tear in my heart

eight|| you didn't mean to say "i love you".

"goggles!"

"prince!"

the two saw each other just the day before, but they were happy to see each other every time they got to see each other. the two saw each other from across the square. they started running towards each other, away from their teams they were accompanied with. the couple ran into each other's arms, laughing as prince fell on top of goggles. "are you okay?" headphones asked, running up to them. "prince, don't hurt the poor boy," n-pacer scolded, helping the two up. "h-hey," headphones said with a small smile. "hi," n-pacer said, a light blush on her cheeks.

prince and goggles giggled as they held hands and looked into each other's eyes. "ahem, prince. his majesty is waiting," eging informed. "sorry. we should go somewhere later. i'll text you, 'kay?" the blue inkling nodded. "see ya," he said with a sweet smile as his boyfriend walked away with his team. the blue team was heading towards deca tower to play some turf.

an hour of turfing later, goggles checked his phone. a message from prince was all he had.

prince 💛
wanna go to new albacore hotel tonight? pearl offered to pay for us

goggles chewed on his lip. "hey, specs. is it okay if i head over to new albacore tonight?" he raised an eyebrow. "with prince?" goggles nodded. "sure, just don't do anything i wouldn't do." headphones elbowed him. "don't say that."

yeah sure :)

a few hours later, goggles and prince met up at mahi mahi resort. prince hugged the blue inkling once he saw him. "i hope you don't mind but emperor and gloves insisted on tagging along. don't worry though, they'll be in a separate room," prince explained. "yeah, that's fine," goggles replied, holding the shorter boy's hand. "aww, look at how cute they are," gloves snickered mockingly, wrapping an arm around emperor. "i wouldn't necessarily call it cute, love. my little brother seems to have low standards," the older houzuki brother mumbled. "come on, he isn't that bad. you're only against him because he's obviously a bottom."

"gloves!" prince shrieked, a look of embarrassment across his face as the couple laughed. "am i wrong, your royal highness?" the green inkling snickered. "just ignore them," goggles said, squeezing prince's hand. "you're right." the younger houzuki threw emperor and gloves' key card at them. "have a good night," he mumbled before opening the door to his and goggles' shared room.

"fancy!" the blue inkling said in awe, immediately hopping onto the comfortable bed. "haven't you ever been here?" prince asked, closing the door and throwing his milky eminence jacket on the provided chair. "only to turf," goggles replied, turning on the tv. "your older sister is on tv!"

"y'all know what time it is!"
"it's off the hook comin' at you live from inkopolis square!"
"check it! here are the current regular battle stages!"

the two current stages were conveniently new albacore hotel and starfish mainstage. "why are they turfing so late at night?" goggles asked. "not sure," prince asked, opening the balcony's sliding door and looking down at where two teams would be turfing. it was the yellow green team vs the school cardigans. "hey, it's metry and rider's teams!" the blue inkling smiled excitedly, sitting on the provided chair on the balcony. prince sat next to goggles, holding his hand and watching the turf war with interest.

goggles didn't exactly realize it, but throughout the battle, he had kept his eyes on rider the whole time and smiled every time he dodged an attack. the yellow green inkling smiled the whole time, communicating with his teammates effectively and it just made goggles so happy to see how much he's developed and he got to see it all first hand.

"and that's the game!"

"do you want to eat? i can get room service up here if you want," prince offered. "nah, i ate before i came. but maybe we can cuddle after we get ready for bed?" the yellow inkling smiled and nodded. "that sounds nice."

an hour later, the two were curled up in bed, both in comfy pajamas and under the heavy blanket that the resort provided. "this might might be the comfiest bed i've ever gotten to sleep in," goggles muttered tiredly. "really? this isn't bad, i guess," prince said, holding the blue inkling in his arms. "goggles?"
"yeah?"
"do you... still have feelings for rider?" the yellow inkling asked. "if i did, i wouldn't be dating you, silly," goggles replied. he wasn't so sure if he actually meant it; he had had feelings for the yellow green inkling for a while, feelings like that don't just go away.

suddenly, goggles felt a pair of lips on his neck. he gasped in surprise as prince pecked up his neck, kissing along his jawline as well. he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable but he didn't stop the yellow inkling. he let him do whatever he wanted, knowing it would be kinda selfish. ever since the two stared dating, prince had been paying for everything. he never actually allowed goggles to pay for anything either. the blue inkling let him do this in return. he hated to admit it, but every time prince touched him, he couldn't help but think about rider.

every time.

goggles sat up. "sorry, i have to, uh," he bit his lip, "use the bathroom." he ran to the restroom and locked the door behind him. he leaned against the door and slid down, running his hands down his face. a knock was heard. "are you okay? if it made you uncomfortable, y-" the yellow inkling's voice faltered a little, "you could've told me to stop." the blue inkling frowned. "no, i wasn't uncomfortable. i just," he sighed. "i'm just feeling a little whoozy, that's all," he lied. "i love you." goggles felt all three of his hearts stop. he was hoping those three words didn't have to come out of prince's mouth. "gogs?" after a few minutes, the blue inkling heard the younger inkling shuffle away.

goggles stood up around ten minutes later and opened the door slowly. once he saw that the young houzuki was asleep, he climbed into bed next to him. before falling asleep, he thought about what prince said. he'd been dreading the day he had to hear prince say those words for a while. and the fact that he didn't say it back was bothering him. why didn't he say it back? did he love prince? of course he did, right? unless, well.

unless goggles really did love rider still.