Author's Note: Guys, thank you so much for giving this fanfic a chance. I really appreciate everyone who's given me support and feedback on Tumblr so far and shout-out to
coolkid6669 for giving me my first review!
I know it might sound cheesy and/or melodramatic (wait, what am I talking about "might?" Of course it does!) but I appreciate it so much.
I hope you enjoy the rest of this tale, I'll keep updating if people like it and, last but not least, I really appreciate constructive criticism if you have the time to give it to me. :)
Thanks again buds!
That night in the forest was the start of a camaraderie built from the mutual understanding of loss and memory.
The princess and the vampire ended up sitting side by side on a log and talking for a long time until Bubblegum (somewhat reluctantly) decided it was time to go home.
But, having a few more questions about being immortal, the two women made plans to meet up again and talk sometime, and that "sometime" ended up being just three days later in the same forest.
Errands and duty then got in the way and the two couldn't meet again until nearly seven days later. And when life got in the way again, it was another seven days after that.
It was then that they decided their night-faring discussions in the woods together would become a weekly affair, on Sunday evenings.
It was during one of these strolls that the next phase of their relationship began.
"Do you still feel twenty-one?" Bubblegum asked the vampire as they made their way down a winding forest path.
"Yeah, pretty much," Marceline plucked a leaf off a nearby tree and began absent-mindedly shredding it in her hands. "People say looks can be deceiving and that's true. Even when you glance in the mirror, your own looks can deceive you, ya feel me?"
"Yeah, good point," Bubblegum considered this with a nod.
"Plus, when you're immortal, life is always throwing new stuff at you," the vampire went on. "Life changes and with each change, you need to learn to adapt. So you never really get to the point where you're a grown-up who knows everything, because you're always getting used to new things."
Bubblegum stared down the path ahead thoughtfully.
"What about you?" Marceline turned to ask her. "Still feel like a nineteen-year-old?"
The princess smiled.
"Even younger if that's possible," she said in bittersweet tones. "A lot of the time, I still feel like a kid."
A pause.
"How so?" Marceline probed.
Bubblegum shrugged.
"My dad is constantly teaching me all this stuff about how to run the commune and how to go about extending it into a proper kingdom. And it just seems like I'll never be ready to be the leader of such a huge project, y'know? At least not without him guiding me through it all...And time hasn't helped with that. I still feel like a five-year-old learning which one is the salad fork and which one is the dinner fork."
Marceline nodded, looking like she understood.
"I get you," she said. "But really, all you need is more time. And come on Bonni," – she scoffed – "we have plenty of that!"
Bubblegum couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're right of course," she said. "It's just a lot to get through my head that I'm going to accomplish it all in one life. Even an eternal life."
Another pause.
"You know," the vampire ventured. "Before his mind went, Simon used to always say this one thing to me when I was getting impatient or annoyed with how slowly things tend to go. He'd say 'Marceline, never be intimidated by the time it'll take to do something. Because that time will pass anyway.' And that's true, y'know? The time will go by no matter what, might as well use it to achieve something."
Bubblegum smiled over at the vampire. It was amazing really – Marceline was so laidback as a person, at first Bubblegum had categorised her as just a nonchalant, light-hearted prankster who didn't really fully care about anything.
But once you got to know her, you'd be exposed to these moments of complete insight, awareness and intelligence. Her new vampire companion could be so incredibly perceptive and intellectual about the world around them and how it worked, it was a fantastic thing to behold.
"That's a pretty clever way of looking at," the princess said admiringly.
Marceline shrugged again, back to her casual self.
"I always thought so," she said. "And that's the attitude I'm trying to have towards my band at the minute. Even though it looks like, no matter what we do, we're going to get nowhere."
Bubblegum looked up interestedly.
"New band?"
The vampire let out a cynical chuckle.
"Maybe it's too ambitious to even call it that," she said. "Basically, me and a few buds from the Underworld have set up a project together. But it's not really going anywhere."
"That sounds interesting though," Bubblegum said. "Have you recorded any tracks yet?"
Marceline made a see-saw gesture with her hand.
"Bits and pieces, nothing major," she reported.
"Well, do you want to send them to me?" Bubblegum asked. "I think sometimes it helps to have an outsider's look on these types of things. Granted I don't know a huge amount about rock music but I can at least give you my opinion."
Marceline stopped floating, put her feet down on the ground, frowned at the princess.
"Y-you'd do that? For me?"
Bubblegum stopped walking and smiled at the vampire.
"Sure. I mean we're friends, aren't we?"
Marceline would never admit how infinitely touched she was by those words.
This intelligent, kind-hearted and discerning new acquaintance of hers had just declared them to be...buds?
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Marceline stumbled to find her words. "Of course we are. Thanks Bon."
The two started moving along the path again.
"No problem," Bubblegum replied. "So what type of music are you aiming for?"
Marceline thought about it for a moment.
"Mostly punk rock, mixed with a few classic hard rock influences like Led Zeppelin and some of Iggy Pop's stuff."
Bubblegum pulled a confused face. Marceline glanced at her.
"What's up?" she asked.
"OK, I've heard of Led Zeppelin," Bubblegum said slowly. "But Iggy Pop...that sounds like a brand of soda."
The vampire snorted loudly and laughed for the next five minutes while Bubblegum rolled her eyes.
"OK, OK, I get it, I'm musically impaired," the princess admitted.
"Aww Glob, that's funny," Marceline chuckled. "Look, I promise to teach you about Iggy sometime, alright? Spit, a brand of soda. I'm never going to let you forget that one!"
Bubblegum just smiled and shook her head and Marceline was secretly happy, knowing that if Bubblegum let her joke around and rip on her like this, it really did mean that they were friends.