The afternoon passed by with the same level of monotony that the morning did, and soon it was nightfall. The princess called off the fourth day of hearings, announcing that people who intended to spend lunch in the castle on the following day were advised to bring snacks, for they would no longer be served by the castle staff. That should solve the food problem. Peppermint Butler praised her solution as he accompanied her out of the hall, telling her about the dinner menu. When they reached an intersection of hallways, she stopped, saying politely:

"I'm sorry, but I'll just skip dinner tonight. It was a very tiring day and I just need some rest."

"Very well, princess. I'll see to it that you aren't disturbed."

His response was a little surprising, since she wasn't customarily disturbed after turning in for the day. Still, she answered, smiling softly:

"Thank you, Peppermint Butler."

She parted ways with the faithful servant, and went the hallway to her room as he went to the kitchens.

Her head war hurting more than before, but she was barely aware of the pain as she quickly made her way to the room. As soon as she opened the door, she saw her there, floating upside down, staring at the ceiling with her arms crossed over her chest, her hair slightly brushing the carpet as she moved. Bubblegum only had a second to observe her, as she heard the door opening and turned fast to face the princess.

They stared at each other, Marceline analyzing her face to determine her state of mind. Bubblegum closed the door and averted the vampire queen's gaze, staring at the ground as she said:

"I'm sorry about before. It was a stressful morning and so many things have happened, I didn't mean to lash out on you. I'm sorry, Marce."

She rarely used the old nickname, and she hoped it would help make things better.

"Hey, I can't be mad at you, with all the crazy stuff you've been through."

Apparently, it had worked. She lifted her gaze to meet Marceline's, who was floating near the bed, as if sitting on the air just above it.

"So, what's with all the people in the palace?"

The princess spoke as she walked to the closet, removing her crown for the last time that day, glad to have the weight of it off her head:

"I called a kingdom-wide hearing, to evaluate the state of the Candy People."

She opened the closet door, which obstructed her vision from the bed, and from Marceline as well, who laughed and said:

"That is so you."

Bubblegum picked a gown for the night, and set it aside, going instead for her favorite pajamas. She changed, using the door as cover, while she answered Marceline:

"How so?"

"You know, you put this ton of effort to do something you could ask someone else to do for you. It's like you forget you're the princess."

"Well, I felt like I needed a more personal approach, so the people could trust me. Besides," she said, finishing changing clothes, picking up the dress from the hanger she left it and closing the door, "you are queen of the vampires, and I don't see you making use of the benefits inherent to the title."

"Aw, you know I just like to use it to scare people, it's not like I do any of the duties—" she stopped mid-sentence, and noticed what Bubblegum was wearing, "No way."

The princess blushed a little and smiled, taking the dress to the closet across the room to hang it where it belonged. Marceline continued:

"I can't believe you still wear it!"

"It actually fits me now."

"Yeah, it does."

Marceline stared at the princess' pajamas in the dim light of the pink room, and the memories came rushing in.

She could remember it perfectly. She was on one of her travels through the extent of Ooo, revisiting places she hadn't been to in a long time, when she came across the Candy Kingdom. She had been there a while before, and remembered that the prince was a cool guy, even though he was almost as on edge as the usual Candy Person around her, so she decided to pay the royal family a visit.

She went straight to the castle, and she could hear music coming out of it. She busted through the doors, yelling:

"Gumball! Is there a party going on?"

The music stopped with an unpleasant sound, as the musicians missed notes in their surprise. Every Candy Person in the room was staring at her in silence, as were the king, queen, and a little girl in a pink dress. None of them were familiar, until the king spoke, with sudden realization on his face:

"Ma-Marceline..? Is that you?"

She floated in the air for a while, actually feeling embarrassed, something that didn't happen often. She realized it had been over twenty years since her last visit.

Regaining her composure, she floated to the table where the royal family was sitting, at the end of the hall, as if nothing had happened, and greeted the king:

"It has been ages! I like your beard."

The room was completely silent, and the royal family seemed paralyzed in shock.

"Th-thank… You?"

Gumball snapped out of his trance and reminded himself that he was over forty years old, the king, and had all his subjects before him. He cleared his throat, stood up and said:

"Y-yes, thank you, Marceline, Queen of the Vampires!"

The king's composure helped calm the Candy People a little, avoiding an incident, but the mention of Marceline's title put them back on edge.

"Aw, no need for the formalities. So, are you going to introduce me or?"

She referenced the rest of the family with a tilt of her head, and the king also remembered he was married, had a child, and that his subjects were still all before him:

"Yes, of course, pardon me. Queen—" her gaze made him change his mind "I mean, Marceline. Marceline, this is my wife, Bettibel."

The queen was pretty. Maybe too dolled up for the vampire's taste, with her hair in a weird, formal do and wearing a fancy royal dress. She smiled politely, and made a small curtsy. Her smile, albeit small and contained, as was expected for her position, was very gentle and sincere. Marceline could tell she was loved and respected as a queen. She seemed like a nice person.

"And this is my daughter, Bonniebel"

Marceline looked down at the little princess in her dainty pink dress. The child had a firm grip on her mother's dress with one of her hands, but still she stared at Marceline, curious and scared at the same time. Her mother placed a hand on her back, and said:

"Come on now dear, how do we greet other royals?"

The princess let go of her mother's dress and imitated her mother's curtsy, only faster, quickly reaching for the dress again when she was done.

Marceline laughed and said:

"Hey kid, I'm Marceline. How old are you?"

The princess hesitated before letting go of the dress, to show Marceline an open palm and three extended fingers.

"Eight? Wow, you're so big! I'm a thousand years old myself, give or take a few."

Bonniebel smiled a little and Marceline did as well, turning to her father afterwards, saying:

"Well, it's been nice, but I should be on my way."

There was a collective sigh of relief that Marceline pretended not to notice. What she did notice as the king started nervously saying a formal farewell was a pile of gifts to the side of the table.

"Wait, I almost forgot," she interrupted the king, and the tension in the room returned, "I have a present for the princess."

Everyone waited as Marceline dug around her backpack until she found something that could pass for a gift.

"Ha! Here."

Instead of adding to the pile, she handed her gift directly to the princess.

"My favorite pajamas. Take good care of them."

The princess held the bundle of clothing as well as she could, and shook her head affirmatively.

After a moment of silence, the king cleared his throat and said:

"Thank you, Marceline, for your kind gift. As I was saying, we hope you'll grace our kingdom with your presence again."

"I just might, G-Ball." She partially turned her head to generally face the Candy People, faking a menacing look. "I just might."

Laughing out loud, she quickly floated away, leaving the castle far behind her. She was already high in the air when the music started coming from it again.

The princess sat on the bed, and the noise snapped Marceline out of her memories. She turned to face Bonnibel, who was hugging one of the pillows. The moonlight coming through the window hit the pajamas, and she saw all the little black bats on the white pants and shirt, exactly as she remembered them.

"Were you remembering something?" Bubblegum said, pretending she didn't already know.

"Yeah," responded Marceline, smiling fondly, "Your father's face when I gave you those was—"

She suddenly remembered Gumball's death, and looked at Bubblegum with sorry eyes, but she wasn't crying. She looked sad, and held the pillow tighter, but she didn't cry. She said, looking at the pillow:

"It's alright, you can talk about him. I just got so caught up in everything I had kind of forgotten about him, so when you mentioned him earlier… Well, I like remembering him. I think you remember some things better than I do, so please," she looked up, meeting Marceline's worried gaze, "talk about him, when you want."

The vampire smiled, and came closer, touching the princess' arm:

"I miss him too, Bonnie. I don't know if I ever told you this, but your father and I go way back."

"You never did", said Bubblegum, surprised.

"We met when he was a little older than you are now, he had just become king."

"Father never told me he inherited the throne so young."

"Yeah, he was pretty young for a king. Though you could barely tell, the guy was already all business even back then. I guess it was a good thing, because I messed with him all the time."

Bubblegum smiled, and said:

"Really?"

"Trust me, G-Ball would get so nervous around me! This one time I crashed one of his dinner parties…"

Marceline told the princess all the stories about the time she spent with King Gumball in his first month as ruler, and the things she'd do to make him uncomfortable.

"…I swear his face was completely red when he realized I was behind him the whole time. It even made me hungry." Marceline said while she wiped tears of laughter of her cheek. "He eventually figured out a way to rule without being distracted by my… well, distractions, so I took off. I didn't see him again until your birthday party."

Bubblegum was taking deep breaths after laughing too hard. She said, wiping her own tears:

"He liked you, you know. Even though you made him nervous and teased him, I could see that he enjoyed your company. You were a nice break from the royal duties."

Marceline fiddled with her hair, smiling fondly, remembering Gumball. She had lost several people through her long lifetime, but it never got easier. She found that the best thing to do was try to remember the good times, and try to live with the pain.

"I enjoy your company too, Marce."

She looked up, and saw Bubblegum smiling at her. There, in the moonlit room, she realized for the first time how older she seemed. It had been only a year since her last visit, but Bonnie seemed so much more mature. Maybe her father's disease forced her to grow.

Marceline looked away, and said:

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. I wish I could've said goodbye to him…"

The princess sighed, and said:

"The past is past, there's nothing we can do about it. And I think it's best that you didn't see him. The disease… It isn't pretty. I know now why he didn't let me see my mother back then. He wanted me to remember her at her best, not her worst."

"And you should do the same for him." She reached out and held the princess' hand, smiling. "He would've wanted you to remember him as he was, not as what the disease made of him."

Bubblegum smiled back at Marceline, admiring her complexion in the moonlight. They stayed there in silence for a while, before the vampire seemed to notice something and said:

"Wow, it's late, you should get some rest."

She started getting off the bed, when Bubblegum reached out and grabbed her arm. Before she could say anything, Marceline said:

"I'll be back soon."

The princess held the arm tighter, without saying anything, and the memory of the little girl holding her mother's dress came to Marceline's mind.

"I will."

Bubblegum let go, and watched her float away into the night.

She laid on the bed and held the pillow tightly, trying her best to convince herself that this time would be different, that Marceline would stay.

She needed her to.

Author's Note

Phew, this one's a little longer. I'll be using "~" to mark flashbacks or maybe other changes in perspective. "The princess' pajamas" sounds silly, but bear with me. I was cracking my head thinking of names for the royal family, when I decided Gumball and Bubblegum are royal surnames, and the ruling king, queen, prince and/or princess just uses it. I'm sorry if I conflict your headcanons (or the canon, oops, IDK), but this was easier.

Again, feedback is more than welcome. Have an interesting story seed? Send it my way, if it's something I can fit into the general thing I'm going for, I'll write it, and give you credit, of course. Thank you for reading!