A wholesome Spongebob x Plankton fic

One

The sun was almost below the horizon. The sky was turning darker shades of blue as it vanishes from plain sight. That means it was time for Spongebob to head home from his job at the Krusty Krab. He cheerfully waved goodbye to Mr. Krabs and wandered along to his home alone. Usually, he would go with Squidward, but he offered to stay back and do all of the cleaning. Was it for extra pay? Hell no, Mr. Krabs would never pay his workers extra! Was it because Squidward looked a tad bit more exhausted than usual and he didn't want him to feel overworked? Possibly. Either way, he left work feeling fulfilled with what he's done today.

As Spongebob was walking home, he passed by a bench. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but there was someone oddly familiar sitting there. He slowly stopped and turned his head to see...

"Plankton?"

Plankton looked up at him, with a miserable glare, as Spongebob carefully approached him. His dull, pale skin gave off a shine in what little light there was casting down on him. The yellow-haired individual took a seat next to the depressed man, leaving a small amount of space in between for some comfort.

"Plankton? Are you okay?" he asks, softly. Plankton looks down at his hands, clasping them tightly together. They both know he wasn't fine, but he wasn't going to admit to anything.

"Yeah. What does it matter to you?" he responds. His voice sounds abnormally monotone. This worried the young cook, even more so that he didn't know what to do. This was his boss's biggest enemy, how was he supposed to help? He tried to place his hand on his back, for comfort, but Plankton shook him off. His hand flinched, slightly, and slowly pulled away and back down onto his lap. This made Spongebob feel worse.

"Plankton...Whatever's bothering you, you can talk to me about it. I might not fully understand what you're going through, but-"

"Then what's the point in telling you?" Plankton interrupted, giving him a cold glare. "Besides, it has nothing to do with you, and you shouldn't even be talking to me in the first place. Krabs hates me, you know that, and he'll hate you even more if he sees you talking to me."

"I know, but-"

"So why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home?" Plankton's being very persistent, but it's not going to stop Spongebob until he knows how he can help. That's just how he is. Spongebob took a pause before speaking once more.

"Look, I just think it would be good for you to get it off your chest. And who knows, maybe I can help you out. You don't have to give me all the details, just the big picture. But, if you really don't want to tell me, then that's okay. It couldn't hurt to talk about it, though, right?"

"I guess not." Plankton subtly glances up at the optimistic man. "You'll promise not to tell a soul, correct?"

"I promise!" Spongebob exclaimed, putting a hand over his heart, almost like a way to signify locking up whatever secret Plankton was going to share.

There was a long pause. What felt like hours was only a few minutes. Plankton took a deep breath and shifted his head and body to be facing Spongebob.

"Karen hates me."

"What?"

"My wife, Karen. She hates me. We, we got into a big argument and...It doesn't seem like she wants me back..." Plankton looks back down, his body seemed a little more hunched over from the memory of what took place almost an hour ago.

Spongebob couldn't believe it. Other people would be able to understand much better than him. Sure, it's more than likely because he lives in his own little bubble for the most part, but it really seemed to affect him. In fact, it might have affected him more than it did Plankton.

"What do you mean she hates you? You two seem like such a good couple, you two are inseparable!"

"Heh. She would say otherwise."

Another brief pause. Spongebob took that moment to think through what he would ask next, to figure out how he can help this villain. Soon, he got an idea.

"Do you have anywhere to stay until this all gets fixed?" Spongebob asks. Plankton shook his head slowly in response. That's perfect! That's how he can help, by giving him shelter! His eyes lit up with joy.

"Really? Well, you can stay at my place then!"

"You're kidding?" Plankton looked at Spongebob in great disbelief. A happy-go-lucky fry cook like him, and someone who works for his arch nemesis nonetheless, take him in? He must be crazy.

Spongebob didn't respond to Plankton's question. Instead, he just pulled him off of the bench, tightly holding one of Plankton's hands in one of his.

"Come on, let's go before it gets late!" That was the last thing he said for the time being. He began running happily back home, dragging poor Plankton right behind him as he tries to keep up and not fall.