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A kiss.
That was all it was. A single kiss.
Vee pressed her body against Sprout's and leaned close to him. Her screen was warm and made a gentle buzzing sound that was only audible from this closeness. Sprout could feel his face heating up and stomach beginning to turn. He loved the television toon in front of him. Everything about her brought him joy. Her warm hands against his knee, holding her so she didn't collapse on top of him, the gentle twitch in her antenna as she awaited his lips, the way she dressed, and even the curious way she tilted her head after a moment of silence. He wanted her more than anything.
But this was wrong! so wrong! This isn't how he should feel. Not to a girl! He.. He shouldn't .. He's a girl. She's a girl. This is wrong. What if his Toon handler came in and saw this? What would they say!? Oh God. He needs to go. He needs to push her away and tell her he doesn't like her. He has to-
"Sprout!" The gruff voice of Sprout's handler shouted. They were hiding in a dark small closet and the sudden light as the door opened made both toons flinch and cover their eyes. "So this is where you are? I'm running around for an hour looking for you and you're in here kissing Vee?" His handler reached out and grabbed his arm, roughly pulling him out of the closet and stomping away with Sprout in tow.
Sprout watched as the already small figure of Vee became smaller as the distance between them grew larger. He watched as Astro and his handler came by and took Vee by her hand and took her away. He watched as the girl of his dreams held onto Astro's hand and walked away with him. He could feel the tears beginning to form in his eyes. It wasn't fair. Why was he born a girl. Why couldn't he have been born a man. Why couldn't he bring himself to kiss her when he had the chance. Why-
Sprout felt a sudden stinging in his cheek. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his handler. Their hand was raised and threatened to come down on his face again. His face was wet, he hadn't even realized he began crying. His handler muttered something under their breath and grabbed onto Sprout's leaves, pulling him into his room and tossing his against the floor.
"You're gonna stay in here until you get your act together." Sprout's handler gritted their teeth, "If I catch you going around and telling people you're a guy or if I find out you and Vee tried to pull something like that ever again I'll tell Arthur and Delilah there was a defect in one of their toons and that you need to be remade."
"But-"
"No 'buts' Sprout!' His handler braised their voice and stepped closer to him, causing the strawberry to grip the floor he was laying on and push himself back, desperately trying to get away from his handler. "You're a girl. You got that?!" Sprout began to sob, tears streaming down his face. His handler took another step closer making him scramble back once more as he desperately nodded. He was a girl. The handler stepped back and placed their hand on the door, turning back to look at Sprout one more time before shutting the door. He could hear a lock click as his handler locked him in from the outside.
The room was cold and dark, the tears in his eyes made it difficult to see anything. He pushed himself off of the cold floor and stumbled around for a second. He figured it would be better if the lights were off. His eyes were awfully sensitive to the light and he could see just fine in the dark. He wiped his face with his scarf, cleaning away the tears, drool and snot that dripped down his face as he sobbed. It wasn't fair. He didn't deserve this. His handler would pay for treating him like this. He would make them pay. He was gonna leave his room just before the handlers left and grab something from the kitchen to hurt them.
But he couldn't. The handler was practically his parent. His sobs became harsher as he realized his thoughts. He would never hurt his handler. He couldn't. As mean as they were to him, they were his parent. He loved them more than anything. They were always like this why would he suddenly want them gone? He stumbled around his room and found his bed, pressing his small hands onto his bed he hopped on it. or.. he at least tried to. His body was small and he was shaking. His eyes were full of tears that made it hard to see and as he attempted to climb up his own bed, he fell back.
His head hit the ground and he let out a pained groan as he rubbed the back of his head. Why could nothing go right for him today. First, he's born a girl. Then, he misses the chance to kiss the girl he loves. And now, in a cold dark room, he can't even get onto his own bed correctly. His body shakes on the ground. He doesn't have the strength to push himself back up and try again. What's the point of even trying again? He knows he'll fail. Instead, he lets his body rest on the hard floor beside his bed. The strawberry hugs himself, his own hands being the only warmth he can get, and sobs. Tears rolls down his face and wet the floor beneath him. His body jolts with each nasty hiccup.
Why did he feel like this. He didn't want to feel like this. His body annoyed him. Why was it shaking and why couldn't he stop making those noises.
The small toon raised his tiny fist and slammed it against his own head. He felt stupid. SLAM. It was never that serious. SLAM. Maybe Vee would be happier with Astro since he's a real boy. SLAM. Maybe everything would be better for everyone if he was gone. SLAM. He wasn't as important as the other mains. SLAM. Even pebble had more going on. SLAM. He was just a stupid girl who worked in a stupid kitchen and made stupid snacks for everyone in this stupid building. SLAM. His handler was right. SLAM. There was a defect in him. SLAM. He was made wrong. SLAM. He needed to be remade. SLAM. Maybe after being made again he would be done right. SLAM. drip..
Sprout moved his hand away from his head and looked at his fist. It was coated in a thick black liquid that had spurted from his own head. He reached up to feel his head and could feel a small dent just above his eye where he was hitting. He couldn't feel any pain, just the mark right above his eyebrow where he had hit. It leaked with the same thick black liquid that was on his hand. He pushed his hands into his sleeves and wiped his head with his scarf. The pink and white scarf became wet with the liquid immediately.
He laughed. Laughed at his situation. He was laying on the cold hard floor in his own bedroom because he can't be with the girl he loves, his handler was mean to him, and he wanted to hurt them for it. Thick heavy tears rolled down his face as he laughed. His stomach hurt and he wanted to vomit but he couldn't stop laughing. He was such a baby. Tomorrow would be better. His sobs continued until his eyes felt heavy. He let his eyelids shut and curled up on the ground, falling asleep.