Light A Way 1
The moon glowed dimly over the biggest kingdom in the land of Aaa- the Candy Kingdom. The candy streets were lit with dim lights from lamp posts, the candy houses were dark, save for a few lit rooms, and the candy people were either already asleep or getting ready for bed. At the center of the kingdom was the great candy castle. The candy workers had mostly gone back to their respective homes for the night, leaving the castle dark and quiet. Everything was peaceful at this time. Everyone was resting, except for one busy candy prince in his lab.
"What the- not even a reaction! This isn't right," said the ruler of the Candy Kingdom, Prince Gumball. He placed the test tube back into the beaker of boiling water and turned off the Bunsen burner. He put it away and looked over the setup. "Maybe a few more minutes," he sighed. He hung his lab coat on his chair and cleaned up his workbench. After everything was clean and set properly, he washed his hands and took out a hand towel from the cabinet under the sink. When he got back up, his still in use beaker and test tube were gone. He gasped and looked around, then relaxed when he saw it on the counter behind him. Did I move it while cleaning? He wondered. He took out the test tube and inspected the color change. "From green to light blue. A success!" Gumball beamed and poured the contents of the test tube into a small vile, then jotted down a few notes into an open book. He turned around and almost dropped the vile clutched in his hand, a surprised yelp escaped him as a figure loomed over him, and he was face-to-face with-
"Marshall Lee! What do you think you're doing!" Gumball yelled as he tried to calm his rushing heart. He glared at the undead teen who always wore such a mischievous smirk on his face.
"Chill, Bubbs. Didn't mean t'spook ya," he said coolly. He floated over the prince and laid mid-air above him. Gumball felt a little angry when he looked up to see a butt just above his head, so he moved out of the way. He crossed his arms and looked at the vampire who was belly-side-up in the air.
"How long have you been here?" Gumball asked, a little annoyed at the laid-back demon. Marshall twisted in the air so he was floating belly down, and looked at the vile in the prince's hand.
"About three hours, when you just started that boring experiment," he emphasized the word 'boring' with a sarcastic strained tone. Gumball was a little surprised. Three hours? And he chose now, when I'm done and about to leave, to make himself visible? Gumball was quite amused.
"I'm surprised nothing exploded in those three hours," he raised an eyebrow at the floating demon. Marshall feigned hurt and gasped, falling dramatically on his knees.
"How could you! After all that we've been through together! You still don't trust me?" Marshall sobbed dramatically, then looked up and snickered. Gumball just rolled his eyes and left the lab silently, a vile in one hand, a book in the other, and a floating vampire following close behind him.
The walk back to Gumball's room was filled with an awkward silence. Neither men spoke with the other, but they frequently made eye contact and awkwardly looked away. Luckily, most of the candy staff had either gone to their own homes or were retiring in the servants' quarters on the other side of the castle. If not, the two men would have gotten too much unwanted attention. Halfway through the journey, Marshall had stopped floating behind Gumball, and started walking right next to him, one fist secure in his jeans' pocket with their shoulders almost touching. Twice Marshall bumped their shoulders together, and four times they brushed the back of their hands together, neither men knowing the other's intentions. When they reached the prince's bed chambers, Gumball entered first, and Marshall hesitated before entering and closed the door behind him. They faced each other, this time the eye contact lasted a while before Marshall looked down and spoke.
"So, what exactly is that blue stuff?" he gestured to the vile after Gumball placed it, and his book, on his desk. He floated just above the ground and the prince turned to face him.
"Oh, well, it's nothing really. Just a little 'potion' to help Fionna out with her boyfriend," he smiled. Marshall cocked an eyebrow.
"How's it gonna help Fi and FP?" Marshall floated over to the desk and grabbed the vile. It was freezing cold and he almost dropped it. He put it back on the table and hissed, "It's freezing! How are you not affected?!" Gumball chuckled lightly before walking over to the vampire and held out the hand he used to hold the vile. Marshall stared at it for a moment, then took it in his own hand and gasped at how cold and stiff it was. He tightened his grip a little in worry, making Gumball chuckle and blush lightly. He slowly slipped his hand away and dropped it on his side.
"I'm made of gum, Marshall. Remember?" Gumball smiled at his friend and Marshall relaxed a little, replacing his worry with relief. He chuckled nervously and lifted his knees a little higher, sitting on an imaginary chair in the air.
"So, is it a potion to cool FP down enough so they could touch?" Marshall guessed. Gumball nodded before opening the book and showing the page on the 'potion' to his friend. Marshall took it and read through the neat handwriting.
"I was able to make it strong enough to keep him cool, but weak enough so as to not hurt the guy," the prince explained as he made his way to his closet. Marshall looked up from the book just in time to see the pink prince shirtless and stretching slightly. He looked back down and pretended to read when Gumball turned to pick up his dropped shirt. Seeing his floating friend occupied with the book, he took out a pair of pajama pants and quickly replaced his dress pants with them. He took out his favorite black band shirt and faced Marshall, who had put the book down and stared at the shirt he had given the prince long ago.
"What?" Gumball asked, hiding his slight blush as he put the shirt on. Marshall just smirked and shook his head, content with how things are between them now.
"Black suits you," he mumbled more to himself than to the pink man, though Gumball still heard him and smiled shyly. He sat at his desk chair and put on his reading glasses, prepared for a late night reading. Marshall floated over to the bed and kicked off his shoes, but before he could drop himself on the soft bed, Gumball voiced out a soft complaint.
"Put your shoes near the door, Marshy," he whispered over his thick novel. Marshall sighed and grumbled as he bent down to pick up his shoes and placed them against the door. Gumball giggled silently and went back to reading. The silence that ensued was comfortable to the prince, but he knew the vampire thought otherwise. Then, as if on cue, Marshall rested his chin on Gumball's shoulder and spoke up.
"What'cha readin'?" he asked not-so-quietly next to the pink prince's ear. Gumball flinched, then sighed. He leaned back against the chair, closer to the vampire and tilted his head to rest his cheek against Marshall's.
"Just a journal entry of a scientist I found this morning, from before the Great Mushroom War," he mused. Marshall pressed himself further against the chair and wrapped his arms around the prince's shoulders behind it. Gumball brought the book up and read, while Marshall just hummed soothingly to his ear.