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Description
Marceline stood at the edge of the meadow, beneath the shade of the trees, cradling her axe bass and strumming gently on the strings. Nowadays, it was becoming harder for her to write songs about her feelings. Mostly, it was because she had resolved a lot of her emotional issues simply by making friends with Finn and Jake, but also because of another crucial, sometimes rather upsetting reason—she was in love. It was cheesy, yes, but she found herself so entirely in love that she just couldn't describe it, even if she sat down and thought about it. Thinking about it just confused her even more; however, it was who she was in love with that confused her the most.

"Marceline!"

The voice sent shivers down her already chilled spine. She spun around, red eyes searching until they fell upon the voice's owner—Bonnibel Bubblegum. The candy princess was standing out in the middle of a meadow, looking at her, waving at her. "Marceline!" she called, beckoning her over. She didn't say much else but her name, but Marceline could tell that's what she wanted. She gazed at the princess standing so far away from her. Just looking at her made her breathless, and desperately she wanted to go over to her—but she couldn't—the sun prevented her from reaching her candy princess.

"I can't come over, Bonni!" she called to the girl, "I'll get burned!" She saw a smile appear on Bonnibel's face, and the girl waved her over once more. Marceline's throat felt tight as she pondered it over. She looked up at the sky, saw the sun floating in a blue, cloudless sky, then back down to Bonnibel, who looked back, still smiling and waving.

Something isn't right, she thought. Reluctantly, she stuck her hand out into the sunlight, to test it, and fully expected to be burned—but no, it didn't happen. She was perfectly fine. Eyes wide, she looked at her sunbathed hand, turning it over several times. A small, incredulous laugh escaped her.

"Marceline!"

Marceline's gaze snapped back to the princess standing in the meadow. She was still waiting for her. Marceline smiled and slowly eased the rest of herself into the sunlight, overly cautious despite knowing that she would be okay.

When her entire being was beneath the suns bright rays, and no part of her was burning, Marceline took a brief moment to appreciate the warmth before she rushed over to the waiting candy princess.

"Bonni!" she said, excited. Not really thinking, she took the princess' hands in her own and entwined their fingers. "Bonni, look, I can go into sunlight now! Isn't that great? Glob, I haven't been out in the sun without getting hurt in centuries, I thought—"

"I love you, Marceline."

Her face fell instantly. What did she just hear? A familiar fluttering sensation started up in her gut. She had come to know this as the gut-butterflies, and they would always come up whenever she was around the candy princess. With this sudden confession, the gut-butterflies were having a massive shit-fit.

Bonnibel released the vampire's hands and embraced her, pressing her face into Marceline's chest. A smile curled Marceline's lips and she hugged the girl back, pressing her face into her hair. She said, quietly, "I love you too, Bonni. More than you know," She kissed Bonnibel's head lovingly, feeling more than happy.

Just as quietly, Bonnibel responded, "Please don't go,"

Confused, Marceline tried to pull away but couldn't, "What? What did you say?" The princess held her tight, her face practically buried in Marceline's chest and she couldn't see her face.

Her voice came again, muffled, "Don't leave again."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, Bonni. I promise!" The vampire's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the princess continued to beg her not to leave. A deep rumble echoed in the distance, sounding much like thunder. Marceline hugged her tighter, "Bonni, it's okay. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." She told her once more, but to no avail.

…something isn't right…

"Please don't leave, Marci…" Bonnibel begged, "Please…I love you."

"I love you too, Bonnibel, but would you stop? You're freaking me out." She was about to say something else, but her voice was drowned out by a loud crash, and suddenly her vision was flooded with light. Then, she felt nothing.

0-0-0

When Marceline woke, she was laying face down on Finn and Jake's couch, the echo of a whimpering cry invading her waking thoughts. It was dark; rain was pelting harshly against the windows and the vampire realized that she had been dreaming. The storm must have brought her out of it. Groaning, she lifted her head, resting her chin on an open palm. It was certainly one of the stranger dreams she'd ever had, but she couldn't deny the truth behind it; nor could she admit it.

She glanced around the room. Everyone from the movie club was present, all of them sleeping at different parts of the room. Yawning and stretching, she sat up and rubbed her face lightly. It was because of the storm that everyone was still here; the rain was coming down so hard that it was too dangerous for anyone one to leave—everyone but Marceline, but she stayed anyway.

Feeling a gnawing hunger in her gut, she rose from the couch and floated over to the icebox on the other side of the room, hoping that there would be something red stashed in there. Digging down deep, Marceline eventually pulled out a single tomato. She didn't like them; actually, she didn't like the shade of red they held. It didn't taste right to her, but since it was the only red thing there, she really couldn't complain.

As she drained the fruit (vegetable?) of its color, a small whimper reached her highly sensitive ears. She turned around, eyes glancing over all the other girls in the room. Lady Rainicorn was curled up near the fireplace, with Tree Trunks placed snuggly in the direct center of her spiraled form. LSP was beneath the couch, mumbling something angry or whatever; Marceline really didn't care for the lumpy princess' ideals or her problems for that matter. Beemo was sitting upright on the table, but it was clear that he was asleep. At last, there was Bonnibel, or Bubblegum as she liked to be called nowadays, curled up in a blanket in the middle of the room. Everyone looked content and happy as they slept, and it appeared that no one had made the sound that Marceline thought she heard. Shrugging, she tossed the now-grey tomato aside and floated back to the couch and lied back down.

Bright flashes followed by loud claps of thunder entertained her as she tried in vain to fall back asleep. Hunger still gnawed at her— she really wished she had brought something of her own to eat—and she really wasn't all that tired anyway; the dream had made sure of that. Rolling over onto her side, she fixed her gaze on Bubblegum and felt the gut-butterflies again. The girl lay very still, but her body looked tense, and it almost looked as if she was trembling, probably due to the tree house being so cold at night. Bubblegum stirred, curling further into herself, and lay still once more.

Marceline watched her for a few more minutes before turning over and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. She was half asleep when she heard a soft voice whisper, "…Marceline," It was very quiet, but sounded urgent. In an instant, Marceline sat up and looked directly at Bubblegum, who was still curled up and facing away from her.

"Hey," Marceline whispered, "Bonni, did you say something?"

No answer. The princess was talking in her sleep.

"Dreaming about me, huh?" Marceline grinned hugely, floating over to where Bubblegum lay, "So, Bonnibel, you having naughty dreams about me? That's funny, 'cause I was just…" Moving as silently as one who floated could (ninja status), Marceline maneuvered herself so that she could look at Bubblegum's face. The grin vanished instantly when she saw the sleeping girl's face contorted in fear, and tears streaming heavily down her cheeks. Worry struck her like a sack of bricks. "Hey…there are no naughty dreams going on here. Bonni?"

A small whine escaped the younger girl as Marceline attempted to wake her. She shook her shoulder gently, speaking firmly but quietly as to not wake the other sleeping members of the music club. More words escaped from the Princess. "Don't…please, don't…"

"Bonni! Bonnibel, wake up!" Marceline hissed, giving Bubblegum's shoulder a firm jerk. The girl's eyes snapped open and the first thing they saw was Marceline leaning over her. For a long moment, she looked at her, as if stunned by her presence. Then Bubblegum lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the vampire in a fierce embrace and sobbing quietly into the taller girl's neck. Marceline was honestly startled by the abruptness of the action. She got over it quickly.

"Woah, hey Bonni, calm down. It's okay, it was just a nightmare. It's okay."

Bubblegum mumbled something inaudible into her neck, sobbing softly, and her embrace tightened. Marceline held her, moving her hand up and down the smaller girl's back in a circular, calming motion. She felt tears running down her neck and soaking her shirt, and she tried to ignore the pain she felt at seeing Bubblegum this way.

Still rubbing her back, Marceline asked quietly, "What did you dream about?"

Bubblegum could only shake her head at the question. A clear enough response to say that she didn't want to talk about it, probably never wanted to talk about it. Was it really that bad? Marceline sighed. She glanced around at the room's other occupants. They were all still sleeping, all still unaware that anyone was awake at this hour. An idea sprang into her mind, and her fingers clutched tightly at Bubblegum's shirt.

A flash. Thunder rumbled.

Marceline pulled the younger girl into her lap and floated slowly out of the room. Bubblegum still held firmly onto her with her face in the girl's neck; if she noticed that they were airborne, she didn't show it. Marceline took them all the way up into Finn and Jake's attic, where she sat down. Yes, sat down.

"All right," she said, never letting go of the candy princess, "We're alone. No one can hear you talk. Now, what did you dream about," More of a demand that a real question, but the concern was still there. Obviously, the dream had been about Marceline. Exactly what about Marceline, she didn't know, but it had clearly not been good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here.

It took a minute, maybe two. The sobs racking Princess Bubblegum's body eventually died down to a small sniffle. Finally, she pulled away from Marceline, but never allowed their eyes to meet. She gripped Marceline's shoulders tight, still calming herself down.

When she was finally able to speak, the eventual reply was not what Marceline had hoped for, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

The vampire's brow furrowed in frustration, and a deep frown curled her lips. Her eyes locked firmly on the candy princess' face.

"That's bullshit, Bonni. I heard you talking in your sleep—I heard you say my name."

Startled, Bubblegum looked up at her, "I did? What did I say?" It wasn't very dark, but Marceline couldn't see the blush on Bubblegum's cheeks.

"Pfft, I dunno! You were begging me not to do something. What happened?" Her words seemed harsh, but the tone of her voice said otherwise, as did the look in her eyes. She repeated, "What happened?"

"It's none of your business, Marceline!" She shoved herself away from the vampire queen, sliding off her lap and landing on the floor with a small 'thump'. Marceline watched grudgingly as the candy girl pressed herself against the wall, and hugged her knees against her chest. And she stayed like that, never looking up at Marceline.

The vampire sighed and floated over to sit next to the distraught candy princess. For a while they sat together, neither girl speaking. Outside, the rain continued to fall, saving them from the deafening silence that came with the wordlessness. Through the roar of the storm, Marceline could still hear small sobs coming from the girl next to her.

"It was more than just a nightmare." Bubblegum said, abruptly. Marceline gave her a sidelong glance. "It was something that actually happened to me before, and sometimes I just dream about it happening again, and sometimes I just get scared. All right?"

"So it's a reoccurring dream or something?"

"Yes. It-it is. I've been having the same dream for a few years now. It's different every time, but it's the same dream."

Bubblegum was silent after that, and Marceline figured that that was as much of an explanation as she was going to get. That, coupled with what she had said in her sleep, allowed Marceline to piece a few things together.

She had a nightmare about me. It must have been awful. I hope I didn't do anything…

Suddenly, Marceline was scared. Had she done something in the dream to make Bubblegum frightened of her? The thought was cast aside almost immediately when she remembered how desperately the candy princess had held onto her earlier—someone who was scared of her wouldn't do that. She breathed a sigh of relief as the thought passed.

Another flash, and the clap of thunder came closer and louder than before. Marceline looked over at Bubblegum, and her lovely dark pink eyes were locked on her. Their eyes locked and remained that way for what seemed like eternity, and Marceline couldn't stop the gut-butterflies creating an almighty cluster-fuck in her stomach. At last, Bubblegum looked away.

"Marceline?" she asked sheepishly, a hint of red staining her already pink cheeks.

"Yeah?" the vampire replied quietly, "What is it?"

"Have…have you ever…been in love?"

Marceline frowned a bit at the question, but this time out of confusion rather than frustration. What a sudden change in subject! Not only that, but she didn't exactly know how to answer the question. She looked at the candy girl, and felt the gut-butterflies once more. She reasoned that the subject-change was because Bubblegum wanted to get her mind off of the nightmare, but it didn't stop the splurge of thoughts that sprang into her head—

This might be the time.

I could tell her.

What if she ends up hating me?

No, I can't tell her.

No, I have to tell her.

But, I just can't…

Glib-globit, these damn gut-butterflies!

—"Y-yeah, I, uh, I've been in love before." She managed to say.

"Do you mind if I ask who it was?"

"I'm sorry, Bonni, but that's none of your business." Marceline couldn't help but chuckle at the little joke, but when she looked back at Bubblegum and saw the look on her face, the urge to laugh died quickly. "Well, uh…it's kind of a sore subject for me, okay?"

"How so?"

"I just…ugh, because it's sort of one-sided. They don't return my feelings, and it hurts like a bitch. You wouldn't understand."

"You still love the person?"

Marceline sighed, "Yes, I do." She scratched lightly at her chest, which was quickly becoming more and more constricted as the conversation went on. Quietly, she added, "I love her so much," and hoped that the sound of the rain would be enough to drown it out.

No. Of course, it wasn't. "Her? You love a woman?"

Suddenly, she was angry, "Yeah. I do. I like women, what is that a crime?"

Bubblegum winced a bit at the tone of her voice. "No…of course it isn't, it just surprised me. I didn't think you'd like…" she trailed off. Marceline didn't say anything. Bubblegum drummed her fingers on her knees nervously, "Did you ever try to tell her?"

"Yeah," she said, "Once."

"How?"

"I tried to sing her a song. But, ah, I was angry at the time and all the words were coming out wrong, and I got scared towards the end and I chickened out. To cover it up, I got angry with her, and I yelled at her."

"You got angry and yelled at her?" Bubblegum seemed disapproving of that.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I feel awful about it. But we were fighting that day and I was already mad to begin with…"

"That's no excuse."

"I know! I know, it's not, but it's the only honest one I've got. It wasn't even a love song anyway, I was angry when I was singing it!" Marceline took a breath to compose herself, glancing more than once at Bubblegum, "I just…I love her so much that…that it gets me all tongue tied and I can't think of any songs that describe how I feel. It got really frustrating."

Bubblegum sat in stunned silence, and Marceline could almost hear her thoughts: Marceline, so lovesick that she can't write songs? That's ridiculous! It surprised her too at the time, but now she was more than used to it. But it was still frustrating as hell.

"I love her so much...so much that it hurts sometimes. It hurts that I can't tell her that I love her."

Bubblegum stared, wide eyed, at the vampire. But then she looked away, suddenly finding something interesting about the wall straight across from her. "I'm sorry…that you can't tell this girl how you feel." There was a long pause after that, and they spent that time in silence. Eventually, Marceline got tired of that silence and decided to continue a conversation from earlier.

"Ok, now's it your turn," she said, "Why don't you tell me what your dream was about?"

Bubblegum tensed up right away. She pulled her knees closer, hugging her legs tighter as she attempted to find a way to avoid the question. She glanced over at Marceline, who was looking at her expectantly. "Uhm…I don't know…I don't think I can—"

"Bullshit, Princess. I just poured my heart and soul out to you. I just told you that I'm a dyke. I think I deserve to know about some dream that you had."

Bubblegum swallowed audibly, trying to force down the lump in her throat.

"I know it's about me. Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you somehow in your dream?" She saw the other girl shake her head, "Then what? What happened?

Princess Bubblegum seemed very distressed. She refused to look at Marceline, and instead stared in the exact opposite direction of the Vampire Queen. She let out a sigh of defeat.

"You left."

"What?"

"You left, Marceline." She turned to face the vampire, and tears once again stained her cheeks. "When you first disappeared, I was so afraid you wouldn't come back that I had nightmares about it almost every night, and when you came back, I was so angry with you that-that I couldn't tell you how happy I was to see you again. Since then, I started having nightmares that you left, or that you were killed, or pulled into the Night-o-Sphere, or something happened and I wasn't able to see you again. You were just…gone, and I was left alone again."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. She cared that much? Really? Marceline looked at her, amazed, and felt a small surge of joy flow through her. Then she realized that the Princess was crying, and quickly pulled her into a comforting embrace.

Bubblegum hugged her back, burying her face in the taller girl's neck just as before. Marceline told her softly that everything would be okay as she rubbed the girl's back comfortingly; just as before.

When she managed to compose herself, Bubblegum pushed herself away, and looked Marceline in the eye. When she spoke, her words seemed strained, almost shy, as if she had to fight to make her tongue usher out every single word. "I need to ask you something,"

"Yeah? What?"

"That girl, the one you sang the song to?"

Ugh, this again. Did she honestly hate talking about nightmares that much?

"What if…" a nervous pause, "What if the girl felt the same? What would you do?"

Marceline felt her mouth go dry. She didn't know what to say, and having the girl in question sitting in her arms wasn't exactly helping. And she was staring at her, too, with those gorgeous eyes of hers. Finally, she was able to find her voice, "Uuum…I…I don't really know what I'd do, actually. I guess I'd be overwhelmed with joy because…because I didn't expect her to return my feelings. I'd…I would hold her close and, I dunno, I'd kiss her I guess," She ducked her head, and her voice went lower. "I…don't think I'd be able to stop kissing her." Tears sprung to her eyes, and she could barely hold them back, "But I—it's never gonna happen."

"Why not?" There was genuine sadness in Bubblegum's voice, almost as if it hurt to hear Marceline say that, "Why wouldn't it ever happen?"

"Because the odds are kind of stacked against me. I mean, honestly, what are the odds of her actually loving me back? Not very good, I'll tell you that."

Bubblegum opened her mouth to say something, to argue, to comfort, or say something at least, but no words came out. Her mouth close and, with a small sight of defeat, she hugged Marceline tight, "I'm sure it'll turn out fine,"

"Hmph. Yeah, sure. If you say so,"

They were silent after that. The room suddenly flashed bright as the lightning returned, and thunder came crashing after. Rain began to thrash the roof just above them.

"Marceline,"

"What?"

"The song that you sang for the girl, was that during the incident with the Door Lord?"

"…y-yeah…it was."

And then it happened. Marceline wasn't sure what for a brief moment, but then she realized—Bubblegum was kissing her. It felt good, and as her chest filled with overwhelming joy, she kissed her back with as much passion and earnest as the princess was. She felt Bubblegum's hand curl around the back of her neck and pull her closer, a small moan escaping from the pink girl's throat, and the kiss continued for what seemed like an eternity before Marceline broke away.

"You said you wouldn't stop," Bubblegum panted, and her voice was laced with agitation at the kiss being broken before she wanted—which was never.

Marceline chuckled, "Well, I've gotta let you breathe, Princess. I don't want you passing out during our first kiss. We'll save that for later." She rubbed the girl's back gently, a large smile dominating her face. For the first time in a thousand years, her heart felt alive once more, and she felt like screaming, but contained herself. There were still people slumbering in the lower levels of the tree house. "Your nightmare sounds ridiculous to me, by the way."

Bubblegum was just managing to catch her breath, "How so?"

"'Cause I've got a damn good reason to stay now. Besides, I was never planning on leaving again in the first place."

"Damn right you're not. I wouldn't forgive you,"

Though her tone was serious, Marceline couldn't help but laugh at the candy princess. "Yeah. You've got no reason to worry, my Princess." She leaned down and touched her lips to Bubblegum's once more. This one was a bit shorter than the last, and when she pulled away again, she whispered, "I dreamed about you tonight, too."

"Really?" Bubblegum said breathlessly, "What happened?"

"Weird shit, but you did say that you loved me." After the words left her lips, Marceline realized why her dream had been so weird in the first place. "I guess I heard you talking in your sleep and I kind of dreamed about it."

Bubblegum blushed, a smile forming on her lips, "…I do love you, you know."

"I know," she chuckled, "I love you, too." And Marceline pulled Bubblegum in for another kiss.

The lightning and thunder returned with a vengeance soon after that, but the two girls were far too preoccupied with each other to even notice.

0-0-0

The storm ended a few hours before morning. As the sun rose slowly over the mountains, the princesses and other ladies of Finn & Jake's Movie Club slowly rose from their slumber. No one seemed to notice that two of the monarchs were missing from the room, and they all went about picking up the pillows and blankets that the boy and dog had so generously given them for the night.

When Finn came down from his bedroom, however, he immediately took notice of both their absences. "Hey, has anyone seen PB and Marceline?" he asked. When he received all but the answer he wanted, he decided to go look for them. It didn't take him as long as he had thought. The first place he had looked was up in the attic, and when he pulled himself up they were the first thing he saw.

They were laying against the wall, tangled with one-another, and both looked like the happiest being in Ooo. Marceline was holding Bubblegum's crown loosely in one hand while the other was pressed against the small of her back, holding her close. Bubblegum had both hands tangled in the vampire's deep black hair, her face pressed comfortably in the vampire's neck. Both had small, happy smiles on their faces. When he saw them, he couldn't help but feel shocked, but only because he hadn't expected something like this to ever happen. The thought never even crossed his mind—but that didn't mean that he thought this was a bad thing.

No, not at all. In fact, after some thought, he decided it was a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

In the midst of the storm, two of his best friends in the world had found the best kind happiness in the world, the same kind of happiness he had felt when he was able to hug the Flame Princess, and just seeing his friends this way made him happy too.

Finn walked over to the attic window and pulled the blind down over it so that the sun wouldn't catch Marceline by surprise, and turned back over to the ladder, deciding to leave them alone and went back to the other ladies down in the main room. He told them that Marceline and Bubblegum had left already—and that no one was allowed in the attic for the time being.

Description
Marceline stood at the edge of the meadow, beneath the shade of the trees, cradling her axe bass and strumming gently on the strings. Nowadays, it was becoming harder for her to write songs about her feelings. Mostly, it was because she had resolved a lot of her emotional issues simply by making friends with Finn and Jake, but also because of another crucial, sometimes rather upsetting reason—she was in love. It was cheesy, yes, but she found herself so entirely in love that she just couldn't describe it, even if she sat down and thought about it. Thinking about it just confused her even more; however, it was who she was in love with that confused her the most.

"Marceline!"

The voice sent shivers down her already chilled spine. She spun around, red eyes searching until they fell upon the voice's owner—Bonnibel Bubblegum. The candy princess was standing out in the middle of a meadow, looking at her, waving at her. "Marceline!" she called, beckoning her over. She didn't say much else but her name, but Marceline could tell that's what she wanted. She gazed at the princess standing so far away from her. Just looking at her made her breathless, and desperately she wanted to go over to her—but she couldn't—the sun prevented her from reaching her candy princess.

"I can't come over, Bonni!" she called to the girl, "I'll get burned!" She saw a smile appear on Bonnibel's face, and the girl waved her over once more. Marceline's throat felt tight as she pondered it over. She looked up at the sky, saw the sun floating in a blue, cloudless sky, then back down to Bonnibel, who looked back, still smiling and waving.

Something isn't right, she thought. Reluctantly, she stuck her hand out into the sunlight, to test it, and fully expected to be burned—but no, it didn't happen. She was perfectly fine. Eyes wide, she looked at her sunbathed hand, turning it over several times. A small, incredulous laugh escaped her.

"Marceline!"

Marceline's gaze snapped back to the princess standing in the meadow. She was still waiting for her. Marceline smiled and slowly eased the rest of herself into the sunlight, overly cautious despite knowing that she would be okay.

When her entire being was beneath the suns bright rays, and no part of her was burning, Marceline took a brief moment to appreciate the warmth before she rushed over to the waiting candy princess.

"Bonni!" she said, excited. Not really thinking, she took the princess' hands in her own and entwined their fingers. "Bonni, look, I can go into sunlight now! Isn't that great? Glob, I haven't been out in the sun without getting hurt in centuries, I thought—"

"I love you, Marceline."

Her face fell instantly. What did she just hear? A familiar fluttering sensation started up in her gut. She had come to know this as the gut-butterflies, and they would always come up whenever she was around the candy princess. With this sudden confession, the gut-butterflies were having a massive shit-fit.

Bonnibel released the vampire's hands and embraced her, pressing her face into Marceline's chest. A smile curled Marceline's lips and she hugged the girl back, pressing her face into her hair. She said, quietly, "I love you too, Bonni. More than you know," She kissed Bonnibel's head lovingly, feeling more than happy.

Just as quietly, Bonnibel responded, "Please don't go,"

Confused, Marceline tried to pull away but couldn't, "What? What did you say?" The princess held her tight, her face practically buried in Marceline's chest and she couldn't see her face.

Her voice came again, muffled, "Don't leave again."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere, Bonni. I promise!" The vampire's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the princess continued to beg her not to leave. A deep rumble echoed in the distance, sounding much like thunder. Marceline hugged her tighter, "Bonni, it's okay. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." She told her once more, but to no avail.

…something isn't right…

"Please don't leave, Marci…" Bonnibel begged, "Please…I love you."

"I love you too, Bonnibel, but would you stop? You're freaking me out." She was about to say something else, but her voice was drowned out by a loud crash, and suddenly her vision was flooded with light. Then, she felt nothing.

0-0-0

When Marceline woke, she was laying face down on Finn and Jake's couch, the echo of a whimpering cry invading her waking thoughts. It was dark; rain was pelting harshly against the windows and the vampire realized that she had been dreaming. The storm must have brought her out of it. Groaning, she lifted her head, resting her chin on an open palm. It was certainly one of the stranger dreams she'd ever had, but she couldn't deny the truth behind it; nor could she admit it.

She glanced around the room. Everyone from the movie club was present, all of them sleeping at different parts of the room. Yawning and stretching, she sat up and rubbed her face lightly. It was because of the storm that everyone was still here; the rain was coming down so hard that it was too dangerous for anyone one to leave—everyone but Marceline, but she stayed anyway.

Feeling a gnawing hunger in her gut, she rose from the couch and floated over to the icebox on the other side of the room, hoping that there would be something red stashed in there. Digging down deep, Marceline eventually pulled out a single tomato. She didn't like them; actually, she didn't like the shade of red they held. It didn't taste right to her, but since it was the only red thing there, she really couldn't complain.

As she drained the fruit (vegetable?) of its color, a small whimper reached her highly sensitive ears. She turned around, eyes glancing over all the other girls in the room. Lady Rainicorn was curled up near the fireplace, with Tree Trunks placed snuggly in the direct center of her spiraled form. LSP was beneath the couch, mumbling something angry or whatever; Marceline really didn't care for the lumpy princess' ideals or her problems for that matter. Beemo was sitting upright on the table, but it was clear that he was asleep. At last, there was Bonnibel, or Bubblegum as she liked to be called nowadays, curled up in a blanket in the middle of the room. Everyone looked content and happy as they slept, and it appeared that no one had made the sound that Marceline thought she heard. Shrugging, she tossed the now-grey tomato aside and floated back to the couch and lied back down.

Bright flashes followed by loud claps of thunder entertained her as she tried in vain to fall back asleep. Hunger still gnawed at her— she really wished she had brought something of her own to eat—and she really wasn't all that tired anyway; the dream had made sure of that. Rolling over onto her side, she fixed her gaze on Bubblegum and felt the gut-butterflies again. The girl lay very still, but her body looked tense, and it almost looked as if she was trembling, probably due to the tree house being so cold at night. Bubblegum stirred, curling further into herself, and lay still once more.

Marceline watched her for a few more minutes before turning over and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. She was half asleep when she heard a soft voice whisper, "…Marceline," It was very quiet, but sounded urgent. In an instant, Marceline sat up and looked directly at Bubblegum, who was still curled up and facing away from her.

"Hey," Marceline whispered, "Bonni, did you say something?"

No answer. The princess was talking in her sleep.

"Dreaming about me, huh?" Marceline grinned hugely, floating over to where Bubblegum lay, "So, Bonnibel, you having naughty dreams about me? That's funny, 'cause I was just…" Moving as silently as one who floated could (ninja status), Marceline maneuvered herself so that she could look at Bubblegum's face. The grin vanished instantly when she saw the sleeping girl's face contorted in fear, and tears streaming heavily down her cheeks. Worry struck her like a sack of bricks. "Hey…there are no naughty dreams going on here. Bonni?"

A small whine escaped the younger girl as Marceline attempted to wake her. She shook her shoulder gently, speaking firmly but quietly as to not wake the other sleeping members of the music club. More words escaped from the Princess. "Don't…please, don't…"

"Bonni! Bonnibel, wake up!" Marceline hissed, giving Bubblegum's shoulder a firm jerk. The girl's eyes snapped open and the first thing they saw was Marceline leaning over her. For a long moment, she looked at her, as if stunned by her presence. Then Bubblegum lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the vampire in a fierce embrace and sobbing quietly into the taller girl's neck. Marceline was honestly startled by the abruptness of the action. She got over it quickly.

"Woah, hey Bonni, calm down. It's okay, it was just a nightmare. It's okay."

Bubblegum mumbled something inaudible into her neck, sobbing softly, and her embrace tightened. Marceline held her, moving her hand up and down the smaller girl's back in a circular, calming motion. She felt tears running down her neck and soaking her shirt, and she tried to ignore the pain she felt at seeing Bubblegum this way.

Still rubbing her back, Marceline asked quietly, "What did you dream about?"

Bubblegum could only shake her head at the question. A clear enough response to say that she didn't want to talk about it, probably never wanted to talk about it. Was it really that bad? Marceline sighed. She glanced around at the room's other occupants. They were all still sleeping, all still unaware that anyone was awake at this hour. An idea sprang into her mind, and her fingers clutched tightly at Bubblegum's shirt.

A flash. Thunder rumbled.

Marceline pulled the younger girl into her lap and floated slowly out of the room. Bubblegum still held firmly onto her with her face in the girl's neck; if she noticed that they were airborne, she didn't show it. Marceline took them all the way up into Finn and Jake's attic, where she sat down. Yes, sat down.

"All right," she said, never letting go of the candy princess, "We're alone. No one can hear you talk. Now, what did you dream about," More of a demand that a real question, but the concern was still there. Obviously, the dream had been about Marceline. Exactly what about Marceline, she didn't know, but it had clearly not been good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here.

It took a minute, maybe two. The sobs racking Princess Bubblegum's body eventually died down to a small sniffle. Finally, she pulled away from Marceline, but never allowed their eyes to meet. She gripped Marceline's shoulders tight, still calming herself down.

When she was finally able to speak, the eventual reply was not what Marceline had hoped for, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

The vampire's brow furrowed in frustration, and a deep frown curled her lips. Her eyes locked firmly on the candy princess' face.

"That's bullshit, Bonni. I heard you talking in your sleep—I heard you say my name."

Startled, Bubblegum looked up at her, "I did? What did I say?" It wasn't very dark, but Marceline couldn't see the blush on Bubblegum's cheeks.

"Pfft, I dunno! You were begging me not to do something. What happened?" Her words seemed harsh, but the tone of her voice said otherwise, as did the look in her eyes. She repeated, "What happened?"

"It's none of your business, Marceline!" She shoved herself away from the vampire queen, sliding off her lap and landing on the floor with a small 'thump'. Marceline watched grudgingly as the candy girl pressed herself against the wall, and hugged her knees against her chest. And she stayed like that, never looking up at Marceline.

The vampire sighed and floated over to sit next to the distraught candy princess. For a while they sat together, neither girl speaking. Outside, the rain continued to fall, saving them from the deafening silence that came with the wordlessness. Through the roar of the storm, Marceline could still hear small sobs coming from the girl next to her.

"It was more than just a nightmare." Bubblegum said, abruptly. Marceline gave her a sidelong glance. "It was something that actually happened to me before, and sometimes I just dream about it happening again, and sometimes I just get scared. All right?"

"So it's a reoccurring dream or something?"

"Yes. It-it is. I've been having the same dream for a few years now. It's different every time, but it's the same dream."

Bubblegum was silent after that, and Marceline figured that that was as much of an explanation as she was going to get. That, coupled with what she had said in her sleep, allowed Marceline to piece a few things together.

She had a nightmare about me. It must have been awful. I hope I didn't do anything…

Suddenly, Marceline was scared. Had she done something in the dream to make Bubblegum frightened of her? The thought was cast aside almost immediately when she remembered how desperately the candy princess had held onto her earlier—someone who was scared of her wouldn't do that. She breathed a sigh of relief as the thought passed.

Another flash, and the clap of thunder came closer and louder than before. Marceline looked over at Bubblegum, and her lovely dark pink eyes were locked on her. Their eyes locked and remained that way for what seemed like eternity, and Marceline couldn't stop the gut-butterflies creating an almighty cluster-fuck in her stomach. At last, Bubblegum looked away.

"Marceline?" she asked sheepishly, a hint of red staining her already pink cheeks.

"Yeah?" the vampire replied quietly, "What is it?"

"Have…have you ever…been in love?"

Marceline frowned a bit at the question, but this time out of confusion rather than frustration. What a sudden change in subject! Not only that, but she didn't exactly know how to answer the question. She looked at the candy girl, and felt the gut-butterflies once more. She reasoned that the subject-change was because Bubblegum wanted to get her mind off of the nightmare, but it didn't stop the splurge of thoughts that sprang into her head—

This might be the time.

I could tell her.

What if she ends up hating me?

No, I can't tell her.

No, I have to tell her.

But, I just can't…

Glib-globit, these damn gut-butterflies!

—"Y-yeah, I, uh, I've been in love before." She managed to say.

"Do you mind if I ask who it was?"

"I'm sorry, Bonni, but that's none of your business." Marceline couldn't help but chuckle at the little joke, but when she looked back at Bubblegum and saw the look on her face, the urge to laugh died quickly. "Well, uh…it's kind of a sore subject for me, okay?"

"How so?"

"I just…ugh, because it's sort of one-sided. They don't return my feelings, and it hurts like a bitch. You wouldn't understand."

"You still love the person?"

Marceline sighed, "Yes, I do." She scratched lightly at her chest, which was quickly becoming more and more constricted as the conversation went on. Quietly, she added, "I love her so much," and hoped that the sound of the rain would be enough to drown it out.

No. Of course, it wasn't. "Her? You love a woman?"

Suddenly, she was angry, "Yeah. I do. I like women, what is that a crime?"

Bubblegum winced a bit at the tone of her voice. "No…of course it isn't, it just surprised me. I didn't think you'd like…" she trailed off. Marceline didn't say anything. Bubblegum drummed her fingers on her knees nervously, "Did you ever try to tell her?"

"Yeah," she said, "Once."

"How?"

"I tried to sing her a song. But, ah, I was angry at the time and all the words were coming out wrong, and I got scared towards the end and I chickened out. To cover it up, I got angry with her, and I yelled at her."

"You got angry and yelled at her?" Bubblegum seemed disapproving of that.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I feel awful about it. But we were fighting that day and I was already mad to begin with…"

"That's no excuse."

"I know! I know, it's not, but it's the only honest one I've got. It wasn't even a love song anyway, I was angry when I was singing it!" Marceline took a breath to compose herself, glancing more than once at Bubblegum, "I just…I love her so much that…that it gets me all tongue tied and I can't think of any songs that describe how I feel. It got really frustrating."

Bubblegum sat in stunned silence, and Marceline could almost hear her thoughts: Marceline, so lovesick that she can't write songs? That's ridiculous! It surprised her too at the time, but now she was more than used to it. But it was still frustrating as hell.

"I love her so much...so much that it hurts sometimes. It hurts that I can't tell her that I love her."

Bubblegum stared, wide eyed, at the vampire. But then she looked away, suddenly finding something interesting about the wall straight across from her. "I'm sorry…that you can't tell this girl how you feel." There was a long pause after that, and they spent that time in silence. Eventually, Marceline got tired of that silence and decided to continue a conversation from earlier.

"Ok, now's it your turn," she said, "Why don't you tell me what your dream was about?"

Bubblegum tensed up right away. She pulled her knees closer, hugging her legs tighter as she attempted to find a way to avoid the question. She glanced over at Marceline, who was looking at her expectantly. "Uhm…I don't know…I don't think I can—"

"Bullshit, Princess. I just poured my heart and soul out to you. I just told you that I'm a dyke. I think I deserve to know about some dream that you had."

Bubblegum swallowed audibly, trying to force down the lump in her throat.

"I know it's about me. Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you somehow in your dream?" She saw the other girl shake her head, "Then what? What happened?

Princess Bubblegum seemed very distressed. She refused to look at Marceline, and instead stared in the exact opposite direction of the Vampire Queen. She let out a sigh of defeat.

"You left."

"What?"

"You left, Marceline." She turned to face the vampire, and tears once again stained her cheeks. "When you first disappeared, I was so afraid you wouldn't come back that I had nightmares about it almost every night, and when you came back, I was so angry with you that-that I couldn't tell you how happy I was to see you again. Since then, I started having nightmares that you left, or that you were killed, or pulled into the Night-o-Sphere, or something happened and I wasn't able to see you again. You were just…gone, and I was left alone again."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. She cared that much? Really? Marceline looked at her, amazed, and felt a small surge of joy flow through her. Then she realized that the Princess was crying, and quickly pulled her into a comforting embrace.

Bubblegum hugged her back, burying her face in the taller girl's neck just as before. Marceline told her softly that everything would be okay as she rubbed the girl's back comfortingly; just as before.

When she managed to compose herself, Bubblegum pushed herself away, and looked Marceline in the eye. When she spoke, her words seemed strained, almost shy, as if she had to fight to make her tongue usher out every single word. "I need to ask you something,"

"Yeah? What?"

"That girl, the one you sang the song to?"

Ugh, this again. Did she honestly hate talking about nightmares that much?

"What if…" a nervous pause, "What if the girl felt the same? What would you do?"

Marceline felt her mouth go dry. She didn't know what to say, and having the girl in question sitting in her arms wasn't exactly helping. And she was staring at her, too, with those gorgeous eyes of hers. Finally, she was able to find her voice, "Uuum…I…I don't really know what I'd do, actually. I guess I'd be overwhelmed with joy because…because I didn't expect her to return my feelings. I'd…I would hold her close and, I dunno, I'd kiss her I guess," She ducked her head, and her voice went lower. "I…don't think I'd be able to stop kissing her." Tears sprung to her eyes, and she could barely hold them back, "But I—it's never gonna happen."

"Why not?" There was genuine sadness in Bubblegum's voice, almost as if it hurt to hear Marceline say that, "Why wouldn't it ever happen?"

"Because the odds are kind of stacked against me. I mean, honestly, what are the odds of her actually loving me back? Not very good, I'll tell you that."

Bubblegum opened her mouth to say something, to argue, to comfort, or say something at least, but no words came out. Her mouth close and, with a small sight of defeat, she hugged Marceline tight, "I'm sure it'll turn out fine,"

"Hmph. Yeah, sure. If you say so,"

They were silent after that. The room suddenly flashed bright as the lightning returned, and thunder came crashing after. Rain began to thrash the roof just above them.

"Marceline,"

"What?"

"The song that you sang for the girl, was that during the incident with the Door Lord?"

"…y-yeah…it was."

And then it happened. Marceline wasn't sure what for a brief moment, but then she realized—Bubblegum was kissing her. It felt good, and as her chest filled with overwhelming joy, she kissed her back with as much passion and earnest as the princess was. She felt Bubblegum's hand curl around the back of her neck and pull her closer, a small moan escaping from the pink girl's throat, and the kiss continued for what seemed like an eternity before Marceline broke away.

"You said you wouldn't stop," Bubblegum panted, and her voice was laced with agitation at the kiss being broken before she wanted—which was never.

Marceline chuckled, "Well, I've gotta let you breathe, Princess. I don't want you passing out during our first kiss. We'll save that for later." She rubbed the girl's back gently, a large smile dominating her face. For the first time in a thousand years, her heart felt alive once more, and she felt like screaming, but contained herself. There were still people slumbering in the lower levels of the tree house. "Your nightmare sounds ridiculous to me, by the way."

Bubblegum was just managing to catch her breath, "How so?"

"'Cause I've got a damn good reason to stay now. Besides, I was never planning on leaving again in the first place."

"Damn right you're not. I wouldn't forgive you,"

Though her tone was serious, Marceline couldn't help but laugh at the candy princess. "Yeah. You've got no reason to worry, my Princess." She leaned down and touched her lips to Bubblegum's once more. This one was a bit shorter than the last, and when she pulled away again, she whispered, "I dreamed about you tonight, too."

"Really?" Bubblegum said breathlessly, "What happened?"

"Weird shit, but you did say that you loved me." After the words left her lips, Marceline realized why her dream had been so weird in the first place. "I guess I heard you talking in your sleep and I kind of dreamed about it."

Bubblegum blushed, a smile forming on her lips, "…I do love you, you know."

"I know," she chuckled, "I love you, too." And Marceline pulled Bubblegum in for another kiss.

The lightning and thunder returned with a vengeance soon after that, but the two girls were far too preoccupied with each other to even notice.

0-0-0

The storm ended a few hours before morning. As the sun rose slowly over the mountains, the princesses and other ladies of Finn & Jake's Movie Club slowly rose from their slumber. No one seemed to notice that two of the monarchs were missing from the room, and they all went about picking up the pillows and blankets that the boy and dog had so generously given them for the night.

When Finn came down from his bedroom, however, he immediately took notice of both their absences. "Hey, has anyone seen PB and Marceline?" he asked. When he received all but the answer he wanted, he decided to go look for them. It didn't take him as long as he had thought. The first place he had looked was up in the attic, and when he pulled himself up they were the first thing he saw.

They were laying against the wall, tangled with one-another, and both looked like the happiest being in Ooo. Marceline was holding Bubblegum's crown loosely in one hand while the other was pressed against the small of her back, holding her close. Bubblegum had both hands tangled in the vampire's deep black hair, her face pressed comfortably in the vampire's neck. Both had small, happy smiles on their faces. When he saw them, he couldn't help but feel shocked, but only because he hadn't expected something like this to ever happen. The thought never even crossed his mind—but that didn't mean that he thought this was a bad thing.

No, not at all. In fact, after some thought, he decided it was a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

In the midst of the storm, two of his best friends in the world had found the best kind happiness in the world, the same kind of happiness he had felt when he was able to hug the Flame Princess, and just seeing his friends this way made him happy too.

Finn walked over to the attic window and pulled the blind down over it so that the sun wouldn't catch Marceline by surprise, and turned back over to the ladder, deciding to leave them alone and went back to the other ladies down in the main room. He told them that Marceline and Bubblegum had left already—and that no one was allowed in the attic for the time being.