Meep
Word count: 496
Rating: K
Author: Chthonic-Enchantress
Summary: Gumball waked up in the dead of night to find a small bat at his door.
Gumball very much disliked getting woken up in the middle of the night. Peppermint Maid knew enough that the prince did not like to be disturbed, and assured that no one else would interrupt his slumber; however the gummy teen still found himself roused by a stubble scratching noise.
In his desperation to return to sleep, Bubba left the noise sound out for a few minutes, thinking that whoever was doing it would get the hint and go away, but minutes later, the sound still resonated around his room.
Sighing, the prince rose from his bed and trudged to the door. Opening it, the gummy teen found no one waiting there and the sound still as sharp as ever.
Gumball closed the door and looked around his spacious room. The night cast most of his space in shadows, leaving the moon light from his balcony as the only source of illumination.
The prince's ears led him to the center of the room. In his drowsiness he almost tripped on the carpet on the way.
His stumble brought him to a more conscious state. Opening his eyes wider than before, the prince found the source of the noise.
Crouched at the foot of his balcony door sat a small animal. With the limited lighting, it was difficult to tell what sort of animal it was, though it had to have flight to reach the tall ledge and most birds of that size were not typically found at night.
Cautiously, Gumball made his way to the balcony doors, the sudden harshness of the moon light shining on the snow in comparison to his dark room blinding him momentarily.
Just as Bubba was about to open the door and shoo the animal, the small thing started making a pronounced meeping noise.
Opening the door and letting in the cool breeze, Bubba's eyes finally found the face of the tiny creature.
"Marshall," the prince whispered as he lent down, "what on earth are you doing here at this time of night?"
The small bat quickly leapt into the room and into Gumball's arms.
"I lost track of time in town, it got dark and then it got really, really cold."
The small form was indeed quaking in the gummy teen's arms, Marshall's little nose occasionally snivelling and his tiny hands cold against Gumball's neck.
The prince let out a small huff of laughter.
Seeing his own breath in the air, Gumball quickly shut and locked the door. He carried his small friend over to his bed.
Still buried in the much larger shirt, Marshall didn't notice the movement until he was turned sideways and placed against the sheets. Gumball climbed into bed next to him, silently pulling the small form against his body and pulling the covers around the two.
"It's fine Marsh, just go to sleep."
The bat's shivering slowly died down and his snuffling stopped. Gumball fell asleep minutes later to the sound of his friend's even breathing.
03/03/2013