The sounds of rain thumping against the window filled the room along with Fionna’s grunting and Cake’s sounds of cheering. The day had been particularly boring for the adventurer and her companion Cake. Although Gumball’s mission had taken longer than intended it couldn’t quite count as an.. adventure. The prince had sent them off to deliver some daisy change to the fluffy people, and Fionna had whined about how boring the mission was the whole time.
Fionna shot some cool poses with the axes in her hands while Cake cheered for her. Fionna threw one of the axes right at the apple standing on BMO’s head, hitting the target perfectly and slicing the apple right in the middle.
“Woo, nice, girl!” Cake cheered, placing her hands on her hips as she turned to Fionna.
“Thanks, I’ve gotta do something today.” The adventurer complained as she threw the other axe over her shoulder.
“What about Gumball’s mission we went on this mornin’? Deliverin’ daisy change to the fluffy people not enough for you?” Cake asked as she raised her eyebrow. Unlike Fionna, Cake had quite enjoyed Gumball’s little mission. The only bad part about it was Fionna’s unbearable whining.
“Ugh.. Sometimes Gumball’s missions can be so..” Fionna looked around before continuing, “..lame.”
The adventurer groaned as she threw the other axe in her hand at a wall. Just then, Gumball arrived into the room carrying a plate of cream puffs with cherry filling.
“Hello everybo- Ah—!” The prince yelped as the axe coming at him at full speed sliced his styled gum hair in half. “..Oh my. Looks like you almost skronked up my dome piece!”
Fionna and Cake let out a relieved sigh as the axe sliced through Gumball’s hair. The Candy Prince licked two fingers before running it over the sliced place, sticking his hair back together before walking closer to the girls before him with an unaffected smile.
“Boy have I got a treat for you two! The fluffy people and I baked these in appreciation of the mission you’ve completed.” He held the plate in front of Fionna and Cake who shared glances. “They’re cream puffs, try one.”
Fionna looked at the mountain of cream puffs with cherry filling with an unsure expression. She had never been a fan of sweets, especially not this many cream puffs at once. “Um.. Uhh, I’d love to, but.. maybe later.” The girl flashed an unsure smile at the prince.
As soon as Fionna finished speaking, sounds of footsteps thumping against the roof of the treehouse was heard, catching the three’s attention. They all turned to the window and there was.. nothing. Atleast that’s what they thought.
Fionna squinted her eyes as she stepped closer to the window to inspect closer. A whooshing sound coming from behind her caused her to turn right back around with a gasp. When she looked back, the plate of cream puffs in Prince Gumball’s hands was.. empty!
The prince looked down at the empty plate in his hands, then back at Fionna, then down at the plate again. His eyes widened in surprise as he made a disappointed sound upon noticing that the plate was empty.
The same sounds of footsteps thumping against their roof was heard once again. Fionna looked up before turning to Cake with an alarmed expression. “Something’s on the roof, c’mon!”
“I’m not goin’ up there. It’s wet." The cat crossed her arms with a displeased expression. Fionna turned to Prince Gumball instead, hoping for a more positive answer.
“Ehh.. It is wet.” Great.
After a some pleading on Fionna's side, Cake had decided to shrink and hide herself in Fionna’s bunny beanie and Prince Gumball opened up his fancy umbrella that he had used on the way to the treehouse. Fionna climbed stairs while carrying the prince on her back.
When they reached the top, Fionna couldn’t help but gasp and smile pleasantly. It was Marshall Lee! The vampire was floating on the roof, playing his guitar with a pleased expression. He didn’t seem to really care that he was getting wet under the rain.
Prince Gumball, however, wasn’t very pleased to seehim of all people. Of course he just hadto be here, he had to be where ever Gumball was, all the time! He just hadto ruin everything!
And he hated himself for not being able to hate Marshall Lee despite everything.
“Oh, it’s just him.” The prince groaned as he spoke, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. The vampire opened one eye to get a good look at the trio.
“Oh, hey Fionna.” He said in a low voice and a raised eyebrow. Prince Gumball frowned when the vampire didn’t greet him. He hadn’t really expected him to, but it still hurt to not have the vampire’s attention.
“Marshall Lee!” Fionna said in a cheerful tone. It was true that the vampire king had put her through a lot of trouble but, hey, they were still friends!
”Ahem.” Gumball made a fake sound of clearing his throat to get Marshall’s attention. It was kind of pathetic really, having to make himself be noticed. Once upon time all he needed to do was just walk in the same room as Marshall and he’d automatically have his attention.
Damn it, Gumball! Stop that!He scolded himself internally.
“Oh, forgive me! Hello your majesty!” The vampire king said with an exaggerated voice and a mocking bow. He pulled out a cream puff from his shirt, sucking the red color out of the cherry filling.
Prince Gumball simply glared for a moment before shutting his eyes. He just wanted to see anything but Marshall. “Fionna, take me back inside.” He requested with a stern voice, but the girl didn’t even budge. Traitor!
“Whaaat? Is he kidding?” Marshall threw the cream puff he was holding at the prince’s face, causing him to scrunch it up in disgust.
“Eugh- Oh, honestly!” Gumball’s voice had came out a bit higher than he had hoped. He wanted to keep his composure, to not give Marshall what he wanted, but it was really hard to do so when the vampire king was just so pretty even while pissing Gumball off. “I’m going in.” He said while trying to get off of Fionna’s back, clearly not up to dealing with Marshall’s bullsh*t.
“Gumball, wait!” Fionna called out, stopping Gumball before he could leave. “C’mon, you know he’s just teasing. Loosen up a little.” Fionna said in a sympathetic voice as she smiled. She knew that Marshall liked to go overboard specifically when teasing Gumball and could understand his frustration, but she wanted the two to get along somehow.
Gumball looked up at Fionna and blinked a few times before averting his gaze to somewhere else. He groaned, looking back up at Fionna. “..Fine.” The adventurer’s smile widened at Gumball’s response as she climbed onto the roof where Marshall was. She couldn’t help but notice that the vampire’s smile had grown more.. warmer? Sincere? Whatever it was, she could tell that Marshall was glad that Gumball hadn’t left.
As the rain stopped, Cake got out of Fionna’s beanie and stretched her limbs. Gumball climbed onto the roof as well, dusting himself off and closing off his umbrella as he looked at Marshall with a displeased expression.
Marshall couldn’t help but grin widely at Gumball before chuckling. “What’s with the face, Gumwad?”
Prince Gumball let out an offended gasp and crossed his arms, opting to turn away from the vampire before him instead of giving into his advances.
“So.. Lumpy Space Prince is throwing a party in the woods,” The king stopped floating and transformed himself into a giant bat smoothly. “It’s gonna be freakin’ nasty.” He held out a rough hand at the three, non-verbally inviting them to come along.
Fionna, Cake and Prince Gumball shared unsure glances before Fionna decided that she would be the one to speak up. “Umm..—”
“I know you guys are gonna say yes to me so, let’s just go.” Marshall interrupted as he ushered the trio to take his hand already. Noticing that Marshall wouldn’t back down, Fionna shrugged before smiling and taking the vampire’s hand, dragging Prince Gumball with her. Cake let out a long, dragged out sigh before unwillingly joining Fionna and Gumball on the vampire’s back.
The ride to the party was unusually quiet. Marshall would always make some snarky comments or strike up a conversation, but this time? She could feel the tension in the air in her veins. Specifically the tension between Prince Gumball and Marshall Lee.She glanced over at Cake who seemed to take notice of the tension as well, but motioned for her to stay quiet.
Prince Gumball was sitting in the very front. He tried his best to not look down at Marshall and keep his eyes on the foggy sky instead. It had been about a decade since he had last used Marshall for transportation and it felt.. nostalgic. He glanced down at the furry back of Marshall that he was sitting on. Yep, nothing had changed. Gumball hadn’t even realized that he was holding onto Marshall’s fur a bit too tightly until he heard the other clear his throat. With an embarrassed look, he loosened his grip and continued to look straight ahead. Maybe he should’ve just stayed home.
Gumball smiled once they arrived. The party wasn’t as crowded as he had expected, which was good, he despised crowded areas. It meant that there was a higher chance of bumping into someone from his kingdom. The trio got off of Marshall’s back, who immediately transformed back to his “human” form.
As they looked around, Gumball noticed that a few people from his kingdom were at the party as well. He scooter behind Marshall and Fionna, trying to hide himself as he groaned. “Glob, if I’m caught here I’ll have your head, Marshall Lee.” The prince shot Marshall a glare when he heard the other chuckle.
“This looks fun. C’mon.” The vampire took Fionna’s hand and started dragging her off to the wooden stage. Gumball and Cake shared glances at each other before Cake followed behind Fionna, taking her place in the adventurer’s beanie once again. Not wanting to be left behind, Gumball made his way to the stage as well, stopping in front of it as he looked up.
“You guys! Marshall Lee is gonna play a song, you guys!” LSP’s voice yelled out, causing everyone to start cheering and gathering in front of the stage. A few more people came running out from the woods and it was suddenly way more crowded than Gumball had thought. He stood at the very front nervously, watching Fionna and Marshall with furrowed eyebrows.
Marshall started playing a nice tune on his red guitar that was shaped like an axe. Gumball couldn’t make out what the vampire had said to Fionna, but he surely didn’t enjoy watching him serenade Fionna. He scrunched up his face as they danced around and sang together. What was this about? Why did Gumball feel so jealous? The prince felt like he could throw up any time as he crossed his arms and forced himself to look anywhere but at the stage.
Thankfully, he managed to stay until the end of Marshall’s little performance. He could hear the vampire king say some stuff about how he was ‘evil’ and how Fionna had a ‘thing for him’, but he really couldn't get himself to listen.
As Marshall landed near the edge of the stage, he pried open one eye to glance at Gumball. He lifted his head as he noticed the prince push through the crowd with a sour expression, stomping off into the darkness of the woods. Is he stupid? He’s totally gonna get eaten out there!
Without acknowledging Fionna or Cake, Marshall immediately floated off stage and followed the path Gumball had taken. It didn’t take him long to catch up to the prince. He floated over to his side with a forced smile.
“Hey! C’mon, where you goin’? What’s the deal? You’re missing the party!” Marshall stammered out, trying to get Gumball's attention but failing. The prince just kept walking with a frustrated expression. Eventually, Marshall stopped his weak attempt at a smile and put on a serious expression that was rare to see. He stopped right behind Gumball, grabbing the prince’s arm and forcing him to look. ”Gumball!”
”What?!” The prince snapped. His voice had came out louder than he had intended for the second time tonight. The vampire was really pushing his buttons. “I'm going home, can't you see? Leave me alone." Gumball said as he turned back once again to continue walking away.
“No! Glob, you’re gonna get eaten out here!” Marshall scolded back as he tightened his hold on the prince, not allowing him to leave. He thought that Gumball was smart enough to know that, guess Marshall was wrong. Surprisingly.
“Would you die if you just listened to me for once?!”
“Why do you care?!”
“Because I love you,damn idiot!”
A heavy silence fell in the woods. Even the chirping birds had gone quiet, or maybe it was just their imaginations. But it truly felt like a bomb had dropped around them and killed all sorts of life right in that moment. Gumball could only stare at Marshall in shock, and Marshall could only stare right back with the same expression.
“..You.. what?” Gumball whispered after a moment of silence, his frustrated gaze turning into a much more softer one as he felt Marshall's grip on his arm loosen as well.
Marshall glanced away as he tried to speak, to form a sentence, to make an excuse, but he couldn’t. Because he knew that he couldn’t. No excuse could save him from this situation. So for the first time in a decade, he accepted defeat against the internal war he had been having with his emotions.
“I.. I love you, Gumball. I actually have for a while I just..” Marshall stammered out with a sigh, groaning as he buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know! I never knew! I can’t handle my emotions and I hate myself for not being able to tell you earlier and for being a total jerk but, I love you!”
Gumball stood in front of Marshall with a shocked expression. He never would’ve expected this, not in a million years. The prince inhaled and exhaled deeply before grabbing Marshall’s cold hands in his warm ones.
“..I understand.. I’ve been a mess too. Ever since we broke up, I felt like I was on autopilot. Like a zombie. I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was headed and, well.. I suppose that’s why I’ve been so irresponsible.” Gumball flashed a sincere smile to Marshall, and they just stared at each other, admiring their beauties and remembering why they loved each other.
“..I love you too, by the way.” The prince added with a nervous chuckle which gained a giggle out of Marshall as well. A blush formed on both of their cheeks as they admired each other for a second longer before Marshall spoke up.
“So like.. what now? Are we gonna.. you know..”
“If you’re okay with it, yeah. I would love to.”
With a sincere smile, the vampire pulled Gumball in for a kiss, one that he had wanted to steal for so long. It made both of their hearts warm up and their stomachs do a flip in their bodies. Marshall pulled Gumball closer by his waist, smiling into the kiss when he felt the prince’s warm hands on his cheeks.
They both pulled away enough to catch their breath after a minute, staring into each other’s eyes. The world around them turned into a blur as the two royal’s melted into each other’s arms, remembering old times and thanking whatever holy being had brought them together once again.
The sounds of a wolf’s cry in the distance caused both of them to fall right bsck down to earth from whatever sort of heaven they were both in. Gumball snapped his head towards the source of the noise with a startled expression, his eyes wandering around frantically for any signs of danger.
Marshall wasn't as affected as Gumball was. He was used to wolves and other types of night creatures. Perks of living in the forest, I guess. “..We should probably head back, yeah?”
“Yeah..” Gumball muttered back, slowly turning back to Marshall when he confirmef that danger wasn't nearby.. yet.
The vampire king pulled away from Gumball’s embrace, taking the prince’s hand as he led him away from the woods and back to where the party took place. He couldn't help but squeeze the other's gummy hand slightly.
“So.. Who’s gonna tell Fionna and Cake?” Marshall asked, which gained him a chuckle out of Gumball.
“I’ll tell them.”
Marshall chuckled. “Whatever you say. Love you, Gumwad.”
“I love you too, Marshall.”
![that night - ghost_garden - Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (Cartoon 2023) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mP8/h8AAvMB+NzmkbcAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)