The door flies open as she steps on to the porch, an angry Wizard comes rushing out, head in his hands. He strides right past Princess Bubblegum, who stands confused and worried on the creaking porch.

"Ash!"

The white-haired boy whirls around, clearly steaming and not in the mood for conversation. "What?" Ash hisses through clenched teeth.

"Where are you going?" Bubblegum asks, trying to act as sweet as she can. She can't fake it nearly as well as she thinks she can, though.

"Anywhere but here." He replies vaguely, fists clenched, knuckled white, hanging on tightly to his calm (but not really) attitude.

"Wow, leaving again? You really are an asshole."

Ash shrugs. "Jealous much?"

That one throws her off. She stutters and stumbles in her attempt to respond, she doesn't manage to push any words out until Ash has turned away again. He takes one step, smirking as his foot crushes down on the crunchy dirt, but then Bubblegum regains her balance.

"You don't deserve Marceline."

Ash freezes, smirk fading.

That was the moment Ash realized that he really hated Princess Bubblegum.

Teeth clenched, he uttered two words that tasted like gritty dirt and tears and bitterness.

"Fuck off."

And with that, Ash stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking again. The stunned little pink girl standing on the porch getting farther and farther away.

She stared at the back of his hunched figure momentarily, and rushed into the house, slamming the screen door behind her. Bubblegum stormed into the living room, where she knew Marceline would be curled up on the couch with her knitting, waiting for Ash to come back from wherever he had run off to this time. Marceline looked up when Bubblegum entered the room, feet like boulders on the worn wooden floor, crashing with every step.

"Hm. Somebody's a little worked up." Marceline says coolly, knitting needles clacking softly.

"Why'd your dead-beat-boyfriend run out on you this time?" Bubblegum asks, ignoring Marceline and pacing back and forth, hand knotted tightly behind her back.

Marceline shrugs, "We got in a fight… It's ok, he'll be back in awhile…" Marceline reassures Bubblegum (but more so herself) and sets her knitting down next to her on the stained couch. She and Bubblegum stare at each other.

Bubblegum would say that Marceline looked worn out and sad.

Marceline would say that Bubblegum looked distraught and fed up.

Both are true.

Bubblegum sits down on the other side of Marceline, wrapping her pink arms around her in a tight and comforting embrace. "I'm sorry that Ash is such a jerk, Marcy."

Marceline just laughs, returning Bubblegum's hug. "Wow, you're more upset over this than I am." They both chuckle, holding the hug just a little bit longer.

Bubblegum thinks Marceline smells like strawberries.

Marceline thinks Bubblegum smells like candy.

"So you're gonna break up with Ash this time?"

Marceline pushes Bubblegum away, and looks at her in confusion.

"What? Why would I break up with him?"

"Mar, he treats you like crap. You fight all the time and he pushes you around like a shopping cart! He doesn't deserve you."

Marceline jumps up from the couch and faces Bubblegum. "You don't know anything." Marceline growls, narrowing her eyes. Bubblegum springs up from the couch as well, eye to eye with the seething vampire queen.

"It's true," Bubblegum raises her voice. "He's selfish and-and sloppy, he treats you like dirt. He pushes you around and leaves every time something doesn't go his way. Meanwhile you sit here and mope, waiting and hoping he'll come back. And when he does, you forgive him right away and pretend like nothing ever happened, I just hate to see you doing this to yourself Mar-mar, an-"

"-I'm not doing anything to myself!" Marceline interrupts, her screaming face moving closer to Bubblegum's with every exclamation point.

"You keep letting him in, when clearly he is no good for you! I can't let you do this anymore! Your relationship is terrible! You two ju-"

"-You don't know anything!" Marceline insists, an angry crease forming in between her eyebrows.

"I know that you need to break up with him! You're going to dump his sorry ass as soon as he walks through the door, or so help me-"

"-Don't." Marceline's voice is firm. The anger in their eyes pouring into each other while Marceline pauses, their noses are nearly touching. "Tell me what to do. Don't tell me how to live my life, you prissy, spoiled little princess!"

"You can't talk to me like that."

"Oh I'm sorry, your highness. Sorry I don't treat you like you're some perfect Goddess, like all your little loyal subjects do!"

Bubblegum steps back, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Fine." She whispers. "I'm done."

Marceline stands stuck in silence as she watches Bubblegum walk out the door. She stays stuck there for a moment, and then rushes to the door. She sees Bubblegum in the distance, walking away into the darkness. She hesitates for a moment, not really wanting to give in, let Bubblegum win. But Marceline decides to call out to her.

"What do you mean your done?" She shouts, trying to reach Bubblegum, who she is barely able to make out in the dark of the night.

"I mean, I'm done. I'm done trying to help you, you obviously don't want my help." Bubblegum calls back.

Silence

Marceline walks back over to the stained couch.

Silence

She throws her knitting to the floor.

Silence

She grabs a fluffy blanket, wrapping herself up like a burrito.

Silence

She is still cold.

Tears

Tears jump from Marceline's eyes, falling like she hadn't cried in ages. Loud sobs escaped her lips, slamming against the walls, seeping into the floors and leaking into the basement. She cries for herself, for Bubblegum, for Ash, for Simon.

The door creaks open quietly.

Ash walks in, still seeming slightly irritated. "I forgot my…" He sees Marceline, tear stained and cold on the couch.

"What happened?" He asks softly, sitting down next to her on the couch and wrapping his arms around her.

"Bubblegum and I got in a fight." Marceline's voice is watery.

"Why?" Ash frowns, he really doesn't like to see Marceline like this.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If you don't want to talk about what happened, that's okay…" Ash soothes.

"I just feel so worthless. I push everyone away, to the point where they can't stand me and leave. I suck."

Ash frowns. "Marceline, listen to me," he says with a firm tone. "You are amazing. You're cool and gorgeous and funny, and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like you." Marceline smiles a little bit. "Maybe you do push people away, but it's not your fault… You've been hurt real bad. Screw Bubblegum, you don't need her anyway. At least I have you. I love you, Marceline, I don't know what I'd do without you. Look, I… I promise I won't just walk out like that again, I didn't mean to hurt you so bad. Bubblegum's right, I really don't deserve you… You're way too spectacular for me." Ash smiles and kisses Marceline on the cheek.

"Oh, Ash, you're such a dork." Marceline giggles, even though his whole speech made her melt. They lay there in silence for a bit, tangled in each other's limbs and Ash stroking her long, soft hair, breathing in her strawberry red scent.

"Bubblegum will come back." Ash reassures her, knowing that's what she is really worried about. "Trust me."

Ash strokes her hair until she drops off into sleep.

Ash closes his eyes and listens to the rhythm of her breathing, and falls asleep thinking of how lucky he is to have her, and how he hopes that moments like this never end.

The last thought that tiptoes through his head before he finally drifts off is how the letter he found Marceline reading is still laying torn in half on the kitchen counter.

Waiting for the morning.