A/N: Sorry I missed uploading a chapter in between 5 and 6! So chapter 6 is new, go check it out! Sorry, I bet it was a really confusing jump in between them :P Can't believe I made a stupid mistake like that.
The night was blurs and noise. It was a short walk to Marceline's club of choosing, but the Princess stretched it out with furious pondering. They hardly talked, only uttering quaint comments when the beastly patrons would cause a stir nearby. The silence was nice, they found. There was no rigidity dragging itself between them, only a sweet electricity that compelled them deeper into the night. Bubblegum felt that spontaneity, and gave up her algorithmic thought process for it. She brushed her hair back to see Marceline looking over, who reared her head away awkwardly and swung her arms out to frame the approaching building.
"Hey! This is it!" She said, fumbling slightly in the air.
Bubblegum chuckled and followed closely as they entered two great red doors, stepping into the bowels of the raging club. With a flash of a hand, a red rope was lifted and the two were escorted down into a deep trench of velvety plush. Marceline chose a table in the middle near a break of stairs that led down into the jumbled noise of the dance floor. Another motion of her hand sent off their escort in the direction of the bar. Bubblegum raised her eyebrows and settled back into the plush, flicking a smile to the vampire.
"This is my favorite band." Marceline motioned with her head to the center of the horrific noise in the club. "The Porcelain Saints."
"Hm. Charming name." The princess drawled, frowning slightly.
"Sinners rock the best, Princess." Marceline smirked, taking two drinks from the returning escort.
The princess gently eyeballed the drinks: two red cocktails spotted with bundles of emulsifying liquids, the rims drifting off red vapor in the lights of the club. Marceline extended a hand with one of the brewing mixes, and Bubblegum trembled a little bit at the challenge. She was not a drinker in the least- there was a glass of wine, months ago after a long day in the lab… Screw it. She snatched it after the slight hesitation and tested it with a light sip. A refreshing mist of sensation tickled her cheeks and it burned in the sweetest way.
"This is excellent! The pairfectory of the dark jambowinga and sweet strawberry extract is spot on. What's it called?" She asked, holding the glass loftily in front of her face.
"Marcy's mix." Marceline said, smiling. She took a deep swig, draining it, then motioned for another.
"So that's what you do? You're a bartender?" The Princess asked, sipping.
"No way! Uh- I do a lot of stuff… But I'm mostly a musician." Marceline said, smoothing back out behind her cocktail.
Ugh, you're so obvious. Marceline cursed herself inside, sipping at the new cocktail, hoping it would iron out her nerves.
"Oh, so you're an artist?" Bubblegum said, looking keen.
"Yeah? What of it?" Marceline countered, overly snarky.
"Oh. Just curious…" The princess looked away towards the dance floor.
Marceline imagined kicking herself in the crotch.
Stop acting like a dumbass, she repeated in her head. There was a few beats of silence before Marceline leaned back in with a new plan of action.
"Everything in here is covered in velvet… Kinda kinky, huh?" Marceline sneered.
"Marceline! That's so distasteful!" The Princess scoffed, but after a pause her flimsy disgust melted into a smile.
They laughed together then, in a playful way. It was a moment that told the princess much about herself. She laughed at her obvious act, playing the haughty doll for the joke, and it felt good to play this role. But she was confused by the way the vampire had been shifting in and out of character all night. Sometimes she was that familiarly abrasive, confident rebel, but in other moments she was moody and contemplative, and deathly serious. There were so many layers to her…
The best equations are those yet unsolved.
Marceline continued her poking after the laugh, confidence restored,
"Don't tell me the pretty little princess is back? That would make tonight no fun. Where is that fire from the meeting?" She took a slow sip from her cocktail, waiting for the reply.
"Hm. We must've switched roles. Where was the snarky loudmouth vamp girl? I didn't know you could stand not hearing your own voice for more than five seconds." The Princess said devilishly.
In a split second, Bubblegum caught a pang of hurt that flashed in Marceline's face just before a sharp grin slammed over it, like high tide on sandy footprints. The princess then saw she held a longer sword then Marceline, if Marceline even held one here, and it was poking her hard. How odd, Bubblegum thought, that Marceline seemed so affected by the princess' insults- it was a small victory Bubblegum was not enjoying as much as she had thought she would. She wondered if she should slow down, but hesitated on being too reflective, fearing losing her wit and the ground she'd gained. She scrambled to clear this weird pause,
"What are you thinking about?" She said, looking the way Marceline had turned her head.
Marceline thought on this half-moment before her response; she was fed up with her emotion and tired of the mocking game they had been playing for hours. She had to act on this feeling, she needed to know if it was returned. It was time for another leap. She dipped her head slightly and slanted her eyes over to the princess with a smirk. The princess shyly broke a little smile when Marceline kept firm eye contact.
"…I was wondering about the likelihood of you ever having danced before." Marceline said.
"ah, hah…" Bubblegum's cheeks turned a red even deeper than the ambient light of the club.
"Of course! Infrequently, though." She regained her composure, flicking her chin back towards the vampire.
Marceline grinned. "It doesn't count if you were alone, you know."
Bubblegum frowned, the only memories she could recall of her dancing most definitely occurred alone, in her private chambers, with the entire floor that held her room vacated under strict orders. Her heart began to race now, she knew what Marceline was insinuating. She scraped for courage in her already exhausted mind and boldly reconnected eyes with the vampire.
Marceline began, "Do you wa-"
"Yes. Let's do it." Bubblegum said firmly, and shot up from her seat.
"Ah hah." Marceline laughed as she titled up to stand next to her.
Carefully, she walked the princess down the stairs and into the sea of people, glancing back with a smirk to see Bubblegum fighting to look calm among the other dancers.
Out in the hectic mess of the dance floor, Marceline could revel in confidence. The sheer power of the jumbling music etched away her tension and she swung her hips wide, laughing. Bubblegum wobbled, trying to find a way to move her body gracefully.
I should've drank more of that mix. She quietly glanced back to the table, missing the safety of the red plush couch. The princess knew Marceline had done a smart thing by throwing her out into this crazy mess.
Oh, that old calculation… She shook her head and concentrated on dancing, she couldn't lose her cool after all she had done. The blasting music struck her harshly, but much like the cocktail it slapped yet soothed. Once she started to move with it she felt pulled into a lofty joy. The vampire was thrashing about, throwing looks at Bubblegum every now and then to laugh. It wasn't planned, but as they both fell into the groove of the music they also started falling into each other.
Marceline's slamming body first felt like spitting fire, but it slowly melted into a sweet, lulling caress. Bubblegum jumped in her skin and tried to twist away, but found her arms useless. The vampire wrapped her long, black leather arms over Bubblegum's shoulders, skimming her fingers through the soft, pink hair. A sensation flittered through the princess. She felt like the melting wax of a candle. A revelation wicked in her brain and she knew then what all the fuss had been for, all those confusing thoughts and non-thoughts. Out of the two ladies, neither had come for a contest- despite all the words. Though unknowingly at times, both had come for a dance: the dance that they now rolled in, limbs twining around each other. Words had left them now, they had no need. Bubblegum gripped Marceline's sides: I'm stupid, I didn't realize!
Marceline wrapped an arm around the small of her back and pulled her deep into her shining leather: it's fine.
Bubblegum slid her head up in the tight grip and they locked eyes. Her right hand gripped onto the black leather on Marceline's back, she yanked on the jacket.
The vampire, in unflagging emotion, cupped the blushing princess' face in a pale hand. The tiniest smile was on Marceline's face, and a thousand words could be read from it.
Another pulse of music sent them careening about, melting together.