Fandom:
SpongeBob SquarePants (Cartoon)
Relationships:
Eugene Krabs & Sheldon J. Plankton, Eugene Krabs/Sheldon J. Plankton
Characters:
Eugene Krabs, Sheldon J. Plankton, SpongeBob SquarePants, Spot, Squidward Tentacles, Karen (SpongeBob)
Language:English Collections:Anonymous Stats: Published:2024-08-13
Summary:
Mr. Krabs hasn't seen Plankton in a few days. So why are the doors boarded up?
Notes:
This can be read as either platonic or romantic between Plankton and Krabs.
There are slight mentions and hints, but it's not really brought up or focused on. It's just kind of in the background.
Work Text:
The sound of coins clinking is like music to Mr.Krabs. He counts his earnings for the day in his office.
Something seemed off to the crab, yet he couldn’t place his claw on it. A lot of customers came in today. Everything was accounted for. There were no issues.
And no Plankton…
Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t seen his arch nemesis in a few days. The tiny green creature usually makes a daily attempt to steal the secret formula.
A cheerful sponge throws the door open to his office, startling him for a split second. “Closing time!”
The crustacean lifts a claw up and waves it. “Good work today, lads!” He closes up the safe and walks out his office, checking his establishment. “Everything looks to be in ship shape. I’ll see ye tomorrow!”
“See ya Mr.Krabs!” The sponge cheered.
“Later Krabs,” the squid finally speaks up.
The two employees hang their hats and start their walk home. Eugene looks outside, seeing only a bit of the sun in the sky. The streetlights are starting to flicker on. He takes a glance at the Chum Bucket across the street. The place was completely dark, from what he could see.
He exits his establishment, locking up, and walks across the street to meet up with his rival. The crab can now see the state of the Chum Bucket. Yes, it looked like a dump in the past, but now the doors were boarded up. He takes a step back, also noticing that the glove that lifted up the handle of the Chum Bucket previously is now smashed into the roof. Alright, something is definitely wrong here , he thinks to himself, as if he’s just now putting the clues together.
He steps up to the double doors and rips the wood off before trying to push the doors open. When he realizes that the doors are probably locked on the inside, he takes a few steps back before charging at it. Eugene successfully breaks through the doors, flying into the Chum Bucket and breaking a wooden chair when he lands on it.
“Krabs?” Small footsteps made their way to the crustacean. The voice from the creature was more raspy than usual. “What are you doing here?”
The only light shining through was from the streetlight outside. Once Plankton was in Krab’s view, Eugine noted that his antennas were curved down and his eye was watery. The only response the crab could give was “It’s Thursday”.
“It’s already Thursday?” Plankton rubs his eye before looking over to the calendar on the wall. His voice was monotone, scaring more than he already was. “Boarded up signs means no visitors.” He turns around and slowly walks to the back, adding “Go home, Krabs”.
Krabs stood for a moment, not having any idea what to do next. They’ve had a rivalry for years, should he really be helping? Should he get in Sheldon’s business? Since Plankton was so small, and was walking slower than usual, the red creature had plenty of time to think. After contemplating his options, he finally asks “Why is the power off?”
Plankton stops in his tracks. Silence filled the room for a brief moment as the crab waited for an answer. “My power was turned off,” he answers honestly. He could tell something was bugging the small creature.
“Couldn’t pay yer bills, huh Plankton?” The crustacean laughs at his rival's suffering before he notices he’s walking away again. “Hey, where ye going?”
“Bed.”
“Huh? It’s only 6pm! Who’d want to go to bed this early?” He finally stands up off the ground, taking a few steps towards the green creature when he doesn't answer.
Despite Sheldon being his rival for years, he hated seeing him so bummed. Sure, he failed all the time at stealing his secret formula, but he had never been this heartsick. Krabs finally takes in his surroundings. The place’s odor seeped through his nostrils. The tables and chairs were bent in different directions, some even being torn out of the floor completely. A table that was neither had photos laid out of Plankton, Karen, and their pet, Spot.
“Where’s Karen? …And, the little pet of yers?”
The tall crab watches as the one-eyed organism breaks, lying on the ground and curling in on himself. Eugene hesitates for a minute, not knowing if he should assure him, or how. By his reaction, Karen and Spot weren’t there to help. Sheldon’s reaction reminded him of how he was when his wife passed, trying to care for Pearl as he grieved. He looks around the restaurant again noting it wasn’t the best place for anyone to stay at. Krabs hesitantly picks him up off the ground and carries him all the way back to his house. Plankton either didn’t know or didn’t care that he was being taken away.
He was too focused on the loss.
___________________________________________________________________
After a day of staying at Krab’s home, Plankton finally talks. He surprised himself when he finally did, specially since he was getting vulnerable with his rival.
It started when his pet, Spot, ran away. He spent the whole day looking. Karen stayed at home, printing missing fliers. When Plankton got home later that night to see if Spot came back, Karen told him to get sleep, and they would look for him the next day.
The next morning, Karen and Sheldon went their separate ways in town. Plankton later got a call from the Hospital that Karen was hit by a boat. He rushed there finding all of her parts and pieces shattered. He tried repairs with no luck. He even begged Sandy to help! The only thing the squirrel told him when she saw the damage was “Sorry”.
He lost motivation. Plankton closed down his restaurant and hid in his room for days.
Plankton sobbed into a small pillow on a makeshift bed as he told it. He was worried that the crab would make fun but instead, he felt a claw start to awkwardly rub his back.
A few days have gone by since he’s told Eugene. For the past days, he’s stayed in the bed, which was a small, empty, unused chest, a pillow, and a blanket. Pearl would bring him meals and check on him when Krabs was at work.
All he wanted was his wife and Spot, but he knew one of those, he would never get back. His thoughts to go searching for his amoeba were crushed by the voice in his head saying, “What’s the use?”.
When Krabs came back, he would chat with Plankton to give him some comfort. Usually, Plankton would like to be left alone in his thoughts. But Eugene knew exactly how he felt. The same thing happened when it came to his wife. Surprisingly enough, he found comfort in the red crab. He felt free to talk about anything that was on his mind, and Eugene would listen. He missed his wife. He missed Spot.
At least he had someone there for him.
___________________________________________________________
Plankton wakes up in a cold sweat from another nightmare. The sun was starting to set outside, giving Plankton a beautiful view from his bed on the window seal when he sat up. Focusing on the sunset, he stared out the window for a minute. It was a Sunday, and even though Krabs had his restaurant closed, he told the small creature that he would be out for the majority of the day.
He tucks himself back into his bed and tries to go to sleep again. Minutes go by before the door to the room opens up and he hears footsteps.
“Hey Plankton,” a voice starts. “I heard about Karen. I figured I’d come and comfort ya. I’m sorry about what happened.”
Sheldon covers his head and groans. SpongeBob noted the small creature’s body language but continued anyway. “I got you a little something.”
“No. I’m not in the mood.”
“I think you’ll like it!” The cheerful sponge pesters.
Plankton huffs pulling the blanket off of him, immediately getting licked in the face by…
“Spot?”
The amoeba barked jumping on his owner. “SPOT!” Plankton wrapped his arms around his pet as they reunited. “Spot, you’re safe!” Tears start forming in his eye and he holds his pet tighter.
“Aww.” SpongeBob bats his eyes. “I told ya you’d like it! We were out looking for him all day!”
“We?” He looks to the door, finding Eugene at the doorway.
“Yeah! It was Mr. Krabs idea. We looked everywhere! Turns out, he was staying at my library blah blah blah-” Plankton started zoning out as the sponge kept talking, overwhelmed with emotion. “-Oh, it looks like we have to go. Bye Plankton! Hope you start feeling better soon!”
The fact Krabs did to help find his pet warmed his heart.
Mr. Krabs says his farewells to his employee as Plankton showers Spot with affection. When the crab is done, he checks in with Sheldon again.
He walks back up and knocks on the bedroom door before opening it. Plankton is still tickled by his pet and receiving kisses. “I missed you so much, Spot! Don’t you run away again!” The crab chuckles, startling Plankton, who didn’t realize he was back in the room. “You were out looking for Spot?”
The red creature rubs the head/shell and darts his eyes away. “Oh, well… I figured since… ye know…”
Plankton found himself speaking again. “Thanks, Eugene.” He sounded both shocked and grateful as he spoke.
The crab finally gets the words he was looking for earlier together as he speaks. “Well, ye’ve been through a lot. Thought ye’d ought to get something good in yer life.”
Krabs glances back at the small creature, finally smiling for the first time in what has seemed like eternity.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/58159567