Prince Gumball examined the letter quietly, regarding every word with the utmost care. The parchment was of the same variety as the last letter, brittle and thin, barely holding its intended form. It was sealed with a vibrant blue wax, now delicately split. The words, cut from various magazines, demanded one simple thing: Gumball's delivery to a one "Camaro Butterbeer". If Camaro's demands weren't met then Gumball's friends and citizens were at risk.
Sighing audibly, Gumball sank into a nearby chair and placed the letter on the small table nearby. Butterscotch Butler looked at him sympathetically, "How did it arrive, Butterscotch?"
"It was slipped into the antechamber of your room, I noticed it bringing you your tea for the night," She motioned to the tray placed carefully on the pink bedspread, "I assume you won't be getting any sleep anytime soon?"
"I suppose not," He gazed wistfully at the drink that would have finally lulled him into the sleep he so desperately desired. Rest had been a scarce commodity lately, as his time in the lab stretched longer and longer every day in preparation for a masquerade he had been so graciously volunteered to host by the Vampire King.
Despite his disdain for being forced into planning the event, he had decided that it was as good a time as any to demonstrate his new city defense unit in front of the other kingdoms. A good weapon was one you only had to use once, he mused. But a suitable enemy to demonstrate on was harder to make than he had imagined.
Of course, he couldn't be allowed to focus on one thing at a time. An overflowing mound of tasks and this letter had to be the cherry on top, "Was the seal broken when you found the letter?"
"Yes," Butterscotch Butler said, suspicious of the fact, "But there was no sign of intruders in the castle. Your antechamber was still locked, and the windows were as well. Not many have those keys, your majesty."
The pastel prince stared at the letter. Had it even meant to arrive in his chambers? It was addressed to no one particularly, "Butterscotch, please send word to the Captain of the Guard to increase security throughout the castle and Kingdom. Take the letter, and burn it. No one knows about this unless I say so."
"Understood, your majesty," She grabbed the letter and quickly gathered up the tray of tea, exiting the room.
Gumball closed his eyes, sighing heavily. His eyelids were heavier than they'd been in a long time and yet he had to deny the urge to drift away. Grabbing his holo-pendant from the table where the letter had just been, Gumball quickly composed himself. He'd do his best to remain regal in his pajama pants and Marshall's old band t-shirt. Activating the pendant, it took several minutes for Fionna to answer him.
"PG? It's so late," The blonde girl whined, Cake snoring audibly in the background.
"I apologize but it was imperative," He insisted, "I need you and Cake to come to the Candy Kingdom at once."
"Wait, why? What's up?" She questioned, blinking the grogginess from her eyes.
"I'll explain once you two are here," The prince paused, "I'm counting on you, Fionna," and with that, he cut off the feed.
Gumball decided that if he were to be "entertaining guests", then he needed to change into something less comfortable. Stripping out of his PJs, he swung open his wardrobe and gathered up his normal attire. Slipping the clothes onto his thin body, he noted the open windows in his room. He hadn't left those open, it was too cold. If the intruder couldn't have gone through the doors…
Brushing aside those thoughts, he approached the window and called out for his monochrome companion, who arrived shortly, "It's been some time, Mo-Chro, but you remember where Marshall Lee's cave is?" The simple nod in response was enough for him, "Fionna and Cake won't be along for some time, I need you to bring me there."
Mounting Lord Monochromicorn, the two left for Marshall's home. The freezing air whipped against Gumball's soft face, "You need to stay close, friend. Something evil is coming, and as much as I'd like to say I'm keeping you near me for your sake, you know that's a lie."
His companion remained as silent as always, and their journey continued. When they arrived, Gumball dismounted and entered the mouth of the dimly lit cave. Approaching with caution, he knocked on the door of the vampire's house. It creaked open, and his hands started to shake as he pushed it open more.
Voice quavering, he called out meekly, "Marshall Lee?"
With no response, he entered the small cottage. Flipping a light switch to no avail, he surveyed the room the best he could. The place looked ransacked but Gumball couldn't tell if that was how it had always been or if it was a sign of intruders. It'd been so long since he'd been here last.
A loud crash reverberated throughout the house, and he stifled a yelp. Hushed yet harsh whispers came from the floor above him, "He must have a 'guest'," The prince tried to comfort himself, even though the thought saddened him slightly.
Although it shouldn't. Why would it? The vampire was uncouth, irrational, and downright unbearable. Gumball began to wonder why he had even come by, it's not like anyone would remember the friendship they once had. Marshall was in no danger.
His breath steadying, he made his way up the ladder to Marshall's bedroom. The darkness made it almost impossible to see, "Marshall, if you're indecent please cover yourself," He called into the darkness, and heard no response.
"M-Marshall?" He tried again, searching for the light switch, "If this is some joke it isn't funn-" He was cut off by fast scrambling in the pitch darkness of the corners of the room. Gasping, the prince backed away towards the ladder, not taking his eyes away from the unknown in the dark.
"It's you, isn't it?" He practically whispered, "Camaro Butterbeer?"
A loud scraping noise erupted from the darkness and the sound of footsteps racing towards him echoed through the bedroom. Gumball panicked and backed away, till the floorboards under him disappeared, and he fell through the open hatch.
Letting out a harsh scream, Gumball shut his eyes tight and prepared for the worst. But the fragile gum never hit the ground. The disbelief kept his eyes shut for a moment, and then he gathered the courage to open them.
Marshall Lee stared back at him, their faces embarrassingly close. A smirk was plastered across the vampire's face, and Gumball felt a strong wave of emotions wash over him. Shock, relief, embarrassment, and he finally settled on anger, "MARSHALL LEE PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT," Gumball demanded. The vampire smirked harder, and let him drop to the, now much closer, floor.
Standing up quickly, the prince brushed his clothes off and noticed a few tears in his shirt from where Marshall had grabbed him, "I try to help you and this is what I get! You tore my shirt!"
Marshall floated above him and glanced into the room they were now in as Gumball continued, "You try to intimidate me! You almost seriously injure me! Why did I even come here?!"
Marshall looked back down at him, "Alright gumwad, I have to admit that scream was cute; but I was just the distraction."
Gumball's pink face tinged red, anger turning to embarrassment, "What do you mean 'distraction'?"
"You're so oblivious, it's funny," Marshall smirked, as he floated towards a lamp and switched it on.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Gumball covered his eyes as the lights that hadn't been working before suddenly turned on. Marshall started laughing, "Can't believe you took 'Camaro Butterbeer' seriously!"
Blinking away the blindness, Gumball was quickly rushed by Fionna, who picked him up and embraced him tightly, "Did you really think we forgot your birthday, PG?" She said, all traces of tiredness gone from her and Cake. He supposed they'd been faking it. And of course, Butterscotch Butler was here, despite her disdain for the Vampire King. And Lord Monochromicorn? Traitor.
"I forgot it was my birthday," He answered simply, "So all of this was fake?"
Placing him down, Fionna nodded, obviously proud of their ploy. Marshall drifted over, laughing at the prince, "Can't believe you fell for it too! I knew you were a wad, but I really didn't think it would work! You were supposeeeed to go to Fionna and Cake's treehouse though."
Fionna looked at Gumball quizzically, "Yeah, didn't expect you to come here of all places. We're lucky Lord Monochromicorn took so long."
Gumball sighed, "You couldn't have just invited me to the treehouse and surprised me that way? This all seems a little...mean, Fionna."
"Well, it was Marshall's idea! It made sense when he explained it, and I thought it'd be-"
"Of course you came up with this," Gumball glared daggers at the vampire, "Who else would put me under so much stress just for fun?"
"Hey, it wasn't just him Gumba-," Fionna started.
"Mo-Chro, please escort the party guests outside," Gumball demanded politely.
As he did, much to everyone's dismay. Marshall looked down at him, smirking, "You're gonna scold me in my own house? Lighten up, princess, it's your birthday."
The words bounced around harshly in Gumball's sleep-deprived head, "I thought you were in danger! I thought you were dead!" The prince snapped, "You purposefully misled me! I thought my friends could die because of me! I thought my people were in danger! You're an inconsiderate child, Marshall Lee!"
Without waiting for a response, Gumball stormed out of the cottage. The nerve of that vampire! How dare he do something like this? His party guests stared at him, as he stopped in front of them.
"Gumball he didn't mean for it to..." Fionna began, before getting trailing off as the prince walked by and continued out of the cave. Gumball was so tired. So tired of Marshall Lee and all the stress that accompanies him.
He had enough to deal with in his life. He had to run a whole kingdom, deal with his subjects, plan a foolish masquerade thanks to Marshall, and engineer a monster. He didn't need some thousand-year-old vampire coming up with ways to torment him, mock him, and embarrass him whenever possible.
As Gumball continued his walk back to the kingdom, the cold began to sink in. Gumball covered the tears in his shirt with his arms, trying his best to shield his sensitive gummy skin. He prayed to Glob that he was remembering the way home. Maybe walking wasn't the best idea, but he needed the time to think and Mo-Chro had lied too.
Rustling in the nearby trees drew the vulnerable prince out of his thoughts, and he suddenly realized just how easy it would be for a brigand to happen upon him. And yet, he shouldn't have been surprised when the thing that goes bump in the night turned out to be Marshall again.
Gumball sighed, focusing on walking again. The vampire floated behind him, "Hey," He called, but the prince didn't respond, "Barnabas."
"Don't call me that, Marshall. You know I hate it," Marshall smirked lightly.
"Alright, Bubba, can you stop walking for a minute?"
"I'd like to go to my room and sleep if you don't mind. I was trying to do just that when I received that letter," Gumball kept a steady pace doing his best to hide how cold he really was. It was bad enough without the tears.
A small shiver rippled through his body, and it didn't go unnoticed by his unwelcome companion. Marshall put a hand on Gumball's shoulder and he stopped walking, "What, Marshall? What could you possibly want? Have you come to humiliate me further?"
"I ripped your shirt, and it's cold out," He stated as if it explained anything. Gumball just stared at him, "I brought you one of mine," Marshall held out a red and black flannel almost identical to the one the vampire had on.
Gumball continued staring, "That's uncharacteristically kind of you."
"Just take it," Marshall demanded, "Before I leave you here to freeze."
The prince studied Marshall's face closely, looking for any sign that this was a joke. Maybe he'd get him shirtless and then take off with both shirts? But as soon as the thought entered his head it left. Marshall Lee, the Vampire King, was being kind. Nothing else. He hoped.
"Turn around, please," Gumball requested as he took the shirt. The vampire complied, and Gumball undid his shirt. The freezing air fully hit his exposed chest and back, eliciting a hard shiver and light gasp from the prince.
Marshall looked over his shoulder as Gumball attempted to turn the flannel's right side out, desperately trying to shield his delicate skin from the elements. Marshall closed the gap between them quickly, startling Gumball who stepped back quickly and dropped the torn shirt onto the ground. Marshall stepped closer again, fixing the flannel and slipping it onto the prince.
"Figure out how to button it yourself, gumwad," Marshall let his eyes wander down Gumball's torso, admiring the slim pink chest and navel. Gumball buttoned the flannel and met Marshall's eyes before blushing and quickly looking away.
"Thank you, Marshall."
"Well you aren't gonna like this next part," Marshall smirked slightly, and before Gumball could react he had been swept into the air.
"Marshall Lee! Put me down this instant!" Gumball clung to the vampire as tight as he could as the ground grew further and further away.
"That's the second time you've said that tonight, you really need to choose your words better," Gumball looked up at the smiling king, horrified, "But don't worry, I won't drop you this time. I just wanna get you back to that pink mess you call a bedroom."
The journey took much longer being carried by Marshall than it had on Mo-Chro, or maybe it had just seemed that way because he knew Monochromicorn could keep him from plummeting to his death.
When they finally arrived at the windows leading to his chamber, Gumball was able to breathe. The two entered his bedroom and Gumball was happy to find that Butterscotch Butler had prepared him another cup of tea for the night.
He grabbed the cup, sat down on his, and sipped it gratuitously before returning it to its tray, "Thank you for the terrifying lift home, Marshall."
"Not like I had much else to do," Marshall looked around the room, taking in the details. He'd only been in here once or twice, a long time ago. An interesting feature he noticed was the chair with a ukulele in it. He'd never heard the prince play music before.
Marshall stopped looking around and called over his shoulder, "You can hold on to that shirt for a while, just wash it and give it back when you see me next."
Turning towards the bed again, he wasn't surprised that Gumball's head had dropped to the pillow. The prince was sound asleep. Maybe he had taken things too far, he had exhausted an insomniac. Moving to the window to leave, Gumball groggily looked up, "Marshall?"
"Yeah, Bubba?"
"You're not," The prince yawned and pulled the covers up to his shoulders, "entirely inconsiderate."