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At first Bubby actually hadn't wanted to go to the roller rink.
The idea of it sounded horrid. First of all, he was exhausted, all of them were, still recovering from the escapades of Black Mesa. Killing the entire US military on top of hundreds of Coomer clones, his own prototypes, and random innocents (hey, not all of them were TOTALLY innocent, that guy owed him 5 bucks!) wasn't an easy feat.
But when Tommy, always an excitable soul, had suggested an outing, the rest of them had almost no choice but to come with. The whole Renosance- (how does he spell it- oh, why bother, this is his thoughts he can spell it however he wants)- Cascade had sort of turned the Science Team into one big trauma bonded club. They lived separately, sure- Benrey and Gordon moved in with Tommy, and Bubby and Coomer had found an apartment of their own- but they did pretty much everything together.
Nobody ever went anywhere alone most of the time. Most of them were scared to.
They probably needed therapy to address that, but none of them were willing, so here they were. All hitching together to the roller rink because the thought of even one person left behind was unbearable.
Second of all- attaching wheels to your shoes and spinning around in a loop for two hours? What? It sounded chaotic enough to be interesting but weird enough for Bubby to question it.
But again. No man left behind. So he threw on his favorite jacket and drove himself and Harold here to meet up with the others. Thankfully parking wasn't a problem- the joys of actually being able to turn into a car.
And now he sat at a sticky table, grumbling under his breath as he pressed his shoulder into the side of the booth, idly watching Benrey shake a vending machine a little farther away. He didn't really have a good reason for why the guard showed back up- he just- did.
Bubby would never admit it, but he was glad. The world always felt a little more empty whenever a member of the science team was gone, especially such a vocal one.
"Bubby?"
He jolted at the voice, head whipping in Harold's direction. He was donning a fun flowery shirt and some sparkly pants that slightly hurt to look at, but reminded him of a disco ball.
"What?"
"Aren't you going to go skating?"
Bubby shrugged absently, sticking his leg up on the table.
"Dear boy, I'm lonely out there!" Coomer sat beside him.
"Don't want to break a hip." Bubby muttered, putting his hand over Coomer's.
"Nonsense! Why wouldn't you want to break a hip? Then you can get upgraded with one of Black Mesa's Super Hips!"
"Harold, I don't think the cybernetics wing exists anymore."
He watched the man consider it.
"...Oh, that's right! What a shame. Well, I'm sure we could make something out of cardboard."
Bubby gave him an amused look.
"Fine, I'll give it a shot. I'll just sue the rink if I fall." To be honest he might do it anyways, screw those corporations. "Move."
"That's the spirit!" Coomer moved out of the booth. Bubby leaned over, finally tying the skates... over his shoes. He is not touching the inside of those things with his socks, ew.
He wobbled to his feet, long arms waving around in circles as he instantly clung to Coomer, legs slowly spreading into a splits position. Thank god he was flexible, because otherwise- ouch.
He could hear laughter from afar, lifting up his hand in a middle finger with an embarrassed grumble. Stupid Gordon.
"Easy, dear boy! Wouldn't want you to fall before we even hit the rink!" Harold put his arm around Bubby's waist to support him. "Just walk like normal."
"There are WHEELS on my FEET! This is an abomination to the inventors of wheels!" Bubby shouted, already irritated. But mostly only because he could feel he was not going to be good at this-
"Don't be a party pooper!" Coomer guided him to the rink, stepping down before him. Bubby gave an unsure noise before stepping down onto the smoother-than-he-expected ground.
"EEYAH!" He immediately exclaimed as his legs wobbled, hanging onto Harold for dear life now. This was so much worse than the carpet.
"Bubby! You're going to bring us both down!" Coomer exclaimed, though his balance still seemed to be steady. Bubby felt panic spike in his chest when the man removed one of his hands from around him, only to feel relief when it was promptly put against a wall.
"This is so goddamned stupid!" Bubby clung to the wall, his feet slipping from underneath him.
"Bend your knees!"
"I am!"
"Bend your knees!" Coomer repeated.
"I AM!"
"Clearly not enough!"
Bubby growled at him. Coomer shrugged.
"Here! Let's try this!"
He awkwardly watched as Coomer got on all fours. Suddenly the man's hand's also had roller skates.
"You can use me as one of those granny walkers!"
"In public?"
"What?"
"Nothing." Bubby coughed and looked away. "How about I just hold your hands?"
Coomer stood back up, hand-skates now gone. "Oh yes! Much better idea!"
Bubby couldn't stop the pink blush quickly spreading across his face when Coomer's calloused hands curled around his. For once he was thankful for the dizzying LED lights to serve as protection against anyone else seeing.
"Alright! Try to glide your feet against the floor, keep your knees bent!" Coomer chirped. Bubby hunched over, making a low sound as they moved across the rink, slowly but steadily.
Bubby's breath caught in his throat, looking down from the rink to stare at Coomer. 80's music louder than his own thoughts blared into his ears and yet still, all he wanted to look at was him.
Thought the music did add to the experience.
I don't want to lose you
This good thing that I got
'Cause if I do, I will surely
Surely lose a lot
'Cause your love, is better than
Than any love I know
"Hah!" He couldn't help but exclaim, watching Harold's white hair bounce with each stride he took, listening to the man hum along to the music...
Every time he took the moment to look at Coomer, really look at him, he always couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Even in his older age, he was still just so... dazzling. It distracted Bubby from everything else- whether it was the coldness of his tube as his bony hands pressed against his, only the thick glass separating them...
Or from the blue figure rapidly approaching from behind.
SLAM! Bubby was ripped from his daze as Benrey rammed into his arm. His hand was torn away from Harold's in the process, his eye widening.
"Oh, yo, sorry bros, still gettin' used to this whole wheelies thing." Benrey flipped around, blinking at them with his signature neutral expression. "Def not as easy as, uhhh.. as Lan Hikari makes it out t' be, y'know?"
"Oh, no worries at all!" Coomer chirped, starting to pull ahead. His hand was still extended, as if he hadn't notice Bubby's separation from him. "Have a lovely time skating, Bingus."
"Y'know it."
Bubby blinked, starting to panic. He was near the middle of the skating rink, no wall to cling to, and now the person he was using for support was getting further away- and he was starting to roll.
"Harold-"
"Just hang onto me!"
"HAROLD! I'M NOT BESIDE YOU!"
Coomer blinked, looking to his side. Where his lanky husband was not standing.
"Where did you go?"
A scream from behind him answered that question.
"AAAAAAAAA-"
Somehow, Bubby had managed to get himself rolling without falling. The problem?
He wasn't exactly sure how to turn. Or stop. And his feet were quickly starting to wobble.
"HELP ME, GORDON!" He shouted. He wasn't actually asking for Gordon's help- that was just the automatic phrase he and Coomer cried whenever they were in danger (If he could change it to "help me, Coomer" he would, Gordon was usually never much help).
"I've got you, dear boy!" Coomer started to race ahead instead of... turning around. The rule following doctor would never go the Wrong Way in a roller rink, obviously.
"AAAAA!"
He jolted feeling a touch at his side. Wow, those Super Legs were good for something, Coomer was faster than he expe-
"I've got ya, Bubby!"
That was not Coomer. The corner of his mouth twitched up annoyedly as he looked at Gordon.
"Not you."
Gordon gave his signature bewildered, why-are-you-like-this look. As if he was any better. "Wh- but then why did you-"
"DEAR BOY!" Coomer cried from behind them. Bubby lit up, using Gordon to turn around just in time for-
Slam!
He felt the (very welcome) embrace of Coomer's arms wrapping around his torso again. Unfortunately, the man had severely miscalculated his speed, the force he was putting behind his grab, and Bubby's dwindling balance.
The two of them toppled to the ground. Bubby cried out in surprise, blushing again as he looked up at Coomer.
"Oops!" Coomer said, wobbling to his feet and dusting himself off, offering Bubby a hand up. "Apologies, professor."
"Doctor."
"Professor."
Bubby snorted, taking his hand and standing. "Doctor."
Coomer paused, looking at him for a good moment before his eyes drifted to Gordon behind him.
"HELLO, Gordon!"
Well, that meant that Bubby won this round. Gordon nodded at them.
"Hey, Coomer."
"Go away!" Bubby chimed in. "Go find your boyfriend."
Gordon glared at him.
"Geez, fine- wait- no, me and Benrey are not dating!"
"That's what I said about Coomer!" He wiggled his ringed finger in front of Gordon's face. "And look."
The middle aged man glared at him and skated off. Bubby looked back down at Coomer, squeezing his hand tight so nobody could separate them again. Harold looked back up at him.
"Ready to keep going, my dear?"
Bubby's frown twitched back up into a grin.
"Damn straight!"
This thing, called love
I just can't handle it
This thing, called love
I must get 'round to it, I ain't ready
Crazy little thing called love