So, I had writer's block. But I pushed through and wrote this. Hope you like it. But hey! I want to thank everyone who supported this story. We just hit 1000 plus views. Yay! This is the fastest I've had a story get so many so quickly. Also, thanks to be people who faved, fallowed, and reviewed. You inspire me!


Finn looked at his list then at the market in front of him. There were several stalls on his left and his right all hoping to sell their produce. Going off the list, Finn dragged a shopping cart with BMO riding along in the kid's seat. Jake was occupied back at home, so it was up to Finn to get the ingredients and stock up on groceries. BMO just wanted to come along. He approached the first stand, and the woman bowed her head backed up one step.

"I am initiating the Executioner's tax," he told her.

"Yes, of course," She replied cautiously, "What would you like?"

Finn looked at his list and her produce. "Just some apples and oranges. Five of each… And a… watermelon." He was pushing it with his tax, but he had to have the watermelon. It was all he could think about lately.

She gave him his groceries and bowed slightly, "Be well, Executioner."

He gave her a nod and checked off his list. He went to the next vendor and got what he needed, then the next and the next until he had full cart.

"Okay, BMO," Finn sighed, "It's time to go home."

"Yay!" BMO raised its arms with a big smile. "I look forward to trying Jake's stew."

"Yeah, me too," Finn chuckled. He pushed the cart out of the Candy Kingdom and on the path home. The full cart made it tough for Finn to move. Especially with the rusted wheels.

"Next investment," He huffed, "Is going to a wagon that Beatrice can pull."

BMO clapped excitedly. "Ooh, wagon rides are fun. We should get another horse too!"

Finn hummed. "Mmm… I don't know about a horse…" Finn took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off his head. "But I'll definitely get a wagon. Just a small one."

Finn heard rustling nearby but kept going. He groaned to himself and after a few feet stopped to see if what was in the bushes would come out. He pretended to be taking a break but scanned his surroundings. There were plenty of ambush points. He knew he needed to be careful.

"Is something wrong, Executioner?" BMO asked.

"I sure hope not," Finn replied as he pushed on. He glimpsed left and right at the bushes on either of his sides. He was sure he heard some rustling. Like someone was in the bushes. Finn pushed slower so he could hear better over the squeaky wheels and ringing cart.

He heard the rustling again. And BMO did too. It looked nervous as it put its hands beneath its screen worriedly.

"Don't worry, BMO," Finn assured, "I got this."

Finn stretched his neck, arms, and fingers as he readied the mechanism on his wrists and his other hand was itching for his dagger. He pushed slower as the rustling was becoming obvious. Then he stopped. The waiting was starting to get on his nerves. "You can come out now."

He heard a battle cry and quickly flexed his wrist. A hidden blade shot out and his right hand went for his dagger under his coat. Both came out in lightning speed but neither needed to see use. Finn sighed as nothing but a bunch of children with wooden swords and fake eye patches and bandages pounced out.

"Arg," On with an eye patch and hat growled, "You pass into the territory of Chewinggum Bob. Surrender and pay the tax or be doomed."

Finn rolled his eyes. His dagger returned to it sheath and he retracted his hidden blade with a sigh. "Bob… we've talked about this."

"Oh, come on, Executioner, please?" The round candy kid pleaded, "My mom made veggies for dinner, and I don't like veggies."

Finn looked at BMO who seemed to have calmed down. It's smile was advocating for the children and nudging him to give in. Finn sighed again and dug into the cart. "I picked up mostly ingredients today. But I… guess you can have this."

Finn pulled out the watermelon. He was looking forward to eating it, but apparently these children needed it more.

"Yes!" Bob and the five children with him all gathered around him as he started cutting slices out. Of all the children that feared him these six were an exception. Despite their parents' constant warnings and bad stories about him, their rebellious nature made him the ultimate target of their curiosity.

"Here," Finn handed out some slices one after the other until they all had one. "I was going to eat it myself; you know."

"What's stopping you?" Bob asked as he scarfed down the first piece of watermelon.

Finn rolled his eyes and replied, "You are. You…" He gave the boy another slice, "and your hungry stomach."

Bob shrugged. "It's not my fault I'm hungry all the time. We all gotta eat. And I asked my mom not to make veggies but she didn't listen."

The boys and girls all agreed together. Finn shook his head. "If your parents knew you were doing this, they'd have you lined up at my block."

"That's because," Bob said with a full mouth, "They don't know you… like we do."

"Oh?" Finn asked crossing his arms. "And what do you know that they don't?"

Bob shrugged. "That you're a nice guy."

Finn chuckled and shook his head. "And the fact they say that everything I touch is cursed or unclean means… no, never mind to you?"

"Nothing's happened to us yet," Bob smiled big with his messy face.

Finn took his coat and cleaned the watermelon off of him. "With how messy you eat; I'm surprised she hasn't caught you sooner."

"We wash up at the streams before we go home," Bob explained, "What's all this for?"

"Me and Jake," Finn replied, "I need to eat too, you know."

"I never seen you eat," Said Bob plainly.

Finn shook his head, chuckling again. "I'm not supposed to eat in public."

"This ain't the public," Bob retorted.

"It is now that you're here." Finn poked Bob in the chest making the gumball kid teeter back. He shook his head and stood up straight. "Well, off you go. I have to go home." Finn began pushing the cart again with BMO simply sitting there with a big grin.

"Can we come with?" Bob asked the children agreeing with him and walking with Finn.

"Oh no," BMO shook its hands, "No outsider should ever enter the Executioner's residents."

"We aint' gonna go in, we just wanna see it," Bob argued. "Please?"

"Sorry, kids, but you better go home," Finn replied. "It's for the best."

"Please?" Bob asked and the other kids started to do the same, putting on their biggest puppy doll eyes and cutest faces. It wasn't working on Finn or BMO. Both only wanted the children to go home.

"No," Finn replied, "That's final. I'm not going to say it again." They heard a twig snap and the bushes rattled violently. Something rose from the shadows and Finn took Bob and pulled him back. "Get behind me."

BMO was nervous again as it looked back and forth between Finn and the monster. Finn pulled out his blade and watched as the figure stepped onto the road then turned. There in front of them was something like a bat monster with skinny legs and arms. It screeched and the children ran away. BMO had fainted.

Finn however dropped his stance and stared at the monster as it shrank into a far more beautiful form and its screeching became laughter. "Marceline…"

Marceline couldn't stop. She wheezed and sucked in as much air as she could but expended it all in a few words. "Did you see… their faces! Oh my glob, that was hilarious!"

"Marcy, was that really necessary?" He asked deadpanning at her.

Marceline sighed as she calmed down and gave Finn a disapproving glance but kept her smile. She jumped into the air, raced forward, and swiped a watermelon slice then sucked the red out of it and thew it away. "No need to be so serious, Exy. It's just you and me. And BMO. Hey, BMO."

"Huh?" BMO woke up and asked, "What happened?"

"It was just Marceline, BMO," Finn explained, "She was pulling a prank on the kids… Thanks for getting rid of them; I doubt they would have given up otherwise."

Marceline landed next to him and opened her umbrella. It was still daytime out though the sun was nearly setting. "No problem. See, that's more like it."

She kissed his cheek, causing a chuckle from Finn. He looked back to see the children flee just over the hill. Seeing the last of the watermelon nearly done for, he then took the time to let down his shroud and make a knew slice.

"Care to share?" Marceline asked floating nearby and propping her head on an arm.

"I want one too," BMO smiled.

Finn smiled down at the little console. "Okay, I'll cut you one too, BMO."

Finn cut the slices, setting one beside BMO and giving Marceline the bigger of the three. Marceline set her umbrella up on the cart and took her slice then began to suck slowly from it. Finn ate quietly as Marceline hummed to fill the silence.

It was like this for a while until Finn spoke up. "So, you're still calling me 'Exy.' I guess your meetings with PB weren't all that successful, hm?"

"Ugh, no!" She said aggravated. "Every time I bring it up to her she keeps going on about, 'we must keep up with tradition and never speak his name!' or, 'Oh! Marcy! You can't keep asking about it. It's not something you should know. Just forget about it and accept he's the Executioner!' Yeah, like you have you pretty, pink princess?" Marceline rolled her eyes and leaned up against the cart. "She's jealous and she doesn't hide it. She hates it when I talk about you." Marceline's head leaded back, her eyes fixated on him.

Finn scratched his head. "Yeah… she does." He remembered her conversation with him before he departed for the Fire Kingdom. Her test proved very enlightening and made Finn a bit self-aware about the whole thing.

"I think Bonnie just needs to learn to chill out and accept that you like different women sometimes. An Executioner has to relax too." She faced him with a sensual grin but noticed he wasn't looking at her. "Exy? You okay?"

Finn sighed and threw the rest of his watermelon away. "I don't know… I just… PB showed me something that made me think."

Marceline waited for him to finish but he didn't anything else. "What? What did she show you?"

"Well, she asked me who I preferred. You or her."

"And?" Marceline asked, rather eager to know what he said.

"I couldn't answer," Finn replied, "She dropped the question pretty quickly and asked me something else. She asked if I preferred her or Breakfast Princess." They shared a chuckle. "You can imagine how easy that question was to answer."

"Totally, Breakfast Princess isn't as knaggy. Good choice," she teased, punching his shoulder.

"No," Finn chuckled, "Obviously, I chose her…" Finn took a short breath. "Then she told me that was why she didn't like me with you. Because I couldn't decide between you two. If any princess wanted some scandal and decided to… share a bed, she wouldn't blink twice at it… but with you… She doesn't like it."

Marceline put on a big grin and came to his side to kiss his cheek again. "It… probably has something to do with me telling her about it all the time. My bad. But hey… You don't have to choose, Exy. You know what happens if you commit to someone. So, spare them the trouble and just… live life to the fullest. You're going to Nightosphere anyway so…"

Finn laughed a little with her. "That's not the point."

Marceline giggled and hugged him. "Look… all I'm saying is… whether you like me more or her, I'm still going to be here. We can be friends. So long as you let me under your pants once in a while…"

Finn sighed and dropped his head but chuckled. "Not quite what I wanted to hear, Marcy."

Marceline laughed, "I'm kidding. I'm just saying. I'm more generous. I don't mind sharing. She doesn't have to be nervous I'll take you away. I have a place in your heart. That's all I want. And PB? She needs to know that she has a place too. Maybe when you talk again, tell her that… Then we might get that threesome I've been asking about." Finn's face turned beat red, and his eyes widened. Marceline laughed and put her hands on the handlebar of the cart. "Come on, Exy, let's get this stuff to your place before it rots. Finished with that, BMO?"

"Yes," BMO replied, "It was delicious." In truth, BMO hadn't even touched it. But Marceline picked it up and threw it out then bumped Finn with her hip. "Come on, let's go. It's been a while since I've been at your place."

"Marcy, don't even think about it, Jake and I sleep in the same room."

"Oh, come on! He can sleep on the couch."

"Marcy…"

"Fine fine… we can do it on a couch, right?"

"Marcy!"

"Okay! …What about a shower?"

"…"

"Ugh, you're no fun."

There was silence between the them for a while. Marceline was pouting to herself while Finn was finishing the tie on his shroud. He gave Marceline a glimpse from the corner of his eyes and sighed. "If you promise to be quiet… I… guess we could share the couch tonight."

"Yes," Marceline pumped both her fists then wrapped an arm around Finn and kissed his forehead. "Good boy."

Finn blushed under his covering and groaned. "Not out here, Marcy." Marceline laughed again and left him relatively alone while they walked the rest of the way back.

When they came upon the tree fort, Finn asked Marceline to help BMO with the groceries while he checked on Beatrice. The poor girl tended to get restless if she didn't get some time to run around. Finn made his way to the stable and found her chewing on hay.

"Hello, girl." Finn pet her and opened her stable. "Go on, I need to clean out your home. It stinks." She trotted out and whinnied which Finn interpreted as a laugh. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Lucky horse."

Beatrice ran off on her own while Finn picked up a pitchfork and started to throw out the straw and put it in a wagon. He switched to a broom to get the rest of the residue out then placed new straw and spread it out. He then took a large pan and dragged it to the edge of the stable to he could poor it out. With a big brush, he cleaned out any food residue that was left over and rinsed it with a hose. After replacing it, he filled it up with fresh water. His work was pretty much done after that. Finn examined his work with a proud grin then went to go call Beatrice back, but he glimpsed at the stack of hay and paused.

Examining the hey, he recalled when he was a child that he'd sometimes climb around tall stacks of hay or straw or use them to catch his fall when he pretended he was already the Executioner. His father taught him just about everything he needed to be an effective Executioner. And his naivete made him believe it would be fun. He only saw the cool things he did and the gadgets he used; he never would have wanted it if he could comprehend the looming feeling of doom as every day passed. The depressive power it had over him.

Marceline and Bonnibel had become something of a numbing aesthetic for those feelings. Someone to focus on, something to feel other than that fear and worry. Finn breathed in deep and let out a loud sigh. For old time's sake, and for the sake of remembering something else than his own curse, he climbed the bails of hay and sat on the top. It was an unstable stack, but he managed to get on top without toppling over. On that thought, he counted them and did the math in his head when he'd need to buy more. He had a bout twelve days left. Roughly. Took a deep breath and leaned back against a wooden beam holding the hay up. The vantage point of the barn was actually not that bad from up there. He sat there for only a few second before deciding to hop back down.

"Alright, fun's over." He hopped down the second highest stack of hay and flipped off the rest, again for old times' sake. That would probably be the last time he did that anyway. One of the bails on the tallest most stack tumbled down to the floor. Finn randomly had the idea of making a bed out it. His curiosity made him move the bail in front of the low stack and rolled a bail off another to form a bed out of three bails. Laying on top he got comfortable and tested out his knew idea and hummed. "Eh, not bad."

"Slacking off?" Marceline's head appeared over his. Finn moved his hood slightly and saw she was sitting on a bail behind him and peered over.

"It's not slacking if the work is done." He pointed at the stable which was clean and ready. "Just have to call her back."

Marceline hummed as she saw the horse rolling around in the grass. Kind of like a dog. She giggled to herself and dejected. "Nah, let her come back when she feels like it. She knows where home is." Marceline lifted his head and tucked her thighs underneath so he could lay on them. "Pull down your hood. It's not like anyone will see."

Finn obeyed and got his face from his shroud. "blech!" He took a deep breath and laid back down. "You know, place a blanket on these and get a pillow and this doesn't feel half bad as a bed."

"Sure," Marceline agreed, but she started digging near her rear and pulled a stiff piece of hay out and threw it away. "Got a few strands digging into me though. Not sure I'd call that comfortable."

Finn chuckled. "When you do what I do any where's comfortable." Marceline scoffed and tugged a few strands of his hair off. "Ow…" Finn looked up at her for an explanation.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Exy."

Finn scoffed back and rubbed the spot she tugged to ease the sting then laid back down. Marceline began playing with his shoulder length hair but didn't say a word for a while. Finn's eyes started to close, but Marceline filled the silence again. "So? How was your last job? What was it. Last week?"

"Just three days ago," Finn replied. "The Fire Kingdom called me in to execute three counselors for treason. A lot of those cases going on lately."

"Yeah, I heard two of Bonnie's were treason too. Oh, and Ash. Can't get enough of that one."

Finn chuckled and sat up. "I really didn't expect you to take that so positively. You two used to care about each other."

"Yeah, and he stabbed me in the back. Funny thing about getting stabbed in the back, Exy, you tend to hate that person. And when their head get's chopped off, with a demon blade, by your crush, you tend to savor a day like that." She pat her lap and Finn laid back down.

"Yeah… I guess a day like that would be pretty memorable. But… do you ever feel…anything for him?"

Marceline leaned over him and closed the distance between them until they were a mere inch apart. "Not a thing… I have something better anyway."

"The Princess of the Candy Kingdom would disagree."

"She'll get used to it." Marceline kissed Finn briefly. "She likes you, Exy. She really does. I'm not blind to that. But I think that it might be better you stop the curse on your family and hand it to another. I get your probably the last human being on earth, maybe. But maybe another family should have the baton. Bonnie could probably work it out, but is her soul worth it? if the legends are considered to be true, anyway. Would you let her step down and marry?"

Finn thought about it for a few seconds. But he shook his head shortly after. "No, if it was in y power to do so. I wouldn't. But letting the curse pass onto another family… I don't know if I can let that happen, Marcy. My family, according to recorded history, has held the curse the longest. I by no means take pride in that, but… maybe my family felt it was better for us to carry it than another? Sure, it only leaves room for a single male child, but… I don't know. It just… it feels like we deserve this."

Marceline took a deep breath. "Finn, I'm a thousand years old. I've seen Executioner's come and go and trust me. Ever one of them acted in some way, like they felt that way. The truth is, that's what the curse is telling you. You deserve it, but the one who deserved it was the one who started it in the first place. Then the one who thought they could take their own vengeance on the Executioner deserved it too. But their children? Their grand children? You? None of you actually deserve this. You are doing what you were bred to do. I've watched Executioners train their sons. They learn nothing else except how to be an Executioner. Even you! When your father walked around with you he'd talk about nothing except the life an Executioner carried. He took you to ever execution, kept you away from the other children, and scolded you when you snuck into the castle to see Bonnie."

Finn chuckled at the last one. The relationship between Bonnibel and Finn began at childhood. Finn's head was covered for the most part, but when he followed his father to the castle, she'd always be there as well, being taught by her mother how to rule the kingdom. Her mother hated both of them. Bonnibel told Finn everything about how her mother felt about them. but because they grew up together Bonnie just couldn't feel the same way. But back in those days, the Jungle Kingdom was the Uplifter of the Executioner. When Finn was initiated, Princess Bubblegum did not hesitate to volunteer her kingdom to take the place of the Jungle Kingdom.

To be Uplifter was both a blessing and a curse. While it held the benefit of using the Executioner anyway they saw fit, according to the tenets of course, it also held awful restrictions. The Uplifter kingdom would have to act also as the Executioner's home. This could be very bad for the businesses within and also had affected the crops and livestock within. Or so, according to the superstition. Some livestock would get sick and die. Some produce didn't grow correctly. And the frequency of cases reported often proved that to the superstitious people's of Ooo. Indeed, having ultimate say of what the Executioner could do had a great amount of power. But the drawbacks could be harmful.

"Did you ever fall in love with those Executioner's too?"

Marceline let out a weak chuckle. "Actually… you're the first. I don't know what was different about you. By my memory, you were not much different than the others… Maybe it's because you're the best looking I've seen so far."

Finn laughed. "So, you've seen the faces of other Executioners?"

"Not all of them took the Tenant of Animosity as serious as you did. Some of them even let their names be known publicly. But your family… Yours has been awfully quiet. Effective too. Don't let it get to your head, but I think you've been the most efficient and versatile I've seen. I mean, you've exploited a lot of loopholes in the tenants just to get what Bonnie wants. She wanted you to kill a monster? Not your grounds, but you found a loophole and killed a monster. She wanted you to assassinate a witch…"

"Execute. Execute a witch. I don't assassinate anyone." Finn said sitting up violently.

"Okay… execute," Marceline corrected. "Point was, you killed her because technically she crossed a line that technically gives ground of execution. Her being the Uplifter, she had a right to send you. But you managed to find a loophole in the rules for that too. But let's not forget my favorite. She sent you to catch a killer. You're not supposed to be hunting anyone., right? But… remind me again what the tenants say?"

"My responsibilities are to execute condemned prisoners, ensure their wellbeing spiritually and physically, before their execution and that is all. However, under the tenants, if the prisoner has escaped from a prison I reside over, I have a responsibility to pursue and return them. Technically, all prisons are my responsibility. Ash was arrested twice. So, I had grounds to chase him down and return him to a… higher security prison, which was also within my right as Executioner, until his execution."

"See, that's genius. Also, Jake tells me you played detective last time."

Finn sighed. "According to the Tenant of Isolation, I cannot reside in any house or home, nor traverse any halls of castles, palaces, or fortress unless they are a prison or antechamber. However, according to the Tenant of Mercy under the Right of Challenging, a member of the King's court, or those second to the king's power, can call upon the right and invoke an investigation to spare a condemned man or woman's life if they believe that there is no doubt the condemned is innocent. They can vote anyone, and Phoebe chose me. The laws do not state I cannot act as the investigator and, if the king agrees, by my judgment, I can act as investigator, therefor nullifying the Tenant of Isolation for a duration of time."

Marceline curled Finn's hair playfully. "Loopholes…"

"Okay, okay, so what? The laws states that if any of the tenants conflict, its up to me to decide which one overrules the other. I couldn't say no to her. She was so desperate. She couldn't trust anyone else. What was I supposed to do? How lonely did she have to be that the only person she could trust was… a code bound executioner…"

Marceline sighed and laid down, propping her head on one arm. "I think only you can answer that, dude." Finn exhaled and dropped his head while propping his arms on his legs. Marceline wrapped herself around his neck to hug him from behind. "You did the right thing, Exy. She got what she wanted, you delivered justice like your supposed to do, and Jake didn't have to watch you cut off someone's head. Or hang them. You know how he hates hanging."

"He can take hangings, Marcy, It's boiling he has a hard time with."

Marcy chuckled. "I can only imagine… So, do you want to go back inside? This hay is starting to get itchy."

"Yeah…okay." Finn stood up and held out his hand to help Marceline off. Just to be polite. He let out a shrill whistle to call Beatrice back then lock her up and place her blanket on her. After wishing her a good night, and donning his hood, he followed Marceline back inside the tree.