A/N: This brilliant idea was all Guerrilla Warfare—it's their request! And I REALLY HOPE IT'S WHAT YOU ENVISIONED, DAWG! I REWROTE IT FIVE AND A HALF TIMES! And had way too much fun with it. I wish I could print it out and make it into a ribbon to pin to your shirt, G.W! AW YISS
-O-
A chill rang and rattled up from the tip of the princess's right toes to the roots of her long hair, severing her snore in two.
Her eyes fluttered open with a loud 'snerkt' of her nose, but she dug the heels of her palms into them, rolling over groggily to escape the light she had left on.
Well, that would teach her to crash on her floor, wouldn't it?
Blindly, she groped for the boot still on her left foot, its twin lost far earlier in the night. Her fingers found purchase on the rough leather, and she yanked, awkwardly twisting her body to remove it.
"Light off," she groaned, chucking the shoe into what she hoped would be the switch.
Instead she heard a loud 'thwack!' and 'Ow!'
"Ha, take that wall," she snorted blearily.
Wait.
Walls don't say 'ow.' And neither do boots.
Well, maybe they did somewhere, but definitely not in that voice.
She jerked her face up from the carpet grinding into her cheek, a line of drool slipping from her chin.
And sure enough, inside her frantic blinks, she caught a shadow casting down on her wall. A girly shadow.
She rolled over on her back, eyes trailing up to her ceiling where Bonnibel sat, rubbing her shin. She was wearing a wince that puckered around a single fang and a pair of jeans under a purple hoodie, her pink hair draped around her neck per usual.
"If you were going for the light switch, you have got to work on your aim," the pale and rosy girl sniffed.
"Well, well, well," Marceline quirked, a lazy half smile curling up over her lip. "If it isn't the Vampire Bonnibel."
"I prefer Anemic, princess," Bonnie answered, curling her knees up into her chest protectively. Marceline scrunched her nose over the 'p' word, ruffling her fingers through her messy mane of black hair.
"Do you see a tiara? I ain't wearing that spit," the taller girl grumbled. She splayed back onto the floor, her limbs somehow finding places to rest amidst the notebooks and guitar picks, the crushed cans and empty bottles. "Anyway, what brings you to my humble palace?"
"Are these your pants?" Bonnibel asked, plucking a pair of dark jeans from the chandelier she was perched besides.
"Oh yeah," Marceline piped, scratching the side of her head. "You missed a pretty stellar party…" She paused, face shrugging as she pulled layers of hair back over her ear—
"Sweet Billy!" Bonnibel gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth and dropping the denim onto the princess's face. "What did you do to your hair?"
Marceline barked with laughter, her fingers grazing over what felt like a pretty good buzz cut, if she said so herself. Although, she couldn't quite remember if she had used the razor or the wolves had. "It's called an 'under cut,' Bon's."
"Lovely," the vampire mumbled, and Marceline sat up, yanking the jeans down by their belt loops to peer at her.
"No, but seriously, why are you in my room? Unless, you're finally coming to your senses…" the dark haired girl paused, quirking a brow, and the vampire rolled her eyes.
"I…" Bonnibel began indignantly. But her thin fangs clicked shut, her eyes darting once towards the black window.
She really hadn't meant to—more of a nervous tick than anything- but unfortunately for her, even in the princess's somewhat dazed moments, Marceline was sharp.
"No way," Marceline started, a wildly impish grin spreading across her face.
"No what?" Bonnibel tried, but Marceline stood up, swatting for the feet hovering well beyond her reach.
"You're scared of the dark, aren't you?" the princess cackled, and even though Bonnibel's blush was small, Marceline knew it was only because of her lack of a real pulse.
"I am not! It's the only time I come out, you know," Bonnie sputtered. Or at least tried to. Because in the blink of an eye, Marceline had reached over and tapped the switch off.
She might've thrown in some sort of deep and evil chuckle if a cold but soft body hadn't hurtled down into her.
She tottered backwards with an 'oof!' and plopped down hard on her bed, the springs bouncing them both.
All sorts of wicked taunts, however, died on her tongue at the mad trembling going on against her.
"Hey," Marceline said, her arms awkwardly moving around the shaking girl. "Hey, uh, sorry."
"Please don't tell anyone," Bonnibel asked quietly from where her head pressed under the princess's jaw. "The others pick on me enough as it is."
"Well, drinking 'shades of red' instead of nice old fashioned people punch isn't helping," Marceline snorted, and Bonnibel pulled back, her eyes two eerie green lights.
"Please?" she asked again, her fangs gleaming, and the princess scrunched her face.
"Okay, okay. I wouldn't anyway," Marceline grumbled, and the vampire relaxed in her arms, her reflective gaze disappearing with a sigh.
"Thank you. I honestly didn't mean to come here. I was in town later than I thought I'd be trying to return all my library books. But then I got side tracked, and the sun was going down before I knew it."
Marceline felt the weight of Bonnibel's head return to the crook of her neck, and now she was the one blushing—had the vampire felt that little kick her heart made?
Luckily for her, Bonnibel continued, seemingly unfazed. "You still had your light on, and it was the first thing I saw."
"What do you usually do all night?" Marceline asked, her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness around them. The vampire shrugged lightly.
"I dunno—I like reading. The whole 'not needing much sleep thing' means I got a lot of spare time on my hands."
"And you just spend it alone?"
Bonnibel shifted, and the princess knew she was sliding a pink hand over the two scars dimpled on her neck. It was a habit she did often, even though her hair did the trick when it came to hiding them.
"During the day, I usually just throw on a sun hat and visit Finn and Jake and BeMo. Sometimes you, when you're not throwing another outrageous party."
"Hey, I've got the money and the space for 'em," Marceline replied curtly. "Plus, it's not like the great king Abadeer's got much time for me. What else am I supposed to do while he's out?"
"…I guess we both get kind of lonely, huh?" Bonnibel mumbled, and Marceline blinked, her brow furrowing.
"Huh. Guess we do."
"You know, the dark's not so bad with someone else around," the vampire said, and the taller girl felt a stupid smile erupt from her frown.
"Are you asking for a sleep over?"
"Oh, I couldn't impose-!"
"And sneaking into my room isn't?" Marceline cut her off, brow raised.
"I-!" Bonnibel protested, but the princess pulled her back nonetheless, both of them leaning back against her pillows.
"It's fine, Bonnie," she yawned, kicking up her covers to yank over them. "Really. And 'impose?' Geez, sometimes I think you'd make a better princess."
She heard the distinct sound of the vampire swatting a red solo cup from her bed before a rather appreciative, "Eeeyup," and the girls cracked up, Bonnibel's head dipping down to Marceline's sternum.
All the while, Marceline's heart went jack rabbit on her, kicking at her ribs so loudly that she was sure the little vampire was going to get a headache.
But Bonnibel was asleep first, her body curled into Marceline's side, an arm unconsciously thrown about the royal rocker's waist.
And Marceline would later say she held her back to keep her from floating, or that maybe she got all 'cuddled up too' in her sleep.
It wasn't too easy for her to admit that out of all the parties, out of all the royal balls and slips she gave the guards; out of all the cheering subjects, out of all the defeated kidnap attempts (by her own hand, of course), heck, even wearing the stupid tiara…
Nothing had ever made her feel more special.
Wherever she was in her head, Bonnibel murmured something and buried a little closer.
And Marceline kissed her forehead, her eyes finally slipping close again.