Before Jake knew it, he found himself wrapped in a loving hug by his best friend. He was surprised at first, but returned the offer, holding tight.
They released their grip soon after, and Finn was caught wondering what the heck he was doing here.
"What the heck are you doing here?" Finn asked.
"To see you my man!" Jake said, giving a nervous chuckle.
"I'm sorry I couldn't find time to hang, Lady got kind of sick and I couldn't leave the house."
"...Huh? Is she okay?"
"Yeah she's fine now. What about you? I noticed a certain someone was putting the moves on ya just now." Jake said with a smirk. His tail was wagging adding further to his smugness.
Finn gave a nervous laugh.
"Oh... You saw that huh?"
"Let's talk about it inside. It's getting chilly out here. Brrr." Jake said wrapping himself in his arms.
"Sounds good."
Finn and Jake were waiting patiently for their dinner at the table. BMO was cooking up some beef stew, whilst the duo recapped their experiences apart from each other. Jake discussing his new life with Lady, and Finn explaining his rekindled relationship with Flame Princess, being careful to leave out the 'sensitive' details.
"Wait... So you two... Aren't going out?" Jake asked. Finn blushed in response to his question.
"No. We're just friends, that's all."
Jake furrowed his brows.
"But... She kissed you."
Finn's face reddened.
"Uh, so what? She was just saying goodbye..."
Jake crossed his arms.
"And you don't think it's because...?" Finn's head jerked up as he blushed again.
"...I doubt it."
"That's not how a 'friend' would say goodbye to someone man."
Jake leaned in closer to Finn's ear.
"Especially if it's a girl." He whispered. Finn recoiled at his statement.
"Come on dude! You're being ridiculous. It has to be something else." He said.
"You can find out when you confess to her at the festival!" BMO interrupted, cheerfully clapping his hands.
"I never said I was gonna do that! I said when the time's right!" Finn said, quick to defend.
"...Doesn't now seem okay?" Jake asked.
"Of course not! She's-"
She's...
Stressed? Burdened?
But the kingdom seems to be in better shape now...
We found her diary...
And we've gotten really close this past month...
"Finn." Jake said, catching Finn's attention. Judging from his conflicted look, he knew he was thinking the same thing.
"To me it doesn't seem like there's anything standing in the way now. If you really want to, then I think the festival is gonna be the right time."
"You really think so?"
Jake nodded, but Finn still looked unsure. Lowering his head, he held it again with his hand.
"But... Is it really okay? If we used to date, what if she casts me aside for it? I don't wanna jeopardize our friendship because of..."
"Because of the way you feel?" Jake interrupted.
Finn looked at him again, and the dog put a paw on his shoulder.
"You can't help the way you feel man, Flame Princess definitely knows that. Worst case scenario is you two will just keep being friends. My question for you is, are you okay with that?"
Finn was still in awe from Jake's words of wisdom, and found himself amply nodding his head in agreement.
"Absolutely." Finn stated.
"That's the right answer." Jake responded.
As Jake trailed on, BMO took the now finished stew and set it on the table. Neptr soon entered the room and approached the three.
"Who wants some pie?" The robot asked. The trio humorously raised their hands.
Expecting Neptr to just pull out one so they could split it, he spit out three whole pies onto the table, and they all laughed in unison.
"Thanks Neptr, but I think this is a little much." Finn said.
"Nah it's cool, we'll have leftovers. I can take some back to Lady." Jake replied.
Soon they all dug in, including Finn and Jake's robot companions. They found it funny and cute how BMO always attempted to eat food, along with Neptr trying to mimic his actions.
"Oh! Speaking of the festival... There was one other reason I came to see you tonight." Jake said.
"What is it?" Finn replied with a mouth full.
"PB's gonna need some help finishing up tomorrow. The whole gang's getting together. Well that is, if you wanna come."
"...Everyone?"
"Yup! Marcy, PB, me, and you! It won't be all work, we can mess around a bit too."
Come to think of it, I haven't seen PB since we slayed that dragon for her...
"Of course man." Finn replied.
"Yeah, I promised Lady I'd set aside some time for my friends. I'm...
I'm really sorry we've been so distant this past year." Jake said with a hint of regret.
"Don't worry about it dude it's fine. I know you got a huge responsibility now."
Jake swallowed another mouth full of stew, and sighed.
"It's not fine. We're bros! Bros are supposed to stick together no matter what."
Jake proceeded to stand up on his seat, and put a hand over his heart and raised the other.
"I promise. From here on out, I'll find more time for you buddy. You're just as important as Lady to me."
Finn noticed he still had a mouth full of unprocessed food. No longer distracted from Jake's speech, he swallowed, and lunged forward to give the dog a hug.
"Thanks Jake."
"Seems like you'll also need me to give you some dating tips."
"Heh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Both sharing a laugh, they continued to eat the rest of their meal, with BMO and Neptr still humorously trying to consume the food.
They both made their way up to the bedroom to get some rest. Jake had planned on staying the night, and Finn happily obliged.
"Wow... My bed's still here?"
The cabinet with the drawer extended, sheets pillow and all, was still ever present in Finn's bedroom.
"It's a piece of history ya know? A part of the house, I don't ever wanna change it." Finn said, currently changing into his night clothes.
Jake hopped into the drawer and gripped the sheets, taking a deep sniff of them.
"It's still got the me smell!" He said, earning a chuckle from Finn.
The human was now dressed in his cozy night gear, and climbed into his bed. It wasn't until Finn reached for it that Jake noticed the strange statue sitting on his nightstand.
"What's that?" Jake asked.
"It's a little something for FP." Finn said, and handed it to Jake for him to look at.
"Wow. I know you can sculpt but... This is pretty impressive." He said, inspecting the intricate details. It wasn't quite finished, but close. Jake could easily tell what it represented.
It's a female fire elemental, standing on top of a carved out pedestal which also served as the stand for the sculpture. The figure's wearing a long dress covering her legs and clutching her hands close to her chest. She's looking down, eyes closed, and a smile etched across her face. It almost looked like Flame Princess, but the figure is much taller. Jake wondered that maybe Finn bunked the proportions, and tilted his head in confusion.
"It's supposed to be her mother." Finn said.
"Ohh, I see." Jake replied.
"When we were hanging out in the courtyard I saw a statue of her. It seemed like she was really special to FP, so I wanted it to be of her."
"That's very thoughtful man."
"...You don't think it's weird do you?"
Jake simply waved his hand.
"You're overthinking it dude. She'll love it." That earned a huge sigh of relief from Finn, and Jake handed the statue back to him. Extending his grass sword into a small pike, he reached for a similarly sized hammer on his nightstand and started chipping away again.
"How long have you been working on that?" Jake asked.
"Since we made up. I wanted to give her something to celebrate our friendship."
"Awesome."
As Finn continued chipping away at the sculpture, Jake tucked himself under the covers, getting ready for a good night sleep.
"You think Huntress Wizard is gonna be okay?" Finn asked.
"I wouldn't worry about her, that girl's tough. She handles things like this all the time right?"
"Yeah... Yeah. She'll be alright." Finn had to withdraw from carving for a moment, as he was thinking about Huntress again.
"Dude, Finn, have some faith." Jake said.
"Ugh, I'm being a worry wart. I know she'll be fine."
Finn stopped chipping. Figuring he made enough progress for now, he set it on his nightstand and tucked himself into his sleeping bag.
Jake set his book back in the cabinet and let out a yawn, which caused Finn to do so as well. The dog snuggled into the padded drewer, and let his eyes close.
"Night Finn."
"Night Jake."
Jake quickly drifted off to sleep, meanwhile Finn was still awake, thinking about his last interaction with his everlasting crush.
...Why FP? Did that mean something else?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
WHY DID I DO THAT?
WHAT WAS I THINKING!?
"...Princess?"
"Huh!? What!?"
Flame Princess sprung her head up from the pillow she had previously burried her face in.
"...Hello?" CB called again from outside her room.
FP got up from her bed and walked over to the door. Opening it, she found her knight standing before her, a worried expression on his face.
"CB! Uh, hi!"
"Hey. Everything... Okay?"
"Y-Yes of course!"
"...Really? You ran past me like you saw a ghost."
"...I'm not scared of ghosts."
"Figuratively. How did things go with Finn?"
"Uhh..."
FP then let out a fake yawn.
"Boy am I tired! Goodnight CB!"
"Er, good-"
The door slammed shut, and CB was left with a confused look.
"...Night? Hmm..."
What happened with those two?
Meanwhile, in the forest...
"Hmmhh... Gh..."
"Coming to your senses?"
"Ghh... ...Wh-... Wizard..?"
"Correct."
"Agh! Untie me!"
"Not a chance." Huntress Wizard said, dragging a tied up man along the rugged ground.
He wore a ragged black cloak and various weapon belts, all of which were completely empty due to precautions by Huntress. His face was completely concealed by a white mask, which had a black swirl spiraling down the center and a spike sticking out of the front, symbolizing a nose. The top of it had black feathers attached.
"...Mari? Rew?" The man called out.
"I know how you communicate. I used a spell to block out your telepathy, nobody but me can hear you."
He flinched as he was dragged over a rock, colliding with his head.
"Ouch! You damn witch!"
"Shut up."
After struggling a bit more to break through the ropes, the man ceased. He let his head go limp as he was dragged across the ground.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To the Adali of course. You're going to tell us where the rest are, even if we have to beat it out of you."
Huntress stopped dragging the man, then turned around and loomed over him.
"I could just knock you out with a spell..." She said as she rose a fist.
"...But this is for Finn."
*THWACK*
Short I know, but there will be more to come.
Not much else to say, keep me posted on errors.