Chapter Text
“Happy birthday to Masami, happy birthday to you!” The guests and mother cheered as Masami blew the candles out.
It was amazing how birthday cake could just make all the tension melt away into memory. If one were to enter the room now, they could never imagine that the girl sitting at the head of the table before her birthday cake had slammed her elbow into another boy's nose, making it bleed. Gumball, in the back of his mind, remembered why Tobias had come, but he wasn't going to say anything and ruin the moment. Besides, he really wanted to try that cake.
The cake was cut and spread across the party goers. Some thin slices, some thicker ones. The cake was one of those multiple flavours that Gumball could only call as magic. Birthday magic, that's his theory. He shared a look at Darwin, cake frosting littering his face, and they clinked their spoons together in a brotherly cheers.
Birthday Cake. One of life's greatest pleasures.
Every ate at different paces, some like Teri, took slow spoonfuls of their slice, while Tina finished two in an almost record time.
Gumball looked at when he heard low chuckling, and saw Tina halfway from licking frosting from her fingers, before noticing the eyes on her and deciding to use the nearby napkin to clean herself.
A few of the group chuckled at the almost bashful expression on Tina’s face, earning a glare from rough girl before calming down by Molly's touch.
Gumball stands by his long held theory about birthday cake being magically altered to taste better than normal cake.
Masami’s birthday get together ended not long after the cake ceremony. One by one, the partygoers excused themselves, leaving out the front door with a thanks.
Tina left first, stomping away with her hands down the pockets of baggy and ripped jeans. Molly follows after, rambling some excited story. Tina smiled with yellow, unclean teeth to Masami and her mother.
“Thanks for having me,” she growls as she heads to the front door.
Carrie leaves without saying goodbye, nobody’s quite sure when she left, but Darwin’s sure it’s just a forgotten mistake on her part. She wasn't a party-lover.
Carmen and Alan leave together, hand in hand and sickeningly sweetly affectionate with one another that even Mrs Yoshida requested that they hold off on PDA until they were outside her home. They sheepishly leave, but still hand in hand. Lovebirds, the two of them.
“Happy birthday, Masami,” they say together.
Penny, along with Leslie and Teri, were going to stick around the house a little longer to help with clean-up and make sure Masami was okay after her outburst at Tobias.
Gumball waited for Darwin outside, soon coming across Penny walking over to give her farewell.
“So, how about that cake?” Gumball said as a conversation starter. Great idea.
”I loved how each layer had a different flavour, it feels like magic," Penny commented.
”Birthday magic, that’s my theory,” Gumball joked, making Penny laugh as well.
Penny rubbed her arm, shuffling in her orange sneakers. They made her look like she could run a marathon. Thoughtful and stylish. Just like Penny herself.
"Well, I'm going to help out the others. See you at school.”
"Yeah, you too,” Gumball affirmed.
Darwin popped in as Penny left back inside, waving the girl off before leaning close to Gumball with a brotherly teasing grin.
”Duuuude, your window’s closing…”
”What window?” Gumball played dumb.
A car honk, courtesy of their father’s yellow car, caught their attention. Richard waved at them with his large and soft hands.
Gumball and Darwin both sat in the back, neither of them wanted to play rock paper scissors for shotgun seat.
”How’d the party go?” He asked jovially as he pulled his car out of the parking spot.
Carrie walked down the nighttime streets of Elmore. The night was always so peaceful on this town. So many things were still and the crisp cold wind was a pleasant chill down her face.
On the subject of pleasant, the party was more of that than Carrie expected. Masami’s party was a meld of cheerful energy but also very friendly and not overwhelming with buzzing enthusiasm.
Carrie felt kind of guilty that she didn’t buy a present for Masami, and for leaving withou a goodbye, but they’d understand. Right? She wasn’t a party person.
Maybe she’d apologise when she got to school tomorrow. Maybe. She rounded the corner to her house, that was situated near a graveyard, lovely atmosphere in such a place.
She fished out her skull keychain house keys, put them in the lock, before twisting it left and hearing the telltale click.
Penny opened the door of her family home, carefully closing it behind her.
“I’m home,” she announced, inhaling the warm scent of home sweet home.
Penny hugged her mom when she saw her. Patrick gave a slow yet approving nod at seeing his daughter home safe.
”How was it?” Patrick asked Penny. And Penny felt a blossoming passion in her chest as she explained.
”It was nice, everyone was having fun and getting along. Masami was so thrilled to see everyone, even Tina was there.”
Judith raised a chestnut brown eyebrow, “Tina? I’ve heard of her reputation. She didn’t cause trouble?”
”Not unless you define trouble as scarfing down two slices of cake in record time,” Penny replied.
Polly, Penny’s younger sister giggled, and Penny let the shared happiness in her heart before sighing.
“Well, I’m going to get changed. I’m still full from the cake, if that’s okay?”
After getting the all clear, Penny made her way to her bedroom, almost dancing through the house.
Penny opened the door to her bedroom, ready to carry all this leftover serotonin into her dreams.
Back at the Wilson household, Tobias sat on his bed while Rachel tended to his wound. It was a lucky thing that their parents weren't around, or they would lecture Tobias until the sun came up.
”Ah! Rachel!” Tobias cried as his older sister rested an ice pack on his nose. Rachel rolled her eyes.
”Don’t be such a baby, it’s just a little nosebleed. And maybe a bit offset, but it’ll set soon.”
Tobias grumbled out how unfair he felt, before a bolt of remembrance zapped his brain and lit his nerves.
”Gumball was there! He said he’d come by my place so he could give Masami my gift in my place, but he just didn’t! No more mister nice Tobias, I’m gonna flirt with Penny even harder!” He declared with a finger raised to the ceiling.
”Mhm, sure.” Rachel responded dryly. “Well, mom and dad are out for dinner. So that gives you plenty of time to plan your revenge.”
Tobias groaned, Rachel leaving him alone in his anger. Gumball was gonna pay for this. Somehow.
Masami sighed, flopping onto her soft as clouds bed. She watched her mother enter the bedroom, looking soft in the way Masami was only privy to outside public eyes.
This wasn’t Mrs Yoshida, this was Masami’s mom, who would hold her close.
”Did you have a good day, dear?”
”I did, mom.”
”How’s your elbow?”
Masami looked down at the elbow she slammed into Tobias’ nose. It was lightly bruised, but not heavily, she could hide it under her school uniform sleeves.
”Fine.”
Yuki paused for a moment, cupping her daughters’s face as she fished something out from her pocket.
”This necklace belonged to your aunt. I want you to have it.”
Masami lit up like the sun, carefully putting it around her neck. A white cloud pattern, it was beautiful.
”I love it, mom.”
Yuki kissed Masami’s forehead and stood up.
”Good, now get some rest. You still have school tomorrow.”
Gumball tucked himself into bed. Darwin did the same, having the top bunk.
This was an okay night. But in the back of his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about that tv static.
It was probably nothing. Just an old television on the fritz. Nothing to be worried about.
Absolutely nothing at all. Tobias might hold a grudge, that could be annoying to deal with for the next school week. But Gumball could handle it.
He closed his eyes and began to dream.
