I'm still working on my long story I'll be posting soon, but this little one-shot came to me and I couldn't resist, so I'm posting that one first. I'm still not sure exactly how Candy People's ages work, but I picture Bubblegum younger here, closer to 15 or 16. Can be read as friendship, but has some hints of romance if you want to see it. :) Enjoy!

Marceline had never been particularly self-conscious about people seeing her feed, but it was a very different story having Bubblegum scrutinizing the process and taking notes. She'd agreed to indulge the girl partly because the princess' seriousness amused her and, she had to admit, partly because she wouldn't mind knowing how the whole eating red thing worked anyway.

She drained the color from a strawberry, Bubblegum's eyes following the color as it disappeared into her fang. When it was done, she handed the pearly fruit to the princess, who placed it beside the four others Marceline had finished. Five more fresh strawberries sat beside the pale ones. "Need any more done?"

"No, I think this is a sufficient sample to start with." Bubblegum sat back and began examining the berries with a series of small scanners and making notes in her journal.

Marceline floated on her side, lazily watching Bubblegum work. The girls had set up their picnic/experiment in the shade of a peppermint bark tree on the edge of the strawberry fields. Bubblegum had gone to pick a basket of the berries for Marceline to eat while the vampire got to stay in the shade and relax. Contributing to scientific discovery was more fun than she'd thought. She might have to come visit the Candy Kingdom more often.

"The cells look the same even after being drained," Bubblegum said, frowning at the scanner. "When you drink red from strawberries, does it taste sweet?"

"Yeah," Marceline said. "It basically tastes like a strawberry."

"Hm. Maybe you're drinking the anthocyanins then."

"Antho-what?"

"The pigment that makes strawberries red. But it only turns red once it's attached to sugar. That would explain the sweet taste."

"So, does everything red have those antho-thingies in it?"

"No, but it gives us somewhere to start. You can eat tomatoes too, right?"

Marceline's nose wrinkled. "They're kind of weird, but yeah."

"So that's lycopene too." Bubblegum made a note.

"Lyco…? Werewolf blood?" Marceline asked.

Bubblegum giggled. "No, silly! It's another kind of pigment."

"Why can't you just call them all red #1, red #2…"

"It's a science thing." Bubblegum waved dismissively. Marceline had figured out that the princess didn't mean to sound condescending. She just didn't realize it sometimes came out that way. Considering most of her subjects, maybe it was an old habit by now.

"So what about the times I eat red things that aren't food?" She didn't usually pick those options as a first choice, not because they tasted any worse, but because a part of her liked the human feeling of still eating from food. Not that she would tell Bubblegum that.

"Well, many pigments originally come from a plant or animal source. Perhaps the same molecules are there as well." Bubblegum looked excited. "I'll have to test some of my possessions when I'm back in my lab."

"You done with these then?" Marceline asked, leaning down to snag one of the 'control strawberries'.

"I suppose. I could always pick more if we need them."

Marceline leaned back and sucked the red from it, trying to ignore Bubblegum's curious stare. "Tomorrow, you can have me over for dinner and I can watch how someone made of gum chews anything."

Bubblegum blushed a bit. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude, aren't I?"

"Nah, that's what we came out here for." Marceline rolled over onto her stomach and held out the white strawberry to Bubblegum. "Here, try one."

Bubblegum waved her hand to say no. "That's okay, thank you."

"Come on, you're not gonna get cooties. It'll give you more notes you can write for your journal."

She nearly laughed that that was the final temptation it took to get Bubblegum to give in. The girl took the strawberry, still eyeing it warily, and gingerly took a bite. She stared at it, a bit surprised. "It really doesn't taste any different."

"Cool. Help yourself to my leftovers anytime you want."

Marceline leaned back again and closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze and reflected heat of the day from the safety of their shade. Bubblegum put down her journal, gathered the white strawberries, and sat beside Marceline, her back leaning against the peppermint bark of the tree.

"Thank you for agreeing to do this. I know this isn't how you would prefer to spend your time."

"No problem. Sometime I'll take you to a rock concert and you can dissect the sound waves of the music."

"I just want to understand everything I can about the things we enjoy," Bubblegum protested.

"Chill, Bubblegum. I'm just teasing you." Marceline frowned. "You know, if we're gonna be hanging out like this, I'm going to have to call you something other than 'Bubblegum'."

The princess frowned, looking slightly offended. "What's wrong with 'Bubblegum'?"

"It's too hard to say."

"It's exactly as many syllables as 'Marceline'."

"Yeah, but they're all 'B's and 'G's. 'Marceline' flows. 'Bubblegum' sounds like I'm popping gum. Plus, it's kind of weird calling you what you are."

The princess thought about that. "All Candy People are named for what they are. It connects us to our candy families. But I suppose you're right. I could call you Vampire Queen, but that's what you are, not who you are."

She is sharp, Marceline mused. "Right. Don't you have some kind of first name to go with your sugary title?"

Bubblegum blushed a bit now. "Yes, though I don't like it."

Now Marceline was really interested. "Really? How bad can it be?"

Bubblegum looked away and mumbled something.

"What?"

"It's Bonnibel," the girl repeated, a bit angrily.

Marceline snorted and nodded. "Of course."

"What do you mean?" Bubblegum asked, testily.

"Parents always name their kids what they want them to be like when they grow up."

"They wanted me to sound like a little girl my whole life?"

Marceline looked upside down at the young princess. "In some of the old languages before the Mushroom War, 'bonny' meant 'good', and 'belle' meant 'beautiful'."

Bubblegum looked surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Maybe your parents did. Either way, you lived up to it."

"Huh." Bubblegum thought about that for a minute. "So, what did 'Marceline' mean in the old languages?

Marceline's expression darkened. "Doesn't matter. I didn't turn out the way my dad wanted."

Now Bubblegum grinned teasingly. "Let me guess, your name means 'well-behaved'. Or maybe 'girly'? Or 'quiet'?"

Marceline stared up into the canopy of the tree, watching the spearmint leaves dance in the breeze.

" 'Warlike'," she finally said flatly. "It means 'warlike'. Or 'dedicated to the god of war'."

The smile faded from Bubblegum's face. "Oh."

Marceline tried to sound casual. "Yeah, my family's priorities were different than yours." She wished she hadn't left her axe-bass in the princess' room. Her fingers itched to fiddle with the strings of the family weapon she'd reinvented to suit her own priorities.

For a moment, Bubblegum had the grace not to say anything. The only sound was the wind through the spearmint and the hum of insects around the strawberry blossoms.

Finally, she said, "If it makes you feel any better, no one knows the old meanings anymore. I suspect to the modern people of Ooo, the name 'Marceline' will mean 'rockstar'."

Marceline looked down at the girl, surprisingly touched. "You think so?"

Bubblegum—Bonnibel—smiled. "I do."

Marceline grinned too. "Yeah, maybe. Thanks, Bonni."

The princess' smile widened a bit, embracing the nickname. "You're welcome."

They enjoyed a relaxed moment before Bubblegum asked, "You think I'm beautiful?"

Marceline froze slightly, a blush coloring her cheeks. Her umbrella was on the other side of Bubblegum and they were surrounded by sunlight. "Well," she evaded, "you know, like all pretty, perfect little princesses."

Bubblegum's expression had turned mischievous. "Even Lumpy Space Princess? Pretty like her?"

Marceline groaned. "Hey, why don't you go pick some more strawberries? You can measure how fast the red comes out when I eat it."

"That's all right," Bubblegum said, standing up. "I think I've learned plenty today." She passed Marceline her umbrella. "Let's go back to the castle. If you're willing, I'd love to dissect some sound waves before dinner."

"Sure."

As Bubblegum gathered up her equipment, Marceline stared at her, wondering exactly when the princess had taken the upper hand in their conversation. Somehow, the girl seemed more mature and authoritative now than she had even a few moments ago. What Marceline did know was that she was definitely going to have make plans to stick around the Candy Kingdom for a while.

I also read, while looking things up for this story, that Marceline can mean "longevity", which is a pretty apt name for an immortal vampire. For the sake of this story, though, I just stuck with this one meaning.