Chapter 4: The trade off
For the next two days, Fionna and Gumball had spent a lot of time together training, preparing for the wedding but most importantly actually having real conversations. It was refreshing to both of them and seemed natural as if their previous relationship together never occurred. Fionna and Gumball had been together for a short while until an arrangement by the royal council separated them. They had been civil for months but now at last PG found that they were becoming friends once again. Despite their casual meetings, he grew fonder of her by the day. They were bonding like they once had. Since their breakup wasn't on their own accord, in his mind, their relationship was still burning low.
Fionna walked into the royal gym the day before the wedding looking around for the Pink Prince himself. It was five past their scheduled meeting time and of course as anyone could expect, Gumball was never late for anything.
"Hey PG where are you man"? Fionna called out
As she walked farther into the gym she could hear counting. She could hear the voice but couldn't see anyone anywhere.
Suddenly something made her look up and gasp. There was Gumball hanging off a rod doing pull ups.
"97, 98, 99," Just as he finished his last pull up, Gumball felt his hand slip. He let out a yelp as he dangled 20 feet from Fionna.
"Gumball hang on"! Fionna yelled, jumping onto the ladder next to the wall to the bar.
"No Fionna, don't! Let me do this"!
"Has your gummy brain gone lumpin sour"!? She screamed
"No I mean it Fionna, let me do this".
Fionna watched nervously and screamed as PG lost his grip and fell through the air. Quickly Fionna reacted by somersaulting into the air and catching him bridal style in her arms. She exhaled with relief as Gumball just sighed in her arms. She could see the look of disappointment on his face
"You know, you can't attempt dangerous stuff immediately, your muscles can't scientifically grow that fast".
"Actually Fionna it's called building muscle and yes they can for my specific anatomy". Gumball said as he stood up.
It was then that Fionna actually noticed his shirtless toned upper body. He had pecks and at least a four pack and not to mention his biceps looked bigger than they had yesterday. Fionna felt herself blush. Immediately her coloring was noticed by the prince as he turned his bare toned back to her.
"Excuse me for the indecency it's not proper for a lady to see a royal half nude". Fionna's face flushed.
"Oh…it's cool, nothing I uh..haven't seen before". She admitted with a slight chuckle.
"Fionna get a grip, he's your ex remember"? The human girl thought to herself as she tried to erase the image of her body pressed against Prince Gumballs as if their breakup months ago had never happened.
PG put his shirt back on and smiled at her.
"So what's on the agenda today"?
Fionna was a little disappointed that PG had brushed off any sight of awkward counteracting statement about how he didn't feel such an intense way about her. Unbeknownst to Fionna, she was all that was ever on his mind since the moment they broke up. He raised his eyebrows to her, forcing her to shake herself out of her fantasy of PG's defined body that he sinfully covered up.
"Well I thought we'd try some boxing in case you know you don't have a weapon on you". Fionna mentioned, her fingers involuntarily twirled a piece of her blonde hair that stuck out of her bunny hat.
"Before we start, I have something for you". PG said with a wink
"Oh…uh..ok". Fionna said, embarrassed that her face could not stop flushing.
"Gob damn it Fi, Don't look so nervous..he's your pal and he's probably getting you a water bottle or something not a real REAL gift…He's engaged, stupid"! Fionna thought to herself as she pursed her dry lips together.
PG walked over to his water canteen and picked up a small pink box. He smiled walking over to Fionna and held out her hand to have her formally receive it.
"This is for you, teacher. It's a small thank you for all the time you've invested in me. Mostly it's just to say, thanks for believing in me". He said enclosing her hand around the box.
The warmth of his pink hand made her heart flutter. Memories of them together clouded her mind. She looked into his purple irises without any real words to say that weren't awkward or jibberish. How she missed them together, yet when she thought of him, she couldn't separate her heart ache from the court order.
"Dude don't sweat it, it was no trouble". Fionna said half smiling to PG as she looked down at the beautiful pink velvet box that she cradled with her two hands.
"Well I hope you like it regardless". He smiled with his hands behind his back
Fionna opened the box to reveal a silver necklace in the shape of what looked like a mini sword with a tiny blue gem in the center.
"Oh wow…it's beautiful". Fionna said. Her eyes seemed to sparkle along with the jewel embedded piece of jewelry.
PG smiled at her reaction. The glow of her face made him blush. He enjoyed seeing her happy, it was a reaction from her to him that he missed seeing. Fionna's glow faded as her smile flattened.
"Dude, it's so rad but I like, just can't accept it" Fionna said as she looked to PG appreciative yet bashful. His smile curled into an arrogant smirk as if he knew something she didn't.
"Why don't you take it out first before you reject it". He recommended.
Fionna did as she was told. As soon as her hand pulled the sword out of the box and gripped it, it transformed into a beautifully sculpted retractable sword.
Fionna looked torn as she stared at the beautiful object.
"I hoped that you would wear it tomorrow with the gown just in case there's any unwanted guest because at this point it's hardly difficult to assume that we will have extra company". PG reminded rolling his eyes.
There was no such thing as a peaceful day for Fionna and Cake in the realm. PG knew that well and decided that it was better to have his knight armed than to sacrifice her. Fionna let out a small half smile and looked to him a bit uncomfortable.
"Fionna what's wrong? You don't like it do you? Hmmm I knew I should've gotten you the double edged one" PG said as he crossed his arms.
"No, it's not that. I love it, it's algebraic. But…I can't take it because" Fionna looked away for a moment gripping the back of her neck
"I don't know man it's like the stupidest thing ever as to why I can't". She said twisting her mouth to the side as she tried to come up with the best way to phrase her reasoning.
Gumball took her hand and gently smoothed the skin looking into her eyes.
"Tell me". He cooed.
Fionna pulled her hand away as her heart raced thinking back to the time the Ice Queen gave her one of these things that ended up being used against her.
"I don't know dude it just reminds me of the gift the Ice Queen gave me when she was pretending…to..be…you". Fionna said sheepishly.
PG slapped his hand to his face.
"For the love of Gob! How could I have been so dumb, I am very sorry Fi I completely forgot about that". He apologized as Fionna shrugged.
"At least one of us can forget". Fionna said as she blushed again.
"I am very embarrassed. Let me take it back and make you something else. Regardless I want you to have some weapon tomorrow that you don't need to carry in a purse because I know how you hate those". Gumball joked.
Fionna smiled and looked down as the shinning sword in her grasp. It's handle was beautifully detailed and made from what looked like silver and royal blue dragon scales.
She looked up to PG pursing her lips together.
"You know what? I want to keep it. It's the radest gift I've actually ever gotten because it can be attached to me at all times especially if I'm move all over the place".
PG looked at her unsure.
"Are you certain? Because I",
"I LOVE IT"! Fionna exclaimed fist bumping the Prince and turning their gesture into a hug.
Fionna felt arms wrap around her body. As if involuntarily, her own appendages wrapped around the rest of his as the distance between them shortened. PG silently took in her scent as if he was reminded of a memory. Fionna's heart fluttered against his chest and paced quicker feeling his heart beat into her ear. For a moment she rested her head under his chin. The fur of her bunny hat brushed against his skin forcing him to feel tempted by intimacy. They broke apart with blush coating both their faces.
The Prince straightened his voice
"May I do the honors"? PG asked holding out his hand.
Fionna handed the sword to him. As soon as he transformed the sword back into a pendant, Fionna turned her back to him. Gently he moved a few pieces of her blonde hair falling out of her bunny hat before unclasping the necklace and gently securing it around her neck. Fionna turned around to face him staring at the shiny piece of jewelry.
"There, it's perfect". PG said as he stared down at it proudly
Fionna put her hand over it and smiled at him.
"I better give you a great lesson after giving me this". Fionna joked.
"Just as long as we keep spending time together". He said warmly.
As the hours went by, Fionna introduced to PG a lot of boxing and some more fencing. The Prince seemed to really like the boxing and so Fionna continued a bit more of that. Ironically as it turned out that PG was a better fist fighter than a swordsman. Some of his punches even slightly missed touching Fionna's skin at times. She taught him how to punch, dodge, kick and even flip. Flipping people of course was her favorite. They continued throughout the day until both of them were sore and exhausted. A few purple bruises formed on Gumball's arms, which made Fionna feel extremely bad.
"Hey man, I'm sorry about the bruising". Gumball just brushed himself off and ran his fingers through his crownless pink hair.
"It's quite alright, I probably deserved some of those". He said as the two of them laughed lightly.
Prince Gumball kept his eyes on Fionna as they walked out of the gym. How he loved her laugh and everything else about her. They had been such a great match. Every day he thought about how Marshall interacted with her. Those little comments he made the other day made his stomach sink. Despite the work he and Fionna put in, he still felt he was second rate to the vampire. Gumball couldn't blame her for fancying him, at one point..he did too.
"You know I feel like a better and stronger person now because of you". PG complimented as he flexed his own bicep.
Fionna chuckled a bit and shrugged.
"Hey it wasn't all me, you worked really hard. That's why I work for you after all..to help you anyway I can..i guess". Fionna said as she and Prince Gumball stopped in the middle of the dance floor.
"The best decision I made was hiring you and Cake years ago". Fionna smiled and looked away remembering their first meeting.
Gumball looked down at her awaiting for her eyes to meet him. When they didn't, he opened his mouth to continue.
"You know I….really care about you right"? Gumball said seriously.
Fionna's eyes widened as she watched PG take her hand.
At long last she finally looked at him. His eyes seemed to sparkle as spoke sincerely to her.
"I…uhm yea". Fionna said, her lips almost trembling as she noticed PG step closer to her, closing the distance.
"I'd do anything for you". He purred gently.
Fionna blushed once again smiling down at her held hand.
"Wake up already! Snap out of it! He's tempting you. He'll break it off again, just look at those perfect…captivating…purple eyes…..they say…Hey fionna come back to me so I can stomp out your heart guts again" Fionna broke from her fight with her conscience and shook her head, pulling back her hand and looking up to PG.
"Uh well, anyway I'm glad you feel good about yourself. Glad I could help". Fionna said nervously gripping her neck again
"Do you..think you could help me with something else"? PG asked a bit sheepishly.
"Uh…sure I mean…I can try. What is it"? She asked a bit skeptical of his request.
"Lord Monocromocron has brought to my attention that..obviously he and cake can't have their first dance so..he asked me as the best man to do it for him. It's tradition in this kingdom to open the reception with a dance so I was wondering if",
"But uh….what about Water Princess"? Fionna asked.
The feeling of her name on her own tongue felt sour and salty just like the mentioned royal. Fionna hated her. She was somehow deemed more suitable for Gumball than her, even though the chick trailed salt water wherever she went.
She looked at Prince Gumball, awaiting for him to explain.
"Well actually Fionna, Aqua can't make it to the wedding tomorrow she wrote me this morning saying something came up". He explained.
"Yas! That lock mess monster is a no show tomorrow. I won't be doused in dirty looks"! Fionna thought to herself as she quickly whipped the smug look off her face before PG could notice.
"Oh…yea that's uh…that's a shame for sure". Fionna said.
PG rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"This whole arrangement is a mess. I've ran this kingdom for many years, built it from the ground up even appointed these councilmen and then out of nowhere…they deem I have to marry for the sake of trade". He complained.
His eyes wandered to look at Fionna as she shook her head slowly at him and huffed a sigh.
"Yea…that sucks….I'm sorry. That reason is really lame". Fionna replied.
PG nodded in agreement and looked down for a moment.
"So, if you want to save me the trouble of being fed to the council wolves, I'd appreciate it if you could distract me all night and allow me to escort you". PG said with a smile
"You want…me? To go to the wedding with you"?
"Well, I am the best man and you are the maid of honor. It would make the most sense". PG reminded
Fionna was ready to jump on the opportunity but then thought about the consequences. The last thing she needed was to have Aqua's first decree as Queen be to fire Fionna and banish her to gob knows where.
"But won't like water princess be all you know….Salty since you know we kinda used to…you know". Forcing the words to come out was like attempting another language.
"Date"? PG replied as he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
Fionna gave in and simply nodded shly.
PG reached out for Fionna's hand again. He grapsed it gently as if to comfort her.
"This is an arranged marriage. It's not by my own will whatsoever and I'll be damned to the Nightosphere if I can't so much as dance with my best friend at this wedding".
"And Ex", Fionna muttered.
He rolled his eyes again with a smirk. Fionna legs seemed to quiver at the sight as if she had never seen an eye roll so attractive.
"Since when is the great Fionna the Human afraid of anything"? He teased as Fionna's eyes darkened.
"Hey! I'm not afraid of squat man".
"Wonderful so it's settled, you will be my partner for the opening dance". PG stated, aware that he had just tricked his ex.
Fionna looked away a bit annoyed and embaressed.
"You should get someone else. I haven't dance since your last ball where I fell into the dessert table infront of everyone…I'm not exactly built for grace remember"? Fionna said downcast and self-deplictingly as she reminded Gumball of that disasterous night.
"Let's have a trade off them". The prince said with a smile.
"Wha"? Fionna mouthed.
Instantly Gumball snapped his fingers. Fionna's eyes followed Gumball's as he watched what seemed like an army of instrumentalist enter the room and greet him with a smiled
"These guys will be playing for the wedding tomorrow and conveniently right now is their rehearsal time". The prince explained as he winked to Fionna.
The human girl scoffed with a smile as she watched the instrumentalist sit and warm up.
"You're unbelievable". She muttered as PG chuckled as the sound of a lovely melody began to play.
Fionna dropped her folded arms and blushed as PG bent infront of her to demonstrate a bow. The palm of his hand reached upward to her as she stood puzzled. Memories of that last dance haunted her and made her body freeze like she was encased in ice by IQ herself.
"You going to leave me like this all day"? PG teased as he lifted his head to Fionna with a smirk, waiting for her to curtsy.
Fionna groaned and rubbed her forehead. Straightening her voice and back she attempted her best which resulted in a fumbling display as she nearly tripped. Gumball shook his head and laughed. Standing up striahgt, he then came behind her properly showing her how to bend and how to straighten her posture. Fionna felt a bit embarrassed at one point as she could feel her butt against Gumball's waist while he was showing her how to lean forward. She feared he could hear her heart beating with his chest almost against her back. He tried hard to keep his thoughts clean as he instructed Fionna. Her skirt brushed against his groin, distracting him a couple times as he couldn't help but trail his eyes down her back. A bit of fear consumed him as wondered if she could hear his heart beating out of his chest. After a few trips, laughs and falls, Fionna was ready to start dancing. After Curtsying and bowing to one another, Gumball put his hand on Fionna's waist and held up their forearms with their hands interlocked and their knuckles to the ceiling. Calmly Gumball counted to the beat of the music. Fionna stared down at their feet, trying hard not to step on him with her mary janes. To her surprise, they were moving, even though her pacing was a little out of time. Gumball noticed the stress lining her forehead.
"Let the music flow through you. Think of it like a video game, you need to match your body with the beat like you would playing a game where you would have to collect coins or jewels. Pretend the notes of the music are the coins you need to catch". He said gently.
Despite PG's words of advice, Fionna was a nervous wreck. Her fear of disapproval forced her footwork to prove more than messy as she could not relax. A few times, Gumball yelped in pain from Fionna's poor footwork. He never complained yet often pressed his lips together hard when she stepped on him. Fionna felt it hard to look into his eyes and instead tried focusing on the floor so she wouldn't hurt him. Before long she was getting the hang of it. She was remembering from when Marshall first orginally taught her. Who better to teach her about tempo and pace than the best musician in Aaa. As the music tempo changed, Gumball showed her how to dip, twirl and circle one another with their palms touching.
"You trust me right"? Fionna nodded to him as the two of them moved a little faster and spiraled a couple times.
By the third spiral, Gumball put his hands on Fionna's waist and lifted her high into the sky above his head. She laughed joyously during and after her feet touched the ground.
"That was radical do it again"! Gumball laughed also and the two of them kept practicing the move.
He launched her one last time as the waltz came to an end. PG's hands locked on Fionna's waist as the two of them stood frozen, inches from each other's noses. PG barely blinked as he looked into her eyes. His fingers gently caressed her hips as Fionna gently gripped the shoulders of his T shirt. Her lips pressed together as if to prevent herself from kissing his soft looking lips. As he stared at her, he made a list of all the reasons he should and shouldn't mold their lips together. His reasons that were in favor of kissing her exceeded the latter. PG's face inched closer into hers slowly. His eyes lovingly closed as his lips parted. Fionna stood still and started to close her eyes as her heart raced to the point of a potential stroke. She wanted him more than she could say and for those few moments she battled a war in her mind as to why this was a bad idea. The thought of his lips interlocking perfectly with hers and his hands running over her body as her fingers ran through his hair made her stomach sink with desire. As the skin of his nose was about to brush against the tip of hers, Fionna broke from him. PG stood frozen in place as she looked away embarrassed and rubbed her forearms as if she was chilly.
"Um, thanks for the lesson and of course the rad necklace/weapon. I uh..I have to go though. Tonights my last night in the treehouse with cake and she's expecting me home". Fionna explained as she stepped away from PG.
The Prince shoved his hands into his pockets as he straightened his voice and looked away. He ego was immediately shot to hell.
"Alright, well…please get home safe and I guess I'll see you tomorrow". He said as he looked to Fionna with a half smile.
Fionna played with her hair and looked from the ground to him and nodded. She stared at him until her body turned all the way around towards the exit.
Once she left him alone, the prince huffed a sigh.
"Damn it". He whispered to himself as he stared at the door closing behind her.
He looked off to the side to see the orchestra staring at him with intent as if they were mezzmerized by the whole scene and saddened by the end. Huffing another sigh the Prince shrugged to them a bit defeated as he gripped his neck and stared at the ground.
"Let me guess, you forgot to tell her AGAIN that the engagement is off with Water Princess". A familiar female voice said below the prince. PG's eyes everted to the left to see his faithful peppermint servant staring up at him.
"Let me do this my own way pep..I need to make her come back to me….I think she might, you saw what just happened".
"You mean besides her rejecting you and pulling away like a scared animal"? Peppermint maid reminded as PG rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.
His hand mounted his hip as he looked up from the ground and stared with guilt at the door from which Fionna left.
"This ridiculous engagement ruined us….I want her back…I'd do anything". He whispered as he imagined their last interaction. He almost had her against his lips. From the sight of her fleeing, he feared that he had scared her and ruined any chance of her coming back.
"You can do whatever you want to get her back but remember…the court won't like it".
"It doesn't matter to me anymore. I put up with their end of the bargain. I broke it off with Fionna and got engaged to Aqua and then she broke it off with me". PG stated.
"The deadline is approaching. You only have a few more months to find a bride or else you'll be dethroned, remember"? Peppermint maid stated as she raised an eyebrow to the prince, folding her arms.
"I already found one and it's Fionna. We have history. It's almost two convenient. I could see it in her eyes that she still fancies me. I will make her my wife before the June 18th deadline".
Pep looked up to her master a bit skeptical.
"Not unless someone ELSE goes after her and you know who I'm talking about". She reminded
Gumball looked out to the sunset, setting through the tall glass windows.
"He won't..he doesn't care that much about anybody but himself…believe me…I know". PG muttered overlooking the kingdom as the gentle orange sunset faded into dark.
