Edit: I want to take back the little comment I made before our Hurricane. I didn't realize it would be so serious. It hit very hard here and everyone is having a difficult time recovering. I hope the best for everyone. I've been luckily in comparison..

Sorry for leaving off on a sad note last chapter-Don't worry! I don't write tragedies! o

On the night of his birthday Marshall arrived at the castle only 5 minutes later than the agreed time. The guards were already waiting for him and ushered him inside the main entrance. "Well, this is weird" he thought. It only got weirder. The entire castle was uncharacteristically decorated in red and black. He couldn't help but drink the color out of a tapestry or two as he passed.

"This way, your highness!"

Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow at the title but followed. "What the heck is Gumball up to?..."

"SURPRISE!"

Almost 100 guests shouted as the doors opened before Marshall. Cinnamonbun snapped a picture not realizing that it would only be a blank photo.

The light of the room flooded Marshall's eyes but when his vision had cleared he could see that it was full of people he didn't really care for, with a few pleasant exceptions mixed in. If he thought about it, he didn't really have many actual friends so Gumball probably decided to bring in place holders. It was definitely weird that all these people had come to celebrate him. It was awkward. He wanted to leave…

"Hey Marshall! Happy B-day!" Fionna caught his arm before he could spin around. She was beaming, in a pretty blue dress. Rather than elegant, it was torn and rugged. It was very different from the dress she had worn last time.

"Thanks" he muttered, still feeling uneasy.

"PG really worked hard to put all this together for you! I never realized you two were too close!" Fionna chirped excitedly.

Marshall faked a smile. If she knew just how close he was with her prince she wouldn't be so glad.

"Yeah..how nice of him.."

"Come on! You gotta check everything out!"

Being around Fionna always had a calming effect on him. Marshall felt more comfortable already. By the time Fionna was done dragging him around to see the decorations and all the food he was enjoying being the center of attention.

He was a little annoyed that the people who were usually scared of him were casually approaching him and wishing him well but a change every 1000 years was nice too..The only thing bothering him was..where the heck was PG?

Marshall finally spotted the prince lurking nervously in a corner. The only reason he even spotted him at all was because his crown was poking out over the crowd. He looked nothing like the usual Gumball and instead he was wearing torn jeans, ripped at the knees and fraying at the hems (still hot pink though) and a black band t-shirt that looked very familiar to Marshall. He had a slouchy purple beanie on his head and his crown still sparkled a top it.

"Gumball?! What the..?!" Marshall asked incredulously, with a small smirk. He bit his lip and took at step back to get the full picture. "You look great!"

"It's a themed party..I..I thought you'd like it more than a formal ball. Peppermint maid helped me pick this outfit out.." Gumball stuttered, squirming a little as he spoke. He felt completely out of place in this messy clothing.

Now that he mentioned it, everyone, even Fionna was looking a bit rougher than usual.

"Its cool!" Marshall said honestly.

Gumball blushed. "I look silly.."

"No! You look great! I want to eat you up!" Marshall grinned. "—and this party is really awesome! Thanks a bunch, man! No one's ever done something like this for me before!"

Gumball smiled. Hearing that he was the first person in 1000 years really made him happy. He was always jealous of all the people who had probably loved Marshall in the past. Now wasn't the time to bring it up though.

"Hope you enjoy tonight's menu. It was prepared specially for you. I made sure that even the decorations were red , so if you feel the urge…"

Marshall laughed again. "You really thought of everything!"

"Yeah" PG smiled.

"Even the music is pretty kick arse. You must be a lot cooler than I thought, Gummy." He teased. "Come on! Let's dance!"

Before the skittish prince could protest, Marshall had pulled him into the middle of the floor.

"Um…M-marshall. This isn't the style of dance I'm well-versed in. I'll be humiliated in front of my subjects!" He tried to hide his face behind his hands.

"Chill out, Gummy! It's my birthday!" Marshall teased. "Just follow my lead!"

Giving in, Gumball did his best to keep up with Marshall but he was tripping and stumbling all over the place.

It was adorable but.."Wow, he really is bad!.." Marshall thought resisting the urge to tease him again.

"You're really tearing it up, man!" he lied.

"Yeah! I'm started to get the hang of it!" Gumball smiled proudly and then continued flailing his arms around in high concentration, unaware of the many eyes on him.

"Sure you are, dude" Marshall chuckled. He was having too much fun.

.

.

.

.

Towards the end of the night PG's moves had actually started to look sort of good and even a few of the candy people were trying to imitate them.

"Woo! I need a breather!" The prince slouched down in a chair, attempting to catch his breath.

"I'll get you a drink" Marshall offered.

"Thanks!" Gumball smiled exasperatedly.

Marshall couldn't help noticing how cute Gumball was today as he floated over to the drink bar. On his way to the table he heard his name being whispered in the crowd.

"He's been sticking to the prince like glue all night! It's so unusual! Prince Gumball's never been like this before!...This whole party…just what is his majesty thinking?!"

Marshall hissed. If everyone really wanted to know what was going on so badly, he guessed he'd just have to show them.

.

.

"Thanks!" Gumball took the glass gratefully. "You didn't put anything weird in it, did you?" He joked, sloshing it around a bit before taking a sip.

'This should do it' Marshall thought to himself. He leaned in closely, and planted a soft kiss right on the unsuspecting prince's lips. "Of course not, dear."

Gumball paled.

Someone across the room fainted.

.

There was silence..

And then a storm of whispers as those who hadn't seen were told.

Fionna's voice let out a high pitched squeak from somewhere in the crowd but Gumball couldn't hear anything.

His ears were ringing.

"M-Marshall! What did you just do!? Right here! In front of everyone!?" He was blushing furiously and his hands were trembling, as he panicked.

"I've staked my claim on you." The vampire said, coolly. "Everyone's been saying all sorts of junk about us. I just saved you the trouble of explaining."

"B—but-NNNNnnh!" Gumball couldn't get his words out. Inside, his brain was going crazy. There were a million reasons why this was an absolutely terrible idea but he was trying so hard not to scream and upset Marshall at his party. He knew from experience how easily Marshall's feelings got hurt and he didn't want to do that. He could feel everyone's eyes on them.

"Oh, someone please help.." He whispered under his breath.

Suddenly, the table near the back wall burst into flames and immediately became the center of attention.

Peppermint Maid caught Gumball's gaze and flashed him a thumbs up.

P.G. nodded to thank her and pulled Marshall out in to the court yard.

"Yikes!," Marshall joked, "The palace is burning down! Coolest party ever!"

"Marshall!—" Gumball interrupted angrily. "What was the meaning of that?! We really need to be more discreet! I-"

Marshall's smile was gone. Prince Gumball caught himself. He really didn't want to hurt Marshall on his birthday.

"I'm sorry Marsh, …I just thought we'd go about it differently.." He sighed, trying to think of something nice to add. "..It's kind of liberating though!..and I'm sure my street cred has gone up!"

"What are you talking about?" Marshall frowned.

"You know—people will think I'm cool and stuff…because you are cool and… you know.." He trailed off, blushing.

"PG, You're so lame! But that's what I love about you!" he chuckled.

"Love"

The word hung in the air awkwardly for a moment. Though they both were feeling the same way, neither commented on it.

"Well I suppose I better see if the fires been put out properly." PG shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to skip out on this awesome party you've thrown for me!" Marshall ruffled the prince's gummy hair as he floated ahead of him. "You better be ready for the private after party tonight. I'm not going to let you sleep!" He winked and blew a kiss before ducking back into the room.

Open mouthed, Gumball's face turned redder. "MARSHALL! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME?"

It was 7 minutes before he could compose himself enough to reenter the party.

Chapter End- More to come

Thanks for reading again!

Hey if anyone has anything they'd like to see happen in the story, or an idea they want to through me for another MLPG story, leave a comment about it -I can't promise I'd do it but I'd love to hear your ideas!