Apologies for the wait!

Life is a bitch, but we all know that.

Any feedback is absolutely appreciated!

Progressive chirping became louder and louder as Gumball drunkenly blinked back into reality.

His brain went through the stages to process his position within the world for a moment, the realisation coming to him that he was still in bed, and not whatever dream world he just left. All manor of sweet, sickly thoughts regarding the dream dimension had completely left his mind, as quickly as he'd entered, he began reaching over himself to slide his phone into his paw to shut the alarm off.

His brand new, totally not guilt-ridden, phone, mind you. Whilst it hurt his inner core to know the bargain-bin device set his mother back a weighty amount of money she would never disclose, he at least felt some relief knowing she agreed with him finally having one.

Of course, the excuse he gave was; 'growing older meant more responsibilities, more opportunities for growth', the usual amount of spiel he'd give when begging for something rather expensive, as rarely the event occured. Whilst this was a thinly veiled excuse in and of itself to secure more contact with Penny, outside their occasional online chats, it did come with one naturally predicted consequence.

Chores.

Loathsome chores, to be pedantic by Gumball's standards. Chores that anyone else within the family was absolutely capable of doing, but through no fault other than his own, he set himself on this series of unfortunate events the moment he began begging for his phone. Those bold, kitten-wide eyes of his would lose their charm eventually, better make the most use of them whilst he can.

A hard groan finally left his chest, as Gumball swung himself out of bed, stretching himself upwards and out to hopefully crack that one section in his lower back that always bothered him. One quick swish of his tail helped prime the sound of his back cracking finally, as a hard sigh of relief soon left him, he got himself mostly dressed. Shorts and a comfy shirt were more than suitable for Saturday's lazy aura, and the pre-teen based objectives Nicole had set for him.

Though… He glanced over to the window frame for all but a second, deciding to observe his surroundings for a moment. A long moment, admittedly, as he slumped over to the window, cracking it open wide with vigor, like the jaw of a beast, to let a breeze in. Resting his forearms on the windowsill to bask in the warmth. Elmore was quaint in this early-ish state. That gentle breeze caught the soft locks atop his head once again, as the sun phased in and out behind the clouds above him. The humid California air was already beginning to cling to his frame, and his dry lips already felt the need for water.

Aside from the weather, something still felt… Off? Aside from the outside hum of suburban life, there was weight of silence that Gumball had tuned into. Darwin was seemingly out of the picture, alongside Anaïs for that matter. His siblings weren't exactly heavy sleepers, but their morning conversations could still be heard at this point in the day. If they were even here, of course.

If there was something he's missing, Gumball couldn't figure it out yet. But, making his way into the bathroom to go about his usual routine would help ease his mind into an actual functioning state.

Having taken his sweet time to maximise the amount of procrastination he could achieve today, the walk downstairs revealed that, besides Richard being slopped over the couch, blanket coating him mostly like a cloak, everything was quiet.

He could only wince at the sight of his father nowadays. It was becoming clear that times were falling fairly hard on his mother, with Richard barely offering even rational support when needed. Not that it differed any moreso than the earliest times Gumball could recall, but… It was pretty bad, and leaving the thought at that would be for the best. Gumball merely glanced past his father, before quietly strolling into the kitchen, poised to the raid the fridge for whatever minimal rations he could find for breakfast.

At least, he was, before a note caught on the fridge alerted his attention, absently picking it off from the magnet.

'CHORES: Wash dishes, vacuum, tidy room(s), fold laundry'

Simple enough, he thought to himself, grasping the fridge open to take an already made sandwich from the other night out to snack on. Another sticky note was plastered atop the clingfilm, however.

'DON'T FORGET! Also please wake your father when possible, if you get him to help, there's a frozen pizza in it for you. 3'

Tempting… Very tempting. Gumball pouted his lips outward like an old 19th century gentleman, taking a moment to appreciate the clean drawing of the heart his mother does from time to time, folding the note inbetween his fingers as he made quick work tearing into the crude packaging of his breakfast. Easily gorging into the sandwich as if he hadn't eaten in the past year, which stands as being a rather dramatic way of putting that he hadn't ate anything more filling than cereal ever since that one night everything changed, easily over 2 weeks ago at this point. Even phrasing it to himself that way caused a soft knot in his stomach to catch his attention for just that moment. It certainly hadn't felt like 2 weeks.

Soft chews were the only sound that filled his ears, as he braced himself against the archways between the living room and kitchen, gazing anywhere but the ungodly mess that was Richard. It was now the weekend, thankfully, no homework had been set as far as Gumball could recall. These chores were his only remaining crux that stopped him from enjoying his time off fully, as submeanial as they were.

Though… He stopped himself mid-chew to think about what he could really get up to this weekend.

Darwin was busy with his new set of friends. People Gumball couldn't exactly place within the school, but decided they must be new arrivals, or quiet students that somehow found their way to Darwin. His fishy sibling always had a way with people, and promptly chalked it up to his brother having a higher charisma stat than him, as usual.

Anaïs was… difficult, to place. The young rabbit was always on her own, reading or playing by herself. Their age difference made it uneasy to relate to her interests obviously, but Gumball couldn't find the energy to watch her shows or indulge in the myriad of topics she always finds time to debate, even if guilt was still present.

Penny was absent for some reason she didn't quite get time to explain, even before the Friday afternoon she vanished. Gumball had forgotten to give her his number that morning, since Darwin had taken up most of his free time to ramble incessantly.

It wasn't necessarily a worrying vanishing act, but of course his mind assumed the worst.

He'd been informed the Fitzgeralds were going to remain in Elmore. At least, for now. Penny didn't go into quite the specific details, considering them mostly gruesome for Gumball's already diminished ego within her family, but cautioned him in saying that 'the slightest slip-up', and they'd gone without a trace. Already assuming the worst, he couldn't quite pinpoint what would be considered a 'slip-up' by Patrick's standards. Hell, he could breathe wrong for all that lumbering hulk of a Peanut-shaped man could care for, and that would be it.

Swallowing a hard lump of anxiety and sticky mayo coated turkey, Gumball decided to cease all thoughts about the situation, anything more and he'd lose his breakfast already.

A reserved sigh left him, as he brushed the crumbs from his paws and shirt. Getting on with his tasks would probably be best to remove any stray thoughts, he hoped.

An easy few hours had passed since his breakfast, and the sun was now at its apex, fiercely warming anyone and anything within it's gaze.

Dishes had been cleaned, dried and sorted in as neat of a pattern Gumball could achieve. As he stepped out from his and Darwin's room, taking one brief glance to ensure that he had checked every corner that needed sorting, he shut the door with a final click, before moving onto his next objective. Vacuuming.

Another look over the note reminded him that this would probably be the better job for Richard to assist with, well, to the best of his abilities, anyway.

Gumball made his way downstairs, taking no precaution this time to creep past the still sleeping Richard, who almost looked deceased if his snoring wasn't disgustingly guttural and loud all at once. Having pulled the vacuum out from the cupboard under the stairs, he now conned his most innocent face. Plugging the machine in, letting it splutter to life as the dusty whirl it emitted became louder and louder, Richard was finally beginning to stir, now peeling himself up from his interrupted slumber, sweat encasing the entirety of his fat-rolled back.

Satisfied with his awakening, he tapped the vacuum off with his foot, before peered over to his father, innocent eyes engaged at maximum. Just as he practised before.

"Oops. Sorry Dad, didn't see you there."

Richard only yawned in response, an impressive 9 second yawn at that, before he scratched the many chins he kept stored under his head, shrugging absently at his son.

"Ehhm, it's alright. Nicole… -Er, mom isn't here, is she?" He looked around passively, though not actually doing any of the visual work himself. Clearly it hadn't caught on to him that this was an intentional awakening.

"Nah, she and the others are out, I think. Not sure where, though." Gumball admitted, leaning on the vacuum casually as Richard now arose, heavy feet padding their way into the kitchen, to bury himself into the sink to wash his face with cold tap water, running his wet fingers through his scalp and behind his ears, though clearly not trying to scrub away the grime building there.

Gumball left the machine as he positioned himself against the archway again, paws tucked into his short's pockets, watching Richard mindlessly bounce around the kitchen as if his last remaining brain cell was finally shorting out.

"So… Mom got me doing chores. Obviously." Gumball piped up, glossing his father with intent filled eyes. Richard was simply uninterested, moreso now that 'chores' were involved, as he gulped back rather grotesquely from the last carton of milk.

"...She, uh, would like if you helped out. I got most of them done, just vacuuming and laundry are left."

The offer didn't tempt Richard in the slightest, who was now scavenging the cupboards for something. Crackers were the most appetising thing in there, Gumball had checked twice.

"You could vacuum? I, uh, finished upstairs, then there's only here and under the rug. I'll empty it out. If, if you want." Was that desperation growing in his voice? It wasn't pleading yet, maybe a partial lie would've worked better.

"...Or you could ignore me, again. ...It's an easy out I'm giving you here." The last part was mumbled deep within frustration under his breath, watching his father now retreating to his indent in the couch, melting into the curve flawlessly as the TV flickered briefly, before filling the room with sound and colour.

Well, it was a hard fought attempt, at least. A hard pressed sigh left Gumball, wondering how someone could be so blatantly evasive without ever saying anything. Then again, this was his father, so really there's nowhere to go but down with him.

Gumball decided that, for now, vacuuming would wait. He left the vacuum cleaner left plugged in, leaving it for Richard incase the sudden realisation that being an incredible jackass would pull him far enough out of his ass to actually help around the house, for once. Laundry was an easy enough task for the both of them, but the prize of pizza was still present in Gumball's mind, one way or another he'd get his deserved reward.

Only a short amount of time transpired between the trip into the basement to retrieve the laundry and out into the backyard, Gumball made his way from the back porch out into the yard proper, having to bear what would be an inviting amount of sunlight if he didn't actually have to stand out in it.

Setting the basket down finally to begin, it wasn't long before his mind drifted from inner monologue to an event that had transpired only recently, that being the fight his parents had just the other night, and a particularly rough one at that.

Though he didn't want to think about it, passively picking clothes and folding them into the basket was to be such a sluggish task that his mind could only wander back to that night now that his thoughts brought it up again. It wasn't exactly the conversation that kicked off the argument, what little of it he caught anyway, but rather how quickly it all went downhill. Not one to pry into private history, especially that of his own parents, it did become more obvious with each thought Gumball had placed into the whole situation;

Richard was, for lack of anything more honest, shit, at being their father.

Those fleeting moments of fatherhood felt as if they were nothing more than forced interactions he'd been required to achieve, rather than willingly participate in. The very idea hurt Gumball momentarily, causing a slight tightening of his chest forced him to stop folding laundry.

It… sucked. As painful as it was to admit, even mentally. But with no-one around to vent to, his inner monologue would suffice. In a weird way, it felt, cathartic? If only a minute amount.

Still. Lulling himself to fold laundry again and replaying what words he could remember from the argument, to analyse them with contemplation. It made him wonder why his mother even bothered to put up with Richard so much nowadays. It certainly wasn't out of love, or marriage. There really wasn't much Gumball could place on his father that actually deemed him worthy of being around someone like his mother. Maybe it was simply just the rose-tinted glass of childhood nostalgia that made Richard seem less of a burden than he appeared to be recently. He couldn't quite decide what could be the catalyst that started this behaviour, whether the rabbit hole for their arguments went deeper than Gumball initially thought, or if this was only being manifested during the past couple months. Whatever had occurred between his parents, it had only escalated with each passing week, with the family sitting on the presupus of collapsing in on themselves.

An absent glance back at the house, he could only hope to hear the vacuum's awful whirl to begin at some point. As if his thoughts were somehow tugging at Richard's inner core, linking the two in a kind of psychic way. C'mon... I know you can hear me. Just, help out for once. Please.

…

…

…

Nothing.

Obviously.

Deciding that heatstroke was beginning to get to him, Gumball placed the remaining wet clothes, and gathered the dry ones at a faster fate, an agitated huff leaving him. Hoping to do literally anything else at this point to stop himself from overthinking. A quick fumble to ensure nothing was left behind, he returned to the house in mute frustration.

Setting the basket down, Gumball took a hard swig of tap water, letting the somewhat cold liquid drop from his lips and down his neck, before placing the glass against his temple in an attempt to cool off a little more. It helped ease his momentary inner outburst if anything, but looking over to see the vacuum unmoved and the TV blaring what could only be described as absolute drivel only someone like Richard could enjoy, it was decided that his had had been forced, Gumball glared down the side of Richard's head, with his plan to be set in motion.

He finally approached the old machine, admiring it's ability to have survived so, so many years of absolute vile circumstances. A glance over his shoulder reminded him that Richard was still present, unmoved much like the vacuum.

A pursed huff left him as he kicked the button with his foot, the whirl of the machine came back to life, and got to work dragging the horrid thing across the carpet behind the couch, arching back and forth in an unsteady motion.

Unfortunately for Gumball, it wasn't long into this repetitive task that Richard was now yelling over the vacuum cleaner's hum, impressively so, considering his voice never raised above that of a hushed drunk-like mumble.

Flicking the button off once again, he raised an open palm paw towards him, eyebrow raised.

"C'mon, I'm tryna watch here. Can you… Not do that now?" Richard didn't even bother moving from his spot to speak, simply motioning into the space before him.

"I mean, I could do it never. Then we'd both get our asses kicked." Gumball retorted. Even without having to face Richard head on, he possessed a 'look'. One such look that could only be gained from his mother, and replicated with an equal amount of fierceness.

Nothing came back from Richard at that point, with only a defeated huff leaving Gumball to drown out the continuous droning noise from the TV.

"As I said before, you could help…? Even I can see from here it's just the rug that needs doing, so if, y'know." A rattle came from the vacuum cleaner, almost like it acknowledged it's own existence. "You just… Do it? Get it over with? Then I can do literally anything else and not bother you. Mom too, probably."

The errieness of quiet between the two lasted longer than Gumball had hoped for. Did he push past a boundary Richard didn't foresee? It's unfortunately possible, as Gumball did have that certain, tone, to his voice sometimes. Another trait from Nicole it seems, he really is her kid more than anything.

As a passing car made him anxiously stare down the window, flicking between the pane and Richard, he almost wished his mother would save him from this brief quiet, in a sense. Is… Is this how she felt? Consistently? It couldn't have been pleasant at all. Pity could only fill his frame as he stared down the back of Richard's head, awaiting a response, if there even was to be one. A reserved and deeply annoyed sigh finally left Richard, as if he hadn't breathed in the last 20 seconds at all. Though, it was more than that, it seemed. Gumball didn't have time to really think about whatever was coursing through Richard's thick skull, with a rotund frame now towering over Gumball, one meaty rabbit paw snatched the vacuum away in a swift motion, whiplash almost bruising Gumball's knuckles.

Victory doesn't taste sweet if that same feeling of resentment was towering over you. Trying not to dwell too much on it, Gumball could only throw his paws up, Richard get on with the vacuuming, as little movement was actually happening, it was at least, progress. Which surely had to mean something in the short term of things, he can at least testify with frozen pizza.

As Gumball climbed the stairs, he stopped just before the living room vanished, watching Richard cautiously.

...Did his psychic attempt from earlier work? It felt like it did. Gumball observed his paws, one palm down and the other palm up, turning them over back and forth in sync, simultaneously, eyeing them with paranormal intent.

...Of course it didn't, but the thought humoured him somewhat, letting at least some tension ease off his frame.

It would never feel right he had to coax his father, of all people, into doing something this simple. The whole situation felt needlessly childish than it really had to be, almost like a chore.

Speaking of; the clock was ticking by slowly, Nicole was primed to be home soon, and the laundry wasn't going to fold itself. Gumball offered an uneasy smile to the back of Richard's idling skull, before completing his journey upstairs.

Evening had rolled around into Elmore like clockwork. The sky had become a mischievous shade of purple, sprinkled between scattered clouds of fiery orange and hints of pink. Stars were beginning to reveal themselves, one by one, accompanying each other like a cosmic symphony. The breeze remained from earlier, though much more chilling to those not bundled up.

Gumball sat atop the roof of the front porch, with his back against the wall that was his bedroom, the window being left only a touch open so he could crawl back inside and not be locked out. A plate of mostly eaten pizza was his only companion for the moment, save the unending heavens above.

His gaze was simply fixated on the space between the house opposite and the trees off in the distance, now just a shadow more than an object.

Nicole seemed satisfied with Gumball's work today, at least he assumed, being able to just about read her tired face nowadays. As little as it really was, she'd have done all that and more in a mere hour, truthfully. Still, she rewarded his efforts with promised pizza regardless. He brought up Richard's… assistance. Or rather, his unneededly difficult, assistance. Gumball could still feel the soft mark where Nicole had kissed his forehead, her 'thank you' still sounding relieved long after the conversation ended. It wasn't long since then that he'd found himself in this spot right now, with Darwin being gone for the night for a sleepover he'd only now heard about.

It was just his thoughts and him, at this point.

Occasions like this were rare, as he only experienced this desire to chew over his fatty thoughts like this once before, soon after meeting Penny for the first time. The solemn atmosphere was comforting in times of unease, no-one to hassel him, or demand anything of him. He could just… exist, for the moment.

-That was, until his train of floatless thoughts was interrupted by a sudden buzzing, somewhere Gumball couldn't register at first, if it wasn't getting dark he'd have swatted the air around him, thinking some killer sized insect was after him.

He dug into his shorts, fishing his phone out to reveal a flurry of digits he didn't recognise. The device buzzed teasingly in his paw, as Gumball let it ring for a second more, before answering.

"...Hello?"

"Gumball! God, I'm so sorry I couldn't catch you before I left, Mom was adamant we leave early."

And just like that, Penny brought him back to reality. A mix of ease and longfulness left him in a sigh.

"N-No, no don't worry about it! I'm just… Really, really glad to hear your voice, actually." There was a hint of emotion in his throat, and he attempted to clear it not so subtly, having sat up more straight in the process. "How, uh… How'd you get my number, anyway?"

"Your Elmore+ profile, dummy. Not that I've been, y-y'know, looking at all the posts your mom tags you in. Or anything. Not at all."

Gumball thought for a moment, realising Nicole must've done the honors for him before handing off the phone. The idea alone didn't even cross his mind, but he let out a hushed laugh, nodding to no-one in particular.

"Yeah she would do that, wouldn't she? Thanks mom." Gumball could hear Penny giggle from the other end, she sounded just as hushed himself.

"So… Where are you then?"

"Oh, uh. Camping. Sorta? It's a weird hotel/camping type thing. I don't really get it." There was a pause. "Mom made us all come along for this, said it'd help Dad get outta the house. It's kinda worked I suppose, he's at least…"

Another pause. This one longer than the last. Gumball bit his lip slightly, his toothy fangs almost piercing his skin.

"...Interacting?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much it. Not that the woods in Elmore couldn't provide the same benefit, even if the whole place is sorta… Gross." Even without her image, he could tell she was making a face, or some kind of motion.

"Infested would be more honest."

"Grossly infested." Penny offered, and the pair shared another hushed laugh.

"...Well." Gumball continued, now rubbing the back of his neck with careful claws. "So long as you're okay, really. I was kinda worried you left for good."

"I'm okay hun. I've still got my, uh." She went quiet for a moment, and soft footsteps could be heard on her end. "My backup plan. I packed the rucksack just incase he snaps before we leave. He keeps getting that look in his eye."

A gentle smile caressed his lips. In truth, he was fixated on the pet name. 'Hun'. Only his mother called him that sometimes, it felt… Warm. Sincere. Coming from Penny of all people.

"Now that you've got me on here, if you ever need your getaway accomplice, I'm just a phone call away." Was he blushing? He felt like he was blushing. Not that Penny could see him blushing, obviously, but it made him slink down into his shirt just a little more.

"Awwh, I get to call my very own knight-in-shining armour at any time of the day?" There was a soft, elongated huff that left her, before her tone went back to normal almost flawlessly. "You're gonna get so many texts at 3am you have no idea."

Another fluffed laugh between them, but before Gumball could begin to talk about his day, or rather vent if he was to be honest with himself, Penny gave a sharp sigh.

"Ugh, Okay, uh, Mom's giving me a look. So I gotta go. But, but don't worry! We'll be back late Sunday, so… See you at school?"

"O-Oh! Yeah, uh, sure! See you soon. ...Lo-"

The receiver went dead, followed with a short, quiet beep.

That felt… needlessly cruel. Though he couldn't chalk it up to Penny intending to end it that snappy, really. Gumball sat slumped against the wall, his phone resting in his limp hand. In hindsight, ending their first call ever with 'Love you' might've been somewhat awkward, but he didn't get enough time to test those waters yet, even if he felt they were definitely passed that point by now.

Still, as he raised his phone to add Penny as a contact, his mind could only coil around the pet name mere minutes ago, each mental repeat caused his heart to beat just a little more faster, and his cheeks to redden further.

He couldn't honestly believe he felt so flustered by a simple pet name. Such names were only going to get cutesier, or stupider, or unbearably adorable over time, there was no doubt. But even the very idea made Gumball slink deeper into his shirt, masking his face from no-one in particular, his cheeks practically ripe with embarrassment. It was probably just the unexpectedness of it all, surely. Penny hadn't come across as the type to use pet names, or if she even intended to do so. He simply remained for that moment, existing in the dimmed sunlight, with the distant downtown Elmore as his backdrop, his mind tracing over the sweet words uttered by Penny, and his heart filled with just that touch of affection he craved so dearly.

All of which escaped him in an instant as his little moment was unintentionally interrupted when Nicole had opened his bedroom door, with that familiar hint of worry in her voice as she called out to him.

"Out here, mom." Gumball eased back, waving a paw upwards to where the window generally was.

Nicole slowly padded herself over to the window, cracking it open smoothly to gaze down at her son, forearms rested on the sill.

"Everything okay hun? You look red..., you're not getting sick, are you?"

Gumball absently scratched at the blush still apparently present on his cheeks, raising his chin upwards to smile at his mother, as weak as it might've seemed.

"Nah, I'm okay. Felt a little warm inside, so I just wanted to hang out here."

Nicole had flawlessly hopped out the window, now parking herself down beside Gumball, resting on her legs as they folded under her, a heavy sigh leaving her frame as she gazed outwards at Elmore.

"I can see why. Don't think the sky has ever been so pink before."

Gumball eyed her cautiously, eyebrow raised before turning to meet the view once again himself.

"S'lot more comforting that staring at the ceiling." He admitted, now pushing himself up to slouch against the wall, his tail still curled around his legs.

They remained quiet for a few minutes. It didn't bother him that his mother had barged in on his private thinking session, but… She had a familiar comforting aura, one that he would always welcome.

"...Your father didn't give you too much grief earlier, did he? I could tell he wasn't impressed with you." Nicole piped up, a hint of reserved smile on her aging features, turning her head only somewhat to peer at Gumball.

"No more than usual. I'll finish up vacuuming proper tomorrow, if you want?" Admittedly he still felt guilty for not giving his father the easier tasks from earlier, it might've gone smoother between them if anything.

"Don't worry honey, you've done more than enough today." She reached over to pad his hair, absently picking off a tiny piece of fabric that had somehow found it's way there.

He simply nodded in response, enjoying the soft touch for a moment, studying her eyes as they connected briefly.

"...Are..." Gumball began, now fiddling with his claws, instant regret telling him to just keep his mouth shut. "...Are you and Dad gonna be okay? I-I mean, you guys got pretty loud the other night, so..."

Nicole's padding of his hair eased as her hand drifted from his hair to his shoulder, motioning him to move in closer. Gumball obliged, moving the plate of pizza to his other side before saddling up to his mother, simply gazing off into the distance as her thumb caressed his shoulder. She finally let out a quiet, trembling sigh.

"...Honestly. I don't know. Imagine how he was with you today, but, times by at least 15 years of that exact feeling. That's were we stand right now, and truthfully I can't do it anymore, hun. ...If you caught anything of what we've gone back and forth on, then... I think you already know."

"...I'm sorry you have to put up with him, mom."

"Hush. You don't have anything to apologize for. I knew what I was getting into, I was just too blind to realise when I should've gotten out."

There was a hard pang of... something; Maybe a mix of guilt, or worry, that hurt within Gumball's core. It felt almost surreal that his mother was speaking so openly with him about this, yet it was all too real, given the tone of her voice.

"...I can't say he's always been like this, your father's been there alot more than Grandpa Frankie, so, he's got that going for him at least." Nicole could only let out a dry laugh, her gaze fixated on the space above the pair, watching the stars find their way between the clouds.

"Still. Simply being there isn't enough, considering the amount of nothing he manages to accomplish every day."

Gumball craned his head back slightly, aiming towards his mother as best he could.

"I did mean it when I said I wanna be more responsible. ...I think."

"It's okay if you just wanted the phone, hun. Doesn't take that much for me to realise how much Penny means to you. Especially now." Nicole peered down slightly in response, an easy smile perched on her features.

"W-Well... I mean, y-yeah." Gumball huffed quietly, his cheeks beginning to redden once more. "She's... Going through some stuff too, after the whole Shell thing. And... I wanna be there for her as much as I can. Kinda feel like, I have to be more responsible in order for that to happen, so..."

Nicole squeezed Gumball with a soft chuckle, kissing his forehead with that tender softness he loved.

"I think you'll be fine, sweetheart. Chores won't make you that responsible, but, I do appreciate the honesty." She kept the hug up for a moment, before bringing her hand up to nestle his hair, toying with a particularly long tuft. "You two have something special, no matter what stuff either of you might be going through. Be honest, and say what you mean. You can't always be there, but, I promise you Penny'll appreciate it." Nicole paused for just a moment, her own ears flattening against her head as the slightest hint of worry crossed her features.

"I know you'll never end up like your father, but, please don't repeat his mistakes. Promise to be better, that's all Penny could ask for, I feel."

Gumball was intent on Nicole's words, mentally etching them into his thoughts as best he could. A gentle nod was his response, leaning into the hug just a touch more.

"...I will. Thanks, mom."

"Anytime, sweetie."

There was a final moment of quiet, as the duo remained watching the sky finally snuff out any remaining shades of pink, with the sky now darkened enough to a soft hue of dark purple and blue, the faint dim of diluted light from Elmore's city creating a small barrier to their distant right. Nighttime insects were now in full chorus, with fireflies dotting the surrounding neighbourhood with infrequent fading lgihts. Nicole broke the silence with a hearty yawn, rubbing her eyes with a free hand before letting out a reserved sigh, rubbing Gumball's shoulder once again.

"I think it's about time I got some sleep, hun. Don't stay up too late, okay?"

Gumball let himself out from her warmth, sitting up into a more normal position against the wall as Nicole stretched herself upwards.

"I won't, don't worry." An easy smile sat on his features. "Goodnight mom, love you."

Nicole smiled just as sweetly back, despite the utter amount of tired in her eyes, leaning over to plant one final kiss to his forehead, before crawling back through the window.

"...Love you too, sweetheart."

Part 3 will be a small while, as I've had more ideas that I wanted to toy with regarding other parts and trying to write them before starting. In truth, it's why this part took a little longer than I wanted, with rewrites and lots of life bs happening all at once.

I'm looking forward to the next few parts, hoping to wrap up this first 'Arc' of sorts. All in due time.

Either way, thank you again for reading this far!