Real Talk: So this was kind of an unplanned addition to Love Song. I was originally working on chapter 5 as an exploration of Sociopath Bonnie, but this idea hit me really hard, so I decided to turn it into a challenge for myself: can I convey emotion without being wordy by keeping the entire thing under a page? I know what I write tends to be long, and I want to get better at expressing heavy stuff without doing that so I can continue to grow as a writer.
The secondary challenge for myself was to actually write something that doesn't end up at least neutral, because pretty much everything I write ends happy because I'm a squishy sentimental person.
As another plug, if you aren't already you should join me on tumblr at CountingWithTurkeys. I put up a contest a few days ago and you could win a request fic from me while also helping dictate the future of the Symphony Universe! I also post blurbs there you won't find on here, and ask for your opinions on story ideas I have. You can also ask me stuff, because I love talking to you guys!
Were there any justice in the world Marceline Abadeer would love Bonnibel Bubblegum liked she loved the moon and stars. She would bask in her glow, just as she basked in the soft light of the night sky, be inspired to sing and play just as the cosmos bid her to. Her visits would inspire pure elation, untethered to mortal troubles. It would be timeless, it would be the most treasured staple of her endless life, it would be that which made it worth living.
But there was no justice in the world, and so Marceline loved Bonnibel as she loved the sun. Bonnibel's glow was not one for Marceline to bask in, for even her radiant smile could scorch her flesh and render her crippled, her punishment for her wandering too close, for forgetting who she was. She could not sing and play with her, for Bonnibel's stage was the waking world, her audience her citizens and well-wishers, all too terrified of what went bump in the night. Her visits were rare but that rarity did not turn them sweet. Instead they were like unpicked strawberries, left out too long, leaving Marceline's hope to succumb to despair. Her troubles may not be mortal but they were no less real, and without the gift of mortality they would persist as long as she allowed them to, the cursed staple of her endless life.
Bonnibel belonged in the sun, where her intelligence could dazzle the world, where she could grow her children and build them a sturdy kingdom for a home. And so Marceline loved her like she loved the sun, that weapon in the sky glaring a light she dare not tread into, for Bonnibel's very voice could chase away Marceline's latent sanity, her bright eyes could inspire her to madness. Marceline loved her too fiercely to pull her into the dark, to deny her the light of the sun that gave her world strength, to take away her chance to grow and become who she was meant to be. Marceline needed the sun just as she needed Bonnibel, for both provided their own sort of sustenance that was vital to making sure she did not devolve into a soulless monster, but because both could destroy her she had to evolve to survive only on the scraps. Because Marceline Abadeer loved Bonnibel Bubblegum like the sun she left her alone, because her world was not one she could share, and though the two had once pretended otherwise love didn't conquer all, it only feeds delusions and presents false hope.
The two never talk now, Bonnibel so engrossed in her light to notice Marceline shielded by her darkness. But every night, as Bonnibel sleeps, Marceline keeps a solid vigil on her palace's roof, for just as Bonnibel protected her kingdom - that which she loved most - in the daytime so would Marceline protect Bonnibel - that which she loved most - in the night. Even when they did not speak Marceline was plagued with thoughts of what could happen to her Sun, what she could fail to protect her from if she failed in her duty.
The Moon would never be able to understand the Sun's preoccupation with its creations and those reliant on it, for only the wild and unholy thrived in the moonlight. And it was because she didn't understand and could only ever love her like the sun Marceline Abadeer spent every night perched invisibly on the roof of her Sun, wondering how beautiful she would look in the moonlight.