AN: So, the idea for this chapter actually came to me at work on Monday. It just popped into my head fully formed and ready to go. Been spending every night this week writing it, which is why I finished it so quickly. When you wanna write, you write! Anyway, enjoy the story and I'll see you down below!
Much More Than Maternal
Chapter 5
The Decision
Anais smiled brightly at the TV in anticipation, bursting into laughter as the purple donkey danced across the screen. Richard sat beside her, watching the cartoon with his daughter. He didn't have a clue why his daughter loved the show, but she always let out a joyful scream whenever that purple donkey would run across the screen, so it must be pretty good. He watched the show blankly, his mind briefly wandering to what could be for dinner and he groaned, remembering dinner was hours away. Anais let loose another shrill shriek of joy, causing her father to jump and look at her with a raised eyebrow. She giggled ceaselessly, her laughter steadily climbing in pitch until Richard was sure the windows would shatter, or at the very least, wind up webbed with cracks. Richard's ear perked up at the sound of the back door opening and he looked over his shoulder, spying his wife as she entered the kitchen.
From what he had glimpsed of Nicole, she looked quite different from how she'd been when he'd awoken but he couldn't put his finger on why. She was wearing her usual attire and from what he'd seen, she'd done nothing to her hair, so why did she seem like such a changed woman? It was like she was radiating immense happiness wherever she went, as if she had finally dealt with something that had been bugging her. He'd seen that she was even smiling, something Richard hadn't seen her do in his presence in quite a while.
He was horribly curious, so he decided to ask Nicole why she was suddenly so happy. Maybe she'd tell him her secret and he'd get to be as happy as her on this fine day. He got to his feet, walked to the kitchen and peeked around the door. Nicole was at the kitchen window, her hands were clasped together in front of her chest and she was gazing out the window at something. Richard couldn't see her face, but he knew she was smiling, her body language spoke volumes of how happy she was. He stepped up behind her, clearing his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, Richard, what do you want?," Nicole asked, her smile vanished as she reluctantly turned to face her husband.
Richard gave her a big grin, putting his hands on his hips as he answered her question. Her secret was going to be discovered, and it was all thanks to him.
"Nicole, I want to know what you did out there," he said, proud that he'd caught her.
Nicole's blood ran cold and her heart flipped into her throat, a knot of fear twisted in her chest as her mind flashed back to the backyard and what had happened there between Gumball and her. She avoided his crazed stare, instead she opted to look around the kitchen with guilt-ridden eyes. Nicole rubbed at the back of her neck nervously, trying to think of an excuse to tell Richard.
"Richard, I-uh, how much did you see?"
"Nothing, that's why I want you to tell me!," he exclaimed, he was still very proud of himself.
"I-wait, what?," Nicole looked at her husband, confused at his words.
Richard chuckled at his confused wife, he knew she had done something, her guilty expression did nothing but confirm his ludicrous suspicions. Maybe it was a surprise for him, an early birthday present or something else of similar value? He hoped it truly was something for him, he loved presents.
"You're so happy, Nicole!," he said, pointing at her face. "Did you get me an early present for my birthday?"
Nicole groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly. Who was she kidding? There's no way Richard would have pieced together the truth. Even if he had seen them, it would've looked like Gumball and her had been hugging. She had made sure nobody else had been around when she finally kissed Gumball. But had she? No, she was positive they'd been alone when she'd kissed her son. She returned her eyes to Richard.
"No, I haven't gotten you anything for your birthday," she said, crossing her arms over chest.
"Oh, go on, you can tell me!," Richard said, chuckling again.
"I haven't gotten you anything!," Nicole insisted, a flash of anger crossed her mind momentarily.
Why couldn't he leave her alone? She wanted to go over everything she'd said to Gumball, she wanted to make sure she'd said everything she needed him to hear.
"Your birthday has already been, I won't be getting you anything!," she said, wishing Richard would leave her be.
"Why are you so happy, then?,"
"Because it's a beautiful day out there," she lied, without pausing to think. "You should go see it, stretch your legs, perhaps."
"Oh! Is my present out there?," Richard asked, pointing over his shoulder.
She opened her mouth to say no but her husband didn't have the patience to wait for her reply. He took off from the kitchen and ran out the front door, slamming it behind him. Nicole shook her head, asking herself why she'd married him. A door opened and she looked up, expecting to see Richard standing before her with a sad face. But it wasn't Richard, it was Gumball and he was looking at her shyly. She smiled at him, desperately wanting to kiss him again and Gumball blushed lightly at her expression, looking down at the floor.
"I'm gonna go upstairs and...uh," he paused, rubbing his arm shyly, "Think about what you said."
"There's no rush, sweetie. Take your time," she reassured him.
"Thanks."
He walked away, stopping once to look back at his mother. Nicole smiled at him and gave him a small, comforting wave. He turned away from her and went up to the second floor, disappearing from Nicole's sight. There was nothing more she could do for him, it was all up to Gumball now. She could only guess at how he felt inside at her confession, but she knew it had to be incredibly confusing for the young boy. Nicole wanted to comfort him, to hold him close and help him make his decision but she didn't want to push him too hard. Her meddling could ruin everything, so she had to settle with the nail-biting anxiety of waiting for his answer.
Nicole had dreamed of this day for so long, she had begun to believe it would never happen and Gumball would never know how much she cared. Now that she had finally done it, she was overcome with relief and happiness. The pain of holding in all her feelings had become unbearable, sometimes it was downright torture to watch her son and know that he'd probably never see her as more than a mother. But that pain was now gone, the burden she'd been carrying for so long had been lifted and she felt like she could do anything. Everything now rode on what Gumball decided to do with her words and Nicole hoped that his decision would be positive. She'd end up on the moon if he came back and told her he'd accepted her.
She sighed longingly, wishing for her son to hold her and make her feel like she was his world. She hoped and wished he'd say yes, she'd give anything for that to happen today. There was no way of that happening though, it was obvious he was too confused. The back door slammed again, jarring Nicole from her love-struck thoughts. Darwin stood at the entrance, eyeing her warily. She opened her mouth to say hi but froze, fear flooded her mind and swept all the good thoughts away. She'd completely forgotten about Darwin, she'd been too fixated on Gumball. Now, Darwin's accusing face was clear as day, he had seen her kiss Gumball. She held a shaking hand out to the fish, her mind paralyzed with fear. He recoiled from her touch, his face scrunched into a mask of revulsion.
"Darwin, honey, I can explain," she said, taking a small step toward him.
He shook his head slowly at her, his eyes burning with hate and anger. Nicole paused, afraid of what he could do with what he knew about her.
His eyes were the worst part, they were cold and she could feel him cursing her very existence. She didn't know what to say without setting him off, but she didn't have long to think as Darwin turned and left her. She wanted to go after him, she wanted to explain everything to him but he clearly wasn't in the best of moods. Trying to force the fish into talking could prove disastrous, Nicole didn't want her chances ruined this early on. For once in her marriage, Nicole was grateful for Richard's stupidity. He was bound to spend all day looking for his non-existent birthday present, which would provide Nicole with all the time she needed to talk to Darwin.
He's not the kind of person to stay angry forever, she thought, watching Darwin sit beside Anais.
She bit her lip nervously, frantically thinking of a way she could get Darwin alone later so she could help him understand what he'd seen. He could be convinced, she just needed to thoroughly explain it all, and hopefully, he would understand. The TV suddenly turned off and Nicole looked over the counter at the now empty living room.
What? Where the hell did they go?, she thought, her fears bubbled higher inside her.
She hadn't even heard them go, and she desperately hoped Darwin would keep silent about her and Gumball, the family's future depended on it.
Gumball rolled onto his side, hugging himself as his mind whirred at super-sonic speed. He just couldn't make heads or tails of it, his mother loved him. And this wasn't your run-of-the-mill motherly love, no, this was actual love. It was confusing, but at the same time, it was also very alluring. He suddenly remembered all the ways she had looked at him, the small ways she touched his arm or shoulder, it all added up and now and still, he just couldn't think straight. He kept replaying the kiss over and over in his head, going over everything in minute detail.
The way she'd looked at him before moving in to kiss him, the way her eyes had sparkled with life afterwards. He had to admit, the kiss had been good, it even topped the kiss he'd had with Penny. He couldn't really say why, but it probably had something to do with the way his mother had worked her tongue around his. He groaned a little, thinking about kissing Nicole again, except for much longer. He closed his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin when the door slammed open. Pretending to be asleep, Gumball remained still, listening in on Darwin and Anais' conversation.
"Okay, Anais, I need to tell you-," Darwin stopped, noticing Gumball.
Gumball didn't dare move an inch, he wanted to know what Darwin had to say. He snorted quietly, hoping his siblings would buy it and assume he was asleep. They must have bought it, because Anais spoke up.
"Darwin, what do you want? I'm missing Daisy."
"Hang on."
Gumball heard Darwin step up behind him, he could feel the fish's breath on the back of his head. Carefully, Gumball concentrated on his own breathing, making sure every breath was soft and slow. Darwin watched him feign sleep for a minute longer until Anais spoke again, a little louder this time though.
"Darwin! What do you want to tell me?," there was mild annoyance in her voice.
Darwin turned away from Gumball, who continued to feign sleep. Darwin pulled a chair up and sat on it, gesturing to his sister to do the same. When she had seated herself, he opened his mouth to speak.
"I know why Mrs. Mom has been acting weird."
Anais sighed, a relieved expression on her face. "That's great, Darwin, can we help Mom with her problem?"
"I don't know, it's pretty complex," he answered, throwing a quick glance at Gumball.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Gumball is the reason."
Anais was taken aback. "What?"
"Gumball and I were outside playing when Mom came out to watch us. I left to go get another broom after Gumball broke the first one."
Anais nodded, gesturing for Darwin to continue.
"It took a while but I found one. And when I came back, I saw them," Darwin jerked his head back at Gumball when he reached the word 'them'.
Anais raised her shoulders, held out her hands and shook her head, frustrated that she was missing her show.
"Tell me, don't leave me in suspense," she grunted.
"Okay, when I came back, Mom and Gumball were-," Darwin jumped as Gumball hurled himself off his bed.
"Hey! Wow, I had a great sleep!," Gumball said loudly, slapping his brother on the back. "What's up, buddy?"
Darwin ignored him and turned his attention back to Anais, who looked rather bored.
"Gumball and Mom were-."
Gumball laughed loudly, slapping Darwin on the back again.
"Ha ha, what a good joke!," he said, smiling widely.
"Gumball, will you stop!?," Darwin shouted, pushing Gumball's hands away.
"Look, will you just tell me why Mom has been all weird lately?," Anais said, she slammed a hand on the table.
"Weird? No, Mom is fine. You can go, Anais, I need to speak with Darwin. Alone," Gumball said, smiling stupidly at his sister.
Anais grunted, gave the boys a dirty look and left them, muttering under her breath about her show. When she slammed the door behind her, Darwin punched Gumball in the arm, his face was a twisted mask of fury.
"Gumball! Why did you do that?"
"Because I don't want our family to end up broken because of your big mouth!," Gumball retorted, he poked an angry finger at the fish.
"Broken? How would that happen?"
"If you'd told Anais what happened between Mom and I, she might tell Dad. And I don't think his reaction will be all rainbows and butterflies!," Gumball growled, prodding Darwin with a finger.
"Why are you protecting her? She's not supposed to kiss you like that!," Darwin said, slapping Gumball's hand away.
"Because I don't want to lose Mom!," Gumball said, rubbing his stinging hand. "She's your mother too. Do you really want to break up our family over this?"
Darwin lowered his gaze, Gumball's question had provoked his thoughts to emerge. Yes, Nicole was his mother, not biologically, but he did consider her to be his mother. Seeing her kissing Gumball had, somehow, made him feel horribly inferior. Thinking about it now, he felt incredibly stupid. He'd almost blabbered to Anais when he should've just consulted Nicole about it, she could've helped him through it. He looked back up at Gumball, who was still angry. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Nicole, who barged in without a word. She closed the door softly, turning her gaze to the boys. Gumball felt a twinge of emotion at seeing his mother.
"What's going on up here?," she asked, even though she already knew what they had been arguing about.
Darwin's face burned with shame, he wanted to apologize but couldn't muster the strength to look Nicole in the eyes. Gumball was the closest to the fish and could tell what was going through his mind.
"Mom, Darwin wants to say something to you. I think you should listen to him," Gumball said, sitting on his bed.
She went to Darwin and sat on the floor beside him, putting an arm around him lovingly.
"It's about what you saw, isn't it?," she asked softly, giving Darwin's shoulder a soft squeeze.
Darwin nodded and looking up at her with his round eyes, they were wet with tears. She gave him a small hug, trying to soothe the fish.
"Say what's on your mind, honey."
"Why did you...?," his sentence trailed off and he dropped his gaze again.
"Kiss Gumball?," she gave her son a look and Gumball motioned for her to continue. "Because I love him."
"But, does this mean you love him more than me and Anais?," Darwin asked, his bottom lip trembled as he spoke.
"That isn't true, honey," Nicole said, rubbing Darwin's back soothingly. "I love all three of you so much."
A tear fell from Darwin's cheek and he began to sob quietly.
"I don't believe you," the fish said, his voice was shaky. "I've seen the way you look at Gumball. You love him more because he's your son and I'm the adopted one."
"No, no, Darwin, that's not true," she said, as she threw her other arm around him and hugged him to her chest.
Darwin fought weakly against her embrace, his sobs escaping with every shaky breath he took. Nicole refused to let go, her arms remaining wrapped around the struggling fish as her own eyes began to well with tears. She closed her eyes and spoke to Darwin, her own voice was shaky with emotion.
"Darwin, I don't care if you're adopted. You are a part of this family and I love you as if you were my own flesh and blood."
He continued to thrash against her, shaking his head at her words. Gumball stepped up beside the pair, placed his arms around them and jammed his head between Darwin's face and Nicole's chest. She was grateful that he'd decided to step in and help her calm the fish.
"Darwin, dude, Mom loves you, man. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't be here saying all these things," he whispered to the sobbing fish.
Darwin's struggles ceased, he hiccuped and raised his watery eyes at Gumball.
"But, she kissed-," he began but was cut off by Gumball, who shook his head.
"Dude, how she feels about me, doesn't change how she feels about you."
"It's true, honey, I love Gumball in a different way. I love you as a son, whereas I see Gumball as someone I want to be intimate with," Nicole said, giving the boys a loving squeeze. "There is no differing amounts of love. I care for all three of my children equally."
Darwin fidgeted a little, remaining silent. When she was sure he wouldn't run away, Nicole released Darwin from her hug. He stepped back and looked at her, his eyes were puffy from the crying.
"I care about you, Darwin. I don't care that I didn't give birth to you, to me, you are my son."
He sniffled an answer, looking away from her. Gumball slapped his brother on the shoulder, giving him a little shake.
"Sit down, dude. I suppose Mom should explain everything."
Darwin responded to Gumball's request without a word, his chair creaked as he sat down.
"Okay, first things first, do you feel any better, honey?," Nicole asked, leaning forward slightly.
"A little," he said quietly. "But, I want to know everything."
"You will dude, you will," Gumball said, sitting next to Darwin.
The clock read eleven thirty when Darwin came downstairs and sat beside Anais, who was still watching Daisy run around on the TV. His sister did not ask him what Gumball had wanted to say to him, her attention was stuck to the glowing television. They'd told him everything, Nicole was the one that had spoken the most. Gumball had stayed silent for most of the conversation, only speaking at certain points in Nicole's confession. They'd insisted that there was no competition, that no-one was the favorite child. He believed them, but it was still very strange to him, he'd never even heard of a mother falling in love with her own son. But, admittedly, Nicole looked happier than she'd ever been since he'd known her. He knew it would be a while before he completely accepted them but, in time, he could see himself accepting a relationship between them. It was just like what Nicole had said as he left them, things like this take time.
Back in the bedroom, Nicole was still seated on the floor and she was nervously watching her son. Gumball was by his bed, smoothing out the crumpled sheets from when he had leaped from his bed. Nicole's heart fluttered at being alone with him, but the love that floated within her chest was not alone, it mingled with fear of being caught. She knew what would happen if her actions were discovered.
"Do you think Darwin will keep his promise?," Nicole asked, the knot of fear in her chest had not completely faded yet.
Gumball looked over his shoulder. "I think he will, Mom. It was all just a huge shock for him to see us...uh, kissing."
"I know, I just don't want him telling anyone yet. I don't want to lose you, Gumball," she said, moving closer to her son.
"Mom, I think we'll be okay. Darwin won't break his promise, he's not that kind of person. Plus, I made him pinky promise as well, remember?," he said.
She giggled at that last part as he finished smoothing his sheets and turned to his mother, who had moved even closer to him. He blushed at how close she was, giving her a shy smile.
"Gumball, the things you said, the way you fought for us. Does that mean-?," she paused, taking his hands in hers. "Does that mean...you approve of a relationship?"
"Do you want the long or the short answer?," he asked, smiling devilishly at her.
She thought it over, curious at his question. She nodded, deciding to answer his question with one of her own.
"Which one will I like?," she questioned, giving her son a flirtatious grin.
He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled his mother toward him, answering her question with a passionate kiss as he pressed his body up against hers. Nicole gladly returned his kiss, relishing his taste as his tongue entered her mouth. She embraced him, working her own tongue around his as she pushed back with her own body. In that instant, every negative thought Nicole had harbored was obliterated and she forgot about everything in the entire world. Right now, the only thing she desired was her son. He meant the world to her and she would not let him go, even if the universe was going to end. Nicole broke the kiss and gave her son a smile, her chest swelling with happiness. Gumball smiled back, giving his mother a light squeeze around the middle.
"I love you, Mom," he said, his grin growing wider with every word.
At his confession, Nicole burst into tears, not a single word could describe the immense feeling of happiness that flooded her when he finally uttered those three little words that meant so much to her. He held her as she cried into his shoulder and she could barely keep herself together when she finally looked her son in the eyes.
"Gumball, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that," she said as she burst into another round of fresh tears, dropping her face into his shoulder again.
Smiling, Gumball lifted her face, wiped a tear from her cheek and without a word, kissed her again. Mother and son remained entwined in each other's arms, their kiss continuing for some time as the sun's golden rays shone merrily through the open window.
AN: I'm quite happy at how this turned out, to be honest. And don't worry folks, this story is far from over. I have plenty of other ideas. We still have Richard and Anais to deal with as well. And I've also been debating on whether to have Gumball and Nicole spend the night together. If I do decide to write such a thing, it will NOT be some kinky fuck-fest. Again, thanks for reading!
AN#2: Me again! Just doing some editing before I begin number six. Nothing too major. I'm in agreement with Neterlan that it is too early for the the main pair to get lemony but I don't mind writing them sleeping together, and I do mean only sleeping. I might make the final chapter somewhat lemony near the end. Never written a lemon so I don't wanna screw it up if I write it.
