When Gumball woke up, in a cliche movie way, alone on the couch with the blanket pulled tight around him he had warmth slicing across his stomach. He wasn't sure what was wrong, when he felt the clammy sweat on his forehead and soaking his palms as he took a deep breath through his mouth then roll onto his stomach. He felt like he did the night he got to the stomach bug months ago and now was no freaking difference as he curled his arms over his stomach letting out a tiny low moan as he continued taking deep breathes to combat the nausea. He opened his eyes listening to the low murmur of the TV as he held his shirt in his hands tightly and kept taking deep breathes tightening his arms around his stomach.
He was sure it was just nausea and a stomach bug but Gumball did not like throwing up. At all. So that's why he did what he did, now trying to focus on the TV and knowing that the bathroom wasn't bad and a rather strange comfort as he continued with those breathes and finally shut his eyes. He didn't feel good at all today, his body felt to tight and he felt like running but felt too weak to actually get up and move, to move anything other than his head and to force his eyes open.
He shifted, just the tiniest bit, and that seemed to be it for his body. He was launching himself off the couch the blanket falling to the floor and he was racing out of the room to the bathroom. His hand was clamped tight over his mouth as he raced to the bathroom, almost expecting it not to make it to the toilet and he barely had any time to lift the seat, fall to his knees before the onslaught came on. You'd think being made of candy his vomiting would be sweet, nice, but it wasn't; his stomach acids tasted like any other and it was vile, disgusting and he sobbed through it. It was like his body was working on getting every last thing he dare have eaten the other day out of his body like it was purging itself.
When he was finally done he found he had no strength to lift himself off the floor. He didn't want too anyhow. The floor was cold and it felt nice on his hot face, so nice in fact, that he turned his cheek against it and shuddered at the cold waves that went through his body at this and closed his eyes. He was sure if anyone found him like this they'd immediately jump to a conclusion of poisoning or something but at that moment he was sure it was just the stomach flu. Had to be. Flame Prince said he wasn't feeling to good yesterday and he figured that was it.
Or well, it was confirmed, when his phone began buzzing in his back pocket and he pulled it out answering the obvious call. "'ello?" He got out his voice raw, like he'd been screaming and was cracking in the worse way possible.
"Oh, PG, you sound absolutely horrible. Like shit really. Only Princess's can't say shit anymore, I guess. Not dignified. But you sound like definite shit." Fionna babbled softly in his ear making him shut his eyes at the familiarity of it and turned rolling over again when the tile got too warm under his hot cheek and switched the phone to his other hand and pressed this cheek into the tiles and shuddered at the cold waves it sent through him.
"Thanks." He hated the crack in his voice but replied to Fionna anyhow as he curled up just a bit, no longer feeling like he was going to puke his guts out, but still faint waves of nausea went through him. "How's Phillip? He said he wasn't feeling well yesterday."
"Oh yeah! The poor baby is sick too! I gotta stay away from him, doctor and Cake's orders, as I'm too "delicate" to be near a sick person. Why not they just shove me in a bubble? I'm pregnant, not dying." Fionna said in a much too obvious bitter way that made Gumball smiled softly in response as he felt the scratchy thickness of his throat and his head began to pound softly. He always got tired after puking but he didn't think he could drag himself off the floor.
"You know it's risky enough, being pregnant with a Flame's baby, being sick would just make things worse, Fi. You know that." Gumball got out of his scratchy throat and coughed lightly, his stomach tensing in response and he felt that familiar, slow building surge. "I gotta go, Fionna, I'll talk to you later."
"Gumba-" He hung up on her surging to his knees and promptly, once again, emptying his stomach and cringed at the acid taste but clung to the bowl. When his stomach was done being the traitorous thing it was he was laying back on the floor, sweat beading on his hair line and he closed his eyes.
He felt so so bad for hanging up on Fionna but she was what she called a "sympathy puker" and would've been kneeling over a toilet much like Gumball was and he couldn't do that to the already fragile human. He couldn't. So he laid back on his side, whimpering quietly, his mouth tasting like utter shit and all he wanted was for it to be night already so Marshall would come over. He wanted to be snuggling with Marshall again, so bad, that he felt tears of frustration building and he curled up a bit tighter and pulling his legs closer to his chest, or as close as he dare with his stomach wriggling like it was.
Maybe that's why, with the tight scrunching of his body, that he fell asleep the way he did on the cool tiles of his bathroom floor.
Gumball woke up again, in a cliche way he found, in his bed his skin clammy with his forehead burning softly as he stretched lightly and felt his stomach gurgle in response. It was both a bad and good gurgle for he didn't know if it meant he was going to puke or he was hungry. He rolled over keeping his eyes shut feeling weaker than weak when he opened his eyes and found himself gazing at the concerned face of Marshall Lee but all he could do was smile softly.
"Hey," He croaked out reaching out and lightly touching Marshall's cool cheek and cupping it softly. "Why do you look so scared?"
"Why wouldn't I? I found you passed out on the bathroom floor, Bubs!" Marshall replied in, not a hiss, but an urgently intense whisper. That made sense, right? Right. Gumball blinked then moved closer and closer until his body was just inches from Marshall's under the blanket when he was aware, so suddenly it was stupid, of the heat under the blanket and it made a light sweat spring on his skin. "Bubba? What's wrong?"
Gumball started kicking, pulling at the blankets. "It's too hot." He mumbled softly in a way that made him sound like he was about to just pass out again and all he wanted was out of those blankets. Marshall just sighed and covered the pink prince up again making said prince pout and scowl up at him. "It's too hot!"
"I heard you the first time, Gumball. You're sick and running a fever you just need to lay and rest. Can't you do that instead of giving me a hard time?" Marshall asked the pink male who stared with wide violet eyes and Marshall stared back at him even with his scarlet irises flickering with an emotion Gumball couldn't put his finger on right then.
"It's too hot though." Gumball whined looking up at Marshall then leaned into the pillow as if finding that it was becoming increasingly hard to fight when the fatigue lapped at you with some nausea. "I'm sweating, Marshall Lee."
"And I'm too nervous to let you do something stupid. Plus you'll freeze when you get out of those blankets, I know how a fever works you know." Marshall sighed out then shifted letting the hot body press against his skin and the equally hot cheek press against his chest. He moved his fingers up fanning them through the soft pink hair there, enjoying the feeling of the soft almost fluffy hair sliding through his fingers. He pressed a kiss to his head and sighed. "You sure know how to put a pep in my step, Bub."
"I know, Marsh." Gumball mumbled deciding now was good as any to use his new "nickname" for the vampire who just chuckled and he then felt a light twisting. "Did I eat anything?"
"Just some crackers and a bucket that Pepper left for you in case you woke and the bucket is if you feel sick. Do you feel sick? Like your gonna puke your guts out?" Marshall asked making Gumball roll his eyes but he did feel nauseous and shut his eyes. "Gumball? Do you need to puke?"
"I'm fine." Gumball mumbled twisting his fingers into the black fabric of Marshall's shirt and pulling him back. "It's just some flu, I'll be over it in twenty four hours."
"Um," Marshall looked at the clocked and cleared his throat grinning to himself at the reaction he might get. "Bubbs, I hate to break it to you but it's two thirty in the morning."This made Gumball open his eyes. Blink once. Twice. He looked to the window which had no light but showed the night sky with dotted stars and couldn't believe that. He then realized, with his stomach gurgling, he was supposed to call Fionna and-
"Oh my glob!" He shouted jerking up forgetting about his nausea and fever all together, his violet eyes frenzied when he successfully kicked himself out of his blankets. It was when he stood up to rush to his door that his head spun crazily, not like the room spun, but his head internally spun and he swayed backwards onto the bed flopping back to look up into Marshall's smug face when he began shivering like it was zero degrees.
Marshall shifted to lay on his belly, the bed big enough to do so, and he rolled so his face was hovering right over Gumball's fever flushed one and cupped his cheek smiling. "Hey there, sweet thang. Make enough stupid choices yet?" He asked with wide scarlet eyes, trying to look innocent and cute like a little kid.
"Flip off." Gumball snapped back surging to his feet solidly this time walking to his bedroom door. "Fever or no fever, I have work to do. I have to call Fionna or Cake, tell them I'm okay and then get to work."
"What about your boyfriend? Where do I work in those two things?" Marshall asked softly making Gumball turn around his eyes widening a touch at the soft tone Marshall was using. He stared at the vampire's face, at how forlorn it looked and he sat up on his knees. "Gumball, Fionna and Cake are sleeping. The kingdom and the working thing will be there when you get up."
"Marsha-" Gumball didn't see Marshall move, finding it frustrating the vampire could do that, and instead felt fingers on his lips instead. He stared at Marshall's rather...serious face.
"Just lay with me, Gumball. Or is that too much to ask, Your Highness?" Marshall asked quietly the jab worked on the prince who jerked back, which was hard as the door was literally just a step behind and he banged into it.
"Screw you, Marshall Lee. Don't go using that tone with me." Gumball snapped feeling all kinds of offended right then and, in his fever haze, he didn't quiet realize it wasn't the type of jab the vampire was going for but still it did it's job.
Gumball didn't shout, didn't say 'just leave!' he just opened the door and with no theatrics he just left the wouldn't be until later that he felt the guilt of just storming away silently like he did but at that moment it honestly felt right doing it.