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⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ ♡ ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖
"UGH! I hate you!"
It was your average Tuesday, a day like any other. The air was nice—not too hot, not too cold. Just right. Up in Nickel's bedroom, he and Baseball were playing Uno, and he had just lost. His fifth game in a row.
"You- you must be cheating!" he yelled. "Like, you're looking at my cards, or something!"
"Why would I be cheating? It's not like I'm getting anything out of it." Baseball said in reply. "Maybe you're just bad at Uno."
"I am NOT bad at Uno! Wh- whatever. I don't want to play anymore. Let's do something else."
"Sure. You wanna watch a movie?"
"Yeah, whatever, anything to stop me from thinking of the fact that you cheated! In Uno, of all games. It's almost laughable!"
"For the last time, Nickel," Baseball sighed as he put the Uno cards back in its box. "I wasn't cheating. What's laughable is the fact that you think I was."
Nickel opened his mouth to say something, before a knock on the door was heard. The pair turned towards the door. Balloon was standing there, smiling, his rose-gold glasses on crooked and his hair, in contrast, neatly tied up with a ribbon. Instead of it being the usual yellow one he wore, however, it was a red one, almost matching his salmon-colored hair.
Not that Baseball noticed, or anything.
Maybe he did. But he noticed everything about everyone! He was extremely observant, and that was one of the things he like about himself. It helped to notice the little things. He noticed how Lightbulb would start acting extra happy when she was sad, or how Nickel would scrunch up his nose every time someone annoyed him.
Baseball especially noticed things about Balloon. He noticed how Balloon would smile at every little thing he had to say, how particular he was with his hair, or how much of a nerd he was when it came to the things he liked. It was annoying, actually, how much he noticed. His mind would always point out every single thing that Balloon did, or wore, or liked, to the point where it drove Baseball insane.
Too bad Balloon never noticed him.
"Hi, guys!" Balloon exclaimed as he walked through the door. "What's up?"
"Balloon!" Nickel said. "Thank god you're here! Me and Baseball were playing Uno, but he was cheating! And he won't admit it!"
Balloon tilted his head. "Why would he cheat? It's just a silly little game."
"My point exactly!" Baseball said in exasperation. "Nickel just can't handle the fact that he sucks at Uno."
Balloon laughed at this, which made Baseball's heart skip a beat. God, he had such an adorable laugh.
"Wh- why are none of you on my side?!" Nickel yelled. "This is so stupid! I hate both of you!"
"Sure you do, Nickel." Balloon smiled. "Anyways, you guys wanna go for some lunch? It's lasagna today—my favorite!"
"Oh, that sounds nice!" Baseball said, while Nickel just stood with his arms crossed, looking at him weirdly. He was presumably still mad about the whole "cheating" ordeal. "Yeah, I'm down! You guys can go ahead though; I need to get something."
"Alright! You coming, Nickel?"
"In a sec," he said, staring at Baseball like he was suspicious of something. Baseball couldn't think of why he would look at him like that, but shrugged it off. Maybe he was really mad about his Uno performance.
As soon as Balloon was out of earshot, Nickel shot an accusatory glance at the other man in the room. "Do you have a crush on Balloon?"
Baseball practically choked on air. He coughed. "Wh- what? Me, liking Balloon? What makes you say that?"
"Your ears were literally so red the whole time he was here. And you were looking at him all lovey-dovey, like you wanted to kiss him or something."
"I- I was? Oh god, do you think he noticed?"
"So you do like him. Nah, he probably didn't notice. Or maybe he did, and is just really good at hiding it."
"Oh god," Baseball muttered. "He probably thinks I'm a weirdo. I mean, what kinda guy stares at someone like- like that? We- we're not even that close!"
"Calm down, dude," Nickel replied. "He probably doesn't think that. Now, c'mon, he's waiting for us downstairs.
♡໒꒱ ࣪ ˖
Sure enough, when they made it downstairs, Balloon was there, sitting on a random chair at the dining table. He already had a plate set in front of him and was scooping some lasagna onto it. The pair each grabbed a plate and untensils and sat on either side of him. The three ate in silence for a bit, but it wasn't awkward. More content.
"This lasagna's really good!" Baseball exclaimed to the other two, though he was talking more to Balloon than he was Nickel.
"I know, right?" Balloon responded. "Out of all the ones I've had before, this one is definitely a contender for one of the best lasagnas."
"It doesn't taste that good to me." Nickel said.
"That's because you hate lasagna. Anyways, after this, do you guys wanna go for a walk?"
"Eh, I kinda don't want to. I don't like walking. You guys can go."
"Okay!" Balloon smiled. He turned to Baseball. "Guess it's just you and me then, hmm? Unless you don't wanna go on a walk, either."
Baseball blinked. His face flushed a violent shade of pink. "Uh, y- yeah! Yup! J- just the two of us!"
Smooth. Real smooth. But could you blame him? He was going to go on a walk, with Balloon, the guy he liked, alone. No one else. Not even Nickel. Just him, Balloon, and potential awkward silence because he wouldn't be able to say anything due to the fact that he was alone with the salmon-haired man. Great.
Balloon smiled at him. "Great!" he beamed. "I love going on walks! You get to see the nature, bask in the sun, and just enjoy life!"
"You also get to see some guys competing in a game, and, if you're lucky," Nickel added, "You also get to see a corpse! Hooray!"
"Stop being a Debbie Downer, Nickel. You're not even going to walk with us."
"I'm just saying. Why haven't the OSC gotten rid of that yet? It's kinda unsettling." he pushed back his chair and got up from his seat. "Well, I'm done eating—I'm outta here. Have fun with your walk!"
He smirked at Baseball before walking away, who, in turn, blushed furiously. He tried to push away his thoughts, but there was no fighting it. He and Balloon were alone.
Well, not exactly alone, there were other people at the table, but they were all minding their own business. It didn't really feel like they were there.
"Hey, didn't OJ say we were all supposed to wash our own dishes?" Balloon said. "Nickel just left his plate here."
"Oh, uh," Baseball uttered. "I can wash that. I'll wash your plate, too, when you're done."
Balloon giggled, which made Baseball's face even more red than it already was. "What a gentleman! I mean, thanks for the offer, but I can wash my own dishes."
"R- right."
"We should eat quicker; I really wanna go on this walk. It'll be so fun!"
♡໒꒱ ࣪ ˖
They walked out the doors of HOOT and into the fields that lay beneath them. The air was nice, though it was strangely cold, especially strange because it was only two in the afternoon and it was the middle of summer.
The pair talked as they walked.
"Don't tell him I said this, but," Baseball said. "Nickel's kind of annoying sometimes."
"Tell me about it," Balloon laughed. "He's always complaining about the stupidest things. It's always 'I hate this', and 'I hate that'. He's like a five-year-old."
"Hey, don't act like you're any different! You don't actually say it, unlike Nickel, but I can tell from your facial expressions that you have a lot to complain about, too."
Balloon raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know that?" he said. "I thought I was good at hiding it..."
"I, uh, tend to notice the little things, I guess."
A particularly cold gust of wind rushed through the air, making Balloon shiver. He hugged himself to try to warm up.
Baseball noticed his shivering, and decided to say something about it. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine." Balloon responded. "Maybe just a little cold, though."
"You, uh... You can borrow my jacket if you want!"
"That's nice of you! But then, wouldn't you be cold?"
"I- I don't really get cold easily." Baseball said, taking off his red-and-white varsity jacket and handing it to Balloon. "Here."
Balloon smiled, taking the jacket and putting it on. It felt comfortable; warm. Like being wrapped in a blanket by the fire on a cold night, or being in the embrace of a lover. The jacket smelled good, too. It had the scent of nostalgia, if that made sense. It was familiar, like an elementary school you used to go to, or the feeling of being back in your childhood home once again.
It also smelled like black licorice, Nacho Cheese Doritos, and Axe Body Spray. A weird combination, probably, but Balloon found the smell pleasant. It smelled worn, not in the smelly, unwashed way, but like a stuffed toy you had as a child that you would never let your parents wash because you liked its smell. It smelled like Baseball.
The pair walked in silence. Unlike the silence at the table when they ate lunch with Nickel, this was a little more awkward, a little more anxious, like they were both waiting for the other to break the tension that filled the air. It was suffocating, almost.
"So, uh... do you like anyone?" Baseball asked, immediately regretting it. Out of all the things he could've asked the man walking alongside him, he just had to ask about his love life, didn't he?
"Maybe," Balloon said coolly. "I mean, it's kind of hard for me to like someone like that, or to know that I do, being on the aromantic spectrum and all, but..." he paused for a bit, thinking of how to utter whatever he was going to say next.
"Well, there is this one guy. He makes me feel... different. But in a good way. He's so nice to me—to everyone—and I just, I—" he sighed. "I really like him, Baseball."
"Oh." Baseball replied. His voice was less energetic than usual, the energy he usually had in it replaced by something quieter, softer. "He- he seems nice."
"He really is." Balloon thought for a moment. He looked up at Baseball, who averted his eyes. He seemed to take a lot of interest in what lay ahead of him, instead of the person talking beside him. Balloon decided to take a risk. "You're really nice."
Baseball blinked. His face reddened. "Oh! Th- I, um, wow! I- th- thank you?"
"Shocked that I like you?"
"I... uh, yeah? I mean, it- it didn't seem like you did..."
Balloon smiled. For someone who "tended to notice the little things", it seemed like he didn't notice Balloon's advances towards him. How touchy he was sometimes. How he smiled earlier when Nickel had told them that he wouldn't be going on a walk with them.
"Well," he said. "I do, and I also know that you like me back."
"You- you do?!"
"Mm-hmm. It was kinda obvious. I mean, I see the way you look at me, you know."
Silence descended upon the pair. Baseball didn't know what to say. He was too shocked to say anything. Balloon liked him. The guy he'd been pining over ever since the first time he and Nickel had hung out with him after the show had finished. The guy who he was with practically every day. He liked him.
"So, let- let me get this straight," Baseball said. "We- we both like each other... romantically?"
"Uh-huh."
"So does this mean we're, like, a- a thing now?"
"It depends. Would you like to be 'a thing'?"
"I mean, if you're okay with it..." Baseball muttered.
"Of course I'm okay with it!" Balloon beamed. "So... boyfriend, would you like to go back inside now?"
"Uh, yeah! S- sure!"
"Okay, just one more thing..." the salmon-haired man leaned forward and kissed his newfound boyfriend on the cheek.
Baseball was a mess. Once Balloon pulled away, he was smiling ear to ear, and was as red as a tomato. It was like something out of a dream.
He could get used to this. He could get lost in Balloon's brown eyes forever.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ ♡ ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖