Chapter Text
“—If you breathe in my direction for the seventh time today–”
“—I’m trying to reach the bag of sugar, you stupid strawberry–!”
What was supposed to be a pair of best friends having a pleasing time baking together, the kitchen presents a pair of rivals going up against each other’s throats. Quite literally.
Flour and sugar dusted the counters and floor, butter and eggs (unfortunately) smeared across the walls; along with a few bowls and utensils scattered around.
During this ongoing rivalry of the two bickering with each other, at the other side of the counter stands Shelly and Vee, who are currently watching the scene unfold in their very eyes. Concern etched in her features whereas Vee… looks quite entertained and amused at the scenery, most likely recording it for future blackmail. Probably.
The ammonite turns her head to look at the tv toon beside her, lowering her voice into hushed whispers as she continues to spectate the bickering pair.
“Vee, it’s been months! These two are getting nowhere, I… honestly thought they’d click together.”
In the background, the two rivals continue to bicker and yap, giving each other a migraine that would most likely last the entire day.
“—And it is your fault that Goob choked on a piece of cookie–!”
“—my fault?? That was you shoving me and I ended up bumping into–”
Shelly wasn’t lying, it really had been months since the two originally met, with her having introduced the two toons in the first place. She initially thought the two were just a bit shy around one another, seeing as she was the one who had to plan and yank the two together every time, but she quickly found out this ‘shyness’ came with a hint of hatred. A rivalry had begun to form between the pair and with their friendship being completely fruitless, these hang outs had quickly turned into a recipe for disaster.
“Ahem. Hmn hmn.. cough. AHEM!!”
The ‘bickering couple’ quickly turned their attention towards the noise of a very angry toon clearing her throat, both staring in shock like deer in front of a set of headlights. Their fight had not only made a mess of the kitchen, but the two were also caked in flour and sugar (more so than the usual anyway for Cosmo…).
The two stared in confusion at one another before finally pulling away each of their respective grubby mitts away from their sworn nemesis, huffing and puffing all the while they turned away in a scoffing motion with their arms crossed on their chest. In between their stomping and loud scoffs, it became clear to Vee and Shelly that there was no universe where these two planned on apologizing to each other, preferring much rather to live in a world where they can ignore their fellow toon until it’s time to point the finger at someone else. Their shared spaces seemed to be sprinkled in a tense and sour atmosphere every single day, with others actively choosing to avoid anywhere the two are seen together.
Shelly’s had enough of this recipe. Glancing over at Vee, she receives a nod of approval from the TV toon, which prompts her to angrily stomp over to her friends and roughly yank their arms together, sporting a strained smile and an eye twitching in irritation.
“Sprout, Cosmo. Now, what will you two say to each other?”
The ‘deer in headlights’ metaphor quickly became relevant again as both Sprout and Cosmo began fearing for their lives, sweating profusely at the sight of Shelly dropping her friendliness for a moment, a terrifying prospect for any toon in Gardenview. Their trembling eyes turned to one another after a fearful pause, both radiating frustration in a sequence of groans and glances with their lips curling into a strained and obvious facsimile of a smile as they firmly shake hands before Shelly has a chance to wack either of them. They kept up their forced eye contact in order to satisfy Shelly’s whimsy, but it was almost as though the two were attempting to morph their facial expressions into rude gestures towards the compadre.
“...I’m sssssorry Sprout.”
“...I’m also very sssssorry, Cosmo.”
The toons slither their apologies in a sourly bitter tone and the two begrudgingly maintain that forced smile as though their faces had been glued as such, despite seeming to hate the sight that stared back at them. Shelly isn’t oblivious enough to fall for their charade parade, but decides that even this act they’ve put up in unison is good enough to call off any major consequences, choosing to pull her hand away from their arms; prompting the two to duet in unison a sigh of relief that the pained muscles they now massage desperately are free from Shelly’s infamously strong grip.
“Good! Now please don’t start a fight again. It greatly upsets me that you two aren’t even trying to get along!”
Cosmo once again sighs away his pain before turning himself to Shelly once again, changing his expression this time around to a more genuine and apologetic smile, one that told a different story from the one that unfolded moments prior.
“I’m sorry Shelly, I errr…”
Cosmo glances over at Sprout for a second, immediately gaining a migraine at the sight of a sour strawberry that would rival against a sour patch candy that Gigi occasionally snacks on, his smile straining for a moment before he quickly shifts his gaze back at the ammonite.
“...was just feeling a little sour, today.”
He could hear the quiet scoff from the sour strawberry next to him, which only made his blood boil even hotter. Cosmo cleared his throat and elbowed him in the side before quickly wrapping an arm around his in an attempt to disguise the two as ‘getting along’ causing Sprout to slightly double over with a set of wide eyes, coughing into his fist before glaring down at Cosmo.
“Isn’t that right, Sprout?”
“Haha, right. Totally right, Cosmo.”
Shelly squints at the two for a moment, skepticism written all over her face before letting out an exasperated sigh; shaking her head and glancing over at Vee with an unamused expression, her foot impatiently tapping on the kitchen tiles as she furrows her brows. Something that Shelly usually does when she’s in a deep thought, after a few moments, the tapping stops and she glances back at the two once more.
“Alright fine, but if I see you two—!”
Fearing for their lives, the pair immediately yanked their linked arms away from each other and frantically waved their hands at her dismissively, an apologetic and sheepish smile plastered in their desperate expressions. They were not looking forward to the possibility of being mushed together into a sort of strawberry cake recipe.
“Nonono we’ll be fine–!”
“We’ll be fine! We’ll be fine, right Sprout?”
“I– yeah! We’ll be fine.”
Disappointed by the sight before her, Shelly pouts at the two inevitable messes in front of her, letting out a deep sigh of what was bound to happen to this once peaceful environment. She turned away from the commotion to Vee, who decided it was about time the two girls took their leave from the scene, leaving the two partners in crime on their own once again. Sprout and Cosmo, for as much as they respected their friends, were mainly relieved over the fact nothing bad came from this, immediately turning over to glare angrily at one another, then back at the havoc the two had wreaked on this poor, poor kitchen.
“...do you think Tisha could—”
“We already asked her three times this week.”
Sprout’s expression is taken over by a disappointed look, similar to the pout Shelly had just a moment ago, and he decides to lean back against the nearest counter, turning his eyes somewhere else, away from him. Cosmo follows suit, with a similar deep sigh as he too leans back, but begins fidgeting with his hoodie’s strings. The kitchen’s absolved in a silence it hasn’t known since the toons’ arrival, with all parties present quickly realizing the guilt and regret that came with desecrating the space. Through a long groan, the shorter of the two straightened himself up, dusting flour off of his hands and gaining a hint of determination in his eyes (all whilst still avoiding any eye contact with him).
“Well, I’m gonna start cleaning. You can… help or leave, or whatever.”
In a calm silence, Sprout chose to simply watch as Cosmo picked up a nearby broom and began sweeping away at the various spills of flour and sugar that had adorned the floor, only taking a moment before he too sighed and, with sagged shoulders, got to work as well, grabbing a nearby rag and wiping the counters to the best of his ability. Both chose to be quiet for the rest of that evening…
After a long time and a heap of effort, the kitchen had once again become as spotless as it once was, so much so Tisha might’ve been able to shed a tear had she walked into the room. Both toons leaned back once again with exhaustion written all over their faces; that is until one of them managed to accidentally knock over a plate in their relaxation. The sound of the plate shattering into pieces on the floor interrupted the moment’s silence, being met only by the synchronized groan the toons replied with, once again in unison, followed by Sprout carelessly rushing to pick the ceramic shards off of the floor with his bare hands.
Despite the moment’s stillness, Cosmo overheard a quiet complaining hiss coming from Sprout’s direction, glancing over at the strawberry toon to view as he carefully stood up and (now carefully) disposed of what was left of that plate into the trash; a small grazing cut now featured on his worn out hand. He paused for a moment, his gaze unmoving from the injury, feeling as though he’d act out on a sort of ‘auto-pilot’. With a hand digging and rummaging into his shorts’ pocket, Cosmo pulled out a rainbow band aid and began making his move towards Sprout, or more specifically his cut.
Sprout’s brooding silence was suddenly interrupted by someone forcefully grabbing his hand, catching him completely off-guard.
“What are you–”
With careful precision, Cosmo quietly applied the band aid onto Sprout’s thumb, wrapping it carefully around the cut with all of his attention, helping to avoid any further messes. Sprout barely managed to catch a glimpse of it, but it seemed as though his helper had a huge pout on his face the entire time.
“You need to be careful, that was stupid.”
Both of them stood in front of each other, only allowing themselves to look at the band aid as to continue avoiding eye contact, Sprout’s hand still being held carefully by Cosmo’s. Silence crept into their evening once more, they had nothing but that quiet atmosphere left in each other’s presence, before Cosmo finally put an end to it by pulling his hands away and walking outside of a kitchen, neither of them exchanging any words as Sprout is left stunned on the spot.