( Author's note: I do not own The Amazing World of Gumball! This is just fiction :) Please enjoy the story! )
It was your first day unpacking into your new house, and though you were sad to be leaving your hometown, you were also excited by the adventures that awaited you in this neighborhood..! Perhaps you will meet new friends, new enemies, new... lovers! Nobody knows, but the future, what is coming in this new place, and maybe, just maybe... That's when you were suddenly smacked across the face with something.
"Ow!" You called out, looking around the moving van. You sighed and smiled with relief and annoyance when you notice it was only your little brother, weilding a tennis racket as he tutted at you childishly. "Stop daydreaming, (y/n), we have TOOOONS of stuff to unpack!" He whined. "Teehehe, all right, Nicolas" you giggled softly and knelt down to his level to ruffle his mop of dirty blonde hair. He groans. "Are you gonna give me a big kiss, too?" Nicolas said dismissively. "Yupsies!" You grinned, picking the little boy up and giving him a smooch on the forehead. "Okay, okay! Put me down, big sissy!" he squealed, snickering as he tried to wiggle from your grasp. "That's revenge for smacking me, silly" you said. "Your revenge is pretty lousy, big sissy"
You puff, picking up a large cardboard moving-box labelled "Nicolas' TOYS". It was surprisingly heavy, and you struggled to lift it. "Uuugh, gosh, how many toys do you have?!" you groan to Nicolas but upon looking around, realise he is long gone from the moving van. When you look out from the back, you see him talking to your mom, still gripping onto the tennis racket he smacked you in the face with. Your mom just nods at him and turns her attention back to her phone call - it must be your dad who she's talking to.
Your dad was at work right now, and that was also the main reason unpacking was taking AGES. "A little help here?" you ask, your voice wavering with exhaustion. "How much... can these toys... weigh.." You moan, stepping out onto the ramp of the moving van. Finally, you lose your balance and slip, sacrificing the box of your little brother's toys by letting it drop. However, this doesn't quite save you, and you flop onto your face anyway.
"Ughh" You sigh, getting up and rubbing your nose. You see Nicolas laughing his head off at you, and your mom still on the phone. "Nikki, please, help!" you laugh-cry, giggling to yourself as you stand up again. "Nuuuah, the house is only a few steps away! And I'm tired" Your brother grins, snuggling up into the fluffy yellow blanket he carries everywhere with him. "Besides, I've done enough work for today!" he declares smugly, a sly smile fading onto his face. "WHAT work" you ask, bending down to pick up the boy of his toys again, but when you look up, he's already sleeping.. Curled up on a yet-to-be-assembled cardboard moving-box.
Suddenly, you're terribly embarrassed by your rather ASHAMING family, and hope your neighbours aren't around to see it. However, to your dismay.. And, well, amusement, your neighbours ARE there, at the house across from the one you're moving into. You drag the box of Nicolas' toys down the moving van's ramp and stare, because, well, it's all you can do when you are faced with a large pink rabbit, smiling a goofy grin at you and waving like a total maniac. "Nicole!" he calls, turning around to look into his window.
An athletic-looking, blue lady-cat steps outside, her eyebrows furrowed and her ears flat against her head in annoyance. "Richard, WHAT" she practically hisses. "Our new neighbours!" The pink rabbit - who you presume to be Richard - replies delightfully. The lady-cat who you assume is Nicole suddenly perks up and catches your gaze. She quickly smiles and waves. "Oh, hi! I didn't know you were coming THIS early! Ahaha.." she calls out to you and your family, smoothing down her clothes and trying to look calm and collected. Behind Nicole and Richard, and seemingly unbeknowst to them, the lawnmower is still on, there's a large drip of magenta paint running down the wall of their house, their bushes are strangely miscut and there is a small, pink bunny desperately trying to climb her way out of the chimney. "MOM!" the bunny cries.
"Huh?!" Nicole turns around to face the scene and begins sweating. Needless to say, all the embarrassment you felt for your own family was now gone, and you were trying to process what was playing out in front of you. THESE PEOPLE were going to be your neighbours for the next chapter of your life.
Well... At least it'll be interesting... You think to yourself and give Richard a reassuring smile. He turns and lifts a hand into the air dramatically. "Don't worry, Anais, I'll save you!" he says and the little pink bunny, still stuck in the chimney, screams. "AAAAH! MOM, PLEASE HELP!" Anais cries. You wonder whether to laugh or call the police, but find you are unable to do anything besides sit and stare. "Did Gumball put you up to this again!?" Nicole calls to Anais. Again? Does that mean this situation has happened on more than one occasion? You think and can't help but laugh.
Suddenly, you notice an opportunity to get out of your boring unpacking work and actually do something interesting! Ditching the box of Nicolas' toys, you run to the seemingly crazy family's house and smile awkwardly. "Erm, I can help get her out!" you speak before you think, and then realise you're going to need to actually do this. "Oh, thank goodness!" Nicole says. "IT'S OKAY, ANAIS! THIS- Erm, what's your name?" she whispers the last part to you. "(y/n)" you whisper back and smile. "(Y/N) IS GOING TO HELP YOU!" she finishes and Anais sighs with relief - well, you hope it's relief, because you can't exactly read the little bunny's emotions.
Before your mom or your brother can object, you adjust a ladder that was already leaning against the wall of the house and take the first step up it. "I'LL HOLD THE LADDER DOWN, MISS (Y/N)!" Richard shouts. "Okay!" you call back, more than a little nervous. You quicken your pace, half-closing your eyes due to the intense amount of fear you are feeling. Before you know it, you're gripping onto the roof of the house. "Phew!" you gasp and pull yourself up to the roof. You climb up to the chimney, your hands shaking and sweaty. Even through your panic, you can hear Nicole calling to someone else from below you. "Gumball, Darwin, out here, NOW!" she calls. A boy's voice comes from inside the house. "But mooom, Penny's over! Do I have to go outside NOW?" he asks. "You have to greet your new neighbor! This is important!" Nicole replies and you feel yourself go scarlet with embarrassment. Nobody's ever made such a big deal about a new neighbour before... Like, EVER!
"What's important is the fact that me and Penny are having a sleepover!" the boy squeals. "Your sleepover can wait, get out here this instant!" Nicole growls and a defeated-looking blue cat and a gorgeous, iridescent yellow... thing with antlers step out onto the lawn. "Where's Darwin?" they all look at each other and ask the same question at the same time.
You try not to be distracted and finally grab Anais' hand. "Gotcha, you silly thing!" You say to her and she smiles as you pull her out. "Phew! Finally" Anais comments but before you can say anything else, you're rapidly slipping down the rooftop with nothing to hold onto. "EEEEP!" you and Anais squeal. The whole family and Penny look on in horror as you slide down their roof to your inevitable fall.. with THEIR daughter in your grasp! "Oh no, oh no, oh no.." You repeat to yourself, desperately trying to think up something to do. When you finally slip off the edge of the roof, Anais jumps from your hands and into some bushes - smart move. You, on the other hand, are left falling. "AAAAAH!" You scream, closing your eyes and deciding to accept your fate. ... But something manages to cushion your fall. "Oof!"
There's a noise beneath you. You gasp and stand, noticing that you have just fallen onto another boy - a goldfish..? With arms..? And legs..? "Oh- Oh no, oh, I'm.. I'm so sorry!" you blabber out in apology. Anais pokes her head out of the bushes and holds in a giggle. The pair holding hands - who you figure are Gumball and Penny - are gawking at you. Nicole is seemingly lost for words and Richard is smiling blindly. "Thanks for getting our little girl down!" he grins. You feel your face go red again and you try to compose yourself. You facepalm and sigh, kneeling down to the boy who probably just unwillingly saved you from a ton of broken bones. "Hey, uh.. T-This is Darwin, right?" you look up to the family.
They nod at you nervously. "Are you okay, Darwin?" you ask shakily. He doesn't respond for a moment but suddenly jumps up in a quick movement. "Yup!" he chirrups. "Are you sure, I mean, I just-" you stop talking when Darwin smiles the sweetest dimpled smile you have ever seen. EVER. For a moment, time stops and you're just dramatically staring into this boy's eyes, when you hear a loud "AHEM" come from your side. It was your mother, standing above you.
"(y/n), what do you think you're doing!?" she asks firmly, taking your hand and pulling you up. "We have been here all of two seconds and you are already terrorizing our neighbors" she tuts. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to help" you laugh. "Well, little missy, I think it's best you go back to helping us unpack!" your mom giggles at you. She was never the "serious" type of mother, and boy, were YOU glad! As you're walking away to your moving van, you wave politely at your neighbours and mouth a "sorry!" to them. "Sooo," your mom twirls you around to the back of the moving van and winks. "Who's that new boyyyy?" she asks, emphasizing the word boy as if she were a little girl at a sleepover. "Ah- Mom, what are you talking about!? What boy-" you say, feeling embarrassment build in your chest yet again. "Well, I mean, you seemed pretty touchy with him literally one second ago" your mom nudges you playfully.
"Mom, that was an accident!" "Ahaa, that's how it starts!" she remarks. "Now, I'll help you with this box" she adds as she tries to lift Nicolas' toy box. "HUFF! O-On the other hand, I'll just carry your little brother inside.." she mumbles as she walks off to get Nicolas and you roll your eyes and smile softly, letting a sigh escape your lips.
You sulk for a moment, looking at the box with petty fury in your eyes. As you place your hands on the edges of the box, you realise there's another presence besides you here. Turning cautiously, you spin around on your heel and face… Penny! "Hi!" she greets you and you wave back to her. "Hey! You aren't with the others?" you ask, tilting your head in question. "Well, I saw you over here struggling with this little box. I HAD to help" she smiles. You give her a sheepish grin and nod. "If you're ready, we can pick this up together! We just need to get it inside and upstai-"
"PENNY, NO!" Gumball's voice booms from the house across yours and you practically jump, grasping hold of the box tightly as to not let another accident happen at the cause of you again. "I, GUMBALL WATTERSON, WILL.. spare you from having to hold this heavy box" he says. Well, he's got a bit of his dad in him! You think to yourself and beam at how cute they both look, together like this. "Oh, Gumball, you know I'll be fine" Penny reassures him, but he clearly is not intent on giving up. "Just give me it, I'll help you both!" he gestures to you and then winks at Penny. You notice a faint but present blush on her cheeks… You decide to stay quiet about it though, secretly giggling to yourself.
As soon as Gumball goes to lift the box up himself, it seems as if it is glued to the ground. Or perhaps he's just extremely weak - yep, that's it! "Hehehe, you silly kitty, I'll hold it too" Penny laughs and Gumball's face goes more than a little scarlet. There is undeniably, definitely, no-doubt-about-it something between these two! As you all haul the box into your house and begin dragging it up the stairs, you catch your breath to ask a question. "Hey.. hahh… *gasp*... *breath*... Where's Darwin?" you speak. Penny and Gumball poke up. "Huh. I thought he'd be out here already!" Gumball says. "Me too… Gosh, he's seemed a bit down lately, don'tcha think?" Penny replies to him and Gumball thinks for a moment before nodding promptly. "That's weird. He never keeps any secrets from me!" "That IS weird" Penny adds.
You obviously don't know Darwin all that well, but still figure it must be strange. "Is Darwin your brother?" you ask Gumball and he places his hand on his chin as if wondering how to explain something to you. "Adoptive brother" he finally says. "Oh! Cool" you reply. "He used to be my pet goldfish" "huh?" you say but decide not to question it further. With all the stuff you've already seen, even on just first impressions, you figure anything goes - whether it be totally crazy or not!
After you have set the box down in Nicolas' room, Gumball and Penny huff and grin. "Finally!" they chirrup in unison. "Whoohoo, thanks, guys!" You go to high-five Penny, but Gumball jumps in front of her and you end up slapping him across the face instead. "Oh!" you gasp. Penny sighs. "Saved ya.." Gumball mutters. You laugh nervously and turn to Penny. "What's the deal with him?" you gesture to the twitching body of the small blue cat on the ground. "Well, we've been together for a few months now.. You know, boyfriend, girlfriend?" she says and you nod. "Ooooh" you tease and she blushes. "I guess he's a little overprotective" Penny giggles and helps Gumball up.
"I guess we'll be going home now! I have a sleepover to attend" Penny grins. "It was nice hanging with you!" Gumball adds. "I thought so too! Have fun" you smile, and as they turn to leave down the stairs, you remember something. "Wait-!"
"Hm?"
"Just.. Err, say "sorry" to Darwin from me, okay?"
"Of course! He doesn't freak too much over this sortsa stuff, he's really nice!" Gumball laughs. "Don't worry about it too much, anyway, (y/n)" Penny titters. "It's not THAT bad" Gumball agrees but you can't help but feel terrible for totally squishing him earlier. You nod and wave to them. "Bye!"
As you watch them leave your house and run across the road to the Watterson's, the evening sun rays beam through your window in beautiful hues of golden orange and faded white. You squint and turn to your bedroom door, amazed at how it was this late already - gosh, all the stuff that happened in just this one day! As you're about to enter your room and flop onto your bed, a little hand tugs on your pants and you turn around to see your brother - Nicolas. "Oh, hey there, little fella!" you coo. He snickers and then looks at you intensely, his gaze piercing yours. "Who's Darwin?" he asks, his little baby lisp almost making you laugh. "He's only this boy, erm.."
"Boy!" your brother gasps as if he weren't one himself. "If he's "only this boy", why are you so sorry to him then" he questions you, his hands gripping your shoulders as you kneel down to him and let him rest on your lap. "We just had an accident earlier on" you cringe at the mere thought of what happened. "Hmm, okay!" your brother hops off of you and squints in your direction. "I'm watching, though." he mumbles. "What the-?" just as you're about to confront him, your mother comes trotting up the stairs. "I'll say it's about time we head to bed, little dear!" "Goo, goo, yes, mama!"
You wonder if maybe your family will finally have a place to fit in. In this crazy neighbourhood of all places - but perhaps it isn't the worst thing EVER. Your lust to sleep had vanished suddenly, and your mind filled with possibility, intrigue… adventure. Deciding that it's much too early to go to bed anyway, you prance down your stairs and look at your front door suspiciously. It would probably make a giant CREAAAAK if you went to open it…
So you quietly opened the window instead and put one of your legs through. Halfway, you lost your balance and managed to fall on your face. "Ow- Uuu.." you moan, rubbing your now most-probably-broken nose. Upon glancing up, you notice a shadowy silhouette sitting on one the fence of the Watterson's home. Little fins, humming, and no pants! It was Darwin!
You wonder whether Gumball and Penny had told him that you said "sorry" after all. Maybe they forgot? Or just let it go? Maybe Darwin let it go, too? I mean, maybe YOU'RE weird for caring so much about it.
But something in your mind kept going "Nag, nag, nag! Get up there and apologise, now!"
And so you set out to do so, carefully crossing the road. As you near him, even in the darkness of evening fall, you notice details you haven't noticed before. Pretty eyelashes, and a slight smile on his face. A smile that makes you wanna squeal, but, due to the circumstances, you hold it in and gently tap him on the shoulder.
He perks up. "HUH!?" he looks around, waving his arms in the air with fright, falling back over the fence into his garden. You anxiously peer over to him, hoping he was all right. "Darwin? I'm sorry, hehe, it's me! (y/n)" you hop over the fence and land on the grass next to him. "Oh, thank god! I got scared for a second" Darwin laughs nervously, getting up and brushing dirt off of himself. He looks down at his shoes.
"I just saw you," you smile softly. "I, erm, wanted to say sorry, for earlier" you half-mumble in embarrassment.
(SORRY TO CUT IT SHORT. This story is kind of like a practise run - I want to write a TAWOG fic about my OC - yes, triggering, I know, - so this is kind of like a practise. However, if you REALLY want, I will update this one :) Please tell me your opinions and feel free to criticise or review my writing!)