Chapter Text
Golden rays, the smell of pancakes and the warm bed and weighted blanket is what Sprout woke up to, his mind still half asleep from his long rest, but he swore that he heard someone speak in his ear but that might be the lingering effects of the lack of sleep after pulling 3 consecutive nightshifts.
Silently he sat up and was suddenly dazed by the light coming though the half opened blinds, he wanted to sleep in, wanting to be a lazy bitch comfortable, cocooned Berryboy who was wrapped up in his blanket for at least 30 more minutes but duty calls for a dependable and respectable cook who- wait that smell he took a whiff of when he woke up... Pancakes... Who was cooking th- "COSMO YOU BETTER NOT BE TOUCHING MY STATION I SWEAR TO GOD! " As he projected his voice he heard a small shriek followed by a crash which was made presumably by a falling plate hitting the ground.
Well that was one way to start the day, besides his living arrangement wasn't too bad considering the outrageous prices for apartments let alone landed properties, somehow he found a semi-affordable 3 room cooking studio nonetheless for some decent rent price with the place seemingly intact.
But he knew better and knew that if its this low of a price it would come with some hidden fact about the place or some condition that would screw him over in the long term, but he did not expect that condition to be splitting rent with another person which was Cosmo.
Light hearted, kind and decently knowledgeable with baking (an area which sprout is half-decent at) and seemingly without a doubt beaming 24/7 which was cute as hell annoying as shit at some times, but he had a job at a bakery as well not too far from the establishment he worked at, speaking of said establishment it was a bog to work at, as the Head Chef he constantly had to stay back with some of his employees to assist closing up the shop, and it was a pain as well due to his subordinates being glorified sand bags and usually had to solo close the shop as they watched him do it.
But shit- the pay- was bloody good, Amazing levels of cash flow but due to the 'Every Cent Counts' mindset he built himself upon, he still chose the economic option out of habit and due to this choice, ending up in this compromising situation with his pristine corner station reminiscent of his first job at a sushi shop.
"Auhhhhhhhhh, dammit I WILL have his head if he even breaths on my knife set..." Sprout hissed out, fuming at the thought of his Cosmo touching his sterilised knifes that he just cleaned last night but he had to compose himself, be presentable, be polite, and don't lash out especially at My Cosm- what? WHAT? WHY AM I HAVING THESE THOUGHTS? ARE YOU FUC- Calm. Dead calm.
"... ill deal with that later" Sprout growled in denial, even though they were studio mates for 7 months already nothing weird happened asides from the occasional accidental walk in while the other party was changing clothes as it was pretty common to do so as they shared the same room but he had a duty to preform... no matter how messy the kitchen is already.
As he touched the cool wooden floorboards, he was shocked to find that his feet feel contact with paper, he squinted hard at the paper but couldn't make out the words on the paper but when he blinked it was gone? "huh I should see a doctor if this keeps up" A silent remark he said to himself as he rubbed his eyes in confusion.
Now filled with the morning air sounding him, he walks into the main room, consisting of a TV, a couch, both next to a window with a door leading out to a balcony containing some potted plants along side some gardening equipment with a view of the roof tops and subsequently the entire city. Then the fabled Kitchen Area, when he first came to visit the studio he was surprised to find the kitchen fully decked out with all his needs, an good refrigerator with good storage, a well kept, high quality stove that has seen better days but other than that- it was brand new, and lastly an empty counter with nothing on top, perfect for a complete and sterile kitchen set up.
And with a soft click with the door swinging slowly to preserve his eyes to what may be there, a shock went through him as it was.... Clean? No spilling, No pancake mix on the floor or wasted on the counter, the measuring cups and equipment to make pancakes laid out like some surgery equipment... like he would do it...
"Finally took some lessons Swis?" Sprout snarky remarked
"God dammit Sprout stop calling me that its Cosmo, maybe actually call me by my name and ill learn a thing or two from the Oh so high and mighty Spro-" "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I GET IT you fuckin prick" "What was that leaf head? couldn't hear that last part." "OH YOU LITTLE-" An back and forth as begun as Sprout sped walked towards Cosmo.
"WOAH WOAH I'm cooking here cant you see?" Cosmo said in a panic as Sprout stood unbearably close to him "Jesus Sprout, ever heard of personal space?" "Not after you said that shit to my face you glorified snack." "Oh? so what? your going to take a bite out of my sweet little as- HEY WHAT THE HELL?" as Sprout reached over Cosmo and grabbed the pan containing the almost perfectly cooked pancakes, "Oh hey the second rate baker made something actually good for once, and maybe no I wont be taking that offer. ever, anyways lets plate this 'fine' work and get on with our day yes?" Sprout said with a tone of certainty one could only gain from experience.
"Now the last thing for this morning, Cosmo get the syrup from the fridge and 2 plates with forks, ill get the stand for the pan." with that said they went on with their tasks, executing movements with practiced precision and efficiency, however, that chill that he felt when he woke up came back.... Can they see us? or at least feel our presence?
An second chill... Its getting too unnerving, like someone is breathing down my neck and that small voice digging at him from an unknown source is starting to piss Sprout off but still, duty calls for a good breakfast to start the day well but he would need to investigate what ever is happing to himself.
As minutes passed and the table was being set up, he couldn't shake that something was watching him from behind asides from Cosmo when he was there, like a third or forth person was there watching each step, each action and enjoying it like some show but that cant be possible, after all there is no such thing as ghosts or a invisible camera watching his movements... Right?
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Transmission intercepted: Date : 6/9/25 Time: 1:5X:XX PM
JS: I think he can sense us, should we cut it short?
SO: No, its actually what we want, besides this is pretty rare to come across and hey worse come to pass we will just pull that memory out of his head
and all of our problems would cease to be am I right or wrong?
JS: From your point of view? Yes it would but it could damage other things, mood shifts and entire personality wipes-
SO: Its a risk I am willing to take, Besides, they are MY project and not yours and you are just a junior supervisor so go do something your pay grade before I dock you.
....
JS: Understood.
JS: But still its a last resort right?
SO: Yes it is, but enough stalling, we just got a alert that Server [REDACTED] is on red so go fix that before it I don't know data get corrupted or something.
SO: And they are also my toys that can be easily replaced but this one is new...
SO: I am willing to get hung up for not following protocol to see where this goes...
SO: Fuck was this on open channel?
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Transmission Terminated
Reason for Termination: SO Manual switching to an encrypted channel
Console Connection Terminated.
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As the table was done setting up and they where settling down for breakfast, Cosmo asked a very particular question to Sprout, "Hey dude do you think that you can swing by my bakery near closing time? I need a second pair of hands to close tonight."
"What happened to Ginger? not there today?"
"She has to leave early due to some family matters or what not."
"Huh first time seeing or even hearing about Ginger ever leaving that place for anything, even more shocked that she is leaving early for some 'family matters' that is some bull shit, she is probably dating someone and wants to leave for a date or something."
"Sprout watch that mouth of yours, I can tolerate you saying shit to me but outside from that don't talk bad about people who you have barely talked to."
"Fine fine I'm sorry, is that enough?"
"Acceptable, but lets get to eating, don't want my pride and joy to go cold am I right?"
A few minutes passed filled with the sounds of forks silently picking up food and the sound of chewing, after all they didn't waste thousands of dollars on a cooking and baking degree just to have poor table manners.
Now filled with energy they quickly changed up into their work clothes and set out to their place of work, walking through alleyways and crosswalks to reach an train station providing temporary respite from the increasing heat of the sun.
"I knew I should have set out earlier, I'm practically melting over here!" Cosmo lamented silently as Sprout stood impatiently waiting for the train to arrive, "Ah don't worry it should be coming into the station any time soon..." Sprout replied and as if it was willed into existence, there it was, the train rolling in all of its rusted glory.
As commuters poured in and out of the train Cosmo and Sprout luckily found a pair of open seats, and as they sat down and talked about the past Sprout saw something strange, The same piece of paper he had stepped on in the morning was wedged in between the seats so behind Cosmos back, he pocketed it to read later.
And as they dismounted at their stop, Sprout saw a long line to his shop with the shutters already up and people serving food already, "Shit this going to be a long day isn't it?" Sprout said painfully as he dragged his hand down his face. "Hey its alright it couldn't be that bad right?" Cosmo retorted with hope, aiming to ease Sprouts nerves so he could focus.
"Well I have to run, Good luck Swis on this fine day." "Its COSMO you sad sack of-" and before he could finish his sentence Sprout dashed over to his shop taking control over his kitchen in a moments notice.
"I cant lie, he is pretty bloody fast" Cosmo hummed to himself as he headed his own way to his bakery.