Hey, what's up? I'm back

Things felt hopeless for Marceline. Her dates had all been a bust; being a hero was crazy hard; the public idolised her as much as Finn resented her and, worst of all, Bubblegum was occupying her mind more and more. Jake was putting in a lot of effort to arrange dates for Marceline, but her focus never stayed on the people she met with.

A perfectly okay person would sit across from her, talk about themselves, and instead of absorbing the information, Marceline would wonder if Bubblegum would approve of them, what she'd say in response, what she was wearing that day, if she was thinking of Marceline at all, and then by the end of her mental cycle, the date would have either gotten the hint and excused themselves or wordlessly bailed, leaving Marceline with the bill. She couldn't blame them. She was a terrible date.

She started to doubt she'd ever be a vampire again. A mortal life had far more struggles, but people actually liked her. Bubblegum liked her. Her misanthropic tendencies were melting away as if the daily sun on her skin was softening her. She was struggling with her new human life and the new feelings developing within her. She wanted to cling to her humanity while trying to shed it simultaneously. It left her confused, frustrated, and wondering what Bubblegum would prefer: human or vampire?

Many candy citizens had approached while she squatted in the park, lost in thought, considering that throwing in the towel might be her best option. A mortal life was short, but she could at least enjoy it before croaking. Pulling herself in two different directions was becoming too much. She had to make a decision. Either she committed to the life of a human or reverted to the way things were.

Someone joined her on the bench she was sitting on, quietly sharing her company. She didn't acknowledge them, thinking it was just another person after her autograph or someone wanting help with a menial task. None of that mattered right now. She just wanted to have a personal crisis without interruption.

"Not having much luck, are you?"

Marceline dug herself out of the pit of her mind long enough to register who was beside her.

"Pep But?"

He didn't even crack a smile. He just looked mostly annoyed. "Listen, you're going about all this bizz the wrong way. Randos aren't gonna do squat for you. I've been around long enough to know exactly who you need to go out with," he said, completely sure of himself, but also seeming a little bit bored with the situation, like the answer was so obvious to him that he couldn't understand how Marceline hadn't figured it out for herself yet.

"Who?" she asked.

"Come back here tonight and I'll have it set up."

"I dunno, Peps. I'm getting kinda down on all this dating junk. I think I want a break." Or for it to end completely. She was burnt out.

"Just one more. I promise, you won't regret it." His determination was unwavering and some small part of Marceline wanted to believe he knew what he was doing.

At this point, she had nothing to lose. "Fine, fine. I'll be here."

"At sundown." Peppermint Butler jumped off the seat and fell into step with the passing citizens. Over his shoulder, he called, "And for the love of Grod, take a bath!"

In the past, the lowering sun had been a relief. The giant ball of death laid to rest and Marceline rose. Her life had turned on its head, the creeping darkness now bringing with it nervousness and anxiety. She didn't know who she was meeting tonight, whether or not it would be another bust. All the disappointments weighed on her, bringing her to a low place.

Wolves howled softly, beckoning the approaching night and maybe even trying to soothe Marceline. She believed they sensed when she was uneasy and wanted to remind her she had them guarding her, a family that accepted her whether blood ran through her veins or fell still.

She took a breath, reminding herself that she had willingly jumped into a giant's mouth the day before, retrieving a treasure it had stolen and ingested. She could totally handle tonight. Totally deal with a newbie.

She sniffed her armpit one more time to make sure she didn't stink. It took more than one bath to scrub off the monster's stomach acid and undigested food, but with the help of some of Bubblegum's gifted soaps, she came clean and was convinced she was in an acceptable state for a date.

Her last date, she decided.

With nothing else delaying her, unfortunately, Marceline left her home. She strolled at a leisurely pace, part of her hoping that maybe she'd miss the date and not have to think about turning back. She needed to focus on perfecting this whole hero thing, then maybe once she'd secured that, love would follow.

Yeah right.

The park was dim-lit and a few candy folk were roaming about. Marceline saw someone sitting on her bench and thought that maybe it was her date. He looked a little old and was feeding the last of his sandwich to some rock candy doves. Walking at the slowest pace she could muster, she smiled tightly when he spared her a glance. He then got up from the bench and started exiting the park.

That wasn't her date. She sighed in relief as she plonked down on the bench, doing a quick sweep of the park to see if she could spot any lone figures. There were mostly couples and people walking their pets. No one stood out to her as a potential let-down, so hope sparked back to life; maybe her date wouldn't turn up.

Bored and picking at the splitting wood by her thigh, Marceline was getting ready to call it quits. Her time had been wasted and she'd bathed for nothing, clearly.

As she was about to leave her seat, Marceline fell right back on her butt, heart thumping heavily in her chest. Her gaze was fixed across the park, a spectacle unfolding before her.

Bubblegum was here. She was dipping behind trees, leaping over scattered bushes, and taking paths to avoid any oncoming candy citizens, her hoodie partially concealing her face. Marceline recognised her immediately, though. She gave her that purple hoodie, after all.

Marceline let her heartbeat settle before she got to her feet, matching Bubblegum and keeping herself hidden while she pursued the princess, curious to see where she was headed. Bubblegum ducked below some low-hanging branches and beyond a sign that warned against trespassing. For a second, Marceline thought Bubblegum was being rebellious, but then she remembered she owned the Candy Kingdom and could technically go wherever she pleased without consequence.

Marceline wasn't far behind, resurfacing from the sea of trees and bushes to find a secluded clearing, flowers sprouting throughout and pillars of warm light breaching the canopy. Bubblegum had lowered herself to the ground, back nestled against a thick tree trunk. She flicked back her hood and calmly watched a moth fluttering amongst the flowers. It wasn't often that Marceline saw Bubblegum just relax and breathe. She wanted to surprise Bubblegum at first, sneak up and spook her. But something told her now wasn't the time to pull pranks. The lines of worry etched into her brow were apparent and she seemed to be thinking hard about something, losing focus and not really seeing the moth in front of her anymore, not even reacting when it landed on her leg.

Trying her best to make her presence obvious, Marceline purposely stomped on a stick, cracking it loudly enough to draw Bubblegum's attention.

"Marcy?"

"Hey, Bonni."

Bubblegum smiled, her far-away look diminishing for just a second. "Did you follow me in here?"

"Kinda. It's my heroic duty to stop trespassers, ya know. I couldn't resist when I saw the princess breaking her own laws," Marceline teased.

Bubblegum giggled, patting beside her in invitation. "I keep this little spot secret. It's where I come to think when the castle is feeling… claustrophobic."

Marceline joined her in the grass, bumping shoulders. "Everything okay?"

"Not entirely." Her chin dipped, touching her chest. "I don't want to burden you with my mess."

"Hey, it's part of the job, right?" Marceline dared to place a hand on Bubblegum's knee. "Plus, we're friends. You can real-talk with me."

This seemed to be the right thing to say as Bubblegum placed her hand atop Marceline's, fingers intertwining. "Thanks, Marcy."

Bubblegum titled her head back against the tree, inspecting the snippets of the sky peeking through the canopy. "There's been rising tension for a while now between my kingdom and the Fairest Kingdom." She let out a long breath, like she'd been holding this in for a while. "Princess Fair is kind of a self-absorbed tool so I straight up bailed on our meeting to try clear my head. She wants to absorb my dang territory! I might've considered it, I have enough to spare, but the area she wants is a sacred Candy Blossom forest home to unique flora and fauna. It's a flourishing ecosystem that I could never tamper with, especially not just so Princess Fair can expand her castle."

Marceline's face scrunched, Bubblegum's frustration becoming her own. "You're totally right to stand your ground. The wolves have been pushed back thanks to turds cutting down trees and clearing out forest for more land. It sucks big time that innocent creatures have to suffer 'cause no one is happy enough with what they have. Don't give that selfish butt a thing!"

Bubblegum smiled. "It's nice when we agree on something. If the life of a hero doesn't work out for you, you can always be a wildlife ambassador in my court."

Not sure how to take the compliment, Marceline pulled her hand away from Bubblegum's. She was feeling clammy, face burning. It was harder to keep her emotions in check. She was so used to bickering with Bubblegum, the common ground they now stood upon totally untouched territory. Vampirism was starting to feel more like a curse than an asset. It was like her emotions were stagnated before, her mind locked into its messed up setting for good. But now, things were amplified, new feelings took form. She was learning to be mortal again, learning to feel. To empathise.

"Is everything alright with you, Marcy?" Bubblegum asked, genuinely concerned.

"Well, your entire kingdom being threatened is a much bigger issue than what's going on with me. I feel kinda stupid being torn up over this stuff now."

"Real-talk time, remember? No matter how small you think it is, your feelings matter."

"It's just… all these fresh mortal experiences have been really fun. I feel like I'm changing. It sucks hard in some ways but in others it's kinda… nice. It's like I'm finally growing up. I thought I wanted to be a vampire again and everyone is putting in so much effort to help me get there, but now I don't even know if I want it anymore." She didn't think she'd admit it so readily, but here in this secluded place, Marceline felt safe confiding in her old friend.

"It's okay to change your mind. Nobody is living this life but you, and if you'd rather live it as a human, your friends are gonna support you completely. I know I do."

"Thanks, Bonni." Marceline was courageous enough to look Bubblegum in the eye and found the princess smiling at her with nothing but fondness. She cleared her throat and loosely gestured to the sloping trees around them. "Sorry I crashed your sanctuary, by the way; I can leave if you want."

"Nah, stay. I like this better."

Bubblegum laid her head on Marceline's shoulder, roaming fingers finding their place between hers.