Fionna waited, breathing slowly, deeply, nervousness wrinkling her face as the Rhinostone charged at her, its glittery horn looking quite sharp in the sunlight. She couldn't dodge now, it'd taken her ages to get it to run at this angle. Too soon, and it'd change course, too late, and, well...

She tensed, and then jumped, "Cake, net it!" she hollered, leapfrogging the behemoth, and her sister flared up from behind where she'd been.

Cake's feet and hands stretched to wrap around the trees, her body bending at the Rhino's charging, and she curled around it with a growl, making sure its feet couldn't touch the ground. If it couldn't step off anything, the lug was safe to be around.

"Oof! S'got quite a temper on it." she hissed, bulging awkwardly where the beast tried to get out.

"Ow! Ow-ow-ow, get the freakin' sleepy stuff already, girl! OW!"

Fionna got the capsule, twisting it and hearing the hiss of the sleepy stuff escape, throwing it into the gap Cake gave her.

"Gah, don't get me with that!" Cake protested, closing over the Rhinostone, sleepy stuff and all.

Soon its stomping about slowed down, and then stopped, and Cake slumped in relief over the lump.

"We go-o-ot it...?" she slurred, oozing into her true shape. Fionna nodded, smiling as she caught her sister, "We got it."

"Alright, woo... Points for us... I'mma gonna take a catnap no-o-o-ow..."

"Oops." Fionna muttered quietly, and then Cake shrunk down to pocket-size, and Fionna carefully tucked her under her hat.

"Oi, didja get the beastie?" the Zoo Prince asked, popping out from behind a rock.

"Got her." Fionna called back, patting the sleeping Rhinostone on the horn.

"I can help you fix the fencing, but I'm not sure how we'll get her back in."

"No worries, sheila, got some handlers free for work now!" he said, smiling. He looked a bit like a human, but with orange skin, brown-green hair, and a pith helmet permanently attached to his head, looking a bit like a mushroom, a gold crown painted/carved around it to show his royalty. It was very solid, and probably one of the strongest things around, like a shield on his head, and he quoted, able to protect him from 'savage cocoa nuts, bush bears, saddle lights, and more than one lightning strike'.

True to his word, more orange-skinned handlers, the Zoo Kingdom's equivalent of soldiers, came up with a cart to put the Rhinostone on.

"That's one babe in the woods taken care of," the Zoo Prince sighed in relief, "Lovely Reena there's gonna have some li'l ones, so the time'll get her a bit ornery. Dad would have my helmet if he knew she got out. Thanks to you, all's well. Now..."

He glanced at her, grinning, "I could take care of another babe in the woods myself, now, eh, sheila? All that dodgin' looked tirin'! I'm of a mind to get you some good grub as thanks. A proper meal at my Dad's. Whaddya say?"

Fionna smiled at him, blushing a little, but shook her head, "Not today, Augie, but I'll keep it in mind, thank you."

His grin faltered a bit, but he laughed, "I guess a hero's job is never done? Well, alright. Keep it in mind, but keep me in mind, too!"

He winked, and she laughed, waving, before she ran off to do more heroics, adventures, whatever would happen next.

The Prince sighed as she was out of sight, smiling a bit more wistfully, "Heh, there's one beaut of a creature that'll never go in a Zoo..."

Fionna felt a bit guilty: heroes were supposed to accept 'thank-you's' and stuff as a matter of principle.

Lately it felt like she'd been taking a lot more IOUs than usual, doing one thing and moving quickly to the next.

Maybe the fact that whenever she thought of 'thank-you's' she now thought of things heroes shouldn't think about.

It bugged her, and it also bugged her that she was technically 'avoiding the problem'.

She'd kissed Gumball. On the face. And hadn't really seen him directly since.

Because she didn't really know how to act.

And now she felt like an idiot and a jerk and she didn't want Gumball to see her look like a face-kissing idiot, but she didn't know what to do or who to talk to without looking/feeling like an idiot or freaking out. Cake would freak out, and make her feel worse and she'd feel like an idiot!
(She really didn't want to have another Awesome Ninja Outfit of Shame incident.)

She could...talk to Marshall, maybe? Not tell him that she kissed Gumball's face, but that she did something embarrassing.

He already knew her at her worst (heck, he knew what happened when he treated her like an idiot: a good beating-up!) so he was probably the best person to talk to (indirectly) about her problem. He'd give her a miraculous solution, and then she could face Gumball like a mature heroine without blushing or babbling or freaking out! She nodded firmly. That would work!
She saw no way in which this perfectly logical series of events could possibly fail!

She paced nervously in front of his cave, clenching at her hat nervously but gently to avoid disturbing the sleeping Cake.

There were so many ways this series of events could possibly fail!

Marshall could laugh at her, or give her bad advice, or tell on her to Gumball, or Cake could wake up, or the Ice Queen would come around and see how much of a freaky spaz Fionna was and defeat her through sheer psychology powers!

"Is there a reason you're pacing a moat at my doorstep, Fio?" she heard him ask above her, and she froze with an 'urk'.

. . . How does a guy who plays rock music all the freaking time get the jump on people?!

"Wasnothin'somethin'stupidnotworthanyofyourtime! Gonnagobyes'rry!" she mumbled, scrambling out of the moat she had indeed paced.

"Woah-ho-ho there, Fionna!" he laughed, catching her up by her backpack, and she uselessly trotted at air, whining.

"I just got a free moat, gotta give a 'thank you' somehow, huh? Come into my office, babe!" he chuckled.

Against her will, he flew back inside, dangling her protesting self along.

The way he said 'thank you' somehow made her flush. Did—he didn't know, did he? Did he?!

He sniffed about a little bit before setting her down on his roof, and he floated next to her.

"Cat in your cap?" he asked, pointing at her hat. She nodded, pressing a finger to her mouth cautiously.

He nodded, but was still grinning, playing a soft, lullaby-like tune on his guitar.

For some reason this didn't make Fionna feel much better.

"Now..." he continued quietly, smiling at her, "What'd ya wanna talk to li'l ol' me about?"

Fionna swallowed.