Marshall gazed at the light descending over the mountains as he flew home. The dusk was his favorite time of the day, and it often brought him happiness and the promise of a fun night. But right now, neither was present.

Despite the fact that he had a wonderful day with Fionna, all he wanted to do right now was go home and lay on the couch. He didn't want to go out to party; he was too upset with himself.

The whole time he was with Fionna, he was reminded that he is currently lying to two very kind people. Gumball and Fionna. Now he was stringing lies with them on either end. It was wearing him down and almost depressing him. Gumball was right, Marshall thought, I really am evil. I'm a terrible person.

He stayed home that night, like he wanted to. The entire night, he stared at the ceiling trying to sort out his confused thoughts. It was one of the few times in Marshall's life when he wished sleep would overcome him.

That night, after Fionna watched Marshall fly home in the moonlight, she scampered inside and tried to sneak away to her bed. But as she passed through the kitchen, the hyper-alert cat senses of her parent figure got the best of her.

"Hey…" Cake whirled around, scrubbing a pie plate in her hand. "Is that a blush I see?"

"No!" Fionna cried, covering her face with her hands. "Just do the dishes, you crazy old cat!"

Cake laughed as Fionna ran to her room.

After shutting herself inside, she lay in her bed, letting her thoughts run rampant.

Why didn't Marshall kiss her? That's a stupid question she thought… It's not like they were dating. He doesn't have to give her a kiss goodnight. That was just to be nice yesterday, because she'd had a rough night.

But did he want to kiss her? Was he waiting for something? Oh glob, and why is she blushing? Fionna hasn't blushed in front of anyone except Gumball.

Ugh! Fionna rubbed her eyes wearily. She truly didn't like worrying about boys, she would rather worry about monsters or treasure or something like that.

She rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.

A tall, dark haired boy danced around in her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

As it turns out, that same dark haired boy danced around her in real life. Well, flew around her, at least.

Just as he promised, Marshall returned the next day to hang out with them. Then he returned the day after that. And the day after that, and so on.

Marshall fit in perfectly with the duo of Fionna and Cake. His personality meshed well with theirs, and as Cake pointed out, he liked to joke and have fun, just like them.

And as Marshall repeatedly came back day after day, Fionna's mood improved, and she rarely thought about her pink prince.

Occasionally, every few days or so, Marshall wouldn't come to her house in the morning and Fionna would start to think about him without trying. Her smile would drop and she would wonder where her new friend was. But, lo and behold, hours later he would arrive and she would cheer up.

And cheery she was. His presence always seemed to make her smile. She still didn't really know Marshall all that well, but hanging out with him so often made her feel closer to him.

One instance, one of her favorite instances, happened about a week after Fionna had met Marshall. Marshall didn't come to Fionna's treehouse for almost the entire day. It was nearly twilight when he got there. Fionna was in her room when he knocked, so Cake answered the door.

Wandering back into the kitchen, Cake yelled up the stairs "honey, door for you!"

Fionna scrambled to the door, but by the time she climbed down the ladder and crossed the entryway to the door, she could hear something outside. She slowed her steps and opened the door slowly.

She saw Marshall floating with his back to the door, cradling his ax guitar.

He was strumming a beautiful tune, and he was singing.

Fionna had heard him sing before, at the daycare, but this seemed different. He thought he was alone, and his voice was just raw, and it sounded so genuine. Fionna was surprised at how it sounded, the perfect mix of strain and ease. His voice just flowed like silk, without sounding girly. It was powerful, yet it sounded as though he sang each word with care.

"Good little girl,

Always picking a fight with me.

Oh, I know that I'm bad,

But that's because some have hurt me.

Why would you want to be in my world?

You're a good little girl."

His guitar suddenly fell silent. He adjusted some of the strings, and just as he was about to play again, Fionna threw open the door.

"That was beautiful." She blurted out. She immediately covered her mouth with her hands, afraid now that she had made herself known.

"Hey," He turned around, smiling. He slung his guitar over his back, as he playfully chastised Fionna. "You weren't supposed to hear that. It's still a work in progress."

She lowered her hands. "Sorry." She wanted to not say anything further, but she was never one to hide what was on her mind. The words fell out.

"What was your song about? Who hurt you?"

"Oh, Fionna," Marshall sighed, his smile drooping. "That was so long ago—"

"You know, you don't really tell me anything about yourself."

Frowning, Marshall grabbed the guitar again. "Fionna, you've got to understand. You're one of the coolest chicks I've ever met, and I trust you. But my life has been like this—" he strummed on the instrument in a cool manner, "laid back, fun, carefree—for hundreds of years. If I wanted to tell you all the drama, I would be opening old wounds." He looked away, adjusting the strings on his guitar again.

Fionna was silent, looking up at him with disappointment in her eyes.

Suddenly Marshall met her eyes and his frown melted back into a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry," He said, coming over to ruffle her ears again. "Don't be sad." She lowered her eyes to the ground in an attempt to hide her expression. He put his hands on either side of Fionna's face, forcing her to look up at him. "Hey, I'm the Vampire King. I was born to deal with these things. You don't have to worry about me."

Fionna nodded, her expression unchanging.

He released her face and started off into the fields. He beckoned for her to follow him, smiling brightly. "Now come on. Let's do something fun!"

Fionna finally let it go, and scampered after him.

Her grin soon returned and she said "I can't imagine you being the king of anything. All you do is play guitar and make jokes."

Marshall erupted in laughter, and the tension between them melted. Even though Marshall hadn't told her anything, she still felt like she was growing closer to him. Not only that, but she discovered her love for his singing voice.

Although Marshall's mind was in turmoil about PG and Fionna in the nighttime hours, the happiness during the day continued for weeks.

Lucky for Marshall, the days were either very cloudy, or they started out sunny and quickly became cloudy. When the sun did shine in the morning, he hated it; being cooped up in his house, wondering what Fionna was thinking. He would pace around the living room or work on Fionna's song, waiting impatiently for the clouds to come so he could zip off to the tree house. The dismal weather brought sadness to others, but for Marshall, it meant the promise of a fun-filled day with a beautiful girl and her hilarious sidekick.

And each day as soon as the cloud cover allowed him, he would leave his house and go on some sort of endeavor with Fionna and Cake, becoming closer to them each day. As the days passed, he often remembered he hadn't spoken to Gumball. It made him sad when he thought about this, but he was afraid of what would happen if he did visit his pink friend. So… he didn't. Marshall constantly thought about it, but he tried to push it away.

When the fun he was having made him forget his problems, Marshall was quite blissful. With Fionna and Cake the adventures were endless. They chased criminals, battled beasts who attacked innocent citizens, traversed the most interesting places in the Land of Aaa, and they also did a lot of cooking of course.

All the while this was happening; Marshall got to experience Fionna's great strength, will power, and her charming humor. She could ruthlessly slay monsters, but crack jokes with Cake minutes later. She was amazing, and Marshall was further infatuated with her every day. Marshall couldn't tell if they were just friends or if their relationship was something more, but the days he spent with her was the best fun he'd had in a really long time.

More days passed, and Marshall and Fionna grew very close. They had grown so close, Marshall thought about her when she wasn't around. He had never thought about another person that much before. His mind buzzed, wondering if she thought about him that way too. But soon, all the thoughts he had about her came to a peak.

One night, they were sitting at a campfire out in the forest that they had traversed through that day. Cake reached into Fionna's backpack and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. The trio quickly found the perfect sticks and set to work roasting marshmallows.

They joked and laughed. Marshall even tried his hand at telling scary stories a few times, but failed miserably, causing his audience to erupt in giggles. Although, the truth was, he wasn't trying very hard. He could tell terrifying tales, but he knew how Fionna didn't like his demon eyes, and he often used those as a story-telling tool. And anyways, he preferred using his guitar to strum campfire tunes instead, letting Cake sing and wail to her heart's content. That brought even more laughs to the campfire.

After a while a period of silence settled in and they all just watched the fire in silence. Marshall suddenly had an impulse to look over at Fionna. He studied her silhouette against the campfire's light, and realized he really wanted to kiss her again. He hadn't realized it for quite a while, even after spending all these days just hanging out with her. He always knew there was something nagging at the back of his mind, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

But now he knew what he wanted.

Marshall grinned to himself. And when have I ever not gotten what I wanted?

So, he kept on his cool demeanor the rest of the night. Then he courteously said goodnight to Fionna and Cake before flicking the ears on Fionna's hat and flying home. And once he arrived there, he began to devise a plan.

To test to see how close they had really become the last few weeks, Marshall had something special planned. Luckily, when he woke up, the clouds were already rolling in, and he only had to wait a few hours to leave his house.

He hung out with Fionna and Cake in the treehouse for a while, but as soon as the sky began to darken, casting a romantic light on the land of Aaa, Marshall put his plan into action.

"Hey, Cake," He said casually, flying around the living room. "Mind if I take Fionna somewhere for a little bit?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fionna shoot a surprised glance at Cake, who wiggled her eyebrows in response. He fought the urge to smile at this.

"Oh, of course not, honey. Go have fun!"

"But, Ca—" Fionna tried to protest.

She clamped her mouth shut as Marshall flew right up to her.

"Come on," He grinned, holding out his hand.

Fionna's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she took his hand.

Marshall pulled her off the couch and the pair was out the door.

They walked along in silence for a while, just enjoying the night air. Fionna followed Marshall, trying uselessly to guess where they were headed. Soon they were walking along a cliff overlooking a rocky valley, a place they had been before, battling a monster. As the sky darkened the clouds cleared, revealing the stars. Fionna was so focused on looking up at their beauty; she was startled to see Marshall suddenly flying right beside her.

"Hey," he held out his hand to her.

She looked at the hand, confusion written on her face.

"Come on," he said, "Cake said we should go have fun, right?"

She took his hand tentatively. "Uh yeah, but—"

Her words were cut off as she was suddenly soaring in the sky, dangling by one hand locked with Marshall's. "Wha—Woah!" She screamed. The ground was soon far away, shrinking by the second.

She screeched at an ear-shattering volume, watching the landscape below her grow smaller and smaller, legs flailing as she went. Fionna's eyes were glued to the receding ground until she heard Marshall's warm laugh and looked up.

He flew higher and higher in the sky, laughing happily. He watched his adventuress, hoping she would enjoy the flight. Fionna looked worried, holding on by just one hand, but she seemed to realize Marshall's grip on her hand was very strong.

Despite realizing this, her eyes were still as big as saucers and she couldn't stop the screams from escaping.

Marshall finally gave in and pulled her up. Lounging back a bit, hovering in the air, he pulled Fionna so she was sitting in a side-saddle position on his legs. She looked startled, and he simply smiled, still chuckling at her shocked expression.

"Sorry," He laughed, "We don't really have to fly like that. That was just for fun."

The Vampire King felt Fionna relax against him. She was still breathing heavily, peering at the ground from her more-secure seat on Marshall's legs. Her own legs still swung over the side of him, but she wasn't dangling by one hand anymore. As soon as she calmed down and got used to being so high, she blushed. Marshall grinned; she must've realized how intimate this position is. She didn't look at him, but instead directed her attention to the scenery.

They were now cruising over Aaa, over the tops of trees, hills and villages, all swathed in moonlight. Everything looked so small.

Marshall's hand turned Fionna's face towards him, ripping her eyes away from the scenery.

"Why were you screaming? Do you think I was going to drop you?"

His eyes glittered, the only illumination for their nighttime flight being the moon. Fionna blushed, both at his sincerity and their close proximity.

She fidgeted, laughing nervously, she said "No."

"You're such a silly girl," Marshall smiled. His fingers walked idly up and down her arm. Goosebumps soon rose there.

"Ha," Fionna countered. "If I'm silly, than what are you?"

Marshall leaned a bit closer, his voice low. He grinned, exposing his fangs. "Ridiculous."

Fionna's racing heart, their faces in close proximity, and the starry night sky. Fionna knew what was happening. It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before, but this was different. Way different. Fionna knew their last kiss wasn't at all romantic, and she didn't know what to expect this time. Marshall closed his eyes, and Fionna panicked. She knew what came next. She just had to do it.

She closed her eyes, and shoved away all her inhibitions.

She pushed forward, and suddenly, she felt weightless.

Marshall could feel this tension between them, like a rubber band waiting to snap. Before, he wasn't sure about moving their relationship along, for fear of risking the tight friendship they had. But something about this moment felt perfect. Everything was moving along as he had predicted.

He couldn't stop smiling at what an evil genius he was. Take the girl flying way up high when the moon is bright and all the stars are shining. Brilliant. Couldn't be more romantic. The nighttime wind ruffled her ponytail, and she looked even more beautiful in the evening breeze.

He waited until the perfect moment. He could see it in Fionna's eyes; he had her captured in his own gaze. He took this opportunity to lean forward, closing his eyes. He waited desperately for Fionna to get the picture, aching for her perfect lips.

Then suddenly, he felt her weight shift. Then there was a sliding sensation. Then the weight that sat on his legs was gone.

His eyebrows rose. "Fionna?" He opened his eyes, and Fionna was not there.

He was answered by a blood-curdling scream.

"Fionna!" Marshall cried. He looked down, and she was falling like a meteor to earth. The sharp rocks of the canyon were fast approaching.

"Fionna, I'm coming!" Marshall yelled as he dove towards the ground. Fionna screamed and screamed, grappling at the air around her.

Marshall soared to Fionna like a super hero, racing to catch up with the plummeting girl.

And, just in time, he did. He swooped to Fionna's level and caught her under the arms.

"I got you," he gasped.

Fionna wrapped her arms and legs around him, and held on for dear life. She panted in his ear, her grip on him never loosening.

"Oh, Fionna," Marshall hugged her back, smashing his face against her hair. His words were muffled by the embrace. "Oh my glob, I am so, so sorry. I can't believe—"

He stopped because he figured out what he thought were sobs, was actually Fionna laughing.

"Are…" He was dumbfounded. "Are you laughing?"

They both pulled back from their embrace so he could see Fionna's face, which, lo and behold, had a huge smile splayed across it.

"Yeah," She giggled. "That was actually really fun."

Marshall's eyes almost popped out of his head. He didn't know what to say.

She looked down ashamedly, trying in vain to stop laughing. "I guess I too enthusiastic, if you know what I mean."

Marshall finally cracked a smile, relieved that she wasn't traumatized.

"Apparently I was too." He laughed. "It took me a second to realize what happened."

Fionna smiled. "I guess you could say we were in the moment."

"You got that right." They both laughed as Marshall slowly lowered them to the ground.

After their near-crash landing, Marshall carried Fionna princess-style into a nearby cave he frequented. It was beautiful and comfortable inside—for a cave at least—and Marshall enjoyed it because of the privacy it provided from the outside world, especially for night creatures like him.

Still giggling from the incident, they floated far into the cave, which was only lit by distant moonlight. Fionna didn't seem scared, and Marshall was thankful for her trust in him. Soon Marshall set both of them down against a slow-curving back wall, deep inside the cave. It curved perfectly to provide a lounge for them to lounge in.

They both whispered and laughed quietly, Fionna telling him how he was such a liar, saying he wouldn't drop her, and Marshall trying to find reasons to defend himself. They filled the cave with a sweet murmur. Fionna began to idly play with the buttons on Marshall's shirt, and it made him happy that she was so comfortable in intimate situations like this. It meant that, while a disaster, his romantic evening wasn't totally a failure. Marshall took his arm and wrapped it around Fionna's waist. He slowly pulled her closer to him, feeling her breath quicken as he did so.

She looked up at him with those bright eyes of hers, and it was all he could do not to melt.

"Fionna," Marshall said, voice rough. "I'm really—"

"Just do it." She said.

Marshall was shocked. "What?"

Fionna's mischievous smile said everything. "I'm as tired of waiting as you are. Just do it."

Marshall didn't need to be told twice. His entire romantic speech was thrown out the window as he launched forward to kiss Fionna. He thought that this kiss, in contrast to the last time they kissed, would be delicate and romantic; it wasn't.

Fionna leaned up, kissing him back with a fiery passion. Their lips moved against each other rhythmically. Fionna's hands went up to his hair, only arousing Marshall further.

He slithered his tongue into her mouth, and she sighed against his lips.

As if to get him back, she pushed forward so she was sitting atop him, straddling him with her legs. She shoved her tongue into his mouth, and Marshall couldn't stop a low growl from escaping him.

When their lips parted for air, Marshall gasped "Feisty little bunny."

"Oh, shut up," She said, shoving her lips against his again.

He wanted to bite her lip and suck all the yummy, strawberry red color out of it, but he refrained. They were too delectable to be tampered with. He twisted, and the kiss became so deep that he became scared that his fangs might actually hit Fionna in the mouth. That would not be good, he thought. But on account of the fact that he wanted to keep kissing Fionna, he decided he didn't care as their lips moved in unison.

Playing off these thoughts, Marshall became distracted and the kiss slowed.

"Fionna?" He said against her lips.

"Hm?"

"I really like you."

Fionna grinned from ear to ear. "I really like you too."

They kissed for a few moments more before Marshall pulled back, interrupting again.

"You don't care, you know…" He trailed off.

Fionna smiled, her fingers ran across the bite-marks on his neck, examining them as if it was the first time she had noticed them. "That you're a vampire? Of course I don't."

"You're not scared? I mean… I'm half demon, too. I'm like the worst combination." His black hair fell over his eyes and he seemed honestly troubled. He looked at her as if she was the most delicate flower and he was the terrible monster about to step on her.

"Oh please," Fionna scoffed. "I can name a billion creatures scarier than you." She took his face in her hands and kissed him gently for a moment, before speaking very softly. "I have no reason to be scared of you. You're probably the coolest person I've ever met. Why would you ever hurt me?"

Marshall relaxed a bit at this. "You're right. You know, you're the coolest person I've ever met too," He replied, happily. Then, in a more sultry voice, he said "we must be made for each other."

Fionna laughed giddily at this, and their kiss regained momentum. But as much as he tried to enjoy it, Fionna's last question circled around in his mind. He wouldn't ever hurt Fionna, right? He tried to push it away, but a feeling of unease settled in his stomach.

He kissed Fionna delicately for the rest of the night. He kept reminding himself, I love this girl; I would never let anything hurt her.

But he could replay those words in his mind all night, it wouldn't change anything; he was still a vampire.

Fionna tipped-toed into her bedroom just before sunrise. The sun hadn't started rising yet, giving her enough darkness to sneak in.

Marshall had dropped her off at the door to the treehouse, hoping to give her enough time to get in before Cake awoke.

But just as she was about to slip into bed, a blinding light flicked on across the room.

"Ah!" Fionna screeched and covered her eyes.

"I knew it!" Cake wailed.

"Cake, please don't be mad!" Fionna dove into her bed covers, hoping to find reprieve. Her voice was muffled as she begged for forgiveness. "Please, I'm sorry! I swear I was safe and you had no reason to worr—"

"He loves you!"

Cake's booming voice silenced Fionna. She peeked out from under the covers.

"What?"

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! He loves you!"

Fionna was dumbfounded. She slowly lowered the blankets from her face. "Wha… You're not mad?"

"Mad?! Honey, this is great news!" Cake leaped off her bed and ran to Fionna. "Aren't you as happy as I am?"

"Yeah… Well of course I'm happy… I'm just a little confused. You didn't even yell at me just a little."

"Oh, I'll get back on the mother train tomorrow. Right now, I'm just happy for you. You never have to be pushed around by that pink boy anymore!"

"Yeah…" Fionna looked away, conflicted. "But, you know, Cake, we used to help him out a lot. I mean, we haven't seen him in weeks. Marshall and I are great, but PG is still our friend, right? It's not like we're going to abandon him."

Cake took a deep breath. "Fi, you are right. And I understand; you still want to be friends. I get it. I just don't want you to give him any more chances to hurt you."

"But—" Fionna frowned, but Cake wasn't finished.

"Listen baby, when crisis breaks loose in the Candy Kingdom, who's going to be there lickity-split to take care of ol' Gumball and all his subjects?"

"We are."

"Right," Cake put a reassuring hand on Fionna's cheek. "So don't you worry your pretty little self." Fionna smiled at this. Cake flicked off the light and wandered out of the bedroom.

"Now, maybe you should take a nap or something." She called over her shoulder with a sly grin. "You must be tired."