Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Thump, thump, thump.

"Deus, por favor me mate. (God, please kill me.)"

Cosmo sits at the edge of his bed with his reddened flushed face buried in his hands, feeling the heat seeping through his fingers and palms as if it were burning a brand; heart thumping frantically with its erratic thumps making a chaotic rhythm in an emotional orchestral composition that would probably rival against Beethoven's symphony.

Pulling his face away from his burning hands and glancing upwards at the ceiling, the lovestricken chocolate cake roll huffs out an exasperated sigh as his eardrums continue to listen to the beat of his heart.

"I think my life is over."

It has been approximately 4 years since Cosmo had been shot in the heart by a cupid.

Most specifically, Sprout, who had him at hello.

Cosmo vividly remembered how their first meeting went, being introduced to Sprout by Shelly and from just a single glance; Cosmo didn't know what to feel about him until they shook hands and exchanged a greeting, that warm friendly 'hello' had immediately yanked all of his heartstrings and he knew that there was absolutely no way he's ever going to recover from this.

The economy is probably never going to recover from this new revelation.

Standing up from his bed and grabbing a pillow, he buries his face in the soft fluff and muffles his screams before thwacking it against the mattress over and over as a way to push out all of his frustration and flusteredness; huffing and panting as he drops it on the floor before collapsing back onto the mattress once more, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, the chocolate cake roll then smacks a palm onto his face and slowly sliding it down in exasperation; brows furrowing and shutting his eyes as he's lost in his thoughts once more.

"This is so stupid...! I'm being stupid, I'm totally being stupid over love. I should not be in love with my best friend."

"Oh god I want to hold hands with him and kiss him all over."

"I don't even get love! I don't understand! What do I even know about love...!"

"When he sees me, I feel like I'm on cloud nine. His lovely eyes and how he makes me laugh..."

The poor pillow ended up getting thwacked on the mattress once more.

"—Cosmo, you're whisking like your life depends on it."

Currently, the two best friends are baking together as usual in their kitchen with bowls of cake batter and utensils scattered about on the counters; a cookbook lies flat on a nearby somewhat-clean-just-move-the-bowls counter with a worn page covered in sticky notes and a bit of tear from how many times they've whipped up this recipe.

"Well we can't use the mixer since we're both temporarily banned from using it!"

Cosmo is mentally thanking whatever deity is out there for this very specific coincidence because he practically is whisking a bowl of frosting like his life depends on it purely because if he had to look at Sprout much too long; he thinks he won't be able to hide his flustered expression.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you have to break your wrist for some frosting!"

Sprout walks over to Cosmo's side and takes the bowl of frosting and whisk from his hands, cradling the bowl in his arm and continuing to whisk as he keeps his eyes trained on Cosmo.

"Did the frostings like, personally offend you or something?" Sprout jokingly asks, his lips curling upwards into an easy-going smirk.

That smirk immediately shot an arrow right through Cosmo's heart, and it nearly sent him straight to the hospital from that alone.

Cosmo clears his throat and coughs out a shaky giggle, glancing away with furrowed brows and drumming his fingers along the counter as he leans back against it.

"Probably, I think it tried to curse at me."

Sprout snorts and chuckles, slightly tilting his head to the side with creased eyes and Cosmo's heart is soaring.

"Well in that case, I think I better show these frostings who's the boss around here!"

The sweet strawberry proudly exclaims as he winks at the chocolate cake roll when he glanced back at him, with his smirk widening even more at the sight of his eyes subtly widening; Cosmo could feel his cheeks heating up and his lips wobbling into a shy smile.

"You're being so... stupid."

"Stupid? I'm wounded, Cosmo!"

Sprout sighs dramatically with a pout and faux droopy eyes, ceasing his whisking as he slightly towers over Cosmo.

"How could you be mean to your bestest friend?"

Cosmo is on fire.

Cosmo playfully rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms on his chest, shaking his head and slightly tilting his head to the side with creased eyes.

"Can't I just be a little hater to my best friend sometimes? Occasionally for the fun of it?"

"In that case," Sprout straightens himself up and places the bowl of frosting onto a nearby counter before redirecting his focus back on Cosmo, suddenly pinning him against the counter with a hand grabbing a hold of his chin; tilting his head upwards and their eyes meeting, Cosmo's heart nearly leaps out of his throat with how close they are.

"You wouldn't mind if I fight back sometimes, yes?"

"You—!"

Cosmo nudges Sprout off of him with his face burning bright red from flusteredness, caught off guard with Sprout's sudden bold action; Sprout on the other hand, doubles over laughing with flushed cheeks and furrowed brows.

"You're such an asshole...!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry—!"

"No you're not!"

"Your reaction was just too good!"

Cosmo turns away from Sprout with furrowed brows and puffy cheeks, his tail swishing around angrily.

Sprout chuckles and strolls over to Cosmo, wrapping his arms around his waist and leaning over; resting his chin against his shoulder and cooing apologetically.

"I'm soooooorryyyyy, Cos...!"

"I'm not forgiving you that easily!"

"I'll make it up to you!"

"No you won't!"

"Cossie!"

"No!!"

Sprout whines and nuzzles his face against Cosmo's cheek, pouting as his leafy tail sways around.

"I'll let you borrow my scarf for the entire day, please?"

Cosmo's tail ended up wagging in another different type of emotion.

"...Deal."

Sprout took no time and hesitation taking his scarf off his neck, straightening himself up once more as he carefully wrapped the soft fabric around Cosmo's neck; folding and tucking the scarf until he looked cozy.

The chocolate cake roll caught a glimpse of Sprout's focused expression, his tongue sticking out with his brows furrowing as he was wrapping the scarf around him; his heart going thump, thump, thump.

"There we go. Happy?"

"...Yes, thank you."

He quietly murmurs it out, turning his head away and slightly nudging the scarf upwards to hide his burning cheeks.

Cosmo is mentally frolicking in the fields of his brain, screaming and cheering with his hands punching the air.

Physically, Cosmo is currently seated on a bench in the lobby; distracted by his thoughts and how utterly soft Sprout's scarf is, not to mention how sweet and... Sprout-ish (if that even makes sense) it smelled.

The strawberry is currently attending a meeting with the mains, having to bid farewell to the (yearning) chocolate cake roll with a hug and a wink; immediately earning a soft punch to the arm and a laugh before running off.

Stupid strawberry yanking my heart around, Cosmo thinks, as his cheeks continue to burn bright red and his heart still frantically thumping from Sprout's bold little stunt.

Though, all of Sprout's 'flirting' (was he flirting or is he delusional.) had really taken a toll on Cosmo's energy, wanting to take a nap from the entire ordeal; Cosmo decided to take the elevator back to his room for a quick little nap.

What Cosmo didn't account for is the amount of staring that everyone is glancing over his way.

In the elevator.

With like, 6 other toons.

Cosmo is on fire and mentally prays to be smited on the spot.

Forcing himself to stare at the large metal gate in front of him, Cosmo pays no mind (well, trying) to the watching gazes of everyone besides him; that is until he does somewhat pay a mind as he awkwardly-not-so-subtly shifts to the side more.

And before Cosmo could yank himself into his thoughts, Glisten suddenly pipes up with his eyes trained onto a particular clothing accessory wrapped around Cosmo's neck.

"Sooo, Cosmo... what's with the new look?"

"Oh whuh–? Oh! Uhh, I was feeling... cold."

"And the solution to that is to wear your best friend's scarf?"

The flamboyant mirror could see the chocolate cake roll's head slowly turning away and he could practically hear the screeching of a rock sliding away.

"Well, uhh... he uhmm, he let me... borrow it."

All of a sudden, Gigi butts in as well after catching what Cosmo said.

"Whaaaat? He let you borrow his scarf??"

Gigi playfully scoffs as she taps her foot on the cold tiled floor with her hands planted on her hips, arching a brow at Cosmo with a knowing smirk.

"Sprout rarely ever lets anyone borrow anything from him, I know I tried!"

"That's because you steal things."

"—Anyways, what I'm saying is! You're definitely a favorite."

Cosmo is unamused and Gigi is amused, and so is Glisten but that's because he gets juicy gossip out of this.

"Gigi dear, I think that was already obvious over the past four years."

"Yeah but I think it's bold that Cosmo is out here wearing his scarf!"

"That is true..."

Cosmo is desperately mentally praying to be smited on the spot.

Fortunately, his prayers are answered (without being smited) as the elevator interrupts the brewing conversation with a sharp ding! and the large metal gate raises; prompting Cosmo to immediately speed-walk out of the elevator without even saying goodbye.

Running down the hallway in frantic loud steps down the polished wooden floorboards, he beelines towards his room and nearly yanks the door off its hinges as he slips inside before slamming! the door shut; his back pressed against the door with sweat dripping down his forehead and panting as his chest heaves for air, slowly sliding down till he hits the plush carpet floor and Cosmo's face is burning with embarrassment.

Despite the obvious giddiness that he has over borrowing Sprouts scarf, he did not take into account all of the gazes he would be receiving from just wearing his best friend's scarf!

He's just wearing his scarf, what's so interesting about this!

Huffing exasperatedly, the flustered and embarrassed chocolate roll cake drooped his head down low as he brought his knees up to his chest, hugging his legs and resting his chin on his knees.

"I'm starting to regret borrowing his scarf now."

Glancing down at the scarf still lovingly wrapped around his neck, he could feel his heart thumping once more.

"I'm hopeless."

It took Cosmo approximately 9 minutes and 37 seconds to calm his beating heart, what did he do to calm his heart you may ask?

Frantically thwacking his poor pillow on the mattress and then screaming in the fluff afterwards, cycle that for maybe seven or more times.

Wheezing and panting from his incredible self control, Cosmo collapses onto his bed with his eyes focused on the ceiling; his face burning bright red and his heart thumping at a normal pace.

That is, until he grabs a hold of Sprout's scarf and it immediately zaps his heart straight into a near cardiac arrest once more.

That poor pillow is never going to see the light of day.

Sprout wonders where Cosmo is.

He swore he was waiting for him in the lobby... not that Sprout didn't mind about his sudden disappearance (but between you and me, he is probably minding it a whole lot) but if his best friend had to go somewhere, he really wouldn't mind! He just wished that Cosmo could've told him that he'd be going somewhere while he was away... actually no, how would Cosmo let Sprout know while he was away... ah darn, Sprout just misses him already.

Tapping his foot impatiently with his arms crossed on his chest, Sprout's lips curled downwards into a small frown with puffy cheeks; pouting at the realization that he must've taken much too long that Cosmo got bored!

...Which is understandable, the meeting took 2 hours and 24 minutes (it was supposed to be 30 minutes but Sprout just couldn't wait to see Cosmo already); Sprout wouldn't blame Cosmo for leaving.

Sighing in defeat, he turned heel and beelined towards the elevator with a slouch; pressing a button to the bottom toon rooms floor and tapping his foot impatiently once more, trailing a hand up to his neck to adjust the—

Where's his scarf?

Oh right, Cosmo has it.

Chewing the inside of his cheek in realization of his scarf being in his best friend's possession, Sprout is stuck in a new dilemma:

Acquiring his scarf back.

Though, the strawberry really didn't mind not wearing his scarf for a bit and it's just the adoring chocolate cake roll wearing it; he is a little too cold for his liking, because who decided to lower the AC's temperature even more?? It's not even Christmas yet!

The sound of a sharp ding! and the elevator's large metal door rising upwards snaps Sprout out of his thoughts, stepping inside the small crowded elevator and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Glancing around the elevator, he notices a few of them staring at him almost... weirdly. Is there something on his face— oh right the scarf.

The fluffy craft sibling, Goob, asks with an arched brow; fidgeting with his overalls' colorful buttons as he does so.

"Oh! Well, Cosmo borrowed it today sooo..."

The other craft sibling, Scraps, raises a brow at that with a knowing smile; her tail swishing back and forth in intrigue as she crosses her arms on her chest.

"Funnily enough, I saw him a few hours ago just running down the hallways through the toon rooms... did you yank his heartstrings too much?"

Her expression immediately becomes amused at the sight of Sprout's eyes widening with his cheeks flushing into a deeper red shade, sputtering and glancing away from the craft siblings.

"Nothing happened between us...! I just simply let him borrow my scarf, that's all!"

"Your sputtering is not helping your case at all."

Clearing his throat and glaring at the paper craft sibling, the strawberry huffs as he taps his foot impatiently on the elevator's tiled floor with crossed arms.

"Well I'll say, I think it's pretty rude to assume things, Scraps."

The two craft siblings glance at each other before back at the strawberry, then back at each other once more before whispering at each other.

"I didn't actually think he was that oblivious."

"Unfortunately, he kinda is, Goob."

"Ah shucks."

The strawberry in question clears his throat once more, raising a brow with an unimpressed stare at the two craft siblings; which prompts both of them to glance away at each other and whistling, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Well? What were you two talking abou—"

Before Sprout could scold the two, the elevator interrupts him with its sharp ding! and the large metal door raises itself; signaling the toons about the current destination, the projector room.

Scraps, taking this as an opportunity to run away from Sprout's scolding, clears her throat as she yanks Goob's arm with her and speed-walks out of the elevator; smiling widely at Sprout as she waved at him with her free hand, her tail swishing around as a farewell gesture as well.

"Oops! Well look at the time! It's me and Goob's stop! It's been nice chatting with you, Sprout!"

Goob has also waved farewell at Sprout, being dragged along by Scraps.

"Wait—!"

And the large metal gate slams shut in front of Sprout, causing him to sigh exasperatedly and glaring at the gate as if it had just cussed him out.

After a few more minutes, a sharp ding! indicates that Sprout has reached his destination, the large metal gate rising upwards as he steps out before slamming down shut and continuing to descend down to lower levels.

Walking down the hallway, Sprout catches himself lost in his thoughts as he wonders about what Cosmo is doing at this hour; is he napping? Baking without him? Reading a book or talking to someone?

"Darn stupid meeting, I could be baking with Cosmo instead of being gloomy right now!"

"I wonder what my schedule is for tomorrow... I hope it aligns with Cosmo this time."

"I hope my scarf is keeping him warm."

Ceasing his steps in the middle of the hallway, he could feel his heart thumping and his cheeks burning at the thought.

I hope he's warm, Sprout thinks, yearning to be near Cosmo once more.

"I'm hopeless."

Cosmo did NOT mean to keep his scarf much longer than he intended to.

It's now the next day, in his hands is a neatly folded white and pink scarf that smells like his best friend.

Why mention the smell? Because Cosmo kept burying his face in the soft fabric.

Walking through the hallway that leads down to the kitchen, his footsteps echo throughout as it fills the peaceful almost serene silence; it's much too early at this hour (currently 7 am, mind you) for toons to be up, usually it's just Sprout, Cosmo and Shelly (occasionally Rodger or Teagan) to be awake at this time.

The smell of fresh pancakes wafts through the air as Cosmo gets closer to the kitchen, signaling that Sprout is awake and cooking already; maybe Cosmo should set his alarm up properly just to be able to help Sprout cook breakfast at an early hour tomorrow.

Stepping inside, he's greeted at the sight of Sprout wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants with an exhausted expression; probably must've been too tired to change into his proper attire and opting to come inside the kitchen in his sleepwear, Cosmo is endeared.

Sprout then glances over to the entrance of the kitchen and his sleepy dazed eyes practically snap wide open at the sight of Cosmo, his sleepiness magically snapped away and immediately beckoning Cosmo over.

Cosmo might be sent to the damn hospital if Sprout continues to be so cute and endearing.

"Cossie! Good morning, did you sleep well today?"

"Yeah, I slept well!"

"I have been screaming in my pillows and have written over at least five pages about you in my diary." Is what Cosmo could say, but he wouldn't.

The chocolate cake roll strolls over to the strawberry with a soft expression, gesturing him to slightly lean down to his height; the strawberry in question obviously complies without question as he straight up discards the existence of the cooking pan (thank god for Cosmo catching notice of it, dragging the cooking pan off the stovetop first).

"Yes, Cos? What do you ne—"

Sprout is then cut off when Cosmo starts carefully wrapping the scarf around his neck, his expression focused with his tongue sticking out as he curls and tucks the soft fabric around with careful gentle hands.

Satisfied with his work (albeit a little wonky in some parts), Cosmo steps away with a proud huff as he plants his hands on his hips; nodding approvingly.

"There we go! And uh, thanks for letting me borrow it yesterday."

Sheepishly smiling at the enamoured strawberry in front of him, the chocolate cake roll finds his heart thumping frantically once more out of embarrassment and flusteredness; that felt quite domestic.

Finally regaining his senses, Sprout clears his throat and coughs into his fist as he straightens himself up; glancing down at his scarf then back at Cosmo once more, his cheeks flaring up at the sight of his sheepish yet brilliant smile that always sends his heart racing.

"Yeah, uhm– of course! Of course, you... can always borrow... it whenever... you'd like."

Awkwardly sputtering out, Cosmo nearly doesn't hear the last few words from Sprout as his voice lowers and lowers at each word.

Clearing his throat, Cosmo glances over at the cooking pan for a moment then back at Sprout with a shy smile.

"Do you... need help with breakfast?"

"Oh! Yeah, I've already tackled Boxten and Glisten's breakfast request. The two came in together a little early!"

Softly humming in acknowledgement as Cosmo rolls up his sleeves and busies himself with his own cooking pan, he glances over his shoulder to look at Sprout and his tail wags.

"Those two, huh? I always catch them hanging out together."

"Do you think they're like... y'know…"

Sprout then waved his hand down in a "oh stop it you!" gesture, which prompts Cosmo to snort and choke out a belly laugh as he clutches his chest.

"Sprout!"

"I'm just saying!"

"Yeah but–!"

"Don't tell me that you don't see how they look at each other!"

Cosmo was about to retort back, only to ponder about it as he tapped his chin, opening his mouth before immediately closing.

"I'm right."

"Yeah you're right."

The two best friends then laughed together, giggling and snickering with large smiles and creased eyes on their faces.

Once again, Cosmo is seated alone; in the dining area this time, as Sprout was called over to do a recording with the mains and a few other chosen toons for today's episode, sighing as he drums his fingers along the wooden table with a bored expression plastered on his face.

That is, until Scraps strolled over sporting a large knowing grin and sparkling eyes; Cosmo nearly wants to book out of the dining area after hearing about him and Sprout's little scarf situation being passed around to everyone.

Immediately noticing the alerted chocolate cake roll's attempt to scatter away, the paper craft sibling immediately aims her tail at him and wrapping itself around his leg before yanking herself over; her feet skidding along the floorboards and then planting herself firmly once she had reached her desired distance, which is in front of a screaming Cosmo.

"Oh my god, Scraps!"

"Heeeey Cosmo! Haha! That reaction never gets old!"

Giggling, the paper craft sibling unwraps her tail from Cosmo before taking a seat from across him with squinted eyes; leaning over with her hands folded on the table in front of her.

"Alright Cosmo, I really gotta hear it from you. What's going on with you and Sprout? Well I mean, a lot is already going on but- you both never say anything about it!"

Huffing with glaring eyes, the chocolate cake roll in question crosses his arms and pouts; already feeling a little ticked off of having to answer these kinds of things when even he is trying to figure it out!

"Me and Sprout are just best friends."

"Are you guys really though?"

"Scraps!"

Fidgeting with his hoodie strings, Cosmo finds himself not having the energy to entertain Scraps; he doesn't really mind Scraps nor does he have anything against her, he's just too tired to answer anything about him and Sprout today after hearing about the scarf situation being rumored around.

"Look, I'm... not in the mood to entertain you right now."

"Aw but—"

"Please Scraps, next time, please?"

Scraps pouts about having to drop the topic but accepts nonetheless, not wanting to stress Cosmo further; she then flashes an apologetic smile as her tail slowly sways around in a guilty manner.

"I'm sorry, Cosmo. I didn't mean to push you that far, I'll be more considerate."

"Thank you Scraps, I really appreciate it."

Letting out a sigh of relief when Scraps took her leave, Cosmo leaned back against the chairs and glanced upwards at the tiled ceilings; slowly losing himself in his thoughts once more.

"There's totally something between us, is it just me or is Sprout feeling it too?"

"I'm probably just overthinking stuff, I'm not even sure if Sprout feels the same way."

"I wonder what he is doing right now..."

"I really want to borrow that scarf again."

Cosmo slams his head down on the table with a smack! in reaction to his last thought.

Pulling his head up from the table, he groans as he rubs the sore spot in the middle of his forehead from smacking his head against the table too hard.

Though, his attention then diverts over to muffled voices slowly getting clearer and clearer as they come close to the dining area; slightly leaning over to peek over whoever's walking in.

His breath hitches.

Stepping inside the dining area is none other than Sprout himself, looking quite bored out of his mind with Rodger right next to him talking about cases and... whatever detectives do; Sprout is more interesting to focus on in Cosmo's eyes (sorry Rodger).

Glancing around, Sprout's gaze lands onto Cosmo's and their eyes meet; his eyes have significantly brightened and widened at the sight of his best friend and Cosmo's heart practically wants to leap out of his throat, his cheeks burning into a shade of red and his hand find its way to clutching his chest (wrinkling his hoodie's fabric in the process).

Rodger, who was already a few cases into his long ramble, quickly assessed the situation he’d entered into, and came to the conclusion that it’d be best to take his leave instead of lingering around to talk to Sprout’s empty husk whilst his mind was already next to Cosmo.

“...Right. The two of you in the same room, this part should’ve been obvious.

“W–whuh? Huh…yeah, Rodger?”

“Well, I’ll be off then, I’m sure Toodles needs assistance with something now that I’ve stopped looking over her for at least five minutes. You can run off to Cosmo now.”

“Oh uh… sorry, I uh… I mean–yeah, thanks Rodger!”

“You’re welcome, as always.”

In a single moment, Sprout went from smiling at Rodger to darting his way over to his best friend’s side, leaping over the dining table to sit in his favorite seat (whichever is next to Cosmo, of course). This would’ve horribly terrified Cosmo, if not for the fact he’s used to Sprout being this over the top.

Hunching over next to the one person he’d been looking for, Sprout finally starts going off.

“AAAARGH!! Being a main toon can be such a hassle…! all these important meetings and all these eyes on you get pretty tiring.”

“Pfft, is that so, Mr. Popular?”

“...(God even that would be a better last name.) Cough… it totally is! I guess I don’t mind the fun-allergic environment that much, for others’ sake. But there’s just… always so much pressure!”

“And what’s weighing on your mind this time? You can tell me about it.”

Sprout pulls his scarf up, covering the lower portion of his face in a sort of embarrassed gesture to Cosmo.

“...I just don’t like not playing up to people’s expectations, don’t want to disappoint everyone else on the team, y’know? Everyone has this still-image of me in their heads, how I’m supposed to act and all.”

His best friend had already chosen to stay in silence at this point, preferring to let him speak on.

“I can’t really help but worry over the future, I don’t want to lose what I do have; the people around me, the opportunities I’ve gotten, or… our friendship especially. I don’t want to lose however much time I have with you.”

Thump, thump, thump.

“You’re never getting rid of me, dummy.”

“...Maybe not, heh…”

“Not maybe. I mean it, I want to be here with you. You’re not gonna disappoint me if you’re not perfect in every way, I’m here for you, the same you that makes mistakes and bad decisions at times.”

“...I’m really thankful for that, Cosmo. I want to show you that too, whenever I can.”

“You don’t have to if y—”

“I want to.”

This might’ve just been it for Cosmo, the moment he’d be too head over heels to continue this conversation, but he knew better. Sprout needed this conversation to stay serene so he could get his feelings out, although it was gonna be hard for Cosmo not to let all of his feelings out on the table as well.

“I wouldn’t mind it, then.”

“Yeah? Is that so, Cossie?” he asked, accompanied with a giggle.

“Just don’t be surprised if I pay you back too, maybe by throwing things at you while you’re on stage.”

“Woah hey, that’s very rude, sir! Things hurt!”

“Maybe that stray brick that Shrimpo likes to carry around…”

“Bricks hurt even MORE!”

“...deserved…”

“HEY–! I heard that!”

Both best friends stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Cosmo slipped out a snort, prompting Sprout to burst out laughing with Cosmo following suit. Brilliant smiles gracing their features as they giggle and laugh together, after a few minutes of sharing 1 and a half braincells with each other; both toons slowly settle down with their chests heaving and panting, the strawberry glances over to the chocolate roll with his lips curling into a lazy yet almost lovingly warm smile and planting his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his palm.

"Well enough about me, do you, uh... have anything bothering you lately?"

Cosmo huffs as he folds his arms on the table and leans his head down till it rests on them, staring back at Sprout with the same expression albeit more... softer; almost lovestruck even but Sprout is probably being delusional.

"Sorta, but I think I can handle it by myself."

"Are you sure? You know that I always got your back."

"I know! I know," The chocolate roll cake flashes him a brilliant wide smile, quietly chuckling as he murmurs. "You just make it less stressful, s'all. I kinda just forget to think about it, sometimes."

The strawberry pouts but he could feel his heart frantically thumping at the sight of this endearing chocolate roll cake staring at him like that; it nearly made him forget about what he was supposed to say next.

"Forgetting about your problems isn't exactly a healthy thing, Cossie."

"You are putting words in my mouth."

Chuckling at his retort, Sprout brings his hand over to Cosmo's cheek and gently trails a thumb along his starry freckles; feeling the soft yet almost sand-ish texture brushing along his fingertip.

"But I'm serious, I'll do the same as you did with me. I want to be there for you, if you'll let me."

Feeling the warmth seeping through his cheeks, Cosmo finds himself enamoured with Sprout; noticing how his expression has significantly softened and oh god he wants him to keep looking at him like that, like he was the only toon that mattered.

"You're really too sweet."

"I think we're both sweet, but thank you very much!"

"I'm serious!"

Sprout could feel his heart rhythmically beating in time with each tap of his bouncing leg (which is slightly frantic), a little rare fidget the strawberry sometimes does when he's flustered or bored; and today was that moment.

Cosmo is so, so endearing; and Sprout is in love.

"Even with all of your worries, doubts and stress... you always strive to do your best and you're always constantly worrying about everyone. And I'm genuinely impressed by it, every time."

"I'm just doing the best I can, Cos."

"I think you're doing amazing."

Seeing those lips curling upwards into a gorgeous brilliant smile immediately sends the flustered strawberry's cheeks burning into a deeper shade of red, his brows furrowing and his lips wobbling into a shy smile.

"You're so pretty."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Stomping around in circles with his footsteps being muffled by the soft plush carpet flooring of his room, Cosmo finds himself in the same dilemma once more; being an absolute hopeless romantic for his best friend, his mind constantly plagued by imagery that probably had a rose-tinted filter applied on each picture of Sprout that passes by.

Groaning in frustration of this embarrassing predicament, the chocolate roll cake had enough of his heart having near cardiac arrest experiences almost everyday with his best friend being a cupid's arrow prone to his poor heart. It's time to pull out the big guns; which means gathering around his near nonexistent courage to confess to his best friend! Which, will probably end in possible heartbreak, but this is purely for his sake to make peace with it; no matter what happens, Cosmo is just happy to be with Sprout! As a best friend or... something more, if that ever happens.

Walking over to his mahogany door and turning the knob, pulling the door inwards reveals— Sprout??

Sprout seemed to be in the middle of getting ready to knock on his door, assuming from his surprised expression and the obvious fist that was raised above his face height to knock said door, in his free hand however... clutching a bouquet of flowers? All of which are a cluster of sunflowers, yellow tulips, red carnations and pink roses.

"Hey Sprout! What's... uhm... what's with the flowers?"

Immediately sputtering on the spot at the mere mention of the bouquet, Sprout nervously gulps and opts to let his actions do the talking for him, lowering his flustered head down as he offers the bouquet of flowers with both hands towards Cosmo.

Cosmo feels like he's about to go into cardiac arrest.

After a few moments of staring at the bouquet of flowers in front of him with wide eyes in pure disbelief and his mouth slightly agape, he finally snaps out of his flabbergasted state and glances upwards at the flustered strawberry; who seems to be preoccupied with glancing somewhere else.

"This– this is for me?"

A slow nod, accompanied with him gesturing to the flowers, his shoulders hiking upwards as he lowers his head down even more in an attempt to obscure his flusteredness.

Obviously endeared by this (and absolutely love-stricken), Cosmo carefully wraps his hands around the handle of the bouquet; their hands brushing against each other for a split second that immediately sends a zolt of electricity zipping through their veins like a chemical reaction, sending both of them immediately blushing redder than a basket of ripe strawberries.

Taking the bouquet from Sprout, Cosmo inspects each flower with awe and adoration; seeing how they're in such perfect tip top shape and the smell of it is so pleasant.

"How did you... where did you get such a bouquet?"

Sprout finally manages to find words instead of letting it die in his throat, coughing into his fist as he straightened himself up; glancing down at his best friend with a shy smile and furrowed brows.

"Uh... my brother offered to help me with the flowers, since he saw how... pathetic I had arranged them earlier."

"Knowing Dandy... you agreed to do something for him, didn't you?"

Cosmo giggles at the sight of Sprout immediately frowning at the mere mention of his brother's name, sighing as he nodded in confirmation with his shoulders sagging and his head slightly tilting to the side in an exasperated manner.

Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Sprout's expression then softens. Shifting back into his shy demeanor and stuffing his hands in his pants pocket; Cosmo notices how different Sprout's attire looks today, sporting a more casual wear than his usual outfit.

"Which brings me here, uhhh... well."

The next words that Cosmo hears are not what he was expecting today, even in the next few years.

"Can I... take you out on a date?"

Next thing Sprout knows, the bouquet was immediately (carefully and gently) discarded on a nearby dresser as Cosmo practically leaps with his arms outstretched towards Sprout with loud boisterous laughter; curling his arms around his neck as the two spun around in the middle of the hallway with Sprout joining in the lively laughter after being caught off guard for a few moments.

In-between laughter, the adoring strawberry leans in forward till their foreheads are pressed together; wide loving smiles gracing their features with lovestricken eyes, Sprout finds himself asking with the slightest bit of lingering uncertainty.

"So, does that mean yes—?"

And Cosmo delivers a strong punch of reassurance straight into Sprout's question without hesitation.

"Yes! Yes, yes! Absolutely! I want to go on a date with you!"

Chuckling at the chocolate roll cake's obvious excitement, the confident strawberry then straightens himself up and offers an arm accompanied with a charming wink; which sends Cosmo's heart thumping wildly in sync with Sprout's too, both best friends are obviously looking forward to this lovely date.

Strolling closer with his arm looping around his best friend's, Cosmo feels the need to be a little cheeky bastard. Bringing a hand up with his pointer finger pointing upwards and then curling, repeating the action into a "come here" gesture; which catches Sprout's attention as he slightly leans down to Cosmo's height, raising a brow at him.

"Yes Cosm-"

Taking this opportunity, Cosmo leans in to plant a soft chaste kiss on Sprout's cheek; practically burning a brand on him with how his face has significantly shifted into a deeper shade of red that anyone could mistake Sprout as an overripe strawberry.

Satisfied with the reaction, Cosmo flashes a smile at him and Sprout already knows that he'd be the one that sends him straight into the hospital for cardiac arrest.

"You know, you had me at hello."

"...Really? That long?"

"Yes, now please lead the way! I got a date with my favorite berry boy!"

"I should refrain you from hanging out with Vee."

"Hey!"

Chapter Text