Fionna

It didn't matter how hard I screamed or how much I begged. They still walked over to Ice Queen and Hannah, they still picked up the pens, and they still signed the contracts. The tears in my eyes made everything blurry, and the pounding in my heart and my head made it hard to hear.

Marshall signed a contract to protect me, but he had to give up any chance of escape for it. Gumball agreed to marry the Ice Queen, just so I would be free from her grasp. And all of this was my fault. I was so stupid to think that it would be okay to be with them! It was idiotic to think that loving them both would only bring happiness! Why couldn't I have just stayed away from them? Why did I have to be the reason they're here now? And why did I have to fall for such a STUPID trick?!

Cake held me tightly as I curled on the cold ground, beating myself up over what I had done. I heard the glass shatter and dissipate around us, and suddenly the air was a hundred times fresher than before. I could hear and smell and taste and see everything differently. I saw the scar on Marshall's side, and the tears in Gumball's clothes. I could smell the blood and sweat on them, but more, I could almost taste their unique scents.

You have two months to be with them, Fionna. You can cry about what you've done, or you can enjoy them for the time you have.

"Come on, baby, stand up. Let's get out of here." Cake pulled me up, my body weak and uncooperative from being in that box for almost two weeks. She stretched her body up tall, giving me a shoulder to lean heavily on to.

I didn't have to hold onto her for long. I felt Marshall's arms wrap themselves under my legs and back, holding me up and tightly against his naked chest. I curled into him, looking up at his striking face with all its bruising and bloodiness. He smiled at me and leaned his forehead against mine, planting a small kiss on my lips.

Gumball came up in front of him, looking down at me and pushing my hair out of my face. He gave me a passionate kiss on the lips, then pulled away to look at me, study me. His sweet and kind face filled with relief as I smiled back at him, and he wrapped his arms around Marshall, holding me tight between the two of them. For a moment, I felt like nothing had mattered, like everything was right in the world. Only for a moment though.

Hannah said nothing. Ice Queen said nothing. I just felt their gaze on us as the four of us made our way out of the caverns, Marshall holding me close, Gumball keeping his hand at Marshall's back, and Cake walking beside them, happy to move freely.

When the sunlight hit us, it burned my eyes. I hid my face into Marshall's bare chest, but soon realized that the sun was searing his flesh.

"Let's go home, babies. Hop on," Cake said, instantly stretching herself into a cat that was more than 40 feet tall. She even made a canopy with her body so that we could ride on her and she could keep the sun from burning Marshall. I had to smile at myself. This was the first time she ever acknowledged Marshall as a person. Marshall floated us up and set me down in the warm, dirty fur before he went to get Gumball. They both sat on either side of me, each leaning their heads on top of mine, each with an arm behind me and the other arm holding one of my hands. I felt at peace for a while. The breeze was warm, the smell of the forest was refreshing, and the love of my men was revitalizing.

This was what I needed to focus on. I needed to use my time with them to the absolute best. That's what I would do.

We sat there together quietly for a long while, regaining our strength and enjoying each other's company. But, I had been quiet for what felt like forever. I wanted to hear their voices.

"Marshall, what's that scar on your side from? Is it new?" They seemed surprised that, not only did I speak, but I didn't mention our situation at all.

"It… it is… We had a fight with a Ketra." He looked down at me, stunned by my out-of-nowhere question.

"A Ketra? Don't those things, like, eat immortals?" I was stunned, too. If they had really come face to face with a Ketra, surely they would be dead now. But, it does explain why the wound had scarred over instead of healing completely.

"Well, they do, but with a little help from Bubba over there, I was able to escape with my life and most of my body." Marshall smiled at Gumball, but it was a kind and gentle smile. Loving, almost.

"And…? What else happened?" I asked, skeptical of their behavior.

"We, uh… well…" Marshall stuttered and tripped over his words, a slight blush forming across his cheeks.

"We rekindled a flame we thought we had lost a long time ago. Turns out, it was still there. It was just hidden behind anger and resentment." Gumball looked so calm as he spoke, like he was totally at peace with what had happened.

"Wait, did you guys… did you guys kiss or something?" I asked, still in disbelief. These two, the two men who I thought for sure would end up destroying each other within a day… they rekindled a flame?

"Or something," Marshall said, now looking out at the landscape that passed us by.

"Heh, or something…" Gumball repeated, laying his head back down on mine.

I didn't push it. I didn't feel like I needed to. I knew what happened. Somewhere, deep inside my brain, something told me that this was coming all along, but not one of us saw it. They loved each other, this whole time, but they let silly competitions and misunderstandings tear them apart.

What I couldn't decide was if it was fortunate that they found what they had lost at a time like this. Was it a wonderful thing that they could finally let that anger go? Or was it unbearable to know that, after all this time, they had finally found love in one another, but must be forever separated? From each other? From me?

Oh glob, what have I done?

No, no, be strong. You can do this. Enjoy it. Enjoy this while you can.

That's right. I had to be strong. For them. It was the least I could do.

I felt Gumball breathe deeply against my head, sleep overtaking him. They must have had a long and trying adventure. Marshall continued to peer out at the forest, letting his thoughts take over him. I squeezed his hand, getting him to look at me. All I needed was a smile from him, and I would be content. For now.

He leaned down and kissed me, sweetly, tenderly, and totally unlike himself. With sadness in his eyes, he smiled down at me, and turned away.

I let the breeze glide along my skin and through my hair, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep once more.

"Oh sweet babies! You don't know how HAPPY I am to see you!" Cake shouted, waking me from my nap. The sun had set already, but we were somewhere familiar. Were we… were we home already?

Marshall shook Gumball's shoulder to wake him up, and then picked me up in his arms, bidding Gumball to climb on his back. The three of us floated off of Cake's back as she made a b-line to a waiting Lord M, who was standing patiently in front of our tree house. Never in my life did I think I would ever be so happy to be at home.

Cake ran up to him and planted kisses all over his snout and horn, wrapping herself snugly around his neck as he clapped his hoof in excitement and relief. My heart swelled with joy for her and Lord M. To see them reunited after such a long and trying time brought the biggest smile to my face.

"Marshall, let me down. I think I can walk," I said, my eyes glued to Cake and Lord M.

"But Fionna…" He tried to protest.

"Please? I haven't walked in days. I want to feel the grass under my toes." As I said it I began to pull off my stockings and shoes, preparing for the sensation of the grass beneath my feet. He set me down gently, and though it was hard to stand completely, I found the strength to do it.

"Are you feeling better, Fi?" asked Gumball as he walked up beside me.

"So much better! It's so good to be home! That box was so uncomfortable." I tried to keep my voice light and chipper, even though thoughts of their contracts plagued my head. "I could really, really use a shower, though."

Marshall burst into laughter behind me, following my lead and letting the darkness that surrounded us go. "Yeah, Fi, you stink like the Ice Queen. Go bathe already."

I turned around and smacked him in the shoulder, the ease of his teasing relaxing me.

"I wouldn't talk, Marshall. You two have been roughing it in the woods for the last… how many days? You smell like dog fish."

"I would certainly hope I smell better than a fish," Gumball said, joining in on the fun.

"Well you smell better than she does, Bubba!" Marshall called from the air, pretending to get away from me.

"Oh whatever guys, I don't smell that bad." I was laughing now, the tension slowly melting away from me.

"Yes, you do," they said in unison, holding their noses and waving the air in front of them.

"Fine! I guess I'll just go shower then!" I called, making my way to the tree house and feigning anger.

"Bet I can get in that shower first!" Marshall called, darting for the upstairs window.

"Hey, what about me?! I call dibs on the shower, too!" Gumball called after him, running past me to the tree house.

"I don't think so! It's my shower and I smell the stinkiest! So I go first!"

"Not at this rate you're not!" Marshall yelled from the upstairs window. I broke into a full-fledged sprint, forcing my body to work again as I caught up to Gumball. He was no match for my speed, even if I was barely working.

I climbed up the ladder, peeling my clothes off bit by bit as I ran and hopped and dodged through my living room, thinking I would get the upper hand if I was already naked when I got there.

Nope. There Marshall was, naked and glorious, already standing in the pouring hot water. He gave me his devilish smile and held his hand out. My heart beat wildly in my chest, out of lust, out of love, out of sheer appreciation of the person he was. I took his hand and he pulled me in close to his body, the hot water instantly easing my muscles.

"Well, fancy meeting you here. Have we… met somewhere before?" he asked, playing with my long blonde hair.

"I believe we have, and under remarkably similar circumstances," I said, buying into his act.

Just then, Gumball burst into the bathroom, hopping around with his pant leg still attached to his ankle. He saw the two of us, yanked his pants completely off, and smiled. His smile lit up the room, his sweet pink skin, though bruised and bloodied in some areas, radiating comfort. Wait, were those bite marks on his neck? There was a little bit of color missing! Wow, I suppose 'or something' was right. "I guess you couldn't start a sexy party without the prince, could you?"

He jumped into the shower with us, beaming with amusement and relief. Gumball came up behind me and pressed me into Marshall, wrapping his hands around Marshall's waist, holding us all together. Marshall wrapped his arms around Gumball, and I stood between them, the hot water running along our bodies, the tension slowly settling on us again as we stood there together. We could pretend all we wanted, but that dark cloud hung heavily over us.

"What are we going to do?" Gumball asked, leaning his chin onto my hair.

"I don't know, Bubba. My mother's contracts are solid, unbreakable. She or the signer would have to break it themselves. There's no other way." Marshall's voice sounded sad. He had no more anger left, just… sadness. I think we all did.

We stood there for a long time, holding each other, being together, appreciating one another and the time we were given. At least we had that much.

This wasn't right. It was so wrong that not even the Lich could have thought of it. All of this was just so twisted.

There's no other way. The words rang in my head as we stood there, letting the water turn from hot, to warm, to cold, and still we stood holding each other.

No, there has to be. The world couldn't exist it if allowed such wrongness to win.

We had two months. Two months to be together, to do what we needed and get things in order. Which meant that I had two months to figure out how we were going to get out of this.

They had been bound by the shadows to fates that neither of them could bear, and I would not allow that.

I didn't care about the contracts. I didn't care about Ice Queen or Hannah Abadeer. I didn't care about the Nightosphere or the council or any of that.

I cared about them. I cared about Marshall Lee and Prince Gumball, and I would make sure that their lives didn't end where their contracts began.

This was not the end. This was the beginning.

Author's Note: Wow, thank you all soooo so so much for reading my fan fiction. Seriously though, those reviews really helped get me pumped up to keep writing. Without your guys's support, I would have been stuck with a writer's block a long time ago.

I hope at least most of you enjoyed the story so far. I'm super stoked to write the next part of my "trilogy" lol. I've got some surprises in mind and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!

I know I said it before, but seriously, thank you to those of you who've stuck with me and reviewed my work. I love the positive feedback.

I'll be back soon with more of my GumballxFionnaxMarshall love triangle. Thank you again!