Starting New: A World Apart

Chapter 26: A Gift

Gumball made it downstairs and sat down on the living room couch. He was excited. Just then, he heard Nicole make her way down too.

'Well, here goes nothing...' he thought, tightening his grip on his wrapped gift.

Nicole made her way into the room with a slightly nervous step, but did her best to hide it. She was a bit stiff and her hands felt clammy.

'Come on Nicole, it's just a gift. Nothing to worry about. He should like it either way...right? What if he doesn't? What if- no. Stop it. Just...focus.'

She let out a quick breath before speaking.

"Hey Gummypuss, I see you are all done with your gift wrapping."

"And I see you are done with yours as well..." he spoke smugly, leaning back into the couch.

"W-what?" She asked worriedly, before clearing her throat and asking again with a calmer tone.

"Come on~, I know that look. You just didn't want me to feel left out, didn't you?"

'Am I seriously THAT easy to read?' She thought.

Nicole lowered her ears in defeat.

"Gumball, I-I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you earlier; and...yeah. I didn't want you to feel bad. It felt only right to return the favor..."

Gumball set his gift aside and got up, outstretching his arms for a hug. Nicole let out a sigh of relief and set her gift down before hugging him warmly.

"Thanks for understanding..." she spoke softly, scratching gently the back of his head.

"No problem, Gummybear~"

They then both pulled away and brought their gifts over to the couch.

"Well, since I said that I would have a gift for you, why don't you open mine first?" Nicole mentioned, holding it out towards him.

Gumball smiled warmly, before taking it out of her hands.

"Alright. Thank you."

They both sat down and Gumball began to untie his gift. When he finally undid the sheet, his eyes grew large and he quickly looked up towards Nicole with true joy and excitement. It was like he was a kid again opening a wonderful present on Christmas morning.

"It's a ship in a bottle! I love it!" He quickly exclaimed, setting it down gently before enveloping her in a tight hug.

Nicole took a second to process all that considering all the previous doubts she had about the gift, but instinctually wrapped her arms around him in return. She now felt loads of joy.

*small chuckle* "well I'm glad you like it Gummypuss. I thought of you when I picked it out."

'He likes it, He likes it, HE LIKES IT!!!' Screamed her inner mind. Luckily, her outer face didn't express the entirety of it. She was proud of herself for having mastered that somewhat.

Gumball eventually pulled himself back, before admiring his gift closer.

"It's so well crafted too. Is it okay if I put this in my room later?" He asked, giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

"Of course Gummypuss. Put it anywhere you like."

Gumball raised it in the air in excitement before setting it down again and clearing his throat.

"Well, now that I've received my gift, I think it's only fair for you to receive yours." He said, grabbing for his gift and handing it to her.

Nicole noticed the gift appeared to be a bit smaller than hers, and felt it was quite light in weight. As she pondered what it could be, she slowly untied the wrapping. After moving it out of the way, she looked at her gift with curiosity.