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When Skateboard arrives at Thieves Rest, the cafe is thankfully not busy. The weather isn’t too great, which means there aren’t many inphernals out and about outside. This also meant that Skateboard had free reign to skate at full speed down the streets, which he took full advantage of.
Walking inside, he notices Slingshot walk into the back room, Vinestaff speaking to a customer, and Shuriken standing around, seemingly waiting for something to do. As the former two are busy, he elects to talk to Shuriken first.
“Hey!” Skateboard greets. He raises an eyebrow as Shuriken jumps, eyes blinking fast like he was just pulled out of a trance. “Woah, you okay there?”
“Oh, uh, yeah Skate, I’m good.” Shuriken coughs awkwardly. “Sorry about that. Was zoned out a bit there. Anyways, what’s up? Decided to drop by today?”
“Yeah, I had nothing really going on, so I figured I’d come here.”
Skateboard squints, noticing the eyebags and dark circles under Shuriken’s eyes. “Geez, dude. You look exhausted. Long day?”
Shuriken looks away, rubbing the back of his head. “I guess you could say that.”
Skateboard shakes his head. “No offense, but I can’t remember the last time you didn’t look half-dead. You really need to take a day off or something, I’m sure Sling wouldn’t mind.”
The other inphernal’s eyes widen. “No, no, I’m good! I promise.” He shoots a forced grin. “Really, you don’t have to worry.”
“Shuri-”
“Skate,” Shuriken says, eyes pleading. “Just believe me, okay? I’m fine. I am.”
Skateboard opens his mouth briefly, but eventually decides to drop it, not wanting to make Shuriken upset. In any case, if things got bad enough he was sure Vinestaff and Slingshot would do something about it.
“Alright,” he concedes. “You mind taking my order then? I think I’ll just have a coffee today. Oh, maybe a muffin as well.”
Shuriken nods. “One sugar?”
“You read my mind.”
Skateboard hands Shuriken a few bux and waits in front of the counter as the Shuriken moves behind it to prepare his order. Just then, Slingshot walks out from the back carrying a tray of freshly baked treats. There’s a tired look on his face as he places them into the display cabinet, delicately yet swiftly arranging them in a pretty order.
While he’d never have the patience himself, Skateboard admired Slingshot’s dedication to perfection. He knew how hard he worked to keep his cafe running, how hard he worked to make sure everything was in tip-top shape. Slingshot told him once about his dream of making it to the top layer of Crossroads, and Skateboard hopes he can reach that goal one day. If there was one inphernal who deserved it, it was Slingshot.
Once Slingshot is done, he backs away from the display cabinet and visibly sighs. He then looks up, and finally, he spots Skateboard standing there. His face lights up immediately, the tired expression replaced by a happy one.
“Skate!” Slingshot exclaims, moving over to him. “Didn’t see you for a moment there. How are you?”
“Fine as usual,” Skateboard responds. “It’s been a while since I saw the cafe this peaceful. You must be glad.”
“Hah! Normally I would, but I actually just got a shipment of ingredients around a couple of hours ago, so Shuri and I were busy putting those away. That was tiring.”
“Bet it was. At least the weather isn’t too nice. Shouldn’t see many inphernals coming in today.”
“Mhm.”
Just then, Shuriken walks over with Skateboard’s coffee and muffin in hand. He hands them over, shoots Slingshot a suspicious look which the inphernal in question doesn’t seem to notice, and disappears into the back. A little odd, but whatever.
“So, you got someplace to be soon?” Slingshot asks. His eyebrows furrow, and there’s a small frown on his face as if he’s annoyed at the prospect.
Skateboard shakes his head. “Nah, not really. I’ll just chill here for a while.”
The frown quickly turns upside down, and Slingshot once again looks delighted. “Cool. I think I’ll take a little break as well, then. I’ll sit with you for a bit.”
“You? Take a break?” Skateboard says incredulously. In the background, Vinestaff raises her eyebrows at his words. “I have never heard you say those words before in my life.”
Slingshot merely shrugs. “Well you’re always telling me to relax, so I figured I’d give it a shot.”
Skateboard chuckles. “Fair enough.”
They head over to a booth on the side. Skateboard takes a seat, and Slingshot slots in beside him. Inphernals always gave them certain looks for doing this whenever they ate out together, but Skateboard can’t fathom why. Wasn’t it normal for friends to sit beside each other?
“Did you hear about the new mobility gear park they’re building here?” Slingshot says. “Apparently it’s going to be pretty big.”
At the word park, Skateboard stops scarfing down the muffin and excitedly grins. “Yeah! Dude, I’m so pumped for that. I saw the concepts they posted online, and it looks sick. I can’t wait to skate there.”
He continues rambling on, so focused that he fails to notice the fond, warm gaze on Slingshot’s face. The other inphernal doesn’t even seem to be paying attention to his words, eyes locked on Skateboard’s features like they were the only thing that mattered.
Eventually, Skateboard manages to shut his mouth. Slingshot teases him, and the two spend the next half hour chattering about anything and everything. It’s nice, just talking with Slingshot like this. Usually Skateboard hated staying still, but he felt like he could stay here forever if he could. There was just something about Slingshot that grounded him. Was that a weird thing to say about your best friend? Nah, no way.
Their conversation is cut short when a group of inphernals enter the cafe. Slingshot sighs and stands up, and it’s only then Skateboard notices just how close together they’d been sitting.
“I should get back to work now,” he says. “Can’t let Vine and Shuri handle everything by themselves.”
Skateboard nods. “For sure.” He bumps shoulders with Slingshot. “I’ll probably head out too. See you soon?”
Slingshot smiles. “Yeah. See you.” He hesitates for a moment, before quickly brushing Skateboard’s hand and dashing away.
Huh, Skateboard thinks. He looks down at his hand, still feeling a tingle from where Slingshot made contact. What was that about?
Not that he didn’t like it, of course. A strange warm feeling blooms inside him, one which stays as he throws his cup of coffee into the garbage and waves goodbye to Slingshot, Shuriken and Vinestaff on his way out. All in all, a standard visit to Thieves Rest.
The sun casts an orange glow through the sky as evening falls onto Craterdust. The winds whistle quietly, carrying echoes of conversation from streets all around.
The mobility gear park is empty when Skateboard arrives. It’s not too unusual for a smaller, more run-down location like this, and while Skateboard prefers the chatter of inphernals around him, he can still appreciate the peace and quiet.
Summoning his gear, he absentmindedly begins skating down ramps, doing simple tricks as a little warmup. He had a tournament soon, where he would be competing against other mobility gears, so he needed the practice.
He didn’t expect anyone else to come here, so when a voice suddenly calls out his name, it surprises him enough that he loses his balance and hits the ground. Hard.
“Skate!”
Groaning, Skateboard looks up to see Slingshot running towards him, a worried look on his face.
“Ow,” Skateboard groans. “That was a little embarrassing.”
“Sorry,” Slingshot says. “It was my fault, I distracted you.” He crouches down next to Skateboard, putting a hand on his shoulder as he looks him over for injuries.
Skateboard smiles and waves him off. “All good, dude. I wasn’t really locked in anyways, otherwise I wouldn’t have fallen. I’ve wiped out a lot worse than this before, anyhow.”
Slingshot huffs. “I know. I was there when you nearly cracked your head open trying to do a triple flip off the roof of my cafe.”
“It would’ve been sick!”
“It was stupid.” Slingshot sighs, satisfied with his mini check-up. He keeps his hand on Skateboard’s shoulder, however.
Skateboard laughs. “Only because I messed up. The helmet I was wearing was shoddy quality, too.”
“Uh huh. You’re welcome for hooking you up with a better one, by the way.”
“And you’re welcome for the free publicity I gave you!”
Slingshot rolls his eyes. “I still can’t believe I got more customers because some doofus nearly died in front of my cafe.”
“What can I say? That’s pure aura right there!”
“Call it that again and I’ll smack you.”
Skateboard manages to resist the urge to say it again, and instead shifts topics. “So, what are you doing here?” he asks. “Did you know I was here? Hard to believe you’d come out all this way otherwise.”
Slingshot shakes his head. “I was bored. And no, I went over to your apartment first. Boombox was in the area, so I asked him if he knew where you were and he told me you were here.”
“Good ol’ Boombox, eh?”
“Good old’ Boombox.”
Suddenly, Skateboard gets an idea. “Well, Sling. If you’re bored, then I might have a way to relieve that.”
Slingshot raises an eyebrow. “I don’t like that tone of yours.”
“You’ve been telling me how you want to try new things lately, right?” Skateboard continues. “Then how about you try my skateboard? You’re always jumping around in the air during Phights, so it’ll be perfect!”
Slingshot looks him dead in the eyes. “No.”
“Aw, come on!”
“I refuse to get on that death machine of yours, Skate.”
“It’s not a death machine! It’s literally just a board on four wheels! It’s not dangerous, I promise. I’ll teach you!”
“Still no.”
Skateboard huffs, trying to find a way to convince Slingshot. “I guess if you’re scared, that’s fine,” he eventually says, tone casual. “I mean, it’s kind of surprising from you considering you can literally walk on air, but okay.”
It works. Ego challenged, Slingshot narrows his eyes.
“Fine,” he snaps. “Summon your gear.”
“AAAAHHH!”
Slingshot’s shriek reverberates through the air as he and Skateboard barrel down a massive ramp together, and Skateboard thinks he’s going to be bruised from how hard the other inphernal’s arms were wrapped around his waist. There’s hardly any room on the skateboard for two people, but Skateboard controls his gear with ease, laughing loudly at Slingshot’s cries. When they reach the bottom and slow down, Slingshot is still holding on, head pressed against his back.
“We’re at the bottom, Sling,” he says. “You can open your eyes now.”
“What the fuck,” Slingshot responds shakily. “I’m never doing that again.”
“Really? But you sounded like you were having so much fun!”
Slingshot pulls back to glare at him. “Fun? I lost a few years of my life from that!”
“Hah! You do look a little pale. Maybe skating isn’t for you.”
Skateboard steps off the board and Slingshot follows suit. The latter is visibly wobbling, so it was probably best if he stayed close for the time being.
“Yeah, maybe,” Slingshot replies. “I’ll stick to my shoes and my own gear, thanks.”
They sit down at the deck of a much shorter ramp in silence for a moment, their legs swaying idly off the edge.
“You still bored?” Skateboard asks, a smirk on his face.
“To whatever you’re planning, no. And I mean it this time,” Slingshot says instantly.
“Nah, I don’t got anything in mind. Just wanted to see your reaction.”
“Ugh. You’re spending too much time around Coil.”
“Maybe.”
Another quiet moment passes.
“It’s the weekday,” Skateboard realizes. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“I do.”
“And you still came all this way? You never do that.”
Slingshot shrugs. “Like I said, I was bored. Also, I wanted to see you.”
“Huh.” Skateboard can’t help but smile at that.
Slingshot stands up. “But Shuri and Vine will never let me live it down if I don’t get ready for work on time tomorrow, so I kind of actually do need to leave soon.”
Skateboard frowns. “Oh. Duty calls, then.”
“Unfortunately.”
They walk to the edge of the park together. It’s dark now, the sun having disappeared behind the tall buildings.
“You planning to drop by the cafe anytime soon?” Slingshot asks. “I’m trying out a new recipe, and I think you’d like it.”
Skateboard shakes his head. “Nah, I gotta practice for a competition in a couple days. Sorry.”
“Oh, is that what you were doing when I arrived? Now I feel bad for bothering you.”
“Don’t be. No I had more fun seeing you scream than I would have had practicing by myself.”
Slingshot rolls his eyes. “Glad you enjoyed my misery.”
“Anytime.” Skateboard rubs the back of his neck with a hand. “I guess this is goodbye, then?”
“Yeah,” Slingshot says. Then, after a tiny pause, he reaches out and squeezes Skateboard’s hand with his own, before walking away like nothing even happened.
What?
Skateboard watches dumbfoundedly as Slingshot disappears around a building, before staring down at his hand. What was that all about? It was similar to when Slingshot brushed his hand at Thieves Rest. Was the other inphernal just in a more affectionate mood lately? That was the only explanation Skateboard could come up with for what just happened, but it didn’t exactly satisfy him.
Though it was certainly odd, Skateboard found he didn’t mind the touches, not at all. In fact, there’s once again a warmth swelling through him. He liked that feeling. Maybe next time, he’d return the favour.
Skateboard doesn’t expect it to be so chilly outside when he and Slingshot leave the movie theater.
It's probably a cool six degrees outside in Craterdust right now, which didn’t seem so bad if not for the wind whipping through the air. Luckily, Skateboard was wearing his trusty hoodie, so he was doing just fine.
Slingshot wasn’t faring so well, however.
Skateboard gives him a concerned look as he shivers again for the umpteenth time. The blue-horned inphernal is only wearing a shirt for a top, and not a particularly thick one from the looks of it.
“You okay, dude?” Skateboard asks.
Slingshot glares. “Doing just dandy here.”
“Really? You look kinda cold to me.”
“It was sarcasm!”
That made a lot more sense. “Oh,” Skateboard says. He then thinks for a moment, before coming up with a perfect idea.
Slingshot watches him with a confused expression as Skateboard takes off his hoodie and holds it out. “Here,” he says. “Take it.”
“What?” Slingshot’s eyes are wide. “But it’s yours.”
“Obviously. But you clearly need it more than me right now.”
“But if I wear it, then you’ll be cold!” Slingshot protests. “Skate, the train station isn’t far, I’ll be fine.”
“You still have to walk a decent bit after getting off the train, Sling,” Skateboard counters. “My apartment is pretty close. It’s much better for you to take it than me. Besides, we both know I can handle the chill better.”
“Skate-”
Skateboard presses the hoodie into Slingshot’s arms. “Just take it, seriously,” he insists. “And you don’t even have to return it. I have a bunch more at home, you know that.”
Slingshot looks shocked at the offer. He looks down at the hoodie, then back at Skateboard, opens his mouth as if to protest, then closes it and huffs.
“Fine,” he finally agrees. “Thanks, Skate.”
Skateboard grins as he watches Slingshot put it on. “There we go. Much better, isn’t it?”
The hoodie is slightly too big, but otherwise it fits him quite well. Really well, in fact. Almost like it was made for him.
Skateboard immediately beats down the possessiveness that rises up. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn’t be thinking like this about his best friend!
Thankfully, Slingshot didn’t seem to notice his brief internal struggle. He’s shifting around in the hoodie, feeling it out.
“Yeah,” Slingshot says. “It’s actually pretty comfy. And warm.”
He then lifts an arm up to his face, and presses his nose into the sleeve, taking a deep whiff of the fabric. “Smells like you, too.”
Skateboard crosses his arms. “I can’t tell if that’s a diss or not.”
“No,” Slingshot says softly. “I like it.”
Skateboard quickly coughs into his arm to hide the blush that had formed on his cheeks. Damn it, why was he so embarrassed?
“Glad to hear it!” Skateboard exclaims, a little too enthusiastically. “Uh, we should probably head off now. I think the wind’s picking up. I’ll walk with you to the station.”
“Thanks.”
The short journey is silent, and Skateboard can’t help himself from stealing glances at Slingshot. He didn’t know what it was about seeing him in his hoodie, but it satisfied something in him like no other. He has to force himself to stop staring like an idiot, and luckily Slingshot doesn’t realize.
They reach the station right on time. Skateboard can hear the train in the distance, its blaring horns loudly announcing its presence. It isn’t too late, but it’s also cold, so there aren’t many inphernals around.
“Perfect timing,” Slingshot says. “I’ll see you some other day, then?”
“Sure,” Skateboard replies. “Maybe we can hang out at your place next time. I haven’t been there in a while.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The train arrives, wheels squealing as it slows down to a stop. The doors open, and inphernals within burst out, while others on the station begin to rush in. Slingshot steps forward to join them, but just then, Skateboard remembers something.
Oh yeah, he thinks. I told myself I’d hug him next time we hung out!
Last time, Slingshot squeezed his hand, so Skateboard has to surpass that, of course. And a hug would definitely do the trick.
“Wait!” he calls out. Slingshot turns, confused.
“Wha-” is all he can get out before Skateboard envelopes him in a hug. Not too tight, not too soft. That was reasonable, wasn’t it?
For a second, Slingshot doesn’t move, and Skateboard worries he made a mistake when the other inphernal suddenly returns the hug enthusiastically.
They pull away eventually, and Slingshot has the widest grin Skateboard has ever seen splitting his face.
“So you did mean it!” he says. “Finally, I thought you’d never realize.”
What? Skateboard scratches his chin. “Huh?” he grunts. “What are you talking about?”
Slingshot’s grin falters a bit. “The hug. You hugged me.”
“Yeah? Last few times we hung out you kept touching my hand when you left, so I thought I’d take initiative this time! We’re just saying goodbye, aren’t we?”
Now the grin is completely wiped off his face. “Ah,” he says, looking down at his hoodie. “Right, of course.” His eye is twitching, like it usually did when he was pissed.
Skateboard tilts his head. “…Did you mean something else? You look kinda mad, Sling.”
“Nope! I didn’t. Not at all. And I’m not mad,” Slingshot grits out, in a manner that suggests the opposite.
“If you say so,” Skateboard says. “Uh, you should probably go now. I think the train’s about to leave.”
Slingshot scowls. He swivels around on his heel and stomps away, not even responding to the bye Skateboard calls out. Okay, very angry. Hopefully he didn’t take it out on his hoodie, even if Skateboard said he could keep it.
But still, why? Skateboard can’t fathom what he did to make Slingshot act like that. Did hugging mean something different to Thieves Den inphernals? It wasn’t the first time he hugged Slingshot, so probably not.
As he moves to leave the station, a bunch of inphernals that had been watching him click their tongues and shake their heads at him in unison. Skateboard grumbles, shoving his hands in his pockets. What were they so disapproving about? They had no idea what that was!
Neither did he, but that was besides the point!
Eh, he’d figure it out later. Slingshot never stayed mad for long, at least not at him. He’d get over it quickly, surely.
Okay, maybe not quickly.
When Skateboard receives a call from Slingshot a couple days later and the only thing he hears is Come to the park. Now, before he’s hung up on, he can’t help the nervousness that courses through his body.
Was this about the hug incident? Admittedly, Skateboard had been thinking about that a little, wondering what had gone wrong, but he didn’t think it was this serious! Why did Slingshot need to meet at the park this late at night? Was he about to be assassinated?
Alright, maybe he was overreacting a little. But you could never tell with Slingshot. He had a nasty poker face when he felt like it.
He leaves his apartment, realizing too late that he doesn’t know which park to go to. There’s only two in Craterdust, so he opts to head to the nearest one first.
Like usual, the park is empty when he arrives. It’s pretty unsightly, and no one is interested in fixing it up, so only young inphernals and hooligans messing around spend any time here.
Thankfully, he spots Slingshot sitting on a bench. He slowly walks over to him, not because he was scared, until he’s noticed.
“Skate,” Slingshot says, waving. “Come on. I don’t have much time.”
“Hello to you too,” Skateboard responds, though he’s a little distracted because Slingshot is wearing his hoodie. “I already told you, dude. You don’t have to return the hoodie.”
“Hm?” Slingshot looks down. “Oh no, I’m not returning it, it’s mine now. I just felt like wearing it.”
“Oh.”
Slingshot pats the space next to him. “Sit.”
Skateboard obeys. “So uh, what’s this about?” he asks.
Slingshot looks at him carefully. “You’re a pretty dense inphernal, you know that?”
“…Huh?” That was an interesting opener.
“Most others would have gotten it now, I think,” Slingshot continues. “I don’t think I was too lowkey about it. Especially with the hand touches.”
“Wait, seriously. What are we talking about?”
Slingshot sighs, but there’s an underlying fondness to it. “Blunt is the only way to go with you, huh? I’m talking about how I like you, Skate. I like you a lot. As more than a friend.”
“Oh.” Skateboard blinks. That certainly was blunt.
He sits there for a moment, trying to process what he’d just heard. Slingshot liked him. Slingshot liked him. Slingshot liked him.
“I’m not hearing things, am I?” he says. A giddy feeling bursts forth, and he has to stop himself from smiling like an idiot. Wait, did this mean he liked Slingshot back?
Slingshot groans. “No, Skate. You are not.”
“Hm.” Skateboard hums. “Honestly, that explains a lot.”
“You think?!”
Slingshot grabs him by the collar, pulling him in. “Shuri and Vine have been telling me I’ve been staring at you like crazy, I go out of my way to spend time with you, I literally touch your hand, and you still didn’t realize I liked you! In Thieves Den, giving each other personal items is a big method of showing love, but when you gave me your hoodie, I assumed you didn’t mean anything by it because you’re from Playground. But then you hugged me and got my hopes up, only to then tell me you meant something different! I nearly punched you right there! Damn it, Skate!”
“I’m sorry, I'm sorry!” Skateboard yelps.
Slingshot loosens his grip, taking a deep breath. “Well, the cats out of the bag now, no need to dwell on the past. I’m going to be honest with you, I just needed to get this off my chest.”
The other inphernal looks Skateboard in the eye. “If… if you want to stay friends, that’s fine. I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”
Skateboard’s eyes widen. “Of course not! I like you too, Sling. I mean… Thinking about it now, I’ve probably liked you for a while, but I just didn’t realize it. Maybe add a bit of denial in there as well. I thought you’d always want to be friends, so…”
Slingshot scoots closer, and there’s a look of relief on his face. “This crush thing is kind of a new development,” he admits. “I thought we would just be friends too. But I don’t know, the more time I spent around you, the more I began appreciating your presence, to the point where I always wanted to see you. I realized that I liked you, and well, here we are.”
“Uh-huh. Couldn’t have gone any better,” Skateboard grins.
The two look at each other for a quiet moment, before bursting into soft chuckles.
“So… what now?” Skateboard asks. “Are we dating or something?”
“Yes,” Slingshot says immediately. “And to commemorate it,”
He leans in, and presses a kiss to Skateboard’s cheek. “There.”
Skateboard grins. “Hm, I don’t think that was enough. We should go back to my place and commemorate some more.”
Slingshot flicks his forehead. “I have work tomorrow, Skate. I meant it when I said I don’t have much time.”
“Aw. I’ll drop by the cafe tomorrow then!”
“If you kiss me in front of Vine and Shuri will never take me seriously again.”
“All the more reason to do it!”
Slingshot sighs dramatically, and Skateboard interrupts it with another kiss. Yeah, he could get used to this.