(Alright, so I had to do some thinking after "Frost and FIre". I try to write my fics to be as close to the canon as possible, but that episode makes it difficult. So, unless I specify otherwise or they get back together in the show, I'll try to write to be as close to canon up until "Frost and Fire". Anyway, here's a kinda sappy, pure romance fic. Also, if anyone knows the artist of the image I'm using for this fic, please message me so I can credit them.)
Finn leaned against the railing on the balcony of the Candy Castle. He could hear the sounds of the many party-goers back inside. Surprisingly not clad in his typical shirt and shorts (yet still wearing his hat), he wore a fancy blue tuxedo. He looked down at his hands, wearing equally fancy white fire-resistant gloves. Made of light, yet fire-proof fabric, these beauties came from Choose Goose. In addition to these, Finn also bought another pair of similarly fire-proof gloves and shoes for Flame Princess to use today. One would think that their problems could be solved with an entire set of fire-proof clothes, but unfortunately Choose Goose was just a merchant and had no clue as to their origin or what they were even made out of. It seemed that this was the best they could do for now.
He looked up at the starry night sky and couldn't help but worry. What if she didn't come? He could hardly blame her, he supposed. She wasn't exactly welcome in the Candy Kingdom. Even though Princess Bubblegum tried to keep Flame Princess' unstable and sometimes violent nature a secret from the candy people, word has a tendency to get around anyway. Not to mention that fire elementals have a bad reputation to begin with. Finn recalled how hard it was to convince Bubblegum to even let FP attend this ball in the first place:
"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!" he begged on his knees.
"Finn, I told you! It's too dangerous! Not just because of her instability, but sugar burns and melts pretty easily, you know!"
"But I got her those gloves and shoes and everything so she can walk on the candy floors!"
"Be that as it may, there's still the issue of her instability."
"But she's been doing way better! She hasn't had any violent outbreaks in, like, months! She only does that kind of stuff against evil things… usually. As long as I don't kiss her it'll be fine! Please, PB, I just…" Finn suddenly looked very solemn "…I just don't want her to feel like she's a freak, you know?"
Princess Bubblegum sighed "Alright Finn… If you can promise to keep her calm, then she's invited to the Bubblegum Ball. "
A huge smile came across his face "YES! Thank you, Peebles! I promise you won't regret it!"
"BUT." Bubblegum continued "If she goes off, I will have to take action to protect my kingdom."
Finn's smile faded a little, but he was still brimming with confidence. "Don't worry, PB. I promise you nothing will happen!"
Finn decided to head back inside and try to stop worrying. The ballroom was packed with candy people taking and enjoying the festivities. Not just candy people, but others like Jake and Lady Rainicorn were there too, as well as LSP and her unwilling date. In fact, pretty much everyone who attended brought a date with them, save for Bubblegum of course. She was much too busy managing the ball anyway, though she still dressed for the occasion.
Finn was making his way towards Jake and Lady when he heard Peppermint Butler interrupt the festivities.
He stood beside the main doors and announced "Introducing our final guest, the Princess of the Fire Kingdom!"
Finn immediately turned toward the doors. The large candy doors slowly opened, revealing the fiery, glowing Flame Princess. She wore an elegant, bright red ball gown and gloves, perfectly complimenting her light orange skin. However, the usually out-going Flame Princess was visibly nervous. This was her first time in the Candy Kingdom after all, and she really didn't want to blow it.
But as she entered, the candy people stared. Even worse, they started whispering to each other about her instability, fiery appearance, and other such gossip. It reminded Flame Princess of her life locked in a lantern. How the fire people would stare and whisper about her and she was powerless to do anything about it. It made her angry. Really angry. As much as she tried to stay calm, her flames began to grow more intense and violent.
Both Finn and Bubblegum saw this. Finn rushed over to Flame Princess, while Bubblegum prepared for the worst.
Finn went up to her and grabbed her hand. "H-hey, FP! Why don't we, uh… go to the food table! They've got these tiny hotdogs and sandwiches and stuff comeonletsgo!" He said in a single, hurried breath as he led her away from the crowd.
Bubblegum breathed a sigh of relief and distracted the candy people with some party games.
Flame Princess and Finn made it to the empty balcony just outside the ballroom. She was able to calm down significantly, her flames returning to their normal state.
She leaned on the railing "Ugh, I'm sorry about that, Finn. People whispering about me like that just makes me so angry!"
"Nah, don't worry about it, FP. They shouldn't have been doing that kind of jazz in the first place. A lot of the candy people, they're uh…" Finn put his hand to his mouth and said quietly "They're not too bright."
A smile finally came to Flame Princess' face. "Hm, yeah. Looks like they're not that different from most of the fire people after all." She said looking down at the vast kingdom below.
Finn smiled too. "I'm really glad you came, though. You look… beautiful."
They both blushed. "Thanks Finn. You look really great too. I can't say I ever expected to see you in something so fancy."
"Heh, me neither, honestly." He rubbed his neck, unsure of what to say next. "So… do you wanna go back inside, or…"
Flame Princess gently grabbed his hand. "Can we just… stay here for a little bit longer?"
"Yeah, sure. No problem." He tenderly squeezed her hand back.
They spent the next few minutes together in the crisp night air. That's when they overheard an announcement from Princess Bubblegum inside.
"Alright everyone, it's time for the main event! Grab your dates because it's time to slow dance!"
The talking inside quieted down and slow, romantic music began to play. Flame Princess was feeling much calmer and more confident she could return to the ball, so she decided to speak up.
"Hey Finn, do you want to dance?" She asked.
Finn suddenly perked up. "Yeah! Well, I mean, if you want to."
"Yeah, I do." She thought for a second, and realized something "Wait, do you know how to slow dance?"
"Oh, well… I think I… Huh. I guess I don't! I know how to boogie and stuff, but yeah, I guess I've never slow danced."
FP raised an eyebrow "So, you came to a ball without knowing how to ballroom dance?"
"Heh, yeah. I guess I should have though that one through…" He said with a nervous smile "Do you know how to?"
"Well, yeah, actually. My father had some royal tutors teach me while I was in the lantern. I had to dance alone, but I think I got it down. C'mon, just follow my lead!" She grabbed his hand and led him back inside.
As expected, everyone was quietly dancing with their date on the ballroom dance floor. Flame Princess and Finn walked in somewhat nervously, and found an available spot on the dance floor.
They stood together amidst the crowd of dancers. Fortunately, most of them were too preoccupied with their dancing to pay the new couple much mind. Flame Princess guided one of his hands to her waist, put her hand on his shoulder, and held his free hand with hers. Now they were in the right position, but there was still the matter of the dance itself.
Finn looked around at the other couples, hoping to figure out what he was supposed to do. Maybe he should just wing it? Does that work for ballroom dancing?
FP noticed his worry and assured him with a smile "Don't worry about it. Like I said, just follow my lead…"
She started lightly stepping to the slow rhythm of the music, allowing Finn to follow her steps. He started off clumsily, but Finn soon got into the swing of it. In no time, they're both moving and turning in tandem.
"Hey, this isn't so hard!" Finn laughed.
Flame Princess smiled "See? I told you it'd be fine."
They smiled and stared into each other's eyes as they danced. No matter how much they wanted to at that moment, they couldn't hug, and they couldn't kiss. But there was one thing they could do. They both gently leaned their heads in and rested their foreheads on each other's. FP's gem was by far the least hot part of her body, so this was an embrace they could enjoy without hurting each other. They closed their eyes and let the music take them.
They were so immersed in the moment that they barely noticed that they had attracted quite a bit of attention. But this time the candy people weren't staring and gossiping. They were smiling, looking on in admiration. Seeing their hero of Ooo finally find love, even Bubblegum couldn't help but smile.
"Hehe, that's my boy! I told him everything would be fine!" Jake said among the crowd of onlookers.
Time passed, and eventually the music stopped. Finn and FP opened their eyes and looked in surprise at the crowd that had gathered around them.
"Uh…" Finn stammered "Did I do the dance wrong?"
To the couple's astonishment, the crowd of candies started clapping and cheering. Finn and Flame Princess looked at each other with confusion. They shrugged and decided to wave at the audience.
"Why are they cheering?" Flame Princess whispered as she waved.
"I dunno. I guess we were really cute or something?" Finn whispered back.
Suddenly the sound of loud sobbing could be heard as a floating purple blob came to the front of the crowd.
"OH MY GLOB, YOU GUYS! THAT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LUMPING THING I'VE EVER SEEN!" LSP cried, fanning her face with her hands. "WHY CAN'T WE BE LIKE THAT, DANNY?" She directed towards her unfortunate date.
"M-my name's Steven…" He said hesitantly.
Choosing to ignore the drama, Finn directed his attention back to Flame Princess.
"So, uh... what do think about the Candy Kingdom?" He laughed nervously.
FP looked at the formerly gossiping candy people, and then at frantic purple cloud crying and yelling at her date. She looked back at Finn and replied:
"This place is weird."