TAWOG Fanfic Advent 2022

Day 9

It had been a long, grueling day at work for Nicole, and now he was finally arriving home.

The car pulled up to the driveway and she stepped out and closed the door before trudging over to the front door.

She let herself in and promptly collapsed onto the sofa with a loud groan, completely exhausted.

She sighed as she thought about the awful day she'd just been through. The phones had broken down, the internet had been incredibly slow and during lunch, she'd spilled her coffee all over the keyboard. She honestly couldn't wait for it to be over. All she wanted to do was lie down and go back to sleep.

She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as she felt two pairs of paws and a pair of fins suddenly wrap around her in a tight hug.

She looked up with a weak smile as she saw all three of her kids had come over and hugged her, Gumball and Darwin on either side of her and Anais hugging her neck from behind the sofa.

Her smile grew as she chuckled. "What's all this for?"

"We noticed you looked really upset when you came in, and we wanted to cheer you up!" Anais smiled.

"Yeah, are you okay Mrs. Mom?" Darwin asked sounding genuinely worried.

She gave him a reassuring smile and placed her paw on his shoulder. "Awww I'm alright sweetheart, I just had a tough day at work and I'm a little worn out, that's all. I just need a little...*yawn* rest and I should feel a lot better."

"Are you sure?" Gumball asked her, still feeling worried about her.

She rubbed the top of his head. "I promise, I'm completely okay. Thanks for worrying about me though, it means a lot that you care so much."

Anais smiled at her. "You're welcome!"

Nicole yawned again. "Will you three be okay if I take a little nap? Your father should be back from hanging out soon so you shouldn't be alone too long."

"We'll be fine Mrs. Mom. You get some rest." Darwin assured her.

"Thanks, kids..."

She smiled and laid down, resting her head on a cushion, and closed her eyes.

The kids got up and left her to sleep, going over to the dining table.

They looked back at her, then at each other with pity, Anais sighing and Gumball's ears lowering slightly.

"Man, she sounded so exhausted..." Gumball eventually spoke up.

"Am I the only one who feels really bad? Darwin asked.

Anais shook her head. "No, we all do..."

The three sat deep in thought, feeling guilty at seeing their mother so exhausted, just to provide for them.

"I wish there was something we could do to help..." Darwin eventually thought out loud.

Anais continued to think for a while before her face lit up.

"Maybe there is..."

======================================

A few hours later Nicole finally woke up, finding Richard sat in front of her and watching TV.

"Oh...hey Richard."

"Oh, I see someone finally woke up! Have a good nap?" He smiled.

She stretched, letting out a sound that was a mix of a yawn and a high-pitched meow. "Yeah, it was great thanks. God knows how much I needed it...how long was I asleep?"

"A few hours. It's nearly seven."

Her eyes widened. "Almost seven?! Oh my goodness, I need to start dinner!"

"Oh, don't worry, the kids have already got that sorted." Richard assured her.

"...What do you mean?" She asked as her eyebrow raised in confusion.

He nodded over to the dining room where Gumball was setting up the table, and next to him in the kitchen, Anais and Darwin were making dinner.

"They saw how exhausted you were and told me that they wanted to cook dinner tonight to give you a rest. Oh, and they've also taken care of the laundry and tidied up their room as well, so you don't need to worry about doing any housework."

"Really...? They...they really did all of that all on their own accord?" She asked as she began to tear up, feeling incredibly touched.

"Mhm. I was surprised too, but hey, I'm not certainly not complaining!" He chuckled.

"I...I don't know what to say..."

"Dinner's ready!" Anais suddenly called out to them as she brought some plates into the dining room.

"Don't say anything. Just enjoy it." He winked at her and gave her a quick kiss before he got up and walked over to the dinner table. "Ooh, sausages and chips!"

She chuckled and walked over to join him.

"Mom, you're awake!" Gumball smiled as he noticed.

She smiled. "and you three were certainly busy whilst I was asleep. I mean, you did all of this just for me?"

Anais nodded. "We thought you deserved a break since you looked so exhausted from work. Did you like the surprise?" She asked.

Nicole smiled as she teared up. "I loved it! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!"

"See, I told you she would!" She turned and smiled excitedly at her brothers.

Nicole couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh at her reaction. "Awww, come here you three!"

They all ran over and hugged her lovingly.

"Thank you so much kids...this was incredibly thoughtful of you..."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Mom! We love you!" Darwin smiled

"And I love you all too." She replied with a smile and she began to purr lightly.

"Now come on, let's eat already! I'm starving!" Gumball complained.

She giggled. "Alright, alright..."

She rubbed his head affectionately and the three of them all happily went to their chairs and sat down.

She hesitated and smiled, quietly chuckling to herself.

How lucky am I to have ended up with three kids as wonderful and thoughtful as them?

She sighed happily as she sat down and tucked into her dinner, having forgotten all about her horrible day, just to have such loving, caring children.