This is actually the first Adventure Time fanfic I started writing, but when my computer crashed I thought I'd lost it. I recently found a back-up of it I didn't know I'd made, so I finally finished it. Hope you enjoy! Just a little idea that came to me about Peppermint Butler's motives.

Peppermint Butler took care to shuffle his feet on the floor while entering Princess Bubblegum's laboratory. While he had learned that it was best to announce his presence when entering while she worked, explosive experience had also taught him it was best to give some signal that he was about to announce his presence, so his arrival didn't take her by surprise either.

"Your hot cocoa, milady," he said cheerfully.

Bubblegum looked up with a small smile as he set the tray and mug beside her workstation. He was pleased to see that she was not yet completely absorbed by her work, literally or figuratively.

"Thank you, Peppermint Butler."

"You received a message from the Viscount of Vanilla about the marriage of his daughter to the Nougat Baron. I took the liberty of preparing a congratulatory card and gift for you to sign in the morning."

His gaze was drawn to the window behind the princess where a flutter of wings cast a brief shadow across the frame. A very familiar set of wings…

"That's wonderful! What would I do without you?"

Peppermint Butler pulled his attention back to her. "Um, will there be anything else tonight, Princess?"

"No, I'm going to stay up a while working on this. You can go."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Good night."

He made sure to leave the room at a casual pace, then shifted into a less-dignified jog when he was out of sight of the royal lab. Hurrying back to his personal rooms, he opened his closet and dug behind the row of suits until he found the long wrapped bundle stashed in the back corner. Carrying it carefully, he closed up his rooms and headed to a rarely-used balcony at the rear of the castle.

Peppermint Butler stepped out into the night air, checking for any watching eyes. Most Candy People should be in bed by now. The guardian towers were ever on duty, but that had never been a deterrent for this guest before. As he assured himself he was unobserved, a shadow detached from the wall of the castle in front of him and reformed into a tall figure.

"It is good to see you back in the Candy Kingdom, milady!" he greeted her in a quiet voice. "Did you enjoy your travels?"

"Yeah, they were pretty cool. Did you take care of my stuff?"

"Just as you left it."

He passed the bundle to the shadowed woman. Fangs gleamed in the moonlight as she unwrapped the modified axe and grinned.

"Not bad." She ran her hand gently across the strings, producing a few faint notes. "Did you tune it too?"

"Once or twice, though I am not as familiar with this instrument as most I've worked with before. I did keep the blades sharpened."

"I'm impressed." Marceline settled the axe-bass's strap over her shoulder. "So, since I didn't hear anything from you, I assume things were pretty quiet while I was away?"

"Mostly the usual, Mistress: royal commitments, Ice King kidnappings, experiments gone awry. None seemed to necessitate your return, especially since this human boy and a dog moved into the area."

"Yeah, I ran into them. So, he is a human? Thought they were long gone."

"Apparently not. Finn has taken it upon himself to be the guardian of Ooo against all evil."

She grinned again. "Thinks he's the next Billy, huh? That's cute."

"He's done quite well so far. He seems rather taken with the princess and she trusts in him a great deal as her protector."

"Really?" Marceline's eyebrow arched and she looked up toward the princess's lab with a thoughtful expression.

Peppermint Butler followed her gaze to the window with its light still on. "Would you like me to inform Her Highness that you've returned?"

"Nah," Marceline said, looking back down at her guitar. "Word'll get around soon enough anyway."

"Well, I am sure she will be glad to know you're back safe," Peppermint Butler commented.

Marceline didn't say anything.

"As, I know, your father must be."

Her eyes narrowed, then went back to an expression of forced casualness as she picked at the strings of her bass. "Right."

Peppermint Butler watched her, a little sadly. "You know he regrets not seeing you more often."

She straightened sharply, her face all business again, and floated into the air. "Thanks for holding onto my bass. I'm staying at the cave if you need to reach me."

"Yes, milady." He returned to a more professional air as well, knowing he had crossed a boundary that wasn't open to him. "I assume you are intending to stay in the area for the foreseeable future?"

"I can foresee a lot of future, but yeah, I think I'm going to settle for a while."

He hesitated nervously. "In that case…do you intend to dismiss me from this assignment?"

Marceline gave him a little smirk. "Missing the Underworld?"

"I will do whatever you order me, of course, but I do believe that I can still serve you well from this posting. If you so desire."

He saw the slightly amused look on Marceline's face and knew he had overplayed his hand a bit. The vampire looked up again at the single window shining in the night.

"Yeah, I could still use you here. Just keep doing what you're doing and let me know if anything comes up that Billy Jr. can't handle."

"Yes, Lady Marceline!" He bowed, relieved.

She grimaced. "And you can drop all the 'Lady' stuff while we're here. Remember, nobody's supposed to know you work for me."

"Of course." He waved off her concerns. "No one's the wiser."

"Good." Her eyes glowed fiery red. "Or I'll remind my dad about that little debt of yours."

Peppermint Butler gulped. "Yes, milady. I mean, Marceline."

She smiled again, back to being laid back. "Thanks. See you around!"

He watched her fly off into the night before heading back into the castle. He peeked in one last time to see Princess Bubblegum slumped asleep on her desk, something steaming in a beaker beside her. He turned the hot plate off, gently draped a blanket over the princess, and decided to leave the mostly untouched mug of cocoa for her.

Looking out the window once more, he wondered what had happened between Marceline and Bubblegum to cause their falling out in the first place, but he knew it wasn't a servant's place to ask such things. No matter whose servant he was.