A/N: Hey there ya'll! If you couldn't tell, life has kicked me around and I'm looking out for what Hurricane Irma's up to.
This is a cute lil' one-shot I thought of, so it can be Spandy if you want it to be. If not, than this can also be a friendship fanfic.
"Have a good night Mr. Krabs, I'll see you Monday morning." SpongeBob replied to his boss, after he had quickly wiped down the last table for the night. What was unusual for the yellow square was that he was actually rushing to get finished, instead of taking his time to do a good job like he's well known to do.
"Whoa there laddie, where's the fire?" The crab asked, once he looked over the tables and saw the lackluster job his employee had done. He turned around once he heard the sponge walk back over to him, after he had put the cleaning supplies away. The younger male smiled guiltily, looking upon him with sadness. "What thar matter, boy? You didn't do a good job tonight, are you still suffering from phantom pains in yer stomach?" He blinked as SpongeBob shook his head at him.
"I'm sorry sir, I have to be somewhere tonight to pick up Sandy's birthday gift. I'll come in an hour early on Monday, to redo these tables and without pay for it." He replied, looking at the clock. Luckily for him Harmony's Fashion Paradise, a new clothing store, had opened up last week. It didn't close for another hour, but he needed to find a gift and clothes weren't his strong point.
Mr Krabs smirked at him, nudging him in his side. "Ah, a gift for Sandy, eh? Finally going to ask the question, are ye?" He laughed at the slack jawed, wide eyed expression that spread across the sponge's face, along with the scarlet hued blush rushing across his face.
"M-Mr Krabs, for Neptune's sake, s-she doesn't like me in that way! What could I have to possibly give her, I'm not smart like she is, or sport savvy aside from karate." He stuttered out, while his boss cut his laugh short. He gave the sponge a slight glare, and gave him a short answer.
"Well, you have a good heart. That's the main thing a decent woman wants, in both friends and a potential boyfriend. Now off you go, get that shopping done before I get any richer!' He grinned and patted him on the back, the surprised male nodding at him before he made his way over to the time clock.
About ten minutes later, he made it into the store. He caught his breath and looked around, before a female employee made her way over to him. "Why hello there, young man. What can I do for you tonight?" She asked, and he smiled at her.
"I'm looking for something that would be a good gift for a friend of mine. Her birthday's tomorrow, and I'm not good with clothing. If you can help me pick out something, that would be wonderful ma'am." He replied to her, and she could help but grin at his manners. Such a polite young man, most that came in here had an attitude that was much to be desired.
"I'll be happy to help, it's always a slow hour before closing." She sighed with relief, glad to be doing something other than putting things back in their proper place. Waving him over, they made their way on over to the many styles of clothing on display. "Oh, this is a lovely outfit. It's dark pink and the pants are a medium tan." The middle aged fish, which her name tag read 'Vicky', held the clothes out to SpongeBob so he could get a better look at them.
Not wanting to be rude, he thought this instead of saying it out loud, 'Good Neptune have mercy...Sandy wouldn't be caught dead in that shade of pink!' He cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly.
"Not to be rude, Miss Vicky but she's not the pink wearing type. She's more of a green or other color type." He explained, while she put it away. "She does wear a dress on occasion, but the lavender doesn't clash well with her brown fur."
The fish wasn't sure by what he meant by brown fur, but she wasn't going to ask. "You say she wears green? Well, I do believe I've found the perfect dress for her." She and SpongeBob walked over to the dresses, where a dark emerald dress with golden lace around the sleeves and hem caught the blue eyed sponge's attention. He let out a gasp at how beautiful the dress was, along with the fact it had a golden amber necklace to go along with it. He looked down and saw a pair of green dress shoes with a bit of a heel, which must be part of the outfit.
"Oh wow! This is perfect!" He beamed happily, knowing she was going to love this. The smile faded, however when he saw how much everything was going to cost him. He checked his wallet and carefully counted out how much cash he had saved up for this day. He had just enough for this, since he had bought the party games, the cake and the ice cream last night, and once he bought this he wouldn't have a penny to his name.
But, as far as he was concerned, Sandy was worth it and more. Quickly smiling again so Vicky wouldn't be alarmed, he looked her in the eyes and happily replied with, "This is what I'm buying. Thank you for helping me." He picked up everything that he needed, soon making his way to the cash register.
"Meow." Gary purred as SpongeBob made his way inside the pineapple, the sponge sighing with relief as he placed the box down onto the couch. He smiled at the snail and patted the top of his shell.
"Hey there Gary! Ready to go to Sandy's tomorrow? We're gonna have a blast, I just know it!" He giggled, before he walked into the kitchen to fix dinner for him and his pet. He groaned and blushed again at Gary's meow, for it was almost the same question Mr. Krabs had asked. "Gary! She's not my girlfriend! How are you and Snelly doing, hmm?" He teased, smirking at Gary's shocked expression. Two can play at that game.
He couldn't wait for tomorrow, for the look on his friend's face when she looked upon her gift was going to be priceless.
At exactly six in the morning, SpongeBob was carefully making his way towards her treedome with the fishbowl already on him so he can breathe. Gary had one too, although it was shaped differently it still served the same purpose. The sponge was humming happily, the weather was perfect and he had everything he needed to make her day special.
He just needed to put the cake and ice cream in the refrigerator and freezer respectively, set the banner and party games up and then start cooking her breakfast. From what she had told him the other day, she would be out of her treehouse for about an hour due to running some errands. That was fine, because by the time she got back everything would be set up.
Once he made his way there, he was glad to know it was easy to unlock for him. Anyone else and it wouldn't open, and that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that she trusted him to not mess anything up.
"Alright Gary, let's get ready to rock and roll!" He cheered to his pet, the snail nodding in agreement. "Oh Neptune, I hope I don't mess this up. Will she like what I bought her, will she hate it and throw it away?" He fretted, if his hands weren't so full he would've been wringing them as worry gnawed at his insides.
He took a breath and struggled to calm down as he made his way inside Sandy's treehouse, placing her wrapped gift on her dining room table along with the other stuff. He placed the cake and ice cream where they needed to be, and proceeded to put the banner along with the balloons and 'Pin the tail on the seahorse' game on the wall. Now that was taken care of, he turned towards the stove and eyed it carefully.
He placed Gary down on the carpet, and sighed as he stood up. "You know, it's a good thing I'm careful with a stove Gare-bear, otherwise poor Sandy would be homeless." He cringed at the thought of doing that by accident, but he quickly shook his head and started to get to work. This food wasn't going to cook itself, after all.
After thirty-five minutes at the stove, SpongeBob beamed happily at the birthday breakfast he made for his best female friend. There was pancakes all shaped like the state of Texas, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, milk, orange juice and pretty much everything that the surface dwellers ate in Texas. "Wow, I did such a good job! I'm so proud of myself!" He giggled, placing everything on the table.
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice, she must've made it home earlier than he thought! He hid the gift where she wouldn't find it just yet, and he turned around just in time to see her walk into the dining room. Her hazel eyes widened in surprise, but a huge smile spread across her face as she looked upon the birthday themed room. "SpongeBob! You did this, for me?" She walked over to him and quickly hugged him, the male smiling and hugging her back.
"Of course I did, anything for my dearest female friend. I'm sure you forgot about your own birthday, didn't you?" He responded as he pulled back, crossing his arms and giving her an adorable glare. She laughed nervously, but she nodded. He shook his head but he waved at her to sit down. "Aside from that, I ban you from working today. Fun is on the menu today, Sandra Cheeks." The squirrel jolted in surprise at not being called Sandy, and the ice cold seriousness in her friend's voice.
She looked into his eyes to see a playful sparkle in them, but they also had a steel bite to them as well. Gary slithered up to her, she picked him up and patted him on his shell before she placed him back down onto the floor. "Oh, I guess I can relax for today. But please don't treat me like I'm an infant, I can get stuff for myself.' She replied, crossing her arms and giving the sponge a glare of her own. He gulped at it, but nodded.
"Y-Yeah, I know not to treat you like a baby. Better eat your food before it gets cold, it tastes the best when it's freshly made." He stepped to the side and pulled a chair out for her, and the squirrel shook her head at how fast his mood can change. For heaven's sake, it changed faster than a hurricane!
"Happy birthday." SpongeBob murmured to her after she sat down, and she couldn't help but smile. After she ate her fill, SpongeBob placed the wrapped gift down where her plate was at. She carefully tore off the wrapping paper, and thankfully she had finished swallowing her food when she had opened the box, otherwise she would've choked once she layed her eyes upon the outfit he had bought her last night.
Reaching out to touch it, she was stunned as the silky material met her fingers instead of cloth. "T-this...oh my gosh SponegBob...it's beautiful!" She swallowed again, so he wouldn't have to hear how choked up she was. "Thank you, this is the best thing I've ever received!" Tears of happiness filled the sponge's eyes, for seeing the radiant smile across her face proved that his decision last night was a good one.
Many hours later, the duo was in awe as they gazed upon the sunset. "It's a shame a perfect day like this has to come to a close." SpongeBob sighed, looking Sandy in her hazel eyes. The green dress she was wearing made the color pop out more, including the bit of green he could see in them. "But don't worry, next Sunday you can jellyfish with Pat and I. Or we can go to the movies, I hear Bikini Bottom Slayers is coming out next week." He hid a gulp, for if she did want him to see that movie he wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Oh well, anything to make her happy.
"Aw shucks, thanks Sponge. At least Patrick won't be left out." She replied to him, patting him on his back. She let out a laugh as his eyes rolled onto the grass. "Oops, I guess I was a little too rough. Sorry." He couldn't help but laugh himself, after he had twisted them back into their sockets.
"It's okay, Pat is my best friend but sometimes everyone needs a break." He looked guilty as he said that, but he knew that he was right. "But I'm happy you enjoyed yourself today Sandy, nothing makes me happier than to see you relaxed instead of stressed out." His smile grew wider as she smiled back at him.
"You have a way with words, Mr. Squarepants. Are you sure you're not flirting with me?" She teased, smirking at the blush roaring across his face. Her face turned the same shade, however as a smirk spread across his own face.
"Who knows, Ms. Cheeks. Maybe I am and you're enjoying it a bit too much?" He couldn't help but burst out into laughter at the look on her face. "Dahahahaha! Oh I wish you can see the look on your face, it's priceless!" He gasped out, wiping a tear from his eye after he had calmed down. Instead of getting angry, she couldn't help but laugh along with him.
Everyone needs a day to unwind and enjoy life, and he was so happy it could be with the one he holds close to his heart.