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Prince Gumball finally rested on his bed, sighing as he sank into the mattress. His head was pounding, and his body was drained from a long day. However, he wasn’t tired from work, for once. Fionna and Cake had surprised him that morning for his birthday, and they had been out for the rest of the afternoon. Though he had fun, something had been lingering in the back of his mind.
This hadn’t been the first birthday Gumball had spent without Marshall, but his absence seemed particularly more noticeable. The two had been on good terms as of late, but the prince didn’t understand why Marshall hadn’t made himself known once throughout the whole day. Gumball wore Marshall’s old band shirt, and the scent of it only saddened him. He turned over in bed, clenching onto the cloth of the shirt. His exhaustion began to set in, and his eyelids grew heavy.
Suddenly, he heard a knock on his window.
Gumball quickly rose and looked through his window to find Marshall, who was floating outside. Gumball opened his window, the night breeze immediately greeting his skin.
“Hey, PG.” He gave Gumball his usual fanged smile. “You miss me?” Gumball was shocked to see Marshall was dressed in a tuxedo.
“Where have you been?” Gumball asked firmly. “And what’s with the tux?” Even he couldn’t deny how attractive Marshall looked.
“What’s with my shirt?“ Marshall grinned, noticing Gumball’s keepsake.
“Marshall.” Gumball sneered, blushing at his retort.
Marshall knew Gumball was going to be at least a little upset, but he figured it’d be worth it once he showed him his gift.
“Preparing your birthday surprise,” Marshall explained coolly. “Duh.”
“And it’s taken you the entire day to do this?” Gumball asked, crossing his arms. “I find that very hard to believe, Marshall.”
“I knew you were probably gonna go out with Fionna and Cake today, and I wanted us to have some alone time tonight,” Marshall continued. “If that’s okay with you, Gum-wad.”
“I hate it when you call me that.” Gumball murmured.
“You don’t look like you do.” Marshall joked, noticing the blush creeping on the prince’s face.
“Ok well, where exactly is this birthday surprise?” Gumball scoffed. “And seriously, what’s with the tux?”
“Your present’s at my place.” Marshall said. “Don’t worry, it’ll explain the tux. I’ll fly you there.”
“…fly?” Gumball felt his nerves rise.
“Obviously.” Marshall teased. “Why? Does that scare you, Your Highness?” His taunting didn’t make Gumball feel any better. His stomach began to turn. It wasn’t that he was scared of heights or even flying. He would travel on Lord Monochromicorn almost every day, but the notion of flying with Marshall made him nervous. He hadn’t done it in such a long time. The physical contact and close proximity clearly made him anxious, and he knew Marshall knew this.
But as usual, the vampire just tried to play everything as coolly as he could.
“It’s not scary at all.” Gumball clarified. “It’s just...it’s not—“
“No excuses.” Marshall interrupted, extending a hand out to him. “C’mon out, princess.”
Gumball sighed defeatedly, taking Marshall by the hand.
“Just please be careful—!” Marshall quickly pulls Gumball out of room, causing the prince to scream. Marshall pulls Gumball’s waist close, giving him a knowing smirk.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.” Marshall says, purposefully bringing his face close to Gumball’s. “You’re safe in my hands.”
“O-okay.” Gumball stuttered, wrapping his arms around Marshall’s neck. Marshall held the prince tight as he flew them closer to the stars. They reach a peak in the sky, everything below them seeming small.
“You okay, Bubs?” Marshall asks. He notices that Gumball’s eyes are tightly shut.
“I’m fine.” Gumball clearly lies. “Just fine.” He hears Marshall laugh, and his face runs hot.
“Shut up, okay?!” Gumball asserts.
“You seem uncomfortable, Gum…” The prince sensed the tease in the vampire’s voice. He felt Marshall lean in close to his ear.
“…do you wanna switch positions?”
Gumball’s eyes shoot open, and his face runs hot.
“Marshall!” Gumball yells at Marshall, furiously pushing Marshall’s head away from his. “Don’t say it like that!” Marshall laughs once again.
“Well, do you or don’t you?” Marshall asked with a mischievous grin. “You obviously don’t like flying like this.”
“Whatever.” Gumball says, shyly turning away. His heart was racing in his chest. “Just hurry up.”
Marshall leaned back, casually tucking his hands behind his head. He allowed Gumball’s weight to rest on top of him. The prince still clung onto his body. He wrapped his legs around Marshall, nuzzling his nose into the vampire’s neck.
“Is this better?” Marshall says.
“Yeah.” Gumball mumbled. “Thanks.” Marshall responded by planting a soft kiss on his cheek. As time passed, Gumball’s body grew more lax. He began to take in the moment, letting the sound of the wind flow through his ears. Gumball began lazily playing with the ends of Marshall’s hair. It all felt serene. He had forgotten how calming this was. How nice Marshall felt. To Gumball, Marshall was being surprisingly quiet. He was silently enjoying himself as well. He had missed holding Gumball so close. His sweet scent was so tempting, but he kept his composure.
“We’re almost there.” Marshall whispered.
“Mmhm.” Gumball hums, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. After a few more moments, the two finally make it to Marshall’s. The vampire carefully landed on his feet, holding Gumball in his arms. After Gumball brought himself to his feet, Marshall took Gumball by his hands.
“Are you ready for your present?” Marshall asked, bringing Gumball to the door.
“Yes.” Gumball smiled.
“Close your eyes.” Marshall opened the door to his house and led Gumball inside by the hand.
“You better not run me into anything.” Gumball asserted.
“Don’t tempt me.” Marshall chuckled. He brings Gumball to the kitchen, and the smell of food filled the prince’s senses.
“Okay.” Marshall releases Gumball. “Open your eyes.”
Gumball listens, opening his eyes to Marshall’s dimly lit kitchen. Marshall had prepared dinner plates for the two of them, his own plate full of red foods. Candles stood both the kitchen counter and the kitchen table, and roses littered the floor. Gumball also noticed a plate of cream puffs sitting in-between their plates, painting a smile across his face.
“You left a few of your recipes here from the other night, so I thought I’d make you your favorite dinner.” Marshall explained. “It just took me all day to figure half of them out, I don’t know how you make this cooking thing look so easy. The cream puffs were especially a pain.”
“Aw, Marshall.” Gumball took the vampire’s hands. “I…didn’t realize you had this side to you.” Marshall blushed, glancing down at their feet.
“Y-yeah, well…it was nothing, y’know.” Marshall spoke under his breath. Gumball pecked the vampire’s cheek.
“I appreciate you taking your time to do this for me.” Gumball whispered before softly kissing Marshall’s lips. The kiss caught Marshall off guard, but he quickly relaxed into it. Before he got to comfortable, Gumball pulled away.
“Thank you, Marsh.” The prince said. Marshall blinked as he slowly came back to Earth.
“…you wanna thank me with another ki—?” Gumball brought a finger to his lips.
“I’ll be sure to thank you later.” He chuckled. “We should eat first.”
“Good call.” Marshall brings Gumball to the dinner table, and they quickly enjoy themselves. Gumball is surprised by Marshall’s cooking, and he compliments on the meal. They fall into a conversation and it went smoothly from there. Gumball was right about this all being worth it. Quality time with Marshall used to be so scarce, but he’s been glad that he’s been getting to hang out with him more often. His work at the castle annoyed him, and everyday he thought of being with Marshall. Marshall was busy himself, but he obviously had more free time than him. Gumball would give anything to spend more time with Marshall, but he also thought that occasional moments like these made their time together so much more special.
Time flew by, and the two finally finished their meal. After Gumball helped Marshall clean the dishes, they found themselves sharing another kiss. Gumball slid onto the kitchen counter, pinned in-between Marshall arms. Marshall roughened the kiss, quick to explore Gumball’s candied mouth. He couldn’t get enough. “Marshall…” Gumball moaned, craning his neck back. The air around them grew hot, and Marshall loosened his tie with a finger. His lips traveled to Gumball’s neck, kissing his pink skin. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed your taste…” Marshall began taking in the prince’s sweetness, becoming lost in the taste as he softly sucked on the skin.
“…it’s been killing me all night.” Gumball could feel Marshall’s composure slipping.
“Marsh…?” Gumball ran his hands through his Marshall’s hair. He found himself slipping, but his exhaustion began to get the best of him.
“Yeah?” Marshall answered, nicking Gumball’s neck. He felt Gumball gently tug on his hair, and he sat up to face him.
“As much as I’d like to continue this,” Gumball chuckled softly. “I’m very winded from today.”
“Oh Glob,” Marshall noticed the gray patches he left on Gumball’s skin. “I’m sorry, Gum, I didn’t mean to—“
“No, no, don’t apologize.” Gumball interrupted. “You can’t help it, I totally get it.” His fingers caressed Marshall’s face.
“I’m just tired tonight, okay?” He sighed. “We’ll pick this up later, I promise.” Gumball gave Marshall one last kiss.
“But again, thank you so much for tonight.” Gumball whispered. “It was really romantic of you.”
“Anything for you, my prince.” Marshall whispers with a smile. “Let’s get you to bed, okay?”