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“I don't know, Cos. I don't really do the whole going to big events like that. Let alone a circus of all things.” Sprout shrugged, his attention more focused on rolling out the dough on the counter than his friend. Sleeves rolled to the elbow and apron covered on flour to match the counter.
Cosmo only hummed. He took the flattened dough away to cut it up better to fit into the pie tins. “I know. But! Looey said they've been working really hard on this show, and he wants everyone to see. To, y'know, ease up the air a bit after everything.”
There was a point. While runs for supplies and research on the ichor consumed duplicates below the building wasn't exactly new to any of the toons, lately resources have been harder to find and others returned more injured than others. One such run left both distractors, Goob and Pebble if Sprout recalled right, on their last leg and out of commission for almost a week. The twisteds were getting more aggressive for some reason. Sprout could see it all by the amount of damaged hearts around everywhere he looked. Not broken from being hurt body wise since distractors were making sure it was alright, but optimism was suffering. And low spirits meant it was easier to slip up during dangerous moments.
If Sprout just focused more on the runs. If he kept nagging them to take more heals before traveling down then it wouldn't be too hard. He wouldn't have to worry and fret over everyone. He needed to push harder to keep everyone taken care of. Staying over to have heals ready. Being around to comfort when the lights were too dim to tell faces from couches.
If he just-
The strawberry felt his friend nudge his arm. “You’re doing that face again.” A slight tease in his tone. “But seriously, I think you'd like seeing one of their performances. I'm sure they'd be excited to have you attend.”
When the crust was set firm, Cosmo moved them to the fridge for a minute. “Aannnnd,” He drew out as he closed the fridge door with his hip and moved to poke Sprout's side lightly. “You need to meet them! The trio! I wanna go support them tonight, and as my best friend in the whole world, you're coming with me.”
Sprout groaned quietly. Not in annoyance or anger, more of his usual exhaustion. To see toons purposely put their lives at risk to entertain others wasn't exactly what the strawberry would call a good time. He already gets told off to the sky and back about being too “overprotective” of the few toons he does focus on.
Still, seeing Cosmo with such wide, pure excitement of an expression. It really was impossible to say no. It'd be like kicking a puppy in the rain or like- or maybe saying no to Toodles. Both confolk who knew their puppy dog eyes could kill even the strongest toons. And Sprout especially was a very weak man.
..
…
And that's how Sprout found himself in the current situation. Surrounded by various other toons as he tried squeezing his way around to get where the rest of the mains were. All without bumping into anyone or stepping on toes. Sprout gave Cosmo's hand a firm grip to avoid them being separated in the crowd. A few small greetings from the few who ran into the duo, while most were busy finding their seats.
When the two spotted Shelly waving a hand over from a more closed off box to the side, they carefully made their way over. Unlike the larger seating where the rest of the toons were, mains had their own box. Sprout wasn't sure how to feel about that. And no one really actually cared if others came into it to stay clear of the clutter. As long as the observation box wasn't trashed or messed with then anyone had free passes to use it how they wanted.
“Cosmo!” Shelly stood from her chair to pull the swissroll into a tight hug, lifting him off the ground in the process. Sprout thankfully pulled his hand away in time to not get squished. He smiled a bit watching his friend be spun around in the air by the far too hyper shell. “You guys are just in time! The show's gonna start soon!”
A comforting hand came to Cosmo's back when he was back on his feet in case the spin was too much. It wasn't, of course. Shelly knew her strength enough to know when to stop before someone got hurt. Sprout still did it out of reflex.
“Surprised to see you here, Berry Boy.” Sprout's shoulders tensed seeing the familiar green face. “Thought you'd lock yourself in the kitchen while claiming you were too busy.”
A slight nudge made Vee turn her attention to Shelly, who gave her a look. Vee sighed while turning her screen away to lean on her chair arms. “At least you showed up. Good job.”
Sprout didn't get a word in before Cosmo was already dragging both of them to empty seats. They sat in front of Astro and Shelly. The moon toon was already asleep in his chair with his head leaned on Vee's shoulder, while Pebble happily chewed on the end of his night cap. No one had the heart to say something. It was honestly adorable and they knew Astro didn't mind anyhow. No doubt Pebble was only with them since Astro was dog sitting as usual. Not that the rock cared, he was happy to be with everyone.
Shelly was practically bouncing in her chair as she leaned forward to talk to Cosmo. “How exciting for you guys! So, what do you think they're doing this time?”
Sprout honestly zoned out most of the conversation in favor of looking at the stage in front of him. Several scattered jungle gym looking structures painting in highly saturated rainbow stuck out from the sand floor. Firmly planted on each end were long poles that led too far for Sprout to see. Maybe support beams?
The chatter fell quiet as the lights dimmed.
Someone walked to the center of the room with a microphone in hand. Almost blinding, it was a balloon toon dawned in a red and blue clown outfit. Their pants a bit too big but held up by suspenders, and their face painted bright white and decorated to match their ears and sleeves. In their spare hand sat a pie. Sprout couldn't get too good of a look at them with how high up he sat.
The clown wandered a few steps as if not noticing the audience, only to perk up and raise the mic to their lips like a finger. “Shh, I’m trying to sneak up on him!”
Another toon walked on stage, clearly pretending not to see the balloon. This time be it a shorter mime.
Looey and Blot, as Cosmo whispered to Sprout. The strawberry hadn't seen the two in person, only heard of them from run catch ups and weekly reports.
Blot waved to the audience but kept his back turned far too obviously while Looey approached with the pie.
But it backfired when an invisible wall kept Blot safe, instead making the pie crash right into Looey's face. The crowd laughed at the cartoonish overreaction of Looey shaking the pie off him and onto the ground. Blot's shoulders shook in laughter.
“Such a waste of a good pie,” Looey sighed. His ears perked back up and he turned to Blot in offense. The mime batted his eye innocently.
The two went back and forth for a bit. Blot would circle around and vault over invisible items, while Looey tripped over most of them. At first, Sprout stared with drawn brows at the sight. Who enjoys seeing someone willingly humiliate themselves?
But when the two performers finally caught one another, Looey holding Blot in a headlock, Sprout found himself, be it without realizing, watching along. He didn't know why. Chin rested in his palm as he leaned forward to lean his weight on the faintly rusted railing.
The mime kicked and wiggled to no avail since Looey was taller. And by the fourth wiggle, Blot was let go. Looey lowered himself to a half bow and held a hand out. “Truce?” He summoned a flower from thin air. A yellow sunflower too big for his gloved hold.
Blot leaned forward to smell the offer.
Then shot back when a slash of cold water hit his face.
That surprisingly got a chuckle out of Sprout. The soaked toon looked like a very angry wet cat.
The earlier chase now reversed with a back and forth of Looey narrowly avoiding being grabbed by his friend before the balloon began climbing up one of the nearby ladders to get away from a charging Blot.
And oh.
Oh that's pretty high up.
Sprout leaned out of his chair a bit to fully see how high Looey was climbing. A hand on Sprout's arm pulled his back a bit. “It's alright,” was all Cosmo said, not hiding his amused expression at all.
All the way at the top, Looey had his ears down and was backing closer and closer to the end with his hands out in defense. Blot stepped closer when Looey stepped back. A loud gulp when he spared a glance to the drop he was quickly approaching. Spotlights rose to focus on him alone. Waiting.
Slip!
Sprout instinctively tried to get out of his seat, only to be gently pulled back down. Vee chuckled. Not that the strawberry heard, his attention focused on the falling toon. There wasn't a net. There weren't any supports or strings.
There wasn't-!
A laugh rang out.
Looey was caught midair by his arms by another too. The last of the trio.
Yatta was hanging onto the bar by her legs, yet appeared as stable as ever. Only laughing and teasing as she swung the both of them around. They went over the audience and Looey let go of one hand to throw candy down.
The crowd roared. Many held out their hands to get the candy faster, others moved back so there was more room. From the very distant dark, Rodgers was holding Toodles up higher than the rest to get first dibs.
With a sigh of relief, Sprout settled back into his seat. Yatta was approaching their booth. Candy wasn't really his thing. Surely Cosmo or Shelly would reach out first to grab whatever they could. Then Cosmo would show off all-
Their eyes met.
Looey caught Sprout's wide stare. Both silently taking in one another. Sprout felt his heart pick up. Why was their staring contest so long? It felt like minutes passed by. The lights catching Looey just right to form an angelic glow around his figure. Makeup slightly smeared from moving around so much.
And it happened.
A wink.
Then they were gone again. Back to circling overtop the rest of the crowd and throwing out more candy.
Sprout placed a hand to his chest, right above his heart. Why was it going so fast? Why did the wink make his breathing stop? His face flushed the more he thought.
Cosmo noticed and lightly shook Sprout's side. “Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?” Sprout quickly spoke back, hoping the conversation would make his cheeks stop burning. Maybe it was a good thing he was already red. He didn't even know where to start if Cosmo questioned.
The swissroll rolled his eyes playfully.
Focused on easing himself, Sprout didn't notice the second time Yatta and Looey got close. He only flinched when a few candies landed at his lap and Cosmo reached out to wave. Looey waved back.
When the candy was all tossed out, Looey was dropped down to land on a large ball. He rolled around on it, gathering his footing. His hands out to the air once he was still, making the crowd cheer loudly. A few pins fell from the sky, to which he easily caught and began juggling them. Yatta slowed herself to above him, sitting on the trapeze. The pins flew high enough for her and Looey to duo juggle.
A few times Yatta would purposely throw the pins back down a little too hard and watch Looey stumble a little before falling back into the groove. His movements steady with practice.
Tossing all but one pin up for Yatta to catch, Looey focuses his attention on rolling around the edge of the stage and looking over the audience. The remaining juggle pin in his hand was held and pointed around like a microphone.
“Oh! I love this part!” Cosmo grabbed his friend's wrist and pulled the two of them out of the box to the main seating area. His yelling got Looey's attention. Sprout felt his face heat up again when the balloon looked at him with that same smile.
Rolling the ball closer, Looey leaned dangerously over yet still balanced. “A lovely volunteer? Hi there!”
Sprout was being pushed to the front despite his clearly panicked mumbling. “And your name is?” They held a pin out. A stupid question. Everyone in Gardenview knew who he was. Everyone knows what he does.
“..Sprout.”
The name made Looey's eyes widen. Yet, the balloon tossed the final pin up high enough for Yatta to catch so he could lead Sprout further into the area. He flipped off the ball with ease, landing perfectly and earning a few cheers. And when he leaned close, Sprout felt his breathing stop again. He was directed to stand still in front of everyone while the balloon showed off a long strip of cloth to the audience.
They held the fabric out to cover Sprout completely from view.
A little shake.
When they tried to show off, Sprout was still standing there. Unmoved.
Looey played out a pout before trying the trick again.
And having it fail.
By the third failed attempt, Looey snapped their fingers and held the cloth up again, this time stepping closer to also vanish from view. The cloth went still, almost standing up by itself while still shaking light enough to make it look like someone was holding it.
“You’re doing good,” Looey quietly whispered as he suddenly gathered his footing atop Sprout's shoulders. The strawberry didn't even notice when or how Looey got up there so sudden. Faster than a blink. He wasn't sure who the balloon's words were to.
When the sheet was grabbed again and pulled away, Looey looked around confused, even turning the cloth around to check both sides. When he “finally saw” Sprout, he made a noise of surprise. He stuck his arms out in a wide pose to the crowd as if he was covering up an accident. They cheered and chuckled at how over the top Looey presented himself. Suppose Sprout shouldn't be surprised by how light the toon on his shoulders was. He barely felt any weight despite the balloon and him being not too far in height difference. If anything, Looey was almost the same when counting his ears.
But as the balloon went to get down, Sprout felt more pressure on his shoulders. Blot had launched himself atop Looey using a seesaw and Blot Jr. on the other side. Looey shifted a bit to catch his friend, chuckling a little. The way his body tensed meant something. This wasn't supposed to happen. Sure, Sprout could support both of them with relative ease. Blot was heavier but nothing the healer wasn't used to in the slightest.
Then Yatta came in.
She landed in a handstand atop of Blot, tails flaring and smiling far too sharp.
That wasn't good.
Panic in Looey's eyes when the tower began to lean.
Sprout moved without thinking. He stepped back and watched the tower of toons lean forward.
He wasn't fast enough to catch them all. The circus trio collapsed thankfully onto a matt on the floor, falling back all onto Looey due to gravity.
Eye wide, Sprout hurried over to check for damages. No one's heart was damaged, but he didn't want to see if they would.
Blot and Yatta sat up and instantly looked at a still, squished Looey face down on the matt. They also panicked and checked over their friend. Yatta was shaking his body and Blot was looking around frantically.
If something happened because Sprout wasn't strong enough. If it was his fault someone got hurt. If he had been more prepared. A million thoughts cluttered his mind the time Sprout got to the scene, hand already reaching for a cupcake from his side bag. A thousand apologies, billions of health questions.
Looey rolled over faster than anyone could blink. Yelps filled the air when Blot and Yatta were smacked with pies.
How.. how did he get those-
As the mime and piñata looked at each other owlishly, Looey let out a loud bark of a laugh, leaning into himself at their faces.
And the crowd loved it.
“That's two points!!” The balloon yelled out to the laughing audience. He held up a peace sign, closing and opening his fingers like scissors.
Sprout fought to not let his knees buckle in. Looey was okay.
All of them were okay.
Even as the show continued and Sprout was brought back to his seat, he kept looking at Looey. Kept watching every twitch of muscle. Every dangerous act turned into a way to make themself the one being laughed at. The petty revenge the trio played back and forth amidst the show.
So distracted that by the time it was over, when the trio approached to give their final bow, Sprout hadn't moved or said a thing. He only partially snapped out of it when Cosmo was in his face with that glint in his eyes that usually meant trouble.
“Sooo, what do you think? Was it fun? Worth the trip?” He asked far too aware of what the answer would be.
Sprout nodded.
“Great! Let's go say hi before heading back then. I also want to drop off some gifts I made for them!”
Saying their goodbyes to the rest of the mains, including a tired and somewhat confused Astro who woke up when everyone was clapping afterwards, Sprout followed his friend down the area to the backstage rooms hidden behind a massive, colorfully decorated curtain. He saw the curtain earlier but didn't assume there was much behind it.
A voice whined from the hallway when they entered. While the main room had various, vibrant lights covering the center focus, the hall was mostly bare with little light aside from the occasional bulb every few feet or so. And opening the door revealed a very cluttered and decorated changing room with touches from each member.
“Oh! Wasn't expecting visitors, sorry!” Looey's smile was warm, but more apologetic than the previously confident one he wore on stage. Far too nervous. His friends had yet to realize they had company. He was currently helping Yatta stretch herself into a standing split, pushing her leg up higher to get it to pop. All while the piñata was already talking about the new candy she was going to have for the next act.
Cosmo entered like he owned the place, leaving Sprout standing a tad awkwardly. He shouldn't feel uncomfortable. He was just visiting other toons. To show he was happy to have seen their performance. Nothing weird about that.
When he locked eyes with Looey again, the balloon went red under his makeup. He let go of Yatta's leg and approached. “Sprout! So sorry for scaring you out there! It was a part of the act- to catch them off guard and- really it wasn't anything to worry about-!” he stumbled over his words. Unknown to the two toons, Blot and Yatta shared a silent look.
“It's alright, I'm just glad everyone's okay,” Sprout interrupted to give the other a chance to gather his voice. “Guess I should've assumed that stuff was always planned out and rehearsed."
“Oh THAT PART was, but the FIRST one DEFINITELY WASN'T!!" Yatta hollered out a laugh. She got a flick on her forehead from Blot.
Her words made Sprout turn to her. “The first part?"
“Ahahaha, don't worry! We had it handled in the end and we're professional, after all!” Looey quickly cut in to get eyes off the smiling piñata.
“I'm glad you both could make it, hope we left a good mark." The balloon scratched at the back of their head. “Honestly, I wasn't expecting you, let alone this being our official meeting. I thought Cosmo was pulling my tail when he said he was going to bring you here too.” Said swissroll coughed and made the balloon flinch. He waved his hands out in defense. “Sorry! Not that I don't believe in you, I do! I just- I didn't imagine- I didn't think Sprout was the type of guy to go to these things. Ahahahaaa..ha…”
“I’ll make sure he's a regular then. Right, Sprout?”
The strawberry was quiet. The entire time they were in the dressing room, he barely took his eyes off Looey. The difference wasn't massive to outsiders, but as a first impression, it was startling. The confident and vibrant clown from the area now stumbling over his words and looking like he was going to deflate from Sprout looking at him any longer. No matter how strong the pigment was, the yellow lights from the vanity casted just right to show the pink hue under all the make up.
In a way, Looey looked more fragile out of the main area. Smaller.
A pull closer to Looey.
To reach a hand out.
To ask what the wink was about.
“Oh right we need to get dinner started! We'll see you two later then?”
“OOOO I'm STARVING!!! I NEED to eat soon or I'll START EATING these two!!” To emphasize her joke, Yatta sunk her teeth into Blot's arm. The mime didn't feel anything even when her teeth were sharp. Not like he had any muscles or nerves to begin with.
“Please don't, I don't want to upset Glisten if our outfits are torn,” Looey sighed, ears falling down. He had a whole second to react before Yatta lunged at him next. Blot watched in amusement from the couch. He gave a nod in thanks when Cosmo sat down a woven basket of various treats he made earlier and sat by him the whole show. He didn't want to interrupt or make Yatta more hyper than she already is before a big event.
The mime saluted when the two bakers left, brushing off the uneasy laughter of Looey trying to pry Yatta off of him so he could see what his other friend was looking at. Yet Yatta clung harder to watch him nearly fall over.
The air fell easy again when the two started their way back to the kitchen. Relaxed and calming down after the loud and very colorful performance. Attention drifted to his friend silently picking at the charms on his bracelet. “Sprout? Is everything alright? You aren't overwhelmed, are you?” Cosmo mentally panicked. “Wait- you aren't, are you? Of geez, Sprout, I'm so sorry! I should've known it'd be too much but I thought you'd lik-”
“You're going on a run tomorrow? With them?”
Cosmo blinked. “Huh? Yeah?”
“Tell me what time, I'm coming along.”
The swissroll lit up. A run his friend was actually going to join?? That wasn’t main only or duos???
“That'll be so much fun! I'll let them know at dinner and fill you in!”
Sprout held the double doors open for his friend to enter first. They settled into their usual spot almost instantly. Like machines resuming their programmed tasks after a momentary break. Working together in perfect sync as always.
But Sprout only had one thing on his mind.
The familiar balloon.