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Something was coming. It was coming, and it would not end well if this experiment was still out. A young, and pink, princess wearing a white lab coat over her dress, raced against time to store her experiment. Her first priority was flasks, and she quickly locked those away in a small closet. Her second priority was to turn off all of the flames, store the open chemicals, and hurriedly put all of the used glassware in a sink. She had finished that up, and was moving on towards her final wipe down of the counters when she noticed a single flame still burning.
Once again, the princess turned the flame off, and looked around her lab carefully. She didn't see anything, but that didn't mean much. She turned her back and started back towards the counter she had been working on when she heard a soft 'pop'. Before she turned around, she knew what she would see, a small flame.
Sure enough, it was there, again-again, on the little burner. Her mouth twisted into a line, and her brow furrowed angrily. "Alright! That's enough, thank you! Either come out, or please leave my lab, I am doing delicate experiments and I do not want that ruined!"
A voice sounded just behind her, and nearly in her ear. "Bonnie-Bee, you are just no fun."
Bubblegum whirled around, and in her haste nearly slapped the vampire queen floating upside down behind her. Marceline's slight startle at that lightened the princess's mood slightly, but she managed to keep her face and voice stern. "How many times have I told you that you cannot just come down here and do what you want? I have-!" Marceline's finger pressed to her lips shushed her.
"About the same number of times that I've told you I don't care." Her flippant reply was coupled with her rotating around to face up. Bubblegum was fighting the urge to grind her teeth and scream back some retort.
"Listen. To. Me." Her reply came out cold and controlled, but barely. "Why are you here? Have you just come here to annoy me?" The pink girl turned around and walked over to the sink. "If you have, you've done it and you can leave now." Her hands flew to the glassware, where she attacked them with soap and water.
A range of emotions washed over Marceline's face after the princess had turned around. "Look, I didn't come to get into a fight." She floated over to near the sink and looked at Bubblegum. "Sheesh. I was just kidding around."
"Just kidding around? You could have spoiled delicate experiments! I was trying to make-!" Bubblegum's eyes widened, and she clamped her mouth shut with an audible click. "It doesn't matter what I was trying to make." She pulled her hands out of the sink and began to dry them off. "Just tell me what you want or else leave."
"Jeez princess." Marceline reached over and flicked a little pile of suds into the air. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over and watch a movie? It'll be me and you and Jake and Lady and Finn and FP."
At both of the last two names, Bubblegum's heart skipped a beat, and her angry looked vanished. "I uh-," she shook her head to clear it. "I do not know if I can make it."
Marceline cocked her head to the side, and then a sly smile spread on her face. "I didn't say when it was, so why don't you tell me what a good day for you is?"
"Ah! Fine! Tonight is fine!" PB was angry with herself for letting so much of her emotions show. "Have you asked everyone else?"
"No. Duh. How about we go and do that?" asked the vampire, her smug expression still on her face.
"No. I have to finish cleaning up in here before then, so why don't you go and handle that? You're the one who wants the movie to happen, after all."
Marceline stuck her tongue out and raised her hands in the air, flapping them about. "Alright, whatever. Be at my place, at 6. Bring chips or a drink and stuff. We'll eat snacks and have a good time." She gave Bubblegum a big wink before flying out of an open window at the top of the lab.
Thoughts spun through the princess's head. Finn and Flame Princess? She wasn't sure how she felt about Finn, much less him and his… what? Girlfriend? She didn't know. Her feelings towards FP herself weren't hard to know, she was happy for her, but also sad and concerned, considering her condition. No matter what anyone else thought she didn't feel any animosity towards the elemental. Whether she was jealous or not, on that, the jury was still out and deliberating. She turned back to the sink, still thinking about the upcoming movie night, and continued washing the equipment and cleaning the lab.
Nearly an hour later she finished putting the last of the stirring rods into their drawer and looked over the room. It was cleaner than it had been in a year. Apparently, Bubblegum thought to herself, I was more worried about tonight than I gave myself credit for.
She left the lab and doffed the coat, hanging it on a hook near the door. Outside, Peppermint Butler was waiting, a small sandwich on a tray ready for her if she was hungry. She idly thanked him and began to eat the sandwich as she walked up the spiral staircase to her room.
The castle itself was mostly empty and silent; the only real sounds were Cinnamon Bun's efforts to turn himself in Cinnamon Doughnut. Normally the silence and emptiness were a welcome change from the efforts of running the Candy Kingdom, but today it seemed they hung around Bubblegum's shoulders like weights.
The princess arrived in her room and promptly flopped onto her bed, letting her face sink into the thick covers. She didn't feel like crying anymore, but she did feel like just laying there for as long as she could.
Thoughts about her feelings would not stop whirling about in her head. How did she feel about Finn and Flame Princess's relationship? How did she feel about Finn? To add to that confusion was Lady's and Jake's kids, she had nothing against them or the kids themselves, and she had known that it was happening. Still, she was shocked at all the responsibilities that a parent had to have. She didn't know if she could handle being personally responsible for the lives of children. Sure, she did great with kids, but she didn't want to have them.
Bubblegum growled and rolled over, her hands pressed to her head. What was she going to do? She couldn't fail to show up at the party tonight, but could she go? Sitting up, and biting her lip in frustration, she stormed over to her closet. Angrily, she riffled through her clothes.
She knew she had to go tonight. She also knew that that dress would look hideous on her.
She knew that she was confused, and tonight could just make it worse. She also knew that she had found her outfit. A dark red top with lighter pink jeans, and her hair would just be simply pulled back into a ponytail.
No matter what happened tonight, she would face it like she did every problem. Carefully, cautiously, and meticulously, and like every problem she ever encountered, she would solve it. Surely this wasn't harder than any science experiment she had ever done.
After Bubblegum had made up her mind, it seemed like a weight had lifted off her. Feeling more cheerful than before, she jaunted down the staircase and out of the Candy Castle. A little bit of fresh air would do her good.
The kingdom itself continued on, running like it always did. She saw Shelby sitting on top of a statue's hand and waved at him. The marketplace was bustling as always, and Tree Trunks was there selling her pies. There were other vendors, selling what they could and trying to make a living. The energy and excitement of the market always seemed to buoy her spirits, and she was in a fine mood.
Even though the snow was falling, the brightly colored tents, awnings, and walls of the market still shined. Here and there a small cluster of candy people wandered from stall to stall, trying out the wares or holding them close to see if they liked them. The smaller children amused the princess greatly, as they were running from stall to stall, hiding underneath booths and under banners. Their laughter and joy infected Bubblegum, and she began to smile as they ran past her.
She saw four little creatures skitter out from under a tree, the girl leading their little pact. She was momentarily surprised, they looked like Finn did, but on closer inspection, she realized that where Finn had rounded ears, they had little tipped one, and were considerably shorter and thinner. Bubblegum made a mental note to try and find out more about them; they could prove to be an amusing diversion, and might even lead to more scientific discoveries.
With her mind turned to the scientific, she began to wander the stalls, looking for anything new and unusual. Within a short period of time, one vendor kept catching her eye, but when she would turn to look at him, he would always shy away. Not one to give up so easily, Bubblegum circled the stall slowly.
He didn't seem to be selling much of anything, just crystals and other knick-knacks, but what intrigued her most was that all of his face except for his eyes was covered. The princess didn't want to startle him, and so she went over to Tree Trunks's stall.
"Tree Trunks, could I get you to do a favor for me?" Bubblegum asked.
"Why sure darling, what do you need?" drawled the little green elephant.
She glanced over at the unknown vendor's stall and pointed. "Could you go and try to buy something from him? I want to hear him speak."
Tree Trunks smiled. "Of course I will, now you just give me a minute and before you know it I'll be right back."
Bubblegum followed a little ways behind Tree Trunks, just enough to hear the vendor's voice.
"Sure! Sure, I've got plenty of good things to sell," laughed the vendor. Something about his voice…
"Ice King! What are you doing here?" Bubblegum stepped up and slapped her hand down on his table. "You are disguised, and I want to know why you are here."
"Aww, well, you see-!" Ice King started, nervously.
"Take off that dumb hat and look at me," interrupted the princess.
The Ice King complied, removing his covering. His beard and hair were a tangled mess from being stuffed inside that mask. He had a wide grin plastered on his face. "See, my plan was to make everyone here love me by selling my beautiful sculptures," he pointed at a mass of crystal that looked like a melting chunk of ice, "so then you would love me!" Somehow, he managed to sound both pleading and completely sure of himself.
Bubblegum rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away as he tried to take hers. "Ice King, just get out of here. I don't want any trouble today, alright?"
"But Princess-!"
"No buts! Just get your butt out of here, before I have to call Finn in and you know he won't be nice!" Her stomach fluttered at the threat, but she stamped down on the feeling. "I'm going to count to three, and if you aren't out of here…"
She got to two before he puffed himself up and flew away. He was shouting that she would love him in the end as he flew higher and higher up into the sky. She couldn't help but laugh, all of the relationship trouble she was having, but the Ice King was convinced that he knew the answer. She turned around to see Tree Trunks still standing behind her, looking up at the vanishing Ice King.
"Thanks Tree Trunks," she said sweetly. "I'd like to buy a pie from you…" She remembered Marceline's admonishment to bring snacks. "Actually I'll take three." Everyone liked pies, especially from the best baker in the Candy Kingdom.
Bubblegum was ready, she had the pies, the outfit, and she felt good. Tonight would not be a disaster.
Princess Bubblegum knocked at the stable door. Moments later, her friend Lady Rainicorn answered and invited her inside.
"Thank you Lady. Marceline is throwing-" She stopped as Lady began to talk.
"Ah, you already know. I was wondering if you could give me a ride there, as long as you and Jake don't have special plans." Lady responded that they didn't, and seemed excited about tonight. "Good, I brought some pies from Tree Trunks, I know that everyone will enjoy these."
The two old friends settled back and began to talk. Lady told story after story about the puppies, and Bubblegum didn't need to feign delight at the tales. The children certainly took after their father, they had already started going on adventures and making trouble for their mother.
They had apparently been going out in the forest, and finding whatever monsters they could to fight. Even though they had grown up enough to leave their mother's side, she still fretted about them. She worried that they took on trouble like their father and 'uncle Finn' did, which she feared was too much for them. Bubblegum attempted to reassure Lady that nothing bad would happen, and she meant it. She had seen Jake and her in dangerous situations and she knew that unless the kids had not inherited even their father's cranial skills, they would be fine.
As time wore on, Bubblegum noticed that she was feeling more and more nervous, which, in turn, caused her to become irritated with herself. Lady picked up on it and asked what the matter was.
"I've just had a tiring week." She forced a small grin. "You don't need to worry about it." Lady didn't look convinced, but didn't push the princess any further. She took the opportunity to tell Lady about the newest experiment she was running, which quickly got her laughing, and time began to fly again.
Before either of them had noticed, the sun had gone down, and it was time for them to leave for Marceline's. Bubblegum, realizing there was no way to keep the pies warm, quickly heated them up. Lady had pulled together some kind of drink and had gathered cups. The two of them pranced about inside the stable, each trying to outdo the other in a silly little dance. Bubblegum was attempting some sort of waltz fused with a high-step, while Lady was trying to contort herself into increasingly more complicated poses.
When the oven dinged, and the pies were ready, both wiped tears of joy off their faces. It had been a wonderful few hours. The princess strapped the pies, drinks, and cup to Lady's back, and then hopped up herself. The rainicorn took off into the sky, rocketing up as fast as she could.
Both of the girls laughed and whooped with enjoyment as they flew through the air. It had been a long time since they had done this together. Neither of them wanted to land, but the food would cool, and so they were forced down. Stepping off her friend's back, Bubblegum looked at Marceline's house with a distinct feeling of dread.
The Princess knew she wasn't ready for tonight.