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Cosmo slumps against the counter. The sounds of the ichor hitting the ground is calming, surprisingly. Even if it hurts. Maybe it makes him forget his unfortunate fate. A fate which he despises . A fate which he could change, but he can’t.
He hasn’t seen sprout, or anyone in that matter. But Sprout stands out to him the most. Sprout would always stay by his side, even if he didn’t need to be. Then he disappeared— like the rest of the mains. They all got “busy.”
They all started to get closer to Dandy, started planning things. That’s what Sprout said— the last thing he said to him. Then Sprout left him all alone.
Cosmo would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t cry. The truth is, every single night, Cosmo would cry and cry.
Maybe he cried too much, because, somehow, Dandy found out. Cosmo was promised to see Sprout again, if he tested something for him— god. He’s so gullible.
Since that agreement, Cosmo has been..off to say the least. At least physically he is. Those tears on his cheeks are now stained black. He looks down at his hand— he wishes he didn’t agree. His hand was essentially a claw. He doesn't consider it a hand anymore. He shouldn’t, at least.
Another thing he noticed was that he had..uncontrolled thoughts. Thoughts that make him feel pathetic— worthless even.
The thought of harming another toon? It makes him sick to his stomach, but he can’t control it.
The thought of his claw slicing their body in half, or biting their head? He wishes it will go away— all of it. As of now, most of those violent thoughts seem to be about Sprout. Maybe it’s his punishment for being so, so selfish. Even if these thoughts are slowly consuming him— he wouldn’t. He would never even think of touching another toon— what if they share the same fate as he did?
He needs to stop worrying about all the other toons— they’re fine, right? He only knows one other toon who has been corrupted by the ichor, only because he sees her here. Poppy.
He doesn’t talk to her much, since she is usually sitting down. She tends to fidget with her hands and her positive demeanor has changed drastically. She went from smiling most of the time to frowning. She barely talks— she says it hurts to talk, which is true. He hasn’t seen her in a few hours. She’s probably wondering around, like she always does.
Cosmo glances over to his half-broken friendship bracelet. It’s one of the few things that brings him happiness. Cosmo stared at the bracelet. At the same time, he feels immense guilt. He feels bad for leaving Sprout— he feels bad for breaking it once. It took a while to repair it, but it was the last thing Sprout left him.
He usually keeps it on the counter, but sometimes he just..needs to wear it. And this is one of the times. Cosmo slides on the bracelet onto his wrist. He’s glad that the ichor didn’t corrupt both of his arms. He fidgets with the charm— a flower.
Cosmo wished it didn’t look like Dandy— they could’ve gotten any other flower shape, but they didn’t. They couldn’t. Most, if not all, of the flower charms were shaped like Dandy or related to him.
Maybe he should think about it differently. It isn’t Dandy, but a common flower type. Sprout loves plants. Maybe he can pretend it’s a Jonquil.
Cosmo stares down at his lap. He curls into a ball. The more he stares at the bracelet, the more he thinks about Sprout. Maybe it’s also the scenery. He looks up. His eyes scan the kitchen. Maybe it’s both.
He never leaves the kitchen. Even if there is a puddles of ichor, he wouldn’t leave. It helps him escape this reality. It gives his some hope, even if everything is a little blurry.
Besides the puddles of ichor, there’s also tube-shaped machines. He doesn’t touch them. Something inside of him is telling him that it’s bad— a terrible decision to do. He always looks away when he sees one.
He sighs, standing back up. He clutches the charm in his hand. He turns around. He slides off the bracelet, gently placing it down on the counter.
He hears something moving down. He steps out of the kitchen, glancing around the diner. He walks up to the counter, leaning on it. “Poppy? What..are—“
He pauses, staring at the open elevator. They can open? The last thing he remembers is being told they are inoperable. He stares at the people stepping out. What are they doing here? Do they know if it’s safe?
Cosmo fidgets with the hem of his hoodie. Are they twisteds too? Are they lost?
Worry fills his head. He moves into the diner. His eyes widen as he slowly recognized everyone. But his eyes were mainly locked on Sprout— he ignored the loud barking of Pebble, the blinding light of Brightney, the irritating sound of the airhorn. Sprout is far more interesting than all of that.
He notices Sprout’s hair has slightly grown— not that’s it a bad look. He thinks sprout would look perfect with any hair style.
Fuck.
Sprout is walking over. Cosmo looks away— the urges are there. The urge to rip him apart. The urge to—
Cosmo whips his head back over to Sprout the moment he felt the slightest touch.
“…Cosmo?” Sprout tilts his head, raising his eyebrow. Cosmo stares back at sprout as a response. He glances over at his hand— why is he holding the one covered in ichor? Cosmo rips his hand away. “Don’t.” He mutters, backing away from Sprout. “I don’t want to hurt you— just leave me alone.”
Sprout steps closers, sighing.
“Cosmo—“
“Please , Sprout.” Cosmo mutters. “I—“
Sprout grabs the other toon’s hand gently, staring at him. “I missed you, Cosmo. I’ve been waiting weeks to see you again.”
Cosmo lets out a soft sigh. He pulls his hand away from Sprout again. Cosmo stares at Sprout’s hand. Shit.
“…What’s wrong?” Sprout whispers, stepping back from Cosmo. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Your hand.” He whispers, pointing to Sprout’s hand. Sprout raises an eyebrow, then he looks down at it. Ichor. A worried expression washes onto Sprout’s face.
“I’m sorry! that’s why I didn’t—“
“No, no. It’s my fault, Cosmo.” Sprout interrupts, moving his other hand to hold Cosmo’s face.
Cosmo stares at Sprout— He should’ve hurt him, but he can’t. If he did, then sprout wouldn’t have to endure the long, agonizing process. He wouldn’t have, possibly, became a twisted. He probably would’ve ran away and left Cosmo “alone” once again. Maybe it’s better if he did. His safety matters most to Cosmo.
Silence filled the air between the two of them. Sprout starts to wipe away, or attempt to at least, Cosmo’s tears.
Sprout makes a confused noise as he continues to wipe the ichor away from Cosmo’s eyes.
Sprout finally moves his hand away. “..I thought I could wipe them away.” He mutters, looking away.
“You’re—“ Cosmo whispers, but he gets interrupted by the elevator door opening. Cosmo looks back over at sprout. “It’s open. Is it your time to leave?” He mutters, tilting his head.
“Supposed to be.” Sprout whispers, turning away from Cosmo. He watches as the other toons rush into the elevator.
“Then why won’t you go?” Cosmo sighs, fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie.
“I lost you once and I’m not willing to lose you again.” Sprout turns back away, grabbing Cosmo’s hand again.
“There’s no point.“ Cosmo stares down at the ground. He can hear the faint screams of the other toons— they want Sprout. “You should go see them. You abandoned me once.”
“And it’ll only be once.” Sprout sighs, kissing the ichor from the top of Cosmo’s head. “I did mean it when I said I missed you.”
Cosmo stops in his motions, staring up at Sprout. What is he doing? He watches as Sprout leans back up— the ichor is on his mouth.
“They’ll—“ Cosmo pauses, hearing the alarm go off. “You have to go, Sprout. I think it’s your last—“
Before Cosmo could finish his sentence, the elevator closed. He doesn’t know whether to feel upset, or happy. Maybe he’s both. He finally has his best friend back, but at what cost?
Silence fills the air— is Sprout waiting for him to say something? Cosmo steps away from Sprout. “Why did you do that?”
“Cosmo, I meant it when I said that I don’t want to lose you again.” He whispers, staring down at Cosmo. “I’ll be anything as long as I’m with you.”
Cosmo steps away again. Did Sprout get slightly taller? Strange. “Sprout, I’m not that special for you to throw—“
“You are that special, to me at least. Even in this form, you’re the most beautiful toon I have ever seen.”
“There aren’t that many toons, Sprout.” Cosmo sighs, glancing away from Sprout for a moment.
“..I’m aware, Cosmo.” Sprout mutters, stepping forward.
“..Okay.” Cosmo mutters, his gaze returning back to Sprout. “But, Sprout, you sacrificed your future for me.”
“There isn’t a future if you aren’t present in it.” Sprout sighs, pulling Cosmo it for a hug. Cosmo hesitates for a moment, before hugging Sprout back.
“But I’ll always be here with you.” Cosmo sighs, gently running his hand up and down Sprout’s back.
“I meant physically, Cosmo. You don’t understand how difficult it is to run the cafe without seeing you. You don’t understand how difficult it is seeing your posters plastered everywhere in my room—“
“I don’t.” Cosmo mutters. “I’m sorry, Sprout.”
“Don’t apologize. I just missed you.” Sprout sighs, kissing the top of Cosmo’s head again.
“..You already got ichor covering the bottom half of your face. Don’t put yourself through more pain.” Cosmo whispers.
“I’m not doing it because of that.”
Oh. Then why is Sprout kissing the top of his head? It’s just a head kiss, nothing more.
Cosmo pulls away from the hug. “Just..don’t. I don’t want you to put yourself in more pain, than you already are.”
Sprout sighs, stepping back. “Fine.”
Cosmo stared at Sprout. Sprout stared back at him— what should Cosmo say? He misses sprout too. He used to hate— oh. He can say that. “I…used to hate my fate.” He finally mutters out.
“Your fate?” Sprout whispers, tilting his head.
“..Forever being a twisted, Sprout.” Cosmo mutters softly. Cosmo fidgets with his fingers— why is he doing that? He doesn’t know. His arms fall back to his side.
“Then what changed it?” Sprout whispers.
“You. I felt so lonely and now that you’re here— it’s just..” Cosmo steps away. Should he have said that? He doesn’t—
“Better?” Sprout smiles, reaching out for Cosmo’s hand, before stopping. Why did he stop? Cosmo missed the feeling of Sprout.
“Yeah..better.” Cosmo smiles, grabbing Sprout’s hand. He interlocks their fingers. He remains silent for a moment. “..Are you sure this is what you wanted?”
“Of course it is.” Sprout glances over at the kitchen. “We can even bake things, if you want.”
“I don’t think anything works, but we can try.” Cosmo whispers. “Promise me you won’t leave me again?”
“I don’t think I can leave you, cosmo, but I promise.” Sprout mumbles.
“Best friends forever?” Cosmo smiles softly, staring at Sprout— most of his body is ichor.
“..Yeah, best friends.” Sprout’s smile falls flat. He pulling his hand away from Cosmo’s own.
Did he say something wrong? Cosmo watches as Sprout walks into the kitchen— he did get taller. “Sprout, the ichor is spreading—“
“I’m aware, Cosmo.” Sprout responds, turning the corner. Sprout looks down at the ichor. He looks back up afterwards.
Cosmo sighs, following Sprout. He watches as Sprout grabs some bowls. He still doesn’t get why Sprout chose him, nor does he know why he was down here in the first place. Was it too much to ask? Maybe, just maybe. He doesn’t want to—
“You’re staring.” Sprout mutters, looking over to Cosmo. Cosmo snapped out of whatever trance he was in. His hair. It’s different. “..Sorry. Um..your hair is cute.” Cosmo blurts out, glancing down at the ground.
“..Thank you.” Sprout whispers, looking back over to the bowl. “And don’t apologize. It’s fine, Cosmo.”
Despite what Sprout said, Cosmo continued staring for a few moments. “..Fine.” He said, walking over to Sprout. “I kept the friendship bracelet.”
“You did?” Sprout turns his body to face Cosmo. “How did you manage—“
“It’s right here.” Cosmo smiles, grabbing it.
“I didn’t keep mine, because I was scared I would lose it on the journey down.” He mutters, turning away from Cosmo. “It felt like it was apart of me, so losing it would’ve been like losing a part of me. The part I love.”
“You love?” Cosmo fidgets with the bracelet. What does he mean by that?
“Yeah. A part of me I love.”
Cosmo stares down at his own bracelet. “I feel the same way— I cried when I broke it once.”
”It’s almost like we’re each other’s halves.” Sprout grabs the flour, pouring it into the bowl.
”..Maybe we are.” Cosmo slides on the bracelet.