Chapter 6: icing on the cake

"A what?" Fionna questioned.

"A baking challenge," the woman repeated. Peggy, they found out, was her name.

"But, I have no idea how to bake."

"Yeah, me neither," Marshall added. Peggy laughed.

"Oh, don't worry. It's a box mix, so it's actually more of a decorating challenge," she assured them.

"Oh, okay. That sounds easy enough," Marshall said.

"I've never made a box cake! How does that work?" Fionna questioned, starting to have a mental freak out. How do you make a cake out of a box?

"It's just cake powder that comes in a box. All you add is like eggs and milk and oil," Marshall informed her.

"I've never cracked an egg either!" She shouted.

"Well, while you two discuss your game plan, I'll go and inform the other sponsors. The challenge starts in half an hour," Peggy chirped before continuing to the next sponsor booth.

"What do you mean you've never cracked an egg? Have you never made eggs?" Marshall asked.

"No, I haven't made anything. My mom did the cooking, and after that Cake would cook for me and herself," Fionna replied with her arms crossed.

"Are you serious? You need to learn how to cook." Fionna glared up at him, her lower lip automatically sticking out.

"No, you need to stop being so condescending. Just because you know how to bake a box cake doesn't mean that you can act like I'm completely incompetent," she snapped.

"You literally have never cracked an egg in your life! You just admitted that! That's the easiest thing. Fuck, I can do that!" Marshall pointed out.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't stir ingredients, or turn on a goddamn oven!"

"Guys! Stop shouting, you're making a scene," Cake interrupted. Fionna closed her mouth and looked over to her best friend. Marshall sighed and rolled his eyes.

"How did you two even get past first base? Geez," Cake muttered to herself loud enough for Fionna to hear. She slapped her arm and blushed violently.

"Hey!" She hissed. Fionna gave her the death stare as Marshall's annoyance was replaced with confusion.

"Is…something wrong?" He asked. Cake and Fionna both looked up to him and shook their heads.

"Nope." Cake said.

"Absolutely nothing." Fionna added. Marshall looked at them skeptically before Cake turned and walked away from the annoying and totally not amorous duo. The tattooist shook his head and sighed again.

"Look, I'm sorry if I insulted your 'cooking' skills, but we need to come up with a design," he said. Fionna furrowed her brows.

"Design?" She repeated nervously.

"Yeah. She said it was more of a design challenge," he reminded her.

"I'm…not that good with design," she confessed.

"What? You're a florist, of course you're good with design."

"I'm only good with colors…and I can't draw," she blushed as she spoke, keeping her eyes on the ground as she shifted her weight.

"Oh…you…oh," Marshall was at a loss for words. He ahead assumed she had some kind of drawing ability, but it appeared he was wrong.

"S-shut up, I'll be in charge of the colors and you can't do the stupid loopy shit with the frosting," she snarled. Marshall chuckled, snapping Fionna's eyes up to him. She blushed even deeper. His laugh…it was…attractive.

"You mean designs?" He questioned. She glared at him.

"Whatever," she grumbled.

"Hey, are you wearing sunscreen?" He asked.

"Yeah. Of course I am, it's a million degrees today. Why?"

"Your face seems a bit red," he noticed reaching forward to feel her temperature. She quickly slapped his hand away and covered her cheeks.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked shaking it off. That actually kinda hurt…

"I said don't touch me," she growled.

"Geez, calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you," he hissed. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, like you could," she scoffed.

"No, I couldn't. Why the fuck would I?" He questioned. Fionna opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by a squeak emanating from the center of the park in the main shelter.

"Sponsors, please make your way to the center. Sponsors, please make your way to the center." Announced a voice that sounded a lot like Peggy's.

"Great. We just wasted half an hour on arguing," Fionna grumbled as she walked past Marshall and headed directly for the center.

"Hey-Fi, wait up-"

"Don't call me that."

Marshall took a deep breath and followed in silence. He was so over arguing with her right now. No matter what he did or say she would totally over-react. Did she really despise him that much? He knew that she totally regretted…spending the night, but they both agreed it never happened, right? So why was she acting this way? He thought he knew women and how they act, but this was completely out of his comprehension. Maybe he was being a bit touchy, or maybe she had a thing about personal space. Even if that was true it still doesn't explain her hostility towards him…When they arrived at the center shelter the other sponsors were already circled around Peggy.

"Okay, sponsors, who is excited for the first challenge!" She grinned. There were five sponsor teams, and a few of them cheered. The rest of them clapped, but Fionna kept her arms crossed out of anger. She couldn't believe she was stuck with him. This was going to be a long day.

"Great! I've already explained your challenge to you guys, and you'll be baking your cakes in Microwave ovens at your table. Your supplies are already set out, all you have to do is go to the table with your corresponding number and wait for people to gather around," she explained.

"What corresponding numbers?" Fionna muttered.

"Our team number. She told it to me and must've forgotten to tell you," Marshall leaned down and whispered in her ear while Peggy continued to ramble.

"Well, what number are we?" She asked.

"7," he answered.

Fionna nodded in response, and Marshall pulled away to return his attention to Peggy. The blond glanced up at him while he was occupied with Peggy's words. His eyes were focused, and his jaw was strong yet slack as he listened. His lips were pale, and his ears were littered with piercings. Black plugs stretched his lobes, and his cartilage must've had a good 5-6 studs in a row. It struck the florist how odd it was that this was the first she's noticed his ear jewelry. What was more odd was that she kinda liked how it looked. The plugs weren't too big, but typically any size would put her off. And any stud above the lobe made her stomach go sour. Yet…it looked good on him. It almost made him look even more attractive than he originally was. Fionna cursed herself as she realized she was staring and forced her gaze on to Peggy. She was certain his ears would put her off, but it only made her like him. What was wrong with her? Maybe it was the heat. She was thankful she decided to wear shorts today.

"Okay! Is everybody ready?" Peggy asked, her grin still plastered on her face. The teams nodded with a few enthusiastic "hell yeah"'s before she dismissed us to our set ups.

"So what design did you have in mind?" Fionna asked Marshall once they got to their counter.

"I was thinking some flowers maybe? Since your a florist and the big tattoo stereotype is roses and dragons," he said. She nodded and looked at the supplies in front of them. A box, a couple eggs, milk, a bowl, and a whisk was set in front of them. Next to the microwave was a small circle cake pan and non-stick spray. Marshall picked up the box and read the instructions as she stared down at the pan.

"So all you do is mix all of this stuff in a bowl and put it in the microwave?" She asked.

"Yup," he replied, popping his lips at the p.

"Okay then, sounds easy enough," she mumbled and slid her finger along the lip of the bowl as he read. It wasn't long before people has started to crowd around the sheltered center and Peggy had started the time. Everyone was mixing and pouring their ingredients around the same pace, but Fionna and Marshall had managed to get theirs in their microwave first.