Chapter 53: Rekindle

Fionna woke up in PG's bed early the next morning. The sun had barely risen, however she was already behind schedule. Gumball had been absent from his side of the bed for hours. By the time the human girl was dressed and had her bowl of cereal, the entire kingdom knew of the wedding happening in a matter of two days. The hustle and bustle of the kingdom was overwhelming. The kitchen was packed with preparation, the garden was getting completely reconstructed for the wedding arch and decorated with blue flowers and the hallways were filled with servants under the command of both Cake and Gumball. Fionna received a message in her pancake from her feline friend, telling her to hurry her butt over to Gumball's study.

With sleep still in her eyes and yawns filling her mouth, the adventurer made her way to the study. As she passed citizen after citizen they either waved or bowed to her to congratulate her. A bit taken aback by this attention, Fionna simply smiled and waved and continued on her way. Gumball had made the announcement that morning which resulted in a roar of cheering from outside the castle that woke up the sleeping adventuress in the first place. Everyone was pretty hyped up about the wedding but the thought of it just made Fionna more and more nervous. She loved Gumball, she just didn't love all the attention on her, a reality that would become more severe within the next couple of days. Fionna entered the study to see Cake barking orders at a bunch of scared little candy people taking notes.

"No Honeys, I told y'all last night that the cream cuffs have to have chocolate filling and the pink frosting and just where in the hell is my mocha latte"? Cake yelled staring at her clipboard.

"Right away Ms. Cake". A couple of the candy servants replied as they hurried past Fionna. The girl scratched her head and turned to Cake.

"Damn girl". Fionna commented.

"Oh they are just interns that SHOULD HAVE THEIR SHIT TOGETHER FOR THIS WEDDING". Cake yelled breaking her clipboard in half. She looked down at it marveled by her our strength.

"Um, maybe you should take a break man".

Cake practically threw her tattered board at the thought.

"Honey, there's no time. Gumball will be here any second to", Cake stopped as she noticed Fionna's body jump at the touch of arms wrapping around her.

"Hello my bride". Gumball cooed into Fionna's bunny hat covered ear, nuzzling against her cheek. Fionna blushed brilliantly, playfully struggling in his arms.

"Hey, man. Not cool you scared me". Fionna laughed as she broke away from him. Gumball chuckled and took her hand gently, looking down at it.

"Forgive me, Fi. It's hard to contain my excitement for our wedding". He said sweetly, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the top of her skin.

"Alright, alright you too, you have all of your honeymoon to be lovey dovey so can we PLEASE get through this preparation checklist"? Cake asked impatiently, trying to re-piece together the old clipboard.

Once the group settled down in recliners near the open fireplace, Cake and Gumball began to read off the list of to dos in front of Fionna. Attention that she needed to have for her role as bride was on the very low side this morning. Bored out of her mind by all this planning she found herself dozing off, answering everything with "I don't care" or "Ben you pick". She didn't mean to be so uninvolved with her wedding because she knew that PG and Cake would make it beautiful with or without her. Her one issue was with her wedding dress, Cake had refused to let her see it until she had measurements from Fionna and even then Fionna knew she wouldn't get a glance until it was already on her in the mirror.

"Alright so now onto the bouquets", Cake said scribbling and crossing out previous items on the list.

"Fionna, for your bouquet do you want blue and white flowers with pearls or baby blue and gold flowers with sapphires and pearls"? Cake asked looking to an exhausted looking Fionna.

"Yo, Fi, I'm talkin to you girl". Cake said crossing her arms.

Fionna allowed herself to slump more into her seat, eyes shut tight as she murmured something.

"Fionna"! Cake yelled as the girl jolted awake, trying to open her eyes all the way.

"Yea, yea, sure that's fine".

"No it ain't fine, girl you better stay up I just have a couple more things to clear with you so you don't have some hissy fit on your wedding day and then after this we need to get you fitted".

Fionna yawned at the thought of more to dos that needed her opinion.

Gumball came over with a glass of peppermint tea. The scent filled Fionna's nostrils and made her mouth water.

"Here, Fionna. I know it's difficult but please try to stay up for a few more minutes and then you can go take a nap before the fitting". Gumball said carefully giving Fionna her tea as she sat up. Cake gave him a glare at this permission to leave.

Bringing the cup to her lips, Fionna's eyes burst open as the hot liquid burnt the tip of her tongue. Her eyes watered a bit as she let out a cough.

"Careful now". Gumball advised as he picked up his clipboard and continued to write on it.

"Guys can we please take a break so I can wake up a bit"? Fionna asked, taking the cup to her lips again.

"Geez how many wedding are you broheims planning. I was invited to just one". A familiar voice joked, forcing Fionna to look over her shoulder to see a ripped jean and red plaid wearing human.

"Marshall Lee"! Fionna said excited as she jumped off her recliner and went in for a hug.

He smiled at her, arms open to her as she threw herself into his chest. It had seemed like weeks since she saw him last. Her insecurity of their last encounter had faded. He wasn't mad at her at all like she thought.

"Hey Bunny, excited for your big day"? He asked in a hushed tone, rubbing her back.

Fionna looked to him and let him go.

"I'm so tired I'm not sure if I'll make it to the wedding".

Marshall laughed stuffing his hands into his pockets as Gumball got up to greet him.

"Princess Fionna…. wow. That's how I've always seen you. It will be weird having the entire kingdom refer to you as such now". He joked as Fionna blushed and looked away to see Gumball approaching them.

"I'm assuming you are here for the bachelor party"? Gumball asked with a smile.

Marshall nodded with a smile back.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Gummy". Marshall joked as PG brought him in for a hug, which Marshall gave back.

Fionna smiled, looking at her boys, they seemed happy in each other's company. The site was both odd yet refreshing.

"When's the bachelor party"? Fionna asked as the boys broke away. Gumball looked at his watch, surprised by the time.

"Oh my, it's 3:00 already. The party starts at 4:00 in the royal lounge. I've renovated the place for the occasion. Before we go down I've been meaning to ask you something that's why I called you here before".

Marshall tried not to look nervous, despite Gumball's warm smile. He thought that if he had been upset with him, his expression would be different.

"Alright, you want to mosey toward the lounge to talk"? Marshall asked looking from Gumball to Fionna, wondering if she was a part of this.

"Yes, let's head down and have a couple drinks before everyone shows up". Gumball insisted heading towards the door with Marshall, his hand patting the boy's upper back.

"Sooo am I free to go"? Fionna asked following them with Cake.

Gumball turned around almost forgetting her for a second.

"Yes of course my love. Go rest up before your fitting". He said planting a kiss on her forehead. Marshall watched this, happy for them both yet holding back a sting he felt in his heart.

"Ok, I'll see you later then"? Fionna asked.

Gumball shook his head, caressing under her chin, allowing her pools of blue to look into his own eyes.

"Not tonight, my dear. It's the night before our wedding, its bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony".

Fionna looked at him a little disappointed. Marshall looked to Gumball, giving him a nod as if to say he was going to give them a moment. He backed away into the door, heading into the hallway.

After Marshall's exit, Gumball looked at Fionna feeling a bit guilty.

"I'll see you at the altar, my princess. Rest easy". Gumball said as he moved his hand from her chin to her cheek, caressing her skin.

"Don't leave me there", he joked brushing his nose against hers, making her cheeks heat up with more blush.

"Ok man, don't forget about me tonight, I know how these bachelor parties go". Fionna joked, knowing that Gumball would never stray from her.

"I promise". He whispered, leaning into her and pecking her soft pink lips over and over again as she smiled through his kisses and pushed him off.

"Alright get out of here, I have a date from hell with a fitting". Fionna said, playing with her hair.

Gumball nodded and left her and Cake. Marshall looked up from the ground as he leaned against the wall.

"Ready, old friend"? The pink prince asked as Marshall stood up straight and began to descend with him down the stairs.

"So whats up Benny Boy"? Marshall asked as they reached the bottom of the staircase.

"I would like you to get the best band you can find by tomorrow". Gumball said as he pulled out a brown sack of jewels offering it to the boy. Marshall looked at it bewildered.

"Well I guess I can have Kiss of Death do me a favor for filling in for Kurt that one time. Maybe Axel will be able to sing lead since this is short notice".

"I actually want you to sing lead tomorrow". Gumball insisted, closing Marshall's hand around the money.

"You want me to sing"? He asked a little surprised and flattered at the same time.

"You've sang at every other event I've had". Gumball reminded.

Marshall smiled looking down at the large payment,

"But this is your wedding". Marshall added, still surprised by Gumball's generosity. PG only smiled at him warmly, holding his hands behind his back.

"I want my best man to be just as much a part of this wedding as I am". Gumball said, making Marshall's face grow white.

"Hold up, you want me to be your best man, bro"? He asked a bit excited by the thought.

Gumball nodded sincerely, enjoying the amusement on Marshall's face. He had never been part of a real wedding where he was given such a role.

"Aw man, I'm stoked now. But for real if you are letting me be BM then take the money back I'll get Kiss of Death to do the gig without it". Marshall offered, handing it back to Gumball. He refused him, pushing it into his chest immediately.

"No, take it. Give it to the band and tell them to get their suits clean, invite their plus ones and tell them I expect them in rehearsal early tomorrow morning. The ceremony has been very rushed so it would be a giant help if they could cooperate with this bribe". PG explained. Marshall huffed a sigh and shook his head, stuffing the money in his pocket and pulling out his skull phone to text the band.

"You are such a perfectionist, Gumwad". Marshall said, typing away.

"Come along, best man, we have some rekindling to do before the other boys get here". Gumball said, putting his arm around Marshall and leading him to the lounge.

"Oh and before I forget, I want you to play and sing something special for me and Fionna's first dance. If there is a particular ballad that she likes sing it for her. She'll love to hear you". Gumball assured.

Marshall felt his feeling of honor become overshadowed by guilt. Gumball had wanted him so involved in his wedding with Fionna, however he still had no idea that Fionna might be carrying his spawn. Tonight was as good as any to tell him, yet Marshall felt a heaviness in his chest at the thought of telling Ben and ruining this episode of happiness for him. As they made their way to the bar, Marshall decided that he wouldn't tell Gumball, unless for some reason it was brought up, then he would have no choice to break the man's heart.

The night went on as more fellow bachelors of Aaa came to Gumball's party. Finn and Jake entertained the group of men with stories from both Ooo and Aaa, especially their encounter with Ice Queen. PG looked away a little embarrassed, yet found himself laughing at some minor details of the story.

"Hey, Ben, why weren't we invited to that wedding"? Marshall joked, making the prince blush even more and roll his eyes.

The Bar was almost covered with glasses and bottles of beer as well as empty handles of alcohol. By eight o'clock, most the guest found themselves to be pleasantly intoxicated. Ben couldn't remember much in between that point, although he and Marshall both thought they witnessed lumpy space prince popping out of a Cake at one point. Simon was the first to retire to bed, insisting that he had to wake up the next morning early in order to help orchestrate the fireworks at the wedding reception. After him, more guests followed after an hour or so, leaving Marshall, Gumball, Finn and Jake to belligerently talk to each other.

"So…wha….wait dudezz….You're a virgin Ben"? Finn asked slurring his words as he rocked back and forth a bit.

Gumball nodded hiccupping in response.

"Gummy was always sentimental when it came to the ladies. It always had to be with someone special. I remember this girl Ashley",

"Oh, you mean crazy eyes"? Jake interrupted.

Finn laughed drunkenly at this reveal. He was in agreement that the girl was totally nuts after what they endured in the Nightosphere.

"Bro, she was like…literally one of the hottest girls I've ever seen. But she was like mad cry for what she did to Fi and almost did to the realm, soooo the looks are good in my book just not the personal".

"I don't know Finn, I'd say she had a big personality". Jake joked as he cupped the underside of his pecks to appear as female anatomy. The boys fell into hysterics as they made fun of the deceased demon girl.

"Where do you find one of those, guys? Like how was that even a thing"? Finn asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead and taking another sip of his beer.

"We were a threesome". Gumball revealed as he finished his hard liquor. Marshall looked at him surprised that he would mention the very reason why they broke apart for so long.

Finn scratched his head.

"Waiittt, so you, Ben and that Ashley chic used to like hook up"?

Marshall let out a small chuckle at the memory. Well I used to fuck her, Gummy Butt just used to watch". Marshall teased elbowing the pink prince.

"You know I did more than that, vampire". He corrected.

Despite how drunk he was, he realized the words that just came out of his mouth. Marshall looked away for a moment straightening his voice. He had almost forgotten that he was human now. Although he missed his abilities, he didn't miss what he and Gumball had become. Their fling with Ashley ended tragically, destroying the relationship between Ben and Marshall.

Gumball put his glass down, sighing to reveal the truth. It had been years since he had actually talked about this threesome and the last time it was talked about, it caused an explosive fight between the prince and the former vampire king.

"Marshall met her first and well", Marshall cut off Gumball, putting a hand to his shoulder.

"Let me tell it, man. This whole situation was..my fault from the very beginning". He said kindly.

Gumball looked at him a little disheartened as the wound was now reopened. A Sinking feeling of remorse and guilt filled his chest as he prepared himself for revisiting this past event.

Marshall turned to Jake and Finn who looked ready to listen very intently.

"I met her after one of my gigs with my old band. At the time Gummy and I were…well", Marshall looked to the prince who just shrugged and continued to drink.

"We were together in a way but it was very private on account of the court would never approve our relationship. This was right before Fionna came to Aaa now that I'm remembering well". Marshall said as he thought to himself.

This whole relationship had been at least six months before the adventuress took the job from Gumball. Marshall took another sip of his ale and turned back to the boys swallowing.

"I introduced her to Gummy and they hit it off even though I liked her. It was a confusing time and so one night we just….ended up hooking up the three of us and it wasn't weird at all, it was something Ben and I both wanted to explore. We thought that maybe if we added a girl to our relationship, Ben could marry us both as long as she gave him a child".

"Sounds kind of familiar if you ask me". Jake muttered referring to Fionna.

Gumball shook his head.

"Fionna's circumstance was completely different. With Ashley we were just being selfish and using her, or at least I thought I was. I didn't really care for her but I was so desperate to be with Marshall, I proposed to Ashley but", Gumball stopped himself clutching his glass at the heartbreaking memory he had to endure.

"But she said in quotes "she could never be with some wuss like me" and that Marshall was five times the man I was". Gumball said under his breath, rubbing his eyes together. Marshall looked away disheartened, things just went from bad to worse after that.

"Ashley only wanted one thing…and that was to be my queen so that she could control the Nightosphere. She didn't want to hook up with the three of us after that and only wanted me and then she used to hog me all the time, breaking apart me and Gumball and making us despise each other for a long time". Marshall explained to Finn and Jake.

Their eyes filled with sadness for the boys after hearing this story.

"Woah….that's awful guys….and you two hated each other for years after"? He asked.

Ben huffed a sigh, running a hand through his pink hair.

"When Fionna came to Aaa and started to become less of my employee and more of my friend, I noticed she had a friendship with Marshall too which made me very jealous and insecure. We've fought over our human girl for years, she's just never known". Gumball explained, looking to Marshall with sorrow and pain in his eyes.

The former vampire comforted him, rubbing his hand over his shoulder.

"Hey Ben, it's ok, we are good now. You need to be with Fionna…she needs you and you need her".

Jake nudged Finn, taking the boys attention from the two men. Moving his eyes off to the side to communicate an exit, Finn nodded and got up from his seat, slowly moving away from the lounge with Jake quietly as both Marshall and Ben talked out this serious situation.

"I know you love her and she loves you. I feel as though I'm torturing her by forcing her to marry me".

"She's doing it on her own time and accord". Marshall assured.

"But if it was you she would've been yours already. I love her, but I feel like that its always the same pattern with me….I love someone and they choose you over me". Ben said disheartened as he rested his arms on the bar.

"I love you". Marshall whispered softly, yet his voice grasped a part of Gumball's chest, forcing him to turn to face him.

"What did you", Before another word, Ben found his lips pressed against Marshall's.

At first he was shocked and tried to struggle from him but then allowed the alcohol to make an excuse for him and take him away into the forgotten trance of him and his vampire. They continued on for a few moments, finding themselves entangled in each other's locks of hair, forgetting the world before them for just this one moment of ecstasy. Marshall's mind raced as he thought of Fionna. He knew this was wrong, in fact he knew this was the worst thing that could happen. Even if he had been kissing Fionna, that situation was at least more understandable. Marshall broke away from the prince, it was time to tell him the truth it had gone too far.

"Ben….there's something you need to know….about Fionna". Marshall started to say.

Ben's eyes went from hazy and lusty to wide with stress.

"Fionna…..oh my gob…..Fionna…what am I doing"? He freaked out, falling off his stool.

"Hey, watch it man". Marshall said as he jumped off his own stool, picking up Gumball by his arm.

The prince snatched his body away looking at Marshall confused and guilty.

"We can't do this….not now not anytime….I have a bride sleeping upstairs for tomorrows wedding….we…can't do this". He stammered backing away and looking side to side to see that nobody was there except for them.

Marshall tried to step forward, hurt filled his heart.

"Ben, wait a second, let me tell you", Ben swiped away his hand reaching out to him as he backed out.

The look of distaste and confusion hurt Marshall even more.

"No, I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I'll pretend this never happened by tomorrow. I can't let you ruin my happiness again". He said coldly.

Those words rang through Marshall's ears like a bullet to his brain, passing from temple to temple.

"Gumball", Marshall whispered as the prince turned his back to him, giving one last look of disappointment before leaving the lounge.

Anger consumed Marshall as he clutched his fists, banging harshly the bar top continuously. He called out in frustration and pain and only stopped himself after feeling a sharp string from the sides of his hands. He looked at them, breathing heavily and examining his self-inflicted wounds.

"I thought I smelt blood down here". A female voice said as Marshall shot himself around to face her, scared and alone.

Marceline looked down at his wounds and then looked into his heartbroken eyes.

"I need you to do me a favor". Marshall said in a hushed voice as he looked at his hands and fell to his knees, desperate for the vampire queen's help.