Marshall caught himself running his fingers through his hair again, as he sprawled exhausted over the twisted sweat-soaked sheets of his bed, panting shallowly. His dreams were quickly becoming more and more vivid and elaborate and downright kinky, so much so that he was usually more tired when he woke up then when he had fallen asleep. The adrenaline and the hormones that immediately consumed his system when he let his guard down prevented him from properly resting, and it was wearing him out so much, expecially when pared with the grind of being in a constant state of mild arousal. There was no way he'd be able to survive this feeling for the requisite amount of time, no way in hell. He'd probably be in a lava pit if you gave him a couple more weeks.
Because he just couldn't do it. He couldn't risk it. He could easily be called a coward but with his mind so focused on her, he just couldn't bring himself to risk breaking the beautiful, precious parts of her innocent, faithful personality that his mind had discovered and obsessed over. He'd lived a thousand years already, she had only lived fucking sixteen. Going would be selfish, and callous, and insensitive and yeah that was textbook for him. With someone he didn't know. Dammit, he fucking cared about that rabbit though, he didn't want that chip on his shoulder! He'd fucked with enough people(in both senses of the phrase), and the ones who ought to be fucked with too, a girl like her didn't deserve that crap so he wouldn't give her any. He just wouldn't.
But gob. Staying here was torture. Laying a hand on the side of his chest now he wasn't sure but he felt like he was skinnier. Wouldn't be surprising, he lost weight easily on the normal, gob knows what all this stress was doing to him.

When his breathing had returned to a more relaxed pace, Marshall slowly got up off the bed, pressing forcefully into his eye sockets with the base of his palms and then his fingertips, before reaching over and picking up the mirror from his desk. He still found his reflection a novelty, but even he could see he looked like shit. The undersides of his eyes were a deep, blackish-purple bruised colour, and his pale skin had an unhealthy greyish tinge replacing the usual blue. He actually looked like a corpse for once. Unsurprising, considering he'd been in the underworld for about a week, maybe a little longer now. He didn't really pay attention to the days, they just came and went, while he came and went back to sleep. He attempted to pass as much time passed out as possible. It was a frustrating, teeth-gnawing, tear-inducingly tedious existence. This was the first time he had really felt like a member of the undead.
After changing his clothes, Marshall-lee sulkily floated out of his room and down onto the third floor to go and find something to eat, noting with little interest that it was night-time again. His sleeping pattern, as fractured and pointless as it was, didn't conform to night or day down here, doubly considering the only real difference between the two was whether the lights were on or not. Ain't no sunshine in the Nightosphere.

Marshall drifted past an annex in a corridor and suddenly felt a large hand clamp itself around his upper arm, greatly startingly him. He nearly cried out in surprise but instead settled for a dull look of indignance when he recognised who had pulled him out the way.
'Alexander? The fuck are you doing, man?' He asked in confusion, before the older vampire cut him off.
' I could ask you the same thing, what the hell are you still doing here? You look like shit.'
' Thanks, I've noticed.' Marshall deadpanned, and Alexander rolled his eyes, folding his arms.
' Less of the attitude. I told you to go back to her, why haven't you?' Marshall was slightly confused by his tone; it sounded almost authorative, and he was the one with the higher ranking.
' Because I haven't.'
' Man, c'mon, don't give me bullshit.'
' Because I can't, then. Look, you don't know what she's like. I don't wanna be the guy responsible for fucking up someone like her.' Alexander's brow furrowed and he shook his head uncomprehendingly.
' How is fucking her fucking her up?'
' Not necessarily that, but- She's just so... Look, she is literally the most uncynical, unjaded person I've ever met, in forever. She believes in shit, and I don't want to be the reason she stops. If she ends up with a baby and all I can say is sorry toots, it's just my nature, what the hell will that do to the way she processes future relationships?' Marshall had begun talking half to himself, physically voicing his opinions for the first time. Alexander watched him silently, betraying no emotion as Marshall-lee gesticulated wildly with one hand and the other stayed firmly clenched in his hair.
' I'd be her first sexually, and she would make it romantic no matter what, so how can I take all that innocence and purity and risk it on my fucking heat season? There's absolutely no guarantee that when this is all over I won't just feel nothing, absolutely nothing for her, and I don't.. I c-can't-'
' So you're telling me that the reason why you're killing yourself down here is because you're afraid of responsibility?' Marshall whipped around and glared at the stony-faced man, unwittingly baring his teeth.
' No! I'm killing myself because I don't want to kill every part of her that matters.'
' Who the fuck is saying that by sleeping with her that's what you'll do? It's not like this is a one and done situation, you'll have as long as you're 'on' to explain yourself to her.' Alexander tilted his head to the side and unfolded his arms, thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets.
' You also said if she ends up with a baby. That's fucking impersonal considering it's your baby you're talking about. And I'd hope that my king would take care of the legal heir to the throne of the vampires.' Marshall flared a hand towards Alexander, his face becoming panicked.
' See, that right there! I hadn't even thought of that, if I get her pregnant then the kid will be a fucking vampire prince. How the hell will she deal with that? And if it's more vampire than human will she even be able to raise it or will I have to do it by myself!?'
' I've told you not to get her pregnant but if you do make a baby with her, you'll just have to pull your head out of your ass and take care of it. You're only a few hundred years younger than me, don't be such a child.' Marshall growled at Alexander dramatically and took a swing at him, which the trained guard easily dodged. Foiled, he simply sort of drooped and slid down against the wall defeatedly. Alexander sighed, and dropped down into a crouch next to him.
' Look, I can see now that you're scared. I don't know exactly why but given how concerned you are with protecting her from you, I'm pretty sure this girl may mean more to you then you want to admit. Like I said, I've never heard of a chaste imprint, so perhaps I was wrong when I said that she's probably just the start. The fact that you're half-demon because of dear old mumsy might mean first time's the charm.'
' Al, you are not helping, at all.' Marshall mumbled into his knees, his head wrapped up in his forearms. The older sighed again.
' For the love of... If I have to, I swear I'll drag you back up there myself so you can get on with fake-procreating little vampire-human-' Alexander cut himself off, suddenly comprehending the information he had heard but not realised.
' She's... human?'
' Yes, she is. Last one in existence. I told you, you don't know what she's like. To be the way she is when she's the last survivor of species-wide genocide...' Marshall laughed weakly, tipping his head back against the wall. 'She's something, alright.'
Alexander paused for a second, suddenly realising his 'first time's the charm' comment was a little more correct than he had thought. But after a quick glance at Marshall, which reminded him of the kid's easily rattled sense of stability, he decided not to share his epiphany.
' You can say that again.'

He hesitated, trying to think how he could get this miserable sack of sexual frustration off the floor and out of the nightosphere.
' Marshall-lee, seriously. Even if it's mostly just a title, you're still king of the vampires, and the way you are now I can't call you sir, heck I can't even call you Mister. If your subjects found out about how wrecked you are it could get messy and revolutionary.'
' I don't give a fuck.'
' Well then how about get the fuck up, you pathetic idiot, and stop being so whiny and irresponsible? Does that work?'
' Nope.' Alexander rubbed one of his temples, trying to keep his composure.
' Go. And. Talk. To. Her. Or hell, I'll go do it for you, let her know that you need her help-' Marshall's arm shot out suddenly and he clutched at Alexander's wrist.
' Don't do that. You tell her I need help and then she'll do whatever it takes and I won't be able to tell her why she shouldn't.'
' Well then go. Or I swear on your mother, that is what I will do.' Marshall glared at Alexander for a few moments then grunted and pulled himself to his feet.
' Lemme go take a shower first.' He grumbled, sauntering off moodily down the hall.

Alexander watched him go and rolled his eyes, feeling a complicated combination of emotions, pity being one of the stronger ones. It would be hard to live life stuck with the brain of a teenager, and even harder to deal with something like this. The kid wasn't doing great at the moment but well, Alexander believed that he and his mate could be very happy together.
Fancy that the king of the vampires just had to know the one female that any vampire could permanently imprint on. It wasn't the same as loving her, but he knew that humans were the most sexually compatible because there wasn't any magical corruption on their end. Were, that was. Almost all vampire imprints had been on humans before the mushroom wars, and only after it was assumed they had all died out did multiple imprint partners become the norm.
This was the epiphany he had opted to hide from Marshall, as letting him know he had unwittingly found his lifemate could freak him out big time. In this situation, even if the poor kid had hated her, he still would've imprinted on her because of what she is. And he'll probably keep doing so, the guard reasoned as he went to take up his post for night watch. So for his sake and hers, Alexander hoped that Marshall and this human girl could get along for the rest of her lifetime.

' Cake, I see the looks you're giving me.' Fionna sighed as she carried the feline in her arms while they walked through a rugged desert landscape. Large boulder formations and the occasional rocky outcrop erupted out of the desert around them, with small, bone-dry plants trying to carve a living in the unforgiving sand. Cake, with all of her fur, had become far too hot to walk by herself so Fionna had opted to carry her rather than stick her in her bag. She never knew when she might need morning-star mode.
However, she was beginning to feel a little regretful about telling Femme to stay away and let her spend some time with her sister after their antics yesterday (This morning). She had begun to grow rather attached to her new outfit and the sense of badass empowerment it gave her, but Cake's constant judgemental eye made her feel self-conscious and guilty, the kid with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
' I'm not gonna tell you what to wear honey, you've made it pretty clear you ain't listening even if I do. But it's still um, a rather big difference, so it'll take me a while to get used to it.' Fionna nodded begrudgingly.
' But even so, can you not look so... disappointed?' Cake blinked up at her and Fionna suddenly found paws were on her cheeks.
' Fionna, no. No sweetpuff, you could never disappoint me, I'm just... This is like, only the second or third time you and I have ever had such a big difference of opinion is all, and I-I'm kind of afraid that you growing up will mean it'll happen more often.' Fionna tilted her head to the side and gave her cat a squeeze, accepting Cake's hug in return.
' No way, jose. You an' me will be partners forever, sis. Femme fatales, that's us.'

Cake felt like she was about to cry. She couldn't reconcile Fionna's apparent vision of the future with how she was changing as she became older. What if by the time she was eighteen, she had changed her mind completely and wanted to go off and live her own life sans Cake? Somehow, she had always believed that was what it would eventually come to, no matter how much Fionna seemed to rely on her companionship. The adventuress didn't need her around anymore, and she hated knowing that. And if she met someone, to fill her need for love as well, then her safe, familiar, boring older sister might become a little too... meh.
She had thought she would be prepared, but Fionna was as much her daughter and best friend as she was her little sister. She wasn't ready and after this, she wasn't sure she ever would be, but she didn't want to break the relationship they had built by holding on too tight. It was seemingly impossible not to, though.

' Where are we going to anyways?' Cake asked, letting go and settling happily into Fionna's arms, deciding to brush aside her worries and live in the moment.
' I need to check up on Gumball. I have no idea what his thingymawhatsit he needed my help with was about, but chances are it was dangerous so I wanna make sure he hasn't like, accidentally blown his butt off or something. I just felt like going this way because I can.'
' Girl, what is whitchu and Gumball's butt?' Cake smirked at her, eyebrows cocked teasingly. Fionna blushed and her jaw dropped in outrage.
' Eewwww! That's gross, Cake. You're gross.'
' So then it wasn't Gumball you were kissing the other day?'
' Ew ew ew ew, no! He's like my brother now Cake, that's yuck!' Cake laughed and made faces at Fionna until she giggled as she rounded a corner and the dry sand beneath her feet abruptly changed to caramelised sugar as they reached the edge of one of the Candy Kingdom territories.
' So who was it then?'
' Mind your own business!'

Femme winced as the taste of blood filled her mouth. She drew her finger back from her lips in disgust and stared at the ragged torn nail bed. That was the third one, and bleeding, scabbed hands so did not look pretty. Though why the fuck he would look at her hands, she had no idea. For some reason, she had decided a navy long-sleeved crop jersey with a red bra, torn up black jeans with chain, and red lipstick with louboutins was her best choice for attire. She looked like a fucking dominatrix after hours, especially with her stomach tattoos and her belly ring in. What was she even doing here, she asked herself for the fiftieth time as she awkwardly crouched with her back against one of the delicious walls of Gumball's stately candy palace. He was so fucking flashy, but then again so was she, his was just a little more glamour, while she was far more grunge.

Talking about it, finally letting herself dredge up those thoughts and memories after so long had increased her desire to see him tenfold. She had always been a sucker for temptation, and if she were a cat she would've been dead nine times over by now for her curiosity. As much as she didn't want to see how he'd changed, she so did. And she also wanted to know if he was still mad. Having an answer to the former would also answer whether she should care about the latter. If he hadn't changed and no, he wasn't still mad well... she hadn't actually really thought that far. If he was still mad she uh, didn't have an action plan for that either. And if he wasn't who she wanted him to be... That was why she had remained crouched and immobile against the wall for some time.

Fucking Fionna, it was all her fault with her 'of course you love him.' shit. She had never thought she loved him, but she had always considered him the one that got away. She believed she had had the propensity to love him, and because of that he had become her yardstick but no-one else had quite managed to measure up so far.
Though if she was in love with him, then that meant that even if she met someone who matched up to him, it wouldn't matter because they still wouldn't be her Mew-mew. He was just so unique, and the little things that were off about anyone that came after, the tiny details she never would've believed she would miss fucked it all up.

But whether that man with all his eccentricities still existed, after the centuries that had passed, she didn't know.
And that was how it should stay.
But- But-... Ugh. She started biting on a new nail again.

' So you have no clue what his thingummyblobwhatever was for?'
' Nope, no clue.' Fionna replied cheerily as she and her cat rolled up to the palace, having traded places with Fionna riding comfortably on the cat's back as she padded easily over the soft candy paving.
' I mean, it's not like his experiments go wrong all the time, but when the do it tends to be pretty spectacular. Like the zombies, right?' Fionna explained as Cake waltzed up to the front door.
' So I think it should just kinda be our policy to check up on h- Oh my glob.' Fionna cut herself off as she absently glanced over to the candy gardens and spied a familiar brunette figure hunched against a wall.
' Cake, Cake stop stop stop.' She whispered hurriedly, getting off of her and slithering down her side. Cake shrunk back down and watched, confused, as Fionna tiptoed sneakily over to the side of the wall and peeked around it carefully, before turning back around and flattening against it, her eyes full of stars and one hand clapped disbelievingly over her open mouth.
' What, what is it baby?' Cake asked in hushed tones, mimicking Fionna.
' Shush, just be very quiet and do exactly as I say.'
' But what-'
' I said shush!'

' Get her, now!' Femme yelped and leapt up in surprise at such a loud sound suddenly blaring right next to her, but before she had time to process it she was suddenly enveloped in plushy mounds of fur, which quickly shrunk down into a binding surrounding her arms and holding her just slightly off of the ground.
' Fionna, I don't understand why we're doing this.' Femme suddenly felt a pair of humanoid hands grab her wrists, which were pinned to her sides and tug them together behind her.
' Okay, you can let her go, I got 'er.' Femme recognised the voice and let out a loud cry of indignance.
' You bitch, what the fuck do you think you're doing?!' She yelled, glaring over her shoulder at a pair of rabbit ears. Fionna looked at her and upon seeing her thunderstruck expression, simply shrugged unrepentantly.
' I know I promised, but c'mon. You love him, and he could use a ladyfriend.' Cake suddenly butt in again, appearing slightly scandalised at Femme's colourful language. Really, the nerve of today's youth!
' Fionna, who is this chick and why're we catching her?! Who's ladyfriend?' She demanded, and Fionna looked up and shook her head with mild impatience, apparently only just remembering that the pair didn't really know each other.
' Femme, Cake, Cake, Femme.'
' Let me go!'
' Cake, help me with this, she's a shapeshifter so she'll scarper if we let her.' Cake, still a little worried that Fionna had gone bonkers and they were kidnapping a random lady, nervously helped Fionna drag the struggling woman with them through the side doors and into the palace.

' Fionna I swear to gob, if you don't let me go right now I will never help you with anything ever again.' Femme hissed menacingly as they carried her up some steps like a pair of flatmates hauling a particularly unwieldy couch.
' So be it, but if you and Gumball work out you'll want to do everything for me.' Fionna replied impassively, determined to do what she believed was the right thing. Cake was finding being constantly left int he dark very tedious, and tried to get her many questions answered again.
' Fionna, helping you with what, how do you know this chick? And what's with her and Gumball?' Fionna chose to strategically ignore the first statement and instead dropped a bombshell to make her forget it.
' Femme is Gumball's ex, it was her fault they broke up and she still loves him .' She hurriedly told her, to Femme's noises of scandalised anger.
' That is completely untrue-' But Cake was already off in Mills-&-Boon la la land, cartoonish love hearts practically visible in her eyes.
' Oh Cheesus, and she's felt so guilty because of it that she just couldn't bring herself to speak to him so you and me are dragging them back together so they can rekindle the flames of their passion?!'
' What FUCKING passion!?-' Femme cried, struggling even harder and nearly bursting into tears of frustration and anxiety.
' Yes, that's exactly what we're doing. Ignore her, she's in denial.' Fionna stated matter-of-factly as Femme began cursing them both out, attempting to shape-change but finding herself too emotionally stressed to concentrate the requisite amount. Cake easily stretched out of the way of a flailing stilleto heel as Femme managed to wriggled one of her leg's from the cat's grasp. She didn't fucking want this, she didn't want to see him, not when she was so unsure of herself-
' Fionna! Fionna, I saw him, he's in that one!' Cake hissed melodramatically, growing an extra pair of arms and flailing them in a noodly display of excitement. Fionna grinned and bounced once as Femme whined in fright and writhed desperately.
' Cake, hold her.' Fionna said firmly, a spark of determination gleaming in her eye. Cake, who was now throughly invested, did so without protest, grinning over Femme's shoulder at the adventuress as Fionna grabbed both sides of Femme's face and forced the older woman to look at her.
' Look, if there's anything I've learned from you that I'll actually find useful in everyday life, it's that if you're brave, you gotta be brave everywhere. Even when it comes to your heart guts junk. You tell me to be confident, now you girl, you gotta be confident. Go in there and get your man back.'
' No!'
' Don't make me push you in there so that you're fallin' at his feet.' Femme scowled at her, literally on the verge of tears, before she sighed defeatedly and shook off Cake's hold, brushing fur off of her clothing angrily.
' Fionna the Human, I hate your fucking guts.' She growled, fixing her hair and hiking up her jeans, fiddling with the belt and dusting off her backside to remove any dirt that remained from squatting outside.
' I don't care, you're my friend and I'm not gonna let you be miserable.' Fionna replied firmly, and Femme rolled her eyes cruelly, giving a short derisive huff. She had only know her for like, a week. They weren't fucking friends yet, and Femme was only playing with her emotions anyways. Stupid girl.
Femme puffed her cheeks out and bubbled her lips apprehensively as Cake and Fionna hid in a corner where they'd hopefully be unnoticeable to the occupants of the lab but still in perfect view of their reunion.
' Gumball could do with some lovin' too, it might make him less of a stick-in-the-mud.' Cake whispered to Fionna, who nodded vigorously, hands curled up to her chest excitedly.
'That's what I meant, and I just know that she misses him.'

Hand on the door handle, Femme delivered a parting middle finger to the pair, then opened the door and casually stepped inside, sidling over and leaning against the wall. She tried to stay calm as she waited for Gumball to noticed the door was open.
Gob, the boy's looks certainly hadn't changed much. His glasses seemed perhaps a little thicker, his hairstyle was perhaps a little less messy and a little more swooshy. But he still had that same lanky build on that small frame, that prominent Adam's apple and delicate brow adorned with large, masculine eyebrows. She even recognised the intense focus on his face, he'd worn it in rather different situations to this when he was with her.
He still looked like her Mew-mew. Ugh, her heart.
He was concentrating very hard on a pile of papers, looking up at his machine- it appeared to be a collider of sorts- So he only glanced towards her for a second before going back to them, then suddenly staring up at her and his whole body cringed in surprise, the papers in his hand becoming crumpled as his fingers involuntarily contracted. Femme watched him impassively, trying to consume the panic that welled up in her chest with nonchalance, then she quirked up one corner of her lips in a gentle smirk.
' Hey, Mew-mew.' She saw his sharp intake of breathe at the nickname, and she couldn't tell whether he was furious or about to cry with the undercurrent to his shock that suddenly appeared.
' What... What are you doing here?'

Author's note: So uh... yeah. That just happened. Marshall comes back next chapter, or at least I think he does, but as most of y'all can probably guess it's mostly gonna be all about these two. Whoo boy, prepare for fireworks.

Guest reviews:

Woaahhhbroooo - Uh... I think you got me wrong. Marshall's saying he draws the line before sadism and rape. "terrorising, stealing, manipulating, general dickishness? Fine. Sadism and Rape? No. He was evil, but he wasn't psychotic." As for the accusation of pedophilia, I'm not quite sure where that comes from. Physically, Marshall is a young adult, and mentally he reasons and thinks as one too. His actual chronological age has no bearing on either of these things, and his mental age is more important than his actual in his relationship with Fionna, or so I believe. As for Fionna's age, sixteen is the age of consent in my country so I have decided that it isn't inappropriate. If you think he's a pedophile simply for being a thousand-year-old teenager, then firstly why are you reading Fiolee? Secondly, if that indeed be the case, you sir may have all my fuck yous. Thanks for the review though, and I hope I cleared up any misunderstandings that may have occurred?

JayKay- Well, the show must go on then it seems. And I'll try my best!

2K15- *snaps finger and points* Why thank you. Yes, you are exactly right, Femme is Guy's genderbend. I decided to make her a shapeshifter rather than a changeling because it just seemed more convenient. Thank you for the review

Keep 'em coming guys, and don't be afraid to send me an essay, I love that shit!

-WRA