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The day started like any other. Sprout was in the kitchen, staring at the stove. He seemed to be waiting for the cake to be ready, but it was quite clear that he was deep in thought.
"Hmmmm... If the cake takes 50 minutes at 180° degrees... What if I set it to 1800° degrees so it bakes in 5 minutes???"
Sprout snapped his fingers triumphantly and then turned up the stove’s heat.
Well.
It didn’t even take a full minute for the stove to catch fire.
Sprout let out a startled scream, which triggered a commotion in the hallway.
Cosmo, Vee, and even Astro went to check what was happening— Though Astro stayed further behind.
Only to be greeted with the stunning sight of Sprout, panicked, using a fire extinguisher on the stove.
Vee rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? Again? It’s intriguing how many times you manage to set this stove on fire in a single month." she mocked.
"Hey? You know very well that the last few times it was Cosmo." Sprout huffed.
"...It wasn’t meee, it was youuu..." Cosmo shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, looking away from the situation.
"Sure. And you were involved." Vee pointed out.
"...Not exactly, he just doesn’t know how to properly turn off a stove." the strawberry grumbled. "But anyway? Did you just come to check if I’m alive or something? That’s so cute of you... You care."
Vee raised an eyebrow. "No," she said bluntly. "I just came to see which idiot 'blew up' the stove. Not surprised by the culprit." She shrugged.
"Right..." Sprout set the fire extinguisher aside.
"Soooo... Do you need help?" Cosmo began, stepping closer to Sprout near the stove.
"Nah— It’s just a simple cake."
"...I was going to suggest that we cook something for today, but you destroyed the stove, didn’t you?"
"Yeah..." Sprout sighed.
"Then I guess we’ll have to find something else to do." Cosmo handed Sprout his oven mitts. At the very least, it was a better option for him to take that cake out of the ruined stove.
Meanwhile, Astro and Vee seemed to be having a conversation in the background.
Sprout took the mitts, intending to put them on, but as soon as he slid his hand into one, he felt a sharp prick— like a needle jab.
"Ow—" He quickly pulled his hand out. "What the—" Sprout turned the glove upside down, and a pin fell into his hand.
He went quiet.
The strawberry slowly looked at Cosmo.
Of course, the other had a grin on his face.
"Ha! April Fools!" Cosmo pointed at Sprout.
"Hey—that’s a low blow!" Sprout huffed. "What if i actually got hurt, dude??"
"With a pin."
"Yes...?"
"That’d be kind of silly, Sprout. I highly doubt you’d actually get hurt by a tiny pin." Cosmo shrugged.
Astro, who was nearby, blinked. He suddenly stopped paying attention to anything Vee was saying.
Wait.
It was April 1st.
Astro swallowed hard.
No, no... Not April Fools' Day.
"...Good talk... Vee!" He prepared to make a quick escape.
"...Right." Vee was confused. But just ignored it, she had something to deal with Sprout for now.
Astro began to leave the kitchen—
"Hey! Astro." Sprout called out.
Astro stayed quiet but stopped walking, turning to Sprout, a little hesitant.
"I planned to spend time with you today, right? Would it be a problem if Cosmo came along too?" Sprout gestured.
Cosmo blinked a few times, looking at Sprout a little indignantly. He didn't want to spend time specifically WITH BOTH of them for certain reasons, but he wouldn't complain. Maybe nothing would happen, right? Haha...
"Ah— Mm... No... No problem." Astro pulled the blanket up to his mouth, a little nervous.
Shit. Shit.
He had forgotten he had planned to hang out with Sprout today. Of all days. Idiot.
Sprout stared at him for a few seconds, a little unsure if Astro was really okay with it. After all, his heartbeat seemed pretty agitated, but it was probably nothing, I guess.
"Oookay...." Sprout walked over to Astro’s side. "We could... watch something? Or... just catch up, I guess."
"I need to go to my room first." Cosmo interjected.
"Ah—Alright, we’ll go with you then." Sprout gestured.
"Ok okay..." Cosmo started walking down the hallway toward his room.
Astro was behind Sprout, who was behind Cosmo.
Of course, the moon seemed nervous, and it was quite obvious from Sprout's point of view.
"Sprout." A sudden voice called out between them.
"Ah—Vee... Need something?" The strawberry asked casually.
"Indeed." Vee put her hands behind her back while walking with them.
"So..?" Sprout raised an eyebrow.
"I was thinking..." Vee paused briefly. "I need participants for my next gameshow. I wonder if you’d be interested?"
"No." He answered flatly.
"Oh. Not even as a cameraman?"
"Well, a no is still a no."
"Huh..." Vee clasped her hands together. "You do know there’s a prize for the winner, right?"
"Mhm."
They were close to Cosmo’s room.
"The next gameshow will be in teams..."
"And?"
"Maybe I could put you on a team with a relative?"
"Nah."
".....Maybe Cosmo."
"...I don't know if that would be interesting, to be honest, especially since gameshows aren’t really my thing, Vee."
"Oh, come on, dude!" Cosmo gave Sprout a small elbow nudge. "Are you scared of losing???"
"Not at all! I just...– I don't know."
"Just imagine: You and me, going against each other, having to get the questions right." Cosmo raised a finger. "I bet I’d easily win against you."
"Haha... Yeah, right." Sprout gave a small smile.
"Wanna bet?" Cosmo grinned back. There was a certain energy in the little cake.
"We’ll see about that, Cos." He playfully elbowed him.
"So... Is that a yes?" Vee raised an eyebrow.
"Yeaaah... Could be." Sprout cracked a few fingers on his hand as they finally reached Cosmo’s door.
"Alright." Vee stopped walking. "I’d say good luck. But I doubt it would help you win, Berry-boy." Vee turned around, heading back to whatever she was doing, or at least to ask Shelly and Tisha for help carrying some boxes from her room.
Of course, Tisha would come anyway if Shelly was involved, even though the cleaner seemed to avoid Vee— but that wasn't the point right now.
Cosmo placed his hand on the door, which was strange... It seemed like it was only slightly ajar.
Either way, he stepped inside— only for a bucket of water to fall on his head.
Astro flinched and took a few steps back, he and Sprout standing frozen as they stared at the drenched toon.
"...Sprout."
"April Fools’, right?" Sprout held back a laugh.
"Dude— Come on!!! Water is a low blow—Jeez... Now I have to dry off. What a pain." Cosmo grumbled, shaking his arms to get some of the water off. He was soaked.
"Maybe I went too far... But hey, I thought you already went into your room."
"No— I was busy helping Astro."
"...Helping Astro?" Sprout glanced at the moon.
Astro looked at Cosmo, then back at Sprout.
"...With what?" Sprout raised an eyebrow.
"Ah... Just... silly stuff." Astro responded, turning his face away.
"Silly stuff? Then I guess there’s no problem in telling me, right?" Sprout crossed his arms. Of course, the cook had always been curious about things, and this was no exception.
"Uhhhhh—"
"It's a present for Rodger!" Cosmo raised his hand.
"Oh— Really?" That caught Sprout’s attention, making him look at Cosmo.
"Really really— Astro wanted to give something to the detective, seems like he’s having some rough days, youu knowww?"
"Yeah... Yeah... I wanted to... do something nice for him..." Astro looked at the floor, shifting his foot.
Sprout stared at Cosmo. Then back at Astro again.
Of course. It sounded like a lie.
"....Riiight.... If you guys need help."
"No need!" Cosmo answered quickly.
"Okay, anyway, shall we get going?" Sprout decided to let it slide for now.
Astro’s heartbeat gave away the lie, but it was better not to push.
"I’ll get myself sorted first, I’m completely soaked..." Cosmo grumbled.
"Got it. See you in the lobby?" Sprout snapped his fingers.
"See you in the lobby, Sproutsy!" Cosmo did a finger gun.
"Good night... Sprout." Astro opened his bedroom door. "Sweet... dreams."
"Sweet dreams to you too." Sprout gave Astro a light pat on the back and walked toward his own room next door.
Astro entered his room and let out a long sigh.
What a tiring day.
At least he hadn’t fallen victim to any pranks, which was a surprise. Maybe it was because Sprout was there?.. Maybe, or maybe not.
He walked over to his bed, planning to just throw himself on it and sleep.
The moon flopped onto the bed, rolling over and lying on his back, staring at the ceiling covered with small stars. His room was always dark, which was comforting for him.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Well.
Five minutes passed.
He didn’t sleep.
Astro kept tossing and turning, something was bothering him. He couldn’t sleep, something felt wrong. He grabbed the pillow and pressed it against his face, grumbling, frustrated. The moon could always sleep whenever he wanted and anywhere, of course, he was always sleepy, so what was the problem now?
He sighed deeply, put the pillow aside, and muttered some things while thinking. Maybe a walk would help?
Astro heard a strange noise.
It came from outside.
Maybe that was the feeling he had.
He lightly bit the inside of his mouth, not wanting to go outside.
But he didn’t want to stay in here trying to sleep either, especially in this situation.
Astro wrapped himself in his blanket, grabbed a pillow, and quickly walked to the door of his room, opening it and stepping outside.
The moon closed the door and continued at the same pace, heading to the next room.
He knocked on the door.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
It took a few seconds, but the door finally opened, and of course, it was Sprout. He was in pajamas, wearing a sleep mask.
"...Oh... Hey?" Sprout rubbed his eye.
"Hi."
A silence fell between them until Sprout decided to speak again.
"....Did something happen???"
"No."
"Ah..."
Silence again.
"....Can I... sleep here?"
"Sleep here???" Sprout looked surprised. "...Why?"
"...I... can’t sleep... in my room." Astro spoke softly.
"...Okay, make yourself comfortable." Sprout stepped aside.
"Mm..."
Astro entered the room, feeling calmer now. He felt safe.
Sprout closed the door. The bed was still neatly made; he had probably been getting ready to sleep until Astro showed up. Of course, the cook went to the bed, grabbed one of the pillows, and placed it in the middle. He wasn’t going to make Astro sleep on the floor, and he didn’t want to sleep on the floor either. The best option was to share the bed.
"You can sleep here." He gave a small pat on one side and went to the other.
"..Mhm..." Astro walked to the bed and placed his pillow there, then sat down. "...Are you sure?"
"Yeah...." Sprout sat on the other side and soon lay on his back, pulling the blanket over himself. "I don’t see a problem with you sleeping in the bed, especially since the pillow is in the middle, right? Haha... Pretty normal."
"...Normal."
"Yeah... Nothing homosexual going on here." Sprout commented unnecessarily.
This resulted in an awkward silence between the two.
Astro thought Sprout was silly.
This was one of the reasons why.
He tended to speak his mind immediately, usually without thinking about the consequences.
Or at least when he was nervous.
Maybe this was one of those moments.
Astro turned to the opposite side of Sprout, trying to get comfortable in bed.
Sprout just stayed quiet, sighed, and lowered his sleep mask.
"Good night."
"Mhm... Good night... Sweet dreams... Again."
"Sweet dreams."
The silence echoed through the room, and a few minutes passed.
15 minutes.
Astro had his hands over his face, he was really frustrated. He couldn’t sleep. Why? Why suddenly insomnia? Why him? My God.
He sighed deeply and rolled over again, looking around. There was a nightlight, but it wasn’t like Astro's room. In a way, Sprout's room seemed really comfortable.
But it was hard for him to sleep, he was feeling angry.
He turned to the other side, the side where Sprout was.
Sprout was sleeping deeply, he seemed really calm, judging by the way he was breathing.
Astro didn’t even know why he was noticing this.
Or why he decided to check if Sprout was still awake.
Sprout's hand was on top of the pillow that separated them, it almost seemed like Sprout was trying to sleep while hugging a pillow. It was cute.
What.
Astro lightly shook his head, sighed again, his mind processing some things, it was tempting in a way—he-
What if he...
He raised his hand for a few seconds, still hesitant.
"..You’re going to regret this, Novalite...." He muttered to himself quietly.
Astro held Sprout's hand, and that was it.
That was it.
No going back.
The only reaction Sprout had was to shift his hand lightly, after all, he was asleep.
Astro felt relieved and watched the other for a few seconds before closing his eyes and gently squeezing the cook’s hand.
Maybe he could sleep now.
And indeed, he did.
But it lasted only a few minutes before Astro woke up with a start. There was that strange noise again outside, and it made him sit up and squeeze Sprout’s hand a little more.
Astro became a bit anxious.
What the hell was that?
He stared at the door until he decided to wake up Sprout, giving him small nudges.
"...Sprout."
"Hmm...?" The cook mumbled sleepily.
"...Sprout?"
"What.. What is it?"
"There’s something outside."
"Mmmhmm... Ok."
"I’m serious— there’s something outside—"
Sprout sighed deeply, sat up, lifted his sleep mask, and yawned.
"Astro... Are you really serious?" He said between yawns.
"Didn’t you hear??"
"...No? You must be just sleepy—"
There was a sound of a box falling outside.
That made Astro jump and get very close to Sprout, technically hugging the strawberry from the side.
Sprout stayed quiet for a moment, as usual.
"Astro—We deal with twisted— Are you afraid of a noise???" Sprout sighed.
"...It’s... different."
"It’s probably just Connie again.." Sprout yawned, getting up to check.
Astro let go of him. Sprout stood up and walked to the door. The strange noise seemed to get worse, it sounded like a small conversation outside. As soon as he opened the door, he found Yatta, Looey, and Connie discussing something. Also, some doors were slightly open, it seemed the noise had caught the attention of some toons.
Sprout stared at them, one hand on the door.
"It WAS an ACCIDENT—" Yatta said.
"Yatta! Now you got everyone out of their rooms—" Connie was talking until she was interrupted. Holding a radio in her hands.
"...Heeey... Sproutsy... Haha... How’s it going?" Looey said, sounding a bit nervous.
"...What are you all doing..?" Sprout sighed deeply, trying to keep his patience, but it was still frustrating that he had to wake up to deal with this.
"Scaring people. Duh." Connie had a smile on her face, rolling her eyes. "April Fool’s, right? We can still pull pranks until midnight!"
"...Please, no." Sprout put two fingers on his forehead. "Tomorrow’s going to be a tough day, can you NOT do this? It's bothering other toons. You could have done it earlier." He gestured with his other hand.
Astro was right behind Sprout, peeking outside.
"...Okay, okay... sorry—" Looey said, scratching his head. "We just—"
"Why are you two in the same room?" Connie was staring. She had seen Astro.
Sprout stayed quiet.
"Good night. Go to sleep." He closed the door.