First Adventure Time Fic,so please don't hate.
(Disclaimer- I do not own Adventure Time or its characters,just my own ideas)
Prince Gumball never hated his royal status.
He often enjoyed it. He loved to see the candy people smile and laugh,to see them happy. All because of him. He made sure the kingdom ran smoothly,wanting life as peaceful as possible for his people. He had little time for distractions,the kingdom was too lived like this for nearly a thousand years before his world got turned upside down.
Before she came along.
At first,Fionna was just a hyper child to him. She was incredibly confident,ready to take on any problem he couldn't deal with. She was an adventurer to heart. Her confidence was something Gumball himself didn't have,he always second guessing his many,usually not so tough, decisions.
We're his people happy with the party he had thrown? Do the gumball guardians need to be rebooted? We're his cakes fluffy enough?
But Fionna,no,she never doubted herself. She saw a problem and gripped it with all her might until it had no choice but to obey. It was extremely admirable,to both the candy people and he himself. She seemed to fear no one,loving the thrill of chasing after the thousands of evil creatures she had slain over the years.
Fionna became his friend,his constant. She assured him when he feared he did wrong,telling him the most important thing in his long life.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Prince Gumball had ran that through his head many times,questioning the statement. He was a Prince,raised to believe one mistake could ruin everything.
So when Fionna started to look upon him with more than just friendship,he had no idea how to respond.
Does he shut her out? Tell her he just wanted friendship? Or does he tell her he feels the same way?
That led him to wonder about his own feelings. Did he feel something for Fionna? What would it mean for them? For his kingdom?
He acted upon his conflicting emotions for awhile,a hug here,a kiss on the cheek there. He never admitted his growing feelings though. He had feared for him,for Fionna,for his kingdom.
But the more he tried to fight it the more and more she grew on him. The way her eyes would light up at the time of action,her hair shimmering like gold in the sunlight,her giggle sounding like a dozen tiny bells. She was no longer that hyper child to him. She was Fionna,the first girl he ever truly cared about.
They continued this dance for quite some time,until a particularly bad attack on the Candy Kingdom made him realize he could never admit what he felt for her. He had grown distracted,spending time with Fionna at her home. He had nearly kissed her then,until the sound of panicked screams tore them apart.
To come upon his kingdom in icy shambles,his people terrified,it was a wake-up call for Gumball. He couldn't be with Fionna. He couldn't afford the distraction,no matter how much it would hurt him.
So Prince Gumball shut Fionna out,much like he should of done in the beginning. She never said a word,but Gumball wasn't stupid nor blind. That broken look in her eyes,the droop in her shoulders. He had broken Fionna's heart.
Cake despised him,hating to see her sister go through something so horrible. Gumball knew she had every right to hate him. He led Fionna on some wild goose chase,fooling not only her but himself.
They both remained unhappy for a long time,though they never said a word about the issue. She battled any foes while he cared for the Candy Kingdom. That was how it was supposed to be.
But then,out of the blue,Fionna began to smile,laugh, be happy.
It was as if someone had flipped a switch,lighting up Fionna to her former glory. But strangely,it seemed that she was even happier then before,her eyes always bright,a smile constantly tugging at her lips.
Gumball tried to ignore it at first,but it proved to be increasingly more and more difficult as time went by. Soon he reached the point were he couldn't even face her,her infectious smile taunting him,driving him near madness.
He finally approached Cake about it one day,knowing Fionna was off doing something. The cat had narrowed her eyes and said only one thing before throwing him out,changing his life forever.
"Someone makes her happy now and isn't afraid of it."
He knew then that she had found someone. Someone that wasn't him. It broke his heart in a way that he thought it could never be broken. He knew it wasn't fair to be jealous,but he was.
He hated how another person made her smile,how they made her laugh. He hated how she spoke of them with a tone she never used when speaking of him. He hated everything,Fionna, her lover,and most of all,himself.
But he never said a word. As much as he hated it,Gumball still loved Fionna and wouldn't allow himself to ruin her happiness a second time.
So she watched as she grew up,saving Aaa time and time again. He ran the Candy Kingdom while she chased after monsters and demons alike,but with her special someone by her side.
Gumball watched in silent agony as she got married,attending the wedding because that's what best friends do. Cake,long over her bitterness with him,had given Gumball sad eyes the entire ceremony,but didn't dare speak.
More time passed and Gumball continued to watch as Fionnas pale-skinned, fair-haired children ran through Aaa with as much confidence as their mother. He painfully sat aside while they called a black-haired king 'Dad' and referred to him as 'Uncle Gumball'. Only if the children knew how much he had wanted to be their father.
But,the most horrible thing Prince Gumball let happen was,ten years after he let her go,when her husband turned her into what he was. Pale,craving red and immortal.
Gumball wanted to scream,to cry,to do something. Anything. But he had missed his chance at doing something a long time ago. He now had to face Fionna for the rest of his life,her happiness forever.
After a few agonizing years,she left to travel Aaa with her husband,their children already a few years ahead of their plans.
It was peace,and it really gave Gumball time to think. He would sit at his table like they used to,and it was then when he remembered something from oh so long ago,something Fionna had told him that he had always questioned.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Gumball realized then that what she said was true. Everyone made mistakes. He had made very little mistakes all his life except one,the one that had ruined his life forever.
And that was when he truly hated his royal status,it being the cause of why he was even conflicted of his feelings for Fionna in the first place.
He had let Fionna,the only girl he ever loved,go. He let her move on,find love,get married to another,have children that weren't pink in the skin and fair-haired. He let her become something else,something to be with her love. The love that wasn't him.
Yes,Gumball had made a mistake.
One he had been too scared and late to fix.
Hope you enjoyed. Very angst-y,I know. But I may do a bunch of random one shots if anyone requests them.
Love reviews,since this is my first Adventure Time Fic. :)