I do not own the Amazing World of Gumball.
Enjoy!
"I'm back!" Richard said, through the door.
It was early Monday morning and the kids were just about to have breakfast, honestly, he was surprised that the house wasn't a complete wreck when he came back.
But it seems Nichole actually learnt something from the time, he went on strike and she encountered their children in their unsupervised forms.
The whole house heard him and the kids quickly ran downstairs, while Nichole tried to put on a towel.
By the time she got down, she was greeted with a surprise.
Richard was dressed as a really hot fireman showing his bare chest and in his hands were shopping bags.
But more importantly, there was a person beside him that the kid's noticed first.
It was a woman with a pig for a head.
"...Richard. Who is this?" Nichole said, while their kids were wondering the same thing.
"You must be Nicole Watterson. Oink" Said, the woman. "I'm Richard's personal manager. Oink"
"Manager?" Gumball said.
"Apparently I was so photogenic that they assigned me a manager within a day," Richard said. "She's in charge of any offers I get from now and she makes sure I arrive on time. She is also present whenever I make a purchase that is more expensive for no reason. Since the Company practically owns me. If I go into debt, then people would go after the company first and they don't want that."
"Well, I think I overstayed my welcome. Oink" She said, before turning around and walking out of the house but not before saying seductively. "Bye Richard. Oink."
"Bye Tana," He said, completely clueless.
Then he turned to his family whose mouths were open.
"So, who wants to see what I brought?" He said.
Ch 2: A little bit of change
It was no surprise that Richard immediately went to the kitchen to unpack, of course, he brought food kitchen related.
However, they were all surprised when he shoved their 'toaster' off the counter and into the bin.
"RICHARD! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING!?" Nichole yelled.
"Dad. We make smores in that thing!" Gumball said.
"Well, we don't need it anymore because I brought this," He said, taking out something large and round from the first bag.
Everybody eyes were wide when they saw it.
It was shining.
It was beautiful.
It looked like...
"Dad...is that?" Anais said, in disbelief, she could swear it wasn't what she thought it was.
"Yep. A proper Toaster" He confirmed, putting it on the counter where their old 'toaster' used to be and was smart enough to plug it in.
He then went to the fridge and got some bread out and everybody looked wide-eyed as he put it in.
A couple of minutes felt like seconds when the bread popped out.
The toast was golden brown.
It was actually well-cooked toast.
The whole family except for Richard stared at it with wide eyes.
"It's golden toast," Darwin said, awed and touching it.
"It doesn't feel weird," Gumball said, also touching it.
"Dad, how can you even afford this?" Anais said, asking a good question.
"We'll, Nichole was always saying how we can't afford an actual toaster, so when I got my paycheck after the first day, I ran to the appliance store and brought it," He said, stunning them. "It took all my concentration and my manager was there to make sure I actually got what I wanted."
"Richard...I can't believe you were listening" Nichole said, but then something stuck out to her about his statement. "Wait. You get paid after one day?"
"Yep. Apparently, I get paid around 500 bucks per day" He said, making their jaw drop.
That was more than the woman of the house got paid in a week and Nichole realized this too.
"So...let me get this straight" Anais said. "You get paid 1000 bucks just for 2 days?"
"Do I?" He said he had even tried to calculate it. "Well, my job is hard. I was put into numerous outfits for a full two days. I had to stay under about a dozen lights for hours. While the photographer was taking a picture, he would often say stuff like. 'Turn ¼ towards me or turn 1/5th of the way'"
"Wait... Dad, you actually know what that is?" Gumball said.
"After two days of constant correcting I know, now," He said, "I wasn't even allowed to eat until a certain amount of pictures where taken and many were reshot because I was turning wrong. It's gotten to the point that you can ask me to turn a certain way and my body would do it automatically"
"Turn ½ my direction," Anais said.
He did so without fail, which was the beginning of a very amusing time for the kids.
But then, they all helped him to unpack only for Darwin to gasp.
"What is it?" Gumball said.
"It's Cereal. Actual real cereal, that tastes good!" Darwin said, with eyes sparkling, as all the kid's went, to see if there was more.
There was.
"I hope you don't mind Nichole but I also went to the supermarket to get the cereal that I and the kids have always wanted but there just wasn't enough room in the budget to buy," Richard said.
And Nichole's mouth was open and her right eye began to twitch.
"O-Of course not," She said, "I don't even mind, even though shopping is my thing"
But then their kids delivered the final blow.
"We love you dad/ Mister Dad!" Said, all three of them suddenly hugging him.
"Don't mention it. Come to me if you guys need money" Richard said.
"We will," All three of them said, he solidified himself in their minds as their favourite parent.
Gumball and Darwin immediately opened the first box with rap and song while Anais went to get the bowls.
For the first time, they won't be having toast that didn't taste funny and cereal that actually would last them to lunch.
But then they all noticed Nichole face and how she looked like she was going to explode.
"H-Honey. Are you alright?" Richard asked almost scared.
Nichole looked him in the eyes and saw that he didn't buy all this stuff to upstage her.
He actually had done so with good intentions.
Her anger deflated, she couldn't get mad at him and said. "I'm fine. I think it really sweet that you brought a new toaster and good cereal for the family"
"Wait. Dad. You brought a microwave?" Anais said she had just noticed it.
Nichole's fist punched a hole in the side of the wall and the house shook from the blow.
Everybody leaned back from fear.
However, she didn't yell.
Nichole got some toast, spread it with butter and then walked out, walked up the steps while saying. "I'm eating in the bedroom."
"Dad. I think you need to talk to mom when she comes back from work" Anais said, "Also give her a backrub."
Before joining her brothers as they explore what it's like to have good cereal and toast in the morning.
After breakfast, Richard drove them to school and Gumball, Darwin and Anais couldn't help but notice how the other kid's stared as Richard got into view when they were coming of the car.
Especially the girls, who blushed when they saw him.
Miss Simian, who was forced outside to make sure all the kids were inside, was having her morning chocolate when she saw Richard.
She spat out her drink and her mouth just hung there.
"Goodbye, Kid's!" Richard said, as his kids disappeared inside the school, then he got into the driver seat and drove off.
He had no idea that his changed appearance was slowly changing the school's attitude towards his own kid's.
He drove back home where the Robbins just happened to be out taking care of their lawn.
"Hi. Mr and Mrs Robinson" He said.
Both of them turned in annoyance at the sound of his voice but when they saw him, their mouth dropped, as he walked inside.
"Oh, my Lord. " Gaylord Robbinson said, taking off his glasses. "In all my years, I have never seen muscles that glorious"
And then his wife replied back to him, which struck a mark within him.
"No! We should not go over there, more often! The whole family is still nothing but trouble!" He said, he knew what she wanted and was annoyed.
Did she forget, she was married to him?
But then again, should he start working out more?
#Inside the house#
Richard moved around the house, he had no idea the impact he had on his neighbours.
He finally went to the kitchen to have breakfast that he put on scale to weigh the food before putting it inside his body.
Then after breakfast, he went to pump some iron for a good hour before having a shower and then putting on the television.
As long as he ate modestly and did a few hours of training, he could watch television no problem.
For lunch, he made several sandwiches with water on the side.
And then he ran around the neighbourhood block, many neighbours who were out or just happened to glance out of the window, watched him do this several times.
What Richard was confused about was when Neighbours he did not even know or never bothered to talk to him were suddenly stopping him to say hi.
When he got back to the house, he sat on the couch and watched another round of television before going out to get his kids.
He arrived at the school just when the school bell rang and he wasn't surprised to see the rush of kids who fled the doors the moment the bell was heard.
After a bit, he finally saw his kid's and they came over and walked into the driver's seat before he started the engine.
"So... kids. How was your day?" He said.
"It was kind of weird.." Gumball said, with a raised eyebrow.
"Miss Simson called us 'the kids with the gloriously muscly father'," Darwin said, all happily.
"The girls in my class who have never even spoken to me, said hi," Anais said.
"It seems to me that you all had a wonderful day," He said, as they drove home.
They were home 5 minutes later and spent the rest of the day watching television.
When the doorbell rang, he went to the front door and saw that it was the Pizza he ordered.
Larry, who delivering the Pizza, almost dropped it at the sight of Richard and his pec's.
Richard paid in cash before closing the door and placing the food on the table.
They all ate the food before going back to watching television.
When the woman of the house arrived, they know she had arrived.
Nichole slammed the door opened and her eyes were bloodshot.
Nobody said, anything as she dragging her and her purse upstairs.
"Dad... I think it's time for the talk and back rub" Anais said.
"On it," He said, rushing upstairs before stopping at the door.
He slowly opened the bedroom door to see the once again defeated form of his wife who was slumped at the side of the bed.
"Nichole?" He said, going in.
"O-Oh, hi. Richard" She said, not turning to face him. "Just give me a moment and I'll be right down."
"Nichole, I just wanted to make sure you're alright," He said, walking slowly to her.
He noticed that her shoulders were trembling.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He said, sitting next to her.
There was a long uncomfortable silence between them before Nichole broke down.
"Richard. I don't think I can do this anymore" She said.
"Do what?" He said.
"Go to work!" She said, "You cannot begin to imagine what I put up with on a daily basis. I work twice as hard as any male employee but I have a boss who won't even promote me because I'm a woman! Everything I've ever done there, the males get the credit for." before she said. "But the only reason why I get up in the morning is because I want this family to survive."
He let her continue.
"Yes, I know this house is falling apart. And yes, I know that there isn't even room in the budge to even treat the kids to a decent slice of toast" she said, "Do you think I'm happy that we all have so little clothing that we practically wear the same thing every single day, for years!? Or that when we gave the boy's a phone, it was a phone we got for 10 bucks that came straight out of the '80s?"
He started giving her that back rub.
"But we have room for the essentials." She said, of course, she would never let him keep their money ever again. "We have water. We have electricity. We have a roof over our heads. We have heating. We have food even if it was subpar. I felt needed. I was the only source of income. I know that if I didn't walk into that office, our family would be out on the streets."
The backrub was really helping her.
"But then you got a job that the universe lets you have," She said, "In just two days, you got paid more than I make in 2 weeks and you receive your payment at the end of each day. You brought home thing's, that the family really needed but I only had in picture form because we couldn't afford it. Seeing the kid's eyes just light up for thing's that we usually travel to get, made me feel incredibly guilty."
"Nichole, can I just say something?" He finally said.
"Go ahead," Nichole said.
"Nichole, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met," He said, making her look at him in surprise. "You, are smart and beautiful. You married way before I looked like this. You left your parents' home to marry a person you weren't sure was going to go anywhere. Without you, this family wouldn't exist. You shouldn't see the fact that I'm working, as a bad thing. Now that we both work, it means we have a bigger budget every month to spend on the family. Give the kid's the life, that we've always wanted for them. Hell, I'll even let you handle the money I receive from now on." before stopping the rub and saying. "Nicole, how about tomorrow morning. I book you a day at the spa?"
She was stunned and said. "But what about work?"
"The appointment would be after work," He said, "You deserve every minute of it. And besides, from now on. I'll just keep making more money the more I'm exposed. I'll eventually make so much money that you won't even need to work. The whole family can be there to watch you quit."
"...Wait. How much are we talking about?" She said, what he was saying was like a fantasy.
How could her husband make so much that her year paycheck meant nothing to the family?
"Well, in the company there are two types of models," He said, "There are the ones who only do advertisement for posters, magazines and even internet ads. But then, there are the ones who get their faces on the big screen, like on television or the movies. They get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. The very top tier models get paid millions"
And Nichole was stunned, all that money just because somebody was attractive?
If Richard really did make that much in one day, she could quit the job in style.
"But don't worry. Nichole" He said, "I don't think I'll ever get to that stage while my body is still considered attractive looking. Heck, I'll even be surprised if somebody went up to me asking for an autograph. Those guys have the press following them around everywhere and their houses are always heavily guarded because fans try to break in and steal their stuff. There is no way, I appeal enough to reach that stage."
And Nicole got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked at her now attractive husband.
She shook her head.
There was just no way Richard would make it that far, why was she worrying?
They both hugged.
Neither of them realized the coming storm that was Wednesday morning.
And scene!
Next chapter, it Wednesday morning and Richards pictures are revealed in a popular muscle magazine. His kids are startled by the sudden shift in the school's attitude towards them on Wednesday morning, apparently, everybody in town has seen the magazine. Review/fav and follow!