The princess' mind was swept away by a wave of awareness. All her thoughts about her research, the disease, went away, replaced by the remembrance of the letter that now laid unopened at one of the tables in her lab.

Marceline was right before her, carelessly floating upside down as she was the last time they met in her room, holding a strawberry that was partially drained of its color. Marceline, her old friend, the person with whom she could be herself, with whom she didn't need to be the princess, or anything else. The person who had abandoned her for a week.

For days she suffered, wondering when she'd come back, if she would come back. And then, when she finally managed to ignore her absence, by diving into her research, there was the letter, and she started spiraling down. Then the breakthrough happened, and she was the happiest she had been in a while, just to be confronted by her again.

It was like every time she got her emotions under control, that she set a new goal to keep her mind occupied, Marceline swooped in and ruined everything, making her feel sad and insecure.

The entire thought process happened in a few seconds of silence, that was broken when Marceline spoke:

"Hey, what's with the face? Don't I get a hug?"

She smiled playfully while she finished draining the red from the strawberry, dropping it in a bowl on the ground. She opened her arms and shifted her position, floating closer. When she noticed Bubblegum didn't respond, her expression changed to confusion, and she "stepped back", so to speak.

"What's wrong?" She said, in a truly innocent voice.

There was turmoil inside the princess. In the past few seconds, her thought process continued, and another part of her reminded her of all the times Marceline was there for her when nobody could. How she had comforted her after accidentally making her remember her father. But still, she had said she'd be back soon, and then left...

The princess bowed her head and the second silence was broken by the thud of the research log hitting the ground as she dropped it. The vampire came a little closer, and said:

"Bonnie, talk to me."

"Don't call me Bonnie!"

Her head was up, her eyes had tears, and her voice came out louder than intended. She tried to stare Marceline in the eyes, but the tears blurred her vision.

"How dare you show up after a week, and act like nothing's wrong? You said you'd be back soon! I waited for you! Every night, I-"

Her sentence was cut halfway through when she started sobbing. Marceline looked at her, astonished at first, and then worried. She reached for her shoulder, saying her name, but Bubblegum took a step back, trying to control herself so she could speak. One of her hands was clutching the side of her dress, a habit she thought she had lost a long time before.

"I thought- I-" she took a deep breath, letting out the rest of the sentence in a rush before giving in "I thought you'd be there for me!"

She started crying, with her free hand over her face. She was shaking as well, both in sadness and frustration, from all the anger she felt, and was unable to express.

She stood there, letting the emotion flow uncontrollably, her anger with Marceline mixed with the emptiness she felt from having lost her father, along with the old, well-known sadness of her mother's death. Then, she heard it. At first she couldn't recognize it over the noise she was making, but soon it was clear. It was a song, and one she knew very well.

She slowly stopped crying, opening her eyes to see Marceline floating by the bed, watching her guitar as her fingers fiddled with the chords, filling the air the known melody.

The princess stared, her hand gradually letting go of the side of her dress, as Marceline played the lullaby, her lullaby, without looking up.

When it was done, the vampire lifted her head, and her apologetic eyes met the princess', which were filled with disbelief and surprise. Bubblegum stood there, stunned, her mouth slightly open, without making a sound. Marceline spoke:

"It was the only thing I could think of. Just like when you were a kid." She risked a little smile, still unsure of the reaction she'd get.

Bubblegum slowly sat down, gathering her thoughts. All she could say, after a moment, was:

"I can't believe you still remember it."

Marceline let out a little laugh, saying:

"I did write it, you know."

The princess sat there, taking deep breaths to recover from the crying. She slowly dried her tears on her sleeve and opened her mouth to say something, but didn't.

After it was clear she wouldn't talk, Marceline did:

"Bon—Um, Bubblegum, I—"

"You can call me Bonnie", the princess interrupted, her voice almost inaudible.

Marceline smiled, and went on:

"Bonnie, I'm sorry that you felt like I left you, it's just…" She stopped, carefully picking her words. "It's just that a week isn't that long for me. I've been around for a long time, and I just feel things different than you do. I forget how it's like for… for mortals."

She let out a sigh after the last word. She hated it, for it reminded her of the single thing that pained her the most, the one thought that she tried to keep away: all the people she cared for would die, eventually.

That was the reason she traveled so much, the reason she tried to be intimidating and avoided getting too close.

Sure, she had met a few immortals along the way, but they always proved to be disappointments or just convenience friends. There was her dad, but that was a whole other issue.

And so, despite knowing it would only make her suffer, she'd let herself befriend mortals, share their joy and sadness, only to have to say goodbye. In the end, it was always only sad, lonely Marceline, drifting from place to place, telling herself the next time would be different.

Bubblegum's voice snapped her out of her thoughts:

"A week is a long time for me, Marce." She said the childhood nickname without realizing it. "I needed you, and when you said you'd be back soon, I thought…" She left the sentence unfinished, still looking down at the carpeting of her room.

She heard the sound of the guitar being placed on the bed, and Marceline spoke:

"I know that now, and I'm sorry, I should've known, I just…" She struggled to find the right words. "I just didn't."

There was a pause; a silence filled with meaning.

"But I'll remember now, Bonnie." Marceline spoke again. "I'll be here for you…" Another pause. "If you still want me, that is."

There was another, longer pause, before Bubblegum answered, still not looking up:

"I just don't know. You come here, and you make me feel bad… But then you make it better, just to leave and make things worse. I don't know if it's worth it."

There was a moment of hesitation before Bubblegum heard Marceline floating to where she was sitting, stopping just before reaching her.

She sat in front of her, actually on the ground, and placed a hand on her arm, her cold fingers touching the sleeve, wet from the tears.

"Things will be different now. I'll be here for you, as long as you need me. I won't leave you, Bonnie."

She put emphasis on the last sentence, and when Bubblegum lifted her head to have her eyes meet Marceline's, she knew it to be true.

Author's Note

Oh the irony. I said I might post it before friday, and I almost don't get it out on time. I'll be sure to avoid making deadline promises from now on. Half of this chapter was written last night, waiting for The Dark Knight Rises screening to start. It's been a busy week, and I'm off to the beach for the weekend. Yeah, not a great author's note. Oh! Bubblegum's lullaby is a real song, and for a minute I pondered not telling you which one it was, but I'm not THAT mean: it's Safe and Sound, by Taylor Swift, for The Hunger Games trilogy. Even if you don't care for Taylor or THG, it's worth a listen, it's quite a beautiful song.

I'll warn you beforehand that I'm not sure if there will be a new chapter next week, so yeah, don't kill me (if you do that you won't get any new chapters ever). Thank you for reading, tell your friends if you liked it, tell your enemies if you didn't! If you're into great movies, watch Dark Knight Rises, and remember to get out of the house! (Or don't, who am I to tell you what to do).