The sun was setting, the night arriving, and upon a small mountainside (shrouded by a magically infused outcropping of rock to keep potentially lethal sunlight away), darkness had already fallen.
The cave was lit from within by elemental fire, a rich vibrant glow moving from brilliant shades of red and orange and dimming to a fair yellow light, and moving shadows were outlined in it.
The cave was not much; little more than a deep scoop into the mountain, stone wiped smooth by both arcane and technological means; a flying machine fit for four was parked as far back as it could go, fuel cells brimming with the thought-energy absorbed from all passing sapient life and fully charged, and looking quite a lot like a large egg with wheels (in case it needed to go on the land) and gravity-manipulating propulsion engines at all sides for a truly maneuverable craft. The front of the cave had several small machines placed at the mouth, fueled by solar energy, and this was an ironic choice in power sources; they projected a transparent force field into the very mouth of the cave, keeping away all ultraviolet rays from going into the cave itself. This had the effect of making everything outside the cave, at least to its temporary squatters, look like a totally black abyss, a flat shape of total emptiness.
Given that the four within the cave had little to no interest in anything outside of each other, it was a suitable metaphor.
In the center of the cave, there was a thick pile of rich mattresses and blankets, expensive furs that had come from the hides of savage abominations and monsters (and some still bloody, having been cleaned away only a few days ago), and upon these were more blankets and cushions, rising nearly halfway up the cave in its splendor; sandwiched within all this was a tangled mess of four people, Finn and Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen and the Flame Princess (her elemental core enchanted to consume nothing and burn nothing she did not wish burned), all curled against and into each other in a tangled mess of limbs and bodies, cuddling together in an awkward foursome.
Marceline blinked dully, internal clock suggesting that dusk was coming, and that another night had begun. She yawned sleepily, flame-light glinting upon a mouthful of teeth like a selection of the most savage jaws to have ever existed in the history of the world, and the girlishly squeaky sound from her was most inappropriate for a set of mismatched teeth like that.
She yawned again and settled back in, sandwiched somewhere between under Bubblegum and her front squashing on Finn's smaller body, and her hand pulled around Flame Princess' front to pull her in, a warm and lovely pile-up of beloved bodies.
Bubblegum's arms were wrapped over her, hands gripping Finn so tightly (like he was a big teddy bear) and her hair had moved like something alive, gel-like clumps of bubblegum-hair swallowing up Flame Princess' shoulder. The younger pair mumbled something (still not quite as used to sleeping in the day and awakening at night to fit Marceline's schedule, but Bubblegum thought they would adapt soon enough), shuffled over to unconsciously snuggle into Bubblegum and Marceline and each other properly.
All four of them had a matching ring, a simple band of alchemically treated gold that would withstand all force and flame, an invulnerable symbol of their commitment to each other. Perhaps (so Marceline had thought briefly) Finn and Flame Princess were too young (not even full-grown adults, not yet) to understand the vow of this commitment, this mutual four-way marriage to Bubblegum and Marceline and each other, but they knew themselves and their own minds, and that was good enough for them.
It made Marceline smile, just looking at them and feeling her three loves all around her like this, and being loved.
Marceline yawned again, and thought that maybe it wasn't quite time to wake up yet. It was just too nice being cuddled like that.
She closed her eyes, pulled the blankets back, sighed contentedly as Flame Princess sleepily moved a hand over Marceline's elbow.
This felt perfect.
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