Sugarcoated Love (Gumwin)

Ch. 1

The blue feline's ears perked up when the Elmore Plus notification sound echoed throughout the room. Penny had told him earlier in the day, at school, that she wanted to discuss something important with him. In private, not much to their surprise, the school wasn't very private at all. So she had said she going to text him later instead.

Having waited all day, Gumball quickly switched tabs and went to his and Penny's chat. Eager to see what "private" subject they were going to talk about. He rest his head in his paw and began tapping his fingers on the desk impatiently, as the page started to load. He silently read the most recent message.

 His excitement sucked out of him, quickly replaced with despair as his ears flattened and his smile turned into a frown. He was at a loss for words. His mind spinning, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. What had he done wrong? He wiped his eyes, trying to avoid incoming tears. But it was far too late for that. 

He hopped off the chair, one hand on the side of his head, as he staggered over to his bed. Tossing himself on the sheets carelessly and curling up into a ball. His tail drooping between his legs, he grabbed hold of it and rubbed his fur in an attempt to calm himself down a bit. His tears felt like icicles, freezing cold against his burning hot skin. Each one hurting more than the last. His heart dropped as he took in what just happened.

What had he done wrong?

Gumball struggled to steady his breath, sobs coming down even harder than before. Claws digging into his jeans. He shivered, mostly because of how much he was crying, but the fact that the room was like -60 degrees didn't help either. Just like that his life had unraveled, fallen apart at the seams. There was a missing piece to him now, nothing mattered anymore, he was no longer complete. He lost the person he loved, the person he thought loved him as well. But it was all a lie...

Seconds turned into hours, his mind blank. Who knows how long he had been sitting there? He just wanted to disappear, not be such a burden to everyone.

His heart ached longing for affection, dreading for some form of love to help heal his severe case of heartbreak.

Using his now soaked sweater sleeve, he wiped his eyes again. His breathing finally steady, or at least he thought so. Without a warning, tears flooded his cheeks once again, the pain inside him only feeling worse as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Suddenly he was surrounded by a warm embrace. The sweet smell of flowers with a soft, tender touch. 

"Shhh, it'll be ok..." A voice gently whispered into his ear causing it to twitch from the sudden gush of air.

He hugged whatever this thing was tighter, never wanting to let go of it. It returned the favor, allowing Gumball to sob into its shoulder while it slowly rubbed circles into his back. The feline searched for a torso to hug in return, but it was not present, instead were two legs and a fish tail.

"D-Darwin?" Gumball choked back tears.

"Yeah?" Darwin nuzzled his head in Gumball's shoulder, eyes closed as soft cat fur brushed against him.

"Y-...I-..Du-" He began crying again, unable to hold it in.

"Shh, you don't have to say anything. I understand." He felt Gumball tighten his grip around him. "I-I saw on the computer..."

I can't believe she just told him that it wasn't going to work out. Does she even have a heart?

The two laid in silence, waiting for Gumball to calm down. He still had not released himself from Darwin's embrace, he knew that as soon as he let go, he would miss it.

"Gumball?"

"Hm?"

"What exactly happened between you and Penny?" 

Gumball went silent, Darwin heard slight sniffling coming from him and immediately regretted asking.

"W-well, she just-...we-" 

"It's ok, take your time. You don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to either, there's always later." 

Without even seeing his face, Gumball knew Darwin was giving him that sweet smile, the one that always made him feel better.

"We had a little f-fight earlier this week..." Gumball released himself from the hug. He gazed at the wall, or just anywhere other than Darwin, he was too ashamed to look at him.

"About what?"

"About me being too...clingy and...over-the-top with things all the time-"

"And why should that be a problem?" There was a hint of anger in Darwin's voice, a tone that Gumball rarely hears.

"I-I don't know..." He looked down shamefully.

Why should that be a problem for her?

"Doesn't seem like something to fight about." Darwin lifted Gumball's chin so he was looking at him.

"It doesn't?"

"No, it just means you...love her." Darwin mumbled the last few words, hesitant to boldly state that his brother loves someone else besides family.

"I think it was because of that fight that she thinks things won't work out..." 

"She doesn't deserve you." He caressed the fur behind Gumball's ear. "You're too good for her."

Gumball fell silent. The only sounds to be heard were their soft breathing.

Darwin bit his lip and hit his forehead with his fin, deciding whether to continue or not. Gumball looked at him confused yet intrigued at what he was going to say next.

"She doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you."

"How am I amazing?"

"Well you're smart and funny and caring and brave and cute and stubborn sometimes." Darwin giggled at his own words, Gumball gazed down shyly. "And that's a good thing, stubborn is good."

"Well I guess so-"

"Also..." Darwin leaned in near Gumball's ear. "I think penny looks like she's made out of yellow snow-"

Gumball started giggling like a schoolgirl, high-pitched voice and all. He laid on his back laughing and kicking his feet in the air. If they weren't there, nobody would suspect that just an hour ago that same cat was crying his eyes out.

Seeing Gumball acting like this made Darwin smile, it warmed his heart for him to be so delighted, especially after all that happened.

"Hey Darwin?"

"What?"

"You're the best brother ever." Gumball pulled Darwin into a hug and caressed the top of his head, a light blush appeared on the fish's cheeks.

I wish we were more than that.

Is what Darwin wanted to say, oh how bad he wanted to say it. But he couldn't muster up the courage to, he was too nervous about being rejected and messing up everything.

"Yeah, y-you too-" 

He wrapped his fins around the cat's waist, returning the hug he was given. He snuggled into Gumball's chest, his soft sweater making the perfect pillow. Darwin smiled and rest his eyes, he could worry about his feelings later, right now he had a different thing to worry about.

Gumball's feelings.

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Dang, sorry this was so short, I wanted to make it longer but if I added what I wanted to it would be a bit too long, so I decided to end the first chapter here and use the rest to add onto the second chapter. Expect the next chapter out within a few days, maybe a week. If you have any suggestions, like things you wanna see in later chapters, be sure to let me know! Anyways thanks for reading!