Seven Years Later

"I said no!" There was the sound of a small body hitting the floor with a thump, both Kings looking up when a loud crying started up. There was the rushing of feet slamming against the floor and the door to the living room flew open revealing an irritated Lacey and a black blur threw itself at Gumball wailing. Gumball sighed looking at his daughter with a rather steely expression as his hands moved over soft black hair.

"Lacey, we've talked about this! How many times have I told you not to push your brother?" Gumball demanded while Marshall raised a brow at his daughter when she turned her eyes to him, like he would bail her out this time but he just shrugged. She looked down at her feet, scowling softly much like what Marshall used to do from time to time before she answered.

"Eleven times." She mumbled looking down still, scowling softly, her brows pulled tight together. She did this often, as a seven year old, and she just recently grew out of her temper tantrums but still pouted and screamed with the best of them.

"And this makes it twelve. Now listen to me young lady. Look at me!" Gumball sat the black haired child down, squatting in front of Lacey when she lifted her eyes off the floor high enough to meet Gumball's. Her scarlet irises clashed with Gumball's violets that were dark, stern and she flinched. "You do not push your brother. If you don't want hm to touch you, you use your words like what Papa and I taught you to do. Understand?"

She was quiet for some time, like this was a big deal and finally answered. "Yes, Daddy." She mumbled shuffling awkwardly, like her father did. She was staring at her brother then pouted. "I'm sorry, Licorice."

The black haired child smiled then, rather forgiving as he smiled at his sister despite the tears that clung to his black lashes. "It's okay!" He replied then looked to the window and gasped happily. "Daddy! Auntie Fi is here!" He sped off pushing away from Gumball and running across the room, Lacey jerking like she'd been shocked and ran right after her little brother. They laughed now, excited at the prospect of seeing their aunt and friends while Gumball just groaned quietly. He could just barely handle his own two little monsters, how can he handle four even with three other adults around?

Lacey hadn't changed all to much since she was an infant to child, though it feels like so much about her had changed. While Lacey looked angelic, adorable and elfin to others she was absolutely quite the trouble maker ever since she could walk. Lacey still had the same oyster pink skin tone she'd inherited at birth, her long vibrant pink hair spilled down her back and her scarlet eyes sparkled she was worse, if possible, than her father Marshall. While she was extremely intelligent like Gumball, Lacey seemed more interested in her father's electric guitar, causing mischief, pulling pranks and pushing every scenario she's ever been in to the limits she was worse than her father. And she was only seven! She jumped out of trees, slid down stairs, rough housed with her brother and whenever she visited Fionna she always came home covered in dirt, scrapes and a wide grin of happiness. She was a little monster, active and hyper, just like she'd been when she was an infant only it seemed so much worse.

Her brother, Licorice Bubba Lee, was completely different. His elder sister, only older by one year, was known as the wild child and always active he was her complete opposite in every way. He had inherited Marshall's light gray skin with no sign of pink undertones but still adorable, he also inherited his father's black hair that instead of being silky like his sister's pink hair, his hair was soft and fluffy like Gumball's instead and unlike his sister's scarlet irises, Licorice inherited his mother's violet colored irises. But also, unlike his sister, Licorice took things much safer and obeying the rules rather than pushing against them like his sister did, which made him the "ideal" child to his mother. But Licorice spent a lot of time trying to get his big sister's attention but it was truly hard what with her wild personality and restlessness, it was hard to keep her attention for long. But he does spend a lot of time with Asher, which actually manages to pull out his inner wild child much like his big sister.

"What're you groaning about?" Marshall asked raising a brow as he stood up, listening to the four children downstairs laughing and shrieking delightfully. "They're all having the time of their lives!"

"I know but still, it's so loud!" Gumball sighed looking up at Marshall in response and the vampire smiled happily at him, leaning down to kiss Gumball's head affectionately and happily, grinning at the loud child screams from downstairs. "Who would've thought Kaitlynn would turn out exactly like Fionna? Same with Asher!"

Marshall laughed then, tilting his head back then stepping in front of Gumball planting his hands on his hips. An action and stance both Lacey and Licorice picked up on in their short lives and it nearly made Gumball smile. "But that makes all four of them the best of best friends! We thought Lacey would have a hard time fitting in with the Candy Kingdom people and the Nightosphere people, but she's fitting in perfectly with Kaitlynn and Asher! Same with Licorice! Thy adore each other, so we shouldn't stand in the way, now should we?"

Gumball sighed out, moving his hands through his hair then leaned back smiling softly. "Okay. I can admit, I love that the children have other children to play with that they get along with so well. Just why do they have to be so loud while inside the palace?" He asked tilting his head, smiling softly like he'd given up some kind of argument that never happened and it made Marshall smile. It was something the King had picked up on over the last seven years when dealing with Lacey, Licorice and the twins.

Marshall then climbed on the pink King's lap making him blush wildly at the action and smiled widely at the pink haired male. "Don't worry, baby. We'll be all good for the time being and when the twins get older then there won't be as much to worry about when they can go in and out freely, huh? Besides, let them be as loud as they want! It'll be too quiet once they all grow up and leave us anyhow."

Gumball finally curled his arms around Marshall's waist, holding onto the vampire King the way he normally did and he smiled softly up at him. "I guess. Do you think Fionna and FK will be here with the twins?" He asked softly looking at his husband, tilting his head when he slid one arm from around the vampire's waist and lifted his left hand up tangling it with Marshall's left hand. He looked at their rings twinkling lightly like they were winking, after all this time, and it made him smile widely.

Marshall opened his mouth to answer, his thumb rubbing over his knuckles, when the door slammed open revealing Fionna in all her glory. For being close to her thirties, the blonde woman still looked young and youthful for her age when two blurs went around her legs and smiled widely, slamming their hands on the coffee tables."Hi, Uncle Bubba!" Came a loud, happy greeting.

Gumball smiled softly then, happily, at the child while Marshall slid from his waist in time, thankfully. "Hello, Katie! How are you this morning?" Gumball asked softly looking at the small nine year old child who grinned widely, flashing her missing front teeth in the grin. The child had an appeal that Fionna had when she was younger, that much was very clear to them even now and it made it hard not to grin at her in response.

"I'm okay! Mama's gonna take us to the park!" Kaitlynn replied grinning widely, jumping a few times. The soft orange tint from when she was younger had been grown into, making her pale flesh of her mother a soft, almost medium light orange color. It was a soft orange and it was beautiful with her golden red hair, that she wore short and messily a majority of the time, and her large gold irises that glowed like the sun, like right now, with her joy.

"Uncle Bubba, will you go with us? Pretty please?" Asher asked in response to his twin, his eyes wide and questioning him already. While Kaitlynn had that soft orange coloring Asher seemed to have lost his orange pigment, leaving him the pale coloring of his mother's skin; his hair was a bright red, like fire, and large blue irises that sparkled like light reflecting off the water and it made him look just as mischievous as his sister.

Gumball pretended to debate that when he caught sight of his own children, wide scarlet irises and wide violet irises, hands clasped on both children raised to their mouths, begging him silently, quietly. He smiled then, widely, making Marshall grin happily. "Fine. Lacey and Licorice, go get ready and we'll prepare for the park, alright?" Gumball stood up making his children squeal then run off in blurs and the twins were quick in pursuit. It made Fionna grin, Flame King showing up behind her, smiling at him as well. Fionna walked forward, grabbing his hands happily and squeezed them softly.

"Thank you for going to the park with us! It'll be super fun, I promise!" Fionna said looking at him with those wide sparkling blue eyes of hers, just like Asher's. She grinned happily, making him grin in response, unable to truly help himself at that moment. Then she got a mischievous look that the twins obviously inherited from her. "I think Lacey and Kaitlynn have a crush on each other~"

Gumball playfully made a noise in response, rolling his eyes playfully but she nudged him. "Maybe. They do cling to each other, all four of them do, it's like Lacey and Kaitlynn were twins and Asher with Licorice were twins instead of Kaitlynn and Asher being twins. But I wouldn't be surprised if Lacey did have a crush on Kaitlynn to be honest."

"Neither would I," Flame King replied smiling happily at them. "All that Kaitlynn talks about half the time is Lacey, Lacey, Lacey. Asher is the same way with Licorice! I've never seen a tighter knit friendship than those four!"

"They truly do love each other rather desperately." Marshall replied circling an arm around Gumball's waist, holding him tightly and squeezing him affectionately, smiling form ear to ear practically. "I'm glad they got you to agree in leaving the palace for once! It'll be a pretty fun thing, Fionna will push me on the swings and I'll trip her on the way to the swings, shove her down the slide-"

"You sound like you have the park play date planned for just you two!" Gumball replied playfully with his eyes sparkling happily and it made Marshall laugh, throwing his head back. In the last seven years, life seemed to get...easier. With watching after Lacey, her being a wild child herself and getting into so much trouble from the time she could walk, he got pregnant with Licorice literally the year Lacey turned one and there was that to deal with and going through that whole pregnancy situation in less than a year. But it was worth it, to see Lacey be all 'Big sisterly' and tell Licorice how things worked all though the seven year old wasn't much older than the six year old and it made Gumball laugh.

They had thus then gotten rid of his pseudo womb and any possible chance of him getting pregnant ever again. Two was enough and two was what they were going to stick with. "But I would never do such a horrible thing to my dear friend!" Marshall acted offended but grinned widely at the pink King and at the blonde Queen who raised her brow, her eyes sparkling just has deviously.

"And I would never shove Marshall off the jungle gym! Never!" Fionna replied placing a hand on her chest, just over her heart, like that made it all the more truthful and it made them all grin happily. "Ah, looks like the kids are ready!" There was the loud thumping of feet approaching the living room and the door slammed open.

"Lacey, how many times have I told you not to slam open doors inside?" Gumball asked while Marshall threw their shoes on the floor, proceeding to slide his on, and Gumball pulled on his shoes as well while Lacey managed to appear sheepish. She was wearing her usual clothing, which was a bright violet shirt that strangely brought out the pink of her pale oyster pink skin, and black overalls with her red sneakers. Her hair was even up in a ponytail, all be it sloppy, but still pulled back.

"Thirteen times." She replied cutely, locking her hands behind her then smiled. "But are you ready, Daddy?" She jumped them when Gumball stood up, wiggling one of his feet in his shoe and he smiled.

"I'm ready." He replied then planting his hands on his hips and smiling while the children screeched happily, jumping up and down happily. He then walked to the doorway, the three other parents following after him, when he moved his hand over Lacey's messy pink hair and smiled adoringly while the four children then took off down the hall. The children took up a lot of time, in both frustrating and endearing times, and it made life slide by that much easier. He loved watching his daughter's face light up when Kaitlynn showed up or how Licorice looked so accomplished with his tiny chemistry set. Or how with Asher, his tame son became so much bolder and out there, loving and just like Marshall. The past seven years could be considered a blessing, if it had to come straight down to it, or if he wanted to get sentimental.

But he wasn't. After all, where was the room to be sentimental? He was going to the park with his children after all! And the warmth of Marshall's hand in his, Fionna's happy chirping voice, he couldn't help but feel absolutely, blissfully, happy and content. With family around it was hard not to be content and happy, right?