The trek back to the castle was relatively short. Ice King kept the storm behind them, blanketing the outer lands with a harsh blizzard to make sure they made it to the castle quickly. Fionna and her son were mostly silent, wearily dragging themselves towards his home. Ice King fiddled with the cuffs of his coat. He was nervous. He couldn't remember the last time he was nervous.
"Fionna?" The girl looked up at him, tired smile in place.
"Hmm?" He turned away from sea blue eyes, cursing himself. He shouldn't be this nervous. He was the Ice King.
"I- I'm sorry." Finn frowned in confusion. The Ice King was sorry?
"For what?" Ice King huffed. He'd hoped his apology would be enough and he wouldn't have to explain himself to the girl. At least her son was asleep, one less witness to his weakness.
"Everything. None of this would have happened if it weren't for me." Finn smiled softly. He knew the Ice King was trying and it was sweet. He'd seen Ade's memories. Seen how the man had been before and after the crown. Ade's insanity was still there, it wouldn't go away just because she was "good" now. He'd hurt the blonde and Finn would never forget that but he could forgive him. He reached out to place a hand on the man's arm.
"I don't regret it. Sure there are some things I'd wish hadn't happened but I'm glad things turned out the way they did." Ice King smiled, glad that Fionna didn't resent him. The two continued on, coming into view of the castle.
Ice King watched as Fionna pointed out different shaped clouds to her son, naming more and more ridiculous shapes as they went on. He knew a few people were staring, it wasn't often that he left his castle and even rarer that walked through the castle town, Isa. He knew Fionna had noticed the staring and had directed her son's attention to the sky to keep him from noticing.
"Mama! That's not a dragon!" The boy, Neptr as he'd come to know, was giggling and staring up at the sky with his mother. Fionna was smiling at him from the corner of her eye before looking back at the sky, pointing out a particularly blobby cloud.
"Really? Can't you see the wings?" Neptr huffed and Ice King snickered. It was heartwarming to see the two together and Ice King was grateful to share this with them.
"I think it looks like a dog." Both turned to him and Ice King cleared his throat. He hadn't meant to intrude on their family time. Neptr looked at him closely before nodding and turning back to his mother.
"He's right it's a dog." Ice King looked at Neptr in confusion. The boy agreed with him? Fionna was still smiling at him and Ice King felt himself relax.
"Oh, so you're teaming up against me now?" They all laughed and for a moment Ice King felt like he was a part of a family again. They quieted slowly and a look of seriousness passed over Neptr's face.
"Mama? Where are we going to live?" Finn frowned, looking down at the boy in his arms. Where would they live? He could always go home. Jake would welcome him with open arms no matter what but they struggled as it was with his condition. Two more magical children? That would be asking for more trouble.
They could stay at the castle. He was still technically the Ice King's prisoner and the soft flutter in his stomach made up of Ade and Ice King's magic told him to stay. But would the man want him? Want what was essentially their child? He didn't know what to do.
"I don't know." Ice King frowned to himself. Did she have nowhere to go? She could stay with him, if she wanted. He wouldn't mind having Fionna in his home.
"You can stay with me." Ice King clenched his teeth shut. Had he really just said that? Finn blushed, moving closer to Ice King. He bit his lip, debating whether he should do what his gut told him to. Deciding to go with it, he pressed a kiss to the man's cheek watching the blush that spread across the man's face.
Fionna had kissed him! On the cheek only but still! She'd kissed him! Ice King cleared his throat, trying to say something. Fionna was smiling at him expectantly and he didn't know what to do. Impulsively he pressed his lips against Fionna's, screaming in his head. Why was he kissing her?! She'd only pecked his cheek and now he was kissing her!
Finn gasped into the kiss. He hadn't expected this. Neptr had dropped out of his arms, letting the two awkwardly kiss each other. Finn closed his eyes, kissing back softly and letting his hands rest on Ice King's arms. The two stood there, kissing softly until the Ice King pulled back. Finn smiled at the man, blush heavy on both their faces.
"I, uh… thanks." Finn snickered as the Ice King could barely string together a sentence.
"Thank you, for letting us stay with you." Ice King nodded, sputtering when Fionna pressed another kiss to his cheek. Finn smiled and picked up Neptr again, reaching with his free hand to grab the Ice King's. They set off for the castle again.
"He's back! Ice King is back!" Flame and Marceline looked back at Bonnie on the top of the hill. The two scrambled forward, hurrying to see their king again. The man had left in a hurry, saying he had somewhere to be. Where had he gone? What had he done? The two rushed towards the castle doors, pushing through other servants to get to the front. Tree Trunks stood near the door, Beemo bounding excitedly next to her. Flame slid next to the woman, Marceline at his heels.
"When did he get back?" Tree Trunks smiled at the two, glad to see they were getting along again.
"Just today. He walked in through Isa." Flame frowned.
"Why didn't he come straight to the castle?" Before Tree Trunks could answer the castle doors opened and they all strained to get a glimpse of the king. The man wasn't facing them, instead turned towards his companion that had everyone confused. Fionna was with the man, a young boy in her arms. The most surprising thing of all was the smile on Ice King's face as he led Fionna back into the castle. Tree Trunks stepped forward, confusion clear on her face.
"Simon?" Ice King turned to her, smile dimming though no less present. Fionna stood behind him, holding the boy tightly as he buried his face in her chest.
"They'll need a room for the night, Melia. We can talk about it later." The woman watched the Ice King, taking in the warmth on his face. She would not let him get away without talking about this but she could wait for now. She motioned for Fionna to follow her back to her old room. She would set up a new one later, but for now she and the boy could stay there.
Neptr sighed and rested his head against Finn's chest. He knew he was being childish, staying in his arms and avoiding looking at the people around them but he couldn't care less. He'd never had the chance to do this. His real mother had never interacted much with him, no matter how much she loved him, and his father was the opposite of loving.
He looked up when they entered a room, struggling out of Finn's arms and dropping to the floor. He could hear his new Mama laughing as he ran around the room, taking in everything. It was bigger than his old Papa's house! He collapsed onto the white bearskin rug before the fireplace and stared up at his Mama.
"Mama?" Finn smiled down at the boy, moving to sit next to him on the floor. Tree Trunks had left them earlier, reminding him of dinner later. "What's her name?"
Finn looked down at the boy in surprise. What was Neptr talking about?
"What do you mean?" Neptr rolled onto his stomach, reaching out to touch Finn's own stomach. His fingers brushed against the small bump, smiling softly.
"What's my sister's name?" Finn pulled the boy towards him, settling Neptr in his lap so they could both look at the blonde's stomach.
"Ade." The girl fluttered inside him at the attention, glad to be recognized. A gasp broke the three out of their tender moment.
"Sister?" Both looked over to where the gasp had come from. A yellow and white cat was on the window sill, watching them. Finn tensed.
"Cake, you scared me." The cat stalked closer to them, surprise on her face. Neptr tried to put himself in front of his mother again, feeling how tense the man was.
"What did he mean sister?" Finn could hardly breathe, let alone speak. He hadn't thought this far, hadn't thought about the others finding out about Ade. Neptr glared at the cat. She was making his mother uncomfortable and he didn't like it.
"Why do you care?" Finn gasped, pinching Neptr. The boy frowned at his mother, rubbing his arm.
"That was rude Neptr." The boy rolled his eyes. His mom was too nice. Cake cleared her throat, still confused.
"You pregnant kiddo?" Finn nodded faintly, deciding to tell the truth. He couldn't lie to these people. Not when they were being so kind.
"Yes." Cake hopped onto the fireplace mantle, tail flicking excitedly.
"Who's the daddy?" Finn paused, looking at his stomach. What could he tell her? That he was holding a curse from Ice King's old crown in his stomach? That it was technically the Ice King's child because of the magic that had spilled into him when the man had frozen him? That he didn't understand anything about what was happening and was just hoping everything turned out fine? "Fionna?"
"The Ice King." Finn decided to tell her what he could, what would make the most sense.
"What?" Cake nearly fell off the mantle. The Ice King? When had that happened? Last she remembered Fionna had run off in a huff, though no one would tell her why. Had this been why?
"He doesn't know." More questions swirled in Cake's head as she watched the blonde on the floor.
"Wh- How- You have to tell him." Finn shook his head, more panic swelling in him. The Ice King could never know. Finn wasn't sure what the man would do if he knew.
"I can't." The three sat in silence, each wrapped in their own thoughts.