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Astro was known for sleeping all the time. It wasn’t uncommon. They were all still kids after all, so it was common to nap occasionally during the morning. But Astro was unfortunately not like other toons. He napped a lot. Like a lot a lot.
He unfortunately falls asleep in the worst places possible. The last area he fell asleep in was the field! He was covered in grass, dirt, and more dirt from head to toe. He cried over his blanket being dirty as his caretaker took it from him to be able to wash it.
Tisha had a small handkerchief that she used to wipe the dirt from Astro’s face while Vee scolded him from the side. Sprout looked sympathetically from the other side of the field as he played Marbles with Cosmo.
“He sure does sleep a lot huh?” Cosmo said as he try to flick a marble into Sprout’s marble in the circle. It missed the mark.
“Yeah. He’s a real sleeper that guy.” Sprout huffed. “I don’t like that he keeps doing that though.”
“Why? It’s not like he’s in any real danger with the caretakers around.”
“Yeah, I know. But one day he’s gonna get real roughed up! Like what if he gets smacked by a ball? Or, or someone steps on him! What then?” Sprout said as he grabbed his marble.
“Then you wake him up, Sprout.”
“What?”
Cosmo leaned in as if it would help Sprout hear him better. “How about you, wake him up. So then he’ll stop being in “danger” or something. You’ll get peace of mind and he’ll be…awake! Sounds great right?”
Sprout nodded as he thought about Cosmo’s idea. “Yeah. Yeah that sounds like a great plan, Cosmo! Thanks! I’ll try it next time I see him fall asleep!”
Cosmo smiled. “I’m glad I could help! Also are you gonna flick the marble or what?”
“Huh? Oh yeah.” Sprout flicked the red marble towards the Cosmo’s and knocked it out of the ring.
“Aw no!” Cosmo said sadly.
“Score! Hand em over Cosmo! I reign victorious once again.” Sprout made grabby hands.
Cosmo sighed sadly. “I’ll win one of these days.”
“Don’t be like that, Cosmo! You can win right now. C’mon next round!”
“Next round…” Cosmo said as he placed his set of marbles into Sprout’s outstretched hands.
1.
Sprout was walking down the lobby when he spotted Astro sleeping form on one of the benches beside the big tree in the middle. Sprout grumbled. It was late afternoon now and it was gonna get cold! It’s winter for crying out loud! His pink and white scarf dragged behind him as he walked to where Astro slept.
When he got there he looked at Astro’s back and hovered his hands over him. Now that he was actually near him and doing it…he felt…bad. He felt bad that his friend, who was sleeping peacefully, who’s known for being more easy to spook, was gonna be shaken by him! One of his friends. The friend he trusts.
Sprout bit his lip as his mind raced. He won’t freak out if he just shook him gently right? Maybe yelling isn’t really the best thing to do for someone like Astro. It’ll be fine! Astro won’t totally hate him for waking him up. Sprout took a deep breath and finally placed his hands on Astro’s back.
“Hey. Astro.” Sprout said in the softest voice possible.
“Mmm.” Astro mumbled.
“Astro wake up.” Sprout said as he continued his shaking.
“…”
“…” Sprout grumbled. Screw it. “Ahem- Astro!”
Astro woke up, his back flinching from the hands on his back. “Huh…? Who’s there…?”
“It’s me! Sprout. Wake up sleepyhead or you’ll get a cold.” Sprout said as he shook him again as a just in case.
“Oh…it’s night time already?”
“No.”
“Afternoon?”
“Late afternoon.”
“Ah…I’ve done it again huh…” Astro said as he got up from the bench.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I caught you on time or else you really would’ve slept here the whole night.”
“Mm thank you. I should get actual sleep though. In my room. Have a good night, Sprout.” Astro pushed himself off the bench, the blanket pooling around him.
“Wait!” Sprout said as he grabbed a fistful of the blanket. “Let me walk you back. Don’t want you falling asleep in the hallway.”
Astro eyes widen at the suggestion. “Oh. Yeah I guess you’re right. Lead the way.”
“Don’t worry, Astro. Your safety and sleep is guaranteed. Now let’s go!” Sprout said as he walked fowards, still holding onto Astro’s blanket with a smile painted on his face.
Mission success!
2.
“Shrimpo no!” Sprout yelled as he snatched the marker away from him. “And you too!? What!?” Sprout said as he grabbed the marked away from Gigi.
“Aw c’mon! It was just a harmless prank. You don’t have to be so stuffy about it.” Gigi pouted.
“I HATE TOONS SLEEPING! AND I HATE YOU TAKING AWAY OUR MARKERS! GIVE IT BACK, ROTTEN STRAWBERRY!!” Shrimpo yelled as he tried to snatch the marker back.
“NO. YOU’RE NOT GETTING IT BACK.” Sprout yelled back as he went on his tippy toes as he held the marker away from the attacking shrimp. “I cannot believe you two. Marker prank? Really? Is that all you two got?”
“…Does that mean you want us to try new pranks on Astro? Because we could. Right, Shrimpo?” Gigi said as she looked at Shrimpo who was still jumping to get the marker.
“DON’T TALK TO ME WHEN I’M GETTING THE MARKERS BACK!! I HATE GETTING THINGS BACK!!” Shrimpo yelled once more, falling onto the floor when his knee buckled for a second. “I HATE FALLING!!!”
“Sheesh, you’re a persistent thing. Now go away. You wouldn’t want Astro to give you nightmares. He just learned how to control dreams y’know?” Sprout said as he put a hand on his hip.
Gigi flinched while Shrimpo was Shrimpo. Gigi quickly grabbed Shrimpo’s arm and ran out of the area, the sounds of their footsteps decreasing as they went down the hall. Sprout shook his head in disappointment as he watch them disappear before turning around to see the mess they drew on Astro’s face.
It took all of Sprout’s strength to not laugh hysterically. Astro’s face only had a mustache and a very known game drawn. Sprout thinks that Gigi and Shrimpo probably got heavily distracted because the rest of Astro’s forehead was tic-tac-toe. Shrimpo suprisingly won.
Sprout couldn’t help close his eyes and nod in approval at the strategy Shrimpo used. He stopped nodding when he realized he was being watched. Astro was staring at him, his eye squinting and blinking as he adjusted to the fluorescent lights above.
“Hey…” Sprout said weakly as he hid the markers behind his back.
“You woke me up. Your loud voice is suprisingly louder than Shrimpo’s…” Astro said with an annoyed tone.
“…Sorry.”
“…It’s okay. Why were you screaming?”
Sprout laughed weakly. “Funny story…”
That night, Astro learned how to give nightmares, just as well as giving dreams.
3…? “Astro!” Sprout whispered as he sat next to Astro. “Wake up or we’re gonna get in serious trouble.””What are you guys whispering about?” Dandy whispered on the right side of Astro.“Dandy, help me wake him up! He’s asleep!” Sprout whisper yelled.”Okay! I got this!” Dandy cracked his knuckles.He then violently shook Astro back and forth. The movement caused Astro to hit Sprout multiple times to the point he bumped into Shelly. Sprout squawked in anger, reaching over to smack sense into Dandy. Dandy saw the hand reaching fowards him and let go of Astro, ducking under the chair before Sprout could reach him.This of course, did not stop Sprout. If anything, it motivated him…to get into a fight with Dandy.Sprout went under the chairs to grab him, leaving the seat to violently screech against the marbled floor. Dandy yelped as he crawled under the chairs to get away from the vengeful toon, running across the room once he got out. Sprout was unfortunately the taller of the two causing him to bump into multiple toon’s seats before he can fully get out.Scraps jumped from her seat from being spooked by the bump, landing onto Brightney who started to freak out from the surprise weight that fell upon her. She flailed her hands, accidentally hitting Shrimpo besides her. Chaos broke loose as Shrimpo started to attack Scraps since she was the one who started it in the first place, grabbing her tail in retaliation.The classroom was chaos. Shrimpo trying to throw punches while Scraps was actively hissing and clawing. One side was encouraging the fight and the other trying to get the toons off the other. Sprout was still chasing Dandy despite it all before being grabbed and held back by the scruff of his scarf. Dandy was picked up. It was their caretakers. The two toons of then gulped.They were left in timeout for the next three hours. Astro only woke up due to his caretaker picking him up from the chaos that erupted, running out of the room as fast as possible.
4.
"How does he manage to do that? It's bright outside." Shelly said as she grabbed a sandwich from the plates strewn across the picnic blanket.
"What do I do...?" Sprout said through clenched teeth as he tried to stay still.
Sprout had been invited to a tea time picnic with Teagan, Shelly, and Cosmo. Sprout made the sandwiches while Cosmo grabbed cookies from the jar. Astro decided to tag along since he wanted to have some tea from Teagan. Sprout, of course, obliged because who was he to deny him anything. Cosmo nudged him knowingly with a grin while Sprout scowled at him, his cheeks flushing from embarrassment.
They arrived at the grassy field, Teagan waving them down while Shelly was sipping tea from a porcelain cup. Sprout and Cosmo walked over with plates in their hands while Astro followed from behind. They placed the plates down and sat down in a circle on the soft gold checkered blanket.
"Astro! It's nice to see you here. If you had told me you were coming, I would've prepared some of that iced tea that you like." Teagan said as she poured Cosmo his tea."No, it's okay. I came in uninvited. I just wanted your good classic tea, Teagan." Astro said with a small tired smile.
"Well hold out your cup then. The Tea-gan trip is coming your way!" Teagan said with laugh, pouring tea into Astro's cup once he heod it out.
"Aw, Teagan you've been hanging out with Finn again haven't you." Sprout said with a groan.
"I like his puns. They're...punny?" Cosmo said with an awkward grin.
Sprout glared at him causing Cosmo to giggle. Sprout nudged him lightly before grabbing a sandwich to bite into. He made a few cucumber, egg, and ham sandwiches since they were a must for tea time. He bit into his egg sandwich when he felt a hard thud on his leg. He winced at what basically felt like a rock knocking into bone and looked towards the source of the sensation. Astro had fallen asleep on his leg.
"Oh my." Teagan said with a hand to her mouth.
"Astro...not again." Shelly murmured in a disappointed tone.
"Huh." Cosmo said as he put his cup down to the blanket.
Astro's cup was luckily on the blanket since it would be hard to get the stain off. Cosmo reached over to grab the cup and looked inside. He made a surprised face as he placed the cup back to its original spot.
"He didn't even drink all of it. It's half empty." Cosmo said as he looked at the sleeping toon.
"The tea must've knocked him out, poor thing. I did pour chamomile tea. I thought it would be a nice way to wind down after the hectic week we had." Teagan said as she observed Astro.
"And that’s very sweet of you Teagan! It's really good, I feel relaxed already. Although, it seems Astro took the relaxing part farther than me." Shelly giggled.
"Maybe we should make him chamomile cookies? Get him used to relaxing more?" Cosmo pondered.
"That doesn't sound really good seeing that he’s fallen asleep so fast from one sip. Plus how do we make that? I’ve never seen a recipe that has flower for the main ingredient. " Sprout said with a grimace, placing the bitten egg sandwich back on his plate.
"I'm sure if it can be made into a tea, it can be made into cookies. As they always say! If there's a will, there's a way!"
“Is there a way to put me out of my misery…?” Sprout said as he looked at Astro who curled up and rubbed his leg with his head as he got more comfortable. Who’s to say Sprout’s face got more red if he looks red already?
“How does he manage to do that? It's bright outside." Shelly said as she grabbed a cucumber sandwich.
"What do I do...?" Sprout said through clenched teeth.
“Just wake him up. He won’t mind, right?” Cosmo said with a shrug.
Sprout shook his head. “I don’t wanna wake him up though. He’s been having nightmares as of late. I think it’s because the show ended so abruptly this year. I tried asking Dandy about it earlier, but he was tight-lipped. So was Astro…”
“Well whatever the reason, I think he should get up. He should at least eat a little bit right? I gave him a big ol’ hug a while ago and he was so light!” Shelly exclaimed.
“Okay then…here I go.” Sprout sighed as he nudged the leg Astro was sleeping on. “Hey, get up.”
“Gentler!” Teagan said with a scolding tone.
“It’s the fastest way to wake him up!” Sprout hissed quietly.
“He doesn’t look awake, Sprout.” Cosmo said with a blank expression.
Sprout’s face got embarrassingly more red. “Okay, fine. Uh.”
“Uh?” Cosmo said with a raised brow.
Sprout hesitantly shook Astro’s shoulder while leaning near his face, and gently spoke a softer voice. “Astro, hey, wake up. You gotta at least eat something, yeah? C’mon, get up.”
Astro stirred from his slumber, his eyes blinking as he woke up. He looked to the side and saw Sprout’s face close to his. He made a small squeak and jumped from where he laid, accidentally hitting Sprout’s face with his head in the process.
“Ow! Astro!” Sprout yelled as he held his face.
“Sorry!” Astro said as he pushed Sprout’s hands away and grabbed his face. “Are you okay…?”
Sprout’s face got more red as he stared at Astro. “Yeah! Perfect! Never been better.”
Astro squinted as he looked his face over looking for any injuries his headbutt caused. He nodded in satisfaction as he didn’t see a bruises, giving him a small smile. “That’s good. Sorry again…”
“It’s no problem. I’m alright, Astro.” Sprout reassured him by patting one of the hands holding his face, giving him a smile back.
“Ahem?” A cough broke the moment.
The two looked over to see the others looking at them with a questioning gaze. The two scrambled away from each other, Sprout grabbing his sandwich and esting the rest of it. Astro, whose face was fully dark blue, grabbed the cup he left and drank it all in a rush.
Astro abruptly got up from where he sat and looked at the group. “Thank you for the tea, Teagan. Lovely as always. I’m gonna go now…bye.” Astro jogged out of the area, almost tripping on his way out.
“Be careful!” Sprout yelled from the distance, but Astro was already gone.
Sprout looked longingly in the direction Astro left, a sigh leaving him. While he did this, the group of toons exchanged knowing looks to each other and went back to enjoying their tea time picnic.
5.
Sprout yawned as he woke up, stretching his arms up as he did so. He blinked his eyes open, the crust that formed overnight getting into his eyes. He rubbed them harshly before looking at the toon beside him. Astro was still fast asleep, his breathing slow, and completely covered with the blanket they both shared.
No wonder why he felt cold the entire night. Astro stole the blankets again. His eyebrow twitched in agitation and rolled over to hold his cocooned lover. He rubbed his face on Astro’s back, holding him closer to his chest. Time to wake up.
“Astro.” Sprout said with a rasp. “Astro wake up, we gotta do a run today.”
“Mmm, two more minutes…” Astro mumbled as he buried himself more into the blankets. “The run can wait…forever……”
“No, it can’t and you know that.“ Sprout rocked the sleepy toon in his arms. “C’mon. I’ll make us some coffee.”
Astro mumbled something under his breath before turning over to look at Sprout. “Do we have to go right now…?”
Sprout could never get used to seeing Astro in his arms. It still feels like a dream sometimes. An irony in itself, but he welcomes it nonetheless. He huffed amusingly as Astro looked at him with pleading eyes to sleep longer. He could never say no to those eyes.
“I get it, stop looking at me with those big ol’ eyes. Fine. Only five more minutes. After that, if you’re not up, I’m dragging you out myself.” Sprout said with a light glare.
“Thanks. You’re the best.” Astro said as he rested himself into Sprout’s chest, blankets still engulfing him.
“Better be saying that when I wake you up.” Sprout said with a fond snort, watching Astro fall asleep again as he counted the minutes.
+1
“Yeah, he’s fully passed out.” Scraps said as she gently poked Sprout’s cheek with her claw.
“I haven’t seen him like this since the lunch rush episode.” Cosmo said as he looked at his best friend who was currently leaning against the wall.
“Well maybe if a certain someone didn’t have a hard time distracting today, Sprout could’ve been up and running as usual.” Vee said as she emoted an angry face at Goob.
“Sorry! Your stealth is hard to get used to.” Goob said as he raised his arms in defense.
“…Yeah I guess you’re right. My bad.” Vee grumbled.
Astro shook his head in exasperation at the pair before stomping the ground causing a blue light to emit from the floor. Everyone in the elevator felt immediately refreshed, their shoulders becoming less tense in the process. Sprout opened his eyes wearily, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. He the looked up to see Astro looking at him with a worried look.
“You alright…?” Astro said as he crouched down to Sprout’s eye level.
Sprout nodded. “Yeah just…running around for the last 12 floors really takes the wind out of you. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
“I can give you some tapes if you want, Sprout. I got plenty to spare.” Cosmo said as he fished for some in his pockets.
Sprout waved him off. “No no! Keep it, Cosmo. Dandy could be selling a medkit next floor. Y’know how pricey they are.”
Cosmo sighed. ”Alright, suit yourself. Don’t stretch yourself too thin, okay?” Cosmo then walked over to check on Goob leaving the couple behind.
Sprout gave a small thumbs-up before looking at Astro again. His face was laced with worry. He never liked seeing him like that so often, a smile fit him more. Maybe he’s a bit biased though. He’s known to be a worrywart after all.
“I guess the roles are reversed now, huh?” Sprout said as he gave him a teasing grin.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Astro questioned.
“You’re the one who woke me up instead. Didn’t expect that in my lifetime.”
Astro rolled his eyes fondly, a soft smile pastered on his face as he stood up, his star holding Sprout’s hand. “Get up. The door is opening.”
“Will you wake me up again if I pass out?” Sprout said as he let himself get pulled up.
“You know I will.” Astro said before flicking Sprout’s forehead. “Maybe I’ll even surpass you in waking up points if you keep this up.”
“In your dreams, Astro. I’m not letting you take away my favorite job.” Sprout said with a soft nudge to Astro’s arm.
Astro smiled widely before nudging him back and walking towards the open door, Sprout following behind him. For today, Astro wins. But Sprout is never one to quit after a loss.