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“Seriously, this is going to be awesome! I’m so glad you guys agreed to this little double date. Ice skating is the best!” Pen cheered from behind the wheel.
His seven-seater was packed. Eraser sat in the passenger seat beside him. Behind them were Blocky, Woody, and Snowball, while Fries occupied the very back row.
Snowball raised an eyebrow. “It’s not really a double date if Fries and I aren’t dating. Also, wouldn’t it be a triple date?”
“Uhh…” Pen glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Last time I checked, you two went home together after that night and have basically been attached at the hip ever since. Sounds like dating to me.”
“Pfft. Can’t two guys just be friends?” Snowball crossed his arms. “Nothing even happened.”
Technically, that wasn't entirely true. Fries had gone back to Snowball’s place that night. One thing had led to another, they’d spent a while making out, and then... nothing. They’d called it a night and never talked about it again. That was the problem. Neither of them had brought it up once.
They still hung out constantly. Still texted. Still spent time together. But the kiss existed in this weird limbo that neither of them seemed willing to acknowledge. Snowball had no clue where Fries stood on the whole thing. Part of him wondered if it had just been a one-time mistake.
“Yeah, you two were super gay that night.” Blocky snickered, reaching forward to poke Snowball in the cheek.
“Shut up.”
Woody quietly laughed beside him.
“Anyway!” Pen interrupted before Snowball could throw something. “I just thought it’d be a fun group thing regardless. Do any of you actually know how to skate?”
“Uh... no.” Eraser laughed nervously. “Can’t be that hard though, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Snowball answered.
Woody nodded. Blocky flashed a thumbs up.
Fries barely looked up from his phone. “Probably.”
“Perfect.” Pen grinned. “And if you suck, Eraser, I’ll teach you.”
“Wow. Thanks for the confidence.”
“You’re welcome.”
A few minutes later Pen pulled into the skating center parking lot.
Everyone piled out of the car, stretching after the drive. Pen folded the back seats forward so Fries could climb out, still staring at his phone.
Inside, the rink buzzed with music and chatter. They collected their skates, found their sizes, and sat down to lace up. Employees gave a quick explanation of how everything worked while they tightened straps and buckles.
Soon enough they were making their way toward the ice. Pen stepped onto the rink effortlessly, gliding forward like he'd done this a hundred times.
Eraser stepped onto the ice and immediately grabbed the railing with both hands.
“Oh.”
Pen looked back.
“Oh?”
“THIS IS WAY MORE SLIPPERY THAN I THOUGHT!”
Meanwhile, Snowball casually stepped onto the ice and pushed off, immediately skating away from the group without issue. Fries followed right behind him. Still on his phone. The guy barely even looked where he was going as he smoothly glided across the rink.
“Show off,” Snowball muttered.
“Hm?” Fries glanced up.
“Nothing.”
Blocky hopped onto the ice with surprising confidence. Woody hesitated. His foot touched the ice. Then immediately retreated.
“Nuh...”
“Come on!” Blocky laughed. Woody reached over and grabbed onto Blocky's arm. “I'm gonna fall!!”
“You won't.”
“I-I will.”
“You won't.”
After a few moments of encouragement, Woody carefully stepped onto the rink. A little shaky. A little nervous. But standing.
“See?” Blocky grinned.
“I’m alive.”
“You're alive.”
Together they started skating slowly around the edge of the rink, holding onto each other's arms. After a lap, Woody gained a bit of confidence.
Then Blocky suddenly grinned. “Oh, hey. Race you to the other end.”
“What?”
“Three, two, one….” Blocky let go and shot forward across the ice. “GO!”
“WUAAH!” Woody immediately pushed off after him, panic fueling his speed. His terrified yell echoed across the rink while Blocky laughed so hard he nearly lost balance.
Back near the entrance, Pen was still trying to help Eraser.
“Come on,” Pen said, extending a hand toward him. “Just let go of the railing.”
“No.” Eraser argued, holding onto the railing with his dear life.
“You haven't even moved yet.”
“I like the railing.” railing good, railing safe.
“The railing isn't skating.”
“It is emotionally supporting me.”
Pen laughed. Eraser looked genuinely terrified. His hands were clenched so tightly around the rail. Pen wasn't used to seeing him like this. Usually Eraser was fearless. Reckless, even. But now? His eyes were locked on the ice like it was a bottomless pit.
“Hey.” Pen softened his voice a little. “You're okay.”
“That's easy for you to say.”
“I’m serious.” Pen skated closer. “You're not gonna fall. And if you do, everybody falls. That's part of learning.”
Eraser glanced around. Snowball was already halfway across the rink. Fries was somehow still texting while skating. Blocky and Woody were racing around screaming. Nobody was paying attention to him. Nobody would care if he messed up.
"Alright, come on." Pen extended his hand again, patiently holding it out toward Eraser. "You've got this. I promise I won't let go of you." Eraser stared at the offered hand as though it were the only thing standing between him and certain death. The ice beneath his skates felt impossibly slippery. Every tiny shift of his weight sent a fresh wave of panic through him. His legs already felt weak, and he hadn't even properly moved yet.
Pen waited. Eraser took a careful step. His skate slid. His heart nearly stopped. Immediately, he lunged forward and latched onto Pen's arm with both hands.
"There we go." Pen laughed softly. "See? That wasn't so bad."
"It was horrible."
Pen couldn't help smiling. Eraser was gripping him like a lifeline. "Okay..." Pen slowly began gliding backward. "Now we're going to move away from the railing." The moment the distance between Eraser and the safety rail began increasing, his anxiety doubled.
"Pen." Eraser warned.
"It's okay." Pen calmed him.
"Pen."
"You haven't fallen."
Despite the cold air of the rink, Eraser was visibly trembling. Not from temperature, he was genuinely terrified. Pen glanced back at him and chuckled. "You know, it's almost kind of funny."
"What is?"
"I don't think I've ever seen you scared of anything before."
"Shut up." Eraser immediately looked away, embarrassed.
Normally he was the reckless one. The guy who jumped into things without thinking. The one who got hurt and laughed about it afterward. But ice skating? Apparently this was where he drew the line.
"I'm just bad at this," Eraser grumbled.
"You've been skating for approximately thirty seconds."
"Exactly. Long enough to know I'm bad."
Pen shook his head. "You're doing fine."
Slowly they made their way farther into the rink. Around them, other skaters zipped by effortlessly. Blocky and Woody were racing each other near the far side. Snowball and Fries had disappeared somewhere deeper into the crowd. Everyone else seemed completely comfortable. Meanwhile Eraser was still hanging onto Pen for dear life.
Eventually Pen stopped.
"Okay."
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know it involves me dying."
"It doesn't."
Eraser narrowed his eyes. "It definitely does."
Pen laughed. "I need you to let go."
The colour practically drained from Eraser's face. "No."
"You have to learn eventually."
"No."
"You'll be okay."
"No."
"Eraser."
"Pen."
"Deep breaths."
"No."
Pen carefully pried Eraser's hands from his arm. Immediately Eraser looked ready to have a complete breakdown.
"Pen, Please.” Eraser almost begged.
"You'll be fine."
"Pen."
"You're standing." Pen slowly backed away. Now Eraser stood alone in the middle of the rink. No railing. No support. His knees felt like jelly. His heart hammered against his ribs. Every muscle in his body locked up. He stood perfectly still like a statue. Pen skated in a small circle around him.
"Come on! Move your feet!" To demonstrate, Pen spun into a smooth little twirl before gliding around him.
Eraser stared. "...How are you doing that?"
"Practice." Pen laughed, he actually loved to ice skate, it was one of his favourite things to do in his free time.
"I hate practice."
"Come on, you’ve got this, Eraser!”
"Auh..." Eraser lifted one foot, his balance shifted and immediately he crashed onto the ice.
WHUMP.
The impact echoed surprisingly loudly. For a second he simply laid there.
Then came Blocky's laughter. "HAHAHA!" Blocky skated past like he'd been waiting for this exact moment. "Eraser can't skate!"
Eraser groaned into the ice. "Shut up."
"Even Woody can skate!" Woody immediately grabbed Blocky's hand. "Don't be mean!"
"I'm not being mean! It's funny!" Blocky scoffed at his boyfriend.
"Blocky." Woody warned him.
"Fine." Blocky sighed dramatically and allowed Woody to drag him away.
Eraser attempted to push himself upright. His legs gave out, he fell again. He tried a second time. Same result. A third. Nope. The skates kept sliding away from him before he could get any leverage. Pen's smile softened. The teasing was fun, but now Eraser genuinely looked frustrated.
"Okay, hang on." Pen skated over and crouched beside him. Carefully he slipped his arms under Eraser's and helped pull him upright. Eraser immediately grabbed onto him again.
"See? This is why I shouldn't let go."
Pen laughed. "Here's what we'll do, you hold onto me while I skate us around for a few laps, you can wrap your arms around me and—"
"No." Eraser said quickly, shutting down the idea immediately.
"Why?" Pen questioned with curiosity.
"Because then I'll look like the girl."
Pen blinked. "Eraser."
"What?" Eraser snapped grumpily.
"We are both guys." Pen pointed out his reasoning was flawed.
"Yeah but still." Eraser grumbled under his breath.
"There is no girl!!" Pen groaned. "Oh my god."
Eraser pointed accusingly. "You are the girly one. I am not. You literally planned this whole outing."
"That doesn't make me girly."
"Pretty sure ice skating is a girly sport too." Eraser snickered.
Pen rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't fall out. "Just hold onto me."
"No."
"Please?" Pen was begging him now.
"No."
Pen gave him a look.
Eraser sighed dramatically. "Can we at least face each other?"
Pen's expression immediately softened. "Of course."
That seemed to relax Eraser slightly. Pen slowly released him again, instantly Eraser panicked. His hands shot forward before Pen had even fully moved away. Pen barely suppressed a laugh as Eraser grabbed both of his hands.
"There we go."
Eraser's grip tightened. "Don't let go."
"I won't."
"Promise?" Eraser asked, with genuine concern in his eyes.
"I promise." Pen squeezed his hands reassuringly. Then, moving carefully, he began skating backward while guiding Eraser forward.
At first Eraser's movements were awkward and stiff. Every tiny glide made him tense. But with Pen's hands firmly holding his, he managed a few feet. Then a few more. And for the first time since stepping onto the ice, he didn't immediately fall.
"See?" Pen smiled.
Eraser looked down at his skates. Then back at Pen. "...Okay." Another shaky glide. "...Maybe this isn't completely impossible."
Pen grinned. "There you go." Pen was honestly really proud of Eraser, he was doing a great job, even if it was a slow process!
As they slowly glided across the ice, Pen and Eraser found themselves staring at one another. Neither of them seemed particularly focused on skating anymore. Pen couldn't help smiling. There was something endearing about seeing Eraser like this—nervous, cautious, completely out of his comfort zone. Despite how terrified he was of falling, he'd trusted Pen enough to follow him out onto the rink anyway.
Without really thinking about it, Pen drifted a little closer. Eraser immediately tightened his grip, assuming Pen was about to let go.
"Don't look at me like that..." Eraser muttered, a faint blush creeping across his face.
"Like what?" Pen asked innocently.
"Like that."
Pen's smile widened.
"It's distracting."
"Then stop being so handsome."
Eraser groaned. "Oh my god."
Pen laughed softly before stepping even closer. "Put your hands on my waist."
Eraser's eyes widened. "Pen..."
"Trust me, okay?" There was something reassuring in Pen's voice that made it hard to argue.
Reluctantly, Eraser loosened his grip on Pen's hands. For a brief moment panic flashed across his face as he lost that support, but Pen stayed close enough that he never felt like he was going to fall.
Carefully, Eraser placed his hands on Pen's waist. Immediately Pen slid his own arms around Eraser, pulling him a little closer. Their skates continued to glide slowly across the ice while they stood there, face-to-face. For a moment neither of them spoke. Eraser's heart was racing for an entirely different reason now.
"Dude..." he said with a nervous laugh. "This is so gay."
Pen snorted. "We're literally gay."
Their eyes met again. The noise of the rink seemed to fade into the background. Pen's expression softened. He leaned forward slightly, giving Eraser plenty of time to pull away if he wanted to. Instead, Eraser stayed exactly where he was. Pen smiled. Then he closed the remaining distance, pressing a gentle kiss against Eraser's lips. Eraser melted into it almost immediately. It was soft and brief, neither of them trying to rush anything. Just a quiet moment shared between them as they continued gliding together across the ice, completely forgetting about skating lessons for a few seconds.
Elsewhere on the rink, Blocky and Woody were having a blast—well, mostly Woody was trying to keep Blocky from causing chaos. Unfortunately, Blocky had discovered a new source of entertainment. Skating up behind random people at high speed and making them stumble. The first time had been annoying. The second time had been embarrassing. By the fifth time, Woody was genuinely irritated.
"Blocky!"
Blocky just laughed as another startled skater caught themselves on the railing. "What? It's funny!"
"No, it isn't!"
The rink was huge, and by now they'd wandered far away from the others. Nobody was around to stop Blocky except Woody. Which meant Woody took matters into his own hands. Literally. He skated after Blocky and grabbed his wrist with surprising force.
"Stop it!" he snapped.
Blocky blinked. The serious tone caught him completely off guard.
"Ooooh, scary." He smirked. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"
Woody's eyes narrowed. Before Blocky could react, Woody grabbed both of his hands and began pushing him backward across the ice.
"H-Hey!" Blocky laughed in surprise. "Woody?!"
Woody continued shoving him toward the rink wall.
"You could hurt somebody!" Woody snapped at him. You've already done it five times!"
Blocky pushed back. Then Woody pushed harder. Then Blocky pushed harder. Soon they were both shoving against each other's arms while trying to stay balanced on skates. The moment their weight shifted the wrong way, both of them lost balance.
Their foreheads bumped together as they toppled onto the ice in a tangled heap.
"Agh!" … "Oww!"
For a second neither moved. Then Woody sat up, rubbing his head. He looked annoyed.
Blocky winced and rubbed his forehead. "Don't look at me like that."
Woody immediately looked away with a frustrated huff, crossing his arms.
Blocky sighed. There it was. The guilty feeling. Because for all the trouble he caused, seeing Woody upset always made him feel awful.
"Hey..."
Woody didn't respond.
"Come on." Nothing. "Woody." Still nothing.
Blocky groaned. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."
That got a tiny reaction. Just a tiny one. Blocky pushed himself upright and skated around to face him. Woody immediately turned away.
"Oh, come on." Blocky skated around again.
Woody turned again. Blocky laughed despite himself.
"Seriously?" Finally he reached out and gently grabbed Woody's arms.
"Look at me, love."
Woody hesitated. Blocky carefully turned him back around. "I'll stop, okay?" Woody glanced up at him. "I mean it." Blocky's grin softened into something more genuine. "No more being a jerk."
"You promise?" Woody asked quietly.
"I promise." Blocky leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Woody's head. The tension in Woody's shoulders immediately eased.
He mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?" Blocky asked.
Woody didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed Blocky's hand. And took off.
"W-Whoa!"
Blocky nearly lost balance as Woody suddenly pulled him across the rink. The cold air rushed past them. Their skates carved smooth paths through the ice as they sped between other skaters. Woody laughed. A bright, genuine laugh. The kind that always made Blocky smile. Eventually Woody let go.
Blocky continued gliding forward on momentum alone.
"Ohhh, I see!" He grinned. Challenge accepted.
Turning sharply, Blocky pushed off and sped back toward Woody. Woody opened his arms.Blocky reached for him. The two met in the middle of the rink, catching each other before either could lose balance. Both burst out laughing. For the next several minutes they skated together, weaving around other people and occasionally spinning each other around. To anyone watching, it almost looked like they were dancing rather than skating.
Far away from the rest of the group, Snowball and Fries had practically given up on skating altogether. Fries was leaning against the rink's railing, casually scrolling through his phone. Snowball stood beside him with his arms crossed, growing more irritated by the minute.
This was supposed to be a fun outing. Instead, Fries was staring at a screen.
"Not exactly a great date if you're on your phone the whole time," Snowball muttered.
Fries glanced up. "We're not dating."
"Yeah, yeah." Snowball rolled his eyes. "I was joking. Who are you even texting?"
"Puffball."
For some reason, that answer annoyed Snowball far more than it should have. "Seriously?" He looked away with a huff. "Then why'd you even come?" The irritation surprised even him. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it wasn't. The truth was, he wasn't entirely sure what he felt anymore. Ever since that night, things had been weird.
They'd hung out more. Talked more. Spent time together. But neither of them had ever brought up what happened. It was like they were both silently pretending it hadn't completely changed things.
Meanwhile, Pen and Eraser were obviously together. Blocky and Woody were practically inseparable.
The whole group dynamic felt different now. There was a time when it was just him, Pen, Eraser, and Blocky causing trouble together. Things had felt simpler then. Not that he'd ever admit he missed it.
Snowball realized he'd been staring off into space. With a frustrated sigh, he pushed away from the railing. "Maybe I should just catch a bus home," he muttered. "Not much point staying if there's nothing for me to do."
That finally got Fries' attention. He lowered his phone. "I'll come with you."
Snowball blinked. "What?"
"I said I'll come."
"Dude, you make no sense." Snowball turned toward him. "Do you even want to be around me or not?"
Fries immediately looked guilty. "I didn't realize it was bothering you that much."
Snowball stayed silent.
"I've honestly just been confused." Fries spoke.
"Confused?"
"About us."
Fries sighed. "I've been talking to Puffball about it, actually. I kinda figured you didn't care."
"What?" Snowball frowned. "Why would you think that?"
"Because neither of us has said anything."
Snowball opened his mouth. Then closed it again. Eventually he sighed. "Look... that night got me questioning a lot of stuff. I never really thought about liking a guy before."
Fries raised an eyebrow. "...You like me?"
"I don't know!" Snowball threw his hands into the air.
Several nearby skaters looked over. Snowball immediately lowered his voice. "I don't know, okay?" His face felt warm. "I've never thought about any of this before."
Fries listened quietly.
"I like hanging out with you. You're cool." Snowball admitted.
"Wow. What a heartfelt confession." Fries laughed.
"Oh, shut up." Snowball found himself smiling too. "I just..." He searched for the right words. "We never really hung out much before. Then we did, and everything got weird really fast. The whole group setting is throwing me off too," Snowball admitted. "Everybody keeps looking at us like we're already a thing."
"Yeah." Fries looked down.
"And honestly? I think I'd rather just hang out with you. Just the two of us."
A grin slowly spread across Fries' face. "Well, that's good."
Snowball narrowed his eyes. "Why are you smiling like that?"
"No reason."
"There is absolutely a reason."
Fries laughed. "I was just thinking maybe we should get away from the crowd for a bit."
Snowball snorted. "Honestly? That sounds way better than standing here."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Fries slipped his phone into his inventory and pushed himself away from the railing. For the first time all afternoon, his attention was completely on Snowball instead of whatever had been on his screen.
"Come on then," Fries said with a small laugh.
The two of them left the rink behind. Rather than heading straight home, they wandered over to the cafeteria attached to the skating center. It was much quieter there, away from the music, the crowds, and the occasional shrieks of people falling over on the ice. They grabbed something to eat and settled into one of the booths by the window.
The conversation wasn't particularly serious Slowly, the awkwardness began to fade. Neither of them had all the answers yet, and honestly, neither of them needed to. They were still figuring out what that night meant, what they meant, and whether whatever was happening between them was friendship, something more, or somewhere in between. There was no reason to rush it. For now, they were just enjoying each other's company. And that was enough.
Meanwhile, back on the rink, the others were having their own versions of a good time. Pen never actually succeeded in teaching Eraser how to skate. Not really. Most of the lesson ended with Eraser clinging to him while Pen patiently guided him around the rink. Whenever Pen tried to let go, Eraser immediately grabbed him again. At one point Pen gave up entirely and started showing off instead.
Various skating tricks that made Eraser stare in amazement.
"You can seriously do that?" Eraser asked for what was probably the tenth time.
Pen landed another spin with a grin. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Okay, that's actually awesome."
For a while Eraser simply sat on one of the benches near the rink, watching Pen skate around. Every now and then Pen would wave. Eraser always waved back. It wasn't exactly a skating lesson anymore, but neither of them seemed to mind.
Elsewhere, Woody and Blocky spent the rest of the session racing each other across the ice. After their earlier argument, Blocky kept his promise and stopped bothering other skaters. Instead, he focused entirely on making Woody laugh. Sometimes that meant racing. Sometimes it meant attempting ridiculous skating tricks. And sometimes it meant intentionally slipping over in dramatic fashion just to hear Woody laugh. It worked every time.
By the end of the afternoon, all four of them were tired, sore, and having far more fun than they'd expected. Eventually an announcement echoed throughout the building. The rink was closing. A collective chorus of groans followed from the skaters.
One by one everyone made their way off the ice. Pen found Eraser near the exit. Blocky and Woody arrived shortly after, still talking over each other about who had won more races. Not long after that, Fries and Snowball returned from the cafeteria looking considerably more relaxed than they had earlier. The group returned their skates and changed back into their regular shoes.
Soon they were heading back outside into the cool evening air. The sky had begun turning orange and pink as the sun slowly started to set. Everyone piled back into Pen's car. The ride home was quieter than the ride there, partly because everyone was tired.
Pen drove everyone home one by one. First he dropped off Blocky and Woody together. The two lingered on the sidewalk for a moment before heading inside, still chatting and laughing.
Next came Snowball. Except when they reached his house, Fries announced he was staying over.
"What?" Pen asked.
"We're hanging out."
Snowball rolled his eyes.
"Don't make it weird."
"I'm not making it weird." Pen said quickly, he never even said anything!!
"You're making it weird." Snowball snapped then opened the car door.
Pen laughed as the two of them climbed out of the car and headed inside together.
Finally, only Pen and Eraser remained. The drive home felt peaceful. Neither of them said much. It had been one of those days that wasn't exciting because of some huge event or adventure.
Nothing dramatic had happened, they'd simply spent the day together, laughing, talking, skating; or, in Eraser's case, desperately trying not to skate, and somehow that made it one of the nicest days they'd had in a long time.
As Pen pulled into the driveway, he glanced over at Eraser.
"So." Pen smiled.
"Hm?" Eraser looked up at him.
"You still can't skate." Pen laughed, he was just bullying him.
Eraser groaned. "Oh my god."
Pen laughed, he leaned in and kissed Eraser on the cheek. “Come on, babe, let’s go watch a movie and get takeout.”
Eraser immediately smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”