Finn Grows Up:

AN: Hello all of you fan-fictiony people. This is my first foray into the whole fanfiction biz in quite a while, so I hope y'all will like this trek into uncharted waters. I decided I'd make a start with something close to me, and Adventure Time definitely fits that bill. It's something that I feel I have a good grasp on in terms of thematics and characters, so I hope you'll enjoy this interperitation. This is going to be a long one, if I have anything to say about it, and I'm not really sure how updating is going to be, but I'll try to give it to you guys on the regs, especially if you like it. Enjoy!

Edit Notice:

Finn Grows Up Book I will soon undergo a major revision to bring it to a final, fully edited version of the highest possible quality. This will include the removal of typographical errors, creation of a consistent chapter format, and the revision of selected scenes to maximize the enjoyability of the fic. When this period is completed, I'll post an epilogue chapter to cap things off, and so that you don't have to read the whole fic every week to see everything I've changed. Thanks again to all of you for making this possible.

-ithitsallonitsown-

Adventure Time!

Come on, grab your friends,

We'll go to very, distant lands.

With Jake the Dog, and Finn the Human,

The fun will never end.

It's Adventure Time!

Chapter 1: 'Nother Day, 'Nother Dealio

In the land of Ooo, at the heart of the grasslands, a plethora of sweet breakfastey smells floats across the low, rolling hills. Birdsong fills the air as the sun breaks the horizon, casting its warm rays across the hills, turning the lingering gloom of dusk into long shadows, where that night would hide until midday banished it completely. They painted the side of a solitary obstruction in the uniform landscape, a thick, ancient tree, tingeing trunk and bough with soft, warm color.

"Hey Finn! Are you up yet?" Jake grumbled, using mondo-stretching to juggle several items around the stove. "If you don't quit bunkin' around you're gonna miss breakfast! Get it goin' homie!" The dog had always been an easier riser, but it was so strange to see his normally overcharged bud all lazylike. Kid must be getting' older, the dog thought.

Up in the room above, muffled grunts emanated from a bundled up lump lying on a bed. The smell of the food, combined with the soft song of the birds and the gentle rays of light slipping through his window, was slowly but surely winning the fight against the last wisps of sleep. The bundle turned over once. It grunted more, and then turned again, before finally cracking in half to reveal a form of pale skin and a mess of what could be confused with finely-spun gold. Finn the Human smacked his lips, stretching his arms out over his head before feebly attempting to rub the sand from the corners of his eyes. After a little bit of absent staring, he cast his eyes out the window, wincing a bit as his eyes adjust but otherwise enjoying the sight. A faint, groggy smile curves his lips. That view would never change, and he hoped it'd never grow old.

Shaking his head once to try and dispel his lingering lethargy, Finn left his bed, stretching again from his toes to his fingertips, yawning loudly. "Oh math…" he moaned, feeling things pop along his back and neck. It seemed that there were always little pops and aches here and there, these days. Usually in the wake of some bump or thump he had received in antics the day before. Finn had no problems with that though. Pain was just pain. He was tough, and wouldn't let a few waking pains slow him down.

More than the way he woke up had changed, as the days rolled on. Twelve had become thirteen, then fourteen. Five came into six, and six had now recently become seven. Seven would eventually become eight, but all that future jive wasn't big in Finn's brainpan. He just kept his head in the now, like he always did. So what if he was doing some shifto-changeo deal? Growing boys grow, and that didn't bother Finn a bit. He still had his hero heart, and that was all that mattered.

"Fiiiiiiinn! Come on buddy, it's done and it'll be cold if you don't move your buns!" Jake called, his tone growing more impatient.

"Hold your llama buddy, I'm on my way!" Finn shouted back, slipping out of his PJs and putting on some daytime clothes. His blue shorts had gotten too small years ago; he slipped into a pair of denim jeans, before tromping down the stairs. His shirt could wait till it was time to head out, but Jake, and his stomach, didn't wanna.

Down in the kitch, Jake was done juggling, and had already started digging in. "Take a seat Finn, before I eat your grub for ya!" the hound joked, scarfing down a sausage. "We've got sausages, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, and just for you, I made ya some sautéed mushrooms and peppers and… Ah… Veggie stuff."

"Veggie stuff?" Finn asked curiously, taking a seat. "We don't usually have lots of veggie stuff. What gives?"

"Finn, I'm a dog. Too much veggie stuff is bad for my gut," Jake said between mouthfuls. "But you're a human, and you need plenty of veggie stuff to stay healthy. You hated it, so I always hid 'em in things you actually liked, but now that you're getting' all grown up and stuff, you gotta take it on your own."

"Hey man, watch it! I ain't no grownup!" Finn protested, but he was met with Jake's 'really'-look. The human boy relented, at least a bit. "Alright fine."

"Don't worry 'bout it bromie," Jake said in reassurance, stretching over to bump Finn on the arm. "Growin' up ain't so bad. Sure you gotta give up some of your little-kid fun, but you get all new grown up fun to replace it! And in the end, you're still you; you still like the same kinda stuff, you just find it in different places."

Finn's smile turned up for the brighter, bumping his buddy back with a little leaning. "Thanks bro," he said. "You always know how to set my mind right." With that, the two chowed down on their breakfast feast.

After a bit, Jake comes up for air, and to say, "Man, yous got some long arms."

After their munching was complete, the best buds in Ooo moved to the couch to play B-MO while they decided what to do with their day. "Man, I still think we should go see if PB's got something for us. We haven't heard from her in mad long."

"Ehhh…" Finn replied, screwing up his face as he attempted to maneuver his game-guy around Jake's fireball attack, screwing up his face a bit more when he was only partially successful. "I dunno. Peebles said she'd be pretty busy these next few weeks. Don't wanna muck up her science biz, ya know?"

"Yeah, I guess… Haha, now I've got ya. Putrid Cloud, hwatcha!"

"Wha!?" Finn exclaimed in surprise, before groaning as his character coughed on the nasty green fumes, till his health dropped to zero. "Aww butts! That spell's no fair, you can't move out of it!"

"Yeah, well that'll show ya not to keep usin' that cheapo transmoogler hex, the one that turns ya into a cat!" Jake countered.

Finn was unrepentant, if his mischievous grin was anything to tell by. Regardless, their banter was interrupted by a whistling tune coming up the ladder. Marceline the Vampire Queen came floating up into the scene, waving her fingers at the couch-riding homies. "What up, y'all?" she asks, floating up over them with her legs out beside her, like she was reclining on a couch. The way-rad rocker vamp was wearing a pair of black jeans tucked into big black boots with big shiny buckles, and a red tanktop with a big gold flower printed on the front. Her hair was in a simple tail behind her head, her pale arms were covered by long gloves, and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat topped her head.

"Oh heya Marcie," Finn responded casually, waving back. Jake waved too, but he was mostly still occupied with B-MO. "Not much, just trying to plan some rad shenanigans. I wanna do a dungeon romp, but Jake wants to visit Princess Bubblegum and see what she's up to."

"Man that was just one idea. I just don't wanna do somethin' mega gutbustin'. My gut's still tired from gettin' all busted by that rock golem we fought yesterday." Jake protests, as he fiddles on with B-MO. Marceline snickered with amusement.

"Aww, cheer up little pup," she said, drifting over to an easychair in the corner, which she draped herself across. "I'm down to stick around, and be your chum while you rest your tum. And in a bit, I'm gonna mosey over to a spot where I think you'll fit right in, Finn." She looks quite pleased with her rhyming self.

"Yeah, that's cool," Jake says, smiling at his friends. "I gotta meet Lady later anyways, so it's all good if you guys wanna do somethin' without me."

Finn pops up off the couch, two fists raised way, way up. "Sounds way poppin', Marcie," he says with his usual cheerful enthusiasm.

Marceline eyes Finn then, a bit surprised, but then smirks with her usual mirth. "Groovy," she says, before floating off the easy chair towards the last Human, head first with her chin resting on her arms, like she was lying on a bed. Her nose came to a halt a few inches from Finn's. "Zany guns, by the way," she says to him, her voice filled with teasing glee as she poked his chest with one finger. "Been getting' all buff n' stuff?"

"Huh? N-nah man, my guns are just… Y'know, my guns!" he stammers out in response. He hadn't thought someone'd be showing up, or he would've gotten dressed already.

Marceline laughed a bit, floating around him. "Yeah, sure thing hero-boy, but I think you're gonna want something with a little more cover if you're gonna go handle some biz with me later. Unless that's just what they make armor out of these days."

"Y-yeah… I'm gonna go do that," Finn said, beating a quick retreat to his room, his face flushed and his ears hot. Marceline just chuckled, settling into his spot on the couch to ham it up with Jake.

"Man, that kid never changes, does he?" she reminisced, as Jake finally gave up fiddling with B-MO.

"Oh no, Marceline, you don't know the half of it," the little computer said, hopping up to his feet. His screen bears a conspirator's grin. "Sometimes, when he is asleep, Finn dreams about all the adventures he's had. He does not say anything, but B-MO has his ways of knowing."

Both Marcie and Jake gave B-MO a stumped look. The computer simply puts his hands behind his head and walks off. "B-MO has his ways," he insists. The two he left behind just shrug at each other.

"Yeah, growin' up can be rough for him sometimes, but he's still all good. That's Finn for ya, ain't nothin' gonna bother him so long as his friends are good, and he can go out adventurin' and stuff." Jake stretches his arm into the kitchen to grab some juice. "I ain't really worried. He's gonna have to figure things out on his own; I'm a dog, don't really know too much 'bout how humans grow up. But that's what he's always done, so I think he'll be alright."

"Word up, pup."

Back up in his room, Finn pulled his hoodie over his head. Like the shorts, he'd outgrown his shirt, backpack, and his beloved hat, but with a little help from Ragdoll Princess, he'd made a rockin' hoodie of the same color, with his old hat as the hood, and in lieu of the old backpack, he had a green messenger bag, with special loops for swords on the side. These days, Finn mostly relied on his trust Root Swords; the shorter one he had used when he was younger, and a longer one, made for his big-boy self.

"Man, what was that biz with Marcie teasing about my guns?" he wondered to himself as he pulled on socks and shoes. "I mean yeah, they've gotten all stiffer and kinda lumpy, but… Am I really all that different from before?" He scratched at the spot where his vampire friend had poked him, on the left side of his chest. The skin tingled oddly.

He thought about it for a few more moments, before shrugging it away. "Eh, I'm sure it's just Marcie. Don't think too hard on it man, you ain't too good at thinking anyhow. Just stay rad."

The last human smiled, nodding to himself as he slid his Root Swords into place before rumbling down the stairs. "Alrighty ma'am, we are down to jam!" he exclaimed, pulling his bear-hood up over his head. "So what's it gonna be Marceline? Minotaurs? Gorgons? Minotaurgons!?"

Marceline chuckled, always amused by her friend's unending enthusiasm. "Nah, none of that weaksauce. We're going for the big time, baby." Finn's cheer visibly multiplied, and the vampire queen couldn't help but feel its infectiousness. Being around Finn was like standing in the eye of a hurricane made of excitement, altruism, and gratuitous physical violence. "You, my dear hero-boy, are gonna help me find a bass. Not just any bass though."

"An extraordinary bass, huh? What's so math about it?"

"Well, if what my wad of an ex's journal said is correct, this particular bass has strings wound from the beard of Thoros, a powerful Forge-Titan, who lives in a volcano. The journal also said that if you can beat Thoros in a rock-off with it, he'll craft you an artifact of unimaginable power… And, you know, awesome free bass strings for life. Dude's got a mondo-beard."

Finn shifted into his 'somehow dramatic basic deduction mode'. "So you're saying that if I help you find this bass…"

"And if you help me melt his face off with some killer tunes…" Marceline continued.

"…Then he'll give you plenty of beard-strings, and he can make me a romp-whompin' sword!" Finn pumped his fists in excitement. "This is munchin' awesome!"

"You got it," the vampire said, exchanging a high-five that was truly righteous. "Now let's boogie baby, I wanna get there before the sun gets too bright."

"You bet, Marcie! It's Aaaaaadventure Time!"

With that, the two paid momentary goodbye's to Jake, and off they went on a shiny new quest.