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“Well, I can’t have him hate someone else, especially Banana Joe so obviously I had to win him back! And I did! By ruining his plans!”
Gumball laughed and Tobias was thrown out of his small stupor. Sure, he had asked Gumball to explain what his deal with his ‘nemesis’ was, but really, he was cool listening to Gumball talk about anything.
After starting high school and entering a much more broad environment, Tobias realized his father and all his views were, being completely blunt and honest, full of shit. He slowly started breaking away from his father’s views, and adopting more of his own. He was much nicer and considerate towards the girls in his school, and was a much more respectable person in general.
Tobias was truly ecstatic when Gumball started asking him to hang out more. Gumball, while not the best influence to be around, was raised by his wonderful loving and accepting parents, who made sure he knew the basic laws of life.
Sure he was a little shit, but at least he was respectful and respectable.
"Uh, yeah, that's super great." Tobias smiled awkwardly, looking over at Gumball again. The two of them sat against the wall of the school hallway, avoiding Mrs. Simian the best they could.
"Right??? It's wonderful! And…'
Tobias felt himself zoning out again, though he remained focused on the blue haired teen in front of him. The way his ears slightly moved when he laughed, or how his blue hair oh so perfectly curled around his head, or how his lips looked so… Soft..?
"And so then, I– Tobias?"
All rationality and actual thoughts left Tobias’ brain as he moved closer to his friend, his hand moving upwards to grab Gumball's shoulder.
Gumball, at the feeling of contact, raised his eyebrow at Tobias. "Tobias, what are you-"
Time stopped the moment Tobias leaned forward and kissed his friend.
Gumball’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t make any effort to push Tobias off. He was completely stunned at the gesture to do anything anyway.
Tobias pulled Gumball closer and Gumball felt himself relax a bit, slowly but surely returning the kiss.
After a moment or so, the situation finally caught up to Tobias’ brain, and he shot back almost instantly, his arm flying up to press the back of his hand against his mouth. “Shit.” Tobias ran his other hand through his hair, his gaze anywhere but on the boy in front of him.
“...Tobias?” Gumball reached forward and Tobias moved backwards, his breathing increasing more each second.
“No, no, no, he’s gonna kill me, I went so long without him knowing.” Tobias muttered.
“Tobias??” Gumball bit his lip. “C’mon buddy, what's up?” Gumball scooted closer and Tobias finally looked up at him, his bright blue eyes already filled with tears.
“He’s gonna kill me.” Tobias mumbled. “He’s gonna fucking kill me.”
“What? Tobias, who?”
Tobias lightly gasped, tears finally making their way down his face. “My–” He sniffled, gripping tufts of his hair in his hands. “M-my dad, he’s gonna fucking kill me.”
“Your da– oh shit.” Gumball moved closer and gently placed his hands on Tobias’ shoulders. He let out a sigh, staring his friend dead in the eyes. “Your dad fucking sucks. From just this reaction alone, he’s homophobic, and based on your previous behaviors, he’s sexist and objectifies women, and he just is overall shitty.”
Tobias didn’t know how to reply so he just nodded, and Gumball sighed again. “You’re super fucking cool for breaking off from his views and his influence, Tobias. I’d say do whatever the fuck you want. What he doesn’t know won’t kill him– er, well I guess in this case… You. And he doesn’t sound like he’s very present with you anyways. Have your own life, just.... Don’t tell him about it.”
Tobias sniffled, wiping his eyes. “Shit, I didn’t think you could give good advice, Gumball. I didn’t even think you really cared for anyone’s personal feelings, hah.”
Gumball launched forward and gave Tobias a tight hug. “Yeah, well, maybe that’s just how I was in middle school. But, y’know, we all can change.” Gumball pulled away and gave Tobias a crooked smile, a blush forming on his face.
And that’s when he remembered.
“Wait a second.” Gumball muttered. “Tobias, why did you kiss me?”
“I–” Tobias’ breath hitched and his face went red. “Uhm, well, you see, Gumball, I-” Tobias inhaled deeply, and exhaled, his face getting increasingly more red. “Well, ever since I started seeing shit from a better perspective, I realized… Well, y’know how in middle school, I wanted to be one of your best friends, and I tried to eliminate all your closest friends?”
Gumball nodded.
“Turns out I just wanted to be super close to you because I had a full blown crush on you that hide under the guise of ‘oh he’s just super cool and someone that I’d totally wanna be best friends with’ so I tried being your best friend just to get closer to you and hang out with you more.”
“Oh. Oh my god, okay, I didn't expect such an honest confession from you, alright.” Gumball coughed into his hand, his face bright red.
"Did you want me to lie?"
"No! I just didn't expect it!"
Both boys averted their gaze to the floor, faces bright red as they sat in awkward silence.
Tobias was seriously wishing for the floor to eat him alive, when Gumball reached his hand out in front of him. Tobias blinked, and then looked up at him.
"Uhmm.. I know you're still kinda scared, and this is probably very new for you, but… if you're cool with it, do you wanna go out with me…?"
"Holy shit." Tobias covered his mouth with his hand. "Uhm, shit, yeah. I really really do." He placed his other hand in Gumball's, and Gumball intertwined their fingers.
"Okay."
"This is gonna take a while to get used to, isn't it."
"Definitely." Gumball smiled.
"Can we…"
"Keep it a secret?"Gumball asked. Tobias nodded and Gumball pulled Tobias just a bit closer to him. "Yeah, of course. Although, I may tell Darwin. He uhm, knew I liked you and hasn't told anyone, so I trust him."
"Okay." Tobias paused. "Can I kiss you again?"
"Please."
Tobias leaned forward and gripped Gumball's cheek, pressing his lips gently against Gumball's.
Gumball pulled Tobias closer and wrapped his arms around his neck.
When the two pulled away, Tobias laughed nervously, his gaze falling to the floor again. "Oh god this is so weird."
"It's a bit weird." Gumball shrugged. "But we'll get used to it. And, uhm… if your dad finds out… I'm sure my family will let you stay with us. Though, we may need to get jobs. Probably."
"Okay." Tobias moved his hand up to mess with Gumball's hair. "You're a lifesaver."
"It's one of my many attractive qualities."
Tobias shorter, lightly shoving Gumball's chest. Gumball giggled, but was quickly cut off by a very grumpy sounding voice. Gumball instantly knew the source, since he'd been on the receiving end of it more than once.
"When I find those kids…"
"Shit, Simian's coming. We gotta bounce." Gumball quickly stood, and helped Tobias up as well. "Cmon!"
"Okay." Tobias smiled.
The two quickly ran the opposite direction of the voice, heading straight for the exit. When they were out, they kept running. They'd deal with the consequences another time. For the time being, they just wanted to feel free with each other.