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It had been just about a year since Inanimate Insanity ended. Suitcase was still unsure of what to do with her winnings; MePhone4 hadn't been seen for a long time, and a lot of the Hotel OJ residents had developed dramatically, some for the better and some for the worse: Pickle and Taco finally made amends; Salt and Pepper fell into an awkward situation; Fan and Test Tube had departed entirely, looking to start something new; and Paper and OJ were considering an adopted child.
Above all else, one specific pairing had arisen, between none other than a certain nickel coin and a salmon-coloured balloon.
As much as it pleased Nickel to be with Balloon, he could not hear the end of it from his fellow residents. From their awkward personal confessions, their dramatic kiss under that mistletoe, their run-ins with drunkenness, and all the hassles that came with that, he felt like he could never escape the teasing remarks his friends gave him.
It didn't help too that, despite those remarks, he had been trying to take their relationship slow. A kiss here, a hug there, he didn't want to overwhelm his partner with his affection, even if it felt particularly potent at times, and it had been working out completely fine.
What he didn't account for, however, was how blazingly romantic Balloon had started becoming, which made no sense to him! For as long as he knew Balloon, he had been that sort of awkward guy, that stuffy, worrisome person that you can't help but adore as he tries to manoeuvre social situations, and he was especially like that when the two first got together, with him being particularly skittish on shows of affection, which Nickel had learnt to adjust to and understand.
But over time, not only did he start becoming more allowing of Nickel's advances, but he started becoming more dominant, making more of them himself until Nickel couldn't keep up, eventually causing him to take the romantic back foot; all the bravado and snarky attitude he prided himself with not only seemed to melt whenever Balloon made a move on him, but almost, in a way, managed to transfer over to Balloon. It was a strange and sudden change in temperament that confused him as much as it was almost attractive to him.
As much as he wanted to fight off Balloon's advances, staying arrogantly on the romantic forefront and disallowing him from trying to be romantically dominant, sometimes he couldn't help it; sometimes he'd slip up, and Balloon would get the better of him, and sometimes he didn't even want to fight back; he almost wanted to let Balloon dominate, to do whatever he wanted to him.
But he'd never admit that. I mean, who would? It's way too embarrassing.
Unfortunately, Nickel in recent times was starting to become a bit desperate. Ever since he and Balloon got together, Balloon was quite insistent on showing him all his poetry, which whilst he found it a bit boring, he quite quickly got a bit interested in. He found he had a particular knack for his romantic poems, his fiery mind imagining himself and Balloon in the fluffy scenarios his poems described, which warmed his heart to an indescribable extent. This love eventually evolved into a sense of curiosity, with Nickel going out of his way to indulge in genuine love novels, his knack for them becoming more evident and forward as he purchased more and more, his imagination running wild as he fantasised all the things he could do with Balloon.
Too bad he was too nervous to let any of those fantasies become true. He was too stubborn, really; too embarrassed to admit any of those desires; too romantically awkward to let Balloon take over. Sometimes he wanted to, he really wanted to, but his pride just kept coming first.
But the feeling was starting to get too much to bear.
Amongst all these novels, he couldn't help but notice the amount of times the characters kissed with their tongue. It seemed strange to Nickel at first, gross even, but with the warm description each of the books went into, some more sloppy and detail-filled than others, his mind was racing with the idea of getting to do it with Balloon at some point. He knew Balloon was probably good at it, and he knew how much he wanted it, but his pride-enforced mental wall just simply disallowed it. But he could tell it was cracking; he could feel the chips in his wall forming as he read and read.
Today, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Wait, seriously?" Pepper responded.
"Yeah, I know! It's not really a big issue, but it's been getting on my nerves recently..." Balloon speaks, slightly annoyed.
"No no no, it's fine, I totally get it"
Balloon and Pepper were at it again. The two had gotten quite close in recent times, both in the light of Pepper and Salt's awkward terms and Balloon and Nickel getting together; Pepper basically acted as his therapist, the two always chatting and gossiping with each other.
"Say, how have things with you and Nickel been going?" Pepper giggled, always eager to talk about the two.
"Oh, it's been fine. Our room's started getting a bit full of his romance books, might need to go out and get a bookshelf for him sometime soon."
"Ah, well, at least you know he's thinking of you."
"Haha, yeah. I've been trying to get closer to him, but he's as shy as a bug when we're alone."
"Like you haven't told me a dozen times."
Pepper and Balloon giggle, Nickel wandering out into the lobby, noticing the two, his heart pumping faster than usual as he slowly trotted over, trying not to stand out. Unfortunately, Pepper's good eye spots him, her grin widening as she bumps Balloon with her elbow, signalling behind him as Balloon turns to face Nickel, who preemptively stops in his tracks, their eyes meeting.
"Speak of the devil. Go on, talk to him."
Balloon trots along, Nickel stepping closer.
"Hey, Nickel."
Nickel didn't respond, his feet shifting against each other, his body language clearly communicating his awkwardness as Balloon's eyes widened.
"A-Are you okay?"
Nickel swallows, silently choking on his own spit as he struggled to get his words out, clearly still worried his idea wouldn't go through as he spoke:
"C-Can you come with me for a second..."
"...Sure" Balloon looks back at Pepper, her face grinning as she shoos him away with her back palm, encouraging him to find out whatever was happening.
Nickel turns away, walking along to their room, his heart still racing and his feet faster than usual as Balloon followed, somewhat concerned but also somewhat excited. On Nickel's end his mind was racing, half of him somewhat ready to ask Balloon and the other half trying to come up with some other excuse.
Eventually, Nickel was face to face with their room's door, pushing it in as they awkwardly invite Balloon in, Nickel hopping up to invite Balloon on awkwardly as Balloon sits beside him, Nickel getting on his knees to look up at him, clearly awkward.
Balloon, in a concerned manner, perked up: "Is everything alright, Nickel?"
"Y-Yeah! It's just... uhm..."
Nickel turned away in embarrassment, a notable light red blush creeping up his cheeks as he mustered the courage to speak up.
"I-I wanted to a-aa-ask you something..."
"Sure, you can tell me anything."
Nickel swallows, trying to clear his breath as he lets a few quiet pants out, his surprisingly minty breath creeping up Balloon's nose as he looks down at him, his worry somewhat clearing as he begins to form a small idea of what he wanted, letting out a light giggle.
"Nickel, is this what I think it is?" Balloon spoke.
"Wh- Whuh?" Nickel's blush reddened, becoming noticeable as Balloon giggled a bit more, turning into a quiet laugh as he spoke up, trying to break through his hics of laughter.
"H-Hey, what's so funny!" Nickel spoke out, Balloon still recovering from his laughter.
"Did you reeeeeaally pull me aside just for a kiss, Nickel? That's priceless! C'mon, you could've just given me a kiss when me and Pepper were talking! Hehe."
"No it's-..." Nickel trailed off, trying to punch in his dialogue as Balloon continued to snicker. "I wanted to try something new..."
Balloon's laughter faded as he spoke up, his romantic side starting to kick in.
"Woah, really?"
Nickel nodded, clearly nervous as he tried to speak up: "I thought... w-wwe could try kissing with s-some.. with our tuhngnng..."
Balloon turns his head, half in amusement and half in confusion: "Sorry, what was that at the end?"
"Some tuhhhnnnnhngnn..."
Balloon turned his head, now fully in confusion: "Wait, what?"
"Gosh darnit, Balloon, get a clue! You know what I'm saying."
"I-I promise you Nickel, I genuinely don't! You keep trailing off at the end."
"W-With... with our, uhm..."
Nickel swallowed, conjuring up all his courage as he almost shouted it out:
"I wanna try kissing with our tongues!"
The room fell dead silent, Balloon's blush slightly forming as Nickel's own blush maddens, his colour begin to approach Balloon's
"W-Wow, really?"
"B-Better hurry up before I change my mind..." Nickel's voice was barely above a childish mutter.
"Sorry, it's just... whew, this is easily the most romantic thing you've asked me." Balloon reddens himself and turns away slightly, his own hand flapping at his face as Nickel rises in embarrassment.
"C-Can you just give me the stupid kiss already!"
"Alright, alright..."
Balloon moved in, his hand slipping by Nickel's sides to pull him closer as he perched himself up onto his own knees, the two face to face on their bed. Balloon looked down at him with that same dominating stare he'd seen all too many times. Usually it would be here we would playfully squirm away, but he was ready and willing for Balloon to do what he wanted to him. His heart raced and raced as Balloon looked down at him. He had never felt this nervous before, and Balloon's almost velvety look was in the moment unspeakably attractive. Balloon's hands slipped to his knees once more, his stature slightly ducking down as he licked his lips, his mouth slowly meeting Nickel's slightly ajar and panting one.
Their lips met and melded much as with any other kiss the two had shared before, but their touch was lasting longer, Balloon's body turning slightly as his tongue, sat upon his lower lip, flicked up to bridge the gap between his mouth and Nickel's, the two tips meeting each other as Balloon leaned in, his tongue beginning to explore Nickel's mouth as Nickel allowed him, his body tensing up as he began to taste Balloon's saliva as it drooled off his tongue and entered Nickel's mouth. Nickel's own tongue was yielding yet compliant, allowing Balloon to explore its slimy texture as the two tongues intermingled, Balloon doing all the work as he occasionally pulled away to catch a quick breath.
The moment could not have lasted more than 20-30 seconds, before Balloon pulled himself away, their two tongues leaving contact as a faint bridge of saliva hung between their two thick tongue's before dribbling down onto the bed, Nickel in completely awe at what had just happened, Balloon slurping up any excess spit that was on his tongue before wiping his mouth and closing it.
"S-So, did you like it? I'm not the greatest at it, I know, but I hope that was sufficient."
Nickel's mouth shut slightly, his tongue still somewhat lolling out as he looked at Balloon with an almost indescribable sense of hunger.
"That was..."
Nickel's heart was set on fire, racing at a rate he didn't think possible as he leaned more into Balloon.
"Can we do that again."
Balloon perked up, surprised at how forward Nickel was being now, gazing into Nickel's passionate, loving, and somewhat desperate eyes.
"W-What did you say?"
Nickel shifted closer, Balloon falling back a bit, his body shifting direction as the back of his bulbous form hit the pillows behind them.
"Please, Balloon."
"N-Nickel?!"
Nickel closed the gap once more, much to both Balloon's surprise and acceptance, as Nickel's own tongue began to enter Balloon's mouth and vice versa. Balloon could feel the slight inexperience in his tongue, but his sheer passion managed to mask it as Nickel leaned more and more into Balloon, Balloon instinctively caressing the sides of Nickel as he brought him into his lap, their kiss becoming more passionate and messy as they let out light moans and utterances of each other's names between breaths and kisses, their tongues dancing.
It was gross; it was disgusting, their saliva swapping and their tongues exploring each other's mouths, but they couldn't stop. Balloon tugged more on Nickel's sides, their quiet breathy whines and moans gaining volume as they dug further into each other's mouths, before breaking their kiss momentarily to breathe, the two panting as the room became somewhat steamy with their breath.
They stared at each other, both their tongues lolling out as their eyes match a sense of hunger, as they in the same instance reconnected their mouths as they continued to make out, Balloon's arms transferring from Nickel's sides to being wrapped around Nickel, pulling them in fully as they hugged and kisses, their tongues and lips melding in a way they could hardly believe or follow; everything was instinct. They consumed each other with an almost voracious hunger, the saliva they shared dribbling from their soft lips, sloppily falling down onto the bed below as it formed a small puddle, their whines and moans far too audible for anyone's concern, but they could hardly notice or care.
Unbeknownst to the two, a small crowd had formed outside the door, comprised of Pepper, their ear excitedly up against the door, Pickle and Taco curious to see what Pepper was so excited about, and Trophy, who only recently wandered into the crowd, wondering why three people were standing outside a door.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" Trophy spoke, far too loud and boisterously for concern as Pepper damn near pinched their lips shut, Trophy backing up at the sudden touch.
"Jeez, read the room, can't you see I'm innocently eavesdropping?"
"Innocently eavesdropping? That's a statement and a half." Trophy responded, his tone of voice and volume slightly lowered. Trophy's eyes veered over to the door, recognising the number as being Nickel's and Balloon's dedicated room.
"Wait, that's what you're doing?" Taco piped up, surprised that Pepper would go out of her way to do something that seemed so mundane to her.
"What, do you have an issue with it?" Pepper silently piped up, their voice half laced with offense as Taco shrugged back.
"What are you listening in on those two for anyways?" Pickle interjected, somewhat curious as they watched Pepper excitedly listen in on the room's activities.
"Well, they are the lovebirds, aren't they? Private room? All alone? Loving affairs? Any half-wit could connect the dots." Taco mentioned slyly, giving some minor implication.
"Wait, you don't mean..." Pickle's finger's jot around the air for a small second, thinking briefly as he realises her intent, his eyes rudely staring down at Taco's smug expression in disdain: "Taco, that's disgusting."
Taco lets out a light chuckle, bumping Pickle with her elbow: "What? It's just my working hypothesis."
"Y'know, you guys could stop theorizing about... whatever you're theorizing, and just come hear for yourself!" Pepper exclaimed to the two in quiet excitement. Unwilling to argue, the two walked over to the door, placing their ears up against it, hearing the quiet sounds of whining, sheets being pulled, hard breathing, and what almost sounded like a quiet slurping noise. The two, in their horror, backed up.
"Eugh, god, Taco! Why the hell did you have to be right!" Pickle exclaimed at low volume, trying not to be caught whilst expressing his disgust.
"Jesus, I was joking!" Taco stared down in dismay, looking back up at Pepper, still weirdly excited: "Pepper, are they seriously!-"
"Making out, yes!" Pepper squealed out quietly, both Taco and Pickle straightening themselves up in surprise as they eyed each other in surprise, before pausing slightly to let out an audible sigh of relief, the two slightly slumping over.
"Wasn't my... first thought, I'll admit." Taco muttered quietly, Pepper too distracted to care as both her and Pickle walk off, clearly having had enough of the situation as Pepper goes back to her excited listening as Trophy walks away, completely uninterested.
Balloon and Nickel slumped by each other. They must have been at it for nearly 20 minutes, if not half an hour, the two stretching their face muscles, trying to work off the ache they built up. The two were relatively silent, before, to Balloon's surprise, Nickel crawled up beside him, his body brushing up against him as Nickel faced him with genuine sincerity:
"You okay?"
"Yea... that was... uhm... whew! That was pretty good."
"Yeah, I know." Nickel spoke out, his snarky attitude now on full display as Balloon rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit.
"I'm impressed, Nickel. I didn't expect you to be such a good kisser." Balloon told him, his tone still subtly on the romantic side as Nickel blushed, turning away slightly.
"Y-Yeah, of course I am! I'm just good at everything!" Nickel spoke with a sense of fake bravado, which Balloon could see right though, as he pulled Nickel beside him, his arms wrapping around him as Balloon giggled.
"Yes you are, Nickel, yes you are." Nickel's eyes widened, snuggling up with him more as the two fell silent, hugging together. Nickel cuddled closer, his flat face buried in Balloon as he muttered, a clear tiredness sounding from his voice.
"I love you, Balloon."
"I love you too."
Although not very tired himself, Balloon pulled at the bedside lamp beside him, falling on his side as he felt Nickel's legs wrap up by his side, a clear sign he wanted to nod off. Balloon pulled the blanket over the two of them, his arms returning to Nickel as he cuddled him, feeling Nickel's warm and controlled breath against him as he asleep, Balloon's own eyes becoming half lidded as a sense of fatigue fell upon him that he didn't feel before, his own thoughts fading as he nodded off, the warmth emanating from his body being shared with Nickel's cold metal form as Nickel fiddled in his sleep, wrapping himself up with Balloon as much as his little legs would let him.