"You sure you're OK with it though?" Marceline asked Bubblegum.
Bubblegum looked up into the sky above them as they made their way down another winding forest path.
Their Sunday night walks together had yet again become a firm weekly tradition for the two women.
"Positive," she answered, looking up at the stars above. "Creampuff and I are probably better off as friends, we just want different things."
Marceline nodded.
"Yeah, that's fair enough," she said. "And at least you're still friends."
"Exactly," Bubblegum concurred. "He's a really sweet guy."

Marceline smiled politely and agreed with a light-hearted "yeah."
She was currently training the jealousy out of herself, knowing that if she wanted to keep her best friend in her life this time, she'd have to be better.
Being friends was far from a punishment after all ... it was actually a pretty fantastic consolation prize.

"Plus, I'm so busy right now," Bubblegum went on. "I barely have time for anything other than building up the kingdom, working in the lab and working on new laws and decrees. Oh."
She looked over at the vampire, teeth gritted in apprehension.
"I might not be able to make it to our movie night tomorrow," she told Marceline nervously. "I have to go through that paperwork for making the Candy Kingdom an official recognised territory in the land of Ooo."
"Hey, don't look so anxious Bonnibel!" Marceline laughed. "I know how important the kingdom is to you and it should be first priority right now. I'll find some other way to entertain myself."
Bubblegum smiled.
"Thanks Marceline."
"Don't worry about it PB, I promise I won't run away for a year again," the vampire joked and they both laughed.
The princess smiled to herself. If they could mess around about it now, it meant that the incident was well and truly in the past.
Lost somewhere between dreams and plans, Bubblegum found herself thinking.

They turned a corner and wandered down another forest trail.
"Speaking of running away for a year," Bubblegum piped up after a moment's silence. "I think these walks were what I missed the most when you were gone."
"Me too," Marceline turned her head to look at some trees so the candy girl wouldn't see her touched smile and slight blush. "Sunday nights were definitely lacking a bit down in the Underworld."
Now it was Bubblegum's turn to blush and be moved.
"What did you spend most of your time doing down there?"

Marceline heaved a sigh, thought about it.
"I dated this guy for a month or two when I first got down there," she reported. "And he liked going to the movies on Sunday nights. Then after we broke up, I was seeing this girl for a while and Sunday was her days to clean her apartment so," she shrugged, "I spent those Sundays alone."
"Interesting," Bubblegum said, shoving down the envy inside her chest.
Don't be silly, she scolded herself.
"Then I started spending some time with my old friend Haylan and I spent Sundays brushing up on my Swedish."
Bubblegum looked at her friend, smiled slightly.
"You speak Swedish?"

Marceline wrinkled her nose and shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't like to say I speak it, I just know what Haylan's taught me."
"OK," Bubblegum stopped walking and looked up at Marceline. "Show me what you know."
"Huh?"
"Speak some Swedish dude," Bubblegum said. "I love hearing different languages that existed before the Great Mushroom War."

Marceline looked down at Bubblegum, mere inches from her face.
Those strikingly clever eyes, the curve of her cheeks, the gentle arc of her chin.
The vampire swallowed, knowing just what to say.
"Du är vacker," she told her. "Jag hoppas att någon har sagt det till dig."
You are beautiful. I hope someone has told you that.
Bubblegum smiled up at her friend.
"Ich hoffe immer noch für uns," Bubblegum replied in German.
I still hope for us.
They both smiled at each other.

"It sounds beautiful, what did you just say?" Bubblegum asked.
Marceline felt a half-smile tug at her mouth.
"That you're my best friend."
"What a coincidence," Bubblegum said. "I said that you're mine."
And the two girls set off back down the path, both wondering how the other would feel if they knew what had really been said.