' Ah-ah-ahh... You don't want to do that.' Femme told Marshall matter-of-factly, making him jump slightly. He hadn't noticed her behind him as his sun umbrella blocked most of his peripheral vision, and he scowled at the electric blue owl that blurred and wavered back into the brunette woman. She had ambushed him as he stood outside Fionna's front door, trying to force himself to knock. He knew she was home, he had heard her talking to Beemo only a few minutes ago.
' Oh yeah? Why's that?' He growled, raising an eyebrow impatiently. Femme stuck her hands in her pockets and shrugged her shoulders, a little swagger in her step and a permanent hint of a smile around her mouth. Both were new characteristics and Marshall wondered for a moment what had happened to make her so pleased.
' Because you ran out on her, VK. So you gotta let her decide if and when she wants to see you again.'
' But how would she know I'm back-'
' I told her, duh.' The side of Marshall's lip pulled up a little and Femme wasn't quite sure how to catergorise the expression he gave her. Somewhere between disgust, disappointment, annoyance and confusion.
' Who's side are you on?'
' I didn't know there were any, mate. So you just run on home now, she'll be coming to see you tonight. Prepare your speech, write some notecards or something.' Marshall-lee couldn't counteract her bewildering happiness, so could only watch her in uncomprehending silence as she waltzed past him and into the treehouse, making a 'shoo' motion at him with her fingers.

Fionna had been preparing her speech. As she had wandered around, absently cleaning the treehouse or suddenly remembering to do things like shave her legs and put her clothes out to dry, she had been trying to decide on what her opening line would be when she walked up to Marshall's door tonight. She knew she'd get the first words in, but picking what those words would be was difficult. Currently, she liked ' You better have a damn good explanation, Marshall-lee.' But it wasn't very snappy. She wanted something shorter.

' Hey hey, guess who?' She heard from behind her, and she turned away from the dishes in the sink in delight as Femme's head popped out of the central tree trunk, grinning at her.
' Look who used a door for once.'
' Oh, haha. I can barely contain my hysterics. How's it going?' The shapeshifter asked, walking over to Fionna and sitting on the edge of the bench as Fionna continued to wash plates.
' You're being awfully domestic for someone who might lose their virginity tonight.' Fionna blushed at the comment but continued to scrub the plates methodically.
' Hey, all I'm looking for tonight is understanding. Anything else is a bonus.'
' For him or you?' She quipped and Fionna flicked some water at her in retribution, making Femme yelp in protest.
' Look, put that shit down, ya silly goose. It's what, two? Night time doesn't officially start until six in my book, so we've got at least four hours before you even gotta think of going over there. So you and me are gonna vist a shop, my treat.' Femme told her, grinning at her when Fionna blinked at her in surprise.
' Woah, um. Okay, I guess. Where are we going?'
' You'll see. Dry your hands and grab your hat, then we'll scat. Stay in the stuff you're in, it'll be better to keep your new things lookin' sharp.' Fionna cocked her head to the side as Femme sauntered over to the middle of the treehouse. The shapeshifter seemed much happier today, just in general. Much more so than she had been either yesterday or at any point really, in the week Fionna had known her.
A sudden thought popped into her head and without thinking about it, Fionna rushed up behind Femme and grabbed her arm, tugging it insistently.
' OhmyglobohmyglobdidyouspendthenightwithGumball!?' She squealed all in one long word and Femme shook her head, sticking a finger in her ear.
' Ow. Slower, and drop an octave if you can.' she told her as she started to climb down the ladder.
' Did you stay with Gumball last night?' Fionna asked again as she followed. Femme smiled and huffed out a short laugh, then looked at Fionna with a mixture of indulgent amusement and annoyance when the adventuress landed on the floor.
' Yeah, I did, but we didn't do anything you're thinking of. Last time was hard and fast EB, so we're trying it slow and easy this round. I don't wanna cock up anymore than I have to.' Fionna looked ever so slightly disappointed for a second, and this caused Femme to roll her eyes at the adventuress before grabbing her arm and tugging her out the door.

Femme's mystery shop turned out to be a women's lingerie outlet, and their experience within consisted of much arguing ( ' No, stay out!' " EB, I'm a chick too, you literally ain't got nothing I haven't seen a million times before.' ) cajoling, threatening, bargaining and finally begrudging acceptance as Fionna decided on a set and they left, her cheeks burning traffic light red. They had stayed roughly that colour for almost the entire hour they had been inside. Cake Had always bought her new underwear when she needed it, and she had no idea that things such as corsets, garter belts and thongs existed. The latter had prompted another debate between the two, as Fionna argued it would be uncomfortable and impractical, and Femme explained it wasn't supposed to stay on for long anyways so her points didn't matter.
However, the adventuress had to admit, getting a proper bra fitted had actually afforded her quite a lot of relief (it was so much more comfy) and also no small amount of internal glee. Up to this point, she had been wearing a size fourteen C, and had never really considered whether it was the right one or not ( She had trusted her sister's judgement). After she had whipped out her funny tape measure though, the assistant had tutted and shook her head, before pronouncing that Fionna really should've been wearing a size twelve DD and then went off on a rant about how sad it was so many women wore the incorrect size. Femme then insisted on buying her a couple of regular ones to replace her too small ones, with the matching underwear because 'that would just be weird otherwise'.

Fionna, in between wondering how thin white cotton lace and satin could be considered regular, became suspicious that this was partially Femme's way of proving that she really was sorry for what she had said. It was kind of sweet though, and hey, free stuff, so she tolerated it without protest.

' So how is this going to stay up?' She questioned, raising an eyebrow at the strapless cherry red satin and black lace bra Femme had provided as one of her options for wearing tonight, ' In case it does get heated, no matter your intentions.' Femme pointed to the inside of the back strap, gesturing to two shiny plastic pieces of elastic.
' The plastic fantastic bits will stick to your skin and keep it up. Though frankly, you could do without a bra in the leather lace-up I put together for you, but this is also a confidence thing. When we get back and you're getting dressed, I want ya to just go and look at y'self in the mirror before you put on the rest of your clothes. I want you to see what Marshall sees in you. You're a catch EB, don't doubt that.' Fionna blushed and punched Femme in the arm, causing the shapeshifter to grin at her.
' Okay, thanks, but enough of the mush-fest ya ding-dong.' She grumbled under her breath, stuffing the bra back into the bag. Femme tugged off Fionna's hat and ruffled her hair, before turning into a wolf with the hat clenched between her jaws, gesturing with her head for Fionna to get onto her back.

There was a lot of primping and clipping to be done before Fionna actually changed into her proper clothing. She felt like almost every inch of her body had been buffed and polished into its best possible natural condition, though a few careless comments from Femme had made Fionna uncomfortably aware of how scarred her body was. She had never considered that a problem before, because she had never wanted to be pretty, or at least not very often. But now, the marks changed from hard-earned battle trophies born with pride to unsightly blemishes and made her feel terribly insecure.
So it was with a pessimistic attitude that after donning the brand-new undergarments (which were so much more soft and plushy compared to her old things) She reluctantly followed Femme's request and ventured down to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She had gotten over Femme being around her when she was half naked, and the shapeshifter picked up her braid and quickly tugged the hairtie off as she trudged past.
' Shake out your hair and strike a pose, bub.' She told her cheerfully, failing to notice Fionna's mood.

At first, she stood glumly in front of her reflection, an annoyingly nasal voice in her mind commenting on the marks covering her body, a pimple on the crook between her shoulder and neck, the deposits of fat on her hips, the tops of her thighs and the base of her stomach. But then she ran her fingers through her hair, shaking the strands free and looking away from the glass as she relaxed her pose, and when she glanced back it stopped her in her tracks.
Her expression wasn't the prettiest, but suddenly, her stance made her body seem gracefully and flowing, the muscles showing in her legs under her skin looked supple and strong. Suddenly the minor lines and imperfections didn't matter, and as she tentatively put her shoulders back and placed a hand on her waist, she felt much better. She still didn't believe she was all that great, definitely not a 'catch', as Femme put it. But she wasn't an unsightly mess or gross, and that was enough.
' See, I told ya. Not bad at all.' Femme said from the doorway, and Fionna turned her head and flashed her a grateful smile.
' You wanna help a sister out and take me over?' She asked, picking her hat up off the sink and pushing her hair up into it. She felt it was unlikely that she'd keep it on in the event of anything happening. Femme grinned at her and chucked her the rest of her clothing before placing the suede boots on the ground at the door.
' I'm waiting downstairs.'

Marshall-lee hated all this fucking indecision. It seemed like the most common emotion he felt at any given point in time (when you excluded horny) right now. He had listened to Femme's instructions because well, she had a point. It had be so fucking difficult to leave though. He had practically teleported there after deciding to leave when he had finished brooding just after midday, and it had only been his apprehension at getting a verbal kick in the face that had made him hesitate. Hearing her voice for the first time in more than a week, for real and not just in his head, had almost literally made him collapse. All she had said was ' Beemo, that's stupid.' and it was the most beautiful and alluring thing he'd ever heard in his life. Death. Whatever.
But he didn't know whether Femme was just pawning him off by telling him she'd come see him tonight. It was something that bitch would do. If she didn't come to him (!) he'd have to go to her, just to avoid a replay of the Incident of the Torn Pajamas. He couldn't hurt her, just the thought that he might freaked him the fuck out and made his stomach twist painfully.
Could someone just like, walk up and silently hand him an instruction manual or some shit!? He didn't know how to deal with this! It was a situation where fucking up was not an option, but simply avoiding it wasn't either, at least not without burying every last shred of his self-worth and pride. He was not going to turn into a pitiful mess of a man who cried while he masturbated. He would TRY to retain his fuckin' dignity.
Besides, crying was not a thing that he did. Nevermind what had happened when he was hungover and injured and terrified.

Suddenly, terrified became much more of a present than past emotion when Marshall heard a knock on his door. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair, before abruptly stopping when he realised what he was doing, then tried to calm himself down be reasoning it could easily be Femme. However, that reasoning was destroyed when he floated downstairs and nonchalantly opened the door to find Fionna standing on his porch, in an outfit that he managed to identify only as sex personified before it annhilated his ability to think.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.

The line Fionna had decided on was ' We need to talk.' But when he opened that door, when she saw his face and saw the way it changed when he noticed her clothing, she made a split second change of plan and folded her arms deliberately, realising that she didn't need to compromise for him. This was her decision entirely, whether she forgave him, whether she tried to make him want her. She didn't have to have anything to do with him after this if she didn't freaking well want to. And the confidence boost it gave her was astounding.
' You need to talk. So get started.'

Marshall failed to follow her instruction intially, wordlessly stepping aside to let her into his home. His mind was all muddled and breathless as he watched her walk past him, noticing all at once that there was new sort of strut in her step that rolled her hips and pushed back her shoulders and she had freaking garter straps on and her skirt was so tiny he could almost see her ass in those tight little shorts underneath it and her boobs looked fantastic in that leather whatever-
His ogling was cut short when she sat down on the top of his amp and looked at him expectantly (she would never sit on his couch. Ever.) but it still took him a few seconds to put his conscious self back in the driver's seat. She was so near, just a few metres away from him and he could be holding her and touching her and tasting her right now if only she would let him- But he knew she wouldn't.
It still took a fair amount of his concentration though in order to stay perfectly still, exactly where he was, and not to pounce on her straight away. Even more so with the little number she had put herself in. Why the fuck was she wearing all that? It was like decorating a lamb with bacon strips before sending it into a lion's den. The lion could not be expected just to lay down and play nice. But he had to, he had to and it would drive him nuts. He'd be insane by the end of the night if he couldn't get her to listen to him.
' Marshall, I'm waiting. Femme said you had a good explanation and I'm willing to hear it before I decide if I should keep putting up with your crap.' She told him firmly, and he was once again stunned by how fucking gorgeous her voice was and also at how blunt she was being with him. Fionna had always been a straight up, honest person, but she was never harsh. It seemed she had become even more direct while he was away.
Or maybe he was just finally seeing what it was like when Fionna the Human held a grudge. The realisation hurt.

' I- I, uh. Gimme a minute. Lemme just-...' He trailed off, turning away from her to remove some of the distraction and putting a hand over his forehead as he considered where he should begin. There was a lot of explaining to do.
' How about you start with the fact that you broke into my bedroom!? What the hey-hey, man?' Fionna exclaimed, and Marshall guitily raised a hand, telling her to stop.
' Yeah, yeah I know. I'm sorry, that was a mistake. I didn't mean to freak you out or anythin', But I was just-' He let out a short sigh.
' Look, I'm gonna tell you some stuff, and it'll sound totally crazy, 'cause it is. It fucking is. But it's all true, I swear to gob I'm not lying to you, Bunny-blue.' Fionna studied him for a second, suddenly thinking that perhaps when Femme had said things weren't so clean-cut she hadn't meant something like Marshall had been drunk or whatever. The look on Marshall's face was desperate- not to mention his face itself, actually. He looked tired and run down, lank and thin, and his bitemarks looked sore and irritated. He appeared worn and stressed and frustrated, and Fionna felt the uncomfortable sensation of knowledge sinking into her stomach, the knowledge being that his condition might somehow be related to her.
That it was possibly her fault.

' I broke into your room and did that stuff because I couldn't stop thinking about you and how I had had you before fucking Cake interrupted- But you were scared, I was scaring you and it creeped me out which is why I left, and I hoped you would have thought it was a dream and I would've just written it off as me being an impulsive, idiotic son of a bitch. But even then, I just couldn't... I couldn't get you out of my head. Even if I chased after another girl, she was just inconsequential, she wasn't good enough because she wasn't you.'
Fionna's face had turned steadily pinker as he talked and her hands had bunched in the fabric of her skirt. Marshall glanced up at her, then quickly looked away before he could begin to drown in her wide blue eyes. That pretty shade of blue. The sky and the sea and all the sapphire in the universe couldn't hold a candle to it.
She was so fucking beautiful to him now.
' And I was... Fionna, I was... I've never felt like that before. And I didn't want to feel that way.' He admitted, his fingers nervously twisting themselves into knots with eachother. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face, because if she understood what he was saying and she was interested in him, he had just crushed her dreams. He'd revive them soon enough but he didn't want to see the devastation.
' So I went home. I get how that must've looked to you now, after the whole thing with- Uh, that wasn't why I left and I-I know that you would've been really confused and I'm sorry 'bout that.' Fionna stayed silent, sensing that there was something big on the event horizon of this conversation but she wasn't quite sure what it was. Something had happened while Marshall was at home, and it had something to do with her or he wouldn't bother telling her. Most thing with Marshall were on a strictly need-to-know or only-if-you-ask-directly basis.

' While I was there, my mother told me something about vampires that I didn't know before. Vampires don't need to have kids the normal way, 'cause of the venom, but we can and I'd always figured that was just, y'know. Great. Okay. Big deal, who cares? But so the species will keep evolving, I found out there's a thing that vampires over the age of a thousand do called imprinting.' Fionna had sat up a little straighter and swallowed apprehensively when Marshall had mentioned kids. He hadn't failed to notice this, and had laughed internally, realising his reaction would've been very similar when his mum was talking.
' Every twenty five years or so, my instincts will randomly select a girl and I'll imprint on her. It makes her the only thing I can think about, all I want and everything I need. She's the sun and the moon and air and blood and no matter what I do or whatever else I want, she takes priority over everything.' He paused for a second, and finally allowed himself some meaningful eye contact with Fionna, and he was surprised to see that it didn't look like she'd figured where he was going with this.
' Fionna, I've imprinted on you.'

Her breath intake was audible and Marshall winced slightly, before flicking his tongue out over his dry lips and continuing.
' The time I spend imprinted lasts about four months to half a year. Obviously, it's been a little over a week already. And Gobdammit Fi, I've wanted you every fucking second of every hour of every day for the last ten days. It's bloody torture.' He sighed, passing a hand over his eyes, then looked at the stunned adventuress, who after a few second finally opened her mouth to say something.
' So... every twenty five years... your body picks a girl... and for four months it tells you to go make babies with her all day, every day.' She said haltingly, her words half a statement as well as a question. Marshall-lee laughed once, out of a cynical amusment.
' Yeah, that's actually pretty accurate.' Fionna floundered, trying to come up with a suitable comparison for her to make sense of this phenomena. It sounded so inconvenient and annoying, but also inevitable and downright... icky.
' So vampires have like, reverse, drawn out... man-periods?'

The disgust on Fionna's face was quickly replaced by a sheepish regret as the disgust on Marshall's was approximately three hundred percent worse than hers had been. It was also combined with shock and the pre-stage of anger.
' W-what!? No, it- Ew! No, fuck no! EW!'
' Well, I-I just mean instead of making you all angry it makes you all lovey-dovey and instead of not being able to make babies all you want and can do is-'
' Fionna, you are diggin' yourself into a fucking grave, just shut up! Eww!' She immediately closed her mouth and blinked down at the floor, suitable chastised. For a short amount of time, all Marshall could do was shake his head and intermittently exclaim 'Ew!' in a variety of different tones.

Then he let out a long, tired sigh, that clearly said "I'm too done for this *various expletives*" and rubbed his temples with one hand. Fionna looked up at him and was dismayed to see just how unlike the larger-than-life, cocky boy she knew the man in front of her was. Marshall-lee could be like a tornado, a destructive force of nature when he chose to be. This tired, pessimistic creature looked as if he could barely chase the wind.
' I don't wanna pressure you here Fionna, and as you've just displayed you're so fucking young. You shouldn't need to be involved in this, and if I thought I could've stayed away I would have.' He looked up at her, his eyebrows pulled together and his face somewhere between an apology and melancholy
' But baby, I'm literally dying without you. I can't handle this feeling, not for six more months. I can't handle knowing that you're right there, so close to me, all I want and all that would make me alright again and I can't have you. It's killing me.' He told her morosely, gesturing to her weakly with one hand that dropped down like the muscles in his arm had just given up. The silence that stretched afterwards, probably for only five seconds at most, could've lasted forever.

Marshall was the one who broke it.
' You don't have to figure out what to do about me right n-'
' I'll stay.' There was more silence.
' You what?'
' I'll stay. I'll stay with you, until it wears off and you're back to normal.' Fionna told him, her voice clearly much more calm and collected than she was. She looked apprehensive and worried but he also detected an odd note of excitement that gave him a glimmer of something he had almost forgotten existed: Hope.
' What about Cake? There's no way she'd allow this.'
' And she's not my mom, she can't tell me what to do.' Fionna replied firmly, and Marshall was a little shocked at the unwarranted ferocity. She then relaxed slightly and began to look a little worried, which was honestly more the emotion he had been expecting.
' We uh- She's mad at me right now, we had a fight. Obviously, I'll have to let her know I won't be around but I'm old enough to make up my own mind and she can't stop m-'
' Fionna, are you sure?' Marshall-lee interrupted, still not quite believing she either understood what she was agreeing to or that she had fully considered whether she should.
' Yes, I am.'
' But what if you get knocked up? I mean, I-I definitely won't be trying but it could happen, and even if she can't tell you what to do it won't be good for you and Cake-'
' Marshall, if it's hurting you so bad, then I'm not gonna just stand by and watch you suffer if there's something I can do about it. Dude, even after just a week of it you look rough. I want to help you, and if you need me then I'm there.'
Marshall had to resist the want to simultaneously begin to laugh and cry. That's what he had been afraid of. This is exactly what he had said to fucking Alexander, the bastard who made him change his mind. Fionna was just too kind for her own good, and the second she realised she could help someone her ownself immediately became second priority. It was her personality's biggest flaw as much as the thing that made him glad that he could blame the way she made him feel on the imprinting.
' I don't wanna... ruin you.' He said in a small voice, and it was utterly disconcerting for poor Fionna. She had never seen Marshall-lee look so afraid.
' I don't think you will.' she told him evenly, looking him straight in the eye.

Yes, she understood that everything that was to happen between them, at least physically, was to be the result of the imprinting. But if all he wanted was to spend his time with her for the next half-year, they would get to know each other as people rather well. And if she decided that the man she got to know wasn't who she wanted, then she would walk away when it ended. It wouldn't be unscathed, probably not, but she would walk away, another adventure come to an end. And if she decided otherwise, then she had six months to make him want her to stay even when he didn't need her to.

Author's note: I seriously considered abbreviating Marshall's explanation, because you guy have heard it all before and I figured you might get bored. But then a friend gave me the most GOLDEN fucking line and I knew I just had to use it, so it's all in there. I hope it wasn't too much of a drag. The lingerie shopping thing is actually something I've done with a friend to help her get her confidence up for a date. Even if sex isn't what you're aiming for the night to end in, just knowing that you look really hot can be a huge help to insecure ladies. Besides, I like developing Fionna and Femme's friendship, and depending on the way her and Gumball's relationship goes it'll probably be a good idea for them to get along, huh?
So, as I'm sure you can all guess, next chapter is going to be lemon. Not sure if it will entirely be though, there's a couple of other things I'm considering getting started. We'll just have to wait and see!

-WRA