In a matter of seconds, the drama of the moment passed and Marceline grabbed her duffle bag, throwing it over her shoulder and ducking her head into the portal. "Crap on a spatula," she puffed, looking around at where the portal had placed them. "Did you know that your kingdom sits over one of the worst neighborhoods in the Nightosphere?" Marceline sat back up; chuckling and quickly tying her poorly behaved hair into a ponytail. "And that's saying something. Must have to do with opposites or whatever. Who the Glob knows?" And then she floated down, making Bonnibel scramble with her bag to the edge of the portal.
"Wait for-" Bonnibel stopped. Instantly a blush decorated her cheeks as Marceline let her head float back through the portal, level with the princess's. The vampire was somewhat attempting to show off. But she couldn't help herself, whether she truly enjoyed going home or not it was a place the great Princess Bubblegum didn't truly know. When in all of Ooo would Marceline have a chance to rub that in Bonnibel's face again?
"Don't worry, Bonnie, I'm not leaving you behind. It's a bit of a fall anyway. Come on and stay close. We're not far from my place," she smiled, easing some of Bonnibel's worry as she gave a lingering glance over her shoulder. Just for a couple days. The kingdom would still be able to function without her for a few days. Hopefully.
She rested her hands on Marceline's shoulders, sliding into the portal as Marceline gently wrapped her arms around her. Bonnibel tried to ignore her spike in temperature, being so close to Marceline as they floated gracefully to the ground. "So what makes this neighborhood so bad?" Bonnibel asked as Marceline stepped away, scraping an X on the adjacent wall with her pencil. They had come out in what looked like an alleyway, the sounds of shrieks of pain and torture echoing around them. Bonnibel tried to not hover next to the vampire, but she was admittedly anxious being here.
"Well, all cities have one. This one's mostly bad because it's where all of the rebel groups convene." She felt like she had the first time she met Finn and Jake. Marceline almost wanted to find a pair of sunglasses to add to the cool atmosphere she was portraying. Plus, she knew any swift movements towards Bonnibel could startle her, maybe even jump into Marceline's arms for protection. No, Bonnibel would never do that, she was far too stubborn. But it would truly be the red icing to the cake if she did.
"Rebel groups?" Bonnibel exclaimed, thinking back to the few meetings she had spied on. There were a handful of her people that wanted to believe she was some sort of alien, but it was completely harmless. Or at least it had been since she had shut down her spying operation.
"Oh, you know, bunches of people get this stupid idea in their head that they can beat the system. My dad likes to let them get their hopes up before putting it down. Causes more chaos that way. Unfortunately," she poked her head out of the alley, looking both ways down the street. "I don't particularly know what stage they're in."
"Is that important?" Bonnibel asked, adjusting her bag as she stepped next to her. The place reminded PB a lot of the ruins of the human civilizations, decorated with the every so often disheveled demon or critter. Marceline simply looked back at her giving a small chuckle and playfully ruffling the top of her hair.
"You're adorable. Of course it is. The further along, the more chance there is in running into them and getting into trouble. Which we certainly don't want. Speaking of which," she looked at the princess, eyes scanning over as Bonnibel felt herself getting nervous. Instantly, she thought to the dream from earlier and to how uncomfortably similar Marceline's look matched the one she was giving now. "We're gonna need to tone down the 'I'm a princess' look until we get out of here. Just in case." She reached for Bonnibel's tiara, plucking it from her head and gesturing to Bonnibel to put it away. As Bonnibel tucked it into her duffle bag, Marceline found a small pile of ash, rubbing some on her hands and then transferring it to Bonnibel's face. The princess winced, wrinkling her nose in disgust as Marceline tried to give the girl some sort of roughness. Sadly it wasn't working.
"How do I look?" Bonnibel asked as Marceline puffed in defeat, shrugging her shoulders.
"Like the Candy Princess rubbed some dirt on her face." Bonnibel twisted her mouth to the side in thought before quickly snapping her fingers as she gripped her long hair. Swiftly she tore away the bubblegum strands, cropping her hair so that is was several inches off of her shoulders. Marceline blinked, startled as Bonnibel shook some ash into the choppy strands, shifting her view from the princess to the glob of bubblegum hair on the floor. She knew that the princess was effectively candy, but always forgot that her hair was truly bubblegum. Part of her wanted to touch it, to see if it was sticky and goopy like actual bubblegum. But instead her hands remained firmly in their pockets, knowing that would look weird. She had never considered it before but Bonnibel looked nice with short hair. "I…um…I guess that works. Come on, we should get going," she muttered, quickly walking past to hide her blush.
They snuck along the sides of the buildings, every so often ducking into one at the sound of people. Bonnibel couldn't help how exhilarating it was, trying to continuously remind herself that her life was in danger. Then again, she supposed this was what Finn felt like every day. She could see the attraction to it.
"When are we gonna hit the place?" Someone whispered, walking by the small break in the wall that the two women had tucked themselves into. Marceline had her attention focused on the street, but Bonnibel was just trying to look anywhere except the vampire. They were forced to stand against each other, front to front, their backs against the two opposite walls. Even on the ground Marceline was taller than Bonnibel and the situation made the princess realize just how perfect her head could fit into the curve of Marcy's neck. No, poor thoughts at a time like this.
"In the next week. We'll hit that place from the line. They won't be expecting it," they grinned, continuing as Marceline shimmied free, helping Bonnibel out soon after. The vampire continued to watch them walk away, frowning before shaking her head and turning back to the street.
"They always do that. It's just gonna get them killed," she muttered.
"Is there no way you couldn't just help them?" Bonnibel asked, surprised that she was supporting a violent rebellion group trying to take over a kingdom. Marceline simply chuckled as she pulled to a slow walk.
"Because that would do more harm than help," she stated, the answer far from satisfying. But before Bonnibel could press for more, they broke out of the narrow streets and Bonnibel looked upon the land of the Nightosphere. A gasp fell from the princess at the terrifying and exciting landscape. "Here we are," Marceline puffed, rubbing the back of her neck. She was hesitant that the candy princess might scorn the place. Despite Marceline's own hesitation to return, it was still her home, and Bonnibel's opinion was…well…important.
"It's…amazing," she breathed, bringing a soft smile to Marceline's thin lips, leaning towards her to point off to the far corner. Across what looked like a red sea stretched an intimidating structure built partially into the rocky cliffs. A long line trailed out of it, the end diving into the sea. Every so often someone would be hurdled from one of the large windows and the line would shift up. Bonnibel wasn't sure if she should be disgusted or intrigued.
"That's where I live. Well, technically that's where my dad lives." Bonnibel nodded, watching as Marceline carefully pulled PB's bag from her shoulders. "You'll need to hop on for this bit," she remarked, gripping one bag in each hand before leaning forward and resting a peck on Bonnibel's cheek. Marceline had the intentions of it being casual, like a confidence builder for what she was asking. But instead Bonnibel back peddled, reaching up and resting her fingers delicately on her scolding hot cheek.
"Wh-what was that for?" She stammered, Marceline's eyes growing big in confusion.
"I…I was just doing what you did earlier. I don't know, I thought it would help." Marceline sounded like a child, inexperienced and far more resembling her appeared age rather than her actual.
"What I did…oh my Glob," Bonnibel wasn't sure her skin could blush that dark as she remembered back to that moment. "I wasn't even paying attention. I hadn't meant to do it on purpose. Marcy…I guess I just had some much going in my head…" she trailed off, worried she was about to expose something more personal than she was willing. Quickly, Marceline pulled back, forcing her embarrassment and disappointment away as she gave a hard and sarcastic laugh.
"Calm down, Bonnie. It was just a friendly peck on the cheek. No need to make such a big deal about it. Come on, let's get going before you decide to panic about anything else." Bonnibel hesitated, staring at Marceline's back as a frown pulled on her features. She hated how quickly Marceline could discard emotions and make everything the punch line of some sarcastic joke. It wasn't fair and only made it more impossible for Bonnibel to fully accept the feelings boiling inside of her.