"You were in the Fruit Kingdom!?"
"Mmhm..."
"But what were you doing there?"
"Sampling the local delicacies."
"So you were... terrorizing the populace?"
"Delicacies... Population... When you're a fruit with legs, they're technically the same thing."
"Marshall!" Shaking her head in disbelief at the vampire King, Fionna slowly sunk down onto the couch, watching him strum his guitar.
"What?" Marshall Lee flashed the human girl a toothy grin. "Brought some excitement into their fruity little lives, gave em' some juice, know what I mean? Besides..." He floated up off the floor, cradling his guitar in his arms, fingers absently plucking a few notes. "Kept me out of Prince Gumbutt's hair, didn't it?"
Noting the sudden bitter edge to Marshall's voice, Fionna gave him an uncertain smile.
"But, since when do you even pay attention to banishment? Hmm...? You're the Vampire King!" The blonde exclaimed gesturing enthusiastically with her hands.
Marshall didn't answer, he just continued playing an unfamiliar tune on his guitar in moody silence.
"Marshall Lee? Why did-?"
The guitar suddenly got very loud as Marshall started playing with a new fervour, as though he suddenly figured out something about his new song and needed to play it. Or he just needed to make sure Fionna didn't try to talk about feelings with him.
The human girl sat listening to the tune for a bit; she'd rather missed listening to Marshall's music. This particular song, however, wasn't one she recognized.
"What are you playing?" She asked, when he quieted down again. The vampires lips slowly pulled back into a smile.
"My next big hit." He said simply and Fionna felt a chill run down her spine as she recalled the last thing he'd said the last time they talked.
"Y-Your... next..." Fionna gave the vampire a sharp look. "Marshall Lee. You're not really-"
The vampire let out a high, cold laugh and sang in a mocking tone,
"He cheated; made him feel no good! I told you that he would! I knew he'd make him cry~!"
"Marshall Lee!" Fionna jumped up from the couch, lunging at the vampire, her voice cracking in sudden anger. "Don't you dare!" She snarled as he floated up out of her reach, laughing.
"At his house he found her clothes~" He added, giving a mean little snicker as he swung upside down, eyes turning red in his mirth. "Tried to play him and saaaaaaay-" He was suddenly nose to nose with Fionna, "Whose are those?"
"Marshall! No!"
Cackling, Marshall Lee floated back away from her and strummed a few rapid notes on his guitar, a decidedly evil grin splitting his face.
"I think it'll go over well, don't you?"
It had been a month, or four weeks, if you preferred things counted in weeks, and for the really picky, thirty days since Prince Gumball had visited the Fruit Kingdom. But really, who was counting? He certainly wasn't.
"Ugh, what is wrong with me?" The Prince in question muttered, "The ice cream should be next to the chocolate fountain! Not the doughnuts! Though... I suppose you could cover those with warm, melty chocolate too... Hmm..."
Holding a clipboard and absently checking things off, writing things down and crossing things out, the Candy Kingdom Prince went over the table arrangement plans for the Biennial Ball that would be taking place a few days (three, for the type that liked to keep things organized).
He was walking through the castle ball room, deciding where the tables holding what would go, where the band would be and what sorts of decorations would adorn the walls and pillars.
'This is your ball room? Rather small isn't it?'
"Peppermint, please make sure I have enough chocolate chips for the cookies. It was so embarrassing last time when there weren't nearly enough."
'I suppose you could hold shindigs of some sort here...'
"Also, I... uh..."
Trailing behind her Prince, writing her own notes and crossing things out as Gumball changed his mind was the ever dutiful Peppermint Maid and as Prince Gumball lost his train of thought, her eyes lifted from the paper and to his back, taking in the slouched shoulders and the sort of defeated puff of air from the Prince's lips.
"Do you have enough cream for the cakes, Highness?"
"No! That's right. Please, make sure to have more brought to the royal kitchens."
"Yes Prince Gumball. Perhaps you should take a break?"
"No, I..." Gumball sighed and ran a hand over his hair. "Perhaps I will. Yes, a short break." Excusing himself from his servant, the Candy Prince walked over to the balcony on the far end of the ball room and stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air.
It had been thirty days since his rather eventful venture into the Fruit Kingdom - thirty days since he'd had his heart ripped out and broken.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gumball looked up and mentally scolded himself.
He was being dramatic again and it was silly. He was over Prince Applebottom, mostly. Sort of. He was over the Fruit Prince himself - being several centuries old tended to make heartbreak a little easier to bear - but... he certainly wasn't over how Applebottom had made him feel.
All of those sly little comments here and there, telling him how he was lacking, that he wasn't good enough.
"How could I have been so stupid...?" The pink Prince murmured again, the question he'd been asking himself for weeks. "So foolish..."
It didn't help that he'd been warned beforehand of what would happen, and instead of heeding said warning, he'd donned rose coloured glasses and lashed out, condemning the words as lies. He hadn't listened then and he hadn't really listened to the things Prince Applebottom had been saying about his Kingdom and him.
In short, he'd been a lovesick fool.
'Nothing at all like the grand events I host.'
Turning away from the breathtaking sight of the Candy Kingdom at twilight, Prince Gumball left the balcony and want back inside to finish working on the preparations for the ball.
The fizzy punch was excellent. The chocolate covered doughnuts were a dream and no one seemed to notice that the strawberry filling was more of a puree than it was a jam.
No one but Fionna, that is. She giggled at the thoroughly blended fruit in her pastry, enjoying it with a relish. Gumball's biennial ball was in full swing. The band was playing beautiful music and the guests, dressed in their very best, were dancing, singing, talking and eating. As always, the Candy Kingdom biennial ball was a rousing success.
But the human girl was nervous. There was one guest that had yet to show up, and for once, she was secretly hoping he wouldn't.
Fionna knew Marshall Lee considered himself a villain and that he was in actuality the Prince of Nightosphere, which made being evil pretty much second nature to him, but... She never really, fully, honestly believed him to a evil, vindictive sort of person.
The Vampire King played jokes – sometimes mean ones – but he was at heart, despite what he said, a nice guy, right? After hearing those few lines mockingly sung in his living room a few days prior, Fionna wasn't sure anymore. If Marshall were to sing so crudely about what transpired between Applebottom and Gumball, it would be more than mean. It'd be downright cruel and the end of their friendship.
Dodging a few requests to dance, Fionna made her way over the Candy Kingdom Prince, sliding up to his side and looping her arm through his.
"Fionna!" The Prince greeted her with a warm smile. He was dressed in his usual pink – the lavender had taken a back seat in the last month, and he looked the perfect prince. "You look wonderful!"
"Great party, Gumball! I like the ice cream and doughnuts being next to the chocolate." The two shared a laugh, agreeing that it had been one of Gumball's more genius ideas. "You're enjoying everything too right?" The blonde asked, concern lacing her voice.
"Yes Fionna, never fear." The Prince smiled at her, leading her with him as he greeted people. "Except... People keep asking me about the... the, uh..."
"Prince Gumball! Wherever is that nice fellow who was with you at the last party?"
"Ah! He uh... Couldn't make this evening I'm afraid."
Hedging around the question and the curious guest, Gumball quickly drew Fionna away.
"They keep asking me that."
"Oh Gummy..."
Together they walked around the ball room, greeting people and making small talk, and eventually, Fionna began to think that Marshall simply wasn't going to show up.
As always, the Vampire King liked to prove her wrong.
The band was in the middle of a song when they came to a startled halt.
"Thanks guys, I'll take it from here."
The hair on the back of Fionna's neck stood up as she and Gumball spun around to see Marshall reclining in the air in front of the band stand, guitar in hand and sultry smile on his face.
"Marshall Lee is gonna sing a song!" The Lumpy Space Prince yelled, prompting cheers and screams of adoration from many of the guests. The Vampire King's voice was something close to famous in the land of Aaa.
"Marshall Lee!" Fionna shouted, running towards the stage. The dark boy in question merely winked at her and strummed his fingers on his guitar, the sound slightly different from what she'd heard back in his house. "Don't!" Fionna warned, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
As per usual, Marshall ignored her command and began to sing.
"I know how you feel inside... You're in love annnnd so am I~" He gave a soft laugh at the dreamy sighs that echoed through the ball room, floating up a little higher, out of Fionna's reach. "But you're with some other guy... I should be," The vampire looked towards the ceiling. "The one by your side!"
Fionna stopped trying climb the nearby pillar (to take him out) and looked at the vampire in confusion.
Marshall was suddenly floating several feet in front of Gumball, the Prince looking stunned.
"He cheated! Made you feel no good! I told you that he would! I knew he'd make you cry~"
"Mar-Marshall, wha...?" Prince Gumball blinked, taking a nervous step back as Marshall floated closer.
"You're broken... let me make it better~! Glue you back together! Just give me a try!" Marshall's voice washed over the mesmerized crowd. Fionna dropped from the pillar, staring at the Vampire in amazement.
"I-I..." Prince Gumball was completely floored as everyone around them started cheering and shouting. Marshall floated a few feet about his head, leaning back and singing softly.
"At his house you... Found her clothes. Tried to play you and saaaay, whose are those?" He turned over and looked down at Gumball. "He's so stupid~ Here's how I know! What kinda genius would let you goooo?"
He was down on the floor, one hand grabbing onto Gumball's as he continued serenading the room.
"He's conceited! Only 'bout himself! He loves nobody else! He can't even fly!" Marshall took Gumball's other hand and floated slightly off the floor, hovering just over the Prince's head as he started to rap.
"It's gonna take time to heal that hole, exactly how long, I don't know! But you got pain and I know a remedy!"The vampire grinned and drew his face close to Gumball's. "You gotta start kickin' it with someone like me!" He released the Candy Prince's hands and did a slow, backwards flip through the air, floating away from him. "Now you're over-analyzing all of your thoughts, start to thinkin' it's all your fault! But Gummy boy don't you go and blame yourself... He's just a douchebag! He's just a douchebag!"
Grasping his guitar in his hands once more, the vampire flung his head back, "Ooohhhhh! I was hopin~ You'd let me replace him... I would straight erase him! Right out of your mi~ind!" Marshall floated down in front of Prince Gumball again, smiling through his song at the blush on both his own and the Prince's face. "Pretty pretty please!" He pleaded in song, "Don't you ever ever feel! Like you're less than, fucking perfect! If you get with me! I won't ever make you feel ~ Any less than, fucking perfect! You'll see..."
He was close enough for Gumball to reach out and touch and as the stunned Prince moved to do just that, Marshall Lee vanished.