Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

With just 15 seconds left in the match, Goggles is in Team Blue’s base, having just remembered to paint it. All of a sudden, out of some nearby enemy ink, Rider pops out, holding his gold dynamo.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding?” He grins.
“I’m not hiding! I’m painting the base.”

“Yeah, well so am I, fucker.” He swings his dynamo, inking over part of Team Blue’s base. Goggles jumps down to stop him, but right before his shots hit Rider…

A drop of rain falls on his nose. Then another on his hand. He freezes, and Rider seems to as well. Only a moment later it’s raining lightly, getting heavier by the second. They hear the announcements blare in the distance;
“Due to sudden rain, this match is canceled! Go- go find something to hide under.”

Rider and Goggles glance back at each other.
“Aw, really? At the end of the match?” Goggles whines.
“Shut it. Let’s just find somewhere to wait out the rain.” Rider looks away, scanning the area for somewhere to go. His eyes eventually settle on an empty bus stop.

“There. Follow me.” He doesn’t wait for a response before picking up his dynamo and quickly walking over to the bus stop, and Goggles dashes over to him a moment later, catching up quickly.

“So, what do we do now?” He’s grinning widely, the way he always does. Rider doesn’t respond. He pulls out his phone, and when Goggles peeks over his shoulder, he sees that it’s his team group chat.
“Oh, yeah, where is your team?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out, dipshit,” Rider grumbles, sounding annoyed. Goggles is still looking over his shoulder, making them awkwardly close.

Or at least, awkward for Rider.

The rain has gotten much heavier, and neither of them have an umbrella, meaning that they’ll be stuck at the bus stop until the sky clears. They’re in silence for a moment while Rider waits for his teammates to text back.

“They’re on the other side of the stage, so we’ll be separated for a while. Where’s Team Blue?” He looks at Goggles, who sits down on the bench.

“Well… I might’ve forgotten to charge my phone last night, so… I’ve got no idea.” He laughs nervously, and Rider sighs in exasperation.

“Seriously? Ugh… fine, I’ll ask for you.”
“Wait, do you have their numbers?”
“Only Specs. He’s your team leader, so I need it for scheduling matches and practice,” Rider states matter-of-factly, sitting down next to Goggles on the bench. He’s staring at his phone, trying to type.
But it’s a little difficult, because Goggles is leaning over his shoulder again, and it’s sort of nerve wracking.
“Move over. Why are you sitting so close to me anyways?” He snaps, glaring at Goggles.
“It’s cold! And I wanna see what you’re texting him!” Goggles makes no attempt to give him space, instead scooting closer. If it weren’t so dark and dreary, he’d be able to see the faint blush on Rider’s face.

“…Fine.” He lets out a sigh of resignation, and Goggles giggles softly.

Rider shows him the phone screen. It’s a message to Specs, simply saying, “Where’s Team Blue? Goggles and I got separated from the others.”

“You text in perfect grammar?” Goggles snorts with laughter, earning a soft shove from Rider.
“Ugh, shut it… Jeez, this rain isn’t even close to stopping, huh?” He mutters the last part just loud enough for Goggles to hear.
The rain is heavy and loud against the pavement and the bus stop roof. Goggles glances at him, smiling.
“Think we’ll get a rainbow?”
Rider only shrugs in response. His phone goes off, and Goggles quickly grabs it before he can.

“Hey- wait- give it back!”
“I’m just checking what he said! Here, let’s read it together!”
Goggles leans on his shoulder, putting the phone in the middle so he can see. Even in the dark, the bright lime blush on Rider’s face is visible. Specs replied, “We’re at the weapons store. mind walking Goggles there when the rain ends?”
Rider sighs.

“Aw, aren't you so glad you get to spend more time with me?” Goggles laughs. Rider responds with a gentle shove, not wanting to admit that he’s right.
“No, I’m not,” he grumbles, “And it’s not like this rain is ending any time soon.”
“Yeah, that's fair! Well, at least we’re together!” He has an affiliative smile on his face, looking into Rider’s eyes.

Rider, however, is avoiding eye contact, just glaring at the ground tensely.

“Think we’ll be out here all day?”
“I hope not! You’re being a grump and not talking to me, so I’ve got nothing to do!” Goggles complained, laughing slightly.
“I’m not a grump.” Rider mumbles indignantly. He pauses for a second, then speaks again.
“So… what now?”
Goggles looks at him, eyes wide.
“I dunno!”

Rider stands up from the bench, setting his dynamo where he was sitting next to Goggles. The blue inkling glances over, and immediately jumps up.
“Oh, crap! I left my weapon on the stage!”

“Seriously? How the fuck- never mind. We’ll go get it when the rain clears up.” Rider sighs loudly. “You really need to take better care of your weapons,” he grumbles.

“Hey! I’m not taking advice from you! I bet you gave your dynamo its own bedroom!”
“Shut up! I did not.” Rider looks away in embarrassment.
“Come on. You love that thing more than anything! I bet you love it more than me!” Goggles fake pouts, but is unable to hide his grin.

Rider chokes on his words, “I- what- huh- I don’t love you! And- and I don't love my dynamo! It’s just… important.” His face is flushed a bright lime green, visible even under the dark, stormy sky. Goggles laughs, clearly amused at his reaction.

“Hah- whatever you say!” He smiles affably at Rider, then looks up at the sky.

“You know, maybe this isn’t so bad.”
“Huh? What do you mean? We’re trapped at a fucking bus stop, our teams don’t know where we are, and you lost your weapon. Oh, and there’s rain. How the hell is it ‘not so bad’?” He glares at Goggles, who then looks at him grinning.

“Yeah, but look how pretty the rain is! And everything will sort itself out, so let’s just enjoy what’s going on now.”
“Your optimism disgusts me.”
Goggles snickers loudly.
“Come on! It could be worse. I mean, at least you’re here! I’d be so bored if I were alone.” He sits back down, swinging his legs happily.
A moment later, Rider hesitantly sits down between his dynamo, which is still on the bench, and Goggles. The rain continues hitting the pavement loudly as they wait in silence.

A few minutes later, Goggles speaks again.
“That rain was really sudden, huh? Like… the sky was so clear and now it’s storming! And wow it got colder.”
Rider just nods in response. Goggles shivers slightly and scoots closer to him.

“I- wait- what are you doing-?” Rider’s blushing bright lime green, and Goggles grins at him.
“It’s cold! And you’re warm. Sooo… deal with it!” He grabs Rider’s hand, intertwining their fingers tightly, causing his blushing to get even worse.
“I’m only doing this cause it’s cold…” Rider grumbles as he holds his hand back, badly hiding his accismus and getting another soft laugh from Goggles.
“Sure you are,” Goggles teases, and Rider glares at him, his face flushed with embarrassment. The rain hasn’t seemed to slow down and the sky flashes with lightning.

“It’s storming pretty bad, huh…” Goggles mutters, “Welp, at least I’ve got you!” He glances at Rider and squeezes his hand, grinning widely.
“Uh… yeah, I guess so,” he mumbles, staring at the pavement sheepishly. Now really wasn’t the time for him to come to terms with what he felt about his best friend, and, being completely honest, he doesn’t really want to anyways.

It takes a while for the rain to clear up enough for them to leave, but after what felt like ages of tense, awkward silence, the storm seems to be letting up.

“Looks like the rain is getting lighter! Maybe we’ll be able to go soon!” Goggles looks at Rider, who’s staring at the sky.
“Oh, finally…” he mutters.
“That’s too bad, cause I was having fun hanging out with you!” Goggles laughs and stands up, stretching a bit and letting go of his hand. Rider feels oddly disappointed at this, but isn’t quite sure why.

He totally doesn’t enjoy holding Goggles’ hand at all. And the realization that he likes Goggles of all people definitely isn’t hitting him like a sack of bricks. Not that he likes him or anything. His face feels hot even thinking about it, but that means nothing, right..? Goggles’ voice interrupts his train of thought.

“My team’s at the weapon store, right? Come on, let’s go!” Goggles looks back at him, grinning, as he starts walking.
“Yeah. Finally, you’ll leave me alone,” Rider grumbles in badly feigned annoyance, grabbing his dynamo and following the other boy.

“Goggles! There you are!” Specs yelps when they walk into Sheldon’s shop. Headphones walks up to them.
“We were so worried! Why didn’t you respond to our texts?”
“Sorry! My phone was dead!” He laughs awkwardly, and Headphones sighs.
“Thanks for walking him here, Rider… sorry if he was a hassle!” Behind her, Goggles and Bobble are chatting loudly.
“Uh, it’s fine. No problem. And Goggles-“ he starts, speaking tensely, and the blue inkling looks over when he hears his name, “-I’ll go get your weapon for you. You can have it back the next time I see you, just wanna make sure nothing’s wrong with it.”
“Oh, thanks! I guess I’ll see you soon, then!” Goggles grins.

“Yeah… see you soon.

After getting Goggles’ splattershot, Rider walks to where his teammates said they’d meet him.

“Rider! There you are! Is everything okay? How’d we get separated? Why do you have a splattershot?” Stealth walks up to him quickly, hitting him with rapid-fire questions.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I was in their base, so we had to find somewhere more nearby.”
“‘We’?” Bamboo tilts her head, and the other two stare at him.
“Oh, uh, Goggles was there too,” Rider explains quickly, causing Blazer to giggle quietly.

“Oh, I see how it is!”
Bamboo laughs when she hears her teammate say this.
“Ugh, will you stop saying I like him?! I don’t!” He objects defensively, but the blush on his face says otherwise. He’s trying (and failing) to dissimulate his opinion on the blue inkling, but his teammates can see right through it.

“But you- let’s just get home, alright?” Stealth has his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah, I’m done being outside.” Bamboo nods in agreement.
“Same here… alright, let’s go.” Rider sighs with an affectation of annoyance, then the four of them start walking to their apartment building.

Chapter Text

It’s 9:28 pm the next day, and Team Blue are in their apartment, playing a video game.

“Augh, I can’t believe you won again!” Goggles laughs, setting down his controller. The winner, Bobble, grins widely.
“Guess I’m just the best, huh? Hey, at least you weren’t in last, Gogs!” She laughs, and the inkling in last place, Specs, smiles and rolls his eyes.

A knock on the door quickly makes them forget how bad he is at Mario kart, though.

“I’ll get it!” Goggles jumps off the couch and races to the door, Bobble close behind him.

“Jeez, you two…” Headphones sighs and looks over at Specs.
Goggles flings the door open and almost runs into Rider, who’s standing outside their apartment holding Goggles’ splattershot.

“Oh, I forgot about that! Thanks!”
“…yeah. It was kinda muddy, so I cleaned it off.” He pauses, then speaks again stiffly, “Uh, bye.”
Before he can turn to leave, Goggles grabs him by the wrist and drags him into his apartment.

“Come on, you already walked over here! And it’s cold out! We’re having a game night! Wanna join?” He smiles expectantly and Rider doesn’t think he can say no.

“…Fine.”

He goes to put away his weapon, coming back moments later to drag Rider to the couch, where Headphones and Specs are sitting, and stands next to him.
Bobble, who is still standing near the door, runs over to claim a spot sitting next to the others.

“We only have four controllers, so I’ll go get a board game or something!” Goggles says cheerfully.
“I don’t care if I’m not playing. You guys can do whatever. I’m only here ‘cause you wouldn’t let me leave,” he grumbles, trying to act like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Come on, Rider, you’re a guest! We’re not having you watch!” Goggles nudges him, giggling. Headphones nods in agreement and he keeps talking, “So what game do you guys wanna play?”
“Hm… maybe Uno? We haven’t played that in a while,” Specs suggests, tilting his head.
“Ooh, yeah! I’ll beat all of you!”
Goggles laughs at Bobble’s declaration and glances over at Rider.
“You good with that?”

Rider shrugs, then responds, “…Sure.”

Headphones stands up from the couch.
“I’m gonna go get the cards.”

The moment she leaves the room, Goggles steals her seat on the couch, sitting between Rider and Specs.

She comes back seconds later with a deck of cards in her hands, loudly gasping in feigned annoyance when she sees where her teammate is sitting.

“Goggles! Alright, fine, if you wanna sit next to Rider that badly, move over so I can sit too,” she teases, and Goggles smiles and scoots over to make room.

Meanwhile, Rider feels like his face is burning, and it gets worse when Goggles moves closer to him. Headphones shuffles the cards and passes them out, then they start the game, with Specs going first.

“Wow, Specs, you really don’t even have the first card? Are you bad at every game?” Bobble laughs, and Specs lightheartedly rolls his eyes.

“It’s not my fault I don’t have a yellow.”
“Sorry, did I not shuffle well enough?”
“You did fine. Just unlucky, I guess.” He sighs dramatically, then smiles and continues speaking, “It’s your turn, Headphones.”
“Oh! Ok.” She puts a card on the pile, as does Bobble, then Rider. It’s Goggles’ turn now.

“Aw, crud, I don’t have a yellow either!” He draws a card. Bobble just giggles.

After about 20 uneventful minutes of playing Uno and Specs losing, Goggles only has one card left. It’s Rider’s turn, and he’s the only one left before the blue inkling wins. He sets down a card, and Goggles immediately puts his last one down after him.
“Ha! I win!” He stands up, laughing. Rider stays silent for a moment.

“Don’t you think you’ve forgotten something?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Someone didn’t say Uno. You know what that means.” Bobble grins. Goggles’ smile disappears as he realises his mistake.

“N-no… I can’t believe this…” Goggles looks at his hands, “…if I go down, I’m taking you with me!” He picks up a chunk of the deck that’s probably around 15 cards and shoves it in Rider’s face.
“Hey! I didn’t draw any! And besides, Bobble is the one making fun of you.”

“Oh, so it’s war against both of you! I can’t believe my own friends betrayed me like this!” He sighs over-dramatically.
“Friends? We were never friends. It was all a trick,” the lime inkling responds, going along with it.
“Was it all a lie? Everything we had, was it all for show? I can’t-“
Headphones cuts him off, “Okay, guys, stop being so dramatic. I think that’s enough UNO for tonight. It’s like-“ She checks her watch, “-almost 10 pm. We should really get to bed soon.”

“But I haven’t won yet! I still gotta draw four,” Goggles whines, breaking character.
“It’s late. Besides, I’ve got plans in the morning.” Specs stands up and walks across the room, taking Headphones’ side.
“Hate to be a bummer, but so do I! I’m goin’ to bed too! Good night.” Bobble waves, then stands up and walks to her bedroom.

“Ooh, Rider, do you wanna sleep over? Like, I know you didn’t wanna come over at all, but maybe? It’ll be funnn!” Goggles smiles widely. Rider sighs, exasperated. He still doesn’t want to admit he’s having fun.

“Jeez, fine. Only cause I don’t feel like walking home in the cold.”
“Alright, well, you two can figure that out yourselves, I’m going to bed. Good night.” Specs walks into his room.

At this point, it’s just Headphones, Goggles, and Rider in the living room. Headphones stands up from the couch.
“I’m going to bed too. Sleep well, guys!” She walks into her room. Rider takes out his phone and Goggles watches over his shoulder.

“Whatcha lookin at?”
“Telling my teammates where I am. Stealth gets worried when I disappear out of nowhere, so…” he trails off, staring at his team group chat.

-Yellow-Green team chat-

Rider: I’m not coming home tonight. Staying at blue team’s apartment, so don’t wait for me.
bamboo: ok
StealthGoggs: alright. have fun! :>
bLAZER!!: lmao ok sleeping over at your boyfriend's place?
Rider: Stfu. He’s not my boyfriend.
bamboo: blazer, they’re not dating yet
Rider: Yet??? I’m not gonna date him.
bamboo: sure buddy
StealthGoggs: guys, stop making fun of him. even if you’re right. so what are you doing over there?
Rider: Stealth I can’t fucking believe you’re taking their side. And we played Uno. Going to bed now.
StealthGoggs: sorry. but they’re not wrong.
bLAZER!!: rider that’s gay
Rider: Shut up. Both of you. You guys are literally queer.
StealthGoggs: my transgenderism allows me to see into your soul. you like boys. goggles specifically.
Rider: Go to bed.
StealthGoggs: fine. good night! :>

He sighs and puts his phone down. His teammates always seem to say he likes the blue inkling, but he probably doesn’t. No, definitely. It’s not like he thinks his smile is cute or likes spending time with him. At the very most, he admires how he uses his weapon, but that’s as far from a crush as you can get. He thinks.
Thankfully, Goggles’ voice cuts off his train of thought before he makes any inconvenient realisations.

“So… where do you wanna sleep?” Goggles tilts his head, then keeps talking, “Like, on the couch or in my bed? Cause either is fine.”
“I don’t care.”
It’s silent for a moment since neither of them are making a decision.

“Okay, since you’re my guest, you get the bed, and I’ll take the couch.”
“Overruled. I’m not making you sleep on the couch.”
“But I offered!”
“No.”
Goggles sighs, sounding slightly irritated, “Well, I’m not having you sleep on the couch. Fine, we both get the bed.”
Rider chokes.

“I- what? Like together??”
“Yeah? We’re best friends, right? And unless I get the couch, you’re stuck with me!” He giggles, and Rider glares at the ground, his face completely flushed.

“Ugh, fine. Let’s just get this outta the way. I wanna sleep.”

Unfortunately for Rider, sleeping in the same bed as Goggles proved quite difficult, and not only because his best friend who he totally doesn’t have a crush on was sleeping beside him. The blue inkling moves a lot in his sleep, even whacking him in the face a few times. Eventually he was able to fall asleep, but it took some time.

7:16 am
Goggles’ eyes blink open, adjusting to the early morning sunlight pouring through his bedroom window. His face nuzzles further into Rider’s shoulder. He freezes.

He has his arms wrapped around the lime inkling, who’s still asleep. He probably wouldn’t take well to waking up with Goggles spooning him. But it’s so early in the morning that the blue inkling couldn’t care less, and keeps hugging him.

“Jeez, did we really fall asleep in our clothes? Must’ve been real tired…” he mumbles, yawning. Moments later, he falls back asleep with the side of his face against Rider’s upper back.

8:01 am
The lime inkling slowly wakes up, checking the time on his phone with his eyes still bleary from sleep. He tries to sit up, but when he’s held back, he notices Goggles’ arms around his waist, holding him in place tightly. He freezes, shell-shocked, and can feel his face getting hotter by the second.

Probably because he woke up curled up in his best friend’s arms.

…Or not, you never know.

Luckily for him, Goggles rolls onto his back, letting him go and starfishing on the bed, kicking his foot in the process.

Rider sits up, getting out of bed, and feels less relieved than expected. Actually, the feeling is more negative than positive. He quickly pushes that down, though, because it’s definitely not from the repressed feelings for his best friend that he doesn’t have at all.
It’s probably just because he was warm.

He takes a step towards the bed and nudges Goggles.
“Wake up.”

The blue inkling, being a deep sleeper, doesn’t even notice until Rider rolls him out of bed, and he hits the floor.
“Ah-! What- Rider?” He blinks his eyes open, but doesn’t get up, instead just laying on the floor.
“Get up. It’s morning.”
“Well, I can see that… did you have to wake me like that?”
Goggles stands up slowly, rubbing his head where he hit it on the floor. It’s a good thing his bedroom is carpeted, because it would’ve hurt a lot more if it weren’t.

“You weren’t waking up any other way. Sorry.”
“Oh, uh, it’s fine. I don’t mind,” he says awkwardly, laughing. The blue inkling continues talking, less nervous this time, “So, want some breakfast?”
“Sure.”

Goggles grabs him by the hand and drags him out of his room and into the living room, taking him to the kitchen. Rider’s face is faintly flushed lime green, and he still feels on-edge and nervous from earlier. He’s pretty glad Goggles hasn’t said anything, but feeling slightly disappointed he doesn’t seem to remember.
…Naw, that’s probably just hunger.

Chapter Text

After an awkwardly quiet breakfast at Team Blue’s apartment, Rider says goodbye and starts walking home. His team’s apartment building is down the street, so it doesn’t take him too long. After a few minutes, he gets there, opens the door, and walks inside. Stealth and Blazer are on the couch, and she walks up to greet him.

“Hey, how’d it go? Do anything fun?”

“Just slept.” He strategically ‘forgets’ to mention anything about what happened. After all, he’s pretty sure it didn't mean anything. 

“Ugh, seriously? A sleepover with the guy you talk about nonstop, and you don’t have anything to share?” She groans, and Rider blushes slightly.

“I don't talk about him that much, okay?? And what’s so bad about that? Nothing happened.”

“You really need to tell him,” Stealth adds softly, joining the conversation.

“Tell him what? I’ve got nothing to tell him. Absolutely nothing. Why would I have anything to tell him?” He rambles nervously, and his teammates just stare. He hesitates, then decides to speak again, “Ok, maybe something happened… but it’s not a big deal. He probably didn’t mean it,” he stammers, and Blazer looks at him, eyes wide.

“Hang on, I’ve gotta wake up Bamboo! She’ll wanna hear this.” She rushes out of the living room into Bamboo’s bedroom, and comes back minutes later with a half-asleep Bamboo. The two girls sit on the couch next to Stealth, and all three stare at their captain.

After Rider explains everything that happened using extremely queer wording, they’re quiet for a few moments. Bamboo breaks the silence.

“I always knew you were gay for him.”

“I’m not- well, maybe I am, but if you tell him, I’ll rip out your liver and cook it for Stealth!” He glares at Bamboo, his face flushed from both her comment and him finally admitting it.

“W-why am I involved in this?!” Stealth stutters, looking confused.

“Because,” states Rider, explaining absolutely nothing.

“So you admit it?” Blazer grins.

“Yeah, yeah, I do. Don’t rub it in. I already gotta deal with liking that idiot.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? The goofiest on team goofy. You’ve got strange taste, dude,” Bamboo mumbles, and he glares at her indignantly.

“He’s not that bad!” he starts defensively, “Sure, he’s dumb, but he’s really nice! And kinda funny. Plus, his stupidity is kinda… cute? Endearing? I dunno the word.” He looks away, his face blushing bright lime green.

“Calm down, fruitcake, I wasn’t trying to bully your boyfriend.”

“We’re not- wait, what did you just call me??”

Bamboo sticks her tongue out at him and blows a raspberry in response.

“Tch. I’ve had enough of you guys. I’m going to my room.”

“See you later,” Stealth smiles at him. Rider turns around and walks into his room, closing the door behind him.

He collapses onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The lights are off, but the room is still dimly lit from the morning sunlight outside his window. 

Rider’s teammates probably aren’t right about any of that. Probably.

“ I mean, why would they be? I wouldn’t like him,” he thinks, refusing to consider why he’s doubting every word of it. Rider sits up and grabs his phone to check the time. Still morning. 

He stands up from his bed and walks out of his room, through the living room, and to the front door.

“Where’re you going?” He hears Stealth say from somewhere behind him.

“Out. Maybe the store or something.”

“Can you get pudding?” Blazer adds. Rider sighs and nods his head.

“Fine.”

The air outside is cool and the wind blows in his face. Rider reaches into his pocket to pull out the expedited grocery list his teammates made of all their abrupt requests. The lime inkling walks into the grocery store. 

Unfortunately, before he can get what he came for, a certain blue inkling runs up to him.

“Rider! Hi! Didn't think I’d see you again today!” 

“Uh, yeah, hi. Me neither.”

“Well, since we’re both here, wanna do our errands together? I got a whole list from the others, and they’re finally letting me go on my own!” Goggles grins, and Rider can feel his face heating up slightly.

“I guess. And, uhm, why weren’t you allowed to go alone?.. do I even want to know?”

“Ah, well after ‘the grapefruit incident’, they wouldn’t let me go to the store without supervision! Crazy, right?” he says, laughing.

Rider just stares at him silently for a few moments, before tentatively asking, “What the hell is ‘the grapefruit incident’, Goggles?”

“I might’ve accidentally bought 27 dollars worth of grapefruit. Anyways, I gotta get-“ Goggles continues speaking, reading off his list, but Rider isn’t paying attention. He’s still a bit hung up on the grapefruit. Goggles clearing his throat finally gets his attention. He looks up.

“You zoning out or something? I asked if we should get started.”

“Oh, yeah, let’s do that,” he responds quickly, shaking off any concerned thoughts about what Goggles told him. The blue inkling grabs him by the hand and starts walking through the store, dragging him along and talking while they go.

“I already got a basket, so we can just use mine! Okay, let’s go this way.” He doesn’t wait for Rider to respond, instead pulling him along as he walks. 

“Yo, after this do you wanna get some hot chocolate or something? I’ve been really craving it, and it’d be cool if you came with!” Goggles glances back at him, still walking, and he grins, waiting for a response.

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Hey, uh, you should watch where you’re going.“

Goggles looks in front of him just in time to not run into a display shelf.

“Oh, right! Sorry!” He laughs, then takes Rider down another aisle. 

This is about the point where the lime inkling realises that they’re holding hands. Goggles’ hands are kinda warm, and Rider never really thought that he’d like this, but he’s starting to reconsider that.

“Ok, this is the last thing I need! You got everything?” Goggles says a few minutes later, grabbing something off the shelf and putting it in their basket. 

“Yeah,” Rider responds, staring down at the floor.

“Great! And after we check out, I’m taking you to get hot cocoa, remember?”

“…uh, yeah.”

The two of them walk to the checkout, buy all of their things, then walk out of the store. 

“There’s this cafe kinda nearby, and their hot cocoa is pretty good. That okay with you?” 

Rider nods in response.

They start ambling to the cafe Goggles mentioned, and the cool air hits Rider again, only he wasn’t expecting it this time and shivers slightly.

“Hm? Are you cold? I mean, it is kinda chilly today.” Goggles tilts his head. The lime inkling is incredibly nervous at the thought of Goggles worrying about him. 

“…uh, no, just windy. I’m fine. And yeah, it is,,” he says tensely, but Goggles doesn’t drop it.

“You sure? You can borrow my jacket if you want.”

Although the thought of wearing the blue inkling’s hoodie is oddly nice to Rider, he immediately decides against it.

“No way. If you’re already cold wearing it, you’d be way worse off without it. Besides, I’ve got my own.” 

Goggles eyes seem to light up when Rider says that, and he grins widely.

“Aw, you care about me being cold?” he teases, giggling softly.

“What- no- I just don’t wanna hear you complain!” Rider says defensively, his face starting to flush lime green. 

Goggles laughs, then grabs the other inkling’s sleeve, tugging on it.

“We’re here. Come on, let’s get inside! I don’t wanna be out in the cold much longer!” He walks inside, once again dragging Rider along with him.

“If you dont wanna be in the cold, then why’d you invite me to do this? You could’ve been home by now,” Rider grumbles, walking along with Goggles.

“Well, I like hot cocoa! And I like you! So this is gonna be super fun, even if it’s cold!” He smiles warmly, and Rider’s face feels like it’s so hot it’ll melt. Goggles probably meant that in a friendly way, or at least, that’s what Rider thinks. 

The blue inkling immediately goes up to the counter, still dragging him along by the hand. They both order, then walk to a table to wait.

“So… what do you wanna talk about?”

“Huh? I dunno. You’re the one that started this,” he said, sounding somewhat grouchy and looking through the window.

“I wanted to hang out with you more! And it’s been pretty fun so far.”

Rider continues staring out the window, but this time it’s to hide how flustered he feels. Goggles tries to see what he’s staring at.

“Think it’ll snow?” the blue inkling asks, trying to start some kind of conversation. Alas, Rider doesn’t notice that, and gives the dryest response he’s ever heard.

“I dunno.”

Luckily for Goggles, the name for their order is called and he’s saved from this awkward conversation.

“I’ll get that. Wait here, ‘kay?” He doesn’t wait for Rider to respond before walking over to grab their drinks. 

He comes back moments later and sits down, setting them down.

“Here you gooo~!” Goggles says in a lilting tone, handing Rider his order.

“Thanks. Oh, how much was it? I’ll pay you back.” He reaches to pull out his wallet, but stops when Goggles laughs.

“You’re not paying, silly! Don’t even worry about it.”

“Uh… okay, if you’re sure,” he says stiffly, then opens his mouth to speak again.

“So. You’ve got nothing to talk about?” 

“Yep! But hanging out with you is pretty fun, even if we’ve got nothing to talk about!” Goggles says cheerfully, giggling, and Rider can feel his face heating up.

“Uhh…”

Before he can think of something to say, the blue inkling speaks again, excitedly staring out the window.

“Hey, look! I was right; it is snowing! Cool!”

Rider looks and, sure enough, it’s snowing lightly outside. 

Goggles looks back at him, his eyes almost as wide as his excited smile.

“When it gets heavier, we should build a snowman! Ooh, or we could have a snowball fight!”

“Hm… maybe we should go with the first one. I’d destroy you in a snowball fight,” Rider grins. 

“So a snowman? Yeah! Let’s do that!” He chugs the rest of his drink, then exhales loudly, looking extremely cheerful. 

“And, for the record, you would not win!”

Rider tries not to laugh at the expression on his face. The blue inkling notices him holding back laughter and grins.

“Aw, are you laughing? I didn’t know you could do that!” Goggles teases, giggling, and Rider feels his face get hotter.

“Shut up. I'm not.”

“Pft- I know you are! Don’t worry, it’s cute!”

Rider chokes on his drink, his face flushing an even brighter lime green

“???? Did Goggles just call me cute??? Wtf?? That’s not something you say to a friend, right??” He thinks, his thoughts racing. Goggles laughs again.

“Wow, you’re blushing a lot! Wait, why? It’s super cold!”

This only makes it worse.

“…shut up, Goggles.”

The blue inkling just laughs.
“So, are we gonna build a snowman or what?”