Since coroika stories aren't rlly popular here, this is the last chapter i'm posting to this site! You can read future chapters on wattpad (Cxllie_Blxsh_Rxsh) or ao3 (Cxllie)
WARNING: The end of the chapter is a bit spicy!
A few days after Rider went to see that movie with Goggles, Gloves surprisingly wasn't thinking much about it, as those few days in-between were full of turf wars and ranked battles. The green inkling was a bit exhausted, but still feeling fired up. "It's a nice and boring day, perfect for trying to rizz up Rider!" exclaimed Gloves. Half-Rim sighed. "Don't ever say rizz again."
Gloves didn't care about his best friend's remark though, he was already happily making his way out the door. "Gloves is so back!" cheered Straps. "JARED IS DEEEEEAD!"
While he looked around for Rider, he ran into a familiar pink squid. "Sup Aloha?" he greeted in a cool manner. "Hey buddy!" waved Aloha. "What are ya up to?" asked Gloves. "I'm on my way to go bug Army~" winked the pink inkling. "Aloha, how do you flirt so well?" asked the green inkling. "You wanna find out? I could give you a few lessons~" he smirked, before blowing a kiss to Army. The orange inkling hid his face.
Meanwhile, Rider was in the middle of an intense training session with his team. "My aim is just fine!" groaned Bamboo. "AIM BETTER!" shouted Rider. "You can't just say that and expect it to get better." replied the inkling girl, rolling her eyes. "They're at it again." sighed Stealth. "Oh no!" laughed Blazer, unsurprised by it.
"YOU HAVE TO CHARGE IT FASTER BY-" There was a knock on Rider's backyard gate. "Who is it?" he asked in a quiet and dry tone, completely opposite to the way he was yelling at Bamboo. Gloves let himself in and flung the gate open. "It's me~"
"Yeah, I know. What's gotten into you this morning?" groaned Rider. "Just thought I'd drop by and see my favorite squid." winked Gloves. "W-WHO INVITED THIS GUY?!" Rider shouted at his teammates, blushing like mad. "Uh, w-well, he was really polite on the phone…" laughed Stealth, nervously. "Of course." muttered Rider in annoyance.
"You wanna head out to The Shoal?" asked Gloves, still wearing a flirtatious smile. "No." groaned Rider. "I think you should go!" said Blazer. "Why?" sighed Rider. "It's clear you two are slowly becoming friends, so you should spend time together to get closer!" she smiled. "She makes a good point." smirked Gloves. Rider sighed. "Fine."
Meanwhile, Goggles was waiting for someone in a shadier area of Inkopolis Square. "Nana!" he waved. "You're here!" he smiled brightly. "So, you wanted to know how to ask Hachi out?" she asked. "I've known him for all my life, so I know exactly how to help!"
"Yay!" cheered Goggles.
"First of all, he enjoys fun turf wars!"
"That's easy!"
Gloves got a message from Straps on his phone as him and Rider were walking to The Shoal. "Goggles is having a turf war nearby! DON'T LET RIDER GET DISTRACTED BY HIM!" it read.
"I think I hear Goggles from Blackbelly Skatepark." muttered Rider. "UH, NO YOU DON'T!" blurted out Gloves. "THAT'S…UH…MY COUSIN ON THE PHONE!"
"Your cousin?" he asked.
"Y-Yeeeah! Her name is…" Gloves looked at the current turf war stages to look normal or something, the stages being Manta Maria and Blackbelly Skatepark. "MARIA! HER NAME IS MARIA PARK!" he shouted nervously.
"Uh, okay…No need to yell." replied Rider.
"Look, we're here!" The two went into The Shoal, and instantly ran to their favorite arcade games inside.
"Gloves looks so dashing playing that…" thought Rider. "Wait, WHAT?"
"Ah, Rider looks so hot." sighed Gloves, smiling. Rider didn't notice and kept playing Squid Jump. A few minutes later, he felt someone looming over his seat. "You need help with that?" asked Gloves.
"UH, NO? I'M AT THE TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD!" Rider yelled, not noticing his blushing face. Gloves decided to "help" him anyways, putting his hands on Rider's to guide them. "You can stop now!" shouted the yellow-green inkling. "Alright." Gloves shrugged, smirking and letting go of his hands. "Your hands are warm." he added. "Say, we should have another sleepover!"
"Aloha must have encouraged him to bully me or something!" thought Rider, angrily. "His flirting has Aloha written all over it!"
"You good?" asked Gloves. "Yes." sighed Rider. "I can't believe I like this version of Gloves…Not that I like him. He's just popular with everyone for a reason. Even me, but it's not like I-"
"Uh, you lost the level dude. I think you need help!" laughed Gloves. "SQUIT!" shouted Rider, finally noticing the game. "Thank cod you have me, the greatest Squid Jump player ever!" Gloves winked.
After Rider got bored of the game and went to a different one, Gloves stopped to text Straps again. "HOWS IT GOING BRO" read her text. "I got to touch his hands ;)" Gloves replied. "OO GLOVES U TUMBLR SEXYMAN" replied Straps. The green inkling boy put away his phone smiling, and went to another arcade cabinet.
Meanwhile, Rider was having a little crisis in his head. "He switched games…Why do I feel like I need to make a move? If I do, I'll never hear the end of everyone teasing me! But…UGH, SHOULD I? Should I do it and just trust that Gloves will somehow not tell anyone?"
Gloves was playing a game similar to DDR, but the game was different from Squid Beatz 2. Like Rider with Squid Jump, Gloves was very skilled at this game…When the other wasn't making a very romantic move on him. "Rider, you gotta get off. You're messing up the game!" said Gloves, doing his best to not get frustrated.
The yellow-green inkling took the other's hands "Tch. This is revenge." he whispered. Nana and Goggles actually passed by and saw them through the window. All they could see was Rider and Gloves dancing a romantic tango. "I don't remember that level!" commented Goggles.
Gloves and Rider noticed the two glancing at them, and their faces grew red in embarrassment. "You know, that might be a good move on Hachi too…" added Nana. The two inklings in different shades of green watched their friends walk away, still blushing.
The octoling girl and blue inkling continued their walk, until they ran into Hachi. "There you are!" he smiled. Goggles was quick to run up to him for a hug. "I was wondering where you two went. Afro and Pony ran off to Headspace for a sale." said the octoling boy, who became visibly nervous. "Goggles, I was actually wondering if you wanted to go to Aloha's party tomorrow. I heard this one's more sophisticated." A small blush found itself on Goggles' cheeks. "Of course!" he grinned. Nana smiled at the two, happy that they're a step closer to confessing.
Back to Rider and Gloves, the green inkling ran into the bathroom to call his wingwoman. "Hey." he said in a low voice before struggling to speak. "You good bro?" asked Straps on the phone.
"R-RIDER!" shouted Gloves. "TANGO!" he added. "ARCADE GAME!" he added.
"Gloves, you gotta speak coherent inklish if you want help!" shrugged Straps. "Unless you're JARED!"
"Quit it with the Jared joke! No one finds it funny!"
"Who's this no one?"
"Argh!" snapped Gloves. "Please Straps, help a guy out!"
"Fine, fine!" she laughed. "I think you just need to get it together and go back to your handsome prince once you're good!"
"Did you have to call him that?" grumbled the inkling boy, blushing. Straps didn't hear him though, because she hung up. "Damn it." he sighed.
A few minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom. "Now what?" asked Rider. "You wanna keep hanging out?" asked Gloves, his eyes lighting up. "I g-guess." muttered Rider. "Let's go back to my place!" smiled Gloves.
The yellow-green inkling got a reminder on his phone, and his eyes widened. "I was supposed to confess to Goggles today…" he read. "Rider?" asked Gloves, a bit confused. "I'll be back later!" he replied, running out of The Shoal. "Oh." mumbled Gloves.
Goggles just finished winning a Turf War on The Manta Maria, Rider caught him in the square with his team and Hachi's. "Goggles." he said. "Come with me."
Rider was taking Goggles somewhere private to talk, but a familiar feeling came back- The one he had after the movie theater. After all the courage he built up for this over the past few years…Were they for nothing? Rider didn't want to believe it, but he didn't want this.
When the two stopped near Grizzco, Rider felt a bit…sick. That's the best way he could put it. "Hey." he said in his usual low voice. "You wanted to talk?" asked Goggles. "Goggles…" began Rider.
"I…I like you." he said reluctantly, not using the stronger wording as originally planned.
"Rider…" said Goggles, who's surprised face turned into a smile. "You're a good friend." he smiled. "But I can't see us dating. I like someone else." he said, sounding positive. "I know you'll find someone though, you are Rider after all!" he added optimistically.
The yellow-green inkling felt…at peace, for some reason. A few months ago, he would have been heartbroken, but today he felt like a weight was lifted off of him. He didn't understand it, but the feeling caused a soft smile to creep onto his face.
"See? You're already smiling!" grinned Goggles.
"Goggles! The next battle's starting soon!" called Specs from the distance.
"I gotta get going Rider!" smiled the blue inkling. "We should battle really soon!" He then ran off to catch up with his team.
The yellow-green squid's smile grew a bit bigger as he watched Goggles run off. However, it didn't last long. While he felt free after that, a crisis hit him. He was still yearning for love, and wasn't sure where to find someone who would like him back. Aloha had Army, Skull has Aviators, Mask is aromantic, and he wasn't interested in any girls.
A feeling of sadness hit him, he then remembered that Gloves is waiting for him. He hoped that the visit to his house might distract him for the afternoon. He found the green squid waiting outside of The Shoal. "Sorry for the wait." said Rider. "Let's go."
Rider was impressed when he stepped into Gloves' house. "Wasn't expecting it to be so clean." he commented. "Half-Rim cleans the place!" said Gloves. Someone noticed the two walk in, and it was none other than Straps. "It's so nice to see you Rider!" she greeted, frantically shaking his hand.
Straps sent a text to Clip-Ons and Half-Rim. It said "GLOVES BROUGHT RIDER HOME! they need sum alone time~"
The other two gloves team members came to the door, greeting Rider. "You two have fun." said Half-Rim. "We have to go grocery shopping." he lied. "Didn't we do that last week?" questioned Gloves. "Well you see, we just really like grocery shopping!" answered Clip-Ons, wondering what the hell she just said. "Uh…Okay." shrugged Gloves as his team left the house.
"Your team is weird." said Rider. "Yeah, that was weird…" replied Gloves.
Rider sat down on the couch, trying to hide his feelings- That indescribable feeling of sadness from earlier. He looked over at Gloves, who was taking his shoes off. "You okay man?" asked Gloves, his eyes meeting Rider's. The yellow-green inkling didn't answer. "Answer me!" pouted Gloves.
"I…Goggles rejected me, but I'm left conflicted about it." mumbled Rider. "Sorry that happened to you." replied Gloves. "If it makes you feel better, I've lost interest in him." he said, trying to reassure him. "Wait, what?" asked Rider. Gloves only nodded.
"I see. Anyways, I'm conflicted. It's stressing me out. I don't know what to do." said Rider, in a series of short sentences. "I just want to feel love on a deeper level." He then realized what he said and blushed harder than ever before. "That was corny…"
"No Rider, I get it. Sort of." smiled Gloves, about to make his boldest move yet. "You know, if you're that starved of intimacy…" he began. "What the hell are you suggesting?" Rider questioned, moving a bit further away when Gloves sat next to him.
"Rider." husked Gloves. "I'm right here if your hands need something to touch. No homo." His words caused Rider to quickly move to the opposite side of the couch. "GLOVES WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouted, covering his hot and blushing face.
Gloves sighed. "I knew this was way too bold."
"Whatever. It's only because I'm desperate. This shouldn't mean anything!" yelled Rider, a bit defensively. "Okay." smirked Gloves, slowly making his way on top of Rider. He leaned closer to the yellow-green inkling's face.
"This is your last chance to back out." whispered the green inkling, his lips almost touching the other's. He was only met with silence. "I guess we're doing this then, no homo." Gloves held both cheeks on Rider's face and kissed him on the mouth, slowly intensifying it. The green inkling blushed when the other made a few suggestive sounds, pretending he didn't hear them.
Despite it being his idea, he still felt a bit dirty doing this, but it felt oh-so good. The two broke the kiss when the need for air kicked in. The green inkling wasn't finished though, he made sure to plant a few kisses on Rider's face before getting off of him.
Both were red in the face, processing what just happened. "I'm gonna go see what snacks are in the kitchen." said Gloves, chuckling sheepishly. "Okay." said Rider, hiding his face in his hands.
Both were quite flustered after that, but Rider's feelings were stronger. "I can't deny I love him anymore…That felt so right."
To be continued!
Srry for the wait but its finally here! Idk how many more chapters are left, maybe like 3? I'm also thinking abt my next coroika fic, maybe empspecs or aloarmy?