Warmth. That's all Gumball seemed to feel right now. His body felt like it was in pure bliss. As he slowly gained consciousness, he slowly rubbed his eyes and looked behind him. There, sleeping peacefully with a smile, was Nicole. Seeing her smile made him sprout one of his own.

'She's so happy...I truly made her happy, didn't I?'

Their little talk last night had ended both of them feeling better about themselves, knowing they were there for each other.

Nicole...

Gumball then remembered the ring. The silver ring. The decision...

'I could always back down...I could always just not do it...'

He then turned to face Nicole again. The shivers, the crying, the tight grasp on him as she joined him in bed; she needed him. Just like how he needed her. They were inseparable now, right?

Gumball turned his body now to face her and gently stroked the lower part of her back, eliciting a soft sigh of joy from her in return.

'No. I can't back down. Not now. Not for her. She means the world to me...and I'm sure I mean the world to her. I want to be with her for the rest of my life here...that is, if we CAN truly die in this world. No...I will stay with her for eternity here if that's what it takes...'

Gumball clenched his fist. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he closed his eyes and let his mind refocus.

'I've made up my mind. I'm going to propose to her...'

Loosening his hand, he continued to softly stroke Nicole's side and back before leaning in close to her. He then softly kissed her lips.

"I love you..." he spoke, before pulling himself closer to her and wrapping his arms around her.

Nicole awoke from this, but was loving every second of it. The warmth from his body combined with his soft nuzzles was sending her body into overdrive.

Almost instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him now, hugging him tightly...well, not too tightly; she learned from yesterday not to get too carried away.

"Good Morning Gummypuss~" she spoke lovingly, gently scratching the back of his head.

Gumball seemed to writhe from it, feeling goosebumps rise on his body. He loved the way she did that...

"Good Morning to you too, My Gummybear~" he responded, pulling her chin slightly down before drawing her in for a kiss.

Nicole let out another sigh. This was pure bliss for her. No matter how many times she received a kiss from Gumball, it always seemed exciting and new to her. The way it made her body feel so warm, the sparks in her chest, the pulses in her cheeks; all of it she loved to her core. It was like her motivation that pushed her forward...

"Want to get some breakfast, sleepy head?" Gumball said, pulling back.

Nicole smiled.

"I'd love to..." she replied, stretching her arms above her head.

Gumball, deciding to be a bit mischievous this morning, took advantage of this, and tickled her while she was in that position.

Nicole quickly reacted with laughter and tried to cover herself from his tickle attacks.

"Ahh~ stop! No fair miste- ahahaha!"

Realizing her state, she hastily returned a counterattack of tickles on Gumball, making him ease his assault on her, all while trying to protect his own body.

"Ahahaha, wait! I didn't have time to- ahaha!"

This "counterattack" lasted several seconds before Gumball managed to wrestle her off him and catch his breath.

"Wow...you're good at...this still..." Gumball heaved, causing Nicole to give him a smug smile and kiss his cheek.

"Are you surprised? Surely you would have learned by know..."

"I guess you got a fair point..." he admitted, now sitting up and straightening out his shirt.

Nicole got out of bed and stretched out the rest of her body in peace before walking over to Gumball's side of the bed and reaching out her hand in a dramatic fashion. Curious about what was in store for him if he took it, Gumball reached out his hand carefully and placed it onto hers. With a swift motion, Nicole pulled him out of bed and twirled them both around the room. Gumball was quite impressed by this, and smiled gleefully before she stopped them in the center of the room.

"I take it that you're feeling better now?" He asked.

Nicole responded with a soft chuckle before pulling him into another deep kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled away.

"I'm feeling MUCH better. More then you would know..."

Gumball could have sworn he saw more twinkles in her eyes for a brief second, but thought his eyes were playing tricks on him again. Regardless, he felt relieved Nicole seemed to be in a better state of mind with him around again.

'Maybe we should celebrate with her being in such a good mood today...' he thought, before feeling his hand being tugged by Nicole.

"Come on, let's eat." She suggested, starting to drag Gumball's interlocked hand on hers.

"That works." Gumball said, now following close behind her, hand in hand.

——

The two lovebirds made their way downstairs and into the kitchen to whip up some truly delicious breakfast. Gumball made some warm buttered toast, of course, while Nicole made them some eggs. As they were both done and set their plates out, Gumball was basically drooling at this point.

'Mmmm~ This looks goooood~'

Nicole started eating her food but suddenly stopped, fork in hand, as she witnessed Gumball basically scarf down his food like a cartoon character would with lightning speed.

Rolling her eyes, she swallowed her food before pointing her fork at him.

"Excuse me, didn't I ever teach you manners?"

Gumball paused midway to finishing his final pieces of scrambled eggs, before swallowing and waving his fork around comically.

"Come oooon~, I was hungry. Besides, I haven't had breakfast like this in several days. I missed this dearly."

"That still don't excuse you shoving the entire plate down your throat in a matter of seconds..." Nicole added, putting on a very exaggerated and annoyed face.

Gumball set his silverware down and sat back in his chair, arms crossed, and stared her down smugly.

"Care to demonstrate for me? Clearly based off that expression of yours, it seems I lack the proper etiquette for eating..."

Nicole didn't budge. She knew what he was doing. She wouldn't play his game...

His...game...

'Hmm...perhaps I should. After all, I feel like some payback is necessary after that stunt he pulled when we got up...'

Sporting a small smile of her own, she grabbed her silverware and raised them like she was about to dig in.

"See this Gummypuss? This...is how you hold your silverware. No elbows on the table and have them position them over the plate..."

Gumball felt impressed. She was actually going through with it...

"Now Gummypuss, let's see you try..."

Smiling broader and deciding to play along, Gumball mimicked her and raised his silverware in the same method, albeit with a raised pinky.

Nicole took notice of this 'extra level of fancy' on Gumball's part and decided she would do her next planned move.

"Oh dear...it seems I know the problem now...I'm so sorry Gumball. How could I have been so blind?~" she said sarcastically, somewhat confusing Gumball.

Nicole set her silverware aside and walked over to Gumball's chair, standing just behind him.

"You see Gummypuss, I must have forgotten the other reason why you didn't seem to have manners today..."

Gumball, still confused, lowered his silverware back onto the table.

"What are you talking about? What other rea-"

He was cut short after he felt her pull his arms behind the chair and pin him to it. Gumball was now somewhat struggling to be let go, but her hold on him was firm.

"The other reason, mister, seems to be I forgot your childish nature. It seems like you are a child today, thus, I must treat you like one."

"What?! What do you mean?" He asked, half laughing at her actions, and out of slight fear.

Using her tail, Nicole wrapped it around his spoon and used it to shovel a spoonful of eggs. She then raised to be on the same level as his mouth.

"Don't you remember? This is how you feed a child. Now, do I turn this spoon into a plane, or train? You know what, I'm sticking with the train. Choo choo!~"

"No! Ahaha~ stop! This is TOTALLY uncalled for..." Gumball said, turning his head away from it and feeling his cheeks growing red with embarrassment.

"I don't want you going hungry now, do I? Open wide." She commanded playfully, pushing the spoon closer to his face.

"Ahh, hahaha, stop it! Okay, okay, I'll behave and eat properly, geez..."

"You promise?" She questioned, pulling it back slightly.

"Yes! I promise~" he groaned, feeling his cheeks heating up by the second.

"Good." Nicole said, releasing his arms and pulling the spoon away and taking it in her hand this time.

'Ha! Sweet payback...gotta love it.' She thought, seeing him rub his hands. 'You mess with the bull, you get the horns...'

"Your hands okay sweetie?" She asked playfully, which in return caused Gumball to give her an annoyed face of his own.

Nicole chuckled to herself before walking closer.

"Alright, I'm sorry Gummypuss, perhaps I took it a bit too far..."

"It's fine, really. I mean...I think I kinda deserved that, right?"

'Ha! Most definitely!'

"Come on sweetie, no you didn't..."

She then got an idea to perhaps make amends for herself.

"Here, have a bite." She lovingly said, holding out the spoon towards him.

"What? No way! Not after what you just pulled." Gumball said, slightly backing away.

"Hold on Gummypuss, I'm not trying to do the train thing, I wanted to simply offer you this...as a lover."

"Hm?"

"I MEAN...this is what lovers do sometimes. They offer food for each other and share bites, like this."

"Oh...are you...are you sure this isn't just another trap for you to do the, train thingy?" He questioned, causing Nicole to shake her head.

"No train thingy, I promise. I just wanted to make up for what I did to you. Now, come on, give it a taste."

Gumball reluctantly obliged and opened his mouth slightly. Nicole gave him the spoonful of eggs and he closed his mouth. He instantly felt the wonderful taste of the eggs flood his mouth. It was like her magic touch had made the eggs just a tad bit richer in flavor. After swallowing, he nodded and made an 'ok' sign with his hand.

"Not bad...thanks." He said, somewhat still embarrassed by the whole deal.

"Your welcome Gummypuss. Let's hope now you learned your manners. If you keep them up, we can do more cute stuff like that."

"Ahahaha...right..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck before deciding to get up and put his plate in the sink.

'Alrighty then...note to self...don't scarf down food in front of her again...'

——

Deciding to get a little fresh air to lighten the mood a bit, Gumball led Nicole outside with him to do their exercises.

Taking her stance, Nicole started stretching his body over to the side, while Gumball mimicked. Although he felt like he was somewhat decent at stretching, he still felt like mimicking her actions felt better on his mind, just in case.

'Focus on the pain...' Nicole thought, stretching her body further.

Despite the harsh memories that came with that phrase now, she felt a sense of ease knowing Gumball was right there next to her, by her side. His warmth, his embrace, his gentle kisses...all of that from him made the memories start to fade from her mind as quickly as they came. Finally...

Clearing her mind and taking a deep breath in and out, she found her peace. Something she was happy to experience again. With that, she continued her exercises; Gumball closely in suit.

——

As Nicole was washing off in the shower, Gumball was in his room, sitting on his bed and looking closely at the silver ring in his hand.

'When? When is the right time to propose? I can't simply just do it out of the blue...ugh, why is this so hard?'

Gumball clenched the ring in his fist.

'When?!'

As Gumball contemplated, he kept drawing blanks.

'Come on, THINK! This has to be a special occasion and something to be worthy of remembering...ugh, what did the book say again? Something about dates?'

Gumball suddenly paused, and his eyes widened.

'Wait...a date! Of course! The book DID mention them! It said to take your partner to a fancy place to impress them, like a restaurant or something...'

Gumball knew there weren't any restaurants here, but he DID know of a place that was capable of becoming fancy and meaningful; especially to Nicole...

'The hill in the park...'

"Perfect..." he said to himself, opening his palm and looking at the ring joyfully.

'Well, I guess I picked the place. But when?...'

Gumball flicked his tail in frustration. He knew he had to pick a good time to do it. It couldn't just be some ordinary day; it had to be on a special one.

knock knock*

Gumball quickly snapped out of this thoughts and placed the ring in his pocket.

"Yeah?" He called out.

Opening the door, Nicole came in wrapped in a towel and having one covering the top part of her head.

"It's your turn in the shower Gummypuss." She said before noticing him sitting on the side of the bed in a weird posture.

"What are were you doing in here?" She asked curiously, giving him a raised eyebrow.

Gumball, noticing her stare, sported a sheepish look.

"Uh, I...I was just, thinking of you..."

"Really?" She asked, walking closer to him.

"Really." He responded, rubbing his arm slightly.

"Well then..." she started before drawing him into a deep kiss and playfully bit softly onto his bottom lip as she pulled away.

"...Don't forget me."

With that, she giggled to herself before spinning around and headed out the room and towards hers, shutting the door behind her in the process.

Gumball, of course, was at a lose of words.

'Man, what a woman...'

Gumball felt the bottom of his lip still tingly. This made him blush madly.

'I should honestly marry her right now after that...hahaha'

Gumball fanned his face.

"I'm so high over heels in love with her right now..." he whispered out loud before plopping down face first into his pillow.

As he embraced the darkness around him now, he let his mind wander more.

'She loves me so very much. I'm sure if I proposed any day, even today of all days, not just a special one, she might say yes...'

Gumball froze.

"Even today of all days..." he said to himself into the pillow.

'Wait...could I...could I actually propose to her today? Tonight? On the hill in the park? But how?...oh right. A date! Yes! Perfect! But not just any day...I got to make it special.'

"A special date..."

Gumball sat up and pulled out his ring again. He then stared closely at it, close enough to see his tiny reflection on it.

"A special date indeed...but how?"

Staring into the ring for a few seconds then seemed to give him an idea...

'I got it! Now...I hope this works...I truly do...'

——

Getting out of the shower feeling fresh and clean, Gumball made his way back towards his room to grab some new clothes.

'Alright. Stick with the plan...remember the materials you need too...' He thought as he opened his closet and pulled out some casual clothes.

'Just breathe...just breathe. Be brave...'

A few minutes later he walked over to Nicole's room. Knocking before he entered, he opened the door. As he did, he saw Nicole laying on their bed, legs dangling off the side and reading her cheesy romance book. After hearing him enter however, she quickly closed the book, and glanced towards him.

"Oh, hey Gummypuss. Feeling fresh now?"

Gumball rubbed the back of his neck.

"Y-yeah, I guess I am."

Gumball then cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Hey, uh, Nicole I was wondering if you...would like to do something today..."

"Like what?" She questioned, setting her book aside.

"Well...I was thinking, considering how you seemed to be in such a happy mood and me having returned from my 'gift making' for you, I thought maybe we could...ya know...go on, say, another date?" He said half sheepishly, which Nicole couldn't help but consider cute and charming of him.

Smiling broadly, she quickly got up from the bed and walked over to him.

"That sounds like a lovely idea sweetie! What should we wear?"

"Well...uh, I thought...that maybe we could dress fancy this time. Like we were going to a fancy ball or something."

"Oh?" She asked, causing Gumball to nod now excitedly.

"Y-yeah!"

"And what exactly sparked this idea?"

Gumball paused.

'Uh oh...what do I say?'

Nicole noticed his lack of response before putting her hand on her hip. This seemed to make Gumball somewhat sputter his words as his brain tried to come up with a proper response.

"Well, I...uh..." was all he could spurt out as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Nicole could tell he was nervous about something relating to this...but what?

Then a thought came to her.

"Gumball...is this about how you never attended prom in high school?"

Gumball was indeed caught off guard by that, but decided that it could be his saving grace for the time being.

"I...I uh...maybe?"

"Gumball, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Of course I'll go on a date with you tonight. I'll even dress up to be your lovely 'prom date' too. How about that?"

Gumball felt a bit shocked.

'Wow...that, honestly went better than I thought...'

Nicole could tell he was surprised, and excited, based off his facial expression.

'How could I say no? When he said he wanted to dress up like we were going to a 'ball', it clicked for me. He never got to experience a prom yet...*sigh* how unfortunate. Surely this is what he wanted, right? All the signs were there. Hopefully I make him happy doing this...'

"R-really?" He asked with enthusiasm.

"Yes Gumball, of course." Nicole responded with a small laugh.

Gumball attempted to hold in all his excitement, and straightened his clothes out a bit before clearing his throat.

ahem* "W-well then, shall we attend this lovely date this evening, just before sunset?" He asked, bowing and reaching out his hand towards her.

"That sounds like a lovely idea, my handsome suitor~" She said, reaching out her hand and placing it in his.

"Then it's a date then..." Gumball spoke semi-confidently, drawing her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. This caused her to laugh softly.

Gumball then backed up and headed towards the door.

"Now, if you excuse me, M'lady, I must attend to setting up stuff for tonight..."

"Ah yes, go forth, prepare thy services. I shall prepare us a splendid meal and dessert for such an occasion~" Nicole spoke in an exaggerated and posh manner. This caused Gumball to stifle a laugh of his own.

"Ah yes, wonderful, wonderful..." he finished as he entered his room and shut the door behind him.

Taking a major breath of relief, he plopped down on his bed for a second to recoup his body and mind.

'Wow...heh, it's all coming together...'

Gumball then focused on collecting what he needed around his room for tonight.

'Alright, blankets? Check. Small decorations? Check!...'

Gumball quickly decided to add a few things that he would need to collect outside his room and outside the house. As he finished jotting down the list on a piece of scrap paper, he folded it and placed it in his pocket. Doing this however, made him remember his ring. Walking over towards the spot that he hid it before hopping in the shower, he placed his fingers between the spaces and tapped the ring gently for good luck.

'I'll be back to pick you up later tonight. Now stay...' he commanded it in his thoughts as he smiled and pulled away.

Picking up his blankets containing the stuff that he had in his room and walked down stairs to smell a lovely mixture of smells emanating from the kitchen.

"Smells good already..." Gumball called out as he headed for the door.

"Glad to hear it does Gummypuss..." Nicole called back.

"Hey Gummybear, I'm going out to set up stuff for the date. I'll be back." He called out before opening the door.

This prompted Nicole to walk out of the kitchen and come up to him.

"Alright sweetie, stay safe alright?"

With that, she kissed him gently and rested her forehead against his.

"I will. I love you..." he said as he pulled back and looked at her lovingly.

He then walked out the door carrying his items.

'Alright, time to get to work...'

——

Despite Gumball having been gone for only a few minutes, Nicole longed for his touch already.

'Geez, aren't I a needy lover?' She thought to herself as she stirred her upcoming delicious and fancy dish for tonight.

Pouring some fruit into a bowl that she had cut up, she tried to keep her mind occupied on the task at hand, but kept reverting back to Gumball and what he had said earlier. She also was starting to ponder something...

'Why would he be so nervous to ask me to be his date for something like that?" Surely it shouldn't be too big of a deal...right?'

Nicole poured her new mixture into a pan to place in the oven.

'Come on Nicole, don't be ridiculous. He was nervous because it is probably a big deal to him at his age. He wanted to dress fancy too. He never dresses fancy. He was always like his father in that regard...'

...his father.

Richard...

Nicole tightened her grip on the pan and shook her head.

'Not now...'

She then placed the pan in the oven and turned on the temperature.

Nicole walked over to the kitchen window. Wiping her forehead, she looked out it.

'Oh Gumball...what do you have planned?'