Chapter Text
Sprout looked out into the night of the rising moon. He would do this every now and then, but this time, he wasn’t going to lay in the comforts of his bed and slowly drift off to sleep. This time, he was getting out of here, and he was taking Cosmo with him. The two of them had vaguely talked about it before (if that meant him asking the cake roll a number of ‘hypothetical’ questions and seeing how he would react to certain things) and Sprout was sure that they could successfully get out without being caught by anyone that didn’t need to know.
He checked over at his nightstand where a bright clock’s number rang at 10:30. Perfect. He thought. Everyone would be asleep by now. Sprout still felt bad knowing he’d have to awaken Cosmo from his slumber.
The berry hummed to himself as he walked away from the window, picking up his bag filled with medical supplies, snacks, and a few other things. He walked out of his room and quietly ran over to Cosmo’s door that was just down the hall and opened it. He lightly rapped on the door just before he opened it. The baker inside was fast asleep. Sprout walked over to the bed and watched as his face contorted in discomfort, burying himself further into the pile of blankets that laid over him.
He thought about how relaxed he looked while he slept, slightly regretting his decision of leaving their home, but ever since figuring out what a certain flower was up to, he needed out of there and so did Cosmo. He wouldn’t leave him here with that monster. Not now, not ever.
Taking a deep breath, Sprout gently shook Cosmo’s shoulder from over the blankets. He got a low grumble in response, and he shook him again “Cos,” he whispered, and the pastry whimpered his displeasure of being woken up. “C’mon, we gotta go.”
Cosmo rolled himself to the other side of the bed, causing the other to round himself to that side with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed the comforters from on top of his head and pulled them away. The chubby toon squinted his closed eyes and mumbled a line of incoherent words.
He finally thought Sprout would leave him alone once he left the room with a soft click of the door behind him. Joyfully, he sunk back into the plethora of blankets and sighed contently. That was until he heard the quiet creak of his floor. Sprout again pulled away the covers from his face and poured a cup of water over his face.
Now that woke up Cosmo. His eyes shot open, and he screamed from the sudden freezing temperature on his face. Immediately, the strawberry bursted out laughing, throwing his hand over the other’s mouth, “S–Shush! Bahaha!” He whisper-yelled in between laughs.
His best friend glared at him as he finally took away his hand. “What was that for, Sprout?!” he screeched. Sprout shrugged with a smile, acting as if nothing had happened.
“You wouldn’t wake up!”
Cosmo exhaled as he calmed, “What’s wrong?” he said.
“It’s time. We gotta go.”
“Go where? It's late, Sprout. Probably past our curfew by now.”
“Outside of Gardenview.”
The baker’s eyes widened once more as he began to panic, “Leave… Gardenview?! Sprout, a-are you out of your mind?”
“I know it sounds bad—”
“This is our home, our job! Where are we even supposed to go?”
The taller toon took off his rucksack, placing it down at his feet, talking over to Cosmo’s own bag and brought it over whilst he began to explain, “It’s not safe here anymore, Cos. There’s something going on with Dandy, and we can’t stick around.”
Cosmo’s gaze softened, and his brow lifted in a worried expression “What’s wrong with Dandy? Is he alright? He’s not hurt, is he?” He climbed off his mattress in a panic “We should go help him!” He began to head for the door until his wrist was grabbed and pulled back.
“He’s not the one who’s hurt.” Sprout’s eyes sharpened “He’s the reason it’s not safe. He’s turning everyone into those monsters we’ve been seeing on the lower floors.”
“...You’re sure?” The cake roll’s voice cracked with emotion. Sprout nodded. “That’s why we need to leave.”
But what about the others? Are we just going to leave them here to what— die?!” Cosmo’s eyes began to water, and he felt his throat constrict.
“I tried that… They didn’t believe me, except Vee, but she said she won’t leave just yet.”
“But why?”
“Dunno. She wouldn’t tell me…”
Cosmo let out a shaky breath “A-Alright… alright— okay… this is fine… this is fine..!” He turned around, grabbing his bag from Sprout when he apologized, only getting a hum in response. They spent the next few minutes packing his bag, filling it with necessities that Sprout must have forgotten.
“How do you know it’s true?” Cosmo asked silently. The berry could feel the anxiety bubbling in his stomach “I heard him talking to Astro about it…”
“So is it both of them?”
“I don’t know, Cos… I don’t know…”