Chapter Text
The warm smell of food every morning always gave Sprout a sense of peace and normalcy. A necessity during these weird adjusting periods.
Now that Dandy has chilled out a bit on making toons go on runs, the days have been jam packed with free time. Sure, there will be an occasional need for a team to go down to collect ichor in order to keep this place running, but other than that, it's been quite peaceful around here.
Now the two cooks of Gardenview can do normal tasks like cleaning up the kitchen after a meal or watching tv rather then worrying about dying down in the deepest floors of this place.
A distant shouting told Sprout that Shrimpo, and by association, Finn, were making their way to grab some breakfast. Despite Shrimpo being less abrasive now that he and Finn were together, (albeit, a very little amount less) he still practically screams every word he says, almost like a warning to any toon nearby that Shrimpo is close.
At least he has Finn to somewhat keep him in check.
"What do you think they'll have for breakfast this time?" Cosmo elbowed Sprout in the arm lightly to get his attention from his spacing out.
"Dude, you already know they're just going to get their usual."
"Pancakes." they spoke in unison.
"I'll get started on the batter but be sure to get their orders, just in case either wants to shake things up." The strawberry grabbed the flour from the cabnet above his head.
Cosmo nodded as the familar ring of the bell chimes across the room, notifing those inside toons have entered.
"Come on, you have to admit that one was good!" Water sloshed in the fishbowl's head as he walked, tail lazily dragging behind him.
"WHY WOULD I EVER DO THAT TO MYSELF, THAT PUN WAS SHIT." The shrimp beside him replied bluntly. Finn still chuckled at the remark.
"Hey guys! What'll it be today?" Cosmo leaned against the counter as the two walked up, a casual smile on the cakeroll's face.
"A STACK OF PANCAKES, AT LEAST FOUR BECAUSE I'M STARVING OVER HERE!!" Shrimpo slipped an arm from his hoodie pocket and grasped Finn's hand in his.
"I 'cod' do some-fin different this time, it'd be fin-tastic to get some bit of variety in my life..." Finn brought a finger to his chin in thought. The crustacean beside rolled his eyes at the spout of puns from the fishbowl.
"Halibut I do waffles this time? Shore sounds great right a-boat now, haha!"
"Waffles, huh? How daring." Cosmo snickered.
"Hey, I'm picking an easy option! Be glad I'm not picky, unlike some people you know..."
"Fair, fair. I'll let Sprout know your change in menu." Cosmo wrote '2 waffles and a stack of pancakes' on a notepad as he stood up straight from the counter.
"Tanks, Cosmo!" he and Shrimpo then turn and head over to their seats in the dining hall.
The cakeroll turned to Sprout to find he was still staring after where the couple had left.
"Uh, you good, dude?"
"Hm?" Sprout blinked twice as he focused his gaze back to Cosmo. "Uh. Yeah, I just..." he glanced back over to the two occuping the seats by the window.
Finn seemed to talk just about anything, just as long as it was with Shrimpo, and that shrimp would listen to every word, even if when it seemed his mind were elsewhere.
"You're being weird, Sprout." Cosmo wave a hand in front of his best friend's face.
"S-Sorry. I just... Think I just found out something about Shrimpo even he doesn't know..." Sprout nervously scratched the back of his head, keeping eye contact with the floor.
"...What do you mean?"
Sprout took a breath.
"I think Shrimpo's... Pregnant..?"
Cosmo stared blankly back at the toon in front of him.
"HUH?!??"
Sprout shushed him profusely. "Don't get all of Gardenview curious!!"
"W-well, are you sure?? It's not just some odd assumtion?" Cosmo whispered back, the both of them crouching into a more secretive huddle.
"Well, if you count seeing extra heartbeats as proof, then there you go."
"Extra what now."
Sprout turned their heads towards Finn and Shrimpo once again. "You know how I can see the heartbeat of each toon to keep their health known to me?"
Cosmo scratched his head as he stared at the two. "Yeah...?"
"Yesterday, and every other day before that, I can say with CONFIDENCE that Shrimpo had ONE heartbeat."
"And now...??" The cakeroll asked hesitantly, fiddling with the hem of his apron from nerves.
"He has three."
"THR-" Sprout slammed his hand over the other's mouth as he saw Finn and Shrimpo, the former confused and the latter gave the cooks a weird look.
Sprout waved nervously back at them and took his hand off Cosmo.
He turned the two back towards the kitchen.
"So are you going to tell them??" Cosmo whispered after a beat of silence.
"Well obviously!!" The strawberry huffed.
"I meant WHEN are you going to tell them." Cosmo retorted swiftly, still taking brief glances at the aquatic toons talking.
Sprout exhaled, "Later. Right now, we need to make them breakfast, they're probably wondering what's taking so long and it would be better to ask to talk later."
"It's not good to put it off, but, I trust your judgement, Sprout." Cosmo relaxed a tad.
"Thanks, Cos. Now, let's get cooking!"
The two began preparing the meals of the two in the dining hall. They were too focused to notice a blue ghostly aura slip from her hiding spot and head out of the kitchen, a new secret she couldn't wait to tell a certain gachapon.