Update 12/02/23: Went to fix a few typos and ended up remastering the whole oneshot. Whoops.

"We need to go here more often. The food is a nice change of pace from having Joyful Burger all the time..." Gumball thought out loud

"Oh yeah, for sure, the food here at Dinner is delicious!" Penny agreed.

As they were walking Penny wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized.

"Maybe look where you're going next time, freak!" The person quite rudely responded before walking away.

Penny's face fell and she looked down in thought. Gumball noticed this and took a hold of her hand. "Hey, don't pay attention to them. They're just a jerk."

"Hmm? Oh, err, yeah, of course." She smiled weakly and the two sat down.

The two ordered their food then began to talk for a while as they waited for the food to arrive, but Penny was noticeably less involved in the conversation, just nodding along and adding general comments here and there.

Finally, their food arrived and Gumball began to eat. He stopped however when he noticed Penny was picking at her food and not really eating any of it. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't even hear him.

"Penny?" He placed his paw on her shoulder and she jumped, startled.

"Are you alright? You're being really quiet."

"Oh, um...y-yeah, I'm fine. Just...I don't know..." She sighed.

"Are you still thinking about what that douchebag said to you?" He asked.

She shook her head. "What? N-no, no, of course not. I'm okay, honestly."She ate some of her food and faked a smile, trying to assure him of this.

He could tell however that she wasn't being truthful. He knew Penny, and he knew when something was upsetting her, and something very clearly was.

And if she was upset, then so was he.

He slowly got up and went around to her side of the table, sitting next to her, and placed his paw on top of her hand, beginning to speak softly. "Don't let what they said get to you. You aren't a freak, you know that." He assured her.

"I know, but it's...it's not just that." She admitted as she began to tear up slightly.

He raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I..." She hesitated, before looking down and shaking her head, feeling like she had already said too much."It's nothing..."

He gave her hand a squeeze and looked at her reassuringly, "You can tell me."

She sniffed. "You...you won't tell anyone?"

"Of course not. You know I'd never, ever do that."

She hesitated before looking back up, revealing the tears that were now streaming down her face. "I...I think I should go back into my shell." She admitted with a broken voice.

Gumball gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What!? But I thought you were happy out of your shell? You love being out of it!"

"I-I do! I hated my shell but...but what's the point in coming out of it if everyone just thinks I'm a monster..."

His face fell and he looked at her with pity. "What...? No, no... no one thinks that!"

She raised her voice as she suddenly snapped at him. "They do, I know they do! They...t-they stare at me, talk about me behind my back...i-i-insult me! T-They think I'm a f-freak! A m-monster..."

She suddenly lowered her voice, to the point where it was almost inaudible, as she let out a sob, before transforming into her ugly warthog form, truly believing that was what she really was. "and they're right..."

Gumball's ears fell. "What!? No, no, no, of course you aren't! Why...would you ever believe something like that?" He asked in disbelief.

She hesitated, a look of nervousness and fear on her face as if she were afraid to continue. He noticed this and placed his paw on her cheek as he wiped some of her tears. "You can tell me. Whatever it is, I promise, you can tell me."

She looked down. "No, I can't...you'll...you'll think I'm stupid..."

He lifted her head back up. "No. Nothing you could ever say or do would ever make me think that..."

She sniffed. "You promise?"

He nodded. "I promise."

She hesitated as more tears trickled down her face. She looked at his face, the reassuring smile matched with equally determined eyes. It was no surprise that she felt herself giving in.

"I've...I've started having nightmares recently...of...of you a-and Darwin a-a-and all of my other friends. You were...*sniff* you were making fun of me, mocking me, saying...saying how much of a freak I am, how...how you hate me and could never really love a hideous monster like me..."

She began to shake in fear as she remembered it all, Gumball listening horrified.

"...you were so mean...so cruel...you laughed at me as you watched me cry...you...you told me you never loved me, that you...that you just felt sorry for me...y-you...you broke up with me and told me you hoped I rotted alone...you...you..."

She hesitated before shakily raising her hand, placing it on her cheek, before looking down at his paw and trembling. She looked back up at him, speaking quietly. "You even attacked me...swiped at me with your claws, s-saying it was what I deserved..."

He covered his mouth with his paws, and gasped, his eyew widening horrified.

"It felt so real too! It just kept going and going, I thought it would never end! A-A-And I keep having the same nightmare, again, and again, and again and I don't know why! And that jerk calling me a freak it...it reminded me of it all, brought back all of those horrible feelings, all of that pain, and I just...I just...I don't know what to do! I can't take it anymore!"

She couldn't hold it back anymore and broke down in tears, sobbing into her hands. She began to tremble, her heart beginning to race as she felt herself slipping into a dark spiral of fear and paranoia, her mind completely envloped by her reoccuring nightmare.

Gumball watched horrified, unsure of what to do. He had never seen her so worked up before. He hesitated before slowly wrapping her arms around her, hugging her as tightly as he could, and beginning to stroke her back.

"It's okay, it's alright. it's just a nightmare. We don't, and could never think any of that! You're a beautiful, smart, wonderful young lady and I love you so, so, so much! You have to know that! After everything we've been through, surely you know that's true!"

She suddenly threw his arms off of her and snappef at him, raising her voice. "No...no, it's not! I know it's not! You're lying, you all are! You hate me! You think I'm a freak! A-A-A m-m-monster!"

Gumball was heartbroken. How could she genuinely believe something so awful about herself? How could she genuinely think her friends would say things like that to her!? Do things like that to her?

"No, no, of course we don't! We all love you so, so much! You're such an awesome girlfriend, and such an awesome friend to Darwin, Anais, Carrue, and everyone else! You have no idea how lucky we are to have you! We would be so much worse off without you here! Please, you have to believe me!"

She snapped and yelled at him. "STOP LYING!"

It was no use, she was too worked up and trapped inside of her own thoughts to reason with her. He had to try something else.

He thought to himself, trying to think of things that had worked to calm him down before, anything he might have to done to calm him or anyone else down.

Suddenly he thought of something. He looked around the diner, the dozens of people inside of it, and in the mall. No. Absolutely not. There was no way he could do it here...not in front of all of these people! Doing it for Darwin in their bedroom was alright, but here? In public!? He would be mortified!

He then looked down at Penny, shaking and in tears, completely inconsolable, and he felt his heart ache in pain at seeing her so upset. No, he had to. It didn't matter how embarrassed he would be, she needed him right now, and he couldn't be selfish and let his feelings get in the way of that. They didn't matter right now. She was the priority, not him.

He took a deep breath before resting his head on her shoulder, making sure their heads were both touching, before closing his eyes and beginning to purr. Not just any purr though, a deep soothing purr, unlike any she had heard him produce before.

The Purr of Love.

She gasped and shifted her gaze onto him. He was purring? Here, infront of all these people?! He never, ever purred in public, he was way too prideful and embarrassed to do something like that! He must be mortified!

As he continued to purr she slowly closed her eyes and shifted herself even closer. "That's it, there we go..." She heard him say.

She continued to focus on Gumball's purr, tuning out everything else, the sound of the mall fading away until all she could hear was the wonderful soothing vibrations Gumball was producing to her, along with her own heartbeat which she could feel slowing back down to normal.

As she continued to sit there, listening to his purr, she gasped quietly as she thought back to a memory long repressed.

She was on the bus on her first day of school out of her shell and she was terrified. Then Gumball had arrived and comforted her, calmed her down, and assured her everything would be okay...and he had purred for her there as well, right in front of all of his classmates.

How had she forgotten about that?! He had gone out of his way to comfort her, assure her everything would be okay, even ignoring his own embarrassment and discomfort to do so...and here he was doing the same thing now.

She looked up at him, beginning to finally break out of her spiral of thoughts, her crying finally slowing down. He smiled at her, before leaning in, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a long, affectionate kiss on the lips. As he did she smiled back and returned to her normal form, glowing brighter than ever as she wrapped her arms around him.

What was she thinking!? How could she have let her nightmare convince her of something like that!? Of course he loved her, of course her friends cared about her! She had gotten so worked up over something so obviously not true!

"You okay now Pen?" He asked softly as saw she had changed back.

She nodded. "I...I-I-I'm sorry..."

He placed his paw on top of hers again and smiled assuringly. "There's no need to apologize. None at all."

Her smile grew and she suddenly hugged him tightly and lovingly as she rested her head on his shoulder, continuing to listen to his purr. "Thank you Gumball...I love you so much."

He smiled.

"I love you too Pen."