NOTICE: If you haven't read 'The Citadel of Truth' this won't make much sense.

Embracing the Sun

Miraculously, even with the gift of the Citadel, the next flare erupting from her body left a sharp burn on my cheek as it burst forward; a cut, of sorts. Being momentarily shocked, I lost my place and caused FP to open her eyes and look at me in worry. She instantly noticed the injury, holding her shining hand to my face and losing her joyous aura.

"Finn…did I do that?"

I simply smiled.

"I don't think so," I said sarcastically.

She pouted. It wasn't exactly a bad look; it was actually quite funny whenever she did that. However, I quickly rejected my amusement as I saw the concern in her amber gaze. I gently took her outreached hand and kissed it, feeling the heat that somehow overwhelmed the safeguard of the fiery heart beating in my chest.

"You don't really think…" I began, resuming the rhythm at which I was previously moving.

Flame Princess surrendered some of her disposition, groaning a bit as her body tensed up. I assumed it was my fault. I was having difficulty adjusting to the act.

"That a tiny lash is going to stop me?"

The beautiful fire elemental looked back at me, wondering deeply about my statement. I finally grew cheerful once again as a radiant smile returned to her face. She lifted her head up, placing a kiss on my lips. As before, the contact stung more than usual, which of course, was supposed to be no sting at all.

As it stood now, the power of the mysterious temple was no match for the power contained within the core of my gorgeous little star. Hm. That's what I told her before; a star, a blazing sun.

I lay my hand back down on the bed and went down on my elbows, wishing to be closer to the prominent source of passion beneath me. The direct center of FP's chest, just below her bust, was the highest concentration of energy. Rightfully so, as the girl's elemental matrix was currently unleashing a bomb's worth of activity below her delicate surface.

Another flare flew off of her, as if it were a layer of fiery silk, peeled from her golden skin. I avoided that one, or, to be more accurate, was never in its path. The incredible arc of fire struck the ceiling above our bed, effortlessly breaking through the flame shield I had cast earlier and leaving a deep scorch mark on the site. I felt bad damaging the ship, considering it wasn't mine to trash.

On the other hand, I'd feel even worse not making Flame Princess happy. I had died approximately twice during our multiverse quest, proving that I was not only reckless, but also still immature in terms of keeping a healthy relationship. How could I possibly think to leave the girl I love on her own?

She drives my heart, fuels my will, and provides me with the need to create a better world for her. And…for any future generations that may follow behind us. Perhaps, of our own descent.

"Finn?"

I fidgeted with shaking my head, realizing I had been lost to my thoughts. Flame Princess was still staring at me, although the fact that it was with a grin made me think it had nothing to do with being distracted. Surprisingly, said distraction did not prevent me from continuing my movements. Apparently the need to bring her happiness was carved into my subconscious. Good to know.

"Yeah?" I asked warmly.

She tilted her head slightly, looking rather dreamily at this point. The pain must have been subsiding, now only leaving the exotic sense of bliss that came with the intimate engagement we were in. In the meantime, the fact that I was going slowly as an early caution allowed her to speak without the distraction of an unstoppable utterance of delight.

"Why are you still holding back?"

I was rather caught off by the inquiry, nervously trying to look at something else except her questioning expression. Sure, I could easily look down, below her collar, but I'd learned a long time ago that such a thing was excessively rude, even to your lady. I sighed, realizing that I couldn't weed myself out of this one.

"I'm just being careful. After all, neither of us has any experience with this, I don't want to hurt you."

Oddly enough, she giggled, absentmindedly rubbing her thumbs on my shoulder blades as her hands gripped my upper sides.

"You? Careful? That's a laugh."

I blushed slightly, embarrassed by the truth to the matter. Before I could feel worse however, FP pulled me in completely, wrapping her arms around my back as our bare chests made contact. My eyes widened, having not expected the enormous blast of heat being transferred from her to me in the blink of an eye. It almost hurt, but wasn't quite searing enough to overcome the felicity felt throughout my body.

"Show me; show me how much you love me."

As if by a trigger, my hips seemed to react on their own, immediately shifting gears and pushing forward, causing Flame Princess to briefly moan from the unexpected hit. Regaining control, I decided to take advantage of my love's momentary dizziness, breaking into a faster rhythm that would ultimately speed up the activity.

My change didn't slip by FP's notice, as she first groaned again, but settled quickly, seeming to have gotten past the troublesome effects of the first time and beginning to truly enjoy our togetherness. She closed her eyes, smiling as if she lay upon a bed of clouds. I was a bit jealous.

Ignoring that thought, I had to keep in mind yet another mentionable occurrence. Besides the erratic whips of combustion darting off of her, Flame Princess's struggle to contain her fires also concentrated a vast increase of temperature in my lower body, the place where the two of us were the closet to each other. I was sure I was going numb, but swore that only a cold sensation could cause such a feeling. Sadly, this was being disproven as I was now sure that my pelvis and legs didn't even exist.

Then, I said to myself: You know what? Who cares? FP was still smiling, even humming along to the pleasant sensations flowing throughout her nerves. I smiled too, picking up the pace. She reacted positively this time, smiling so hard that her teeth began to show. At that point, I knew it was safe for her. I could fulfil her request.

I let my head fall lower, placing a row of kisses along her neck, making her giggle more.

"Finn, stop," she pleaded, although playfully, meaning I was fine to continue, knowing I wasn't pressing my luck.

I moved along her neckline, breathing out through my nose as I gave her more and more bite-sized smooches. Even with her fiery composition, I could tell she could feel the expelled air against her skin, sending a shiver up her spine. Feeling mischievous, I headed down her throat until my nose began tickling the space between her breasts. She giggled harder.

"I swear, I'm gonna beat you up."

She was laughing the whole time, enjoying my playful nature. I raised my head back up, bringing my lips to hers, missing the tender feel of a kiss from my angel. I went even faster as the sounds she would've been releasing were drowned out in the interaction between our mouths.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. Feeling was returning to my lower body. I pulled away slightly from FP, letting her express her joy in muttered sounds and hums. I looked at my hand. It was quite red, as if I was scalded by boiling water. The rest of my skin was the same, saturated by the blood concentration just below the surface.

My temperature was equalizing with hers.

As the nerves below revived their connection to my brain, I was hit with my share of sensations, namely the hot-blooded tension between me and Flame princess. In addition, I was getting this strange feeling, like something was building up inside me. For some reason, this only made me go faster, telling from my lady's reactions to my motions that there was no restriction.

FP felt my muscles tense up as the feeling grew more. She stared into my eyes without blinking, as if trying to communicate something mentally to me. Remarkably, I thought it was working. She was encouraging me.

I took a few deep breaths as I maxed out the speed, pinching my eyes together, more out of safety than tension, as the numbers of rampant flames licking off of Flame Princess were increasing drastically. More than a few singed my face again, although I ignored them. I couldn't let her down.

If I didn't know better, the surrounding combustive noises and senses of nearby heat nearly matched a fireworks show. I smiled, remembering a time when I dreamt of gently kissing FP underneath the colorful exploding lights.

A few seconds later, I felt FP's fingers beginning to dig into my back, as if she too were holding back an urge to release a great amount of tension. Her temperature was rising again, exceeding mine. Luckily, I kept the use of my touch, allowing me to continue feeling the girl's thighs brushing against my hips.

In truth, I felt like a man hugging the surface of the sun, about to be either engulfed, or burned to a crisp. Flame princess was, truly, in a way, like a blazing star. Her personality could scale from a violent supernova to a dark black hole, on the rare occasion.

The flares reached a peak, blasting shockwaves of fire all over the room. I was sure that something would be melted by the end of this. Regardless, I refused to stop. This way my moment, my time to break through the now frail glass barrier that nature had put up between us so long ago.

Originally, the wall was vastly dense, keeping me at arms distance from even touching my beloved's fair skin. But over the years, with relentless wear and tear, we managed to weaken the blasted thing down, so that now, a single righteous punch would shatter it, removing the final obstacle the universe was foolish enough to put up.

I felt it. My body lunged forward, as FP's did the same. She cried out this time, obviously unable to hold the expression in. I myself took great effort into not doing the same, although still managed to groan rather loudly as me and my 'star' radiated a monstrous amount of heat, making it seem that the room itself was melting.

For a few split seconds, our bodies didn't exist, so intangible that our very hearts and souls embraced each other, uniting our passion and righteousness into a single divine force of joy, which flooded our veins, extinguishing the potent flames that had been building up inside.

I fell to Flame Princess's side, trying to control my breathing. I noticed a few slashes on my chest, caused by the finishing rage of flares, having mercilessly whipped my body as if FP's power was angry that they had no effect on distracting me from the one I loved.

She was panting beside me, now turned on her side and placing her glowing arm onto my abdomen. The fire elemental snuggled up close, wanting to feel warmth equally throughout her form, not just the excessive amount in her lower portion.

"Thank you," she whispered.

I smiled, kissing her forehead and getting on my side so as to cuddle her as well. She shook herself, readjusting to the new position.

"Anything for my shining star."

We lay there, probably trying to fall asleep, but honestly unsure. Our eyes remained closed, but our minds were pondering the future. A subject apparently came up with Flame Princess that was discussion worthy, for she spoke a few minutes later.

"What will you miss most about Ooo while we're gone?"

I hummed softly, in deep contemplation.

"I would say, all the evil guys who still want to kill me."

FP was partially startled by my response, based on her wide eyes.

"That's what you'll miss?"

I chuckled a bit and performed a laying down shrug.

"I'm still immature, I guess."

My lady gave me a kiss.

"You certainly are, dummy."

Then she gave a smirk.

"Just so you know, what we just did was a promise."

I tilted my head, intrigued.

"To do what?"

She placed her forehead against mine.

"To never be separated again."

I grinned widely and held her tighter.

"Works for me."

She giggled slightly, although I knew she was serious. After so much time together, I'd developed a sixth sense for this sort of thing. Enjoying the casual talk while we waited for our exhausted bodies to shut down, I continued the conversation.

"So, what will you not miss at all?"

FP didn't say a word at first. I noticed she was silently gazing down at my neckline. Although, I had a feeling it wasn't to examine my necklace.

"I would have to say, all those destroyed kingdoms. It's heartbreaking."

I frowned, having to agree to that one. I held her even tighter, hoping to comfort her out of the mood. It worked, to a degree, as she pushed through a smile when her eyes returned to mine.

"What about you?"

I grinned, already having my answer.

"The sun."

FP looked at me questioningly.

"Really? But, that's so…important."

I chuckled, loosening my grip around her back to play with a few strands of her crimson hair.

"True, but, I have something even better to see every morning."

As my smile widened, Flame Princess actually shed a tear. Her lips met mine again, minus the previous burning. Her matrix had calmed.

"I love you, Finn. You always know what to say."

I grinned as our eyes shut and our minds faded into dreams.

"I love you too, FP. You always brighten my day."

Well, that took A LOT of guts.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!