Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time, any of its plotlines or characters. This is purely for entertainment.
Once in a Hundred Years
Marceline slumped onto the hard and stiff sofa from the air with a heaving sigh. She was too tired today, what with Simon coming to bother her again and the madness that followed. It was like she hadn't slept in weeks.
Exhaustion really didn't leave itself with her often. Marcy was usually pretty upbeat, which kinda took a lot, when you were a half-demon vampire queen. But today was drained, like the white apples she left outside for the animals.
Marceline rolled over and grunted. Maybe she really should get a new couch. She's had this since Ash was around, and the thought of her ex-boyfriend wasn't exactly welcoming.
Drowsiness streamed onto Marceline's eyelids, shutting them and leaving her completely dozed off, the sun quickly dropping through the sky outside like a missile towards the horizon.
A child walked down the road, hand-in-hand with a man, past the gray skies and buildings to match. The bodies lay scattered everywhere, lost souls in the tragic battlefield. That's all the man and child were, too.
The small girl was gripping a red teddy bear like she was its mother, and refused to let it go. They were talking and the man would occasionally laugh, which made the girl laugh, and eventually they'd both double over in fits of giggles, smiling despite the wreckage all around them.
As the strolled the roads of yet another broken city, the man sang a song for the girl. It was silly, and was mostly just garbled words, but she loved it. She always loved his songs.
They came to a forest clearing that night to make a camp. A small and flickering fire sat between the man and the girl, who were telling stories to one another. The small girl drifted off to sleep but the man didn't.
He stared up at the sky and his eyes grew distant. The man muttered to himself unhappily, growing louder with each word. He did this when she didn't look; he didn't want her to see. But she always did somehow.
He started yelling crazily, attacking at any noises and his eyes were now glazed over. The girl was awake and watching his every move with fear. She hated to see him like this.
He turned to her. "Simon?"
His eyes softened. He apologized over and over, until they had both cried themselves to sleep, the girl still clutching her teddy bear.
Marceline woke up grasping for something that wasn't there anymore. A silent tear fell down her face.
The vampire stood up and gazed out of the window, the sky full of big, glowing stars. A spark of light fell across the sky. Then another. It had been a hundred years since the last starfall, and she wasn't going to miss this one.
She scrambled to pull on her blood-red boots and swung her bass over her shoulder, zipping out the door into the magical night air.
She flew across the fields and spun around in a circle, finally settling down on the grass to strum her bass.
Her songs each got a little louder, until she was practically serenading all of Ooo there outside her cave, with her axe bass. She couldn't care less if anyone heard.
Maybe she'd even like them to.
Watching all the twinkling light around her Marceline didn't even notice when some footsteps came up over the hill to see her.
"Marceline?"
The girl turned to see the boy and his dog on the grass looking slightly sleepy but pretty pumped, like they were ready for some fun.
That was good.
"Hey."
Finn came over and sat in the grass next to her. "Whatcha doing?"
Marceline shrugged. "Playing some music."
"That's rad, Marcy," Jake said from behind Finn, bringing out his viola from behind his back, "because I'm in the mood for some tunes, too."
Marceline grinned, her fangs sticking out like pointed spear-tips from her mouth. "Math, Jake," she said, and began a tune.
Jake listened a minute, then played an accompaniment. Finn laughed.
"So, Marcy, why are you out here anyway?" Finn asked after a minute.
"Well, Finn," Marceline said, "it's not really every day we get a meteor shower."
Finn looked surprised. "Oh, that's what this is?"
Marceline laughed at the silly boy. "Yeah, dork. They only happen once in a hundred years, so you better enjoy it while it lasts."
Finn considered that a moment. "I don't think we're enjoying this quite enough, do you Jake?"
Jake shook his head playfully. "Nuh-uh."
"We should be," Finn paused for effect, "dancing!"
Marceline giggled loudly and strummed louder, watching the boy and dog bust out some dorky dance moves. She twirled around in the air even, a bit, with them.
The stars fell for hours and hours. None of them really knew when the music stopped or when they they fell asleep on the grass, but it was certainly quite a night for the vampire, boy, and his dog.
When the stars finally finished running through the sky, Marceline laid back on the grass besides the sleeping guys, sighing a bit.
Once in a hundred years did a night come like this. She didn't feel tired anymore, or unhappy. She felt loose and relaxed, and silly and hilarious. Marceline felt good.
Maybe even, like she had a family again.
FIN