The door opened just as Penny finished dicing the carrots. "Hey honey" She sighed, dejected, already giving up on the conversation as the cat dumped her bag by the door, scuttling off to her room.

"Delilah!" She called. "Don't just leave your bag there, put it away!"

"I'll do it later, mom!"

"No, you'll do it now or else your father will-!"

"Ouch! What the-?!"

Too late. Penny looked over to see the blue cat picking himself up, dusting off his shirt. "Hey Gumball," She said, dryly.

"Hi sweeti,." hHe yawned. "Is dinner ready?"

Yep, glad to see his priorities were still the same "Soon." She muttered. "Hey, do you think you could talk to Delilah about-"

"Penny, I just can't right now," he sighed. "I just… need some wind down time, okay?"

Penny groaned. "Fine, I'll do it," she snapped, hanging up her apron. Typical of Gumball, not even lifting a finger more than he has to help with his child. Somehow, worse than his father.

As she stormed down the hall, she caught a glimpse of her painting. One she'd painted before Delilah was even born.

The painting reminded her of that store, and how quickly that dream had dried up. It once looked vibrant and… alive, a miserable reflection of her marriage.

She remembered Gumball's hopeful promises to help. But instead, everything was left to her, just like it had been for the last fifteen years.

She scoffed bitterly. Even if they still had the store, it's not like she'd ever get time to paint. Why would she, when there was always laundry to be done? As if anyone else would do it.

Penny knocked gently on Delilah's door, her eyes flickering over to the generic edgy teenage stickers plastered all over it. A member of the family who wanted nothing to do with her, was it better than the one she wanted nothing to do with?

"What?" Came the muffled reply.

Penny pushed the door open. "How was school, honey?"

"Fine, I guess."

"You seem grumpy, what's the matter?"

"Mom, it was school. It's boring, that's all."

"Yeah but-"

"Penny!" Gumball interrupted.

"I'm in the middle of something!"

"There's a fire!"

"What?!" The fairy rushed out. A great orange glow engulfed the kitchen. Oh yeah, the casserole. Gumball stood, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Don't just stand there, do something!" She urged. The cat still wouldn't budge. "FINE!" She roared, hastily trying to balance filling a cup with water as she clumsily pulled out her phone.

"9-1-1" she dialled, splashing the water onto the inferno.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"Pennyyyyy!"

"Hello?! Yes my kitchens on fire and-"

"We're sorry, we can't take your call at the moment-"

"HUH?!"

"Peeeeeennnnyyyy!"

"-Please call back later. Thank you."

"What? Are you kidding me?!"

"Penny!"

"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!"

"I made you a cupcake :)" Gumball chirped, presenting it to her on a plate.

"Wuh-" Penny rubbed her eyes, adjusting her position on the couch. The setting sun's rays scraped perfectly through the half-closed blinds, past Gumball right into the fairy's vision.

Penny looked up at the cat and his goofy smile, finding him briefly unfamiliar compared to what her brain had been telling her about the feline mere seconds ago. She whimpered as she felt tears creep in.

"Penny? What's wrong?" Gumball set the cupcake down, crawling onto the couch, laying beside her. "What happened?"

"I… had a nightmare…" Penny choked out.

"Okay, okay, just hold on a second there." Gumball patted her reassuringly, before sprinting off to the kitchen, coming back with a tub of ice cream and a spoon. "Okay, now tell me about it." He said, handing the container over to her.

A few spoonfuls later, Penny began.

"We were older and our kid was born." She said, licking her spoon clean. "But, I think we lost the store. And I was just a housewife. Everything was just so dull."

"Eesh." Gumball cringed. "Was I there?"

"Yeah but, you were the worst part of it. The two of us, we just had no connection. You came home from work and asked me when dinner was ready, and nothing else."

"Woah." Gumball gasped. "I had a job? Cool- I mean- that's awful!"

Penny rolled her eyes, then continued. "It was just stale. I had to do everything, clean the house, talk to our daughter-"

"Daughter?"

"Hush. Talk to our child, cook dinner, do laundry, everything! It was… miserable! But doing it without you there… it just made it impossible."

"Hmph." Gumball nodded, understanding. "That's not… really what you think of me, is it?"

"No! Nononono no, of course not!" Penny raised her hands defensively. "I think it's just what I'm scared of in a partner. A universe where I got married to someone like, ugh, Tobias..."

"What are you scared of exactly?"

"Someone who doesn't make me feel special, or appreciated. Someone just standing by while I do everything. Not giving back what I give in return. Basically? Someone that isn't you."

"Aww." Gumball blushed. "To tell the truth, I had a nightmare about you the other day."

"Really? What'd I do?"

"Well… nothing. That's the thing. Well, you were there, but you weren't at the same time. It's like your mind was elsewhere… Like you'd already left me. It's as if you realised the truth."

"What truth?" Penny scoffed.

"That you're too good for me."

"Oh stop, if anything you're too good for me!"

"Do you really wanna have this back and forth, Pen? You know I'll win."

"Okay, okay." She chuckled a little. "But really. I could never think that about you, 'cause it's not true at all."

"You thought that about me in your nightmare, didn't you?"

"Well, that wasn't you," Penny snorted. "It was some… slob… wearing your skin. To think Gumball Watterson could ever come home and not shower his wife with love, it's purely nonsensical, fictional! Lunacy even!

"Uh-huh." Gumball nodded blankly. "…Those words mean 'not true', right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good. Hey, I've got an idea. There is a step we could take to prevent it from ever happening." Gumball said, stroking his chin. "What was the kid's name?"

"Delilah."

"Okay, so how about we never name one of our kids that? Simple. That way, that particular situation can never happen. I mean, unless you're attached to that name?…" The cat shrugged.

The fairy shook her head. "Honestly, I can't say it was high on the list even before all this."

Even though he had mentioned it so casually, Penny could not help but smile a little to herself at the thought of having more children in the future. It was reassuring to know he felt the same way.

"Great, so it's out then." Gumball made a throwing motion. "Boom, Delilah Watterson, never happening. Nightmare stopped." He beamed, very obviously pleased with his genius.

"Well, what about your nightmare though? How can we prevent that?"

Gumball scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess there isn't really anything we can do. Just hope I don't end up doing something so stupid you end up bolting."

"Oh I could never."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew-"

"-But out of interest… How stupid are we talking?"

"Umm… blowing up Elmore with a cake bomb I guess?"

"...Okay yeah, don't do that. But you have to know Gumball, I could never leave you. As long as you keep being you, I'll always love you."

"Aww, thanks Pen-"

"And those really great hotdogs you make. Speaking of, wouldn't you say it's nearly dinner time?"

"Really?" Gumball poured, unimpressed. "Guilt tripping me for food now?"

"Not just me, honey, the baby too." She rubbed her bump, putting on a matching baby voice. "We so hungy, my tummy wummy is grumbly wum-"

"Please stop." Gumball pinched his nose. "Can't believe I'm being teamed up on already."

Penny shrugged coyly. "It's working, isn't it?"

The feline tried to facilitate his facade of a firm face, but finally it fell. "Fine, what kind of sauce do you want with it?"

"Chef's choice." Penny smirked, settling back into the couch, her hands resting by her antlers. "If you could just add marshmallows, I'm fine with whatever."

Penny giggled as she heard the cat gag. After digging around for the remote and grabbing the cupcake he had given her, Penny switched the TV on only for her phone to start ringing.

"Of course," she sighed, turning it back off. At least that sound couldn't mean Sharon anymore.

The fairy found relief in the fact it was only Nicole. She and the rest of the family had gone out to a dull family function set up by the Rainbow Factory, the young couple only narrowly dodging attendance due to Penny conveniently having 'uh-somethingpregnancysicknessitis' and needing Gumball to care for her.

Richard, Darwin and Anais didn't have the privilege of such a completely legitimate excuse and thus were dragged along. They made sure to gripe about it that morning.

"Hey Penny! Just calling to let you know, we're gonna be a bit late coming home tonight."

"Oh?" Penny asked, taking a bite of cupcake. "Why?"

"Someone made an oil tanker tip over after it cut them off, now the whole highway is blocked."

"Oh my, I hope- wait, it wasn't you, was it?"

Nicole shrugged as the officers fastened the handcuffs, one holding the phone to her ear for her. "Who can really say?"

"Uh-huh, anyway as I was saying, I hope everyone's okay!"

Nicole laughed. "Pff, no of course not, just some minor bumps, car dents, maybe a pinch of PTSD, but who doesn't go through that every now and then, am I right? Oh whoops, sorry Penny, gotta go, bye!"

The call ended as abruptly as it had started. Penny rolled her eyes."What'd she say?" The cat called from the kitchen.

"Big crash she definitely didn't cause," Penny shrugged, tossing her empty cupcake wrapper onto the table. "So it looks like it's just you and me tonight."

"Okayyy." Gumball said, carrying in a plate of hotdogs. "Soooo, bad movies?"

"Bad movies."

"Bad movies! :D" Gumball cheered, almost dropping the plate, catching himself at the last moment. "Phew," he sighed, relieved. "Nearly got lint all over these."

The cat set them down on the coffee table in front of his girlfriend. He looked at the marshmallows drenched in ketchup, swallowing an uncomfortable lump in his throat as his cheeks went green.

"Actually on second thought, I think lint would improve the flavour. Anyway honey, here are your abomination-dogs!"

"Why, thank you, Gumball!" Penny beamed, immediately grabbing one and biting in.

"Mmm. Oh my-" she gasped, fanning her mouth. "Gumball, you gotta try this!"

"No thank you." Gumball sarcastically sneered, retrieving a smaller plate with far fewer hotdogs. "I'll stick to just chocolate sauce on my hotdogs, like a normal person."

"Y'know (mmf) one perk of being pregnant?" Penny said, mid bite. "Mmm, sho much tashtesh sho good!"

She swallowed the monstrosity, the mere sight making the cat gag. "It sucks that some of the stuff I usually like tastes like dirt now."

"Hey, I heard something a while ago," Gumball said, settling next to her on the couch. "Some pregnant people get cravings for stuff they don't eat. Like paint chips or soap or, well, dirt. Has that happened to you so far?"

"Well, now that you say that…" The fairy scratched her chin. "That window cleaner we have is looking realllly tasty…"

She trailed off, noticing the mortified look on her partner's face. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She laughed. "What you're describing is an eating disorder; 'Pica'. It's when people want to eat stuff they can't."

"How do you know all this?"

"I did my research." Penny boasted proudly. "What, did you think I wouldn't spend hours researching things that could possibly go wrong?"

"Pff, and you call me anxious."

"I'm not anxious!" The fairy said, deflecting the statement. "I'm cautious! We can't have a baby without knowing the risks."

"Like the risk of you eating paint?"

"…Well it's not zero."

"Huh?!"

"I'm just saying!" Penny proclaimed. "Wouldn't certain colours taste different?"

"Penelope, it's paint."

"Yeah, and?! Whatever happened to scientific research?!

"There is no research in you eating paint!"

"Wouldn't it be drinking paint?"

Gumball sighed. "Is this some weird pregnancy thing or are you just messing with me?"

Penny stood up, laying her plate on the coffee table. "A little from Column A, a little from Column B." She kissed the cat on the forehead. "Mostly Column B. I'll be right back honey, nature calls." She pointed at her half finished plate of hotdogs. "Don't eat those, I'm saving them."

"Oh, don't worry, I would never." Gumball scoffed. "Not that I could ever," he added under his breath, eyeing up her plate cautiously.

Penny stopped halfway up the stairs. "And don't throw them out either!"

"Okay, that, I might have been planning to do." The feline nestled further into the couch, skimming through the different channels on the TV.

Swimming race, dinosaur documentary, swimming dinosaur documentary, documentary race, space race documentary, space swimming dinosaur documentary race documentary.

"Wow, lots of documentaries on. Got anything else?"

As if the television heard him, the camera-wielding dinosaurs were suddenly replaced with dry and dull voices on a desaturated picture, showing an auction for what seemed to be a vase with a hideous design. As the auctioneer mumbled on, Gumball tried to change to something more interesting, to no avail.

"Nonono, this is no place to die!" He banged the remote against the table, still hastily pressing the button to change channel. Gumball tried to push himself up to find some replacement batteries, but the lifeless droning stole the energy right out of him, leaving the cat stranded on the couch. "Ohhh, it's sooooo booooring!"

The feline felt his eyelids droop as the incomprehensible muttering blurred into, well, muttering somehow even more incomprehensible.

"Ba buh?"

The cat's eyes shot open as he felt a small hand grab his paw, followed by the feeling of something warm and wet enveloping his finger.

Gumball pushed himself up to see a winged blue kitten attempting to wrap its mouth around his hand.

"Om."

"Woah, buddy." He chuckled. "You can't eat that."

As he gently removed the kitten's snack, the baby began to whimper, trying desperately to reach out for the fleeting delicious paw.

"Zachy, no, my paw is not for biting."

The infant still kept attempting to grab him.

"Oh, you want a boost?" Gumball asked, sitting up. He patted his lap, inviting his son. "You want uppies?"

Zachary cooed, seeming to nod. "Okay, up we go!" The baby giggled as he was lifted up, landing on his father's legs. After briefly taking in the new amazing environment and locating what was actually of interest, he started crawling towards his former chew toys.

"Woah, woah, Zachy!" Gumball cried, faking panic. "You can't eat my hands!" He leaned back, as if to attempt escape, but his head thunked against the end of the couch. The baby saw this as his chance to pounce.

"Num."

"Ack!" The cat tried to shake the kitten off but it was to no avail. "Zachy, I yield, I yield!"

The kitten ceased, tilting his head in confusion. "Buh?" Gumball smirked, triumphantly. "Oh, big mistake, son," he teased. "You just entered… THE CUDDLE ZONE! RAHHHH!"

The baby squealed as Gumball held him tightly to his chest. Zachary kicked and struggled but it was no use. The cats were stuck like this for the foreseeable future.

After a while, the wriggling died down and Zachary began to tire. Gumball smiled as he heard the kitten purr, reminded of simpler times when he was just a baby himself. He was snapped out of his daydream as he felt something wet land on his shirt, noticing the small waterfall of drool pooling from his child's mouth and onto Gumball's clothes.

"Aw, just like me, aren't ya buddy?" He whispered. "Can't help but make a mess." Gumball leaned forward a little, careful to not disturb the kit's nap. He kissed the baby on the forehead, chuckling as his child's tiny ears flinched instinctively.

"What are you doing?"

The cat rolled over a little to see his girlfriend standing by the couch. He was stunned to see her baby bump was still very much there, prominent as ever.

"Uhhhh…" Gumball looked at his hands, only to find them caressing a pillow on his chest. "…Did I ki-"

"Yeah, you kissed the pillow."

"Blech!" Gumball spat, wiping his tongue to try and remove the taste, with little success. "Just imagine how many butts have been on that thing, ugh."

Penny snickered lightly, and Gumball shot her an unamused look.

"Still beats your ketchup-marshmallow monstrosity."

…

"So, are you gonna tell me why you were kissing a pillow? Did you dream about us in space again?"

"No, I wasn't kissing you."

Penny glared, snakes starting to sneak out of her hair. "Then tell me, Dear Gumball," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Who were you kissing?"

"Our baby."

Penny's accusing stare instantly subsided. "Oh…. Awwwww." Her eyes glazed over, overwhelmed by the cuteness. "That's… that's so sweet!"

Before Gumball could react, Penny dove onto the couch, snuggling up close to the feline's side.

"Sooo…" She asked, batting her eyes. "What did she look like?"

"He, you mean."

"Ooo, I thought your mind was set on it being a girl?"

"Hey, who says it isn't! It was only a dream after all."

"Perhaps, perhaps." Penny mused. "But do tell me, what did he look like then? Was he handsome?"

"He looked just like me in fact, so yes, he was."

"Pity." Penny sighed, dodging the pillow thrown at her. "So, just a little blue kitten?"

"Yeah, but with wings."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, before the realisation sunk in. "WINGS?!" She cried, shooting up. "How do we handle a kid that has WINGS?"

"Penny, calm down! It was just a dream." Gumball said, gently stroking her hair. "It's not like you use your wings a lot."

"I choose not to, but it's not like a baby knows what it's doing!" She fell back onto Gumball and began massaging her forehead. "Ughhh, we'll have to do SO much extra child-proofing."

"If this dream is accurate, you mean." The cat tried his best to soothe the fairy. "Hey, I think I know what'll cheer you up!"

"What?"

"Do you wanna hear his name?"

"Mhm."

Gumball leaned in close to Pennys ear. "Zachary."

Penny gasped. "I thought you hated that name?"

"What can I say, it's grown on me." Gumball shrugged. "As long as it's Zachary, never Zach."

"Is Zachy okay? As a nickname?"

"Fine."

"Zach Zach?"

"No."

"Zacker?"

"Yes."

"Zach the Snack?"

"Absolutely not."

"Zacka?"

"Penny, most of these names are awful." Gumball groaned.

"That's what makes us parents, isn't it?" Penny winked, tracing a circle on Gumball's shoulder with her finger. "Making up awful, goofy nicknames for other kids to tease them about."

"What, so you want to be one of those moms that gives their kids sappy nicknames?"

"Well your mom seemed to want to be, Gumball."

"Touche. You gonna embarrass them when you drop them off at school too?"

"Ideally, our kids would walk to school but yes, of course!" Penny grinned. "Swing by school as it starts, give them their lunch they 'forgot' and call them something embarrassing! Would you wanna join me?"

"Absolutely!" The two high fived, giggling.

"Hahaha, oh this kid is gonna hate us." Penny chuckled.

"Yeah." Gumball said, wiping a tear from his eye. "We'll love them to bits though." He planted a kiss on Penny's tummy.

"Yeah. We will." Penny smiled. "Hey, do you think we should maybe get it checked out? See if it does have wings or not?"

"Would it really be that big of a deal?" Gumball countered. "Birds can't fly for, what, months?"

"I don't think he will be able to fly, I think he will try to fly. And he will be bad at it."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he'd be a Watterson, silly! Are you going to tell me that if you had wings, you wouldn't try flying before you could walk?"

"Yeesh, you've got a point there." The cat scratched his chin. "Mom said I had too much energy as a kid, just imagine if I had wings."

"Still though," Penny pondered. "I could start flying more, it'd be a nice thing for us to do together."

"Why are you so convinced my dream is accurate?" Gumball raised an eyebrow.

"Because your dreams often are." The fairy yawned, settling in next to her boyfriend. The feline's face fell, his mouth open in shock.

"They… they are?"

"Yeah, of course." Penny mumbled, already half asleep.

"Even my nigh… nightmare?" Gumball whimpered. "Where you l- le- leav-" The fairy jolted awake, grabbing the cat by the paw.

"Gumball, I didn't mean it like that! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay." He sighed. "But… what did you mean?"

"Well…" Penny began, fiddling with her fingers. "I was just joking but… sometimes your dreams do come true. Like remember how you dreamed about finding that coin behind the couch? That happened!"

"But, what about the dream where you-"

"I said dreams, not nightmares." Penny shushed the cat. "Nightmares are just what you're scared of, they're not worth your attention."

"But… but…"

"Shhhhh." The fairy whispered. "'Zachary' is tired."

Gumball said no more, letting the words on his mind fizzle out. He smiled, closing his eyes and nuzzling up to his girlfriend as she curled around him.

Hours later, Penny woke to the faint sound of a car pulling up outside. Muffled conversations began as the family exited their car. The fairy blinked, looking out at the sky, noticing the dark purple and orange blanket cloaking the world.

Late evening, surprising. Sorting out things with the police was often an overnight task.

Penny groaned as she was given a sharp reminder from her midsection on why she'd woken up. Sliding carefully out of Gumball's grasp, she shuffled over to the window, waving at the Wattersons as they approached.

Nicole and Anais spotted her as they were halfway up the footpath, waving back. Penny gestured towards the couch, mimicking a sleeping motion. Nicole and Anais nodded, the older cat holding a finger over her mouth to the others. Penny flashed a thumbs up in return, before heading upstairs for her business.

Minutes later, she crept downstairs, passing Darwin and Anais, exchanging quiet greetings. Penny noticed Richard standing over the couch, looking at Gumball affectionately.

"He's having a baby dream, isn't he?" The rabbit asked.

Penny was confused. Looking down, she saw the cat had tenderly wrapped his arms around the same pillow as before, occasionally stroking it.

"I think so, yeah." She whispered. "How can you tell?"

"I had the same dreams." Richard smiled. "When you're becoming a dad, you get really excited about meeting your kid." He gazed at the pillow. "That was him in my hands."

"Those dreams stick around, huh?"

"Oh yeah, they do." Nicole whispered from behind the two, making Penny jump a little. "I remember Richard waking me up all the time just to tell Gumball how much he loved him."

"It wasn't on purpose!" The rabbit started to raise his voice, only to remember the sleeping feline. Nicole chuckled.

"I tell you, Penny, these Watterson boys are just too affectionate." She sighed, pinching Richard's cheeks. "Make sure Gumball lets you have at least some time with the baby. I had to essentially wrestle him out of this one's arms."

As if he had heard this, Gumball winced, mumbling something about hotdogs as he tightened his grasp on the pillow. Penny smirked, an idea floating into her mind.

"Gumball, sweetie." She cooed, reaching for the pretend child. "Can I have a turn with the bab- EEE!"

The fairy jumped back as the cat swiped at the air, hissing and growling, before reverting to his purring docile state, licking the 'baby' clean.

Penny gasped for air, feeling her heart race as her in-laws giggled as quietly as they could.

"Haha, ohhh Nicole did that all the time too!" Richard guffawed.

"Heeheehee, oh I did, didn't I?!" The matriarch laughed. "I guess neither of us wanted to let the other have a turn with him. Or any of the kids, really." Penny managed a half-hearted smile, still breathing heavily.

"My advice to you, Penny?" Nicole offered. "When he's asleep with the baby, do not try to take the baby!"

"My baby…" Gumball grumbled, kissing the pillow firmly. Penny took a few more cautious steps back. "Yeah, can't say I'm a big fan of getting a scar."

"A scar?!" Nicole scoffed. "Oh honey, we'd never draw claws when a baby's nearby! It's just a scare tactic, here, watch!"

She reached for the pillow. Her son began swiping frantically, yet only managing to mildly tickle her. "It's like being slapped by a cloud, it doesn't hurt."

"If you position yourself right, it's a great back massager!" Richard chimed in. "And many other things!"

"Yes, many oth- what?" Nicole spluttered. "Richard, you didn't use my parental instincts for anything, did you?"

"Weeeeeelllllllll….." Richard scratched the back of his neck nervously.

22 years ago.

Nicole snored, sprawled out on the couch, one hand around a blue kitten snuggled up on her chest. Richard carefully and quietly snuck up, slipping noise cancelling headphones over her ears, and a matching pair far too large over his son's.

He snapped his fingers, prompting no response from his wife. Perfect. The rabbit grunted as he dragged a snare drum up next to her, the rock band members watching anxiously as he did.

Richard held a commanding hand up to them, his other hand carefully reaching for his son, prompting the mother to swat in the paw's general direction, hitting the drum.

The rabbit flashed the band a thumbs up, continuing to reach for Gumball as his wife batted away at the drum, unknowingly creating a rhythm.

The band leader cracked his knuckles, the others preparing their instruments. Richard counted down with his free hand's fingers, as The Wet Powerline began recording their new single.

"TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

"Noooooo, no I don't think so!" The rabbit shrugged, laughing nervously.

Nicole squinted, unconvinced. "Uh-huh. Regardless, Penny, you've really nothing to worry about. Gumball's too much of a softie to hurt anyone and- RICHARD STOP THAT!"

Richard giggled, Gumball softly slapping his face back and forth. "Aww, but it tickles!"

The older cat just rolled her eyes. Penny yawned, stretching her arms out. "Well, I've got work tomorrow, I'd best get to bed. See you guys."

"Night Penny!" Richard chirped. Nicole and Penny winced as Gumball stirred, his eyes slowly opening. "Wuh?" He mumbled.

"Oh, I was just saying goodnight to Penny." The rabbit explained.

"Y'know I'm pretty sure there's some irony in you waking me up with that but, I don't care right now." He stood up, stumbled over to his shared bed, and promptly collapsed.

Penny settled in next to him as the adults retreated to their room. Shivering slightly, she rolled over closer to Gumball, attempting to absorb some of his body heat.

"Ahh, much better."

"Abuh buhba?"

Penny looked around. Strangely, she was on the couch. The fairy could've sworn she went to bed.

"Baba?"

Ah. Penny looked down, noticing the kitten prodding and poking at her with its chubby fingers.

That explained it.

"Someone wants Mommy." Gumball smiled, ruffling the baby's hair. "What's wrong Zachy, tired of your old man already?"

"Awww." Penny sighed, lifting the cub onto her lap. "You finally come to your senses, sweetie?" Gumball scoffed. "He just felt bad for you, obviously."

Zachary's stubby arms stretched out for the fairy's face. "Aw, what is it puddin'?" She raised him up to her face, blowing a raspberry into his tummy. The baby squealed with laughter, wriggling in her hands.

"Is that what you were af- HEY!" Penny was interrupted by Zachary grabbing her nose, trying to honk it. Gumball laughed hysterically as she tried to gently pull him away.

"Okay, down you go." Penny muttered, lowering the kitten as he continued reaching for her face.

Zachary plodded onto the couch between his parents, crawling halfway towards his father before stopping. The couple noticed this, turning their heads to look at him.

"What's going on, buddy?" Gumball quizzed. The baby's wings started to stretch out, prompting a panic from both cat and fairy.

"Oh nope nope nope NOPE!" Penny tutted, scooping him up. "No flying yet, honey."

Zachary babbled and squirmed, as if to pout before giving up and settling into the fairy's arms. Soon, tiny snores began to drift from his mouth, much to Penny's delight.

"There ya go, puddin'." She murmured, stroking his head softly. "Sleepy time."

"Speaking of pudding." Gumball stood up, brushing himself off. "I'm going to get some dessert, do you want anything?"

Penny looked at the kitten in her arms, fast asleep.

"Nah, I've got everything I need."

Gumball promptly left and returned with a healthy helping of velvet cake, and Penny's eyes flickered over to his plate.

"On second thought… maybe feed me a spoonful or two."