AN:

Thank you to all that reviewed! I'm quite excited by the number of hits this story is getting (over 200 for the last chapter alone!) I'm going to try to publish a new chapter every two or three days at least by writing at school during my free periods.

Again, if you have an idea of where you would like this story to go, make a suggestion. I might use it if it fits the ideas in my head. Credit will be given if I do.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Adventure Time, which means I don't own Marshall Lee… Now I'm depressed. - Dawn

Marshall Lee's POV

I must admit, I wasn't all that shocked by Bubblegum's explanation about the dimensional-creation-whatever. I'm 1,000 years old, I'm not surprised very easily any more. Fionna seemed upset, so maybe that meant I should have been, too, but then again it could just be a mortal thing.

What really got me was the 'girl me.' Marceline, the Vampire Queen. I'm the Vampire King, that's my thing. I don't share my rule – or my immortality – with anyone. I am the creature of the night, the bad-boy of Aaa. I'm one of a kind. A huge part of my identity is my aloneness, my singularity. Yet here is this lady-vamp, flying in the face of my whole self-image. It didn't sit well with me.

Fionna and I were staying at Finn and Jake's place for the night. I didn't know why exactly. Bubblegum said something about dimensional rifts being fragile or collapsing or something, I wasn't really listening. I didn't mind waiting around. I had my axe-guitar, and that's all I would have missed anyway. We were supposed to be at the tree house for Fionna's sake, I guess, like she might appreciate the familiar setting. Instead it seemed to freak her out, so after the sun went down I took her up to the roof for some air.

"Marceline is a lot like you," she said after a few hours of easy conversation.

My moved lazily over my guitar, stringing together a few chords into a new melody. "What makes you say that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's just a vampire thing."

I stopped playing and looked up, catching her eye. She looked… sad? "What's a vampire thing?"

She held my gaze for a moment and then looked away. "The whole Lord of the Dead attitude."

I smirked and went back to my music. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she was so idiotically convinced that my rebelliousness was an 'attitude,' I almost couldn't help wondering how she thought I really was. I mean, it's not like I tried to be this way. Growing up the half-demon son of a Vampire King, your lifestyle choices were pretty limited.

Fionna spoke again a few minutes later, interrupting a bridge I was strumming out. "Do you think Cake is worried?"

I laughed. "Lighten up, Fionna. The kitty can survive a few hours without you. I don't know if you can though."

"Hey!" She punched my shoulder. My laugh grew dark and I jumped at her, sending us both flying off the top of the Finn and Jake HQ. She screamed as we tumbled through the air in free-fall. As we neared the ground I reclaimed control and righted us. I landed lightly on my feet with her cradled in my arms and grinned down at the soft little human girl, displaying my full array of fangs.

"Are we relaxed yet, Fionna Darling?"

She pursed her lips. "You can put me down now, Marshall." I snickered, but set her on her feet. As I did, an angry shriek rang out across the hills. Fionna gasped. "What was that?" Before I even had a chance to answer, she was heading toward the noise.

I sighed and floated lazily after her. Oh, my dear Fionna, always running off to save a world that couldn't do her the favor of keeping itself safe. Glob only knew why I followed her around. "Oh, come on, Fi, why don't you let Finn and Jake take this one. They seem, I don't know, capable-ish, and this is their world after all."

"Those guys fell asleep forever ago! I can handle this on my own if you want to go back."

A pretty girl with night-black hair materialized in front of us, snatching my little adventurer up into the air. "No," she crooned. "I don't think you can."

I hissed and exploded into bat-form before I could stop to think. "Drop her, Marceline!"

She cackled and bared her fangs, but set the human on her feet. "Ease up, Marsh. Gob, don't you have jokes in Aaa?" She smiled down at Fionna. "That was me you heard scream, by the way. I get kind of angry when little girls won't let me eat their red ribbons."

I rolled my eyes and shrank back into my normal form. This lady may have 1000 years of experience, but she was evidently not wiser for it. "You mean you actually hunt for your food? Rookie mistake, Baby. Just wear your own!" I gestured at my flannel. "Way easier."

"Way boring," she countered. "I think the girl looked better in white, anyway."

"You mean I ran over here for nothing?" Fionna demanded. She seemed put out. "Do you always alert half of Ooo when you're hungry? Or was that just to get on my nerves."

Marceline shook her head with mock scorn. "My, someone's a little touchy." She turned to me, nodding at my axe-guitar. "That's cool, but you should the bass I have at home. Ditch Blondie and come hang out with me some time, we could play together. You should be able to find me." With that she morphed into a bat and vanished.

"She likes to make an exit, doesn't she?" I muttered.

Fionna stared after her, eyes as slits. "Well she's annoying. See what I said about her being like you?"

I clutched my frozen heart, eyes wide with sarcastic surprise. "Oh, Fionna, what a cruel thing to say! I thought better of you."

She laughed and began heading back to the tree house. "Come on, the sun will be up in a while. As much as I'd like to see you in a pile of ashes, I don't think your girlfriend would be very happy if I let that happen."

"Oh! So I have a girlfriend now, huh? Well what about your new husband, the Ice King? I mean, I get why you didn't invite me to the wedding; if I were there, you might start to second guess your options. Although, I am a little hurt that you didn't even think to send me an announcement!"

That was enough to earn me a fist in the face. "Ouch! Baby, come on, I'm delicate." I rubbed my face gingerly for effect. She was glowering at me, but her blue eyes were sparkling with humor so I knew I was off the hook for now.

I couldn't explain it exactly, but, even when we fought, I always preferred Fionna's company over anyone else's. My memories of her were like the starlight in the otherwise bleak night sky that was my solitary existence; they were the points that caught my attention whenever I stopped to look at it. Maybe that was because I had spent so much time relatively alone, misunderstood, and suddenly I had someone I could rely on and trust, even if she could never hope to understand me. Or maybe it was something entirely different. Regardless of reason, I knew I would do just about anything for this girl, be that battling a vampire queen or blindly charging at a mysterious green glowing thing that had swallowed her whole.

We got back to the tree fort as the first gray lights of dawn were rising above the hills. I hissed at the horizon before closing the door behind us. We walked into the living room and sank onto the couch together. I hadn't realized until then how exhausting inter-dimensional travel could be.

I leaned I head against the wall and looked over at Fionna, whose eyes were drooping. I opened my arms invitingly, and she raised an eyebrow at me like I must be a madman, which I guess I might be. "I won't bite." I reassured her with a sly wink. Her cheeks became a very delicious-looking shade of red and she reluctantly curled up against my side. "Sleep for a few hours and then maybe we can go back home," I whispered softly. I started humming the song I had been working on before our run-in with Marceline and within a minute I could hear her gentle snoring. I pondered for a moment where her dreams could be taking her and smiled genuinely for the first time that day before drifting off. I didn't know exactly what she would dream of, but that night, I dreamed of her.

AN:

Yes, I know, it's a little sappy. I'm a huge Fiolee fan, in case you couldn't tell.

Reviews are most welcome! Also, I'm thinking about starting an AH High School story for the Adventure Time crew. Cliché, I know, but is that something you guys might want to see from me? For the sake of experimentation? Let me know in the comment section below!

-Dawn