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"Ey, check this out."
The Blue team's captain nearly ducked from the flyer being shoved to his face as he stopped scribbling on his journal.
"What?"
"They're opening up a new cafe!" Goggles chirped happily, turning the flyer in his hand to look at it again. "Pretty close to the apartment too! Cool, right?"
Specs adjusted his namesake, rolling his eyes at Goggles' excitement about some another cashgrab cafe. It was a hot day and the sun was out, even though the two were sitting on a booth under an umbrella, it didn't really help to calm down the captain's (even stronger) irritation.
"Maybe we should go today! At the evening perhaps..."
"We have eleven matches to do today, Goggles," Specs said, pushing up his glasses slightly to rub his eyes. "I don't think we can manage–"
"They sell tiramisu."
Ah.
"...w-we still have eleven matches to do."
Goggles got closer, blank face morphing into a grin as he whispered to the other's ear.
"The menu comes with a lemonade."
Specs got quiet and turned towards the Goggles as the goof stared at him with his piercing eyes 3 damn centimeters away from his face (his inner voice was yelling at the other to back the fuck off but also nodonotbackoff–), shit eating grin plastered on his face.
Before the spectacled inkling can protest further, Headphones ended up in there in a flash suddenly as the two other members jumped in their places, out of the seemingly-trance they were in. The charger main was unnoticeable as it was like she suddenly dropped from the sky, excess ink on her tentacles.
"Still trying to superjump to anywhere I want," she said as she shook the ink while trying to regulate her breathing. "Just wanted to say I'm probably not gonna be able to join the matches today, guys."
Goggles managed to mumble after the shock wore off. "Dude y'know you could've used your phone..."
"Battery died. Anyway, I promised Nana I'd spend the day with her today. Sorry again." Headphones said with a shrug.
"That's fine," Specs said with a sigh, unsonsciously shifting away from Goggles. "Where's Bobble?"
"Dunno, wasn't she supposed to meet up with you guys or?.."
Suddenly Goggles' phone went off with a notification, "Bobs just texted. Said her mom's sick, so she can't make it today either."
The other two's brows furrowed as Goggles asked if there were anything needed, in which he got a reafformation from the slosher main that she thankfully didn't.
Headphones stalled around her remaining teammates before Nana calling her, so she bid the two inklings a goodbye as she superjumped away. Specs watched his co-captain disappear into the sky as Goggles leaned on the couch, pulling up his arms behind his head.
"So..." He said, looking at the clouds pass over the umbrella. "You sure you wanna do the matches?"
Specs let out a groan.
"I mean...Phones and Bobs aren't here, so...Tiramisu?"
"...okay."
Goggles' ever present grin became wider as he stood up and stretched, "Great! It's a date then! You comin'?"
"No, I think I'll sit here for a little more."
"Okay then...See you around 7, I guess," Goggles said, bidding at Specs with finger guns as he walked away.
It was a few blissful minutes before all hell dawned on Specs.
WHAT DID HE MEAN BY DATE.
The line to this simple cafe was long, longer than Goggles could stand still for. He was wearing his usual stuff, but the people around him was all kind of decked in a tad bit fancy, matching clothes, making the blue squid wonder why.
He stopped his rocking when he felt a hand tapping on his shoulder, turning to see his captain.
"Hey."
"Glad you made it!" Goggles smiled at the shorter inkling, "there are some few people left before us so we'll get in soon I think. Everybody's really fancy for some reason..."
Specs rolled his eyes with a chuckle, already getting the implication from...well, everything about the cafe.
Goggles looked at his captain. His appearence was same like him, although his tie was replaced with a nice blue one this time. The rest was his usual, although the goggled inkling noticed the slight eyeliner around his bottom eyelids.
Woah...Maybe I should've done something to my face as well? Since all the people in this line are matching...also it looks so nice on him...
"Sir?"
His thought train derailed as the octoling in front of the entrance spoke up.
"Do you have a reservation?"
"Oh uhm– no?"
"That's okay, sir," the octoling said, smile not shifting once, "you can just pay an entrance fee of 40,000 coins."
Both of the inkling's face paled.
"Uhm...I..."
"Couples are free to enter, single entrance is paid. This is our policy, sir."
Goggles looked around, racking his brain to how to get out of paying a worth of a whole line of Tentakek and Kensa kicks combined as a singular entrance fee.
"Goggles, maybe we should just–"
Upon hearing Specs' voice, an idea just popped up in the splattershot main's head.
"W-well," Goggles stuttered before grabbing Specs' arm and pulling the captain to himself, the latter letting out a squeak. He wrapped an entire arm around the other's shoulder as he continued.
"This is my boyfriend actually!"
"WHA–" Goggles lightly(?) pinched Specs on the back of his neck before he could finish his sentence.
"Yeah, w-we don't really make it obvious, due to uh...stuff. Yup."
The octoling employee's eyes held a glee as Goggles just prayed they wouldn't suspect anything. He hugged Specs around the shoulders, leaning down on the crook of his neck with a gleeful but nervous grin (and the scent of the other's lavender-scented perfume hitting his nostrils–which happened to be his favorite as well–hey wait a minute). His captain was just standing still and stiff, anxiety readable from his body language.
The employee narrowed their eyes, humming as if they were scanning the two.
"Hm. How long have you guys been together?"
"Uh...3 years!"
The employee was silent for an agonizing minute, but smiled and let out an 'aww'.
"Okay, you can enter!"
Goggles and Specs both released a breath they didn't know they were holding. As they scurried inside and found a booth in the corner, Specs smacked Goggles on the head.
"The hell was that?!"
Goggled let out a whine as he rubbed his head, "What?! I didn't wanna pay eighty for an ENTRANCE fee, man!"
"Yeah but what if someone sees us?"
"I mean...it wouldn't be much of a problem for me, personally," Goggled said as he leaned on his arms behind his head. "It would be their problem."
"Sure, but I don't really want someone we know to see us, specifically someone like Aloha or something. He'd tease us to death," the spectacled inkling growled, "or that Cod damn trend guy."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Specs rolled his eyes before happily thanking the waiter who brought their menus.
This tiramisu better be good, Specs thought as both of the inklings ordered the same thing, which seemed like it had a discount on couples that day coincidentally.
While waiting, Goggles stared at his captain scrolling on his phone, now that he could see him better. The atmosphere of the place was dim and tables were each decorated with a bouquet and (fake) candles, and damn Specs looked quite pretty with the yellow glow of the candle hitting on his facial features and the flowers complimenting his tentacles and eyes–
HOLD.
Goggles' rarely formed thought train was in nothing but pure smoke and debris at this point.
"Goggles?"
"HA!" He let out a quite embarrasing and a loud squeak, before getting the worst and quite rare cases of embarrasment in his life.
"You good?"
"Y-yeah, I am better than ever! Thanks!"
Can the food hurry up already...
Before he could just shrivel up and die, the waiter finally made their way through their table.
"Alright, two tiramisus for this table!" The waiter chirped in a quite fake tone, placing down their requested desserts. They then took the big glass of decorated lemonade with a single, heart shaped straw with two ends planted in it. "Our tiramisus come with a singular glass for our lovely couple to share it together! Enjoy!"
Specs stared at the waiter who skated away from their table in disbelief.
"You got to be kidding me..." He groaned and took a bite from his plate while Goggles dig in on his own like an animal, without any care.
"We could just drink this in turns," the brush main mumbled, in which the other hummed without a thought.
After a few bites of seemingly the best tiramisu he has ever seen (nothing could top the one Goggles' grandma made though), he reached for the glass. Goggles also happened to reach for it at the same time as his warm hand suddenly collided with Specs' cold ones.
"Oh–" the splattershot user retracted his hand and stratched behind of his neck with a sheepish grin. "S-sorry."
"It's fine." Specs said as he pulled the glass towards himself, drinking while fiddling with his hands. He didn't want to admit it but he didn't want to deny it either, to feel the hand of the other again. They were warm, and a bit rough on some places from the healed scars he gained years ago. He didn't wear his fingerless gloves either, so the captain could feel the scarred tissue on his fingers too.
Specs passed the lemonade to Goggles, hand hovering over the bottom of the fancy glass for a second to feel the other's hand again.
While Goggles was going ham at the dessert, he stopped abruptly when Specs told him to hold on.
"Hu?" Goggles said in a confused tone as Specs leaned towards him with a tissue in his hand, holding his chin delicately to wipe off a piece stuck on his cheek. The other hummed as Goggles felt the hand on his cheek retracting back, and he suddenly found himself yearning for those cold hands while his captain continued to eat while not mustering up the courage to look at him.
Some time finally passed as the two finished their desserts, Goggles letting out a content hum as he stretched in the chair.
"That was de-lish!"
"Yeah it was," Specs said, wanting to go out now. "Are you gonna order something else or should we go?"
"Lemme think..." Goggles said as he tapped his chin in mock thought. "I don't really think I wanna order more from a place that sells one glass of water for 3000 coins."
Specs chuckled as both of the squids stood up. Thank Cod they didn't pay for the desserts because of the couple discount. As much as the cafe being really nice and fancy, no hassle on paying a shit ton of money for simple stuff they could make at home.
"We should hold hands while walk out," Goggles said, dusting his jacket as he snatched a couple of the sugar packets from the table. "Y'know, to make it seem like we're boyfriends or something."
"Fine," Specs said as he felt Goggles' hand finding his own and grabbing it, a warm feeling in his hearts began to make its way on his face. A second later there was a full on blush on his face, great.
Fantastic.
They both bid a goodbye at the workers in the counter, breezy summer air hitting their faces when they got out as Goggles let go of Specs' hand.
"Whew," Goggles put his hands in his pockets. "That was an experience."
"Yeah."
A few minutes of silence passed as the duo walked under the color changing sky, deciding to take a different path that went right through by Brinewater Springs. It was quiet and not crowded as the stage itself was under a renovation. A few people here and there were walking the path and taking the beautiful scenery in. Birds could be heard from background, the seats scattered aside empty.
Goggles personally couldn't stand silence even to save his life, but it was actually quite nice this time. Maybe it was the tranquility of the atmosphere, or the chill breeze of the air, or Specs' presence.
"Can we hurry up a bit?" The said-inkling broke the silence, hands going up to his arms to rub them. Specs tried to cover his shiver up by making it seem like he just crossed his arms, but Goggles wasn't buying it because he knew the other got cold even at a summer evening.
"Hang on," the splattershot user stopped in his tracks to take off his green mountain jacket to drape it around the other. He flashed a smile, "There ya' go!"
"Thanks," Specs wore the jacket, the smell of rosy fabric softener enveloping him. It was nice.
Both of the inklings looked ahead, comfortable silence in the air. They weren't sure about their feelings, but that could wait...
For now.