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It was a very peaceful and nice morning in hotel OJ
It had been some time ever since invitational finished so everyone was back at hotel OJ, and luckily for Balloon, invitational allowed OJ and some others to realize that he was really a better person, so now he had a place to come back to, an actual genuine place to stay and not just some pity that could disappear any moment, it was his very own room at the hotel!. Well, kinda, it wasn't just his room, it was also Nickel's. After everything that had happened between them, they agreed to share a room to start working more on their friendship, both of them learning from each other, and it was going really well!, somehow. They still fought from time to time but it's not as serious anymore, and besides, it's mostly just Nickel starting fights for stupid things out of boredom, it always ended up on Balloon picking Nickel up and ignoring him to get him to shut up
Right now, Balloon was in his room scrolling through social media on his laptop. He started zoning out as he kept liking posts and listening to music. He started having many thoughts at once, but one particular thought was louder than the others… Where the hell was Nickel?
Nickel had been gone since very early this morning, for 4 hours at most, and that was long enough to bring questions to Balloon. It was just too weird, Nickel is not the kind of guy to wake up at 7 am and go out to do, whatever he was doing, and i mean, it was weirder how much Balloon was thinking about him, but that wasn't important right now, he was just curious after all, and Nickel was his friend so there wasn't anything wrong with wanting to know were his very dear friend was, maybe he was hurt, maybe he got into trouble with mephone. Again.
Balloon spent at least 15 minutes thinking about what Nickel could be doing right now (without him) until he realized how much he was overthinking it and shook his head to try to put those thoughts away, not that it worked. He laid his head on the rest of the chair and covered his face with his hands, trying to find an explanation of what he was feeling, of what he was thinking. He ended up cursing to the air
—GODDAMN!
—…are you okay dude
Balloon quickly turned around with an unreadable expression
Nickel was standing at the door of their room, staring at Balloon with a curious look. He slowly closed the door behind him, maintaining eye contact with balloon who was still processing the kind of awkward situation that Nickel seemed unbothered about. the coin walked towards the other, passing besides him and gently pushing him to the side to make some space and sit besides him on the chair, this took Balloon out of his trance and made him remembered what he was overthinking about earlier
—have you been scrolling through twitter all morning? really? —Nickel said in a mocking tone as he took over Balloon's laptop and invaded his privacy. Balloon moved the laptop away from him and shut it closed, nickel looked offended at the action but stayed quiet
—where have you been??? —Balloon asked slightly mad but still with a curious tone, nickel smirked at the question —oh, did I worry you? Have you been thinking about me all morning? how thoughtful of you —he said in his usual sarcastic tone, crossing his arms looking at Balloon with a face that said loser, a slight red tone spread across Balloon's face at the questions, then he gave an annoyed look at the other, nickel giggled at this
—well you don't have to worry anymore, I'm here now —he said, seemingly more genuine than before —not for too long though, neither will you —he took out a key out of his pocket and handed it to Balloon, proudly.
Balloon took it gently on his hands, staring at it confused —what is this? —he asked as he looked at the key
—your hands
Balloon gave Nickel another annoyed glance as he said that, Nickel giggled mockingly at that face, turns out Balloon is really fun to bother, it always has been
—I MEANT, what is this key for? —the salmon boy gave the key back to Nickel, who took it as he stand up in front of Balloon —well, lets just say that a friend of mine let me borrow his motorcycle —Balloon tilted his head —aaand since we are now in good terms, i decided to take you out for a ride, so get up, let's get going —Nickel finished, as he walked towards the door, Balloon instinctively followed behind, quickly catching up to him but taking his arm to make him stop
He ended up making Nickel wait outside so he could change his clothes to better ones. It only took a few minutes for Balloon to put on some clean blackish pants and a dark blue and white hoodie, then he left the room, finding Nickel standing right in front of him, waiting. Both boys walked through the hotel to leave, they didn’t exchange any words.
Balloon was lost in his thoughts as he walked beside Nickel. He was wondering why Nickel decided to invite him to hang out, out of all people? sure, they were now friends, best friends if he dared to say, but still, Balloon was sure nickel had closer people to hang out with, right? maybe he wasn’t the first option and the others are too busy to go out. yeah that must be it. The overthinking salmon boy wasn’t exactly happy about this conclusion, but there weren’t any other reasonable answers, although that wasn’t quite true. There were other possible answers, but he didn’t want to believe any of them. This mind train kept going until both of them finally exited the hotel and got to the motorcycle. It was a pretty motorcycle, it looked new and had a really cool design. Nickel hopped on the motorcycle and turned it on, then looked at Balloon, waiting for him to get behind him. Balloon hopped on it, behind Nickel, putting part of his hands around nickel’s stomach to make sure he didn't fall off or something, still maintaining some distance of course.
Nickel flushed slightly for a second at the touch. the coin made sure the other was ready, and once they were, they started their ride
It wasn’t a fast, wild ride or anything, no, it the whole opposite
It was calm, Balloon could feel the refreshing breeze on his face, it was relaxing. he wrapped himself tight around nickel, pressing his face and cheek on the other’s back as he waited to get to their destination, nickel felt a shiver at the action, but he didn’t mind it, he had to focus on the road after all. The ride continued calmly, they were driving to the city, it was a busy place, but since it was still morning it was calm enough for it to still be enjoyable, mostly for Balloon, Nickel knew this.
Balloon took his face off nickel's back and started looking around, he loved how pretty everything was
They drove above a bridge, passing by a beautiful ocean, the sun was shining bright, reflecting its protective glow upon the crystal blue water. As the sun reflected itself, rays hit the salmon boy's soft-plastic like skin. The cold ocean breeze and the newly appearing sun rays were an oddly melancholic combo
They finally got to the city
Different buildings made their appearance as well as people minding their own business, and as crowded as the city might seem, today, it wasn't
A few people could be seen walking, some of them were talking, some of them were playing with their pets; Distant laugher could be heard, along with muttering and the bird's songs; the air wasn't as pure as back in the hotel, but some smells were familiarly good, freshly made food from small restaurants nearby, the watery and beach-like wind, and even the flowers from some parks. All those sounds, smells, and senses, gathered together to form a melody
Has life always been this peaceful?
Balloon wondered. For more than 10 years, his life revolved around a game, all he knew were fights and fights, enemies, alliances, teams, and a lot of other weird occurrences. The first years, he had wasted them putting on a weird act that he thought would lead him to victory, and of course, it didn't. He had fucked up. He had fucked up that, and many other things, the guilt of all of it chasing him everywhere. Though, that was okay. He knew that the past couldn't be undone, but he could, and had tried to amend the damage. It wasn't easy, but gladly for him, most of it was alright now, not that it mattered anymore, he was focusing on the future, on what was here and now, and right now, it was just him, the world and…
… Nickel.
Ironically, the calming yet overwhelming city had him forget what was happening; he found himself completely wrapped around the short one, hugging him warmly, a slight red tone spread across his face at the realization, he almost let go but he was too scared to accidentally fall, so he ended up hugging tighter than before, and once again, squishing his cheek on Nickel's back
They arrived to their destination
It was what it seemed to be a newly open café, one could say that it looked pretty, clean, maybe familiar
Nickel had parked right in front of it, getting off the motorcycle and walking towards the Café, Balloon following behind
Both boys entered the small building, Nickel gestured Balloon to sit down on a chair beside a small table, and another chair by the window. Balloon understood this and sat. The coin headed one started taking their order, balloon looked from afar, his mind started to wonder again, he was mostly kinda offended that nickel didn't asked him what he wanted, but he honestly didn't felt in the mood of choosing so it was alright. Balloon saw Nickel whispering something to the counter person before approaching Balloon and sitting on the chair in front of him at their table; the salmon boy inspected him, from top to bottom, and from bottom to top. Nickel could feel balloon's glance cling to his skin, he as if Balloon were eating him with his stare, he limited himself to pretend he didn't noticed him staring and tried to not seem nervous
Balloon was still quite confused
Although it was nice of Nickel to invite him to hang out, it was strange, Nickel was strange, he had been strange this whole morning. First, he invited him to hang out, then, he didn't mind or commented about how Balloon hugged him the whole ride, and, what did he even whisper to the barista?. He almost considered the posibility of Nickel wanting to pull out a big and elaborated prank on him
All of Balloon's worries faded as classical music started to play
He glanced at the ceiling as if he were looking for where the music was coming from, he looked around, dumbfounded. He rested his chin on his hand, and his arm on the table. He closed his eyes and jammed to the music, smiling gently. He loved classic music! It was his favorite, Balloon could tell what song was playing; Café 1939 by astor piazzolla, it took him a bit to recognize it though, it seemed like a cover, it sounded delightful. He loved it. Nickel knew this.
Nickel looked at Balloon who had his eyes closed, a soft smile formed on the corner of his lips, trying to disguise it as soon as it appeared
—man i love classical music —Balloon commented after a few moments, opening his eyes again and putting both hands on the table. Nickel looked back at his phone before balloon could notice he was starting at him
—wow, what a coincidence —nickel answered in a seemingly sarcastic yet genuine tone, Balloon scoffed playfully at that, then paused for a moment —... Hey hold on —Balloon said as he took a glance at his surroundings, one inspecting the place and actually paying attention to it, Nickel looked at Balloon and raised an eyebrow
—oh… OH…. I KNOW THIS PLACE —the salmon boy exclaimed excitedly as he had realized something —I remember talking about this café to Bot!I told them about this new place that had opened and how I wanted to come!
—another coincidence, I see —Nickel said as he felt kind of a small relief to hear that it was just that, he sighed and looked at Balloon with his usual relaxed expression
—whoever put that song earlier has a good taste though, I must ask them! —Balloon seemed as if he were going to get up, Nickel instinctively grabbed his wrist, Balloon looked at him confused, but before he could say anything, their drinks had arrived. They took their drinks and thanked the person
—why did you take my wrist? Jealous much? —Balloon asked hesitant with a mocking tone. He took a sip of the drink Nickel ordered for him, waiting for an answer
—pfff- don't flatter yourself —Nickel scoffed, drinking his coffee. Balloon giggled at the response, he had gotten used to Nickel's passive-aggressive comments, he knew he didn't mean it genuinely. Nickel chuckled at the other's giggle
Balloon kept drinking his coffee, it was a black coffee, not too much milk and the exact amount of sugar, it tasted like it was brewed with cinnamon, it was actually pretty tasty, was it another coincidence? Maybe today was just a lucky day
Nickel stared at Balloon with a gentle expression
And just like that, the day went by
They spent hours talking about random stuff, laughing, ranting, eating sweets, and mostly making fun of each other. It was a moment they didn't wanted to end, they felt the most at home at this moment, it was weird; of course, they both had their close friends, others that they trusted, but it was different between them
They had a different connection, and that was weird
They were complete opposites but somehow also the same, they were two sides of the same coin, so to say; It was weird, but also special to them. They understood each other. Sometimes invitations came as silently sitting besides the other; sometimes affection was just discreetly taking care of each other; sometimes they argued about stupid things like "what color should you make a square" and "you are insane if you want to paint it purple"
Sometimes, words weren't needed, apologies and regrets being left in the air
"Where is my coloring book?" "again?" "shut up, I've been busy" "it's below your bed… Moron…" "I'm telling OJ to kick you out of my room" "OUR room, balloon"
Such mundane things were enough for them to feel at peace
At some point they remembered the times they competed together. They mentioned how convenient it was that somehow they always ended up together, and even got eliminated back to back two times
—I really thought you were going to vote me out that time —Nickel mentioned, referring to ep 14 in invitational. Balloon chuckled —hah, well, i was going to, but i was kind enough to let you in y'know, you're welcome —Balloon said with a slight mocking tone, Nickel smiled offended
— ...I did want to vote you out —Balloon continued —but, Yinyang wanted to vote silverspoon, so…
Nickel put his left hand on his chest while he held his cup with the other —WOW Balloon, I CAN'T believe you prefer yinyang rather than me, you REALLY hurt my feelings —he said dramatically, faking a sad expression
Balloon laughed again, something about his laugh made Nickel fuzzy inside, the coin smiled at Balloon like he had seen his lover for the first time in years. The world stopped for a moment. Suddenly everything was worth it. Nickel couldn't help but chase after that laugh every time he could, years had passed and Balloon still had the same bright and genuine laugh, it was soothing, it wasn't quite easy to explain how he felt, but it was a nice feeling, a feeling he didn't wanted to stop any moment soon
Nickel noticed he was staring a little bit too much, so he looked in another direction embarrassed as Balloon just seemed confused by his reaction. Nickel looked at his now empty cup, reflecting his current situation, he felt the need to apologize, apologize for everything, although he had done it many times before, he still felt the urge from time to time, but another sorry would have felt empty, so he decided to got for something different for once
—hey… —Nickel called, his voice tone so calm it was almost fake, balloon looked at him with a confused smile, Nickel cleared his throat —thank you… For… Y'know, sticking around, despite everything —he continued, his words feeling like stones on his throat as he spoke
Balloon repeated the sentence inside his head
It was the first time in a while Nickel sounded genuine, and it was to thank him. He got so used to the other's usual attitude he had forgotten how actually soft Nickel could be. He smiled. Nickel cursed that damn smile
—Well you're welcome, I'm glad you recognize you are an absolute menace —Balloon said in a bickering tone, matching Nickel's usual energy, he knew the coin would get more embarrassed if he had gotten any more sappy. Nickel let out a small offended "hey!" at which Balloon laughed once again.
The time flew fast, and soon enough it was already 6 pm. The gray haired one noticed this and gasped softly as if he had forgotten something. He abruptly got up from his seat and paid for the drinks and food, then hurried Balloon outside with him to get in the motorcycle. Balloon couldn't be more confused
—w, wha- wait! Why the hurry?
—just get on! We'll be late!
Before Balloon could question anything else, Nickel had already started driving, making Balloon grip on the other’s abdomen to stop himself from almost falling. He held tight on Nickel’s stomach, hugging him again like he had done a few hours ago. He rested his cheek on the other’s back, looking at the buildings passing by and eventually disappearing, now being back at the bridge. The view was almost the same from earlier, although now the sun seemed like it was just some hours away from setting, maybe an hour and a few minutes away. Balloon’s mind wandered off meanwhile, it had been a weird day, not that he didn’t like it, he, in fact, loved it. the ride, the view, the drinks and food, the company, everything was so oddly perfect it almost felt like a dream, he almost fell disappointed that it was ending
He hoped that at least, this wasn't the last time Nickel asked him to hang out with him
Nickel continued driving, trying to focus on the road. After about an hour long drive, they arrived at their new destination. It was a mountain. Balloon recognized this mountain
—Nickel, what are we doing here-
Nickel cut Balloon off by passing by him and immediately starting to climb the mountain, The salmon boy quickly followed behind, not too long after yelling "wait!" and almost tripping on his feet.
They raced to the top, giggling like teenagers, they felt like they were back in those years where they competed together, it felt magical. At some point, Nickel got distracted by looking behind, only to find Balloon a few inches close to him, thinking about how fast he was, the fright making trip on a rock, suddenly falling as he angrily yelled "FUCK-". Balloon reacted quickly, throwing himself to the grass, becoming a pillow for Nickel to fall in and catching him. Nickel fell on balloon, making them both groan in pain as they rested on the soft grass. they slowly got up, sitting on the grass and looked at each other, starting to laugh and giggle almost immediately, noticing that they were too close to each other’s face as they finished laughing
nickel quickly looked away, his eyes landing at the top of the mountain that was now just a few cm away from them, this making him remember something again. He stood up and gestured to Balloon to keep goin, the other understanding and following behind.
Eventually, they both reached the top, Nickel slowly walked to the end of the cliff and sat down on the grass, making himself comfortable. balloon sat beside him, leg crossed and mesmerized by the view. It was the cliff. the cliff where he talked to suitcase about how he felt towards everyone for the first time. the place where he used to go to find peace. It was that cliff. The sun was setting, they were just in time, he felt brought back. He thought for a moment, the breeze gently hitting him. balloon had forgotten how much he loved his mountain
nickel knew this
Balloon's thoughts wandered again, this time calmer, it felt like all his efforts and all the things he had done to change himself were finally paying off, he felt hope for once. Hope that things were finally good, almost as a reminder, a reminder to be kind, a reminder that it's good to change, a reminder that he is not alone anymore. He thought for a few more minutes before cracking an eye open to check on Nickel, he looked like he was thinking too, but a bit more focused. He closed his eyes again, then reopened them after a few seconds.
—thanks for the invitation bud, even if i wasn’t the first person you asked, i really enjoyed it today —balloon finally said as he kept looking at the sunset
—sure dude, no probl- wait. what. —nickel stopped mid sentence and looked at balloon, shocked about what he just said. has balloon been thinking that he had other options and balloon wasn’t the first one he asked?. balloon looked back at him with a slightly confused smile —balloon, do you think you weren’t the first person i asked to hang out with? —Nickel asked in a genuine and confused tone
—... was I?
Nickel’s face was a weird mix of shock, confusion, and slight disappointment, he tilted his head as a response, waiting for balloon to connect the dots. balloon now looked more confused, he stared at nickel for a few moments, trying to make up a believable answer, what did he meant by that? he was just one of the options wasn't he?, why else would Nickel ask him to hang out, to go to a place he had been wanting to go and then to the cliff that he used to visit back then... oh... oh.
It hit.
The realization hit.
Planned. It was all planned. wasn’t it?. Everything made sense now.
They left the hotel and drove by the time the city and surroundings were quiet enough for balloon to enjoy. They visited a cafe balloon wanted to try for months ago, a calm place. The coffee was perfect. Classical music played the entirety of their stay, all songs Balloon knew and loved. They went to the cliff. The cliff that brought peace to Balloon when he couldn’t find it. and Nickel knew this. Nickel had planned this hang out.
The coin realized that Balloon had finally found out as his expression changed to a more flustered one, he quickly looked the other way to avoid Balloon looking at him and making him cringe more at how sappy he was by planning everything out. Balloon smiled dumbfounded as a red tone spread on his face
—Nickel… Did you plan all of this?
Nickel shrugged off still looking away
—did you really go on your way to list all the things i enjoy?....
Nickel shrugged off again
—... is this a date?
nickel slowly nodded
balloon smiled
As it turns out, it was indeed a date, a date that Nickel had spent months planning; he asked baseball to help him "borrow" knife's motorcycle without having him notice. He asked bot to find what place would be nice to take him to. He noted and wrote down what kind of drinks and music Balloon enjoyed, praying he was correct. And even suitcase told him about the cliff, and how much comfort it brought him. Nickel had planned everything so carefully. He fucked up many things in the past, he didn't want to fuck up this time, and only a dense person like balloon could not notice
The more he thought about it, the more it made balloon smile dumbly. He felt like a teenage girl with a stupid crush, smiling like an idiot, about another idiot. He scooped closer to Nickel, touching the other’s shoulder with his own, and putting his hand above nickel's and intertwining their fingers. Nickel felt a shiver at the touch on his shoulder, his heart raced and his face felt hotter, it was almost too perfect to be real
—thank you… —Balloon whispered as he rested his head on Nickel's shoulder, partially squishing his hand and closing his eyes
Although Nickel had prosthetics, the touch somehow felt very real, and it made him fuzzy inside. He slightly opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as soon as it opened, he could only snuggle on Balloon's head as a response. Balloon snuggled back, assuring
simple gestures were the ones that made them happy the most
They stayed like that for some more minutes that felt like hours.
wishing they could stay like that for the rest of their lives