Hey, you guys! So, I was just sitting there and suddenly got an itching to write this little one-shot idea I've had in my head for a while. And I've added Plankton and Karen into the mix to kind of add a little extra 'pizazz' for a certain super awesome friend of mine. So, with that being said, Dee, this one's for you!
Disclaimer: I do not own SpongeBob SquarePants or any of its characters.
Love Brings Us Together
It was five-thirty in the late afternoon at the finest, most popular eating establishment in Bikini Bottom-The Krusty Krab. At least, that's what a certain yellow sea sponge believed the run-down fast food restaurant to be.
"ORDER UP, SQUIDWARD!" SpongeBob sang, shoving the plate that held the Krabby meal towards the window, hitting the back of his grouchy coworkers' head.
"Ow! SPONGEBOB! Must you be so rough with how you handle those plates?!" he spat, rubbing the back of his head.
The sponge offered a sheepish smile. "Hehe, sorry Squidward. I get a little carried away sometimes,"
The octopus grabbed the plate. "I'll say. You get carried away with everything, even with your breathing." He handed the plate to the customer who stood waiting at the register.
"Dahahaha! Good one, Squidward! Me, getting carried away with breathing," he chuckled, waving him off.
"Excuse me, you forgot to put ketchup on my patty," said the male fish. Squidward sighed, taking the plate from him and handing it back to his coworker. "SpongeBob give the man a squirt of ketchup. And put it back on the grill and burn it while you're at it." He said under his breath.
The customer cocked a brow. "Huh?"
"Oh, nothing! Nothing." As SpongeBob took the plate over to the long, wooden table that held the condiments, he took the bun off the patty and pushed down on the spout of the ketchup dispenser.
Nothing but air came out. He pushed it again. He began hyperventilating. "SQUIDWARD! WE'RE OUT OF KETCHUP! OH, THIS IS TERRIBLE! WHY, WHYYYY?!"
Squidward sighed. He turned around towards the window. "See?! Even with your breathing! Here, just use this, you dunce." He threw a smaller bottle of the condiment towards him.
The sponge caught it. "Oh… thanks, Squidward!" he returned to his cheerful mood, making the octopus roll his eyes.
SpongeBob then came out into the dining area and placed the meal at the customer's table. The fish eyed him. "You didn't burn it, did you?"
SpongeBob chuckled. "Dahaha! Don't worry, good sir. Your patty is as tender as a snail's tummy," he smiled.
"Oo-kay… thanks for that image," his eye twitched.
Just then, Bikini Bottom's most intelligent (and in SpongeBob's secret opinion, prettiest) squirrel, Sandy Cheeks, came through the large glass doors of the restaurant.
"Well gee, this place is deader than a rodeo arena in winter!" she exclaimed, walking towards the sponge.
"Hi, Sandy! Hahaha, well, it is almost closing time, which is the saddest part of the day." SpongeBob shook his head.
"Heh, not for sophisticated people it isn't," said Squidward smugly, staring at his magazine.
"Then it must still be pretty sad for ye, Mister Squidward." Said Mr. Krabs as he scuttled out of his office and towards the restroom.
Squidward threw the magazine down and growled at his boss.
Sandy chuckled. "Mr. Krabs sure has some good zingers up them sleeves of his," she elbowed the sponge.
"Learned em' from me mother." Shouted Mr. Krabs from the restroom.
SpongeBob smiled at her. "So, Sandy, what's new?"
She shrugged. "Eh, nothin' out of the ordinary. I was just stargazin' last night through my telescope and saw a massive asteroid hurtlin' towards earth, nothin' real excitin'." SpongeBob blinked at her statement.
He nervously chuckled. "Wow, Sandy. I guess nothing surprises scientists anymore, huh?" he gulped.
"Aw, don't worry. According to my calculations, it shouldn't hit for another, ohh…" she pulled out a calculator. "Twelve days or so." She smiled.
"Well, at least it'll get me out of this dump." Said Squidward blandly.
SpongeBob played with his tie. "Gee, twelve days huh? Seems like we should do something to make those days as memorable as possible before we all get destroyed…" he looked up at her, a slight smile crossing his lips.
She smiled back. "Haha, Yeah I… suppose… "they looked at each other nervously.
"What did ya have in mind?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know… I was thinking maybe- "
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU… YOU… DREAM CRUSHER!" shouted Karen as she rolled her way through the doors.
"Dream crusher?! I thought I was a selfish bug who couldn't care less about your feelings?" said Plankton as he marched after his wife.
SpongeBob and Sandy looked upon the married couple with concern. "What's wrong? Why are you guys upset with each other?" asked SpongeBob.
"This little noob said he doesn't feel like we have a spark in our marriage anymore! Even after I suggested we go see that new romantic beach musical!" she cried virtual tears.
Plankton shrugged. "Aw, come on honey! Why would I wanna go see a bunch of insignificant boobs dancing like Squidward to goofy fifties music?"
"Hey!" said Squidward defensively.
"Because they're young boobs who know how to be romantic! But you don't even seem to want to try!" she argued. She turned back towards SpongeBob and Sandy. "He says our marriage is boring and uneventful,"
"Well, you've gotta admit I have a point. Every day we see each other it's always just, 'Rise and shine, evil genius!' and, 'Honey, I'm stuck in the test tube again!" things have become so dull between us," Plankton shook his head.
"That's because you're dull! And you refuse to take any of my suggestions."
"Aw, it can't be that bad! Y'all have gotta remember your vows to stick together through thick and thin," said Sandy.
"Try getting that through that thick head of his," said Karen.
"Come on, you guys! So, what if there's no 'spark'? Isn't there anything else that matters between you two?" asked SpongeBob
"Not according to him, the only thing he can think of are sparks, but the only spark that ever comes between us is when he electrocutes himself." Said Karen.
"Hey! That's no fair! You know it's bound to happen to me whenever I unplug you," argued Plankton.
"Ask yourself this question: Why do you unplug me at all?!"
"Because you're always nagging at me, that's why!"
"Oh, that's enough you two! Look at you guys, arguing over something as silly as this. Your relationship shouldn't be all about the temporary thrill of a 'spark', it should be about your undying love for one another. Think about it this way," said SpongeBob, grabbing Plankton and holding him in his palm.
"Karen, when this little guy created you, he wanted to have someone who he could love and cherish with all of his heart. Right, Plankton?"
Plankton shrugged. "Well, sure! That and I needed somebody to cook and do the cleaning for me- "Karen glared at him. He smiled sheepishly.
SpongeBob blinked. "Oo-kay, maybe I could've worded that a little better. Plankton, do you feel that when you're sad, angry or depressed, Karen is there to help you through it?"
He gave it a thought. "Well, sure! After she's through telling me what a failure I am after trying to steal the Formula, she always tells me I'm still an evil genius in her eyes."
SpongeBob looked up at Karen. "And Karen, whenever you feel like your self-esteem is low, isn't Plankton there to tell you how beautiful you are?"
"Well… he does always tell me how shiny and dust-free my screen looks," she replied.
"And when either of you are feelin' bummed out or run-down, ain't ya both there to perk each other up with laughter and encouragement?" asked Sandy.
The married couple looked at each other. "Well, his first name does always manage to get a good laugh out of me…" Karen began to smile.
"And even though her insults are almost always directed at me, I do find them to be pretty amusing…" said Plankton.
SpongeBob and Sandy shared a glance of, "That's not exactly what we had in mind, but close enough."
"And do you feel that no matter how much you two may argue and disagree, you're lucky to have each other as life-long companions?" asked SpongeBob.
The two looked at each other. "Well, he has picked me back up when I was feeling down… once or twice…"
"And she has helped me to control my temper around the customers…"
"But we never get any cust- "Sandy shook her head rapidly at the computer, warning her not to spoil the moment.
"Ya see? You don't have to turn to superficial things like movies to make you two realize that you have something special. Marriage isn't about how much of a thrill you can get, it's about the true, genuine and heartfelt bond you have with each other. The little things that you do out of love for each other; that's what makes a commitment work." SpongeBob smiled as he placed Plankton down on Karen's robotic shoulder.
"Yeah! You two shouldn't need to feel a little ole' 'spark' in order to appreciate what truly matters; the love that draws you both together," said Sandy. She and SpongeBob smiled at each other.
Plankton looked up at his computer wife. "I'm sorry I called you a dream crushing bug…" Karen spoke tearfully.
"A-and I'm sorry I called you a rechargeable battery…"
She cocked a digital eyebrow at him. "What?"
"N-nothing! Nothing. I love you, honey…"
"I love you too, Planky!"
"Aww!" the few customers that were in the restaurant gushed.
"Come on honey, let's go home. I'll whip you up a Chumsicle," said Karen as she rolled her way to the door.
"Oh, that sounds… "Plankton gulped, "Delightful." He said, trying to hide his disgusted tone.
"Well, sure glad that worked out for the better," said Sandy, smiling.
"Yeah. I'm glad we were able to help them out," said SpongeBob.
"Yes, Siree. After all, all that stuff we were tellin' em' was only the truth,"
"Yeah… love is truly what brings people together…" they slowly and awkwardly turned to look at each other.
"Quittin' time, gentlemen!" said Mr. Krabs, scuttling out of the bathroom. "Oh, Mister Squidward, before ye lock up, I need ye to plunge the third stall in the men's room, I lost me rare silver doubloon in there again." He threw the plunger at his employee.
Squidward sighed. "What I would do to be falling off a cliff right now."
"Well, like Mr. Krabs said, quitting time! Haha… ha… "SpongeBob rubbed the back of his head.
Sandy chuckled. "Yeah." They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.
"Sure is a pretty night out there… "he said.
"Uh-huh… "
"You wanna take a walk?" he asked.
She was taken aback by his question. "Uh… sure… how about we go see that beach movie we were talkin' about?"
He smiled. "Yeah! Haha, the movie theater's a long walk from here, that'll be great exercise." They both smiled nervously. They then both headed for the door simultaneously, bumping into each other.
He held the door open for her, allowing her to walk past him.
On the outside, he acted calm, cool and collected.
Until she was walking far enough ahead of him…
"YES!" he jumped up in the air excitedly.
She turned around. "You say somethin'?"
"Huh? Oh, I-I remembered tomorrow is laundry day, gotta love the rinse-n-spin cycle!"
A/N: Okay, I know this probably sucked SO bad, and it probably made absolutely no sense WHATSOEVER, but it was just a lame little idea I had swirling around in my head of PlanktonxKaren with just a bit of Spandy. So, I figured eh? Why not? Dee, I'm sorry I failed you XD