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Sandy is the first to suspect there’s something there. Perhaps she’s finally gone insane.
When the boys return from their arduous trip to deliver a pizza—and when Spongebob is finished raving about “driving”… rocks?—they’re seemingly in good company, as Squidward silently listens to Spongebob’s nonsense with a placated neutral look, rather than a scowl or a scolding escaping from him. While they both look exhausted, they are getting along better than she’s ever seen them.
She’s not in the Krusty Krab for long, but while she is, she notices that Squidward is not making a conscious attempt to avoid Spongebob. Not only that, but Spongebob is surprisingly placid. She watches them make small talk, and converse casually, and eventually begin smiling and chuckling at their hushed interactions.
While Sandy happily enjoys a burger, she notices a particularly irate customer walk in, shaking his fists and glowing red with anger. His black eye swells as he furrows his eyebrows.
He growls complaints at Squidward, whom seems to take them in stride, only appearing upset when poor Spongebob exits the kitchen to dish out an order only to be caught unawares by this man. Spongebob looks absolutely devastated by the way this man is yelling at him, large tears welling in his eyes. Before Sandy can speak, however, Squidward barks some admittedly intimidating threats that anger the customer out of the store.
Sandy watches Squidward turn to Spongebob with on his face the kindest look she has ever seen from him, and speak to him quietly as his hand rests on his coworker’s shoulder. Spongebob seems to respond in a specific way, because Squidward flushes red as the shorter man retreats into the kitchen again, a soft smile growing on his face.
Sandy wishes she could hear the conversation, but knows that it’s probably not worthwhile. Besides, there can’t possibly be anything there.
Patrick, in all his idiocy, is somehow keen to catch onto the fact that there is, possibly, something there. Maybe he’s crazy.
As Squidward timidly approaches Patrick with something apparently profound to say, he continues to dig into the ground, uninterested. However, when Squidward asks for Spongebob specifically, he is reminded of the way Spongebob ran into his house, slamming the door with force.
From what Patrick can gather, Squidward has upset Spongebob in some way, which is odd, because Patrick remembers it always being the other way around. Perhaps this is an elaborate April Fools prank, just on him? He is once again grounded in reality when he sees Squidward shyly wringing his hands as he approaches Spongebob’s door.
For about thirty minutes, Patrick watches Squidward attempt to profusely apologize to his neighbor with all sorts of crazy stunts. He has to admit, though, that they’re pretty sweet, since he gets a free tooth floss out of it. Still, when Squidward embarrassingly breaks down on Spongebob’s doorstep, and then rebounds it with the claim that he is pranking them all, Patrick can’t help but be suspicious.
So when, later that night, he hears a door creak softly and the sound of footsteps shifting in the sand break the silence, he can’t help but poke his head out and watch as Squidward timidly approaches Spongebob’s door. They chat for a moment, before they share a quick and loose embrace, leaving each other to their own devices when it ends.
But Patrick shakes his head. Maybe he’s seeing things, because Squidward is never nice. Surely, there can’t be anything there.
Eugene Krabs knows something when he sees it. And he sees… something. Perhaps he’s imagining it, but that something plagues his mind.
As he lays in bed, he thinks about his day. He remembers how he held onto a sour patty, just so he wouldn’t have to waste a few cents. He remembers being generous (ugh!) and his employees reminding him that he was, in fact, not dreaming.
Eugene sighs, and recalls the horrifying sound of the arrival of a certain otherworldly presence; he remembers the air spiraling into a whirlpool of sickly green, and a ghastly, angry face making itself seen.
He is uncomfortable, even thinking of the face of the Flying Dutchman. What truly haunts him, however, is the sound of Spongebob’s screams bouncing off the walls of the Krusty Krab as the ghastly pirate stole him away in exchange for sixty-two cents.
Guilt gnaws at his chest, but it is especially worsened when he remembers the way Squidward scolded him. The cashier was (understandably) upset, but Eugene feels there was something different. When Spongebob had returned, he practically felt the relief coming off of Squidward’s psyche in huge waves.
Eugene sighs, shaking his head.
His mind reels back, making him remember the way Squidward pulled Spongebob into a tight hug when he thought no one was looking. The way Squidward buried his face into the top of Spongebob’s head, holding onto him as if he’d disappear the moment he let go. He remembers the bewildered look on Spongebob’s face before his arms returned the embrace, his face snug in his coworker’s shoulder.
He remembers the way they jumped when he swung his office door open, and chuckles.
There’s nothing there. That’s absurd.
Sheldon J. Plankton is many things: a scientist, an aspiring entrepreneur, an inventor, an evil genius, and more. He is not, however, an idiot. Despite having one eye, he can perfectly see when there is something going on behind the scenes.
He’s returning home from the grocery when he spots Squidward and Spongebob walking together, the opposite direction. This would be a normal sight to see if it wasn’t 2 in the afternoon on a Sunday. Their hands persistently brush together, but never hold. They walk past him, loudly talking about a piece of music or something.
That’s when he realizes that they’re both wearing nicer clothes: not too fancy, but they’re definitely not casual wear.
They go on and on about crescendoes this, or acceleration that, or embouchure whatever. Frankly, Plankton finds this annoying.
He remembers bumping into Eugene at the store, where they chatted casually as they picked foods from the shelves. Eugene had mentioned something about the two getting along better, but dismissed it as nothing.
Plankton’s not an idiot. It’s not nothing.
However, when he sees Squidward push Spongebob away off in the distance, he decides on his conclusion. There’s nothing there, and it was silly to think otherwise.
If there’s anything one should know about Pearl Krabs, it’s that she loves gossip. Not in the mean way, but there’s something so exciting about the secrecy of it.
She realizes just how true to her character this is when she hears her dad complain about his employees taking breaks again. She rolls her eyes, but hears him mutter about “going on break at the same time” under his breath. He lets it go, and leaves to call an old “friend” (she sighs. It’s so obvious he’s calling Plankton again).
Later this night, Daddy tells her that he is going to play cards, which is so annoying. However, he informs her that Squidward will be coming over to babysit (really, why does he need to use that term?).
She sighs, but knows she can’t argue it. An hour after Dad leaves, there’s a telltale knock at the door. She huffs and goes to open it, finding Squidward…
… and Spongebob…
… at the door.
Squidward scratches behind his head nervously, telling her that he hopes she doesn’t mind. She pretends to be annoyed, but deep down, she is the opposite of such. Pearl’s been waiting for these two to get a room for forever.
Spongebob is oddly quiet and courteous, as opposed to his normally rambunctious self. However, he gives himself away as his leg begins anxiously bouncing up and down. Squidward leaves to use the restroom, leaving the two alone.
Spongebob seems to relax a bit, but is still tense. Before Pearl can say anything, Squidward returns, inviting them into the kitchen to make dinner. Pearl declines politely, but Spongebob happily agrees.
She spies on the two as they enter the kitchen. She sits in the other room, pretending to be on her phone, but secretly glances into the kitchen. The two are making small talk and getting along better than ever. They’re joking around, laughing, teasing, and generally being in good company.
When they serve Pearl her spaghetti dinner, it becomes harder and harder for her to believe that there’s nothing there.
Everything comes to fruition when Mr. Krabs decides to have a party at the Krusty Krab—National Burger Day? No one’s sure it’s a real thing—and lets it run late into the night. He has music on and the lights are low. No one has ordered actual food for a quarter of an hour.
Sandy and Patrick realize that they’re both starving, so they head to the register. When they see that Squidward is not there, they check for Spongebob in the kitchen, which is also a vacant area.
They spot Mr. Krabs next to Plankton, who looks very much like he is trying to swindle the formula out of Mr. Krabs, and head over. They tell Krabs the situation, and they head outside to look for the employees. A very bored-looking Pearl and defeated-looking Plankton follow along, seemingly interested.
The group of five walks outside and looks around for the missing employees. When they see Pearl pop out from behind the side of the building, beckoning for them, they follow.
They creep along the side of the building, completely silent. When they hear soft chatter, they all smile in victory. Cautiously approaching the corner, the chatter gets more and more audible. As they reach the vertex of the building, however, it goes quiet, and the group freezes.
Taking a brave step, each of them peek around the edge, where they see the missing employees pulling away from each other. Their faces are both red as they stand in close proximity.
Sandy and Pearl almost giggle when Squidward gives Spongebob a swift kiss on the cheek before shyly slipping away into the door to the building, leaving Spongebob to his own devices. Patrick stifles a gasp, and Plankton and Krabs share an amused-but-not-surprised glance.
They watch Spongebob smile to himself and sigh dreamily before heading back inside on his own.
“Forget the Christmas party,” Patrick says, “this embarrassing snapshot of Spongebob and Squidward is way better!”