It's been way too long again. Hope I haven't lost my touch.


ML

I've been living for a long time, so I feel like I can say there aren't many things I haven't seen before. Unless, said thing has to do with Fionna. In her many adventures (aka her and Cake causing trouble wherever they go), she manages to come across the most ridiculous things in existence. Most of the time she'll find useless things that are just plain weird; that time she took me to Wig Island (I didn't believe it until I saw it) is a perfect example. But, every once in awhile, she stumbles across something that has the potential to be awesome.

I wasn't really listening when she relayed the events of her most recent adventure; I was just ready to get started! She'd found this...paint….thing...I can't remember what she called it, but it's like this squishy round blob with multicolored paint inside. We were out in front of the treehouse, a gigantic canvas on the ground in front of us. I cracked my knuckles in anticipation, doing my best to remain patient while we waited for Gumball. My only wish was that the paint glowed in the dark so we could have done this at night and I wouldn't have to wear my gloves and hat the whole time. Oh well.

I was about to tell Cake we should start without them when Fionna and Gumball finally came into view. Having Cake pick him up would have been a lot quicker, but I don't think she trusted Fionna and I to be alone with the paint blob thing. Fionna was practically running, looking as eager as I was, but I barely spared a glance at her. My focus was instead placed on that gummy goon. He was dressed in overalls with a pink undershirt, several different paint brushes poking out of the pockets. Is he being serious? He looked like a dorky little kid.

It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. Tell anyone I said that and you're dead.

Fionna had already started filling him in. "It's a called a Paint Grape and it's seriously the coolest thing ever! Cake and I found a whole bunch, but the locals only let us take this one. We even got a giant canvas to go with it!" She motioned to the canvas as they finally made their way over to us.

"I don't understand why you went through all that trouble just for paint. We have plenty of paint in the Candy Kingdom."

"None like this. Trust me." Fionna had a grin on her face that you could almost say was wicked. I knew she had it in her.

"What's so special about it?"

"Three main things. One: it never dries, so you can keep reusing it and you don't have a mess to clean up afterwards."

Cake chimed in after that. "I never mess around with paint; my fur was at risk. But I could bathe in this stuff and still be flawless!"

Fionna chuckled at that before continuing. "Two: there's all kinds of colors in here, and they don't mix with each other. Otherwise the whole thing would probably end up greyish brown." Fionna then looked at me, before glancing upwards and then back at me again. I knew where she was leading with her explanation, and I was more than happy to help. I slowly floated further up into the air, eagerly awaiting what would come next. It's about time.

"And three: to get the paint out, we have to smash it!" Fionna wasted no time in chucking the Paint Grape up in the air towards me. I was more than ready for it, balling my hands together and smashing down onto the blob. It didn't break open, but it was close. I sent it spiraling back down towards the middle of the huge canvas. Fionna sprinted into the middle and pulled her fist back, quickly slamming it into the blob as it fell. It erupted in a colorful splatter of paint, covering almost every inch of the once white canvas.

Fionna whooped in victory before holding out her arms and falling backwards into the paint. She fell with a squish and began to make a "paint angel". Cake followed suit, jumping and sliding into the paint next to her. I floated back down and dug my hand into the paint, moving a large yellow section aside to make room for what would soon be my masterpiece. Fionna might have found this stuff, but she can't put it to good use. I am a TRUE artist. All I need are my hands to write or play music, and now, for the first time anywhere, make an amazing painting.

As I began to work, I noticed that Gumball (who had hidden behind Cake during the paint explosion) was carefully tiptoeing across the canvas to settle down in a spot not far from mine. He seemed to stop and think for a moment before selecting one of his paint brushes and getting to work. Every movement he made was so elegant and precise, thinking before he chose a particular color or brush. Even in the chaos created by the Paint Grape, he still seemed so organized. He seemed to be enjoying himself, his smile never leaving his face the entire time.

Stop staring you weirdo. You want him to be your friend remember?

I returned my focus to my own work, grabbing big globs of paint and smashing them on. This is harder than I thought. I'll just call it abstract art. I grinned at my cleverness before letting my thoughts drift back to Gum boy. Our little restart hadn't gone exactly like I'd wanted it to, this being the first time I'd seen him since. I was glad that Cake had suggested inviting him after they came and got me. I didn't know if he thought I was just trying to get rid of any tension, but I honestly hoped we would could become friends.

Just say it Marshall. You have a crush on him. Curse my self honesty!

I returned to reality at the sound of Cake bursting into laughter. I glanced over to see her lying on her back, not even trying to contain herself. Fionna told her to shut up, and judging by the redness of her face and the way she furiously wiped away whatever she had painted (which looked mostly orange to me), it seems Fionna had not wanted to share her art. I felt the same; the shapeless mass of color I had created wasn't anything to be proud of. Gumball on the other hand must have been very proud of his painting, throwing his hands up and yelling "Finished".

Cake pulled herself together and followed Fionna over to Gumball. I was right behind them, genuinely interested to see what he had made. I should have guessed it though. Of course, he had painted the Candy Kingdom in all it's glory. So much pink it was disgusting. But, I had to admit, it was damn good. Fionna and Cake both congratulated him on his work, and I nodded along with them. I'm not very good at complimenting people on stuff like that.

This wasn't exactly what I pictured when Fionna told me about the Paint Grape. I'm all for artistic expression, but after awhile it becomes a little boring. This paint had the potential to be a real good time, but I didn't want to scare Gumball away already. I knew Fionna would be down, but I didn't wanna leave him out. I wanted to show him that I'm not just some jerk. I decided to take a chance. This could either blow up in my face, or work out perfectly. Things never work perfectly for me, but that didn't stop me from trying. I grabbed a big glob of black paint and tossed it towards Gumball's painting. It made a splat as it landed in the middle of the castle.

"War has been declared on the Candy Kingdom. The enemy makes the first move." I did my best to sound like a war general, and it earned me a chuckle from Fionna. Her reaction wasn't what worried me though. Gumball started at his painting in shock, and I prepared for the worst.

But I wasn't prepared for the big chunk of purple paint that hit me right in the chest.

"The Candy Kingdom never backs down from a battle!" Gumball couldn't even keep a straight face as he tried to imitate me before he burst into a fit of laughter. I'd never heard him laugh before. It was like listening to a really catchy song that you keep on replaying. I felt a smile creep onto my face, although it didn't stay very long. Next thing I know, another paint ball smacks into the back of my head, and another one hit Gumball on the shoulder.

"I, Fionna, the mightiest warrior in the land of Aaa, will put an end to this war myself!" Fionna took a fighting stance as she began to fling more globs of paint in our direction. Wiping the paint from my hair and readjusting my hat, I turned to look at Gumball. Our eyes met, and he had a smirk that told me he was thinking just what I was thinking. Where's the sweet little prince now? I'm a bad influence. I love it. We both gathered paint in our arms and double teamed Fionna, simultaneously pelting her as we moved closer and closer. Just when we thought we'd won, Cake stretched herself so she towered over us. Scooping up a massive amount of paint, she tossed it up and let it shower down upon us.

We were all drenched and laughing our asses off, continuing our little paint war. I couldn't decide what felt better, seeing the carefree look on Gumball's face, or knowing I was responsible.


GB

After running around flinging paint at each other for a good while, we all sat down in the middle of the large canvas, just talking and wallowing in the paint. I normally would not engage in such activities, but I didn't want to be a "wet blanket". Besides, it felt good to escape from being a prince for just a little while. Sometimes I get a little caught up in my business and I forget about the need for pleasure.

Even though we'd both agreed to start over, I was worried that Marshall would still not like me all that much. I can't explain how happy it made me feel when he ruined my painting! Ok no, that isn't the best way to word that. I wasn't happy that he ruined the painting, but I was happy that he felt comfortable enough around me to joke around. Does that make sense? Maybe I'm just reading too far into it. Normally I would have thought he'd only wanted to upset me, but now I feel as though he was only trying to have fun with me. Trying to bring me out of my shell, not to hurt me, but because he likes me.

Well, not likes me likes me. But like a friend. Which is totally what I wanted.

And maybe a little more? Yeah, right. I'm too bland for him.

"I think this is the first time the four of us have all hung out together." Fionna made that observation out loud as she painted a design on the back of her hand. "We should do this more often."

Marshall, who'd been trying to paint his name onto the side of his glove, wiped it off in defeat before turning to look at me. "I'm just surprised his royal highness decided to get his hands dirty." His same old smug look was back, but it somehow seemed different to me. Yes, he was still mocking me, but it was playful. Had it always been that way?

"Oh Marshall, don't be salty that I won the paint war." If I could see my own face, I bet I looked just as smug as he does.

I knew he would object to this. "No way gummy. I sent your pink butt running for the hills!"

And then Fionna chimed in. "I am clearly the winner. You all fell before Fionna the warrior!"

Followed by Cake. "Is that why I had all y'all lookin like a rainbow?"

We eventually agreed that it was a four way tie and painted ourselves a peace treaty.


Hope you enjoyed that. More coming soon.

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