Chapter Text
The Blue Team was at Wahoo World today. No, not to participate in a match, but to enjoy the rare moment that it was open up to the public so everyone could actually enjoy the attractions for once.
Headphones had taken off with Bobble who was dragging her along to some of the rides, leaving Specs alone with none other than Goggles. The latter was eager to get on every single ride there was too, especially the more adrenaline-inducing ones, much to the dismay of the other inkling. They had already gone on the rollercoaster at least 5 times per Goggles’ request (more like begging) and on the fourth and fifth time Specs had to sit out after throwing up his lunch.
Now that they were all tuckered out from the thrills and chills, the duo were sitting outside one of the food vendors littered throughout the park. They were sipping on their drinks, each getting something sweet to replenish some of their spent energy. Goggles was swinging his legs around, seemingly not out of energy at all compared to Specs who was leaning on his back to rest. The boisterous inkling looked towards his friend and smiled, an idea popping up in his head.
“Hey, Specs! If you’re up for it, wanna try one of the game stalls to win a prize? Something to end the day on!” He suggested, finishing the last drop of his drink as he did so. He then threw the empty cup to the trash can next to him, leaping off the bench and on to his feet to jog on the spot. “C'mon! It’ll be fun! What do you say?”
Specs opened his eyes and sighed. He didn’t mean to almost sleep right where he was, but being with Goggles absorbed all the energy out of you without even trying. Looking towards said boy, he gave a small smile and nodded. “Sure, why not. Doesn’t hurt to have some last minute fun!” He says in reply and slowly gets on his feet as well, throwing the finished drink into the same trash can near Goggles. Goggles let out a ‘Hooray!’ and raised a fist to the air, a big grin on his face. Specs couldn’t help but roll his eyes affectionately at him.
The duo then made their way towards where the game stalls were set up. Upon arriving there, they could see a large variety of games that they could try. One in particular caught Specs’ attention immediately. It had a large stuffed cat plushie on display and he couldn’t help but really, really want to win it.
“You wanna try that one? Let’s go then!” Goggles said as he took Specs’ hand in his own, leading the way to the stall with a skip in his step. Specs was flustered for a second before calming down, feeling a little bit embarrassed that Goggles of all inklings had noticed him staring at the cat plush. Was he that obvious about it?
When they got there, the octoling running the stall grinned brightly at them and gestured to the prizes behind him. “Welcome, welcome! Glad you are decided to check the best game in the park!” He said in slightly broken Inklish, “Easy to play! Just shoot at the target! To win prizes, get 2 or more targets! You only get 5 chance!”
Specs nodded once he understood the instructions. Just like the guy said, it should be easy! Though there was just one problem—it was the fact that Specs wasn’t very good at using a shooter weapon in general. He didn’t want to seem too lame in front of Goggles though, so he put down the money needed to play on the table and grabbed a gun right after. The worker flipped a switch and the targets sprang to life, moving around to make the game just a tad bit more fun and challenging. Thankfully, they weren’t moving too fast, but for Specs it might as well have been a real-life turf war.
With a nervous gulp, he aimed the reticle at one of them, then after waiting for the right moment, pulled the trigger. The rubber bullet hit a random object instead, missing the target entirely. Specs could feel Goggles hover behind him but the boy was uncharacteristically quiet for some reason. It made him even more nervous.
He tried 4 more times but unfortunately missed every single shot. The cat plush was the biggest prize, meaning he had to have hit 5 targets, but he failed this time. Now, Specs wasn’t going to give up just yet, so he placed down more coins to continue playing. Goggles was hyping him up in the back, giving him some encouraging words.
“You got this Specs! You’re amazing Specs! You can do it!” It made the smarter inkling blush slightly as he tried to suppress a grin for the praise he received.
Unfortunately for Specs, he just couldn’t land 5 targets for the prize he wanted. He had already used up a good amount of his money just to keep going and once it added up, it was a lot. He let out a defeated sigh as he put the gun down, turning to Goggles with a disappointed look on his face. “I don’t want to waste the rest of my money, so I’m going to stop here.”
Goggles felt a pang of guilt hit him seeing his friend seem so sad at being unable to win the game. It wasn’t even his fault, but he couldn’t help it. He then put on a determined expression and stepped forward towards the game stall. “My turn! I’ll win that plush for you, Specs! Seeing you down just makes me feel down too and we don’t want our leader to be sad!” He said. Specs felt appreciation course through him, overtaking the disappointment he just felt prior. He gave the other boy a grateful smile and nodded.
Within just his first try, Goggles easily shot 5 targets in a row without breaking a sweat. Of course it’s to be expected seeing as the energetic inkling mained a Splattershot. He let out a victorious shout, jumping in place as he then turned to Specs to shake him by the shoulders. Specs could only laugh in return and try his best to stop the boy from making him dizzy again. Goggles then excitedly asked for the cat plush for his prize, his arms outstretched as he tried to grab it with glee from the worker’s hands. He proudly showed it off for him. “Look, look! It’s so soft and fuzzy!”
Specs gently took the plush from his hands, their fingertips brushing against each other just for a second. He had a look of awe on his face as he inspected the plush in its full glory, admiring the cute little details.
“Yeah, it really is! Thanks, Gogs. It means a lot to me what you said and did for me today.” He sheepishly said, hiding his face slightly from behind the plush. Goggles pulled it down a bit so he could look at Specs more properly, giving the other a big smile.
“For you? I’d do anything!”
The same soft and fuzzy feeling of the plush swirled around in Specs’ stomach upon hearing those words.