Rend [Part II]

Something was wrong. She didn't need to be told, she'd seen the hooded look in Marceline's eyes over the last few weeks. The distance, the sadness, the emptiness.

And now Marceline wasn't answering her text messages.

Bonnibel looked at the stack of papers on her desk. They were urgent. She looked at her phone. This was urgent too. Clenching her teeth in determination, she stood from her desk and called for Peppermint to bring her jacket. She was needed elsewhere.

Bonnibel's heart fell as she climbed the ladder and first saw the state of Marceline's room. Debris was scattered everywhere; not one object was spared in her torrent. If Bonni didn't know better, she might have thought someone had broken in and ransacked this room… But Marceline's temper was outrageous at times. There were even claw digs in the walls…

With a sigh, she tiptoed around the mess looking much like she was dancing, careful not to make too much noise. She found Marceline in the middle of the room, curled up and sound asleep. Her heart broke at the sight of the Vampire Queen, so feeble looking, so fragile. Fingers tangled in her hair, palms over her ears, eyes closed hard… as if she was trying to block out the world. Tears stained her blue-grey cheeks. Carefully, Bonni knelt beside her and pulled one of her hands away from her face. She brushed a stray lock of hair away from Marceline's forehead with a fingertip.

She looked about the room and saw that the bed was also unmade, the sheets ripped from the mattress in the fit of her fury, most likely.

Sighing, she slipped her hands under the vampire's shoulders and knees, and lifted her from the floor. She hitched her shoulder, just so, so that Marceline's head rolled into her neck. Marceline, in her true form, was actually quite light. Making a path through the destruction, she shifted the strewn objects aside with her feet until she arrived at the bed. As gently as she could, she laid the vampire down.

Bonnibel hated this. Hated how Marceline could delve so low into herself. She hid behind a peter-pan personality, but inside she was lonely. Bonni took the rumpled, torn sheet from the floor and laid it carefully over Marceline. She waited a moment as Marceline, still sleeping, curled up again, facing away. Bonnibel settled herself at Marceline's back and placed a hand on the sleeping girl's shoulder, her thumb absently caressing the cold skin there. The careful, calm façade she kept so carefully in place cracked a bit and a single tear escaped. Her heart twisted, shuddered, as Marceline let out a soft hiccupping moan. Love for the vampire caused a sympathetic ache in her chest as she watched the girl's eyelids flutter in a REM state. At least she was sleeping soundly. Leaning forward, Bonnibel placed a kind kiss at Marceline's temple, and then dropped her forehead softly to Marceline's cheekbone. She longed to reveal her feelings, to let Marceline know that she was not alone, but time and attention was not something she could afford to split between a kingdom and a lover. It was better left unsaid for now. She couldn't even be certain of Marceline's feelings, with all the taunting and teasing, could she? Even so, "I'm here," she whispered, hoping that, perhaps subconsciously, Marceline might find solace. As she lifted her head, she brushed her lips against a cool, grey jaw line and looked to the ceiling, head tipped back in a feeling of surrender. "I'm here," she sighed, barely audible.

Fabric brushed and whispered in response as Marceline twisted towards her, murmuring incoherently. An arm reached out across Bonni's lap and searching fingers gripped the fabric of her jeans at her thigh. "Bon?" It was a question and a sigh of hope, but the eyes that met hers seemed tormented.

Bonnibel combed her fingers through Marceline's hair at the temple as she offered her best smile. "Shh," she insisted.

Marceline leaned into Bonni's fingers, looking anguished and lost. "Don't," she murmured, despite seemingly finding comfort in the attention, her eyes drifting closed once more. "Why?" She asked, a little more coherent, "Why am I happy to see you…" Before Bonni could respond, Marceline continued with a voice that threatened to crack, "When you're the one I don't want to see the most…?"

There was the scrape of fangs against her palm as Marceline grasped the combing fingers and buried her face into Bonnibel's hand. Damp eyelashes against the base of her fingers spoke of imminent tears. Understanding consumed her in that moment: their feelings matched. She struggled for a moment with what to say, what to do. False promises to temporarily relieve the pain of their hearts were out of the question. She would not offer what she could not afford to give, what Marceline completely deserved: all of herself. Gently, she pulled her hand from the vampire.

Marceline's breath hiccupped and her shoulders hitched. Tentatively, Bonni lowered herself down beside the vampire, shimmying into a comfortable position. Arms spread wide, she beckoned her into a welcoming embrace. Marceline stared at her a moment, moving only to dab at her wet eyes with the palm of her hand. Her brow creased, ready for another sob, one of relief and yet sadness still. Marceline grabbed Bonnibel's shirt and pulled herself into waiting arms; the comforting hold voicing the message Bonni could not put into words, not yet:

I love you too.

A/N: I didn't plan on adding to Rend, but this came to me anyway.

Thanks for reading!