♧♧♧

"You're here?" Gumball gaped holes into the man before him, quizzically scanning around as if to make sure what he saw was real and not just an illusion.

"Pfft, you look like I'm your long-lost dead friend that just came back- Well, technically." Marshall cackled a little, resting his feet on to the ground from his floating position.

Gumball was still in shock. He'd just come to the punch bar to get a drink for his previous dancing partner, enjoying his lovely masquerade-themed ball when he was surprised with the appearance of the least likely person in all of OOO to show up. "And you're dressed nicely?" Ignoring what Marshall had just said, he reached out and fixed the other's collar that had lifted, in a rather slow and cautious manner - unaware if Marshall was ever going to ruin things or not. The vampire was quite well known for being a troublemaker and rather impulsive. Therefore, the gums' concern was quite acceptable.

Marshall had forgotten he was actually here for a civilized experience rather than wreaking havoc like he usually did. Shocking, really. He looked down, trying to remember what he'd worn, reminded as soon as his eyes fell on his black vest, skinny ripped jeans (that he couldn't bother with changing) and a maroon button up shirt that had a few of its top buttons unbuttoned much like his open vest. Not for long, however, as Gumball's hand slid down the collar, they moved to close said buttons as well, perfecting the imperfect look. Or as much 8f it as he could.

Marshall stuck out his tongue when Gumball pulled his hands away, mischief itching at his very core to taunt. "Blegh, look at you caring for a rebel."

Gumball fought back a scoff and instead pushed his lips into a straight line. "If you are trying to behave; I'm only trying to assist." He merely stated before returning to the punch bowl and pouring two glasses. One for himself and another for Lee, disregarding his prior dance partner. Marshall awkwardly played with the cuffs of his sleeves, hating how he had to, for once, behave and not act on impulse. It was really rare of him to try and control himself, after so many years of being able to do whatever he wanted, it wasn't easy to just undo his free will. Awful experience from Lee's perspective.

When he was handed a glass from Gumball, he simply and respectfully declined. Disregarding his parched throat. (Though, technically that didn't matter either since he wasn't going to drink the liquid.) Gumball further pressed his lips in a thin line, sensing something was drastically off. Putting the second glass aside, he slightly leaned against the table, standing next to the vampire. He'd been running around the ball all afternoon, greeting, and entertaining the guests all the while making sure his servants were doing as told do so, he took this chance for a break. Even if it meant hanging out and talking to his vampire counterpart. "What made you change your mind? I mean, I'm sure there's a reason you're not wreaking havoc at my ball."

The prince was right. There was a reason. Marshall hated to admit it to anyone but there was only Gumball here. Surely, the prince wouldn't make fun of him, right? Who was he kidding though, the prince would 100% make fun of him but lying never worked on the other either. Somehow, he always knew when the vampire was lying. So, with a reluctant sigh, Marshall explained: "Fionna finally got Flame Prince to go to this dance with her so she forced me to promise her I wouldn't ruin this for her. And to make sure I don't get anyone else to ruin it for me, she made me come to this junk. I mean, I don't have to listen to her but..."

Gumball finally let a smile break on to his lips. "You're a man of your word." He took a sip from his drink, recalling quite well, that Marshall doesn't break a promise. But he also didn't make many, so it was quite a shame. "I appreciate it." Marshall looked away, sighing, and stuffing his hands in his pocket. He was embarrassed, just a little, by how well the other had paid attention to know him but also wary of just how much the taffy knew. Lee works hard for others to see a side of him he's comfortable showing. It isn't his true self, but he prefers it that way. "So where is she anyway?" The younger asked, scanning through the crowd, only to feel disappointed as he couldn't find the prominent bunny ears or the locks of vibrant gold ribbons in the sea of dancing crowd. Surely, he should've greeted them as they entered, and he maybe had, but after meeting so many guests, everyone eventually became a blur in the taffies brain. That, or he tunes out, so he can keep as much of his sanity throughout the event.

"They're near the front of the ballroom," he answered after a short pause "trying to stay away from as many eyes as possible for Phillips' comfort." Marshall turned to grab the glass, finally giving in to his thirst and desaturating the drink just slightly. "and avoid disasters."

"Phillip?" Ignoring how rude Marshall was for not accepting the drink when he'd offered it, he moved to focus on the foreign name. Though, judging by the topic they were talking about and with some common sense, he figured it was Flame Prince but wasn't 100% sure (unaware that the wild feline-turned-human even had a name.) "Flame Prince?" Marshall only nodded. Returning the nod, Gumball took another sip, side-eyeing the vampire beside him but did not engage in another conversation.

The two awkwardly stood there, sipping on their beverage, and taking in whatever, they could, of the red fruit punch. Silence befell the two. Though both their minds scavenged for a topic - about anything - to continue the conversation but nothing came to mind. With a defeated sigh, Gumball finished the last of his drink before throwing the disposable sugar wine glass in a nearby bin, designated for the said object so the sugars could be cleaned and repurposed. Barnaby had no actual plans of leaving, but as the quiet seconds ticked away, he saw no reason to stay. With another wary glance at the latter, who had the cup in his hand all drained of colour and the face of an emotion Gumball could not read, he left.

Precisely like the sweet prince, Marshall yearned to keep the other near each other - bathe in the few seconds of peaceful bliss a few moments longer - but there was nothing he could do to anchor the latter by his side. So, without a word, he let the other slip away, engulfed in the crowd. Having nothing to do again, he went back to floating above the ground. Not too high to be spotted above everyone, but high enough. His hands clasped around his cup, his only source of entertainment being the ripples made in the drink from his unnecessary breathing.

♧♧♧

Nearing the entrance of the massive ballroom, Barnaby called butterscotch butler over and told her to have a designated servant stick around flame prince with a safety blanket, in case he sets anything on fire. With that order now in action, he went back to looking for the famous adventuress. Once he pinpointed her and Flames' location, he sauntered over to them to find them trying to dance. Neither of them had any experience with it, this being both of their first time, but they were genuinely trying. And although they were horrible, they were still having quite fun. Fionna had an oven mitt on the hand that flame held, and flame had a glove on his hand that held Fionna's waist. Both of them had big, nervous smiles as they looked at the ground and avoided each other's feet.

Gumball couldn't help but smile as he watched as well, finding joy in their joy. As much as he wanted to not disturb them, he felt that if he taught them how to properly dance, they'd have a much better time. With that in mind, he made his way to the duo and greeted them with a smile, halting their unique dancing experience. "Hello, Fionna," he stuck his hand out for Fionna which she returned without hesitation. "Flame." Nodding at the fire prince and getting it returned. "I see you're having some troubles? Do you mind if I offer to help?"

Flame was about to refuse, but Fionna was faster. "That would be great, honestly. All this junk is so hard. I wish it were as easy as killing monsters. Then I'd be so good - I'd be the best in fact." Fionna spoke with pride in her voice but sulked as soon as she realized it would never be like that.

Gumball couldn't help but chuckle. "Here," he got into position "may I?" Fionna swiftly took off her oven mitt and gave it to Phillip, getting into position with the candy prince. Ignoring the look, he got from Flame, he started demonstrating how to dance correctly, trying his best not to let the blond heroin step on his branded, expensive shoes. Eventually, she got the hang of it, and he moved on to teaching the blondes counterpart. "Do you mind if I teach you as well?" flame was hesitant dancing with another man, but Fionna reassured him that its fine with her gaze. With a reluctant sigh, Phillip gave GB one of the mitts and got ready like he was to dance with Fionna. Technically, since he was just slightly taller than the latter, the roles should've been reversed but for the sake of flame already being reluctant and his actual dance partner being Fionna, he let the hot head lead.

Wearing Fionna's oven mitt, he took Flame's hand "I can touch your clothes, right?" Flame only nodded, holding on to Gumball's waist roughly with his own mitted hand. "O-oh ok." Gumball brushed it aside before placing a hand on his shoulder and straightening his posture. "Now, since you'll be leading Fionna, you'll have to know all the moves I thought her, but opposite. So, whatever I do, just follow it. Avoid stepping on my shoes, nevertheless." Teaching Flame was a lot harder than Gumball thought, his shoes barely being avoided, and each time flame would mess up, his waist would be squeezed harsher.

"What's going on here?" Marshall asked, standing next to Fionna with an intrigued smirk. He had gotten way too bored by floating around and decided to make his way to Fionna and flame when he was surprised to see gumball there too.

"PG's trynna teach us how to dance and junk but as you can see it's not going so well." Fionna gestured to the uncomfortable duo.

As if triggered, Flame ended up stepping on the gums' foot, forcing him to jolt back and hiss softly in pain and ended their dancing session.

"Please refrain from stepping on my very expensive shoes," Gumball spoke in a stern whisper, his eyes shut tight as he bit back the pain. Within a second, he was back to normal with his friendly smile graced on his lips. "My apologies." He gave Fionna the mitten back, an apologetic smile on his lips. "Sorry about that, maybe you'll have a better chance of teaching him."

Fionna only laughed, taking the glove, and going to her dance partner. Gumball couldn't help but sigh in relief as he held his shoe, pressing on it to calm his abused toes while he stood next to lee, watching the duo try and dance. "They're something..." Lee just hummed a "yeah" as he watched Fionna take off her heels and make Phillip stand on her feet, so she could lead, and they could dance without worrying.

Marshall turned to look at the pink individual, seeing GB was already making his way back into the sea of people. Marshall followed behind quickly, a question on the tip of his tongue that he had to ask. Being the impulsive person, he was, Lee didn't think to rephrase his question while he caught up to the latter. So, when Marshall was right next to Gumball, the raven-haired teen blurted out: "You just danced with a guy, isn't that like, weird... or something?" Gumball stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing together as he wondered why Lee would think it's weird. The prince started walking again once he realized exactly why Marshall would think so. Heteronormality.

Barnaby only sighed. He hadn't had this talk for a few decades now, but he supposed he could never get rid of it forever. "There's nothing weird with it. It's just as normal as a guy and a girl dancing around." Gumball really didn't want to take offence to Marshall's words, but he couldn't help but do so. He expected Marshall to be a little more accepting. Lee's lived for hundreds of years, you'd think he's seen all sorts of stuff and realized it's best not to care (much like GB did) but he was old, it was only understandable that his thoughts were just as old schooled.

Marshall, however, did not mean it that way at all. He just thought Gumball was the strictly hetero/heteronormative person so seeing him dancing with everyone was a pleasant surprise. "No, Gumball, I didn't- that's not what I meant at all! It's just something I didn't expect... "

"My prince." Marshall didn't get to explain himself when another young prince interrupted, stopping the taffy and vampire in their tracks. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really have been dying to get one dance with you tonight." The young royal explained. He looked like he was around 18 and whether it was his actual age or concealed age (like Barnaby and Marshall), it didn't matter since Gumball needed an excuse to leave this conversation anyways, and this was perfect!

"I would love to," Gumball spoke sweetly, offering his new dance partner a hand. As the latter took his hand, Gumball turned to Marshall to say his goodbyes. "I understand, Lee. You don't have to explain." He did understand. He shouldn't have gotten offended so fast but how could he not with the way the sentence was said? Nevertheless, he knew Marshall enough to know how he never really thought things through, so, he brushed this misconception aside and moved on. "Hopefully, I'll see you around." He nodded as a gesture goodbye "Lee." In all honesty, Gumball hoped Lee would have the same point of view on this matter but guess not. He also low-key thought the vampire would be interested in men, but the only person he saw Marshall actually be romantically or sexually interested in was Ashley. So, why the prince thought that the vampire would be interested in males was beyond him now. All he could do was ignore Marshall and focus on his new dance partner.

"Barnaby." Marshall nodded back, slightly sinking back into himself as he got lost into the sea of people much like the prince and his new partner. Lee genuinely hadn't meant to be homophobic. He was just surprised the prince wasn't. Gumball was such a strict rule follower that it was safe to assume he'd be all about "Man shall not lay with man" type deal. Shrugging it off, the vampire made his way back to Fionna and Flame to distract from this whole ordeal. If this were like any other one of Barnaby's and his skewed arguments, neither of them would care enough to bring it up again to clear up turmoil between their rocky relationship.

♧♧♧

Fionna and Flame left once their feet had danced enough. Neither of them were the type to enjoy this, but they still wanted to go to a ballroom dance for the sake of just dancing. Now, at least, they can't say they didn't try. In the end, both of them had fun with each other, and that's all that mattered.

For lee, this meant he could leave now as well. Marshall kept his promise like he said he would, but he was still too hung up on the dancing issue. He had turned himself invisible after the duo had left so no one would question his stay and watched the pink man from a distance, seeing how Gumball danced with various partners, changing his posture to match each individual. Whether they were tall or short, the latter somehow just knew how to position himself to fit perfectly in the partners' arms. Lee couldn't help but be a little impressed and interested. He wasn't much of a ballroom dancer now, but he used to be really good at it several centuries ago. He wasn't as good as GB, switching between varying partners was a little tricky, but the vampire managed back then. Now, however, Lee had forgotten all about dancing. This specific dancing to be precise.

With a deep sigh and a quick internal pep talk to encourage himself, he got into the position Gumball was in right then and started to along with him. Taking the steps, he would, swaying with the music, moving his arms and even trying to catch all the little quick decisions he had to make because the prince's partner accidentally messed up. Slowly, however, Marshall started to gravitate his discrete dancing as the taffy royals' partner rather than him. Marshall hadn't noticed, and once he did, he didn't bother stopping. It wasn't like he was ever going to ballroom dance again and he was concealed, safe from prying eyes.

Marshall continued to watch and dance, enjoying himself greatly for once at the wretched party. Subconsciously feeling as though he was actually being held by the latter but before he could realize he enjoyed that thought too, he was quite rudely knocked down and a second later, soaking wet. Turning himself visible again, he looked at what had just happened, next to him, one of the candy servants that patrolled through the room with drinks to serve lied next to hum and the glasses he was carrying, all over the raven-haired teen. People around them frozen with piercing eyes and the music dissipated.

Thankfully, Marshall's clothes were too dark to be stained, but they were still too sticky and wet to just be ignored and left as is. He wasn't upset or mad at the other, he knew it was his own fault, but when the sweet fucker had the audacity to get up and just start yelling nonsense at him, he was bound to get angry.

"What's going on here?" The prince asked, having dismissed his current dance partner and pushed through the crowd that had formed. The hoard of royalty gawked at the two on the floor, and naturally, Barnaby's violet eyes followed, revealing one of his servants who was accusing someone of attacking him and Marshall who was visibly getting angrier by the minute. Two pairs of eyes darted at him when the prince's words were finally registered, and then both of them stood up, fixing themselves up as much as possible.

"My prince," the servant started "the vampire attacked me!" Marshall's head shot towards the accuser, brows knitted together dangerously in rage.

"I did no such thing!" Lee rebutted, his voice a few levels louder from his anger. "You bumped into me and dropped all the drinks!"

"No, I swear, my prince! I had my eyes wide open and didn't see anyone in front of me! I don't know where he came from and did this to himself and me to make himself look innocent!" the servant defended, and the crowd seemed to believe him.

No one in the ballroom was really fond of the vampire, to begin with, and Marshall knew this. It was like arguing with a wall and since he knew nothing he would say could really defend his case with a room full of people who didn't believe in anything he was to utter but Lee had hope in Gumball. The taffy prince was the only one he could trust to have his side even through the rough relationship they currently had. "Gumball... Come on..." Lee pleaded with a soft voice, a look of both hope and slight fear of denial on his face.

Barnaby looked between the two, eyes darting from one to another as he debated the best course of actions. He knew better than to ruin the night by his decision, so he had to be correct with it. Needless to say, the servant wanted to win the argument since he knew he was right but the look his prince was returning back to the vampire dangered that outcome. Panicking and worrying him immensely. "Your Highness, you-... you can't possibly be thinking of...? Sire, I'm one of your people, I am loyal to you and would never lie! Meanwhile, who knows what his kind can do." The last statement was accompanied by a look of disgust and a side eye glare directed at the vampire.

Marshall was not going to just stand around and take this insult. He was a royalty too, with two titles in fact! A prince and a king! He deserved to be treated better! With rage taking the best of him, Marshal instantly spun and before anyone could even realize, he had the other held an inch above the ground by his collar. "You want to say that to my face?!" Lee bared his now prominent fangs at his new pray, the crowd gasping in unison at the sudden turn of events.

"Put him down! You've done enough, Marshall!" Gumball's voice boomed out in the silence, his wide eyes morphing to a piercing glare. The crowd relaxed, comforted by the knowledge that the proper authority was finally taking charge, soft whispering rising seconds later.

Marshall's head turned back to Gumball, eyes slowly showing hurt as his hands lowered the servant to the ground. He felt betrayed. No, that was an understatement. There was no word to describe how he felt in the current moment, so a mix of confusion and sadness was evident on Lee's features. "Ha... You don't believe me either, do you...?" Gumball tried to respond, the latter rare expression scarring and saddening him just slightly. However, was unable to form words as he watched the vampire expression disappear altogether and scarlet eyes move to focus back on its' prey.

Marshall started to lift the other again, Gumball's concern snapping back to the servant's well-being. "Stop!" Gumball demanded but that only made Lee lift the sweet higher, causing it to squirm in discomfort and self-defence. "Marshall! I swear!" that didn't work either, the latter just held him as high as he could, blankly watching the discomfort of the servant. "I said stop!" The prince took a step closer, "put him down, this instance, Lee!" That seemed to work on the vampire since he let his hands swing open, dropping the man in his grasp and watched him crawl away.

Marshall shoved his hands into his pockets afterwards. "Whatever, it's all junk man. I'm just gon' go steal one of your shirts." Without wasting another second, Lee was gone upstairs to what everyone assumed was Gumball's room.

Barnaby had to bite back the urge to scream and/or to sigh. His mind going crazy by the recent events, but he had duties as a prince, the first one being seeing if the servant was ok. The servant seemed fine, but everyone else seemed distraught. Biting back another urge to sigh, he motioned for butterscotch to get the band to playing again since that usually did the trick. Everyone was aware of the vampire and how horrid he was so scratching this down to his usual shenanigans, everyone was able to get back to enjoying the rest of the night.

Expect Gumball.

♧♧♧

Once everything was running smoothly again; punch refilled, more appetizers, a little change of music and quick talks to everyone he could, the prince made his way up to his room.

When he finally made it to the entrance of his room, he was finally able to let out the long-awaited for sigh. It had been too long for Lee to still be in the prince's palace, so Gumball wasn't really worried about that, he was mostly concerned about the mess the vampire could have left behind in spite of his anger. Barnaby was aware that he had hurt the latter by his choice but by no means was that his intentions. The prince only meant well for as many people as possible, and sadly that involved the prince to play along with the servant. He wasn't quite sure what had happened before he had approached the two, but Marshall's lousy reputation and recent outburst only played out in the servants' favour. Besides, if the prince sided with the vampire, it would have just upset/scared everyone who was in the ballroom, and the party would not have been able to continue like it was once before.

Gumball pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep breath in, pushing open the door with his other hand, prepared for the biggest mess of his life but there wasn't any. Well, there was a few articles of clothing in front of his walk-in closet, but that was about it. Stepping further into the room, he saw that Lee hadn't had actually left, but instead, he decided to sit on the closet floor. Several other articles of clothing lay around him and the closet floor. "Marshall...?" GB inquired, but the latter paid no mind.

Marshall was sitting crisscrossed on the floor, his back against the wall and his hands lazily laid in his lap. He had chosen to wear one of the princes' shirts like he said he would, but the shirt was too big on him. Gumball wasn't surprised, he was, veritably taller and muscular than the vampire but the prince couldn't remember owning a shirt like that.

Oh, wait.

The shirt was entirely drained of its colour, and with further inspection, Barnaby found all the articles of clothing disposed of on the ground also were removed of their beautiful hues. Gumball silently groaned, he now had to collect all these, and either have them dyed or thrown out. Neither of which he was looking forward to do. So without any further delay, he started picking up the clothes. Get it over with as soon as possible.

"Your clothes suck!" Lee spoke up a few minutes after, his eyes watching Gumball's every movement now. He was curious as to why the prince hadn't made any further attempts to talk to him or even scold him in all honesty. It was rather upsetting.

"Well," Barnaby didn't bother looking, he had dealt with the vampire before and knew when to not deal with him sternly. "Maybe you should keep some of your clothes here, so you don't have to wear mine." And when to tease.

Marshall only rolled his eyes, his spirit lifting ever so slightly. With a scoff, he lifted himself off the ground, showing the borrowed shorts he was wearing. GB's regular shorts ended at Lee's knees and added with the baggy shirt, Marshall looked like some lousy street basketball player... "Sure, we fight like some old married couple anyway." He scoffed.

Gumball smirked, turning to Marshall now that he had picked up all the clothes off the floor. "It's not a bad suggestion since you never leave my clothes in adequate condition when you use them anyway! Just look at these," Gumball grabbed one of the casual duds from the pile in his arm before showing it to Lee. "What am I supposed to do with these now?" GB chucked the article in his hand, at lee's face.

Marshall bit back a laugh but couldn't help but smile softly as he removed the whatever was on his face. "Shove them up your ass." He stated, tossing back the unsaturated clothing. "But if it's that big of an issue to keep them or just dye them again-"

"Why? So, you can drain them of their colour again?" Gumball interrupted, his lips turning up into a sly smirk.

Lee rolled his eyes. "No- yes... but what I was going to say was that I could just keep them then." Gumball raised a brow in question, why would he want to keep his clothes? That sounded pretty gay for him, he couldn't lie. "Not that way you weirdo! I was gonna use them to take my anger out on! Just rip 'em to shreds since you were gonna trash them anyway!" The vampire defended himself, his brows knitting together in anger. "I have a lot of anger to take out anyways right now."

"And why would that be?" Gumball played dumb, not wanting to start anything but really wanting lee's side of the story that would only come out with taunting. Tossing all the clothes in front of Lee and congesting the already small room (his arm was getting tired) he crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his hip to a side. "I don't recall doing anything that should anger you to be quite honest." His voice was calm as can be with the faintest hint of coy to it.

"What do you mean, "why?" You saw everything that happened!" Marshall's anger from before was rising once more, and he hated that their once calming conversation had eventually turned into an argument again.

"As a matter of fact, I did not. I came once the deed was done, and the crowd had made up its mind on who to accuse. So, if you don't mind, Marshall Lee Abadeer, would you care explaining exactly what happened? Or am I to assume what everyone said to have had happened?" Gumball let his arms fall to his side and hold on to his hips as if a mother were scolding her child with a stern gaze in GB's eyes.

Marshall choked back a response, his eyes widening even though he fought to stay angry. How could he though? All he could be is embarrassed as a soft blush played on his cheeks. What was he supposed to say anyway? That he was too distracted with pretending to be the taffy princes dance partner in secret to step away from the servant in time to avoid all this? "It- it doesn't matter what I say! It's not like you'll believe me!" Lee could only snap back since he really wasn't sure how to answer. His brows furrowed,  mirroring the gum's expression.

Gumball visibly frowned, his hands dropping loosely to his side now. "I always believed you, Marshall..." Marshall's eyes widened again, and GB sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess-... yea, I know why you think I wouldn't, but that was never the case. Everyone was stuck on believing you were at fault naturally since you cause havoc on purpose... and your little anger meltdown didn't help either, so I didn't have much of an option. If I chose to take your side in front of everyone, I would upset many, including my own staff and the night would end early. Shockingly, I don't always have a choice to make everyone happy. And besides, I can always just talk to you and fix things like right now." Marshall looked away once the latter was done explaining. He really hadn't had thought of the outcomes of the prince siding with him, but he understood now that Gumball made the best of the situation. Much like he always did. "So, do you want to tell me what really happened?"

Lee hesitated, opening his mouth to say something but closed it again. He couldn't just keep the truth from GB, Gumball trusted Marshall and Marshall, him. However, he didn't want to tell the whole truth for the sake of his own dignity. "I was um..." He made eye contact with the latter to make sure he proved he wasn't lying. "I was invisible, and he bumped into me, dropping all the drinks on me."

Barnaby gave a nod, believing what Lee said for the most part. However, "why were you invisible?" he had doubts. "Everyone knew you were here, so there was no point in hiding if only to cause mishap? Was it because Fionna had left? That you decided to be invisible in the dead center of the ballroom where everyone was dancing?"

"No!" Lee quickly shot back, heat slowly creeping back to his cheeks. "That's not why!"

"Then why, Marshall?" GB shot back.

"I was... I was pretending to dance ok!" Marshall looked away, not being able to stand the latters' violet eyes.

"And?" That didn't sit well with Gumball. He was well aware Lee hadn't ballroom danced in far too long to (Nor was interested in it) to just randomly start dancing invisibly.

"And..." Lee tried to reply but was having difficulties coming clean.

"And what, Lee?" And the prince was growing impatient.

"And pretending to dance with you ok!? I was invisible so you wouldn't see but I was close enough to pretend to be your dance partner!" Lee shot back finally, his face having the deepest blush it could ever. People say letting things out rather than having them pent up was such a relieving experience, but this was of no such feeling for the vampire. On the contrary, in fact.

Eye contact was non-existent for the two in this heavy moment, and all GB could really muster out was a soft "Oh." Out of the billion possibilities that could have resulted, Gumball never expected this as a result. Clearing his throat, he asked: "But... Why? I thought you were... against it or...?

"What? Homophobic?" Lee tried calming his blush down but to no avail, his eyes landing back on his counterpart's violet ones. "No, I don't think I ever was, but the way I worded my sentence made it seem that way. I was just shocked that you were gay- well, you don't have to be gay... what I mean is that seeing you dance with a guy was one of the last things I thought I would ever see. You're like the straightest guy I know. Since you're royalty and all, I just assumed you'd be a strict hetero 'cause bein' gay is like a sin or whatever." By the end of it, Marshall was avoiding Gumballs gaze again. Barnaby knew this was a serious moment and all, but he couldn't help but smile, a laugh itching to escape that eventually did slip out a little. Marshall's eyes darted back onto the princes', once again with anger evident. "Why are you laughing?!"

Gumball couldn't hold back this time, letting out a few chuckles before speaking again. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry, but that's the funniest thing I've heard." He let out several more chuckles before finally simmering down enough to talk. "I'm so fucking gay, Marshall... Glob, I thought that was obvious, and I tried to hide it, but I guess I hid it too well."

"Oh... well, I thought you were gay when we first met, but you've also changed so much since then." Marshall looked at Gumball in slight confusion, a question still at the tip of his tongue. "How? I mean... Isn't it seen as a horrible thing if you're royalty?"

Looking into latter's beautiful red eyes, Barnaby answered: "yes, for the most part, being gay is horrible in every context" eye roll "But recently, a century or so ago, I've started slowly easing my people into being more accepting everything. My decision has helped many other royalties either come out to their kingdom or at least come to my dances and be as open as they'd like."

Marshall nodded, satisfied with that answer. With all the questions asked and answers received, they had nothing to do but stand there in awkward. Gumball could sense that Lee didn't have much to say anymore, so he brought up a previous topic, reminded by the still remaining blush on the raven-haired males' cheeks. "So, you wanted to dance with me?"

Marshall groaned, running a hand through his hair and stepping back towards the exit. "Just- Just forget I told you that ok! It was just something stupid, and it's over now."

"So, you don't want to dance with me? Like, at all?" GB wasn't going to lie, Marshall was his straight crush when they first met. Who wouldn't fall for a bad boy who's into rock and can really work a good eyeliner without a mirror? However, that was until the taffy got to know the vampire better and realized how submissive and twink-like he was, much like himself back then. Totally not his taste 700 years ago but now, things were a little different. Back then, Gumball himself was a fresh, new gay. He thought he was a better bottom until his kingdom grew and he got a taste of what taking control really meant. He enjoyed that a lot better, and that really helped discover himself. Even then, Marshall and GB fought too much for them to date, but that wasn't even a factor right now. They were capable of coping for long enough to dance without screaming at each other and that what GB hoped. Stepping closer, he followed Lee out of the closet and kept a distance. He may be ok with dancing, but he wanted to give the other enough space and time to deny if he so chose to.

Admittedly, Lee wasn't sure what he wanted. Yes, a dance with Prince Gumball did sound amazing, he just wasn't sure if this was something he was allowed to have. Their relationship has been really rocky, fluctuating between haters to really close friends all the time and this was just one of the good times, but Marshall wasn't concerned with that. He was worried that his not-so-small, subtle crush would get worse. He wasn't entirely straight, and he was always the submissive type, so he really couldn't help but fall a little for a man who knew what he wanted, had his life in order and could put someone in their place if need be.

Poor boys didn't know how to handle their feelings for each other. No wonder they fought so much.

With a deep sigh, Lee told himself, "fuck it," and stepped closer to the prince. "If you want to as well, I wouldn't mind. But if this gets brought up to Fionna, I will make sure to kill you with nothing but my bare hands." Lee bluffed, and Gumball only smiled, nodding to agree to Marshall's conditions.

"Ready?" Barnaby asked, getting into the position.

"No, wait... "Marshall watched his partner get into the position, panicking ever so slightly. "I haven't actually danced with anybody in like ages! I don't actually remember. How... to...."

Gumball's smile only grew more prominent. Glob, Lee was so cute- anyway. "It's ok, don't worry about that. I'm sure you're no worse than the people I danced with tonight downstairs." And GB was right, but Lee still had his doubts. "Here, just stand on my feet and I'll guide you."

"On your... shoes...?" Marshall asked the most shocked he had been today. Marshall had heard the prince countless times that day complain about how important his shoes were and how crucial it was that they shouldn't get dirty. Marshall's dirty sneakers had no right to be on top of the others posh ones.

Gumball understood the hesitance and decided to help the other. Placing one hand on Marshall's back and the other reaching out to hold the pale man's ligament, he adjusted both of them and pulled Lee closer until they were in the arrangement they should be in.

Marshall couldn't help but float as he made himself wary of Gumball's shoes and stiffened himself in the others' arms. Soft music thumped beneath their feet from the ballroom, giving the prince enough sense of the beat to match the dance to the tune. Not too loud but soft enough to let a comforting vibe settle in the room.

Taking a step forward, Gumball started to move which caused Marshall to hold on to the gum with a harsh grip. Marshall wasn't too comfortable with the situation, but as Gumball continued to repeat the four steps to basic ballroom dance, Marshall couldn't help but calm down. His grip loosened, muscles relaxed, and his feet finally rested adequately on top of the latter's, making the dancing process a lot easier. The prince could feel the vampire relax and couldn't help but smile, actually not expecting Marshall to melt into his touch this fast.

Marshall hadn't taken his eyes off the other's chest, gaze piercing holes through Barnaby's torso but he didn't know what exactly to look at. There was only so many designs on GB's regalia anyway. So, with an internal frustrated sigh, Lee closed his eyes and got lost in the moment. He could feel The princes hand grip his waist with a nice, firm grip. Gumball's breath just barely tickling the tips of his ears and the much slower pacing of their sways was undeniably, well... hot. Even though Marshall would never admit it out loud.

"You know," After a while, Gumball spoke up, "out of everyone, I love dancing with guys the most." He hummed the tune to the song that played far away, giving Marshall a better sense of the music. It was so slow and soothing that if he didn't know any better, he'd assume it's a romantic love song. When GB got no interjecting comments about his dance partner choices, Gumball decided to further explain himself: "every guy starts off dancing all stiff or confident," He tightened his grip just ever so slightly, tilting his head back and looking up at the roof as he spoke. "But they all eventually end up softening and relaxing into my touch." He tilted his head back down, a large grin forming that was seeping into his words. "Much like you have."

Lee's eyes snapped open, unable to believe the other words until he realized that he had done exactly what the prince had said. All of his weight was grounded, and on Gumballs feet, his muscles were so relaxed that he had forgotten that one of his hands was in Barnaby's and the other around his partner's neck. His head rested against the latter's broad chest (having calmed down listening to the gum heart), and he was practically stuck up against the prince. "Oh- oh my god..." Marshall pulled away slightly as he lifted his weight back up and his muscles tensed up once again. "I'm sorry about that..."

Gumball only frowned, regretting saying what he had. "If I wanted you to stop, I wouldn't have had told you I liked it." Regardless, Gumball dropped his posture as well and stepped back a bit, completely stopping their dance. "Thank you," Gumball thanked, bowing slightly to express his gratitude. "I enjoyed that, but I think I should make my way down now. It's been quite some time since I came up here."

Marshall couldn't help but frown as well, low key upset that the dance had stopped, however, he understood. "Thank you too, uh, I guess. For taking my stupid request... I'll uh, give you these clothes back tomorrow and my clothes are in your bathroom. I kind of took a quick shower 'cause the juice was getting sticky."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind and, Marshall, you can keep those if you would like." that was a genuine offer. This was hopefully a new chapter to their relationship, and both of them hoped that it would smoothen out.

"I- ok... saves me a trip from coming back here." Lee stuck out his tongue, his mischief returning.

Barnaby only rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You can't stay away from me." they both shared a soft laugh before Gumball walked towards the door and out.

Just in time, however, Lee called out. "Wait, Gumball!" Stopping the other in his tracks and making him stick his head back in through the threshold with a raised brow if to ask what Lee had wanted. "Do you maybe want to go to the lake for a picnic on Friday?"

The prince just smiled, nodding and accepting the others offer. "Sounds like a date."

♧♧♧

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