'I don't want to be your friend'

Confort

Sparkling leaned on the counter, lazily looking out the bar window. 'Wow, how late is it again?-' he thought. They've been talking and joking for ... a while? They even ordered some pizza when they were hungry, the bar didn't serve food per say, and none of them felt like going out to eat. He should tell the other two that it's late and for them to go home, but... something about letting Herb go home on his own didn't feel right, not today.

Would Herb feel uncomfortable having him at his home for the night? Maybe he'd just stay a while and leave, just to make sure the gardener was okay. Yeah, that's the only reason he'd want to stay at Herb's place... sure.

He looked at said cookie, who was absentmindedly swirling the drink inside his cup, he seemed to have zoned out. Meanwhile Vampire was rambling about umm.. Something. He was too drunk to say anything coherent. Sparkling shook his head smiling softly at his friend, he'd had to call Alchemist to take him home.

He gently tapped Herb's shoulder, snapping him out of whatever he was thinking. He looked up at Sparkling, tilting his head a bit "Everything okay, Spark?" The blonde nodded, smiling at him "Yeah, it's just, I think it's getting late and-" "O-oh, well, I-I should probably go home then-" "No no! I mean.." Sparkling cleared his throat "I was thinking maybe, i don't know, I could stay at your place for a while..? We could watch a movie or something, though it's okay if you want to stay alone, it's just.."

Herb flinched slightly at the thought of being alone, somehow he forgot he'd be on his own in his house. He very much wanted company right now, so he nodded a bit more enthusiastically than he liked."Sure! You can stay at my place. I don't think I have a lot of movies but maybe we can find something interesting to watch" he smiled warmly at the taller cookie.

Sparkling scratch his neck blushing smiling down at the green head. 'Good! Good, he doesn't hate the idea of me staying over! Great job not messing up, me!'

While Herb got up and grabbed his jacket, Sparkling pulled out his phone to call Vampire's sister to pick him up, as said cookie laid passed out on the counter almost falling from the chair because of his position. Actually that looked quite uncomfortable.

They waited a while for Alchemist to get there, then locked the bar and headed to Herb 's house. 

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.

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The walk to his home was nice, the neighborhood was close to the forest, and Sparkling could tell that this neighborhood had mostly, if not all, plants and flower cookies. Some houses were easy to guess who lived inside, like the one right besides Herb's was a soft pink with a cherry tree growing in the front yard with burn spots on the grass..

Herb's house was small but cozy, the front filled with flowers. Even if Sparkling had been there before, seeing his garden never failed to bring a smile to his face.

The gardener unlocked the door, shoulders relaxing at the smell of boldo and rosemary.

Both cookies entered, taking off their jackets and hanging them close to the door. Inside was so warm and homey, it made both feel at peace. As Spark looked around, it finally hit Herb that Holy Pure Vanilla, Sparkling was staying over. At night, probably to sleep here. With only the two of them, alone together. His face flushed at his thoughts, though not entirely opposed to them. He wouldn't mind if they could watch a movie and maybe cuddle on the couch till they fell asleep...

Herb shook his head to clear his mind. It's okay, just don't think about it too much! He's been here before, it's not the first time they hang out here!. He cleared his throat to catch the guest's attention. "I'll umm get some snacks, do you want anything?" Spark just shrugged "I'm okay with whatever, I think I'm full after the drinks and pizza we had at the bar heh"

Herb nodded and went to the kitchen, faintly hearing someone plopping down on the sofa. As he was getting chips and sweets, his mind began to wander, and it wasn't going in a very nice direction.

Did Spark feel bad about what happened? Is he staying because of pity?

.

..

How could Sparkling like someone like me? I mean, we're boyfriends, sure, but still! Spark is way out of my league, he's outgoing, charming, he could be with anyone. Does he even like guys at all? I'm being stupid.

Of course, we've been technically 'dating' for a year or so, but we never said those 3 words, nor have we actually kissed for real, so maybe i've been overthinking everything. I've been scared to call him my boyfriend in front of other cookies, so I'd panic and call him my friend, he never seemed bothered. I don't know if he feels the same way.

From all the times I saw couples passing by, I always imagined what love and romance would feel like. I thought that the feeling was that you'd always be by someone's side, hold hands, hug, tell corny jokes and call them cute nicknames. That's all I wanted. It didn't need to be full on romance and love, but enough to be considered more than just friends. That's what I wanted with Spark.

Sigh, why do I have to worry about stupid thoughts like these... wait- Oh crumbs Spark is talking about something– quick pay attention Herb–

"-least Mint Choco was nicer that Cheesecake, but now I'm starting to think all of them aren't as nice as I remember"

"O-oh umm yeah i guess.."

Apparently that wasn't the best response, because Sparkling stopped and looked up at Herb. Sighing he patted the spot beside him on the couch, as a silent invite for him to sit.

The florist slowly walked there, sitting down and immediately cuddling by Sparkling's side, resting his head on his shoulder as the blonde ran his fingers through the green mess of leaf-hair. "What's on your mind?" he paused for a second before adding "It's okay if you don't want to talk, we can look for a movie instead."

Herb raised his head to look him in the eyes and smiled tiredly, nodding. Both of them got up, Spark going to the kitchen to actually grab snacks while Herb went to his bedroom for some blankets and pillows. 'Maybe I can build a pillow fort with him'