It was a frigid winter night in Marzipan City, a night in which all of the citizens were cozied up in their homes, looking for every source of warmth they could find. As such, it was a very busy time of the year of Candle Corp, the company headed by none other than Gorgonzola, an expert candle holder since birth. It was his responsibility to make sure that the gentle heat and bright light of his candle could spread throughout all of Marzipan city, allowing even the Thrice Cream Man to thaw in the midst of this brutal frost. Gorgonzola worked tirelessly, trying to both keep the town safe for the winter and teach his apprentice everything he knew about a profession that he had hated for a long time, but had grown to accept as his natural born responsibility. After a long day of manufacturing and shipping out one-of-a-kind candles to Marzipan's residents, Gorgonzola was finally able to enjoy the Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin sent to him by none other than his best friend and largest rival, Chowder, and after such a delicious dinner, he was able to go to bed around 3:00 a.m.
Meanwhile, Scraps, Chowder's fine young apprentice, pulled out a freshly baked batch of Burple Nurples. Slightly nervous, but also proud of his creation, Scraps carefully brought the Burple Nurples over to Chowder and politely asked him to try them.
"They aren't poisoned, are they?" asked Chowder.
"N-n-no," replied Scraps as Chowder took a bite of Nurple, "Why would you think something like that, Mr. Chowder?"
"These Nurples are exquisite, Scraps! When I was your age, I too made Burple Nurples." Chowder paused. "…but I was so scatterbrained that I accidentally added poison to them. Would have accidentally killed my best friend if it wasn't for Mung bravely saving the day by crossdressing." Scraps gave Chowder a very confused look, but took great pride in the fact that his dish was a success.
"Well, I'm very glad that you didn't accidentally kill Panini," said Scraps once he had taken the time to process the very strange story that Chowder had told him, "She's very nice."
"Yeah…" Chowder said, staring off into the distance and now pondering the fact that he had thought of Gorgonzola as his best friend, rather than Panini, his own wife. Now he began to question if he had even thought of Panini as a friend at all prior to marrying her. Hadn't he spent the past 20 years of his life avoiding her? Chowder didn't have much time to ponder this, as he received a new order from a customer, and had to get back to work.
Gorgonzola tossed and turned in his bed, trying very hard to get a good night's sleep, trying not to stress about all the work he had to do. A very strong headache had set in and he began to feel great chills up his spine despite having bundles of blankets and a candle on top of his head to keep him warm. Gorgonzola began to feel so weak that he had no choice but to sleep.
Chowder settled into bed with his wife. She began to seductively undress, but Chowder quickly reminded her that they already had 50 babies to take care of, and she grumpily put her pajamas back on. She was a bit upset that Chowder was beginning to express chastity again, but at the same time, she was content to just be around him. She quickly dozed off into a sweet dream. Meanwhile, Chowder lay awake, reflecting on the first night after he had married Panini. Technically, he had known what was coming, as Mung had given him a brief explanation as to how sex worked, but mentally, he wasn't ready for it. How could he have been ready for something like that when he had held a single note and missed out on the world for the past 20 years of his life? Last he had remembered, he was an innocent child, and now he was a grown man facing the grown version of the girl who had stalked and harassed him on a near daily basis. But Mung said that it was his destiny, so Chowder braced himself and blacked out, letting Panini take control. It didn't matter very much to him as long as she was happy and he was able to take over the catering company and train Scraps like Mung had trained him. But still, Chowder couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness in his life. Chowder pondered on this until he slowly fell asleep.
The next morning, Gorgonzola fluttered his eyes open, his vision blurry and every part of his body aching as if swords were stabbing through every single muscle. He tried to get out of bed, but his legs began to buckle under him and he quickly sat back down to save himself from falling on his face. Taking deep breaths, Gorgonzola made another attempt at getting up, this time taking several steps across his bedroom before gravity took control and he found himself face down on the carpet. Lacking the energy to get up, Gorgonzola lied there helplessly as his apprentice walked in. Worried, the apprentice decided to call the only person that Gorgonzola trusted: Chowder.
Chowder woke up, feeling a bit groggy from his lack of sleep the previous night. He noticed that there was empty space next to him in the bed, and that that other side of the bed had been remade; he presumed that Panini had left early with their 50 children for the weekly Mommy and Me Arts and Crafts Class at the rec center. Chowder began his morning ritual of replacing his night cap with his signature hat, feeding Kimchi, and of course, preparing breakfast with his young apprentice. However, the routine was interrupted by a phone call. He didn't quite recognize the young voice on the phone, but once he had heard he words "there's something wrong with Mr. Gorgonzola," he rushed over to Gorgonzola's house, taking Scraps and a huge vat of soup with him.
Chowder and Scraps soon arrived at Gorgonzola's house and knocked on the front door, not quite knowing what to expect. The door creaked open, and through the growing crack emerged a small, shy face, about eye level to that of Scraps.
"You must be Gorgonzola's apprentice," said Chowder, getting down on one knee to meet the child's eyes and appear less intimidating. "What happened?" he asked, his eyes expressing a strong hint of concern. The apprentice said nothing, but grabbed onto Chowder's hand and led him, followed by Scraps, to Gorgonzola's bed, on which a barely conscious Gorgonzola was resting, with a damp rag spread across his forehead; his candle was also noticeably burnt out.
"That idiot," said Chowder, feeling Gorgonzola's neck to gage his temperature, "I always told him that he would someday end up overworking himself." Chowder took off the purple sweater that he always wore and gently laid it on top of Gorgonzola's shivering body, in hopes of adding another layer of warmth.
"Scraps, please go to the pharmacy and get some medicine for him," he requested, handing Scraps several dollops.
As Scraps left for the pharmacy, Chowder opened the vat of soup that he had brought with him, spooned out a decent amount, blew on it, and touched the spoon to Gorgonzola's mouth, letting the broth slowly trickle down his throat. Gorgonzola's eyes opened. He was slightly alarmed by Chowder's presence, but also comforted, as he gave a weak smile as a small thanks for his friend's visit.
"Just rest tight, Gorgonzola," said Chowder, softly. "I'll nurse you back to health."
"I should really be working right now…" said Gorgonzola, feeling ashamed at his inability to move.
"Don't worry about that," said Chowder, dipping another spoonful of soup for his bedridden companion. "Worry about yourself for once."
Gorgonzola gave another weak smile and allowed Chowder to continue feeding him the hearty soup. Once the vat was empty, Chowder started for the other side of the room, where Gorgonzola's apprentice had set up a guest bed, but then he felt a slight tugging on his fingers.
Gorgonzola had grabbed his hand with the little strength that he had. Chowder turned towards Gorgonzola, and read his lips as he weakly whispered the words "… please don't… leave me…" Chowder was taken slightly aback, but also smiled as his friend as he turned back around and kneeled next to the bed, still holding on to Gorgonzola's hand. The two slowly fell asleep together.