Author note: I wrote this fic on the last pages of my notebook during my daily commute from uni. I originally intended it to take a much different direction, but as I wrote it it took a mind of its own, and while I still like the idea of what it was going to be, I like best the final version.
It was fall and everybody knew it. The gentle cold breeze slithered through the trees and around the buildings of Elmore, leaving no spot outdoors uncovered. The leaves that shone vivid shades of green not long ago started to acquire tones of red, orange, and yellow. The roads and yards and gutters were dressing themselves in brown-red clothes of fallen leaves, prompting the less lazy residents to rake and clean. Coffee shops, aware of the season feelings, were rolling out menus filled with pumpkins and berries galore. And it was engulfed in this warm and fuzzy, yet paradoxically cold and melancholic atmosphere that Gumball sunk into a deep reflection about life in general. Leaning against the bus window, he unintentionally watched life in Elmore with his dreamy eyes, glazed of tears yet to be dried.
One week before… Just one week.
How could perpetual love end this soon? Her shell had broken, her life had transformed because of his love – because of their love. It felt unfair for him.
Penny had changed. And she outchanged him. Now, aware of her true value, place, and powers – of her self-worth –, she realized that she deserved better. Better than a self-absorbed, dim-witted dork. "It isn't you, Gumball," she said, "it's me." It wasn't true and they both knew it, but even after taking the decision of letting go, she still cared about him enough to be careful not to break his heart more than necessary, even if only in name of the legacy of their faded romance.
It hit him like an 18-wheeler. He believed with every fiber of his being that she loved him as much as he loved her; that the vows of true love they exchanged were indeed true to the core. Maybe they were. Maybe she still loved him, only in a different way than they thought. She was still kind loving towards him, and she still defended him of ridicule. But a life together, that was scraped off the realm of possibility.
He almost didn't notice when the bus neared his stop.
The breakup had been devastating, but he was lucky to have emotional support. At first, he played it cool for everybody, and everybody did either buy it or not care enough about it. Everybody, that is, except for one: his brother and best friend Darwin.
He knew that something was not right. He knew that his brother wouldn't be dumped by who he believed to be the love of his life and just be okay with it. He could see the sorrow through the thick mask of normalcy his brother wore. And he knew that he couldn't stay quiet and pretend everything was fine. In the evening of the breakup day, after they kissed their parents goodnight and went to their room, he hugged his brother tight. "Let go." Gumball's artificial smile instantly melted into an explosion of tears and wailing. Darwin didn't sleep in his bowl that night.
Ever since, he'd been as supportive as he could. In front of others, he acted the same, but when noöne else was around, he let his brother vent his heart and offered support.
Gumball finally got home. It was as cold as the outside. The thermostat had broken. Again. He threw his backpack on the floor and himself on the couch, pulling a blanket. Tuned the TV to Lifetime, to drown his sorrows on a sappy cookie-cutter romance.
"Hey, Gumball!" Darwin emerged from the kitchen. "Back from your extras already?"
On normal conditions, he would haphazardly reach for the remote to mash the embarrassing movie away from the screen, but at that point, he just didn't care.
"Yeah."
"I'm making hot cocoa. Want some?"
"Darwin," he half-joked with a melancholic smile, "how do you read my mind every time?"
He watched as Darwin came with two cups of hot chocolate topped with a generous serving of marshmallows and found himself comfortable by his brother. Warming themselves with each other's heat, they shared the movie and the cocoa together.
Even with help, life was tough. The emotional wound was still fresh, and, despite of his smarts, Darwin was younger and naïver. His scaly slithery skin might not be as cozy as Penny's wooden shell, or as warm and silky as her skin, but he smiled to himself anyway. It didn't matter, as long as he was in good company.