Chapter Two

A/N: From now on it will be in Marshall's point of view for the most part. It may seem like oh my god, you're skipping ahead so fast! But it won't for long. It's only their friendship up until when it turns sour (like in Adventure Time) around when Prince Gumball is eighteen. But it will throughout the story be coasting back of memories and then back to the present etc. c:

Marshall Lee and Bubba were the best of friends from then on. Marshall taught the prince how to spit, and he in return taught the vampire how to ballroom dance. Bubba also learned how to feed sugar bats, how to pull the perfect prank and how to "live a little." The King learned how to fence, how to tie a tie (well, sort of) and how to trust somebody. And he hated that. He was falling deeper and deeper into his friendship that his heart would break in two if they ever parted. Only Glob knows that's happened before.

Today they were focusing on baking. Marshall groaned at the thought of it. Especially when out of the woodwork came Barnaby Gumball wearing a frilly pink apron tied in the perfect bow.

"Ready for a lesson?" He asked, smiling ear to ear.

The vampire blushed at the hidden innuendo that poor well-preserved Bubba wouldn't understand. He may be 16, but he was a saint. "As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." He muttered, grabbing the red food coloring off the counter. "Aw. You didn't have to get me a present." Marshall said cheekily.

Gumball swatted his forearm. "Not for you. For the cake we'll be baking. It's red velvet."

Licking his lips, the vampire king exclaimed, "Mm, my favorite."

After the flour was spread all over the two of them, and the left over red dye was left white, the two royals slumped against the kitchen floor. "So how long we gotta wait to eat it?" Lee said.

"Well, no thanks to you, we have to wait another ten minutes. Maybe if you didn't get so handsy." He chuckled.

Marshall's cheeks were bright red. "I was grabbing for the bowl of mix okay, I didn't mean to get flour on your precious buns. And it's already been 20 minutes, Bubba come on!" Gumball laughed harder. The vampire grumbled and crossed his arms.

"Come on Mr. Poutykins, we're going to start on the frosting."

~0~

"It looks perfect Marshall Lee." Barnaby whispered, leaning over the bowl his friend had been stirring. He took one finger and delicately swiped some frosting out. He sucked it slowly and surely, smiling. "It actually tastes good! Oh I'm so proud." Out of his mouth came encouraging after encouraging words.

But Marshall didn't hear him. His head was pounding, ears ringing, and head locked on that finger. He gulped, trying to stop thinking about how seductive his little prince could be without even trying, or knowing for that matter. A twitch in his jeans made him brace himself against the counter and start scolding. Glob, you've been around for a thousand years, you figured you'd learn some self control!

"Marshall?"

He shook his head, trying to toss his inappropriate thoughts to the curb. "uh, yeah?"

He sensed there was something bothering Lee but he decided not to pester. "Time to frost."

Later on they stuffed their faces with cake, well in Marshall's case, red, with the vampire strumming lazily on his guitar. "Marshall?" Gumball asked after swallowing, a dollop of frosting on the edge of his lip. Marshall chuckled and leaned in, rubbing it off with his thumb only to lick it off.

"Yes, Bubba?"

The prince's face flushed and he forgot where he was a moment. "Uh, well.." He was so confident about this a second ago, but the minute his cool skin touched the royal's he panicked. "Kiss me."

Now it was Marshall's turn to flush. "Bub, why'd you ask somethin' like that?"

Immediately Barnaby looked down at his feet, rejection seeping through his pores like soap. Tears pricked the rims of his eyes, but he blinked them away. Unfortunately, not fast enough.

"Bubba, I'll kiss you if that's really what you want. I just don't want to ruin our friendship."

The prince nodded and then said nonchalantly: "It won't, I royal promise. I just, well, wanted to experiment. N-nothing more. I've never been kissed before and well, it would be great to happen with someone I love and trust dearly."

The vampire smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He'd dreamed about this moment so many times, but somehow it all felt wrong now. He wanted Bubba to want to kiss him for all the right reasons and this was not it. But he couldn't say no. It meant a great deal for the prince to trust him. He'd been sheltered most of his life, and had little friends. So Marshall of all people being one of them was always a big surprise. So he'd have to be a man, suck it up and kiss those oh so kissable yet underage lips. He set his guitar down and loomed over the younger boy, sucking in a breath. It's not like we're doing anything dirty, lighten up Lee. He placed a hand gently on Barnaby's soft bubblegum cheek, and planted it on him.

Bubba stood frozen for a moment, not expecting Marshall's lips applying pressure to his to feel so, mesmerizing. But, as he started to reciprocate, he pushed himself back and away. He shouldn't of liked it other than a scientific experiment. This was Marshall, a boy, and most certainly not a person he should be even acquainted with, let alone kissing, when you think of it from the Kingdom's perspective. What would his subjects think?!

"Hello? Earth to Bubba?"

He blinked at Marshall. "Uh, thank you. It was, well..," he searched for the right word. "..adequate." He settled for, turning away to grab his plate. "Let's wash the dishes, yes?"

Marshall Lee lingered for a moment, sighing. I'd say it was quite more than adequate, man. It bothered him that Barnaby asked HIM, yet was acting so weird about it. Obviously he just wanted to toy with you, Marshall, like always. He doesn't care. Not to mention, that kiss was nothing. He's not even interested in men. You'll never have a chance with him, so don't waste your breath. His conscience muttered. He ground his teeth together and mentally flipped it off. He grabbed his plate nonetheless, walking out instead of floating.

When Marshall went home that night, he did not sleep. He kept tossing in bed, his thoughts turning him upside down. Why did Bubba have to ask me that? Why did he ever smile at me and tug at my heartstrings like the prissy bitch he is? Why does he make me feel visible again? Why does he exist? He's an abomination to my entire life. I never used to care this much, I never used to cry. Glob, why'd I ever meet him?

He sighed. The anniversary of their friendship was tomorrow. Not that Marshall was counting the 731 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes since they first established it. Not counting the 4 years they had spent apart. Marshall Lee mentally screamed. This was not healthy. He's just a freaking boy. An underage boy at that. A royal for Glob's sake! He pinched the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't life be an easy ride like he used to pretend?

Hanna Abadeer sloshed her way into their house, her shirt sliding down her shoulder and her body smelling of sex. She smiled brightly at her son, her eyes glazed over. It looked as if she were about to ruffle his hair, until she shot straight past his head towards the bottle of scotch on the counter. She poured herself a glass. "Did you eat your dinner love?" She was referring to the rock hard frozen strawberries she left for him to consume. The red had tasted frost bitten, so he only drank half before chucking it. He nodded anyway. "Good. Now if you're a good boy, I may take you out tomorrow. Something small of course. But out of the nightosphere, I'm going to treat myself to some special liquor."

They stopped at a small diner, trashy but sufficient. She threatened the staff to put a rush on their order (fries and orange juice with vodka, hold the orange juice) before they closed up shop. As Marshall stared out the window, he watched the sky become grayer by the second. He told his mother he'd be right back. He wanted to walk around a bit. He hadn't been out of the nightosphere since the mushroom war ended. Here he was now 13, walking among the land of Aaa. He didn't remember anything before the bomb went off, so he couldn't much of a difference in land besides the lack of ruins. He walked away from the diner, breathing in air that didn't smell like cheap perfume and a bottle o' whisky. The freshness filled his nose and he reveled and kept going, running until he came to a field. He rolled in it, enjoying the shade that cover the cool grass. No sunburn today! He thought, before reluctantly heading back. Once there, as he walked in, his mother slipped the last fry into her lips, looking over at her son. "Oh honey, you're back."

His eyes flew open and he sat up, chest heaving with tearless sobs. "Globdammit."

A/N: Here is the third installment and second chapter of "Thousand Year Hurt." I did portray some of Marshall's deeper thoughts and issues, but trust me, I am going to dive further. And this chapter is rather depressing, and I'm surprised at how it came out, considering it sounds more like 3 chapters in one, haha. I'm sorry if it seems..rushed, not with the writing but how I skipped, as I mentioned above it won't be like this for long. And it won't be all sad, but not all happy either. I tried to make this chapter a little longer, for I am heading to florida for a week and a half this weekend. I probably won't be able to update considering the netbook I have (I usually use my beautiful new desktop for this story) doesn't have writing software. But I promise I will update as soon as I get back. (Which is the day before school starts. Oh joy.) Enjoy this, and please review. It would mean a lot to me. Even if you say it sucks. Constructive critisism is always appreciated. If anyone wants to submit fanart for this, you may submit it to my tumblr: moriartyissher-locked

or if you can PM a link to the fanart, that would be lovely. Love you all. 3 -Bree.