Chapter 4:

Fionna chewed her lip. She had come down to the 'dungeon'. She had found the guy… now what? PG was right. Humans were short-sighted.

"You want a snack or something?" He offered. "I've got, like, cheesy poofs and a waffle maker." Fionna narrowed her eyes at the shining orbs staring at her.

"How do you get food down here anyways? Being all banished and stuff?"

Nemo laughed.

"Boy, you're funny! I'm not really banished, I can leave whenever I want. I choose to live here. I go out to grab snacks just like everybody else, I just prefer to do it incognito." A bag was crinkled open. "Cheesy poof? They're spicy flavored."

She felt the bag touch her hand, and she fumbled inside it for a few poofs.

"Thanks." She said, popping them in her mouth and continued to stare into those shining orbs before her. The longer she stayed in the darkness, the more she could see the irises within them. They seemed curious as they darted about, surveying her. It made her embarrassed to think that she could be seen, but she could not see him.

"What do you look like?" She asked shyly.

"If I didn't mind being looked at, I wouldn't be here, would I?" Nemo stated.

"But you can't be that scary! If you're a werewolf… whywolf of whateverwolf that's okay! There's plenty of people who are, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not any kind of wolf." He retorted. "I assure you that people have their reasons for fearing me. I wouldn't have let you stay if I didn't think you could hold your own."

"You were testing me?..." She said amazed, recalling that he had immediately asked for a fight when they had met.

"Yes, and if you must know, I let you win. Hold on to your sword next time, you klutz." He teased. A small twinge of fear bloomed within her. It had seemed strange, how easily she had been released from his monstrous grasp. She gripped the hilt of her sword tighter, and the motion did not go unnoticed to Nemo.

Fionna felt something touch her arm, and she jumped. It was his hand, and it squeezed her arm lightly. Was he trying to comfort her?

"You can leave whenever you want." He began. There was a note of sadness in his voice. "I'd never keep anyone against their will. But… I do enjoy company. To be honest, it feels weird to even hear myself speak out loud! It's been a while…"

At that confession, Nemo's shining eyes turned away from her.

"I've got nowhere else to go." Fionna said, seeking to recapture his downward gaze. "I decided to ditch the life I had before."

"To come here?" He said baffled. "How long are you planning on staying?" His eyes looked about the room wildly, as if suddenly there was something amiss. This cave was not suited for guests… and worst still he was a bachelor with little regard for the condition of his room. Looking about he was horrified. How could he have a girl over in this condition? Fionna watched his frantic eyes fly around the room. Had she overstayed her welcome? She had burst in on him completely uninvited after all, it was only expected.

"I can leave…" She offered.

"No! No…" He said, and she heard frantic shuffling about the room. "It's just…" Something fell from a height. "Crap… It's just that I wasn't expecting real company. This place is a mess…"

Fionna laughed. He was worried that his room was a mess?! Her amusement was cut short at his next utterance.

"I- I don't have anywhere for you to stay… to sleep."

"I can sleep on the floor! I'm used to it!" She offered.

"No! You're a guest! Take the bed… I'll sleep on the floor." Nemo said, continuing to shuffle things about. She heard the zipping of a sleeping bag, and the tell-tale whirring of a washing machine.

Fionna felt awful. She hadn't come here to put this guy out of house and home… A hand patted her on the head. She jumped, and he laughed.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting you can't see. Don't look so put out. I don't mind, really. In fact, I'm more than happy to oblige. I don't know why you're here… but I do appreciate that you are."

She looked up into his shining eyes.

"Why… are you here?" He asked tentatively.

"We both have our secrets, 'Nemo'." She said quoting his name, pushing his hand off of her head. He snorted.

"Fair enough. Just don't kill me in my sleep." He joked. She heard munching in the dark, and the cheesy poofs bag was pushed towards her hand once again. Fionna smiled and partook more in the eating of snacks. She heard him chuckle.

"Your face is crumby." He said. Fionna blushed and wiped at her cheeks.

"Did I get it?" She asked. Nemo shook his head.

"No. But whatever." He lied. Nemo smiled secretly as she wiped her cheek more doggedly on her sleeve.

"So…" Fionna started, trying to change the subject. "What do you do for fun around here?

He couldn't very well tell her that he spent hours on end feeling sorry for himself, and staring at the ceiling. Regardless if it was the truth. Instead he created a list of hobbies he thought she would be interested in.

"I read… play music… doodle. I don't know… what do you do for fun?"

"Play video games." She said shrugging.

"Ah… bummer. Can't play those here. The screens won't work. But I have cards… or board games? I think I have Scattergories or something…"

"Scatterwha-?"

"Nevermind…" He said waving her off. "You're too young to understand."

Too young? Fionna's eyes burned. Here, too? This doofus was going to start treating her like a kid? Nemo saw the flurry of anger rise in her.

"Whoa! What did I say?" He said stepping away from her. The sword at her side had started to seep with the anger that she felt, and he eyed it curiously. He could have sworn that sword had wanted to stab him of its own volition just now.

"I'm not… I'm not a kid!" She said, unfortunately in a way that sounded exactly like a child.

"You're mad because you're too young to know what Scattergories is? Dude I'm an ancient being. I only wish I could be so lucky. I don't think you're a kid, I mean…" His silvery eyes glazed over her form in the dark. It didn't escape her notice. "I mean yeesh… I can teach you. You won't need to see anything."

Fionna's hot head began to cool, and her mouth settled into a pout. Her hands reached out to touch his face again, and he groaned at feeling her little finger go up his nose by accident. She felt along his forehead, down to his cheeks…

"Would you stop that?!" He said pushing her hands away for the second time. He couldn't reveal to her how it affected him to be explored like that. Fionna scrunched up her brow. He didn't feel like a wrinkly, ancient being.

"Fine…" She said, feeling a small bit of rejection. "Teach me Scattergories."

Nemo led her to sit on one side of the bed, while he sat cross-legged on the other.

"There's no chairs?" She asked, feeling strange to be in such an intimate part of his house.

"I don't expect guests." He replied. "The game is simple. I give you a category, and a letter of the alphabet. Whoever can think of the most objects starting with the letter wins."

"Ugh…" Fionna moaned. She was bored already. He cringed. Nemo didn't want to bore his guest into leaving. In fact, he very much wanted her to stay, but what did he have to offer her down here? He couldn't very well bring her to the surface. She would know instantly who and what he was, and it would ruin this opportunity for him. This weird, golden opportunity to have Fionna finally see him for who he was, not just what he was. He hadn't even told her that he knew her; He knew her very well, in fact! But no, he couldn't tell her. He wouldn't. It would ruin everything…

"Well, fine then." He said, crossing his arms. "What do you want to play? I spy?" He mocked

"I spy something black." Fionna teased.

"Is it me?" He asked.

"No, it's everything."

They laughed together. It was strange and easy between them, save for all of the secrets they withheld.

"I spy something pink." He continued. Fionna cocked an eyebrow.

"What's pink in here?" She said, squinting at her surroundings.

"Your face, after I do this." Nemo teased, reaching out and touching her face with his hands. He traced her eyes, her nose, and then felt along her cheeks, which heated significantly beneath his fingertips.

"Ah! Stop that!" Fionna said swatting his hands away.

"See? Now you know how unnerving it is."

Fionna felt her face in her hands, and her skin felt tingly where his had been. There was something strange about the way she felt when he touched her. In his company she felt… more herself. Relaxed, yet on edge. Was she… getting feelings for this guy?

Ridiculous! They had just met today!

Nemo watched her panic with inner monologue. Why did he love to tease her like that? She was too easy. He chuckled, thinking of a memory of two.

"Truth or dare…" She said, watching his silver eyes. They widened.

"'Truth or dare?' Isn't that a kissing game?" He said smirking. Her cheeks darkened further.

"Not if it's for revenge!"

He crossed his arms.

"Fine. Truth."

"You're such a wimp. No one picks truth."

"Oh? There's nothing you want to know about me?"

"Fine… When's your birthday?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

Nemo shrugged. "I don't remember being born. I don't know." She stared at the shining eyes before her. He shook his head. "Of all the questions you could have asked me, you ask me that? Lame."

"Okay, then… tell me… if it felt weird and tingly… when I touched your face." Fionna mumbled, embarrassed. He watched her pensively.

"I told you this was a kissing game…" He responded. "Truth or dare."

"Wha- you didn't answer!" Fionna shook a finger at him.

"It wasn't your turn to ask! Truth or dare." Nemo asked again, chuffed at getting her all riled up.

"Truth."

"You said only wimps pick truth!" He gasped.

"Yeah, well I don't trust you." She said slanting her eyes. Truth was, she felt he was very adept as playing games with her, and she didn't dare try to give him the upper hand.

"Smart girl. Now, did it feel tingly when I touched your face?" Nemo said cockily. Fionna took a deep breath and let it out like a raspberry. Of course, he had thrown her question back at her.

"Yeah…" She moaned, hiding her face. His gut churned at seeing her so uneasy. But at the same time… he had liked Fionna for a long time, and to hear her say that he had affected her in some way sent flurries into his guts. If she knew who he was… would she still feel this way?

"Me too." He admitted. "Don't be embarrassed for how you feel. It's only natural."

"I-I don't feel anything…" She started. More like she shouldn't feel anything. Not with someone who was basically a stranger. But what Fionna didn't know was that Nemo wasn't a stranger at all, and her feelings were justified, kind of. She had always been excellent at trusting her gut; she had trusted it all the way here. But right now she was too embarrassed to listen to them when they said 'I feel something for this boy'. It seemed ridiculous… and dangerous.

"Well, I do." Nemo whispered.

"You do what?" She said, forgetting already her early denial of feeling.

"Feel something."

Her heart throbbed at his confession. Quiet, you! She thought to the organ. Why was he being so easy with his feelings? It sent red flag popping up in her head.

"Tr-truth of dare?" She asked between her fingers. A weight shifted on the bed, and Fionna realized too late that Nemo had crept towards her. Their knees bumped, and his hands wrapped around her wrists to pry her hands from her face. She saw those weird shining eyes of his glowing just inches from hers. Her guts lurched.

"Dare." He said, his voice low and rumbly, his eyes closing to half lidded crescents before her.

Her mind blanked. Was he- going to kiss her? She had to diffuse this situation… but did she want to? She thought of the softness of his skin, the warmness of the neck she had touched… there was something familiar and electrifying about him. He piqued her curiosity, and thrilled her. Heck, she had even had a full-on battle with him and he could still look at her with those half-moon eyes. As if he wanted to kiss her. As if he wanted her… to ask him to kiss her. His eyes darted between hers, watching her. They flicked down to watch her mouth trembling with mumbling words.

"What's my dare, Fionna?" He whispered. She felt his hand caress one of her burning cheeks. "Tell me quick…" He said. "My heart is going to fall out of my butt…"

Oh my glob… he wanted her to ask him to-. She wanted him to!

"A-a kiss?" She breathed, and he happily obliged… on her cheek. It was the greatest disappointment she had ever experienced in her life. But still, she felt his mouth and nose press against her face, and heard him breath in deeply as he pulled away.

"Sorry I… chickened out…" Nemo said, moving back to where he was. His heart was pounding. It conflicted him why he had not just kissed her, but it felt weird… after all of this time. Or in her case, after all of this lack of time. What crazy situation had he gotten himself into? This could get serious, quick. And the worse part was that he didn't mind. His guts began to fill with the familiar feeling of doubt.

"Why did you even come here, Fionna?" He asked her. She was silent. How could she tell him that she was seeking out love, and that her quest had led her here? That was a sure-fire way to die of embarrassment.

"I-I'll only answer that if you kiss me for real." She answered. At least then her reasoning wouldn't be so strange. He watched her in the dark. What are you thinking, Fionna? He asked himself. Why come waltzing in here, looking for me, when you don't know who I am, and then try to go to tier two with me? He couldn't help but feel that there was an ulterior motive to this. After all of these years… all he had to do to have her in the palm of his hands was to turn out the lights? It seemed too good to be true.

"I kind of feel that you're trying to get my defenses down… so that you can kill me when I sleep." He mumbled, inventing plausible solutions more likely than the one they were in.

"What?!" She gasped.

"Well, why else would you be here, wrapping me around your feelings like this? I'm an infamous monster, and you're the heroine of Aaa, am I right? Can you follow my logic?"

She couldn't argue that it didn't make a little bit of sense, way more sense than a strange psychic leading her on a wayward journey…

"You're just going to have to trust me, then." Fionna said. She felt a hand squeeze hers. This is what he had hoped for. Leverage.

"I do trust you. I would never have agreed to let you stay if I didn't. Please. Will you trust me in return?" He pleaded. It was the most real thing he had told her during her day in the darkness. She nodded.

"Oh…. And I'm sorry…" Nemo continued. "But I can't kiss you for real."

The blood drained from her body. Why not? Was it because he didn't see her like that? She was too manly, wasn't she? She felt the conversation coming from a mile away. A flagpole fast approaching labeled 'friend zone'. What a tease! He had played her so well…

"W-Why is that?" She said, kindly hammering the first nail in the coffin of her heart. What a shame, and things were going so well, too!

"Because… then I think you would know… what kind of monster…" He stumbled over his explanation, and Fionna saw him turn away, hiding his eyes from her.

A gear clicked in her head. Something like recognition. How had she not noticed it before? That voice... She knew this person. Her heartrate picked up at her suspicions. Could it really be…?

But she didn't have any proof, and it was clear that he had no intention of revealing himself. But he had tried to kiss her! And she had wanted to? Her heart guts suffered a small panic attack and she clutched at her chest.

Nemo watched her dramatics with suspicious eyes.

"Are you okay, human? Dying at an early age?"

"I-I'm fine…" She groaned. "Just tired. It's been a long day…"

"Then maybe we should wind down…"

Fionna felt hands push her down onto the bed.

"H-hey! I can figure out a bed on my own." She grumbled, slapping away his hands and finding the edge of the blankets in the dark. He looked at her perplexed, doubt and fear sinking deeper into his guts. He knew this had been a bad idea…

"Goodnight Fionna." He said flatly, going to the sleeping bag on the floor.

"Goodnight… Nemo." She responded. He shivered at the way she said the name. Was she hurt that he had chickened out? Had his accusation of her intention on coming here offended her? Had she… Oh golb had she figured it out? He buried his head into the sleeping bag, and for the 15th time this week prayed that he would simply not wake up.