Finn sucked in an anxious breath, leaning into the mirror as his knuckles grew white from clutching the sink basin. Calm yourself, Finn. Everything will be ok. It's not the end of the world - and you've survived and stopped that a couple times already.
But it wasn't ok. This was much more serious than the end of the world.
He was about to ask a girl on a date. And not just any girl (if 'girl' could even be applied to someone of her age).
The Hero of Ooo, Finn the Human, was going to ask Marceline Abadeer, the Vampire Queen, on a date. A proposition which, currently, had made Finn a tangled bag of nerves.
Getting over Flame Princess took a lot of time and effort, and it had mentally drained him. After witnessing just how bad a broken relationship could become, he was determined to not let it happen again - Glob save his soul - and his overly-precautious, naïve attitude had kicked into twelfth gear.
His mirror provided Finn with a living portrait of himself, which he scrutinised with a finely toothed comb. Pressing down a particularly persistent strand of hair with a wet finger, he nodded begrudgingly at the way it fell, as he frowned at the crown of fine stubble pushing its way through the surface of his skin.
Cursing time and his current lack thereof, Finn regretted not shaving the evening before; but c'est la vie - there was nothing that he could do, and checking the clock lazily dangling parallel to the mirror, almost no time to do it in.
Dashing out of the bathroom, he skidded hard through the landing, announcing as he did so his imminent departure, to Jake. If he wasn't careful, he knew he'd end up late to the guitar lesson he'd scheduled with Marce, and he really didn't want to look bad. That would just be horrendous.
Light bloomed out and into the treasure room, creating a sea of molten reflections, as Finn threw the door open to the brilliance of the setting sun on the vast meadow of the grasslands. Usually, he would take a moment to consider the importance of such a moment, but he was on his way to a meeting of much greater significance.
Finn was already halfway to Marceline's by the time the sun had crowned the horizon.
When Finn had requested guitar lessons, Marceline had jumped at the chance.
And it was very fortuitous, because Finn was good - really good. It must've been because of his great dexterity (not just anyone becomes a renowned hero, after all), because despite his, currently lacking, knowledge of theory, he managed to keep the somewhat basic melodies of the riffs that she taught him, and in return, would pull his own little twist.
Ever since Marceline had begun to teach Finn, she had found herself spending a lot more time than necessary planning and looking forward to the next lesson. It was like she wanted each meeting to be as perfect as possible, and had to regularly check herself for these feelings.
Her diligent plans, however, appeared to have failed her, as she groggily awoke to the racket of someone knocking on her door. Floating to the doorway, she threw the door open, immediately stunned out of her sleepiness by coming face-to-face with Finn. Heat immediately rose to her cheeks.
"Finn- who- wha-? Crap, hold on," Marceline spluttered out (slamming the door in his face - accidentally of course), excited from embarrassment. Was he early, or was she late?
Looking down, her jaw dropped. She was in her pyjamas. She was practically naked - and Finn had just seen her. Internally screaming, she threw on her clothes at the speed of light, not even stomaching the prospect of checking her hair, before finally turning to face the door.
Breathing in, she took a moment to compose herself, before pulling the door open. He hadn't moved an inch. "Oh, hey, Finn, come in."
Taking the hint as to not mention their earlier encounter, Finn smiled his thanks, closing the door behind him as he entered. Taking stock of the living room, he came to one conclusion: "Late night?"
Whistling, Marceline shook her head. "You have no~ idea. C'mon, help me get the stuff ready, this is a lesson after all - not just a social gathering."
Finn chuckled, picking up a box full of guitar leads and other paraphernalia and placing it next to the amp. "I'll be honest, Marce, I don't know what half this junk is."
Moving to his side, Marceline dug around inside until she withdrew with what looked like a large metal rectangle. "This is an effects pedal, for gigs and jazz like that. All it does is change the sound of your guitar, but it can become quite handy."
"Wait - gigs? AKA live performances - together?" The idea presently sent a shock of panic through his spine.
"Well, yeah. But after we get good. Calm down Finnie, I won't publicly humiliate you - or will I?" A mischievous glint of red flashed through her eyes as she playfully bore her fangs. Laughing, she punched his arm as a sign of jest. Finn sighed, relieved.
Truthfully, Finn didn't think that he would be good at live performances, when his legs shook from nerves whenever he practised with Marceline. However, he did have feelings for her. Speaking of which...
"Hey Marce, I well, I wrote a song. Well actually - it's kinda a cover of a song that was, well, released before the Mushroom War and well, I kinda thought, since you gave me these lessons and, well, you were alive during that time, that I should, sorta, write it - cover it - for you... yeah." He was bright red, nothing like the suited luter of yester years.
Eyes widening slightly, Marceline realised how much this meant to him. She nodded, followed by a quiet 'sure'.
Fiddling with his guitar (a busted-up blue PRS he found in Rattlebone's junkyard), Finn quietened his buzzing mind, and let his fingers find their place on the frets.
'Got your tape and it changed my mind
Heard your voice in between the lines
Come around from another time
Where nobody ever goes
All alone on the overpass
Wired and phoned to a heart of glass
Now I'm falling in love too fast
With you or the songs you chose
And all the stars
Play for me
Say the promise you long to keep
I can hear you singin' 'till the end, Marceline
I can hear you singin' 'till the end, Marceline
I've been living in your cassette
It's the modern equivalent
Singing up to a Capulet
On a balcony in your mind
In the City the lion sleeps
Pray to Sony my soul to keep
Were you ever so bright and sweet
Did you ever look so nice
And all the sounds
Dream for me
Dive me down in a soul so deep
I can hear you singin' 'till the end, Marceline
I can hear you singin' 'till the end, Marceline'
"Erm, yeah... That's it. What did you thin-"
The last couple syllables were snatched away by the brief kiss she gave him.
"It was perfect."