Note: I preserved much of the grammar/ speech patterns of Adventure Time characters. Some characters may have an incorrect way of speaking, as this was true to their character.

"Finished," Finn announced. He stepped back and placed his hands on his hips, proudly admiring his work. Propped against the exterior side of the tree house was a fort, made of mattresses and pillows, gifts from Soft City. (They had returned the Soft People's gold, which was stolen by the Gut Grinder, who was actually Sharon, the mayor's wife from Spiky Village, who did it because… well, that's a story for another time.) Anyway, they had been gifts. The fort was pretty tall, and topped with a demon skull. For good measure. He had been working on it since right after breakfast that morning, but his friend Jake had been too lazy to help. Still, it was pretty impressive. "Righteous," he muttered.

Finn turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Jake, you butt!" he yelled up to the house. "Get down here and check out my awesome fort!" After some banging and a crash that sounded suspiciously like breaking dishes, the window was thrown open and Jake appeared in the opening. He was a magical dog with the power to stretch, bathed in golden fur that rippled when he decided to change form. Jake had an intelligent air about him, accentuated by big, black rimmed eyes that were set low on his face. His jowls were smudged with vanilla ice cream that had failed to reach his mouth, and he was in the process of licking the rest off his hand, which (at the moment) was shaped like a spoon. But it would only be like that for a short while; since Jake was magical, he could transform his body into any shape he wanted.

"Finn," he paused to lick some ice cream. "What did you want me to see this time?" He looked uninterested.

Finn huffed in exasperation. "I wanted you to see this fort I made. You might as well, as you were too busy being lazy to help." Jake mumbled something to himself and stretched by his neck out of the window. As Jake's neck elongated, he reminded Finn of the taffy they would eat during their many visits to the Candy Kingdom. After a few seconds of his magical workout, Jake was soon able to turn his head and see the fort.

"Demon skull… nice touch," he said. Just as quickly, as if to get it over with, he announced, "Finn, I'm leaving."

"What? Where?" Finn demanded. He had rarely been apart from his best friend, and even then, it was for short periods.

"Lady and I are heading to the beach. I thought you probably wouldn't want to come, because of… you know, your ocean problem." It was true. The ocean was one of Finn's few fears, and the thought of the endlessly rippling, salty water made him queasy.

"Do you have to go to the beach? Why not somewhere else… like the enchanted forest?"

Jake sighed. "Finn, me and Lady go there almost every day. You know that! She says she wants to do something special, just the two of us. And you know Lady… once she's made up her mind, she's gonna stick to it." He paused. "I'll only be gone for a few days. Uh…." he counted on his fingers. "One… two… three. Three days. I'll be back on the day after tomorrow."

Just the two of us, Finn mouthed, frowning. Lady Rainacorn was Jake's girlfriend, and Finn knew that he should probably leave them be. Still, he was often jealous of how much time she got to spend with Jake. Jake was his best friend, after all. On the bright side, however, Finn had a certain person he wanted to see, and this seemed like it would be the golden opportunity. Jake couldn't tease him as much this way. Not that he really minded being teased, as Jake was bloops at it, and it was obvious that he needed it sometimes. "Well, I guess I should leave you two lovebirds alone, right?" He laughed uneasily. "You probably wouldn't want me to come anyway." He looked down.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Finn, you're acting funny… Wait, I know! It's Flame Princess! You're going to spend the whole time with Flame Princess!"

Finn's cheeks flushed bright red. "Uh, well maybe if spending time with her while you're gone is the same as when you're here, and I'm actually here myself, then…"

Jake grinned. "Just don't try Tier 2 again. Remember what happened last time?" Finn pursed his lips and stared into the distance, his face not betraying the storm of emotions within his mind.

Standing in front of the house he built for Flame Princess, reading a poem he wrote.

She looks so cute.

The poem burning up and her laugh sounding like the peal of bells.

She looks so cute when she laughs.

Her fire growing brighter as he stopped laughing and stares into her eyes.

She looks so cute when she's not laughing.

Him stepping toward her, leaning forward as he closes his eyes, coming closer… closer…

"Finn? Jake looked worried. He was standing in front of Finn in his natural dog form, eyeing him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Finn managed. It was so unfair. The first time he had worked up the courage to kiss a girl, she turned out to be "physically unstable." Flame Princess's elemental matrix had burned so hot, she plunged to the Earth's core and nearly died there. If it wasn't for Finn's rash decision to dive down after her, she wouldn't be here now. Finn shivered. He wouldn't try to kiss her again if there was any risk of hurting her.

"Well, I packed while you were building that fort. Lady's waiting for me at the edge of the forest." Jake reached with an arm and patted Finn on the back. "Goodbye, Brother."

"Goodbye, Brother." Finn repeated. Jake nodded and stretched back upward and through the open window. He emerged with two small suitcases and tied each loosely to a front leg. With one final wave, his body swelled until he was about the size of an elephant, and Jake took off bounding toward the horizon.