Review Responses:

nightmaster000: Thanks! The flashbacks were my focus with that chapter. Yep, Bubblegum really likes Finn and wants to help him but doesn't know how. Marceline and Finn is something I really wanted to explore. And yeah, Ice Prince is a mess.

eternal nothingness: Oh glob, that's exactly what I wanted to hear from feedback. Thank you so much!

Messiah-Emperor: It looks bad now, and gets worse, but he'll have his due in the end. Don't worry, I like him too much ;) .

IamYlen: Yeah, he really goes through hell. And you'll LOVE this chapter, it has great FP I think!

Maguffium239: This one has more Ice Prince actually being solid, a bit of Prismo (and more to come in seven!), and little Bubbeline, though it's still happening.

Chapter 6: My Little Sparkplug

The word of the night was control, and Ember literally would mutter it to herself every ten seconds or so, such was her determination to not lose domain over her flames. Finding a suitor was her dream for the evening, but she was smart enough to differentiate between a fairytale story of sudden romance kindled by a lonely Princess in the confines of her lantern and the unforgiving politics of the courting process.

Heck, the Flame Girl felt like a sparkler in front of Princess Bubblegum, and the candy royal seemed to not even receive glances of inquisition; how could Ember hope to catch someone's eye, let alone the eye of a fine, caring gentlemen who would make her feel like she was sipping aged oil, or dancing through dry leaves, if such a stunning women could not?

Besides an inquisition made many years ago by the Prince of the Bee Kingdom (Ember had only been 11, and had angrily stormed out of the room when the perv had tried to charm her with any and every song that featured the word "honey"), she was completely foreign to the process.

As if on some ill-fated cue, such a suitor coughed behind her in an attempt of romance. It was the Marquis of Nuts (in his teens in this alternate universe), who took a deep-breath with his squirrely-cheeks, mentally told himself to "Go get it, gurrrlll", and began to unload painfully bad nut-puns faster than the automatic Acorn-rifle his father had gotten him for his coming of age.

"Mind if I crack the ice? I'm a nut, so I'm use to cracking!" He shouted in a high pitched voice that was clearly the result of nervousness, Flame Princess blushing in horrified embarrassment but unable to speak due to pure surprise. "You know what they say, chestnuts roasting over an open fire!" He added a moment later, moving his chest much too close to her own.

Ember blanched slightly, and tried to dissuade him, saying, "H-hey, I'm going to go get some p-punch."

"But, but I was going to show you MY chestnuts," The awkward nut replied, the Princess's face beginning to match her dress after such blatant innuendo.

"Whoa, Marquis, no, no, no, down boy," Came a voice from behind both of them, an icy blue hand appearing on the Marquis's shoulder. "Please stop with the jokes, just chill out and give the lady some space."

Ember's eyes widened with amazement as she turned to view a blue humanoid roughly her age, a navy suit donning his sharp lines, and his snow-white locks of hair shining from the light overhead. She thought he was the most angelic looking member of the opposite sex she had ever seen.

"Let's not turn this into another Slime Princess incident. Remember her crying 'bout being called Sour-Apple Jello? Or how about when you called her a jigglin' mound'?" Ice Prince asked, gently addressing the other male royal (whom he was quite fond of and actually golfed with), who sighed and nodded.

"Sorry pretty fire girl," The Marquis said dejectedly, turning on his heels and walking away, igniting a bit of regret in Ember at her reaction.

"Don't mind him, he's a fine young chap, but his parents kind of have him living a shelled lifestyle," The frosty Wizard deadpanned, smirking lightly after his pun. As Flame Princess giggled at the joke, to his amazement, he chuckled himself, and added, "Okay, I promise that REALLY is the end of the nut puns."

"Hey, that wasn't bad at all," Ember replied, brushing a singing strand of hair out of her face, and blinking sparks at him.

Ice Prince quickly remembered he had seen the girl before in line, but for obvious reasons she looked a bit more pleasing off of her father's shoulder. He also noted with bitterness that she was a Fire Elemental, and that as such, he would be wasting his time and simply playing with fire if he remained in front of her beautiful spiraling frame, and her luscious black coal eyes, and her shimmering, wild hair…

"Oh Glob," He whispered, his heart ratcheting up to a tempo it hadn't hit since his angel had given him a spin-hug from behind. "I-I'm sorry, but I need to leave before I do something stupid," Ice Prince muttered, faltering as she flinched out of a kind smile and into a forlorn frown.

"Of course… you're clearly elite royalty and I'm just some… dumb girl who should feel lucky you talked to her," Ember replied shakily, hissing lava beginning to drip from her eyes as she mistook his disappointment for dislike.

The blue young-man wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around her, barely restraining himself from doing so despite the painful truth of how much that would hurt. Part of him knew he needed to run away from her, needed to save her young heart the pain of love that wasn't even able to be requited. And yet…

"No, no!" He shouted, picking out a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully using it to wipe away her tears with his good hand. "It's not you, darling, it's just that I'm an ice Wizard, and you're a Flame Person. We'd hurt each other, and… well, I don't know about you, but love's hurt me a good deal enough already."

"Oh-Oh," Ember murmured, touched by his comforting, and immediately feeling empathy. "I, I don't care, really. I've felt so out of place here, except now that I'm talking to you."

"Really? That's a gas, I usually scare the heck out of pretty girls, minus Bubblegum," The monarch wheezed in amusement. "And her kindness comes solely from how immensely sweet she is, I've generally thought."

"Well… well all the other girls are just fools, then," Flame Princess stuttered, throwing caution to the wind. "If you're like this all the time, any girl would be lucky to hold your hand… even Bonnibel." She reached out suddenly, and despite her urge to feel his true skin she grasped his metal limb by its rigid fingers.

"…My bad arm. You're touching it," Ice Prince whispered, his pale irises blooming in shock and fascination as a trickle of warmth crept up his numb shoulder. "Your touch is so… warm." She blushed as he leaned forward, only inches away from her searing lips.

Ember's flickering gaze danced between his eyes that seemed to be fading from a glacial wall more to the ocean's sheen with every passing pulse of combustion in her body, and his chiseled crystal lips.

Ice Prince regained his twisted sense of logic just before he caused what would have been the second mini-nuclear explosion in his life, moving his face back and filling its promise with his metal hand, rubbing it against her blistering cheek as she looked on with arousal and melted into his words.

Kiss of death, kiss of death

Ice Prince began to whisper, Ember's twin suns bursting with ultra-violet light as his words pirouetted from stream of conscious jabber to an impromptu poem.

How I long for this kiss of death
For in that theft, life is blessed
With just a fleeting press,
Swelter and frost are suppressed

Heart burns like napalm in chest
Mind freezes like mammoth in rest
Kiss of death, kiss of death
Such a blissful end, such a bitter crest

Ice Prince smiled dreamily as Ember's face erupted into nearly blinding flushes, and felt his spine tingle as their breathing, steam and snow, collided, popping the air.

"Can we please dance, if we can't kiss," Flame Princess whispered, her hair swirling around her head with gusto. With a nod, her newfound date donned a fine white glove on his blue hand.

"Hot-stuff, we're going to dance until you burn through my good-hand's dress glove," Ice Princess replied, his metal fingers now sliding along the ridges of her petite ears. Without another word, he guided it down to her hip, gripping gently and leaning in close, before moving a bit away as his peach-fuzz caught on fire.

"Heehee," His little sparkplug giggled, entwining her plump fingers between his own sheathed daggers. Immediately feeling the soft fabric withering from her heat, she became determined to make the most out of however long the white linen would last.

"…Yes, please, sign my foot!" The Housie cheered as Jake muttered dangerous words under his breath, unable to believe he was actually having to hit this kind of low just to snag a Viola for a few tunes. "Thanks! It's funny, I don't even play Viola either! I won it in a raffle outside!"

"That is AMAZINGLY interesting," Jake growled, ripping the Viola from the Housie and walking off without another word, praying Lady hadn't heard any of his groveling.

"You autographed some buffoon's foot just so you could serenade me? I've always loved a dog who can learn new tricks," Came a string of Korean spoken in such close proximity to his left ear that he panted without thinking.

"And I've always loved flying chicks who can change colors," Jake chuckled, turning sideways and stealing a kiss from his date. The Rainicorn latched on for a brief moment, and then flew backwards, giggling.

"Your kiss exceeds your face," She taunted, spinning around him slowly. "But then again, I look like a stretched out, multi-colored piece of spaghetti. So that leaves us even, and I'd like to hear some music now, sweet-cakes."

"Oh, girl, I've got my bow, my Viola, my paws, and I'm about to blow your socks off," The dog countered, his strings humming as his arm began to flex back and forth. For a moment, the entire party around them seemed to freeze, and a hush fell amongst the crowd, so crisp was the melody the instrument birthed.

"…Somebody is aiming to make the leap to tier 10," Lady replied after a moment, her blush blazing and the red in her body slinging up and down her body like a heart rate-line. Jake smiled bashfully and tossed the Viola over his shoulder. His hands had more pressing matters to take care of.

She spun and spun like a top that had been bombarded with Molotov Cocktails, sweet-smelling smoke and dying midair flames mapping the route her partner had carved for her on the dance floor. Ember was in love; with her cycling vision, every moment a wonderful sphere of the bright colors of the Candy Kingdom melting into one glorious tapestry of awe; with the rush that acceptance brought, the knowledge that someone was holding her tight out of their own volition; and perhaps with the brilliant gentleman guiding her footsteps?

Flame Princess gasped as the movement came to a screeching halt, momentum arching her backwards onto Ice Prince's metal arm. For a moment time and place were lost, as her eyes studied the intricate design of the ballroom's ceiling. But soon she caught herself and returned to standing without any weight upon the leader's arm, the object of her ruminations gazing back at her with a radiant smile, as if his eyes could block out the entirety of the spectacle around them and view only her.

That wasn't far off from Ice Prince's perspective, as he simply couldn't imagine what else deserved his attention more than the blazing girl in front of him. Spare sparks from her body caught on his suit, but he didn't mind, let them engulf him for all he cared.

The moment finally got to the young girl, and a blush ran across her face as his grip across her waist tightened, the heat she shot through his metal limb nearly enough to convince him it was flesh.

And just as he wanted to push himself closer, and course whatever heat his cold shell could muster though him, two things occurred; a splitting pain struck down his body, as if a javelin had struck through his head. The second was somehow more painful, as the second was that upon his head jerking upward in shock, his eyes met another pair; glinting greens spread in shock.

There was his angel, staring back at him with her mouth slightly gaping. Immediately, he winced, his heart tearing as he realized what this must look like, and for the first time, what it actually was. But then, to his amazement, her benevolent face pressed into a sad smile, she nodded briskly, and the frozen soul thought that maybe he caught a tear growing in her eye; but before he could look further, Ember's voice shattered the sliver of time and brought him back to his wits.

Bonnibel sniffed as she turned away from the dance floor, the graceful feeling of joy spreading all through her. She had been afraid that tonight would have ended like many others; Ice Prince begging her for her heart, forcing her to bitterly spread the canyon already present in his own even further.

The look of love of his face had wiped away all her guilt in one fell motion, and she prayed that whomever he was holding would remain in his arms for many years.

All she had caught of his partner was a gleaming red dress, for if the Candy Princess had known in that moment that the girl bringing warmth to him was Flame Princess, as much as it would have broken her heart, Bubblegum would have done what was necessary and separated them immediately. Who knows what pain could have been saved if such had occurred, but—

"Whoa, are you serious? You already know how this is going to play out?" Jake interrupted with contempt, crossing his arms as Prismo rolled his eyes.

"I mean, they nearly blew up Ooo when he wasn't an ice wizard and missing a few Fruit Loops," The deity replied with a shrug. "I've got an idea of what's going to happen, or at least some of the possibilities, but for the most part I'm just as blind to the outcome as you. I'm just inferencing, bro."

"Oh, aight. I hope you're wrong, though," Jake replied, rubbing behind his ears uneasily.

"Sorry ladies and gentlemen. Back to our regularly scheduled program," Prismo stated, clicking his fingers and summoning a muzzle across Jake's mouth as he opened it to ask another question.

But instead, the Princess was drawn away from her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. "Want to dance somewhere a little more… secluded?" Came a dangerous purr in her ear, followed by twin points delicately scraping against her neck. A quickly glance over her shoulder confirmed that as she had hoped, the Vampire had concealed herself with invisibility before acting so brazenly.

Bonnibel held in a moan (as well as a gasp of offense), surveying the party in front of her with muted reservation before Ice Prince's smile came back into her mind. For years, she had restrained any romantic urges, the combination of a lack of time and the frozen youth's inevitable messy reaction making the concept foolish. And just for one night, Bubblegum wanted to dance at one of her own balls on her own terms.

"Seclusion sounds absolutely splendid," Bonnibel whispered, tilting her face and rubbing her cheek against the smooth gray splendor hanging next to her, unseen by the rest of the night goers. And to her at the moment, she supposed, but that would be rectified very shortly.

"You want to get something to drink? I mean, I can't have anything but, you know," Ember asked shyly, tugging off her date's glove just as it finally burst into flames. "I think our time to dance has run out, sadly."

Ice Prince sent a gaze to where Bubblegum had stood, but she had disappeared. He heaved a long sigh, the look in his angel's eyes on repeat in his mind. Then, without another moment of hesitation, he chuckled, and replied, "Oh, I'm sure we'll be able to mix you up something… alcohol burns, after all, and my good friend Cinnamon Bun over there surely looks as if she could direct us to a table where said drinks are being served.

Flame Princess could only thank Glob and the powers above ("Thanks!" Prismo replied nonchalantly, Jake snorting in disbelief) that she had found some a diamond in the rough. Pity that diamonds and ice can seem so similar. But that was not nearly as pitiful as when Cinnamon Bun tripped over her own feet and fell upon the Marquis of Nuts, a long crack and scream ensuing from the unfortunate young man and Ice Prince nearly needing to stuff his fist in his mouth to hold off laughter as the pun struck him into hysterics.

Holy crepes, I hit the peak of my writing ability in the Ice Prince/Flame Princess section and it was just writer's nirvana. I don't know how good it reads, but writing it made me super duper psyched out.

I liked everything else too, but worried it got a little choppy in the later half. Next chapter is Flame King and Ice Prince meeting not-so-happily and Ember has to separate them, BUBBELINE, Ice Prince going at Marcy and having a completely awkward, dementia laced rant against both of them until Bubblegum calms him down. And that's all before I spoil ere'thing.

So hopefully nothing more than a week for a wait. That's what I'm aiming for. Hope everything's going well for everyone, thanks for reading! You guys are awesome.