Two Halves of the Same Heart (FIOLEE)

In Which Marshall Returns

I'd wait in the woods every day. Just in that same spot, for hours. Sometimes, I'd go try to find a witch or demon or anything, but they all told me I'd never be able to get him back. 

I stopped talking to witches and demons. 
And then one day, the portal opened back up. I drew my sword automatically, but practically tossed it away when I saw who it was. He was dressed in a black suit, but it was still him. 

I ran forward, tears of happiness streaming down my face. "Marshall, you're back!" 
"Heh, I didn't know you were a crier." He smiled. 
"I didn't know you were going to be kidnapped by a demon." I shot back. There wasn't any bite to it. 
"C'mon, let's go hom--" 

"Fionna, I can't go with you." He said softly. 
"Wh-what? What do you mean? Of course you can." 
"No. She'll hunt me down and bring me home. I-I can visit, but I can't live here. Not yet. Not this soon. It takes a while for her to stop caring about me... But soon, okay?" 

"Wh... Do you need me to save you?" I asked. 
He cracked a grin. "No. I'm not some damsel in distress. It's just my mom, I'll be fine." 
"She talked about you marrying someone else." 
"My mom says a lot of things. I also say things, and that has been called off for now." 

He smiled, before pulling me into a gentle kiss. 
"I can fight her for you." 
"No you can't. My mom rules the Nightosphere. It's a... it's not Hell... well, not alone, but it's like... a different section? And all together they all make up Hell." 
"And the 'Eldridge' guy...? You called him Satan, but if your Mom--" 

"Okay, that wasn't accurate. They all make up the identity of Satan. Dorian Eldridge is just the most powerful of them all. He's also the biggest snake, the biggest thorn in everybody's side, and everyone hates him and draws unflattering pictures of him in church. Let's stop talking about him. I missed you, you know that?" 

I let out a small laugh. "I missed you too." 
"You know... maybe you could... come back with me? And-and we stay there?" 
"Why?" I asked blankly. "If you hate it... why?" 
"Because there, I am someone. I'm not just the weird kid who wanders from town to town and gets thrown out because of something he can't help. I'm-I'm next in line to be the Ruler of the Nightosphere." 

"Do you want to be?" I asked quietly. 
He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "No. Not really. I just... I want to be accepted." 
"You're accepted here." 
"No. I'm not. Inside the forest I am, because everyone keeps to themselves or is more open-minded. But if I step foot outside it... Fi, it's like I'm caged in here." 

"For-for your own good! And it's a huge cage!" 
"Yeah. But it isn't the whole world." 
"And the Nightosphere is?" 
"...fair enough. Not like I'd get to see any of it anyway, being chained to a desk. But I don't care. I just... I want to be accepted." 

"I accept you." 
He cupped my cheek gently. "And I love you even more for that, but you aren't the entire world, Fi." 
"Why do you need them? They... they just don't know you! If they did, and they still didn't like you, then they're wads and you don't need them." 
He laughed. "True. I'll think about it, but in the meantime, you think about it too." 

"They're demons." 
"So am I." 
"A week ago, you were kicking and screaming that you weren't." I shot back. 
He regarded me coolly. "Just think about it, okay? So, for the time being, we're just going to keep meeting in the woods like teenagers?" 

"Ha... it's not like we're teenagers when we live here." 
"You live here." 
"In your house." 
"It was my house. Now it's your house. See? Character growth." He smiled at me.

I let out a small laugh. "What, you're going to pretend that you gave it to me out of the goodness of your heart when I won it?" 
"Rude. It was a draw. And what happened to 'your house' just a few minutes ago?" 
"That was me trying to persuade you to come back and live there with me." 

"Oh my god, Fi. That's... actually the worst way to go about that." He laughed. 
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up." 
"You tried to get me to come back up here with property rights." He guffawed, doubling over with laughter. 
"It's not that funny." 
"Oh, to me it is. I don't have many people who tell me jokes and stuff." 

I took his hand. "You would here." 
"Untrue." 
"You'd have friends, Marshall." 
"Fi, I thought we were going to drop it." 

"Fine. I just... if we start a family, I want it to be here. Not with the demons." 
He shot me a long look. "You're going to play that card? Fi, our kids would be royalty, instead of inheriting my stigma." 
"...you're right, we should think it over." I muttered. 

He nodded, before pulling me into a hug. "I would miss the sun and grass and the smell of the air though..." He buried his face in my hair, before drawing a deep breath. "But you smell best." 
"Pfft... that's the creepiest thing you've ever said." I chuckled. 

He laughed. "It made you smile though." 

"Because of its absurdity." 
"It's true though. Up here it smells like grass. Down there it smells like sulfur. You smell like... pine? Green apples? Whatever it is, it smells good." 
"You smell... earthy." I replied awkwardly. "New topic, please." 

He laughed. "That's fair." 

*Author's Note* 

Look. My convoluted thing exists because I need Dorian to exist alongside Marshall's mother. 

Also shhhhh. Anachronism suit is anachronistic. That is the source of its power. Do not expose it. 

Also also I promise Marshall hasn't been brainwashed. He just likes the attention he's finally getting. Marshall needs hugs, okay?