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it’s a quiet saturday night in inkopolis, not many squids are around despite the many open shops. hivemind was one of them, he walked by the lights of the shops and taking brief looks through the glass windows for only a second. nothing seemed to pique his interest; maybe it was another boring night. he had already been walking for an hour, ending up in the more scattered part of town; to be honest, he didn’t have a place in mind; he just let his feet lead him wherever they may take him.
everything felt like a blur, wandering in god knows where. maybe he just needed time alone. he would get so easily overwhelmed around his friends that this could be more needed than anything.
soon enough, he reached a grassy terrain. there were barely any trees, and you could see the glimmering moon almost perfectly. he decided to stop and sit down, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he had in him. it was soothing to moon bathe, and he let his eyes rest as he sat there. he laid back as his hands lay on the grass, and then he heard footsteps approaching.
the sound of boots hitting dirt only got louder as they got closer, and they stopped rather quickly.
“hivemind?” a boy’s voice spoke. the boots stepped closer before they were right beside hivemind. “what are you doing out here?”
hivemind looked up, meeting faces with rider himself. his lime green ponytail was hard to miss. “oh, hello rider,” hivemind greeted, shooting him a very subtle smile.
“hey, do you mind if i sit here?” rider replied, pointing to the ground beside hivemind. the other boy nodded, and rider proceeded to sit.
“what made you come out here?” rider repeated, looking over at the glasses-covered face.
“i could ask you the same thing,” he responded, looking back at him.
“guess we both have our own reasons for being out here, huh?” rider joked, softly chuckling before looking away rather awkwardly. he never had much trouble communicating with someone; what made now different?
it was silent, comforting, albeit a little awkward.
“hey, have you... ever fallen in love?” hivemind blurted out; his words came out quicker than he thought. rider looked over, a little caught off guard. his eyes were slightly widened as he stared at the other. hivemind didn’t seem to reciprocate the action, keeping his eyes on the moon.
“huh? why are you asking?” he queried. rider studied hivemind's expression, noticing a hint of scarlet flushing his cheeks.
“i don’t know. it’s been on my mind recently, i guess,” he says rather vaguely. he moves his view from the moon onto the grass, secretly glad his glasses cover half his face due to the fact that he could feel his cheeks become even hotter as the conversation steered toward awkwardness.
“i mean, i don’t know about being in love but i’ve had crushes.” rider felt his own face become flushed. it was embarrassing to remember his past crushes (and how he never ended up with almost all of them.)
“do crushes not count as love?” he questioned, calming down and glancing at rider.
“well, you could say they do. i think they’re steps to love. i’ve never cared enough to find ‘the one.’” he hesitated, using finger quotes. he proceeded to nervously look down at his lap, being asked about personal stuff like love definitely wasn’t on his bingo for tonight.
for hivemind to get all quiet and nervous- no, for both of them to get awkward like this is unusual, and the air was thick with tension.
“have you ever… kissed anyone before?” he nervously asked, breaking eye contact as he fidgeted with the surrounding grass. he was so utterly flustered asking questions like this, yet they came out like lightning, faster than he could process. can he really not sit in silence with the other around?
at first, there was no response as rider sat and thought. the answer was no, but he didn’t want to come off as a loser, but being a liar is worse. so he answered truthfully,
“no. i haven’t.” he finally says, averting his gaze. he takes a sharp breath, his face becoming even hotter as he exposes his truth.
hivemind didn't seem to judge; simply, his expression was hard to read.
"that's a shame; i would have thought the dynamo user had at least one kiss in his life," he commented rather confidently, his demeanor changing right after seeming all flustered and cute.
"what about you? how many people have you kissed?" he countered.
hivemind mentally shriveled up, going silent. his answer was the exact same as rider; it's not that he had relationship problems... or it probably was the issue, or maybe the fact he's never dated. he never cared much for relationships, despite the many crushes he's had himself.
rider waited, raising his eyebrows as he stared at the quiet boy. "well?"
hivemind took a deep breath, swallowing his pride to answer the question. "very few." he vaguely answered.
rider tried to hold back a chuckle, but it slipped out like bubbles. "and you were judging me, i guess we're in the same boat." rider joked, observing hivemind's face becoming red once more.
"it wasn't all that funny." hivemind crossed his arms, finding himself a tad annoyed.
silence crept into their conversation once again.
"have i been asking too many questions?" hivemind spoke up, breaking the awkward quietness.
"no, i don't mind. i don't care, really. you're not annoying." he replied, a soft smile beginning to tug at his lips.
"you don't think i'm annoying? huh, thanks." he decided to look back over, the moonlight shining on rider's face. he smiled back at rider, the glow on his cheeks deepening.
"i used to; it turns out you're just cocky," rider adds in a lighthearted fashion.
hivemind giggled, "i get that a lot. you're not much of a bad guy yourself. i like you, i always have," he admitted, letting his guard down for maybe the first time in a long time. he was always somewhat relaxed around his friends, but he could feel his shoulders no longer tense as he let out a quiet breath.
"that's... nice. thank you." rider's hand brushed against hiveminds, his fingertips touching the other's.
hivemind thought he had finally calmed down before noticing the touch, he quickly became flustered once more, extracting his hand and toying with the hem of his shirt.
"uh... well. it was nice talking to you," rider said, awkwardly looking away because of his seemingly failed attempt. he sighed quietly before starting to stand up, wiping the dirt off his hands onto his jacket. hivemind did the same, once he stood up, he realized he stood not far from rider, maybe a little too close for comfort. they both looked at each other, standing there before hivemind spoke up,
"it was nice talking to you, too. i'm glad i was able to let my feelings out, you could say." he was never much of a vulnerable person, yet rider had this weird comforting aura when he wasn't the tough dynamo roller user everyone knew.
"goodnight," rider's voice echoed before beginning to walk away. hivemind realized he wasn't ready for this night to be over, quickly following along behind rider.
what was he doing trailing behind another boy like this? cod knows, but rider could tell he was following but didn't say anything, slowing down to walk beside hivemind instead.
rider decided to try again, moving his hand closer to hivemind's. he looked away while doing it in an attempt to come off nonchalant, failing dearly. hivemind decided to give in, the soft touch of rider's knuckles brushing against his turning into a full embrace. their hands become intertwined as they move by each other.
tonight was a beautiful night; it was the answer to all his questions.