It was getting late, the sun resting on the horizon as the park was just starting to clear out.
"I think we're done here!" Mordecai said cheerfully, letting out a sigh of relief as he stabbed his garbage spike into the ground and tied the mouth of his trash bag up into a knot.
"It's about time; I was getting sick of standing out here." Rigby threw his spike onto the ground and began to drag his next-to-empty trash bag over to the nearby trash can.
"Getting sick of what?" Mordecai chuckled, walking over to the trash can, "You did nothing."
"Yeah I did," Rigby shot back as he opened his bag, showing 3 empty soda cans and a piece of paper. "See?"
Mordecai raised an eyebrow and smirked as he peeked into the bag. "That's all your trash, though," he said.
"Yeah but at least I bagged it, man."
Mordecai placed his bag into the half full trash can and checked his watch.
"It's six-fifteen! I'm late!" he yelled and raced off towards the house, leaving Rigby in a state of blunder, not sure on what to do next.
"Mordecai, wait! Late for what?" Rigby called out. He dropped his trash bag next to the can and ran after his friend.
He made his way to the house, not seeing Mordecai anywhere. He ran up to the front door, noticing it had been left open, and walked in. "Mordecai, you in here?"
"Oh, you just missed him," a voice called out from upstairs. Pops appeared at the top of the staircase, carrying a ball of green yarn. "He just rushed in and out, leaving with Margaret."
"What? He had a date tonight?" Rigby asked himself, "Why didn't he tell me?" he groaned. He flopped onto the couch as dramatically as he could, leaning back into the backrest. "I thought we were going to hang tonight."
"I'm sorry, Rigby." Pops made his way down the staircase and sat down next to the raccoon, pulling a pair of knitting needles out of his pocket. "Maybe you could find someone else to spend time with tonight?"
"Eh, it's not the same," Rigby pouted, slumping onto the arm of the couch, head in hand.
"You must know some else you can 'chill' with, right?" Pops asked, looking at Rigby and beginning to knit.
"Not really."
"Well, what about Muscle Man or High-Five Ghost?" Pops enquired, continuing to look at Rigby whilst still able to knit expertly, like he's been doing it for years.
"No way," Rigby said, jumping off the couch and turned to Pops, "it'd just be hours of lame jokes and weird smells."
He began to make his way over to the staircase before noticing something out the window. "Wait, is that...?" He walked over to the window and peered out too see a lone mole sitting on a bench.
"She's still here?"
Rigby jumped and turned around to Pops, now standing right behind him. "Dude, don't do that!"
"Oh, I didn't mean to startle you." he frowned, still expertly knitting what looked to be a nice green yarn scarf.
"What's Eileen doing out there?" he thought out loud, confused as to the reason why she would be sitting out there in the cold and why she was at the park in the first place.
"She came with Margaret earlier." Pops stopped knitting and thought to himself for a moment, "I thought she went home."
"Strange," Rigby shrugged and made his way back to the staircase, turning around one more time to look at the mole-girl through the window.
"Well, what about her?" Pops interjected as he continued his knitting, still looking out the window.
"Well, what about her what?" Rigby raised, unsure as to what Pops was talking about.
"What about you 'chill' with her?" Pops said cheerfully, now turned to face Rigby with his iconic smile and happy expression.
"I guess I could," Rigby said in agreement. It beat sitting alone all night and he could have fun with Eileen. Things were becoming less awkward these days and he had started warming up to her.
"Oh, take this to her!" Pops almost screamed, a little too cheerful on how the current event turned out. He held up the now completed green yarn scarf, with a smile on his face beckoning Rigby to take the item from his hands.
"I can't take her that; she'll think it's a gift or something!"
"But it is a gift."
"Pops!"
"It's awfully cold outside, Rigby," Pops said suggestively, still holding out the scarf for Rigby to take. "The gentlemanly thing to do would be to offer her something to keep warm."
"Fine," he said in defeat, rolling his eyes as he walked up to Pops' outstretched arms, "But it's from you, okay?" Rigby snatched the scarf from Pops' hands and balled it up before making his way to the door, Pops giggling in the background.
As he walked out the front door, the bitter dusk air brushed across his fur, causing his skin to prickle and fur to stand on end. He made his way down the stairs and over to Eileen, who was sitting on a bench just up the dirt path.
Eileen turned her head up to investigate the noise of footsteps, only to be greeted by a sullen and cold looking raccoon carrying a scarf in his hands.
"Hey Rigby," she greeted, now unconsciously swinging her legs as he approached her, "What are doing out here?"
"I was just about to ask you that," he replied, stopping a few feet away from her. "What are you doing out here?"
"I came with Margaret after work," she said, looking down at her swinging feet, "but she left with Mordecai and now I'm waiting for her to get back."
"Why are you waiting?"
"She has the car."
Rigby scoffed. "So you got ditched too, huh?"
Eileen looked back up to Rigby. "Pretty much," she smiled half-heartedly before attempting a topic change. "So why aren't you wearing that scarf? You look cold." She looked down at the scarf Rigby was clutching to his chest.
Rigby looked down at the scarf: he had forgotten that he was carrying it. "It's for you, I guess," he replied, moving closer to her and holding it out for her to take it.
"You brought me a scarf?" she asked, a little shocked at this behaviour from the usually distant raccoon. She took the scarf from his hands and placed it on her lap.
"Yeah, I thought you might have needed it," he sat down next to her, "But you look pretty warm right now without it."
"One of the advantages of wearing clothes, I guess," she giggled as she unfolded the scarf.
"Wow, it's nice. Who made it?" she asked, looking over the scarf.
"I did." Rigby lied, grinning and leaning back into the bench as cool as can be.
"I didn't know you could knit." Eileen shifted her gaze over to the house and smiled knowingly before returning to the scarf. She wrapped it around her shoulders and adjusted it. "It smells a bit like you," she said unconsciously and giggled, still toying with the scarf.
Rigby half choked, cheeks blushing furiously to the point you could almost make it out through his fur. "Right..." was all he could muster up, sitting there awkwardly with Eileen still adjusting the scarf.
"Thanks, Rigby," she said, now finished with the scarf and finally beginning to feel the awkwardness set in after realising what she said.
They sat there for a moment in silence, the only noise being the city in the background, the horns of cars and the sound of engines.
Rigby hopped up off the bench and turned towards Eileen, "Well, I'm going back to the house."
"Okay," Eileen smiled and nodded. "See ya, Rigby."
"Do you want to come back with me and hang out?" Rigby asked, "It beats sitting out here waiting for those two to come back," he perked up, the awkwardness of the moment now fading.
"Okay, sounds like fun," Eileen responded, warmed by Rigby's offer. She hopped of the seat and they began walking towards the house. They made their way back and walked inside, shaking off the chilly air.
"This house always smells so antique," Eileen said as she walked over to the middle of the room. "And a bit like pizza and body odour."
"Yeah, I guess it does when you bring it up." Rigby rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed from her comment.
"Want to play some video games?" he asked, doing his best to ease his embarrassment. "It's not the latest system but it's still awesome."
Eileen gave a nod and smiled, "Yeah, that'd be great!"
She made her way over to side the couch closest to the front door and sat down, Rigby making his way over to the console to set it up.
"What games do you have?" Eileen asked, watching Rigby set everything up.
"Just a few, but they're really good." He put the cartridges and two controllers onto the table and continued to set up the console.
Eileen shifted forward to get a look at the cartridges, noticing they were all pretty retro. "I love retro games," she said as she picked up a few cartridges and eyed them over. "Have you played '3000: Apocalypse'?"
Rigby's head perked up at those words. "Hell yeah! '3000: Apocalypse' is the best!"
"You got a copy?"
"Err... No." Rigby frowned, looking back down the console and plugging in the two controllers.
"Oh well..." Eileen shrugged, putting the cartridges back on the table. "I have a copy at my house, if you want to borrow it some time."
"That would be awesome!" Rigby answered enthusiastically, putting a copy of Dig Champs into the console. After turning it on, he walked back over to the couch and sat down. "Okay, we're playing Dig Champs. You know how to play?"
"I've played it before, but it was a long time ago." She shuffled forward to grab a controller.
They reached for their controllers, both reaching for the same one. Their hands bumped together causing Eileen to blush a little and Rigby to flinch backward, a weird feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.
Rigby picked up a controller and Eileen picked up the other. "I'm player one, you're player two," he stated matter-of-factly.
"That's fair. Your house, your rules." She leaned back into the chair, awaiting her turn. She smiled; the last thing she thought she would be doing today was playing video games with Rigby.
Rigby selected his character, Eileen doing the same after him.
"Time to watch a pro at work," Rigby grinned and wriggled in spot, preparing himself and causing Eileen to giggle at his cute display of what looked like manly bravado. It was one of the things she loved about him, that overbearing confidence... well, more like stubbornness.
It didn't take long for him to die. He had cleared about 4 levels before he was defeated. "This game is a cheat!" he yelled, throwing the controller onto the table and folding his arms, grimacing. "I totally hit that snail!"
"Oh, don't be like that, Rigby: it's just a game," Eileen smiled, shifting forward on the couch. It was her turn. "I hope I'm okay; I might be a bit rusty."
Eileen had cleared about ten levels, now burning through her eleventh. "Did you see that, Rigby?" she said after she combo killed 6 enemies in a row.
"Rusty..." he huffed and smiled. He was actually impressed with her skill. He sat there, eyes fixed on the TV as he watched her clear level after level.
Eileen giggled and turned to the raccoon who was staring at the TV with the blankest of expressions. Eileen took this as bored body language and she felt a little guilty for playing for so long.
Though she didn't know, Rigby had been enjoying it, watching her play intently since she started. It surprised him how well she played. Usually, watching Mordecai play with such skill caused him to grow jealous of his ability with video games, but he had no small rivalry with Eileen to cause such feelings.
"How about we play something more co-operative?" Eileen suggested, attempting to liven up the mood as she ran straight into an enemy, ending her winning streak.
"That's cool. We have a few here we can co-op in." He got off the couch, grabbed a few cartridges off the table and made his way over to the console, switching Dig Champs out. "Are you okay with 'Danger Zone'?"
"Is that that first person shooter game about the mutant monsters in that chemical factory?" she said all in one breath.
"Yeah, you've played it?" Rigby asked, a little smile playing across his face. Eileen was so versed with video games and it was a little surprising. He knew she played them, he's played with her before but he never knew she was anything but casual.
"No, but I'll get the hang of it."
He made his way back over the couch and sat down, starting the game up.
They selected their characters and their weapons and got straight into it. Eileen did most of the work, Rigby lagging behind to do stupid things like spell out words on the wall with bullet holes and attempt to get into out of reach areas, laughing and enjoying themselves as they played. Eileen thought his behaviour was cute. Yet again another thing she liked about him: he was a complete goofball.
It was now much later into the evening. They had just defeated a boss when Rigby's stomach decided to make its presence known with a large growl.
"You sound hungry," Eileen giggled, looking at Rigby's stomach.
Rigby looked down and placed his hands on his belly, "Yeah, I'm starving. We need to get some food in here."
"How about pizza?" Eileen pulled out her cell phone and speed-dialled the pizza place in town.
"That would be awesome!" Rigby cheered, throwing his arms into the air. "Wait, you have the pizza joint on speed-dial?"
"Yeah, it's a long story. I was- Uh, hello. Could I get one large pepperoni pizza?" Eileen placed their order. "Delivery... Thank you."
She hung up, placing the phone back into her pocket. "Should be here in about 20 minutes."
"I'll go get some soda out of the refrigerator," Rigby said, getting off the couch and making his way to the kitchen.
The pizza got there in timely manner and they wasted no time opening the box and grabbing a few slices.
"Hey, Eileen! Look at this," he snickered before taking a long string of mozzarella cheese and placing it under his nose, sticking it to his fur as best he could.
Eileen gave a giggle at Rigby before doing the same, curling her lip and placing a large string of mozzarella in under her nose, causing Rigby to burst out in laughter at the sight of Eileen with cheese hanging off her face.
"One more piece left," Eileen said, staring at the lone slice sitting in the box.
Rigby was not listening, and was already diving in for the last piece. He looked over at Eileen, feeling a little guilty about rushing in like that, and split the slice in half, silently offering her one half whilst shoving the other in his mouth.
Eileen blushed at the gesture and took the slice. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."
"It's cool," Rigby said, smiling with a mouth full of food.
They finished eating and went back into their game.
"It's about time I got that power up. You kept getting it before," Rigby gloated as he took out 3 mutants with one power shot. "Aww yeah! Did you see that?" he brought his hand up for a high-five, which Eileen returned.
"I let you take it this time; I didn't need it," Eileen joked, turning a corner and taking out 6 mutants before being flanked and killed by one of the higher-level enemies.
"Oh, that was my last life," she frowned, putting the controller down. She leaned back into the couch.
Rigby unconsciously did the same. Now playing alone, without backup, until the next level he did his best to concentrate.
"We should do this more often," Eileen exhaled, relaxing back further into the couch.
"Yeah, we should hang out more. This is fun," Rigby answered with a smile, still fixated on the game though his answer was genuine.
Eileen yawned and rested her head on the arm of the chair. "What time is it?" she asked, looking around for a clock before remembering the phone in her pocket.
She fished it out and checked the clock. It was late and she was feeling a little tired, having stayed up an hour past her usual bedtime.
Rigby continued to play for a while longer, utter silence between the two before he was interrupted, as a sleepy, barely conscious Eileen rested her head on his shoulder.
He froze, a chill covering his whole body as his heart began to race and that familiar feeling returned to his stomach.
A part of him wanted to wake the girl up and move her off in case anyone saw, but as he looked down at her tired, rather cute visage he started to ease, going back to playing his game. It wasn't long before he found himself growing more relaxed again, this time a little more than before.
Eileen was now fast asleep. She took a deep breath in and out, sighing in comfort and moving her arm up and around Rigby's stomach causing him to squeak. His heart started to race again.
He didn't last long with the distraction and wasted his lives quite quickly. He groaned as he threw the controller on the table again, before looking down at a now-snoring Eileen, unsure as to what to do now.
If Mordecai and Margaret came in now, he'd never hear the end of it. But he didn't want to disturb her, and he was enjoying kind of enjoying it, if feeling a bit anxious with all the contact. He leaned back, staring at the start screen and thinking to himself.
He really did like Eileen: maybe not when they first met, but she had grown on him over time as he found at more about her. He now found himself enjoying her company more than he'd like to admit.
He continued to think on his feelings, trying to make them out as he slowly grew tired.
He groggily bent his head to the side, resting it on top of Eileen's, closing his eyes and sighing as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Mordecai opened the door, laughing as Margaret trailed in behind him.
"Did you see that guys face?" he laughed, doing his best impression.
Margaret laughed as she held onto her sides, trying to catch her breath. "Yeah, he looked pretty angry."
"Shhh!" a noise came from the kitchen as Pops appeared at the doorway into the lounge room. "You'll wake them," he said as he pointed to the pair on the couch and giggled softly. Rigby was now dead asleep. The pair were now covered in a blanket and huddled into the corner of the couch as they slept on each other.
"Awww, that's cute," Margaret whispered, trying to contain her giddy laughter at the sight of Eileen cuddled up with Rigby.
"It's about time, Rigby," Mordecai laughed quietly at his friend before the two birds went upstairs, quietly chatting to each other.
Rigleen feels, woo!