Chapter Text
A long day at Thieves Rest became a common occurrence during the spring season, or any season for that matter. The adorable baked goods sat fragrant in their glass display, sweet syrups glistening under the café’s lights, trays of smoking hot cookies and cupcakes waiting to be decorated were always somewhere near the counter.
Thankfully, the rush was long over, Vinestaff and Shuriken had left about thirty minutes ago, with the latter stubbornly complaining about “needing to sleep early to stay pretty” and how Vine and Sling should too, which earned a hearty laugh from the manager who had stayed behind to close up the café.
Slingshot’s rag glided over the counters and tables to finish wiping off the dust and crumbs, he had just gotten his broom out of the back room when he heard it, a soft bell ringing at the entrance, once… twice. He walked to the front with just a little hesitation.
Of course, Coil had stopped by and was looking around for him.
Maybe he should’ve learnt to expect this, the boxer always did seem to prefer pestering Sling when the café was closing, for a reason or another. Maybe he didn’t want any witnesses or maybe it was something more personal.
Either way, Slingshot remained still to think for a few seconds too long, earning him a bored voice calling out his name in a manner beyond annoying like-
“Sliiiing! Slingshot!~ Where are you dude?”
The baker was snapped out of his little inner monologue at the words, he stood upright faster than he probably should’ve.
“Uh- yea… here!” he walked to the counter by the register, still holding the broom close, muscles more taut than intended. “Yeah… Coil…” words fell from his mouth with more disdain than he’d planned. He must’ve been really startled by his sudden entrance to earn the boxer such a harsh welcome.
“Geez, so much for a greeting. Do you greet everyone like this? Ya look like you wanna kill me” Slingshot hadn’t even noticed the frown adorning his face bitterly. It softened just a bit when he was made aware of it, still, he bit back.
“Don’t-… no. It’s a special just for you. Asshole of the century menu.” His hold on the broom thightened enough to make his hands shake just a bit.
“… wow, so you think about me so much you came up with a special just for me? I’m flattered, kitty” a dumb smile had been plastered on Coil’s face since Slingshot had made his presence known. Oh how it annoyed the baker.
“Remind me why I haven’t banned you from the café again”
“You know why”
A few seconds of silence ensued as Slingshot’s tail flicked a few times before-
“… pft-“
…before he could feel a smile creep up on his cheeks and a laugh climb its way out of his throat, though he didn’t allow it to escape his lips just yet. He didn’t know what made him laugh.
“There! So you’re telling me I just to give you a cool look to get to see you pretty smile? That’s too easy”
“Shut up, Coil!”
His stifled laugh turned into a snicker. Coil took a few steps to reach Sling behind the counter… and went right past him to open the glass display holding the pastries hostage.
“Wha- hey! I didn’t say you could take any!”
“C’monnnn!~ You were gonna throw them out anyway, I’m doing it for a good cause! You can’t let these go to waste!”
The boxer reached for the nearest cute-looking cookie. The red frosting on top was covered with heart-shaped sprinkles, it smelled like berries. Coil gave the baker his best attempt at puppy eyes, making them the most pitiful he could, all for a few cold pastries.
“I never- I-“ Sling stuttered and his façade broke, he finally laughed. It had been clawing at his throat as he kept it in, the sad look Coil was giving him pushed it out at long last.
He wasn’t sure which part was the funniest, the big, sparkly eyes of his sworn enemy, the stubborn wagging of the latter’s tail despite his horrible attempt at portraying sadness or the sweet berries in his mouth- why can he taste berries in his mouth.
He chewed as the flavor made its presence in him mouth known, coating his tongue with a sugary, crispy cookie and berry frosting.
He swallowed and looked at Coil, who by now was taking his own bite out of the cookie. There was something oddly intimate about it all. Maybe it was the way it was Slingshot’s hands that made the dough now crumbling under both of their teeth, or was it the way it was Coil’s rough fingertips that were holding the cookie so gingerly? Either way, something fluttered in his stomach and made its way up to somewhere between his lungs.
“… earlier, I…” he swallowed “I meant it. Why didn’t I ban you from here?”
“… you seriously don’t remember?”
“Just- sorry, I-… I’ve been all over the place today… I-… it’s just- the rush was longer than usual and it was all a big mess, I-“
“I’m just kidding. We never agreed on anything, you just keep forgetting by morning”
Is that really why? Is Coil pretending everything is fine just to spare Sling the shame of forgetting something important?
“Are you su-… look, I know I always say I hate you- but if I did something wrong I want you to tell me”
“How thoughtful. But nah, it’s all good, really. If it was serious I’d be knocking some memory back into your thick skull”
Sling’s eyes zeroed in on Coil’s face and body language, searching for any trace of dishonesty. His expression was more confused by the baker’s scrutinizing gaze rather than hesitant from a lie, his shoulder were relaxed, he really did look honest.
“I guess”
He walked to the front and started sweeping the floors. He started from the entrance and followed along the floor tiles, then, a sudden pair of arms snaking around his waist snapped him out of his trance. His hands stopped almost immediately and his eyes traveled down their reflection in the glass door until they fell on those familiar, rough hands interlocked over the soft fabric of his shirt, gently cupping his stomach.
Coil was acting strange today, or was he the one to see his actions in an odd light after all those hours bent over stoves and kneeled by ovens? Were the wafts of hot steam hitting his eyes all day altering his vision? Even so, it should just be blurry, not… blinded by the gentleness that had been enveloping the room ever since the boxer showed up.
He couldn’t say he minded the closeness, and Coil’s warmth was seeping into his bones in a way that helped his muscles relax like he needed them to after being so tense for so long.
The baker allowed himself a moment’s rest, looking out at the sea surrounding Crossroads, he felt oddly at peace. His eyelids began growing heavy and he leaned his head against Coil’s resting on his shoulder.
Coil stood upright again, nudging Sling out of his sleepy state.
“I have a match tomorrow, you know?”
“… am I keeping you up past bedtime, big dog?”
“… will you be cheering for me?” He threw a wicked grin Sling’s way.
“… phight or boxing?…”
“Boxing match.”
“Sure- sure… I’ll cheer for you…”
“Then!” He squeezed Slingshot’s waist, earning a soft gasp from the latter, which he pretended to miss “Playgrounds bus stop tomorrow at 6:40 PM sharp! We have to be there by thirty.”
“… the-… what day is it tomorrow?”
“Wednesday”
Great, his day off. …spent waiting for coil to punch some poor guy into the dirt, or get beat up himself. He always managed to keep that smug smirk on his face wether he won or lost, though it was more often he’d win.
No matter how much Slingshot said he hated it, it always made his chest warm and his nose scrunch up in curiosity.
“Sure… I’ll be there…”
“Great! Skate and Boom will be there too, so you don’t get too lonely” Ugh. He’s always so smug.
“You might wanna get some cheering material, it’d be kinda awkward for you to just sit there… I can give you some spares in the changing room before the match starts.”
Sounded… entirely too nice… it was out of character for the cocky bastard.
“… sure. I’ll… I’ll cheer for you, I guess…”