face. Her freshly powdered hair lay about her in pink disarray, but more remarkably was the trail of tears that flowed from her eyes beneath the protection of her arm. Her chest heaved deeply with sobs. From her perch on the balcony, Marceline wondered what monstrosity caused the cute pink Princess to cry so hard.

"I'm sorry, Marceline…" Bonnibel whispered into the air. "I wish I didn't push you aside. I wish that you were still with me, floating around this room and playing your bass and just… just being here with me. I can't stand this."

A few more sobs shook her body and she let out a quavering sigh. Bonnibel felt a chill pass over her body and she wondered if her sadness alone could cause such a physiological reaction such as chills.

A cool hand gently took her arm and moved it away from her face, pinning it above her head, her other arm pinned against the bed by another cool hand. Bonnibel opened her tear stained eyes to see the soft smile of a familiar vampire.

"Its ok, Bonnibel. I heard you. I'm here."

Violet eyes sprung wide open as the Princess's brain registered Marceline's presence. Her body convulsed with sobs as her eyes shut tightly, tears continuing to stream down the sides of her face. Marceline silently reveled in this. She took a bit of dark pleasure in seeing the perfect Princess torn to emotional shreds in sheer want of her. It stirred something within Marceline, something primal that she hadn't felt since before the Princess's harsh words cast her away from Ooo.

"I'm here." Marceline repeated.

"Just like a hero..." Bonnibel smiled through her tears. She felt Marceline's weight upon her as the vampire brought herself in for a kiss. Their lips touched causing Bubblegum's body to ignite in a fiery passion that had been suppressed for the last two years while Marceline was her enemy. She regretted that time. She wished for those moments back and the time she lost with her favorite person. Marceline's face turned to nip at the Princess's neck, her dead lungs pushing a breath out onto her warm skin. Bubblegum was caught between increasing pleasure and emotional confusion, which is to say, a dangerous combination for any young woman to have brewing in her heart guts. "I'm sorry, Marci... I was wrong. I didn't want you to leave me. I didn't want to see you go. It drove me mad to see you having fun with Finn and Jake. I was so angry when we chased the Door Lord. I wanted to grab you then and hold you, but I'm so stupidly prideful... I let you go again. I can't do it anymore." Bubblegum broke out into another fit of sobs.

"Bonni?" Marceline's voice sounded confused. She released her grip on the Princess and floated above her for a moment, watching the pink girl below her. Her opalescent eyes grew wide as she watched Bubblegum's body fade in and out of their plane of existence as if she were an image on a screen.

"Marci? What's happening?!" Bubblegum shrieked. She sat up in the bed and reached for Marceline, but their hands only passed through each other. Princess Bubblegum's body faded into the air as if she were nothing more than smoke.

"Bonni! Wait! Don't go! Bonnibel!" Marceline clawed at the air, frantically grasping the space where Bubblegum was sitting. "No... no... what... the junk is happening...?"

Enranged, Marceline snatched her axe bass from beside the balcony door where she had left it and flew out into the night sky, heading towards a familiar old tree house to seek out two friends.