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Sprout has seemed.. off, lately. He's always been a bit awkward, sure, but it feels like he's avoiding Cosmo. Which is confusing! Because, well, ever since they met they've spent every moment they could together. Calling this out of character would be an understatement.
Anyways, he baked up some blueberry cupcakes (in the communal dorm kitchen, ugh) to bring to him as a surprise. Maybe they'll help him feel better.
He could just be struggling with his classes? He is a senior, so Cosmo knows they must be a lot harder than his sophomore-level ones. Honestly.. he doesn't wanna think about it, because it's the weekend and he shouldn't have to worry about school then. He has the cupcakes in a container in his backpack, and some candy he knows Sprout likes. He's gonna see if he can get Sprout to sit down on the couch with him, relax, watch some stupid movie.
He takes the elevator up to his second-story apartment (the perks of having rich parents, he guesses), then walks over to his door. Knock, knock. "Sprout? It's me. I brought you some cupcakes! You've seemed down, so..." He's starting to trail off when the door swings open, and there's Sprout. Looking.. sort of disheveled, if he's being honest.
He isn't judging, but based on the man's hair he hasn't showered in a day or two, and he's in that old worn t-shirt he only puts on when he's all stressed out. "Can I... come in?" He asks, because Sprout is kinda just.. standing there.. but he nods, blinking a few times.
"Ye-- yeah. Sorry." He follows Sprout in, sets his bag down on the coffee table and takes the container out. "I just made them before I came over, so they're fresh." He says gently, taking one out and offering it to Sprout. Just plain blueberry with vanilla frosting. "Oh-- Thanks, Cos." He says, taking it, and– are his hands shaking? That's not good.
"Do you.. wanna talk about it?" He asks tentatively, because he won't force him, but he's getting more and more worried. Sprout's eyes widen at that, and he takes a step back. "No-- no. Sorry, I'm. I'm fine, Cos, honest! Just tired, hah. You should go." And then he's ushering him to the door, cupcake still in hand.
"What? Sprout, I-- I mean, I'll leave if you want me to, but I'm not sure I should. I wanna help you, you're upset." He's even more sure of that now, because looking up at Sprout he sees his eyes are all red, like he'd been crying. "Cosmo.." He says, but he shushes him. "Just.. let's sit down, okay?"
Sprout hesitates, but eventually nods, so Cosmo leads him to the couch. "Let me get you some water," He says, and Sprout opens his mouth as if to argue, but he doesn't end up saying anything. Thank god, honestly, he's just trying to help his friend. Sometimes he wishes he wasn't so stubborn.
He grabs a cup and opens the fridge, seeing-- well, not a lot, actually. Like, barely anything. A few leftover cookies they'd made, some fast-food boxes, and various condiments and sodas. Jeez.
He fills up the cup from the filter -- it's almost empty, he should refill that for him later -- and walks back over, setting it down on the table. Sprout hasn't touched his cupcake, it's just sitting there on the table. Knowing Sprout, he probably barely ate today.
"Hey, Sprout? Do you think you can eat the cupcake I made for you? I put so much love into it..." He tries not to giggle, but he knows this'll work, because Sprout never wants him to be sad. "Ah, sorry, sorry, Cos. Yeah, I can-- yeah." He picks it up and starts to eat it, so Cosmo grabs another one he'd brought and eats it himself. It's quiet, but not really awkwardly, and it gives him time to think. How can he help Sprout?
By the time they're both done, and he's made Sprout drink some water, he has some sort of plan. He sits closer to Sprout, a hand on his arm; "I've been really worried about you, you know. You've barely talked to me -- can we talk about why? You know I'm here for you, Spr–”
Suddenly he is engulfed in Sprout's lanky arms, the man's face smushed into his hair. Well, okay. That works too. He rubs a hand up and down Sprout's back. Physical affection wasn't too uncommon for them, they'd never been afraid to hug or cuddle while they hung out, but Sprout had never really.. basically sat in his lap like he was now.
"I'm here, Sprout, if you need me." That makes him lean back, and he wipes his eyes, sniffling. Cosmo smiles at him, trying to make him feel better, and as always, Sprout smiles back. "I.. I don't know how to explain it." He says.. blushing? Blushing.
"You don't have to. But I'm here for whatever you need, Sprout." He says, trying to make his voice sound as comforting and calm as he can. "Can I just.." Sprout motions at Cosmo, and his.. lap? Vaguely? He doesn't really understand, but he nods, and then Sprout is curled up against him, his head on his chest. Oh. That's what he meant. He doesn't mind cuddling, not at all.
They stay like that for a bit, and he pets Sprouts hair gently, relaxing into it. This is nice. He's missed him. He still isn't sure what's wrong, but he seems to be helping, so.. this is okay.
That is, it was okay until he noticed Sprout sniffling again, his breathing shaky – so he looked down at him, and–
And, he sees Sprout, looking up at him, green eyes wide and scared, thumb in his mouth.
… What?
He's about to say something, but.. he stops himself. Sprout looks terrified, and like he's about to cry. …Okay. He needs to be gentle here. He starts to stroke his hair again, and gives a small, awkward but hopefully reassuring smile.
Sprout seems to calm down, but he still takes his thumb out of his mouth, rubs it on his jeans like it hadn't even happened. It could've been an accident, something he didn't mean to do that meant nothing. But.. he knows Sprout. And it feels like it's more. He could be wrong, sure, but he doesn't wanna let this go.
“It's.. okay, Sprout. You can do whatever you need, I don't. I don't mind,” He says, trying to get the message through without embarrassing his friend. And it doesn't help that he's confused too. Sprout pushes his face into Cosmo's stomach, hiding again. Almost like a kid would.
“Sprout? Did you disappear?” He asks, keeping his voice light. “I miss you soo much…” And then.. yep, that got him. He pokes his face out again; “‘m here,” he mumbles, and Cosmo smiles down at him. “There you are! I missed my best friend so much.” and that makes Sprout smile, too.
“Missed Cos too,” He says, his voice still quiet and softer than usual. Normally, he's blunt and serious or he goes on one of his awkward-rambling sessions where he ends up being red in the face at the end. But now? He just sounded.. small.
“Is there.. anything I can do for you?” Sprout perks up at that, tilting his head. He slowly gets up, seeming to struggle a bit, grabbing Cosmo's hand and pulling him up as well. “Woah– okay, then!” He says, following the man. He leads him to his bedroom, opening up his nightstand drawer and then he steps back. He holds onto Cosmo's arm and points at it.
“You.. want me to look?” When Sprout nods, face flushed, he nods. “Okay,” He says, stepping forward and looking in the drawer. There's– not much, really, but what is there is..
There's a green sippy cup, a kids coloring book with dinosaurs on it, a pack of crayons, and a stuffed animal cat. “This is–” He trails off, looking back at Sprout. He's holding onto Cosmo’s arm, hunched down a bit – still taller than him, though – and he seems.. open. Vulnerable.
“Do you.. want to color?” He asks, hesitantly, because he doesn't really get what's going on but Sprout is his best friend. If he wants to color from a kids book and use a sippy cup, that doesn't bother Cosmo. Not at all.
Sprout nods, smiling, and grabs everything in the drawer, handing the cup to Cosmo. “Want me to fill this up for you?” He asks, and Sprout nods, running back to the living room. Well then.
He takes the cup to the kitchen and fills it up with water. It's.. kinda cute, with a little sprout on it – not surprising, Sprout always found that kind of stuff funny. He still isn't sure what's going on, but honestly – it could be so much worse. Sprout seems to be okay, and happier than he was when Cosmo first got here. He'll ask him about it later. Right now, he can learn as he goes.
When he walks back into the living room, Sprout is turning on a Pixar movie – Luca, actually, he didn't even know he liked Disney stuff – and he has the coloring book, crayons, and cat plush on his lap. “I got you some water,” He says, and Sprout smiles at him, taking the cup and drinking some before setting it down on the side table. “T'ank you,” He says – he's talking again! Although a bit.. childishly, he's talking. That's good.
Cosmo giggles softly, sitting down next to him. “You're welcome, Sprout.” He watches as he opens up the coloring book and turns to a random page – this one with dinosaurs playing in the grass – and dumps the crayons out onto the couch. Kinda messy, but whatever.
“Cosmo wan’ color too?” He asks, and– hell, why not? If acting like a kid makes Sprout happy, he doesn't see the problem with it. It almost.. makes him feel sort of parental. “Sure,” He says, taking the blue crayon and starting to color in the sky, while Sprout colors a dinosaur green.
“Shelly said.. the dinosaurs with the long, long necks are called Sauropods, did you know tha’?” Sprout said, sticking his tongue out in concentration. “I didn't, actually, she's only told me about some plants.” He didn't know they even talked much, honestly. “Yeah, I like dinosaurs. An’ plants an’.. sea stuff.” He’s kind of cute like this. “Yeah? Like Luca?” He asks, and Sprout nods. “Mhm. ‘s a good movie.”
They sit like that for a while; coloring in a page together, Sprout sometimes asking Cosmo to hand him his sippy cup, listening to the movie play in the background. Maybe.. half an hour passes, like that, Sprout slowly relaxing and talking more. Cosmo is honestly just glad that he’s okay.
Eventually, Sprout sets his crayon down, closing the book and setting it to the side. Cosmo looks over to him, but he’s looking down. “I’m… sorry about that, Cos.” He says, brushing his hair behind his ears. Cosmo pauses the movie, turning towards his friend. “It’s okay, Sprout. I don’t mind. I’m.. pretty confused, to be honest, but it’s not like you did anything wrong.”
Sprout shakes his head, letting out a breath. “No, it’s.. weird. I shouldn’t have made you.. do this stuff for me. I’m sorry.” He thinks about it for a moment. It didn’t feel too weird to him. Expected and unusual, sure, but weird? Not really. It was almost sweet. He puts a hand on Sprout’s cheek, gently pushing him to look at him. “Not at all, Sprout. I didn’t mind it – I thought it was sweet, really. If this helps you, then I think it’s alright. And, you know, uhm.. If you ever want me to be here, watch a movie and color with you.. I’d like to.”
Sprout’s eye widened, and he leaned into Cosmo’s hand. “Really?” He asked, voice sounding so, so hopeful. “Really.” He confirmed, eyes crinkling as he smiled at his best friend.