Just a Bit Sweeter

Rumor Has It

There had been no communication between Marshall and Gumball for a couple of days. The king was worried, but he knew that they would be together soon enough. He had been too angry with Gumball to phone him. It was the kind of anger that had no purpose to stand tall, but it did anyways. Emotions towered over Marshall and ordered him around. The only thing he had left to himself was time, and only time, countless hours all alone. He took his cellphone out of his pocket, and looked at it. Should I, he thought staring at the technology, or should I not... Sliding his phone back into its original place, he decided not. What would he have to say? He flew over to the couch where leftovers from his dinner sat. Marshall gathered the trash and cutlery and floated towards the garbage where he disposed of it.

“Marshall?” A male’s voice spoke. It was familiar, but Marshall couldn’t recognize it. He stood up and stretched, “Comin’...” He called, and yawned. The king walked over to the door and opened it. It creeked loudly, it wasn’t opened in days. He looked out to see Lumpy Space Prince standing, well, floating impatiently. “Oh glob, get it together Marshall.” He said as soon as he laid eyes on him. “You honestly don’t expect to go out looking like... that.” It was LSP’s signature tone. Smug, and a little insulting at times. “I never planned on going out in the first place.” Marshall responded, running a hand through his long black hair. He could see Turtle Prince waiting outside, texting away. He never really socialized the two, or with anyone. The prince dropped his jaw and stared at the king, awestruck obviously. “What do you mean not going out! Are you lumping kidding me!” He threw up his arms in the most him way possible. Marshall stared at him with a confused look on his face, not because of the fact that the prince was yelling about something he had no idea about, but because he hadn’t witnessed one of LSP’s famous sassy rants in a while. It was refreshing, in a very uncomfortable way. “I swear, Marshall Lee, you are the most lazy king ever!” Lumpy Space Prince said, loudly. Even Turtle Prince turned to see what the yelling was about, and he witnessed it all the time. “LSP,” Marshall started, gritting his teeth, “I honestly have no idea what you’re even talking about. No one invited me to anything, and no one’s expecting me—“ LSP quickly cut him off, spitting as he yelled. “The meeting of the royals!” He moved closer to Marshall, making his eyes hurt even more when he spoke. Goddamnit, LSP, my ears... He thought, then paused. Meeting of the royals... no one had told him about it. He tilted his head upwards, LSP was right in his face. Flinching, he stepped back. “Right, sorry, that...” Marshall said, pretending that he had a clue. “I kind of lost the paper I wrote the location on...” He said, putting on a fake smiled and laughing awkwardly. Lumpy Space Prince let out a long-lasting groan as he dramatically tilted his head upwards as to cry out ‘GLOB HELP THIS CHILD’. “It’s gonna be held in the Candy Kingdom, Marshall! PG’s castle?” He rolled his eyes, “Get it together, vampire boy!” Marshall nodded, feeling like he had just been punched in the gut. Scratch that, he thought, in the groin. “You two go on ahead, I’ll head over a bit later...” The two princes waved in a sort of bitchy high school girl way and started towards the Candy Kingdom. The king leaned against the door frame and sighed. Right, he thought, Gumball’s castle.

Gumball was nervous. He fixed his hair for the fourth time in ten minutes, wanting to look perfect. Peppermint Maid had scheduled the meeting two days ago, and it was in less than an hour. Every royal had responded. It had been a while since he had to look ‘princely’. At least for a crowd of neutrals, that is. The prince’s shoes were polished, his shirt was tucked, and his face was clean. But his mind wasn’t. Gumball had no idea what he was going to say, or how to say it. He knew, but he wished he didn’t. It was the kind of confidence he wanted but was scared to hold close to him. He stared at his own reflection, fear in his eyes. Bringing up the subject of gay marriage was risky. There could be questions asked. Lying forbidden. Gumball had no idea where Marshall was, or if he even knew. Pepper hardly considered him royal. If she were to contact the Nightosphere, it would be directly to his mother. “.. Wouldn’t it...?” He asked himself aloud, feeling more anxious by the minute. “Wouldn’t it what?” Pepper asked, stepping into the room. She wasn’t wearing her usual uniform, but a far more formal one. “Some of the royals have arrived, sir. I’ve directed them to the meeting room.” Gumball turned, surprised. “They’re early—“ She cut him off nodding, “Yes, sir, they’re aware of that. Lumpy Space Prince has arrived with Turtle Prince, the two of them are fine with waiting.” She looked down at her shoes, they were delicate. Just like her, Gumball thought. “Thank you, Pepper,” He said, wearing a real smile for once, “I’ll be down in a few moments.” Peppermint Maid smiled and bowed, then walked out of the room.

The prince took one final look in the mirror. He looked professional, and he was confident in that. His door opened again, he could hear it from the washroom. “Anything else, Pepper?” Gumball said, turning to walk out. Fionna stood in the center of his room, and sized him up. The corners of her mouth twitched when she saw him. He straightened up, puffing out his chest. “Might I be able to assist you, Fionna...” He said. Assist her out of the room, he thought as he stared at her. I mustn’t look away, I mustn’t look away, cowards break eye contact, I am not a coward, he told himself, feeling fear rise up in him. It was the way she stood with confidence, confidence he didn’t have, that intimidated him. Or maybe it’s the fact that she can beat me senseless, Gumball thought, picking on himself. “You’ve called a meeting, I hear.” She said and smirked. Oh, how the prince wanted to smack the expression right off her face. “Pepper invited me and Cake to help the guards in, well, guarding.” Gumball nodded, unsure of what to say next. Fionna leaned against the wall, “A lot can happen when almost every royal figure in Aaa is gathered in one room...” Was that a threat? Gumball squinted his eyes, glaring at her. Now wasn’t a time to mess with his confidence, or at least whatever he managed to build up. “Miss Fionna, would you please step aside.” He said, stepping towards her, “I have a meeting to attend, as you well know.” She sneered at him and put her hands on her hips. “Your meeting is in an hour’s time. We’ve got a while.” The human girl took a step closer to him, they were inches away from each other. “Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened the time I sent Marshall over to get to know you better.”

This is a simple question, Gumball thought, Marshall and I did nothing out of the ordinary that day, we just fought like usual. He stared into her eyes, which were making him nervous. Hiding his shaking hands behind his back, he took a deep breath. “I was baking. Marshall simply floated around and stole the toppings.” She squinted her eyes, obviously unamused with the answer. “Baking what.” She snapped, glaring at Gumball. What was I even baking, he thought, and how would she even know. “Cakes.” He said, unsure of his answer. Fionna bit her lip, intimidating the prince. “Really, that was it...” He nodded, confident he had answered all the questions. All except one. “Are you sure, Gumball, that you weren’t the toppings he stole?!” She shrieked, making Gumball flinch back. How can I even answer that, he thought. Did she mean it in... that way? He was frightened, and it showed on his face. “You stole my boyfriend just so that you could have a friend for once!” Fionna yelled at him, anger in his eyes. So she didn’t mean it, he thought, feeling slightly relieved. Then it hit him. So that you could have a friend for once. Gumball knew he wasn’t mister popular, but it hurt to hear it said aloud. He stood up tall and pushed her aside, “Please close the door behind you, Miss Fionna...” He said, and began downstairs, leaving the human girl with the bunny ears behind to ponder what just happened.

I was going to wait a bit longer, but I couldn't. Here's chapter nine! New chapter coming out this Friday-- my birthday! Hope you enjoyed, as always! If you can, leave a like or comment!