AN: Hello once again everyone. Hey, it didn't take me a year to update this one this time. I suppose that's something to be happy about. Still, I apologize for the long wait. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Adventure Time.

Marceline and Bonnibel

Of Crimes and Punishments

"Things have gotten a lot worse already." Adam threw his newspaper onto the table in disgust. "I should've worked sooner to take down these monsters."

Bonnibel picked up the paper her father had thrown and read the headline story.

Chaos In The Streets!

She frowned as she read on about yet another drive by shooting in one of the poorer neighborhoods of the city. This was the 5 one in the last few days and it was only getting worse. It wasn't just one gang that was causing problems though, it was all of them. Before, they seemed to have some sort of truce that kept them from attacking each other indiscriminately, but now something happened to change all that. No one was sure what it was, but many speculated it had something to do with the mysterious deaths of 3 gang members in the weeks leading up to this violence.

"Don't be so hard on yourself dear." Adam's loving wife, Natasha, said as she placed a plate of food in front of him. "You couldn't have known things were going to turn out like this."

"I guess you're right…."

"The important thing is to take care of this now before things turn really ugly."

"You're right. I've been working with the Police Chief to increase patrols in the areas affected and hopefully we can begin to predict where they'll attack next. Lucky for us, they only seem to be targeting each other at the moment, but who knows how long it will stay like that."

Bonnibel set the newspaper aside so that she could eat her breakfast as well. School would be starting soon and she didn't want to be late.

"We must all be careful from now on." Natasha said to her daughter. "I know you hate having them around, but your bodyguards will be with you at all times when you leave this house."

Bonnibel sighed in resignation. Her bodyguards were good guys, but having them around made it harder for others to approach her. It was a safety measure she would begrudgingly take for the time being.

"I understand."

Natasha smiled. The family finished up their meal before they each headed out for their day. Bonnibel sighed as the two Banana Guards followed her into the school building. The students readily parted for her as she walked down the hallways. She hated this kind of thing. Sure she was the mayor's daughter but things like this just made it harder for her to be able to be herself around her peers. They all saw her as someone they could never be equals with and they never tried. The only person to do so had been Marceline. That infuriating girl had been the only one to try and succeed at getting past her walls. Upon reaching her class, the Banana Guards were ordered to stay outside the classroom. She may be agreeing to have them around, but having them inside with her would only distract the class. She certainly did not want to do something like that. As Bonnibel walked through the door, she was surprised to see that Marceline was already there. It appeared she wasn't the only one who was surprised since many of her classmates kept shooting the dark haired girl questioning looks.

Marceline was never early for school. If she showed up late it was considered a miracle and if she showed up at all it was a sign of the end of the world. However, Marceline had not only been showing up to school for the last few days, but she'd been early as well. It had everyone confused and scared. Bonnibel walked to her seat silently as she looked at Marceline from the corner of her eyes. The dark haired was resting her head on the desk, using her arms as pillows. She had to wonder if Marceline was sleeping again.

Since she'd been attending school the last few days, Marceline had also been going to her office to sleep during lunch. Bonnibel couldn't help but wonder why Marceline needed to sleep so much. She admitted that even she used her office to take a nap when she'd had a long night of studying or simply staying up late, but was it normal for someone to sleep so much? Marceline was also using class time to sleep when she could get away with it.

"Alright class, settle down and open your books to page 25. That means you too Marceline."

Bonnibel glanced at the dark haired girl to see if she'd comply with the teacher. Marceline lifted her head up.

"Yeah, I got it."

The pink haired girl couldn't help but notice the bags under her eyes. Marceline looked so tired. Now that she was sitting up, Bonnibel could see her hair was disarrayed and not in the stylish way she normally wore it in. As class proceeded, Bonnibel kept glancing the dark haired girl's way. She couldn't help but notice the way Marceline kept looking out towards the window or jumping at sudden noises. What was wrong? Bonnibel could tell something had the girl on edge and she wished she knew what it was. For something to have Marceline worried… it must be bad enough to losing sleep over.

Classes were hard to pay attention to for both girls but for different reasons. Marceline was more than relieved when lunch time finally came. She waited for everyone to leave before making her way to the student council wing. For the last few days, she'd been making herself at home in the Student Council president's office. It was the only place where she could completely relax and actually get a bit of sleep. Currently, she was unable to do so in her father's hideout. The thing she'd been dreading happened. The assassin killed another, this time from the Goblin Boys gang. Like predicted Xergiok went berserk and immediately launched an assault on all the gangs in the area. The peace agreements had all but been dissolved in one night of violence. Xergiok was refusing to meet with the other gang leaders in order to restore some peace between them. It wasn't like the Lumpy Outlaws were being very cooperative either. Both leaders had completely lost it. Martin was the only one trying to stop the mayhem but it wasn't exactly easy when you're fighting two fronts, three if you counted the assassin that was still out there and hadn't stopped his killing spree. Instead, he was concentrating on keeping the casualties within the vampires as low as possible.

Staying at her father's base had definitely been a good call seeing as her old apartment complex got hit not long after word about the latest assassin's victim became known. Since she was supposedly only a low level member, her location wasn't exactly kept secret, not to mention a few of the members of her gang also resided in the complex. It was an obviously easy hit for Goblin Boys to make. Any vampire they could take out was worth it in their minds. Still, being at her father's made her realize just how bad the situation was getting. Because she was there, she was at most of the meetings listening to the day to day casualties and predictions for future attacks. Being there and just knowing that at any moment, they could be targeted next was frightening. She'd never been scared like this before. You never really realized how real the danger was until you're sitting there, waiting for it to happened.

The waiting was definitely the worst part. She wished if they were going to attack, they should just do it and get it over with. Marceline laid face down on the couch. She was tired of all the countless thoughts going through her mind. She just wanted to get some sleep before having to make it through the rest of school. Before returning to the base where she felt more trapped than safe.

Bonnibel couldn't help but wonder if Marceline was in her office again. If she was then she was probably sleeping again. Not that she minded though. With Marceline asleep, the two didn't have a chance to start a fight with one another. Instead, she enjoyed the silence between them, letting her reminisce about old times with the dark haired girl; a far happier time when Bonnibel felt she could take on the world as long as Marceline had her back. Bonnibel instructed her guards to once again wait for her outside before opening the door to her office. If Marceline was in there again, she was afraid they'd kick her out. She didn't want that. She didn't want to lose this thing she'd gained with Marceline even if it felt a bit sad that she was trying so hard to just be around her even when she was asleep. She was happy to find the sleeping vampire on her couch like usual. She closed the door behind her silently and made herself comfortable at her desk. She began shifting through her paperwork but stopped after a few minutes. She looked towards Marceline again. Although she enjoyed the silence, she still wished she could just talk to her without having to worry they'd say something bad to each other.

"You can come in here anytime you need somewhere to go." Bonnibel found herself saying. "I don't know what's troubling you, but this can be your sanctuary if you need one."

Marceline didn't stir.

"You know, Daddy has been worried about all the gang attacks lately. It's getting pretty bad. So far there haven't been any civilian casualties, but it's only a matter of time. There have been many injured already from all this."

Bonnibel shifted through more of her paperwork.

"But on a less morbid note, the school dance is coming up soon. I know you've never paid much attention to school activities, but I hope you come. We've been working on making it a fun theme for everyone and I know you'd probably get a kick out of this, but we're making it an eighties rock theme with the big hair and everything. We're hoping to get a local band to come and play but nothing's set in stone yet. There's still a lot of work left to be done."

Bonnibel continued to go through the list of things that still needed to be done and even talked about how Lumpy hadn't given up on making Brad pay for dumping her. Time passed far too soon for Bonnibel. The warning bell went off letting everyone know that lunch time was over. Bonnibel gathered her things and made for the door.

"We'll talk more tomorrow. Okay?"

She wasn't expecting a response from the sleeping girl so she left without looking back. As soon as the door closed Marceline opened an eye. She made sure the footsteps faded away before she sat up on the couch. A frown adorned her face.

"Damn it Bonnibel." She rubbed her tired face.

Standing up, she made her way back to class, her mind now filled with things she thought she was done thinking about.

xxx

Bonnibel looked worriedly at Marceline. Today the dark haired girl was in especially worse shape. The bags under her eyes were more noticeable than before not to mention her eyes were far more bloodshot. What was happening to her? Every few seconds she'd check her phone as well, like she was waiting for something important to come through. Bonnibel no longer knew what to make of Marceline's ragged appearance or her strange behavior. At least, she was still showing up in her office to sleep. She'd started to make sure that her office was never locked even when she had to attend a meeting with the student council. She also continued to express her concern for the sleeping girl during their short times together in the office. She never expected a response back but sometimes she wished Marceline would answer her even if it meant risking another fight between them.

But she wasn't the only noticing Marceline's decline, other students began to talk. Everyone had a theory about what drove Marceline to this point. Most seemed to think she'd become an informant to the police and was now on the hit list of some assassin the gangs had hired. Others whispered about how her gang had turned on her and now she was struggling to keep her power. Bonnibel didn't like hearing any of the rumors mainly because they all involved Marceline being in a gang to begin with. The pink haired girl still refused to believe that Marceline would be so careless as to join a group like that, but there was always that doubt in her mind. That little voice that asked her what she actually knew about the vampire girl.

"Marceline!"

"What? I'm not sleeping." Marceline grumbled. She'd gotten in trouble more than once for dozing off in math class, but today she was doing a good job of staying awake.

"Your phone?" the teacher pointed out impatiently.

"Just checking the time."

"We have a perfectly good working clock right there." The teacher pointed above the whiteboard. "There is no reason to have your phone out during class."

"Lay off! I wasn't doing anything!" Marceline angrily retorted. Bonnibel had noticed that Marceline was a lot more short tempered than before. She'd get into arguments with students and teachers alike.

"That's it! You're behavior has gotten worse these last few weeks. Although we're glad you began showing up for classes, it seems you're not here for the sake of your education."

"Fine. Whatever. Give me detention like you always do then."

"No, I think you need a different kind of punishment this time."

"Oh what, you're going to suspend me?"

"That would be counterproductive to what I want you to learn. No, Marceline, in lieu of a normal punishment, I'm going to have you help out the student council prepare for the dance."

"What!" Marceline slammed her hands on the desk, startling everyone in the process. "You can't do that!"

"Yes I can. The other teachers and I have been talking and decided should you act out again, this would be your punishment. It's already been cleared with the Principal as well."

"No, you can't! Just suspend me! Hell, expel me!"

"Marceline, you are overreacting. While your behavior has been bad, it isn't bad enough to expel you. We think there is something still redeemable in you and this is what we chose. Deal with it and be prepared to report to the student council to help them with the dance."

"There has to be something else. There has to…"

The teacher heard the almost desperate plea in the vampire girl's words.

"I don't see why this is such a horrible thing. You're helping with a dance. It's not like you're doing anything too terrible."

Marceline glanced briefly in Bonnibel's direction.

"That's not why…"she whispered to herself, but Bonnibel heard.

The pink haired girl griped her hands in her lap. So she was the problem? That's why Marceline would rather be expelled than be around her? It hurt. A lot more than she thought it would. If that's how Marceline felt though, then she didn't want to be around her either.

"Is there no other punishment she can be given?" Bonnibel asked, hoping she wouldn't have to be around the dark haired girl for the next few weeks. She wasn't sure she could now that she knew Marceline really didn't want to be around her.

The teacher sighed. She didn't know why even Bonnibel was trying to change her decision, but her choice of punishment wasn't going to change.

"Marceline," The teacher directs her attention to the vampire girl. "You will report to the student council room after school today to begin your punishment." She then looked to Bonnibel. "I expect you to see her punishment through and make sure she helps with the dance. Understood?"

"Yes." They both answer in defeat.

Marceline took her seat without further complaint. The teacher went back to her lesson leaving both girls with their thoughts.

Class soon ended. Marceline found herself slowly making her way to the Student Council's meeting room. Bonnibel had told her to go there after school. The dark haired girl was so mad. That teacher didn't know what she was doing. Now was not the time for her to be around Bonnibel. Not with all the danger that was inevitably coming her way. She didn't want to be the reason Bonnibel got hurt because of the life she chose. That's why she stayed away from her all this time. This though, this was not going to help her. This punishment would do nothing but put Bonnibel in harm's way, but she couldn't tell the teacher that. She couldn't without turning her dad in. She was trapped trying to keep both of them safe from different things. Marceline reached the door to the meeting room. She spotted the two banana guards standing beside it. Part of her felt relieved to know that Bonnibel's father wasn't a complete idiot and made the two guards follow the pink haired girl around. She knew Bonnibel probably wasn't happy about it but this was for her own good. It would keep her safe. Maybe, this punishment wouldn't be so bad. As long as these guards were around her all the time, then she could just concentrate on doing her job and not getting into a fight with Bonnibel. She could do this.

The pink haired girl heard the door open. Sure enough, Marceline stood in the door way to the room. The others ceased their chatter and watched with some apprehension as Marceline took a seat in the far corner of the room. Bonnibel cleared her throat.

"Let's begin the meeting."

The meeting was simple enough. They went over the list of things that needed to be done for the dance. The budget was double checked and expenses were gone over thoroughly. Marceline was impressed how well Bonnibel had things organized and running. With that, she began to assign tasks for everyone to work on. One group would be handling decorations; another would take care of refreshments and snacks and so on and so forth.

"I think that's all. Everyone knows what to do so let's make sure we make this dance the best we can."

Everyone nodded and began to file out of the room. Marceline couldn't help but notice she had yet to be assigned anything. Not that she minded but she didn't want to get in trouble for something she didn't do. She stood up from her chair and walked over to Bonnibel who was packing her things away.

"So, uh, what am I supposed to do?"

Bonnibel stopped gathering her things to look at the vampire girl. The entire day she'd been trying to figure out what to assign Marceline to do. Unfortunately, she came to realize that if she put Marceline in a group with the other student council members, she'd end up scaring them into doing all her work. That only left one option: placing the vampire girl with herself. Marceline wouldn't be able to scare her into doing anything. In fact, she couldn't think of anyone else who could stand up to her, much less get her to do something.

"You will be my assistant."

"Wha?"

"You're going to be my personal assistant."

"And there was nothing else you could think for me to do? Nothing?"

Bonnibel once again felt that familiar pain in her chest. Even now, Marceline was still trying to keep away from her. She steeled herself.

"It would be better this way. Otherwise, you'd just scare the others into doing all your work."

"Pfft, now why would you think I'd do something like that?"

"Please Marceline, I know you."

"Do you?"

Bonnibel finished packing her things.

"I thought I did. Maybe I don't anymore."

Marceline was kicking herself for having said something so careless.

"Bonnie…."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Bonnibel cut her off. She picked up her bag and quickly made her way out of the room. Marceline could do nothing but stand there and watch her leave again because of something stupid she'd said.

"God damn it." Marceline slammed her hands against the table. "Why do I keep doing this?"

It really was a confounding problem. This thing she had with Bonnibel was becoming far more complicated than she'd thought and it was all her fault. For years now, she'd managed to avoid being around the pink haired girl at all costs even though they attended the same schools. Now though, she suddenly couldn't keep herself away from her. Hell, she was sleeping in the pink girls office even after she'd found out who it belonged to. Now here she was about to spend even more time with her to help with this stupid dance.

"I hope you'll come." Marceline recalled what Bonnibel had said to her while she thought she was sleeping.

That was another thing that confounded her. Bonnibel knew she was sleeping there and yet she didn't do anything about it. The pink haired girl was going out of her way to leave the office unlocked when she had meetings, just for her. Why? Didn't Bonnibel hate her for what she did? Wasn't that why they couldn't stand being around each other more than 5 seconds before they started throwing insults at each other? But if that was the case then Bonnibel wouldn't be so nice to her. Not even when she was asleep. You didn't stop hating someone just because they were suddenly comatose. That's not how hate worked. Then maybe Bonnibel didn't hate her like she thought.

"You're making this harder for me Bonnibel." Marceline whispered to herself as she walked out of the room as well. "Then again, I'm not doing myself much favors either."

Marceline's phone beeped. She checked the message that came through and cursed. Another attack occurred in a different part of the city. This time involving all three of the gangs. Things were not getting prettier out there and she knew it was only going to get worse before it got better. She shouldn't be concerning herself so much with things like her current relationship with Bonnibel. Not when the violence was moving closer and closer to her. The vampire girl suddenly felt like her goal was clear once again. She had to keep Bonnibel safe. That was the whole point of distancing herself from the pink haired girl to begin with. Whatever was happening between them now would pass and things would go back to normal as soon as this whole punishment was over. She just had to keep her head clear and remind herself what she needed to do every day she was around her.

The vampire girl was determined to make it through this without complicating matters even more. Her phone buzzed again. It was a call this time.

"Yeah?"

"We're here."

"Be there in a few. Oh and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Tell dad I need those meds."

"Very well."

Marceline ended the call and quickened her pace. If she was going to keep her head in the game, she needed to be able to get some sleep. She had known she wasn't going to be able to hide it from her dad that she'd been unable to rest for long. Almost immediately, Martin had pulled her into his office and asked what was wrong. She'd tried to play it off and say it was only a random case of insomnia. She'd had them before and it was no big deal. Plus she didn't want to disappoint him by seeming weak during this crisis. Martin though, knew better. He'd told her that it was okay to be scared. This wasn't something that she was prepared to face and he wasn't expecting her to try to take care of this alone. That's when he offered her some sleeping medication. Her intake of them would be monitored by him since he didn't want her to become dependent on them. She would only use them long enough to help her get back into a normal sleeping habit. She'd refused at first because she was somewhat afraid she'd become too dependent on them. Instead, she'd tried other means to find rest but nothing worked. The only times she'd really gotten a chance to do so was in Bonnibel's office.

That wouldn't suffice anymore. As much as she hated giving in, she needed those pills now. If she was going to make it through helping out with this dance, she'd need to get all the rest she could.

AN: That's the end of this chapter. Sorry it took so long. I seem to be taking way too long on updating things in general, but thank you for sticking with me. Reviews, comments, suggestions are always appreciated so if you have any feel free to leave one. Until next time!