Don't own Naruto or Adventure Time.

XIII: Knight.

Pineapple stopped abruptly and Finn's sword lodged into the wall two inches in front of him. It pierced the silence but, odd enough, reduced the tension.

How come?

He knew when to stop. Just like he knew when someone was at his door. Huh... There were lots of things she never questioned. Things she probably should.

"Stop right..." Finn paused. "Hey, you're that guy from before."

Pineapple ducked under the sword and continued up the steps.

Bubblegum understood it was her responsibility to clarify the situation since she knew all of them and Pineapple knew it as well so he never bothered a futile reply.

At the end of the day, it fell onto her to diffuse the situation.

Thing was... While she was worried, she was just as curious and for Bubblegum, a choice like that was a no-brainer. Curiosity won every time.

Pineapple shifted back and around the blade, dodging a punch that cracked the edible wall paint. Their eyes locked. Alert glared into distant emptiness.

Finn dislodged his sword and went after Pineapple who backed down the steps, evading slashes and swings. He weaved a slash and it hit the balustrade of the steps, kicking up some flour dust.

She watched him sidestep a thrust, inertia pushed Finn right past but he regained his bearing and took three swings at him.

"What the...?"

Finn checked his hands and, honestly, she was just as confused because Pineapple was moving up the steps with the sword in hand by the hilt.

Even with how intently Bubblegum watched, she didn't see when or how it happened. One second, Finn had his sword. The next second, he didn't. It happened so quickly, that Finn had made three phantom slashes, thinking he still had it in hand.

"Hey, my sword!"

Finn rushed up the steps and Pineapple sighed. He dodged two kicks and spun around to face Finn, weaving a third kick in the process. He pulled his gashed hand from his pocket, swatted six jabs and the seventh knocked Finn off balance. Thankfully, Pineapple caught him by the collar to stop him from rolling down the steps.

His hood fell to his shoulders and, for a moment, Pineapple's dull expression wavered and a flicker of inexplicable emotion crossed his eyes.

Taking the chance, Finn steadied himself and grabbed him by the forearm to restrict his movement.

"Jake!"

A shadow eclipsed them. When he snapped out of the haze and glanced up, Jake was already ten times his original, palm poised for an attack. Pineapple arched a brow, more confused than surprised and as Jake brought down his palm, he just... pulled Finn closer.

The reaction was instant, and Jake stopped just a foot over his head.

What a dirty little tric—

Pineapple kicked the slashed balustrade and shot a burst of flour dust right into Jake's eyes.

"Dang it!"

Immediately, he latched the sword between his waist and pouch then held onto a yellow finger just as Jake yanked away his hand, dragging both himself and Finn over the railing.

They landed feet first on Jake's head while he rubbed his eyes.

Finn bolted over. Pineapple eluded three blows, blocked the fourth and tripped Finn. He sprung back up with a kick to the head. He palmed it and tripped him again. Finn groaned, seven hits caught wind and Pineapple tripped him for the third time.

Every punch he threw and every kick he made met nothing. If he was lucky then it'd be blocked. It slowly but surely ate at Finn's nerves, his movements were frantic and his attacks, predictable. But his frustration wasn't because his attacks were being dodged or blocked, it was how effortlessly Pineapple did it.

He expended more energy trying to land a hit than Pineapple did while avoiding them.

Finn jumped high as both Bubblegum and Pineapple looked up. She was slightly fascinated but he, on the other hand, just stared half tired, half annoyed.

A falling axe kick and he was falling fast, really fast. Pineapple pulled another simple yet dirty trick and held Finn's sword up like a nail over Jake's head. Quick, in and out. Just enough to cancel his attack.

And Finn did.

"You blee-blob! you—"

As Finn fell, Pineapple reached out, placed a palm on his chest and changed his trajectory by shifting him over and off Jake's head to the floor below.

Jake saw Finn fall from the corner of his eye and, from where she stood, Bubblegum instantly spotted the trap.

"Jake, wait—!"

Jake spun around and caught Finn in his hands but in that panic, he smashed his head on the edge of her mezzanine. The main hall shook for a second then another as his large body hit the ground back first. Spirals in his eyes and birds over his head.

Pineapple had pushed him off in such a manner that Jake could see Finn fall from the corner of his eyes, but not the edge of the mezzanine. Even if he could, Pineapple had previously half-blinded him with flour dust, just to make sure.

All that... With his eyes barely open from drowsiness.

How was someone that slow, that dull... unbelievably nimble? Someone that tired, surprisingly alert? He was jarring enough to be a living paradox. Everything about him was either a contradiction or a facade. The more she thought about it, the more the puzzle pieces fit but, at the same time, the less sense it made. As if the pieces were in the right place but the entire puzzle was abstract expressionism.

She let the fight happen out of curiosity, to learn a little more about Pineapple from it. But she ended up a lot more confused than she started. Went from square one to zero.

Even after watching him in a fight, she couldn't tell if he could fight or not. She could think up great arguments for both sides.

Ugh. She shook her head. No need to overthink what she could question. It wasn't her job to find out, it was his job to explain.

One thing she knew for certain was Pineapple tried his best not to seriously harm both Finn and Jake because he chose the hardest thing to do in a fight; to not fight back. He opted for the most stressful option when he could use his magic and end the fight immediately.

Why didn't he...?

Sharp and erratic moving shadows flashed within her mind.

Okay, maybe it was for the best. She'd hate to see Finn at the receiving end of... that.

Finn, in a fit of anger, rushed over and missed every attack. Flailing wildly. Pineapple blocked the jabs and punches then reached in and broke through the offence to grab his shoulder and push Finn down to a sit.

Before Finn could force himself up, Pineapple handed him his sword.

"Here, I quit."

Finn blinked.

Bubblegum blinked.

"Look, man, I'll pass on the fighting." He sighed. "It's unnecessary."

Finn absentmindedly took his sword. "You're... Not after the princess?"

Pineapple squinted in confusion then glanced up at her. She flinched but awkwardly shrugged.

"No, of course not."

"Then why didn't you say anything, man?"

"'Cause violence is usually the last option, not the first."

"Oh," Finn said. "Oh..."

Pineapple rubbed his eyes, exasperated.

"So... Who are you?"

Bubblegum walked down the steps towards them. "He's a, uh, guest."

"Visitor." He corrected.

Finn tilted his head. "Hold up, that's the same thing."

"It's not," he said.

"It is, Finn." She rolled her eyes. "He's being silly."

He sighed in dismissal and shuffled towards the steps.

"Pineapple, wait."

He stopped before the first step. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk." She helped wake Jake up. "Don't go upstairs."

"What?"

"I don't want you near a bed till we're finished."

He sat and waited on the first step of the staircase. With how he looked and how he spoke, it was surprising he gave an ear, much less a reply.

Bubblegum clapped for the butler to tend to his gash in the meantime. She had a lot lying around in the lab, figured a gauze would be there somewhere.

While he went to fetch that, she used the time to explain the situation to Finn and the now-awake Jake.

"I wanted to interfere sooner but I was..." She looked at Finn, rubbing her arm. "You understand, right, Finn?"

"D-Definitely, PB. It's... It's not your fault." His face reddened. "I saw him heading your way and I kinda, sorta, flipped out a bit."

"Thanks for looking after me."

"But, who exactly is he, princess?" Jake groaned, holding his head.

"Yeah, I'll admit, he's got mad skills," Finn added. "Like... Like some kinda ninja."

"Don't be ridiculous." She tracked the butler as he made his way down the steps.

The butler made a complete stop upon reaching Pineapple. He just stared with a hint of uneasiness across his face.

Peppermint asked him if anything happened and Pineapple just glanced at the butler for a second before shaking his head and watching the floor. Even if it was short, it felt like they finished a conversation just by glance alone. But maybe it was just her.

The butler nodded and wrapped up his hand with gauze, all the way to the wrist.

"Come, I'll introduce you," she said. "But it's straight to bed right after, okay?"

Finn and Jake nodded.

They walked up to Pineapple and, at first, when she called out to him, he didn't respond. Soon after, he registered their presence and Bubblegum introduced them but left out the human part. That wasn't necessary for now.

"Shikamaru," Pineapple said.

Jake hummed but Finn scratched his head in slight confusion. Probably had trouble with the pronunciation.

Pineapple sweatdropped. "Look, it's fine, just call me Pine—"

"Shikamaru," she told Finn. "Shika. Maru. Like that."

Four fails after, Finn got it. "Oh, dang, Shikamaru."

She pulled on Finn's cheek in praise. "Knew you could do it."

Pineapple gave her a weird look.

"What?"

He pulled his gaze away.

Thought so.

"Sorry 'bout attacking you and all that jazz," said Finn.

"It's not your fault." Pineapple sighed as if he could read her mind. "Misunderstandings happen."

Ah, well said.

Peppermint finished with the bandages and she told him to guide Finn and Jake up to the room.

"They'll be staying with you for a while, " she said. "Is that fine?"

"It's not my room."

She held in a groan

Peppermint, Finn and Jake bid them good night and headed up the steps to the third floor. Leaving just the both of them.

The hall remained quiet.

Bubblegum pondered a start and Pineapple watched the floor as if he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Well, too bad for him. There was no talking his way out of—

"Before you start." He spoke up first which was a little surprising.

"I hope you're not trying to weasel your way out of this," she said. "It won't work."

Pineapple shook his head.

She sighed and held her hips. "What is it?"

"That serum..."

"What about it?"

"You test it already?"

"Not yet."

"We should test it out."

"What?"

"You don't want to?"

She attempted a glare to steel her nerves but ultimately couldn't.

"Of... course, I do," she mumbled.

"Oh, great."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I wanna see how it turns out too."

"Don't lie..." she said. "You dislike stuff like that."

He nodded. "It's a hassle."

"Alright, so?" She glanced away. "Why are we having this conversation?"

"'Cause you like stuff like that."

Bubblegum paused and opted not to speak so she didn't fumble her words. Refrained from thinking for the same reason and it left her dumbstruck. It had to be a setup.

"Wh-What do you mean by that?"

"If it's something you enjoy, I don't mind it." Simple and to the point, like he spoke to a toddler. "Not that complicated."

"Huh...?"

"It's usual friend stuff." He paused and arched a brow. "You... do have friends, right?"

She flinched and quickly answered. "Of course... Of course I do. Don't be ridiculous."

"Then it's just norms." He chuckled. "Don't act so wide-eyed, yeesh."

He'd sit through something he disliked just for that reason? Friends did that?

"Will..." Bubblegum poked all her fingers together. "Will tomorrow evening be fine?"

"Probably," he said. "Depends on my mood."

Beautiful yet thorny, like a rose. Bubblegum bit her bottom lip in annoyance. Pineapple's magic had to be the least dangerous thing about him.

"So?"

"That's dirty, Pineapple." She crossed her arms. "That's really dirty... I hope you know that."

"A yes, then." Pineapple rose to his feet.

She could only make faces at him but it seemed one of them got through.

"I'll answer whatever tomorrow, hm?"

"Whatever?"

"Whatever." He started up the stairs.

She could have all her doubts cleared and questions answered all while testing the serum. It was a great offer and that was the problem. It was an offer Pineapple knew she would never refuse. One he could use as a get-out-of-jail free card.

Ugh. Guess he could weasel his way out of it.

—

It was past three in the morning and Bubblegum was still up in the lab. Figured she'd check the samples and prepare the things they needed for tomorrow—er, today but ended up getting carried away. Okay, perhaps she was a little excited but there was nothing wrong with that.

Bubblegum preset everything they needed then locked up the lab with a yawn before heading up her room. She wondered why Pineapple didn't come check on her today as he usually did but he probably fell asleep. Pfft, that's a first for sure. Regardless, today she won their little insomniac battle.

Still, it was kind of odd.

Bubblegum reached her room and looked down the hall over to Pineapple's. The thought to check on them crossed her briefly but left as soon as it came.

What was going to happen? Finn, Jake and Pineapple were in the same room.

She softly giggled and stepped into her room.

...

...

In hindsight.

Bubblegum should've checked.