"Hey Marceline, I'm here."
"Hey Finn. Where you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you all day."
"Heh, sorry about that, I was running around all over the place."
"Yeah, I called your house and Jake said you were in the Candy Kingdom. I called Bonnie about it and she was just acting all coy."
"Sorry," he repeated his apology, "PB was helping me with something," he reached into his backpack. "A gift!"
Finn produced a box, wrapped in red wrapping paper and tied with a red ribbon, topped with a bow.
"Aw, how sweet," Marceline admired the package, "A gift I can eat."
"Yeah, that was part of the plan," he produced his notes, double checked, and then shoved them back in his pack.
"What's the occasion?" Marceline asked.
"Hmm. No occasion. I just remembered something I thought you'd like, so I got it for you."
"Daw. You're so sweet its almost nauseating," she kissed him.
"Thanks! I guess?"
"Only almost," she clarified. "So, can I open it?"
"Almost, hold on a sec," he lead her over to the couch, and had her sit, then sat on the floor opposite her, looking up at her. "I wanna see you open it."
"Hehe, alright. But first I'm gonna eat it." She drew the package to her mouth, and with a touch of her fangs, sucked the red out of the wrapping paper.
"That's good red. Now for the bow," she drained that dry as well, leaving a pristine white package.
"Hehe. I got the wrapping stuff from Choose Goose."
"He's got good taste. Okay, lets open this bad boy up." she tugged at the ribbon, unraveling the bow, and leaving the white package. She carefully removed the wrapping paper to avoid damaging it and to savor the anticipation. Underneath was a plain brown box.
"You watching this Finn?"
"Yuhuh!" he was completely fixated on her face.
"Here we go," she popped open the top to look inside. And her blood ran cold. Colder anyway.
In the box Hambo stared back at her, just as she remembered him. Every stitch, every tear.
"H-Hambo?" she was completely bewildered. "Bu-? Whu-? How?" She looked at Finn who was simply looking at her with an expression of complete happiness. She attempted to speak again, but only managed to vaguely mouth some words.
"Hehe, you're speechless," Finn observed, triumphant.
She reached into the box and gently touched her old stuffed toy, just to confirm that it was indeed real. She held hambo tightly to her chest.
"I-I don't know what to say... Oh gob, am I crying?" she touched her face, feeling flushed cheeks and moist eyes. Feeling the tears only opened the floodgates further.
"Uh, are you okay?" Finn asked.
Unable to speak, she nodded, her free arm opening wide for an embrace. When he reciprocated, she held him as fiercly as her stuffed toy.
"There there," Finn rubbed her back.
"HICK," she stifled a sob.
"Shhh, its okay," Finn comforted her.
"when'd you get so maternal?" she got out between sniffles.
"Good ol mom," he answered.
They continued to embrace until Marceline once again broke the silence.
"thankyoufinn," she whispered.
"It's coo-" Marceline cut him off with a passionate kiss.
"Whoah," Finn summarized when they parted.
Marceline sniffed and wiped her eyes, recovering.
"Oh man, I must look like a mess," she noted.
"Nah. You look pretty when you cry," he knit his brow in realization, "Wait, thats a terrible thing to say."
She chuckled, "no, its okay." she sniffed and looked at Hambo again. "I still can't believe it."
"He's real," Finn confirmed.
"How...?" she finally asked, "I mean, I thought Hambo was used to make potions or something."
"Yeah, probably," Finn answered. "I kind of forgot that part at first, but it worked out okay."
Marceline moved from the couch to the floor, holding Hambo, wanting to hear the whole story.
"Alright, so, I was thinking about you, and then I thought about Hambo, from that time I went into your memory."
She nodded.
"So, I thought, 'man, Marcy loved that toy. I wanna get it for her,' but I had no clue how. So anyways, a while back I got something called the Glasses of Nerdicon from Choose Goose. They make you crazy smart when you wear them, so I figured regular-me wasn't smart enough, but smart-me would be. PB took them from me last time, so I asked to borrow them, you know, just long enough to figure out how to get Hambo."
He produced his list and handed it to Marceline.
"'Step 1. Run away from Princess Bubblegum with the Glasses'," she read outloud, "Oh, she must have been thrilled."
"Hehe, yeah, well, they don't just make your regular smart. They make you crazy smart."
"'Step 2. Return to labyrinth, solve labyrinth using perfect memory from crazy-smartness'," she continued, "Huh. Are we thinking of the same labyrinth? I saw one while flying over Ooo once and there was like, an invisible wall. It seemed dumb so I just went around."
"Probably. I mean, supposedly, you die if you cheat, but I guess it just stops you from cheating. Or maybe your vampire awesomeness protected you. Cause you're not alive."
"Maybe. 'Step 3a. Get to center of maze. Get wish. Wish for Hambo.' Oh man, they give out wishes there?"
"Yuhuh."
"Man. Still, I probably wouldn't have thought to wish for Hambo. I probably would have wished for, I dunno. Something stupid probably. 'Step 3b. If there is a one-wish-per-person limit, and not a one-wish-per-solution, put mud eel in headlock and make him wish for Hambo.' Mud Eel?"
"He's like the guardian of the labyrinth. He doesn't actually give the wishes, just guards them. He's kind of a jerk."
"Man, still, that's pretty ruthless of you. Smart-you," she corrected.
"He's crazy," Finn shrugged.
"'Step 4: Trade Glasses of Nerdicon to Choose Goose for delicious wrapping paper. Step 5: Show list to Princess Bubblegum. Apologize to Princess Bubblegum.' Heh."
"Yeah, she was mad, but after I showed her the list, she wasn't as mad."
"Smart-you was watching your back. Sounds like a cool guy," she smiled.
"Yeah, he's a righteous dude."
"'Step 6: Give gift to Marceline. I love you Marceline.'"
They both blushed.
"Smart-you is scary."
"Oh man, did that creep you out?"
"No, I mean, anyone who can use the l-word like that... you know, leave themselves super-vulnerable? Its scary."
"Oh. Yeah."
They looked at each other.
"Do you feel the same way?" she asked cautiously, "As smart-you?"
Finn fidgeted, then scooched over to her side.
"...Yeah," he admitted.
"...wow. We're in deep," she gave him a sidelong embrace.
"Is that good?" he asked.
"Its scary," she answered.
"...Sloppy makeout time?" Finn asked.
She shook her head. "No. Can I just-" she floated into his lap, one arm around him, one around Hambo, and laid her head on his shoulder, "close my eyes for a bit?"
"Yeah, sure," Finn cradled her as best he could.
She nipped his neck affectionately. "You're the best Finn."
"You're the best," he echoed.
"Heh. We're so lame."