AN: Chapter 2 is here! Been having some crazy inspiration lately. A HUGE thanks to those that pointed out my mistakes in Chapter 1. My Writing skill has gone down the tube. I'm the only one that proofreads this so I apologize if I've missed some mistakes. Anyway, enjoy the story! And again, don't read if offended by incest.

Much More Than Maternal.

Chapter 2

The Breakup

The sun rose higher into the sky, bathing the streets of Elmore in golden light. Flocks of birds awoke and took flight, screeching loudly at one another. Below, among the bustle of commuters, a young cat ran happily down the sidewalk. To anyone who cared to throw a glance in his direction, he seemed like your average, run of the mill child. But little did they know, that inside the young cat, he was bursting with happiness. Gumball arrived at an intersection, stopped and hammered the pedestrian crossing button with a shaking hand. His mind was running in overdrive mode and he almost didn't realize the walk sign turn green, signalling him that it was safe to cross. As he resumed his mad dash, Penny floated into his mind and he remembered their conversation over the phone. Penny wanted to see him, she had something she wanted to say to him and it was important. The mall peeked over a pair of office buildings, as if enticing the cat to run faster. And that is just what he did. He couldn't wait to see her.


Back at the Watterson's house, Richard lazily pulled up, nearly colliding with the Robinson's car. He removed the key from the ignition and stumbled from the car, letting out a tired groan. As he opened the boot to grab the groceries, Anais and Darwin left the car and made their way to the front door.

'Want to play Dodge Or Dare later, Anais?,' Darwin asked his sister, who gave him a dirty look.

"Mmm, not really Darwin," she said. "We all know what happened last time."

The fish gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah, but it was fun, right?"

The boot slammed shut and Richard slowly made his way to the house, balancing the groceries on the top of a new TV.

"Can you kids hold the door open for me, please?," he asked, catching the bag with his teeth before it could spill onto the sidewalk.

"I'll do it!" Darwin exclaimed, making it to the door first and pushing it open.

Anais thanked him and entered the house. Richard followed her in, banging his elbow smartly on the door frame. Nicole, who was still on the couch, did not move to greet her family.

"Hi Mom!," Anais chirped as she ran upstairs.

Nicole muttered a sad reply and blinked away her tears, hiding them from the rest of the family.

"Whoa, honey, are you OK?," Richard asked as he dropped the groceries by the couch so he could set up the TV.

"Just a little under the weather, Richard," Nicole lied, deliberately avoiding Richard's gaze.

"Aww, that's no good," Richard said, giving his wife a sympathetic look.

Darwin narrowed his eyes at the back of Nicole's head. She had blatantly lied to Richard, Darwin was sure of that. But as to why she would produce such a lie, he didn't have the slightest clue. It was very strange for his mother to try and hide something from her husband. Darwin retreated after Anais, but not without throwing the back of Nicole another look. Darwin found his sister in their shared bedroom, seating her dolls at a small table for a tea party. He shut the door behind him and took the final seat across from her.

"Anais, I need to ask you something."

"Is it about how weird Mom has been acting lately?," the bunny said, her gaze remaining fixed on her dolls.

Darwin gasped. "You already knew?"

"Of course I did," Anais said, pouring a cup of tea for Daisy. "I've noticed Mom acting weird for a few weeks now."

"Do you have any idea why?" Darwin asked as he inspected a plastic teacup.

"That's the problem, I just can't think of any valid reason to explain her behavior."

"Could it be stress?" Darwin wondered aloud, placing the little teacup back on its saucer.

Anais shook her head, "Doubt it, Mom can handle her stress...most of the time."

"Darn it," he mumbled. "I really want to help her if she's in trouble."

"You know Mom, Darwin," Anais, said, finally making eye contact with the fish. "She won't ask for help unless it's really bad."

Darwin sighed, "What do we do then?"

Anais thought it over for a second then clicked her fingers.

"Let's leave it for now," she picked up her Daisy doll. "But keep an eye on Mom, just in case."


Nicole opened the fridge, the blast of cold air hitting her like a wall. She began to methodically place the groceries in the fridge, the bag crinkling every time time she reached in to retrieve something. She replayed the morning's events out in her mind for the umpteenth time. She remembered Gumball looking up at her as she slowly inched toward him and the way her mind had fumbled for the three little words she desperately wanted to say. She would've kissed him right then and there if the damned phone hadn't rung. Gumball had been so happy to hear from Penny, he practically bounced out of the door. And it had hurt much more than she realized, seeing the way her son had fawned over the young girl. Why couldn't he look at her that way?

She would give anything to experience that. Hell, as soon as Gumball's footsteps had fallen out of earshot, she had burst into she had cried for a long while, torturing herself with her failure. As of right now, she felt a little better but she still felt cheated of her chance to open up to her son. Of all the times she had attempted to openly speak to Gumball, all had failed except once. And that failure had been her pain tore at her, like shards of glass being embedded within her heart. She placed the last of the groceries into the fridge, crushing the plastic bag into a ball and throwing it into the bin. Another wave of jealousy rolled over her, stronger than before. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes stung with tears. She angrily blinked them away, her pain escaping in a small sob. Thankfully, Richard did not hear it, the new TV blared the intro for a new show of Win Or Don't Win. Except, Richard wasn't watching it because he had fallen asleep.

Nicole glared hatefully in the direction of the living room. Her pain and jealousy turned to raw anger and she suddenly found herself wishing she had never met Richard. She stormed out of the kitchen to her husband, who still slept peacefully, snorting every time he inhaled. She was about to shout Richard awake when the front door opened and Gumball walked through with his head bowed. Upon seeing Gumball, all of Nicole's anger evaporated and she forgot about her husband.

"Gumball, honey, what's wrong?" she asked, the fire in her belly had been replaced with butterflies.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Sweetie, I can help you."

"No. Leave it" he replied curtly, making his way upstairs.

It hurt her greatly to see him like this, every fibre of her being screaming at her to comfort her son. "Gumball-"

"I'm going to have a shower, then I'm going to bed" he stated, his voice wavering on the verge of tears.

"It's burger night honey, you don't want to miss that, do you?"

"I don't care" was the reply.

Gumball reached the top of the stairs and disappeared from sight. A minute later, the bathroom door slammed shut.

Darwin appeared at the top of the stairs just as Nicole started to ascend them.

"What's wrong with Gumball?" he asked, gesturing to the closed door.

Nicole shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll talk to him later tonight."

"OK, can I help with dinner?"

"Sure honey, It's burger night so let your sister know that dinner will be ready soon then come meet me in the kitchen."

Darwin nodded and left Nicole alone. She ascended the stairs slowly, as Darwin and Anais were liable to come tearing down the stairs and wipe them all out. Nicole reached the landing and knocked on the bathroom door. She received no answer, but could hear a gentle sobbing, smartly disguised underneath the roar of the shower. She sighed solemnly and turned in time to watch Darwin and Anais run down the stairs, bowling straight into Richard. Nicole shook her head at the tangle of limbs lying at the foot of the stairs.

"I've told you kids to be careful around the stairs!" she scolded, storming down the stairs to untangle them.

Gumball did not join his family at the dinner table which upset Nicole. She had stubbornly held out hope that he would make an appearance, but when Richard had scoffed the last burger, she finally resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be seeing him again that night. The feast was magnificent, the family congratulating Nicole on her cooking skill. A little later, the Watterson's quietly retreated to their respective beds for sleep. All of them except for one.

Nicole awoke at a quarter to midnight to pale light coming in from under her bedroom door. Curious, she got out of bed to check out the source. She entered the living room, noticing that the light was coming from the TV screen. She took a step forward to turn it off when she heard someone exhale softly. She went around the couch to investigate and saw Gumball, who was fast asleep. She smiled and sat down beside him, running a hand over his face. He stirred, mumbled a few words then fell back to sleep. Gently, she picked him up and leaned back, cradling him between her arms. Looking down at him, she felt a powerful surge of unbridled love stir within her. She loved him, wanted him, God, she needed him.

She could never explain it, but she felt closer to her own son then she did to the man she married. She kissed his forehead tenderly, making him stir again. He mumbled her name before lying still, making her giddy with love. She cradled him silently, watching him sleep peacefully in her arms. She lost track of how long she sat there, bathed in the glow of the TV screen, with her sleeping son in her arms. Nor did she even care. All she cared about, was the fact that as she held him, she felt so much more closer to him than ever before. She finally stood and carried Gumball upstairs, placing him gently in his bed. She kissed his forehead tenderly, running a loving hand across his cheek.

"Sleep well Gummypuss, I love you."

She left, slowly closing the door behind her. Seconds later, Gumball rolled over and exposed a torn photograph that had been hidden underneath his covers. It was a picture of Gumball and Penny that had been taken on one of their dates. The photo had been torn down the middle, separating the pair in the photo. And staining the surface of the photo, were two small, dark circles. Left by the tears of a young boy with a broken heart.

AN: Chapter 3 may take a while because this chapter was halfway to completion when I first posted, whereas I haven't even started Chapter 3 yet. Again, please leave any criticism, insults so I can improve. Thanks again!