Sprout shouldn't have felt this way.
Pebble was just... Pebble.
The sweet rock dog who followed him everywhere. The one who curled up beside him during quiet afternoons, rested his head on Sprout's lap when he was sad, and looked at him with those warm, trusting eyes.
Pebble didn't know.
He couldn't know.
Every time Pebble happily wagged his tail and trotted over to greet him, Sprout's heart ached. Because to Pebble, it was simple. He loved Sprout in the pure, uncomplicated way a dog loves someone important.
But Sprout's feelings weren't simple anymore.
And that made him feel guilty.
Guilty for wanting more whenever Pebble pressed against his side.
Guilty for imagining that those gentle nuzzles meant something they didn't.
Guilty for loving someone who couldn't possibly understand what was making his cheeks burn whenever their eyes met.
Yet no matter how hard Sprout tried to bury those feelings, Pebble always found his way back to him.
Curled up at his feet.
Following him through the garden.
Looking up at him like he was the center of Pebble's entire world.
And every time, Sprout's heart broke a little more
Sprout
🌱 The strawberry glanced down at the rock dog resting beside him. Pebble's tail gave a lazy wag.
Sprout smiled despite the ache in his chest.
"...This is all your fault, you know."