Hitch lifted a hoof and gave a few knocks to the wooden door in front of him. Perhaps today, things would finally be different.

He licked his lips, which were dry with apprehension, as he waited. It took longer than usual, but finally, the door creaked open and Phyllis peered out at him through her magenta spectacles.

"Good morning sheriff!" She greeted him in a chipper tone, but he sensed it was forced.

He mustered a weak smile. "Good day, Phyllis! Uh, is Sprout--?"

She shook her head, and he immediately cut himself off. "No, he said he still doesn't want to see you," she told him.

"Right, right, of course..." He began to back away, only minimally disappointed since this was what he had grown accustomed to. "Always worth a shot, yeah? I'll see you later, then."

Phyllis slowly shut the door without uttering another word, and Hitch let out a defeated sigh as he turned away. That marked the 30th consecutive day he had tried to talk to Sprout, only to be turned down. A whole month! And the situation didn't seem to be improving any time soon. Ever since that fateful day Sprout had confessed to him, and Hitch had rejected those feelings, the temperamental little red pony had hid himself away in his home and Hitch hadn't caught a glimpse of him since.

Hitch supposed it was his own fault. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment in time he realized Sprout liked him in that way, but too many clues simply piled up. The poor guy lacked confidence though. Hitch had brought a red carnation to his hospital bed in hopes that it would give him the courage to admit his feelings. But why did I do that, exactly? Hitch asked himself. After becoming aware of Sprout's crush, Hitch willingly gave him the little boost he needed in order to confess, and for what? So he could turn him down anyway?

He recalled all the things Sprout had said about him being a terrible friend, and his ears drooped as he trudged down the streets of Maretime Bay. He needed to find solace, and he knew just the pony who could provide that for him: Sunny Starscout, his oldest and closest friend. He had briefly told her a week ago that he and Sprout had been in a fight, but he hadn't admitted that any romantic feelings were involved. And so, he followed the path to her lighthouse, which had long since been repaired.

Upon arrival, Hitch knocked on the door, and he was soon greeted by a familiar orange pony. "Hiya Hitch! Up high, down low..." When Hitch didn't join in on their special best friend hoofshake, and instead stared dejectedly at the ground, Sunny tilted her head and watched him with concern. "Wait, what's wrong?"

She stepped aside to let him in, and he walked inside while carrying a somber frown. "Sprout still won't see me," he confessed.

"Oh..." Sunny murmured as she shut the door. She silently observed him for a few more moments before saying, "Is there anything I can do for you? Should I make you a cup of tea or something?"

"No, it's fine," Hitch answered. He flopped onto the sofa and let out a miserable groan. "I messed up badly. I'm a horrendous friend."

"That's not true at all!" Sunny protested as she trotted up to him. "You're an amazing friend. Sprout's just a bitter grump. We all know that."

Hitch wanted to snap at her, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Nopony else seemed to understand Sprout in the ways he did. And yet, no matter how much he thought he understood Sprout, Hitch had still trampled on his feelings. Again all the backlash Sprout had hurled at him repeated in his mind. Lifting his head, he fixed Sunny Starscout with a serious stare.

"Are you sure I'm an 'amazing' friend? What about before Izzy came to town, and I constantly chided you for wreaking havoc and believing in what I thought were nothing more than stories? And then, how I tried to bring you back and arrest you when you were on a quest to restore magic to Equestria?"

"Hmm..." Sunny's gaze wandered the room as she thought. "That stung a little, but everypony in town thought the same as you did back then, so I can't really fault you for that. Besides, I have to owe it to you, at least you still talked to me and got me out of trouble whenever you could."

"Gotcha..." Hitch muttered, his gaze dropping to the floor. He soon looked up at her again to ask, "How did you do it, Sunny? How did you stick to your guns even when everypony in the world was against you?"

"Because it was worth it," she replied easily. "I didn't care what everypony thought of me, as long as I was doing what felt right to me. And I'm glad I did, because look where we are now. Equestria's better than ever!" She paused to let out a gleeful chuckle before concluding, "You shouldn't let the judgment of other ponies dictate your life. I've found happiness because I always focused on what was important to me and those I treasured."

Hitch's drooping ears slowly rose as he absorbed Sunny's words. Whenever any romantic feelings for Sprout began to surface, he had always stifled them, because he knew very few ponies would approve. But would being with Sprout be worth it? Could their affection for each other matter more than the opinions of whoever would object to them?

No!! He was a beloved sheriff, and Sprout was a resented criminal! He would be failing his job and letting the whole town down. He had already explained this to Sprout, and he couldn't take it back now.

And yet...

He thought about how happy he had been when Sprout stayed over at his house and they had hung out together without a worry in the world, he thought about how warm Sprout felt when he had snuggled in bed with him the following night, he thought about how hopeless he had been when he believed Sprout cared more about Rob than about him, he thought about the way Sprout always looked at him with his yearning, yet hesitant, vibrant green eyes...

How could he NOT be worth it?

"Sunny, I know you don't like Sprout very much, but I do," Hitch suddenly said, standing up with speed and intent, "and I'm going to fix things. Thanks for the advice--it really helped."

Sunny blinked a couple of times as she watched her friend stride to the door with newfound purpose. "It's not up to you to fix him, though. If he wants to be a grump, then--"

"No Sunny, I really screwed up. I cared more about the feelings of strangers than I did for my friend!" Hitch insisted over his shoulder. "I made a mistake, but sitting around moping isn't going to change things. I'm going to do what feels right."

Hitch cantered his way back to the Cloverleaf household. He knew there was a chance he might seem like a nuisance, but he had to make an effort to reach out and apologize to the pony he had hurt.

This time when he knocked on the door, and Phyllis answered it, he said in a confident voice, "Hello again. I don't mean to intrude, but I'm going to speak to your son now."

Phyllis' eyes widened with bemusement, and she stammered a little before replying, "He... He was quite adamant that he didn't want to see you--"

"It doesn't matter!" Hitch cut her off, his tone now leaking desperation. "It's important. I don't care if he yells at me or kicks my flank, I just really need to talk to him. So please let me in!"

Phyllis was silent for a few moments, her eyes flickering with indecision before maintaining contact with Hitch's wide, pleading gaze. Finally she opened the door wider and stepped aside to allow Hitch through.

"Good luck," she said in an airy voice that was mixed with a sigh. Hitch was past her in an instant, rushing to the door of Sprout's room. There, he paused, one foreleg raised as if in preparation to knock. He wasn't sure what to do--He realized he had no plan. But he couldn't leave his friend hanging any longer, and so deciding to make the leap, he turned the doorknob and barged into Sprout's room...

And almost tripped over an empty smoothie cup. Stumbling for a second before quickly regaining his balance and looking up, he spotted Sprout sprawled on his bed with a drawing book and various art supplies in front of him, holding a crayon above the paper while he stared back at Hitch in shock. Hitch's breathing quickened but he said nothing, unsure how to begin.

Then Sprout's stunned expression changed to one of anger. "What are you doing here? Didn't my mom tell you that I want to be left alone?!"

Hitch responded in a calm tone. "Yes, but I just wanted to apologize--"

"I don't CARE about your apology!" Sprout retorted, smacking his art supplies away and causing the pencils to go flying everywhere before clattering to the floor. He turned his head away, apparently deciding he didn't even want to look at Hitch. "I never ever ever want to see or hear from you ever again, so just forget about me!"

His voice was exploding with rage, but Hitch could sense that there was sorrow there too. Sprout then grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it, though Hitch wasn't sure whether or not he was crying into it. He walked closer, carefully stepping over the scattered pencils until he had reached the side of Sprout's bed.

"Hey, I'm really sorry... Try to calm down," Hitch told him in a gentle voice. He reached out and placed a hoof on Sprout's back, but that only prompted a furious scream that was thankfully muffled by the pillow for the most part, and so Hitch quickly withdrew. He glanced around the room and noticed a bunch of completed drawings taped to the walls, admittedly drawn in quite a child-like fashion. He grit his teeth as his gaze passed over a few drawings of himself with red X marks scribbled over them, but most of them were just drawings of food and random household objects.

"I didn't know you liked drawing," Hitch remarked.

At first, Hitch doubted that Sprout was even going to respond, but after half a minute he mumbled, "Mommy told me to try drawing so I could deal with my feelings better."

"I see," Hitch mused. Another minute of silence passed, and so Hitch cautiously took the risk of climbing up onto the bed and sitting next to Sprout, who was still lying down and refusing to look up at him. Thankfully, the red pony didn't react aggressively this time. Hitch waited there for a while and observed Sprout, periodically hearing a sniffle or seeing his shoulders shake. He must be crying, after all.

Then Hitch spoke up again, albeit in a quiet voice. "I AM really sorry, Sprout. For everything." Sprout's ears pricked up and so he continued with more vigor. "I'm sorry for not paying enough attention to you for most of our lives, for leaving you in the dust, for being an awful friend, and for taking too long to realize that you liked me. Most of all, I'm sorry for how I behaved last month. I did give you the red carnation because I knew you had a crush on me, and yet I shattered your hopes when you tried to confess."

Sprout shifted a little and finally lifted his head, his face glistening with tears as he cautiously looked over at Hitch.

Hitch continued, "I acted coldly and like a total jerk, rubbing your wrongdoings in your face. I made excuses for not dating you and they were terrible excuses. I shouldn't have let the opinions of other ponies dictate how I feel about you. So please... Will you let me make it right?"

Sprout shakily sat upright, sniffling a few more times before saying in a somewhat choked voice, "I said some pretty bad things too. I don't actually think you're an awful friend. I was just... disappointed and..."

"Sssh, it's OK now," Hitch assured, lifting a hoof to gently wipe away some of Sprout's tears. "Forget about all that. Forget about your community service and whatever. I don't want you to be my assistant anymore."

Sprout's eyes widened slightly, perplexed. "Y-you don't?"

"Nope." Hitch slowly shook his head before placing a hoof under Sprout's chin and staring directly into his shimmery, emerald-green eyes. "Sprout, will you be my boyfriend?"

Sprout gasped, and his ears shot straight up as he suddenly flinched. "W-what? But I thought you said--"

"Nevermind what I said! I had lost sight of what was important to me. And the most important thing to me isn't my job, my reputation, or whatever other ponies have to say about me. What I care about most is you."

"B-but... You... I..." Sprout was quivering again, his eyes growing even wider as he stared back at Hitch, evidently at a loss. Hitch wordlessly prayed that Sprout was overcome with happiness and not some negative emotion, but it was hard to tell.

Hitch locked his hooves around Sprout and pulled him into a tight hug. He felt so warm... Hitch lifted his head while Sprout's face was pressed against his shoulder and spoke softly into Sprout's ear, "So I ask again... Will you please be my boyfriend?"

"I... Y-y-yes but w-why? How could I ever be good enough for--"

"Ssh... You're good enough, I promise. More than that, you're the best pony for me. You can learn from me, and I can learn from you. We both have a lot to work on but we'll get through this together, OK?"

With that, Hitch angled his head to kiss Sprout's cheek--it was salty and sticky with tears, but Hitch swore his lips could feel Sprout's cheek heat up with an intense blush, and that certainly made it worthwhile.

Afterwards, the two of them parted, and Hitch smiled at Sprout while resting his hooves on his shoulders. Sprout seemed frozen with shock at first, but then he smiled too. A big, adorable, genuine smile.

And Hitch knew he was happy.

They both were.

Hitch knew he had done the right thing--maybe not in the eyes of everypony who looked up to him, but that didn't matter. In that moment, the only ponies who existed were himself and Sprout. He was free at last, free to accept love from his precious companion, free to give love without allowing others' expectations to hold him back, free to simply be himself and open up to a whole new world of joy.

Sprout's eyes were tearing up again, this time with happiness. "H-hitch, thank you so much! I promise I'll try to be a good boyfriend. I... I've missed you so much." He practically threw himself against Hitch, causing the latter to let out an "oof!" and they were locked in an embrace once again. Sprout's tail was swishing blissfully as he squeezed Hitch, nuzzling his shoulder with his soft, velvety muzzle.

Hitch had no objection to hugging Sprout again, and lovingly stroked his back in return. He wasn't sure what the future would hold, but he knew he wanted Sprout to be a part of it. He was moody, impulsive, and a bit of a coward, but he was also passionate, sincere, funny, and undoubtedly adorable. And Hitch wished he had realized it sooner.

All in all, he was worth it.

Author's Note

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Yes, this is the final chapter of Sprouting Romance, but THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL. I was going to continue the next events in this story, but I have decided I will be starting a brand new story for multiple reasons.

1. The COMEDY tag will no longer apply--as you can tell, it didn't apply in this chapter and barely applied in the previous two chapters. Earlier chapters of this story have been littered with silly and lighthearted moments but I am going to take things a little more seriously from now on, with some of the themes I'm putting into place.

2. I REALLY didn't bring my A-game to this story. It started as something I messed around with just for the fun of it, and I could have enhanced the writing a lot more than I did. But Hitch and Sprout deserve better and I want to do their relationship justice in future endeavors!

Look forward to "How to tend a Sprout" coming January 2022!