Nicole had woken up right at the crack of dawn. It's lovely shades of color cast into the room, along with a tinge of blue, courtesy of her sculpture. Nuzzling into her pillow, she thought about her experiences last night. It made her feel warm pulses throughout her body. It was all so wonderful...

Reaching over to stroke her lover, she felt only sheets on the opposite side of the bed. Concerned, she looked up and looked towards it. It was empty. Gumball was gone. Nicole glanced around the room but still didn't see him. She was alone in the room. Sitting up and wiping her eyes, she tried to process this.

'Where is he? Am I dreaming still? Or did he just run off to the bathroom or something?'

As she slowly got up and out of bed, she made her way towards the door. As she opened it, she made her way over towards the bathroom. It was empty.

'Maybe he's downsta-'

She stopped when she heard something. A noise. Then footsteps too.

'Oh. He's downstairs. And it sounds like he's in the...'

oh no.

"Nonononono!" She spoke to herself as she quickly rushed down the steps.

Half skidding into the kitchen, she was prepared to scold him on using the stove again...when she stopped. Gumball wasn't using the stove. He was using the-

dink*

"Oh! Hey Gummybear! I was making us some toast. Have a seat. I'll pour you a glass of milk."

Nicole blinked before moving slowly towards her chair and sitting down.

"I...was not expecting you to be up this early." She said to him, clearly bewildered.

Gumball wasn't a "morning person" it seemed. Nicole usually was the one to wake him up first and almost always had to lure him out of bed when she got up. This on the other hand...was different. Not only was he up early, he was making full on breakfast; and judging by the smell, it was something she knew she would be in for a treat.

"Oh, yeah, heh. Sorry, I just...couldn't sleep."

Putting the final touches of honey on the warm pieces of toast, he brought over Nicole's plate. As Nicole gazed at it surprised, she noticed it had strawberries and yogurt on the side, complete with buttered and honey drizzled toast. This simple meal seemed like a gourmet dish coming from someone like Gumball. Nevertheless, she was still in awe from it.

"Gumball, I...I don't know what to say. This looks delicious! What's the occasion?"

"Oh! Heh, thanks! I didn't really have an reason I guess, I just wanted to make you something for breakfast since I was hungry...and bored."

Nicole noticed something...off about his tone, but decided to let it go as nervousness. Perhaps he was nervous he would mess up and that she wouldn't like her meal. Figuring this was the case, she shrugged it off and bit into her lovely piece of toast now in her hand and was rewarded with pleasure from the taste. It was simply scrumptious.

'Oh thank God she seemed to buy my story...' He thought, bringing his own plate over towards the table.

Gumball did have some trouble sleeping, but getting up earlier than Nicole wasn't his usual plan. He wanted to get on her good side today, just in case yesterday had any flaws. He also wanted her to be happy today, especially if he needed to sneak off to get what he needed.

Sitting down, he glanced over towards her. She still was lost in her food it seemed. In a way, he was happy she was engorging herself a little. Her happy demeanor meant the world to him.

In all honesty, he WAS a bit hungry, and seeing his master-crafted dish, well to him it seemed like it at least, just begging to be eaten, he started snacking on it too.

'Mmm~ This IS good. Maybe I wasn't telling her a complete story after all...'

———

After they both finished their meals, Gumball was about to reveal his need to go back to the other house to "craft something", when Nicole beat him by speaking first.

"Gummypuss~, would you like me to train you more in karate today? I know we've been lacking our usual exercises and our normal routine due to...well, everything going on recently, but I thought it would be the least I could do for us, especially you, since this lovely breakfast satisfied me to no end."

Gumball paused a second before agreeing to it.

'Eh, I can push it back a little today. Besides, this might make her feel better doing something with me today before I can "disappear" for the rest of the day. Karate also sounds pretty fun to learn right now too...'

———

As they both went outside, Gumball and Nicole did their stretches before readying their bodies for training.

Nicole positioned her body just a few feet away, facing Gumball.

"Alright Gumball, now remember, it's PUNCH, PUNCH, HIGH KICK!" She spoke, doing the actions as she announced them. "Don't be afraid to mess up a little. Just focus on your balance."

Gumball nodded before breathing out slowly.

'Alright, he I go...'

Positioning his body, he stood firm before calling out the same moves as she did.

"PUNCH, PUNCH, KICK!"

Nicole was impressed. His fast and steady punches were uniform in nature, and his kick...

'I didn't know he was that flexible. I guess he really does got the hang of this...'

Gumball readied himself for her feedback, but she simply clapped in return.

"Well done Gummypuss. That was fantastic."

"Really? I thought I was a bit off with my kick."

"Nonsense. It looked flawless!" She exclaimed, walking over to him and giving him a quick hug.

"Come on...I wasn't THAT good..." he responded, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit.

"Gumball, I want to admit something to you."

"What's that?"

Nicole flicked her tail a bit before responding.

"Well, when I first started karate, that move you did...it took me several days to master. I honestly thought we would have to go over it several times for you to get the right technique with your kick...but I guess you truly did it. Well done."

Gumball felt shocked. He actually learned how to kick properly and outpaced Nicole's time of learning it. Somehow he felt like that wasn't right. HIM outpacing Nicole? That was almost unheard of.

'Maybe it was just because I mimicked it right. That was a SURELY a lucky move...right?'

Gumball eventually nodded and smiled back at her weakly.

"I still got a long way to go. I'm sure I will be quite good in some things, but horrible in other moves you show me. Regardless, I'm sure I can master some moves you teach me. I still think I could at least block a few of your moves one day..."

Nicole smiled playfully at that last sentence and swished her tail.

"I sure hope so. I could use a challenge like that."

Gumball smiled before stretching his body.

"Of course you would~"

Nicole walked over to him and playfully rubbed his head, making Gumball laugh and try to escape her assault on his now messy hair.

After seeing fit of her work, she finally stopped and hugged him before attempting to flatten and straighten his hair somewhat.

"I think I went a little overboard on that. Geez, it looks like you've been zapped by lightning." She chuckled, trying to flatten a patch of hair that was NOT cooperating.

Gumball giggled before licking his palms and helped flatten out his hair too.

"Glad I don't have a mirror right now. If I did, I'd probably be in for a surprise because I FEEL like my hair has been struck by lightning.

Nicole laughed before licking her own hands and doubling her efforts to flatten one last spot that irritated her enough.

After a few minutes of this, his hair was back to normal...somewhat.

Taking a breath, Gumball decided now would be a good time to reveal his "new plan".

"So...uh, Nicole, I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it sweetie?" She asked.

"Well, it's...about something I saw in the house I was in collecting stuff to bring back."

"Oh? What was it?"

"Heh, well, I wanted make it a surprise. For you. I thought I could make you another gift."

"Gumball..." she started before hugging him tightly again.

"Gumball, you've gifted me more than you could imagine with that necklace. I feel like I don't need anything else. Besides, my greatest gift...is you."

Gumball looked deeply in her eyes. He was deeply touched and was in love with her all over again. As he leaned up to kiss her, she met his lips and they both kissed softly before he pulled back. He felt his head slightly dazed from her "love spell", but he needed to continue with his plan.

"Heh, you flirter..." he mentioned, before clearing his throat. "But seriously, I want to make another gift for you. I truly think you will like it. It will take me a few days, but it will be worth every moment."

Nicole felt curious why he was so adamant about getting her another another one, but decided she would accept it.

"I guess there's no stopping you, huh?"

"For you? Not a chance." He boldly stated, comically puffing out his chest which made Nicole snort and cover her mouth from laughter.

"Okay, okay~ Just be safe alright? Don't like, impale your hand or something. I want you coming back to me-"

She stopped her sentence before poking his chest.

"-in.one.PIECE."

"Alright~, I promise. Don't worry, I got this. You trusted me before, and now you can trust me again."

Pulling him close and kissing him passionately, Nicole pulled him back and gave him a warm smile.

"Alright Gummypuss. Stay safe. I love you."

Stepping on her toes, he caught her off guard with a kiss of his own before resting his forehead against hers.

"I will. I love you too."

With that, he stepped back and looked one more time lovingly towards her before making his way down the street towards the other house. Nicole, reached out an arm towards him as he turned his back.

"Come back to me. I really mean that..." she whispered to herself.

——

Nicole decided get a shower after all the exercise. As she turned on the water, she felt the mist engulf the room around her. It brought a sense of comfort to her. As she grasped her necklace again, she let out a sigh.

'Come on Nicole, it's only been about 30 minutes and you miss him already? *sigh* pull yourself together! Just...focus on the necklace until he returns. He loves you. He gifted you this necklace. A gift you never received from...from...'

Richard.

Nicole paused. She didn't know why, but it seemed like simply thinking of his name made her freeze in her tracks. As she put her hand on her head, she closed her eyes and let out a breath.

'Just...focus on getting clean Nicole.' She told herself as she removed her clothes and stepped in.

——

After turning off the water, she dried her body off before stepping out of the warm shower and onto the cold floor below. As she made her way over to the mirror to watch herself dry her hair, she felt something. It made her pause again.

Richard.

Letting out a shaky breath, she shook her head before continuing her hair drying.

Richard.

Nicole shook her head again and squeezed tighter on her towel as she did harder strokes on her hair and around her ears.

Richard.

"Aaaargh!" She screamed angrily, dropping the towel and gripping the counter before looking down in defeat.

'Why do I keep thinking his name? Why now?'

As she looked down towards the floor, her gaze suddenly shifted up to the small drawer in the counter. She couldn't seem to look away. It's gravitational pull seemed to only draw her closer.

Nicole knew what it held. It was something she tried shutting out of her life now...but it kept trying to come back to her.

Richard.

Nicole felt her hand slowly reach for the drawer handle. Using the strength in her other hand, she pried her other hand away.

'No! I've moved on. I don't need it anymore...'

Richard.

'No...'

Richard.

'NO! please...'

Richard.

'Stop.'

Richard.

'I said stop!'

Richard!

"I said STOP!" She screamed loudly, covering her ears in vain to block out the words. It just kept repeating itself over and over, causing her to collapse on the floor, crawl to one of the corners and cover her body in the fetal position.

"I said...stop..." she whimpered, tears streaming down her face.

After this, the voice stopped. Nicole didn't even seem to notice because her mind was so unraveled and broken. Her body shook with fear and cold sweat started to form. Why was this happening to her? Why now?

Taking a few deep breathes, she clenched her fists tightly for a few seconds before letting them go. She repeated this for several minutes until she felt a bit of stability come back to her.

With this, she slowly crawled on her hands and knees over to the toilet and helped herself stand. Nicole walked shakily over where her clothes were and put them on. Now feeling stronger with something draped over her, she stood over the drawer.

'I can't take this anymore. I have to get rid of it. Bury it. Throw it away. ANYTHING. Anything to get it away from me...'

As she took a final deep breath, she opened the drawer.

It was...empty.

"It's empty?" She said to herself, feeling around the drawer but felt no ring. "Did...the house make it disappear?"

Nicole let out happy laugh before wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I-it's gone. ITS GONE! Hahaha!"

Nicole smiled widely before wiping her face with her hands.

"I'm glad it's gone. I'm free. I'm truly free from it..." she spoke to herself in the mirror.

Hugging herself with her arms, she let out another sigh of relief before gripping her necklace.

"Finally. No more rings."

No more rings...