Chapter 9: handy man

Soft lips. Full hips. Her kiss drove him crazy. He couldn't have her, but he wanted her so badly. It was impossible not to get misty-eyed when he thought about that night or her in general. For some reason he was over driven with lust, more than usual which was starting to freak him out. But Fionna was starting to act like a normal human being around him, so he could only convince himself that he was the one going insane. She looked so calm as she talked about her pet cats and they waited for Peggy to announce the challenge. He tried to focus on her words but her lips always took the spotlight. He wanted to kiss her again, and feel her warm body pressed up against him. It was all he could think about, and he knew he had to cut it out.

"Ah-hem!" Peggy cleared her throat at the end of the hall. Finally, a distraction. "Good afternoon sponsors, welcome to your second challenge!" She announced. The sponsors gave a short round of applause as she grinned.

"Okay then, I bet you're all so excited to hear what this challenge is about, right?" A few sponsors cheered while the rest simply said yes or nodded their head.

"Great! Now, at your table with your number on it you'll find a blindfold and a twelve piece foam puzzle. What is going to happen is one partner is going to wear the blind fold and the other is going to hold their hands behind their back. The blinded partner is going to be the others hands, and they have to help them solve the puzzle without using their own hands. The first one to solve the puzzle and ring their bell wins." Peggy explained and looked excited. Much more excited than anyone else. "Any questions?"

"Which one has to be blind folded?" Someone asked.

"It's your choice, but if you have difficulties choosing go with the taller one," she answered. "Is that it?"

"This sounds like a nightmare," Fionna muttered to herself. Marshall chuckled quietly in agreement.

"Great! Now get to your tables and in position!" Peggy cheered. They did as they were told with a few grumbles and a few groans.

"Which one do you wanna be?" Fionna asked as they approached their table.

"Uh, well I'm taller and she said that taller people should be blindfolded," he replied picking up the black strip of cloth.

"Okay, so you do that and I'll help you solve the puzzle verbally," she said. He nodded.

"Sponsors please put on your blindfolds," Peggy announced through a megaphone. Marshall did so and waited.

"Now, partner without the blindfold stand in front of your table," she ordered. Fionna followed the instructions.

"Okay, partner with the blindfold stand behind partner A and put your arms through theirs so your arms are reached in front of them," she instructed.

"What?" Marshall was confused. That meant he'd have to be pressed up against her…oh dear.

"Ugh. C'mon, marshall, like this," Fionna grabbed his arms and tugged him closer so his chest was pressed against her back and his arms were through the holes hers created when they were behind her back.

"Uh, a-are you sure this is what it's supposed to be like?" He asked, feeling very nervous from his lack of sight and lack of space.

"Yeah, it's how everyone else is doing it. Calm down, okay? It's not anything too difficult," she sassed.

"Okay…" he mumbled. It took him a few deep breaths before he managed to calm his nerves. Once he was calm he couldn't convince himself to stop breathing deeply. He kept smelling something sweet…like honey, and vanilla, and flowers…

"Are you wearing perfume?" He asked her. Fionna blushed.

"Are you smelling me?" She hissed.

"No, I'm breathing. Do you want to arrest me for breathing?" He snarked. She rolled her eyes.

"I wear a vanilla body spray. My mom usually buys me a bottle every year and it takes about a year to get rid of it, so yeah," she explained.

"Hmm, just vanilla?"

"Yes."

"I smell a bit of honey mixed in there. Also a lot of floral scents, but I can guess where that came from," he smirked.

"Honey? I always have honey in my tea in the mornings, but I dunno if it's strong enough to linger on me," she said looking down at the puzzle pieces. They were big and green and had no pattern on it to help them.

"Wow, you're hot," Marshall said. Fionna's face turned red and she stomped back on his foot.

"Ow!"

"What did you say to me?" She growled.

"Geez, I said you're hot, like temperature! Are you crazy?" He snapped. Fionna blushed in embarrassment. Of course he wasn't hitting on her right now, she was being loony.

"…s-sorry," she stuttered.

"Besides, if I was gonna hit on you it wouldn't be anywhere near that basic," he said. She could hear the smile in his voice and turned Crimson.

"No, you wouldn't. Because you won't hit on me," she spoke through clenched teeth.

"Mmm, you sound angry. Or are you just flustered?" He questioned. It was hard to keep his distance from her. He wanted to whisper in her ear and wrap his arms around her.

"Okay, sponsors! Get ready to start in 3…2…1!" Peggy shouted.

"Huh?"

"Get the pieces! They're to your right!" Fionna told him.

"Oh, right," he reached to his right and felt soft foam met his fingers. He quickly grabbed it and felt the edges.

"It's a corner piece put it near your bottom left."

"Got it." He did as she ordered and reached for another.

"It's a middle piece, look for the edges first!"

"Okay, Geez." He put it down and felt the pieces for a sharp edge.

He dug up ten pieces with edges and arranged the corner pieces in their correct places with Fionna's help. From that point on it was a lot of her shouting angrily when he picked the wrong piece and fumbling the foam prices until the locked together. Fionna continued to bark out directions, and scolded him whenever he fucked up. He couldn't help but smile as she did so. She was so bossy, and demanding, yet he only felt himself like her more with every command. She was so submissive that night, it doesn't seem like she's the same girl in front of him. Maybe it was because she was drunk, or because it was a one night stand. Or maybe she hadn't done it in a long time and she just needed to get used to it again. Or maybe-

"Marshall! Pay attention and put that piece back!" Fionna shouted.

Oh, right." He did as he was told and pushed in the last piece of the puzzle.

"Yes! Yes! Now ring the bell! It's to your right!" She yelled. Marshall grinned and reached for the bell to ring it. He had to press his body in to hers to reach it. Fionna was sandwiched between Marshall and the counter as the bell was rung obnoxiously until they heard Peggy over the megaphone.

"Fionna and Marshall win!" She announced. Marshall relaxed against Fionna's back and pulled his arms out of hers.

"God, that was difficult," she panted.

"Yeah," he agreed reaching back to untie his blindfold. He must've tied it really tight because the knot was virtually impossible to loosen.

"Having troubles?" Fionna asked.

"Uh, a little bit," he admitted.

"Turn around and let me see," she ordered.

"I dunno, can you reach?" He teased. Fionna rolled her eyes and turned him around to get to the knot.

"You dumbass, it's not like I'm five feet tall," she said and dug her nails in to the tight knot.

"Yeah only like five two, right?" He joked.

"Five foot five," she muttered. Marshall laughed.

"Nu-uh, you're five four at the most. Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying," she insisted as she released the knot from the fabric.

"Oh geez! That's bright." Marshall blinked at the bright flash that returned him to real life. Most of the other sponsors were looking at them. One of the sponsors, a jeweler, winked at him with a flirty smirk. He turned away to continue talking with Fionna.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. Fionna smiled back shyly, and could barely manage to look at him for a few seconds. Why did she feel so nervous? "And you did a good job durning the challenge. I can't follow directions for shit, so thanks for barking at me," he teased. She giggled.

"No problem," she replied. He opened his arms and reached for a hug but stopped himself halfway when he remembered how she felt about touching.

"Er, sorry."

"No, it's oka-"

"Here," he held out his hand for her to shake instead. Fionna looked down at his hand before accepting his offer and smiling as she shook his hand.

"Good job."

"Yeah…good job."