One week later
"So… now you both can touch each other?", asked Jake, grinning.
"Yes. I didn't even realized what we had done until we woke up in the hospital", said Finn, before munching his pancake. "Ahura told me the flame they left inside me was a gift but I seriously didn't think of this", said Finn, with food in his mouth.
"And aren't you excited about it?"
"Of course I am!", the human exclaimed, still with the food in his mouth and then he swallowed it. "When we got up from our beds we hold hands and jumped all over the place".
"Did you smooched lips?", asked Jake with a bigger grin.
Finn choked on his food and hit his chest to get the food out of his respiratory system.
"Haha! I knew it! My little bro has a girlfriend again!".
"Jake!"
"And now you have full and unrestricted access with her"
"Jake!", exclaimed Finn, louder than before. "Nothing happened. I didn't kiss her and we are not a couple. We are just friends".
"But- I heard you for six years sigh at her, stare with melancholy at every bonfire or candle and whisper-wishing she was with you again".
"That last part is not true", Finn claimed.
"You used to sleep talk, bro".
Finn sighed in both resignation and annoyance.
"Well, yes. I used to wish everything was like before", he confessed. "But I just wanted her to come back at me. I wanted her. But I didn't think in what she wanted and that's the main reason we broke up in the first place".
Jake frowned, pitying his brother. He left his place in front of Finn and sat at his side. He put his paw around Finn.
"I understand, Finn. You have matured and I'm happy to see that. You are a grown up man now and you have left your selfish motives behind. I just wished you hadn't left your hat behind too".
Finn and Jake laughed and shared a long tight hug.
"Thanks bro", whispered Finn.
"Hey! But you haven't told if you are going to try again", said Jake, with a mischievous grin.
Finn kept smiling at his brother.
"This one I definitely knew it! Are you going to ask her?".
"Maybe. But not right now. We just bonded again after so many years and ask her right away after everything that has happened, after she almost died… It's not the right time yet. Besides, it doesn't matter if I want to ask her, but if she wants to give me another chance".
"I'm sure she would! Just look at you! A strong, handsome man with lots of gold under his house and the abilities to protect a family in a fight. You are the dream of any girl, I tell you!", exclaimed Jake, messing with Finn's golden hair.
Finn giggled and fixed his hair. He then looked at the clock. It was nine twenty five in the morning.
"I better go. The ceremony at the Fire Kingdom begins at ten o'clock. I don't want them to get mad at me for being late", he joked, getting up from his chair and walking towards the door.
"Good luck there, Knight of the Crossed Candy Canes Order!", said Jake.
Finn looked at the two crossed candy canes medal in his shirt that Bubblegum gave to him two days before in another ceremony at the Candy Kingdom, awarding him for his services to the Candy Kingdom. He was the first person ever to receive that award. He smiled before leaving the house.
After almost thirty minutes of walk, he arrived at the gates of the castle in the Fire Kingdom. He greeted the guards and told them the reason of his visit; they led him in as they had orders to escort him to the Great East Garden where the ceremony would be celebrated. They left him behind the stage assembled in the garden, where the rest of the people who would participate in the ceremony was. He talked first with Princess Bubblegum.
"Hey, PB! How are the prisoners?".
"Locked and nice. I left Goliad in cryogenic dream that should last for eternity or until the planet gets destroyed, whatever happens first. As for Blargetha, she was indicted and found guilty of several charges, the main one being the coup d'état she performed. She is a maximum security prison I helped to build, with three Rattleballs as guards".
"And what about the Candy Kingdom and your people?".
"Thanks to the Rattleballs and Root Beer Guy most of them could return to their reconstructed houses. The rest are staying in the castle but it won't last long".
"Yo, Finn", exclaimed Flame Princess upon seeing Finn. She walked towards him and they greeted with a tight and brief hug. "I'm glad you could come".
"Of course I would come!", he replied while breaking the hug. "I will try to not let you down never again".
"That's nice, Finn. Come on, we were only waiting for you", she said and, with a hand motion, she invited him and the rest of the people there to get on the stage.
As soon as the King appeared up there, she was cheered by her people. She waved and smiled at them. Princess Bubblegum, the Fire Army's General, three more fire soldiers, Cinnamon Bun and Finn took their sit at the bottom of the stage, while Flame Princess walked towards a lectern.
"My dear and beloved fire people", she spoke, "It has been a hard month, for all of us. Fortunately, thanks to the brave efforts of our armed forces and our alliance with the Candy Kingdom, peace has return to our home. We can live peacefully again. But that doesn't mean that we are going to forget all of those who gave their lives to accomplish this. They will always be present in the thoughts of their families, in the heart of all the people of this kingdom, in my heart. This six feet monolith here, with their names craved on it, will forever be a reminder of their sacrifice and our infinite gratitude towards them".
Flame King's speech was replied with long and effusive round of claps from the crowd and the people on the stage, including the King herself.
"There are other people we have to thank for their services given during those dark days", she spoke again, "Thanks to our alliance with the Candy Kingdom we were able to completely defeat the menace of the Slime Empire in the battlefield. And thanks to the help of the Rattleballs guardians the reconstruction of our kingdom is at eighty five percent in just four days. Princess Bubblegum, please, step to the front".
Princess Bubblegum did so and Flame Princess walked towards her, with a red and gold striped band in her hands.
"For your help towards this kingdom and its ruler in their time of need, I give you the band of the Royal Bonfire, the greatest distinction this kingdom can give to another ruler".
Bubblegum bowed down for Flame Princess to put the band on her. Then they shook hands and shared a hug, which was received with another round of applauses.
After that, three fire soldiers received Golden Hearts Medals for their courage in the war, in representation of a bigger group that received their medals after the main event. The king also gave a Red Gem Medal to her brother, the general Roaz. When she said his surname, amazed whispers could be heard from the clapping crowd.
"Finally but not less important, two people who put their lives in danger to bring peace, light and life to our hearts", she spoke and smiled. "Cinnamon Bun and Finn Mertens, please, step to the front".
Finn and Cinnamon Bun got up from their chair and stood on the stage in front of the people reunited there. The Flame King approached with a small dark brown box in her hands, the same color than her armor.
"In gratitude for your actions, that will never been gratified enough, I give you the Medal of the Fire Wings".
The King opened the box, letting them see two golden medals with an eagle-like shape, facing at its right. Its wings, however, were irregular and seemed to resemble fire rather than actual wings. It had a sword in its left claw and a shield in the right claw.
"With this…", said the king as she put the medal in Finn's shirt, "You are bestowed by my bless as a knights of the Fire Kingdom".
The people cheered and clapped again when the knights and the king shared a brief and formal hug. Both knights returned to their seat.
"A new sun has risen! Our days will not be dark never again! There is new fire running among us and giving us its warm. The Fire Kingdom has triumphed!".
The King got a deafening roar from fire people in there.
The ceremony ended. The crowd left the place and the people on stage went down, to the back of it.
The soldiers and Bubblegum surrounded the Flame King, talking with her, shaking hands and thanking for the awards. Finn watched from afar, content to see his longtime friend smile again.
"You made a great job back there, Finn", said Cinnamon Bun, approaching to the young man.
"We made a great job, CB. I couldn't do it if it wasn't for you", he said with a smile that suddenly became a frown of regret. "I'm sorry for the things I made to you. I was such a fool".
"It's okay, Finn. There are no grudges against you inside me. You have grown, you have realized things and, more important, she's alive. I couldn't get the Roaz Heart by myself, I needed you".
Finn frowned again, now confused. He looked back at Cinnamon Bun. "What are you talking about?".
"The heart knows who enters in the Temple. It sees in the soul of that person. Only someone with true and strong feelings towards the person in dismay could get that heart. My feelings for Ailen are true and strong, no doubt. But yours are way stronger than mine. The Flame of Revelation would only burn within someone with those feelings".
"You knew that all the time and never told me?", Finn asked.
"Not all the time, just until minutes before from the beginning of our journey, thanks to her".
From the back of Cinnamon Bun, the old fire priestess appeared.
"Mistress Kala!", exclaimed Finn.
"I knew you could do it, young man. I saw in your eyes all that passion and love towards her. You accomplished your task and have succeeded in becoming the knight you were meant to be".
Finn couldn't resist and hugged the old lady. "Thanks so much for believing in me", he whispered.
Kala broke the hug. "You deserve a lot of good things. And she's the best thing you can find in this world", the priestess said, pointing at Flame Princess.
"I know she is. But I've learned to hear her first before anything in my mind or my heart. I can't go places she doesn't want me to go with her".
"You are both young, you have a lot of time to live. Make all you can to show her how much you love her", said Kala.
"I'll try, mistress", replied Finn with a smile.
"Hear me, Finn", said Cinnamon Bun, with a serious gaze, "I agree with anything Kala says. But if you hurt her and make her suffer, I'll just fulfill my obligations as her knight. Understood?".
"Defs", replied Finn.
"Oh, here she comes! Remember, Finn: little sparks can ignite a big fire", said Kala, winking at Finn.
Cinnamon Bun and Kala left Finn as Flame Princess approached to him.
"Do you like your medal?", asked Flame Princess.
"It's really beautiful. As beautiful as… um… everything here", said Finn with a nervous grin. "Danngit! I had six years to improve chats like this and I didn't do anything!", he thought.
"You like the Fire Kingdom?", asked the ruler, with incredulous grin.
"Well, yeah. It has… great wonders and beautiful eyes- gardens! I meant gardens!", he abruptly said.
Flame Princess giggled. "You could be older but you keep being the same dork I met years ago".
"Hehe. Well, if that makes you smile I think I'll keep being a dork until I die".
Flame Princess grinned, making her cheeks bigger, and she giggled again. Finn could swear he saw a faint blush there.
"You amaze me, Finn. I wish I could be as cheer as you".
"Maybe… showing you a little of my world could help. Let's go explore a little, would we?".
Flame Princess was surprised by the proposition. She looked at her sides and then at Finn. She smiled and leaned down to Finn.
"Let's go while nobody is watching", she whispered. Then she launched out her armor from her, leaving her only in her white attire.
They held hands and went running to the nearest exit from the castle and later from the kingdom. They walked until reaching the grasslands. In that moment, the princess let go from the young man's hand.
"Should I flirt with her right now? How do I do it?", thought Finn.
He looked at her. She extended her arms and started spinning around. He loved that smile and the fact that she was finally enjoying some time outside from her kingdom, time for her; and not just for a test to avoid her death.
And Flame Princess felt exactly like that. She felt infinite joy just in spinning around, feeling the fresh wind with grass smell. Even when she was already made of fire, the warm of the sun felt very pleasant on her skin. Before she knew it, she was naively dancing, moving her arms and legs along a song she was humming to herself. She took deep breaths, feeling her new heart beating against her chest.
"I missed this place", she whispered.
"Nah, this is her moment. She deserves it and I'm not gonna ruin it with awkward situations", thought Finn, smiling. "Kala said it: We have plenty of time. Right now, this time is for her".
THE END
We have finally reach the end. This was great experience for me. There was an extra I wanted to put in this chapter but... nah, this is better finale.
Thank you everyone who came to read this. Thank you everyone who left a review. Thank you everyone who followed and favorited the story. Thank you!