Work Text:
Spongebob woke up on a bright sunny morning with rainbows shining in the sky. Once he saw the rainbows he knew. He remembered all the significations these rainbow had, and then that face showed up. Yes, not his girlfriend Pearl's face, but it was Squidward, he could feel in his chest that his heart was more and more towards him and realised.
"Oh."
He realised he had feelings for Squidward, all that time, and it's only now that his love for him had blossomed under the colours of the rainbows.
He turned over in his bed and next to him lay his lover of 3 years, Pearl. She had been nothing but great to him and had alway been there by his side. Whether it was his highs or lows, Pearl was always there for Spongebob no matter what. She took care of him, made sure he was well fed, and constantly showered him with affection. What more could he have asked for? Yet, there was a lingering void in his a heart. A void that could only be filled by Squidward.
He stared at her for a few moments, she was sleeping soundly and he didn't want to wake her up. He didn't want her to notice that the fire he had in his eyes had disappeared. No longer she would have this special place in his heart anymore. The only thing that could be seen in his gaze , was the grieving of the 3 years they had spent together. After that long pause , he couldn't wait for her to wake up to welcome her with a smile along with the usual "Good Morning, Love" that they had been exchanging for so long before. He turned his head around, and stepped out of their bed.
Spongebob had made up his mind. Today was the day. Today was it. He could not take it any longer. Day by day the aching in Spongebob’s heart grew greater and greater. His heart only desired Squidward and he could no longer put up with living a lie with Pearl. He had to tell her now before he could hurt her any further. As he got up, he felt his legs tremble. Spongebob faltered at the thought of how much he would hurt Pearl once he’d tell her this. For years, he’d been living a life of lies and deceit with her and for her to realize this all at once would crush her. But he could simply not take it any longer. What needs to be done must be done. He headed to work without a word, trying to think how he’d break things off.
During the entire day, each one of his movements had been framed by the weight of confusion. He turned his patties with less confidence compared to his usual self. He didn't feel like the burgers he made would bring joy to the customers today, knowing all the doubts he felt. During his break, he could see his phone light up multiple times from over the counter. He knew who that was. Pearl… He truly felt guilty for giving her a silent treatment caused by only his own emotions. It wasn't her fault at all. It will never be. He thought so to himself. He was aware that he didn't have the right words to gift her, he knew only that the only words of comfort he would give her would be lies, and that his words of truth would gift her anxiety. He decided to ignore his device, focused on his repetitive task and did not allow this heaviness to distract him any further until he was done with his work.
Spongebob continued diligently with his work but as he feared, his burgers simply were not hitting. The same customers that would usually sing his praises were shouting nasty slurs at him. Crippled by his guilt and the hit to this self-esteem, Spongebob was slowly making his descent into a dark and disturbed mindset that he may not fully recover from. As his inner mental turmoil started to grow worse and worse, it was as if an angel from God himself was sent to save him from the horrors of his own mind. Squidward had finally walked into work. As Spongebob gazed at this beautiful creature, all of his newly developed mental issues began to melt away. He looked in awe at Squiward’s luscious and well-maintained tentacles and his attraction to him grew even greater. He could smell that Squidward had began to use a new cologne and to Spongebob, that smell was simply irresistible. Never in his life had Spongebob felt this attracted to someone.
His eyes would not stop sticking to Squidward’s figure, yet he still had to work. The smell of the patties, slowly burning made itself stronger and stronger, but Spongebob, still hypnotised by the lingering fragrance of Squidward, could not spot an ounce of it. Then Squidward turned around,with his usual serious expression. Actually, now that he took a great look at his face, it wasn't the usual one but slightly more angry. Right, he was slightly pissed off at the moment. I wonder why… Would i be able to do something about that?.. Squidward’s eyes laid down on Spongebob’s for a few seconds , and he opened his mouth. "Hey. The fucking patties they're burning! Wake the hell up!". Spongebob , startled by the sudden call out and looks down on the grill. Oh fuck i really messed up right now He removed the burnt patties immediately. "Haha my bad, I was out of it, I'm really sorry for that " Squidward squinted his eyes "Don't apologise to me, you're the one who will get in trouble if Mr. Crabs learns about that. Those patties cost money you know.. That'll be subtracted from your paycheck so get your shit together" Spongebob apologised once again, and kept cooking his patties with a little more joy and love included in his gestures.
Now that he had witnessed the glory of Squidward once again, Spongebob’s mind was finally made. Despite Squidward's lack of interest, as he was just like everyday, closed in his own world, Spongebob just admired his whole being in all of it's daily simplicity he had the chance of getting a glimpse of. But such moments had to end, as the sun had already started to sink down. As soon as his shift was finished, he stumbled his way out of the Krusty Krab as fast as he could and beelined straight home. Slowly he approached the door and he could feel his hands getting clammy. The reality of what he was about to do was finally beginning to hit him and his heart shrunk liked a wilted rose. For the sake of his happiness he had to take away the happiness of the one he for years claimed to be his beloved. He reached for the door handle and let himself in.