In Red Dust, Ch.3

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long updates, college and finals just wrapped up so now I'm finally free to write Hope you guys enjoy this, it's a shorter chapter but I'm hoping the confrontations and emotions are juicy enough for you.

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Echoed grunts of effort played bass to the overpowering sound of some heavy object dragging through the dirt. Nearing the cave entrance, the sound grew louder and lessened in reverb. Finally, the source of the commotion rushed out of the rocky maw; Prince Gumball and Cake marching out with two humongous bags, filled to the brim with mounds of red crystal. As they finally reached the cooling shade of the trees, Gumball plopped the sack of gems down and howled out in exhaustion.

"HUH...HUH...I think I may...have bought a little too much back." Cake, having taken on a muscular, olympian form to make the trek easier, followed behind the prince with her own massive bag in tow. The cat stopped beside the exhausted royalty, reaching down and picking up the bag he had let fall.

"I can carry the both of them for a lil' bit if you need'a rest, Prince." Gumball defyingly waved his hand.

"Oh no, Cake. I don't want you stress yourself. I'll rest while we wait for Fionna and Marshall, I should be right as rain by then." The candy prince slumped down onto his rear, turning to face the mouth of the cave. Placing her bag down beside the Gumball's, Cake shrunk back down to normal size and took a seat beside him. The second she planted herself, Gumball turned to her, a look of concern splayed on his face.

"Cake...what exactly is going on between you, Fionna and Marshall?" Cake glanced up at him before letting her eyes tumble and circle in slight annoyance.

"Just one of that boy's idiot antics...went way too far this time. Fionna's giving herself some space from him, and by my account, it's for the best."

"Oh?" Gumball let slip. Cake gave him a small look before returning to the cave.

"That Marshall doesn't sit right with me. He never did. He's just so-

"Immature..." Gumball stamped his own ending to Cake's sentence, to which the cat glanced over at him, a tad puzzled. The prince's words sounded...regretful, disappointed even. However, Cake overlooked this detail, focusing on Marshall's literal dangers rather than his...developmental ones.

"I was gonna say dangerous..." Gumball gazed on, deep into the cave mouth. He had been thinking of a different time between him and Marshall, a time long since past when he could actually enjoy the vampire's crude humor and juvenile nature. Cake turned away, slightly irked by the prince's sudden change in tone and attitude. Her slight tirade continued.

"Vampire's eat people, plain and simple. They hypnotize them with all of their smooth, cool acts and once they have them alone, they plunge right in!"

"Well I mean, have you ever met another vampire that's actually done something like that?" Cake's face froze.

"Uh...well no, it's all stuff I read in old books and stories I've heard from people." Searching desperately for a point to back her argument, she decided to run up one of Marshall's other negative aspects. "And even if what I've heard isn't valid, he's still violent and inconsiderate. The two of them fought at Lumpy Space Prince's party, kicking and punching during my solo. When it comes down to it, he's just not a good influence on her."

"Hmm, I'm inclined to agree...but Marshall's been this way for years, it's practically carved into his very being at this point. I actually think he can't change, even if he wanted too. It's really sad...its a waste of a good person..." Cake scoffed at the prince's words.

"Even if he did change, that doesn't mean I'm just gonna suddenly roll over and-" Footsteps startled the rest of Cake's sentence back into her mouth. From the darkness emerged both of their lost friends, a thin pastel layer of red dust still on their clothes. The both of them dared not look at one another, keeping their eyes straight and firm towards the other two. Cake leapt up and scurried up to her sister.

"What took you guys so long, you couldn't have gone that deep?" Twin blushes raved into both Fionna and Marshall's cheeks, the vampire quickly turning his gaze to the sky. Wiping her still messy bangs out of her eyes, the girl tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Sorry Cake, w-we got lost. Turns out it wasn't a straight shot in, there were so many turns and corners..." Marshall kept quiet and seemingly oblivious. "I'm surprised we got out this fast..." The cat's face remained pursed, her eyes full of doubt and suspicion. In her mind a mountain of questions began to erupt, priming themselves for launch the minute they got home.

"Hmph." The cat hissed out. Prince Gumball climbed to his feet before wrapping his arms around the sack of gems. Lobbing it over his shoulder, Fionna swooped in and took the place of Cake for carrier of the second bag. As they start their trot towards the kingdom walls, Marshall slowly floated away.

"Well, I'm going to be out guys. I-I've got some stuff I need to work on, songs and what not." They all turned slight to him, but only Gumball would speak.

"Well okay then, safe trips Marshall." The prince and the cat then continued their march, but Fionna lingered behind, her gaze bonded tightly with the vampire's. As they kept their glance feelings of longing, fear and regret emanated from the two of them as they contemplated the same exact worries. What would happen in Cake and Gumball found out? What would they think? What would all of Aaa think?!

Before she could be overtaken by dread, Fionna ripped herself away from the vampire's sight, rushing out after her companions. With only the wind for company, Marshall gave a deep sigh and lifted himself up into the sky, making sure to stay shaded by the umbrella of clouds. In this moment, he took the time to reflect back on what he had done...

Well, it wasn't really his fault. Fionna was the one who initiated the kiss. But...he had pinned her down to the floor. But that was only to keep her from freaking out! This, this wasn't supposed to happen...but...at the same time, he was happy it did. The circumstances were absolutely horrid in terms of timing and nature, but still...Fionna was always...attractive in his eyes, very attractive he'd even say. That night in the graveyard Marshall had gained immense respect for her honesty and genuine care, and it was the first time he was put in a situation out of his control. There was no witty comebacks, no playful condescending, no cocky sense of invulnerability...just tears, shock and honesty.

But now...what they did...Marshall searched desperately for a reason as to why it happened this way. There's a set routine for this kind of stuff! You ask someone out, you date, you love, and then you do things, you don't just jump the Gobdamn gun and dive into it!

Marshall stressfully stroked his forehead; he had to talk to Fionna about this, face to face, find out where things stood between them. He needed to do it and he needed to do it as soon as possible, before Cake manages to grate and grill the truth out of her. Fionna was a good liar but not to her own sister; she would crack like an spoon-beaten egg. Unfortunately, he knew a sudden reappearance would raise questions on all fronts, so the vampire king begrudgingly kept on the aerial path home.

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Fionna slumped on the couch the second she made it through the door. Exhaustion on both physical and emotional fronts weighed her down, but the crippling pain in her abdomen was what kept her slouched on the seat. She knew exactly why the hurt was there, but the whole way back she chocked it up to a stomach bug or cramps, hoping Cake would think nothing of it. But in the back of her mind she knew that soon, the cat would emerge through that door, her suspicions well-simmered and questions primed and ready.

Soon enough, paws strolled through the entryway, before a slow, ominous shutting of the door gave intro to the inevitable confrontation.

"Okay...spill it." The cat simply said, arms crossed and eyes locked on the heroine. Fionna knew that any of sort denial or fabrications would be pointless, but she was still desperate enough to try it.

"What?" The blonde said, trying her hardest to sound oblivious and innocent. The cat was not having any of it, marching over with tightened fists as she continued her grilling.

"Don't 'what' me, Fionna...that's going to make me think of worse things than I already have. What happened in that cave?" The bunny-hatted girl kept silent, sweat fountaining out from the sides of her head as she stiffened up in the chair. Cake's eyes began to slither into themselves, forming sharpened beads as she kept on. "You and Marshall were so desperate to keep off eye contact, you didn't even say one word to each other. On top of that, the two of you were redder than bloopin' Gumball!" Fionna cowered back into the sofa, almost shivering as she desperately tried to clench her mouth. Unfortunately, tears still made their way out, and soon Fionna broke down.

"I just...I don't know how it happened. First I was angry, then I was...I punched him in the face and I...he held me down and we..." Every sentence's end was sliced away by sobs, setting the stage for Cake's overreaction to rear its ugly head.

"Held you down! Did that little grey SCU...I CAN'T EVEN...THAT'S IT, I'M KILLIN' HIM! He's DEAD!" Hurriedly spinning on her heel, Cake marched out towards the door, her regularly-noodled arms blasting out into massive muscles. Fionna's eyes widened, she knew Cake would hunt Marshall down and tear him to pieces.

"No Cake, wait!" She lunged out to her sister, tackling her to the ground. Cake threw her a look of confusion. "It wasn't like that...I just..." Fionna sighed, wiping away her tears and bringing herself to he calmest the circumstances would allow. Taking a deep breath she continued. "It-It was both our faults...we were arguing in the cave and...I don't know, I can't explain it..." The cat was stunned.

"So what I THINK happened...did happen..." Cake's eyes drooped down in silence, before dragging herself over to the couch and plopping down onto it. She was at a loss for words, simply cradling her forehead in her paw as she tried to process this...keyword being try. Fionna just fell to her knees, a look of disappointment and regret towards herself morphing onto her face.

"But...all that stuff I told you, the tiers...the TIERS Fionna." Cake scolded as she pointed towards her left arm, now in the shape of stairs. Her finger waved over the ten to twelfth step area, so this was a big issue. Cradling her knees Fionna just looked down, hiding away her dark, tearful eyes. Letting her arm collapse to the sofa, Cake let out the deepest of groans. "You know...I figured I would've been more prepared for this."

Fionna felt horrid, like absolute trash. Cake's apparent disappointment stabbed into her in the heart, letting her shrivel back into a broken mess.

"Do you love him?" The question sparked up Fionna's gaze, catching full sight of Cake's worried but stern look. The blonde sighed.

"I don't know...I-I like when he's around...but I mean...Uhhhhh!" Fionna stretched out her fake bunny ears in anger. Why couldn't she give a straight answer? All this uncertainty and confusion had her bouncing from one opinion to another on Marshall. On one hand, the vampire was comical, light and knew how to ease tensions with his signature wit and style. At the same time, he could easily fire the tension right back in, not knowing when to stop with his act and very rarely showing signs of maturity or growth past his juvenile sense of life. Cake pushed herself off of the couch and walked up to Fionna, taking a strong, authoritative stance above her.

"This is something that you do with someone you love, Fionna. Its not just some hop up and go like a kiss. You know how Marshall acts and how the most of us feel about him. What if he just took advantage the situation, and of you?!" Fionna's eyes beaded; Marshall couldn't be so scummy, he wouldn't stoop that low. He flirted and toyed with her at times yes...but that's just...evil...

But...Marshall was evil, he insisted upon it...but, would he...

Fionna collapsed onto the floor, her preserved dam of emotional resilience crumbling to dust. She didn't believe the notion, but the thought of it possibly being true wrenched and twisted her heart. Cake knelt down as the tears fell, taking her sister in her arms. Letting Fionna release the grief, Cake could only think of one thing and one thing only:

Keeping Marshall Lee as far away from Fionna as possible. That selfish, manipulating gumshoe of a vampire was never going to see, talk, or know about Fionna for the next thousand years-or however the heck long he lives.