Chapter Text
tiny, shimmering flakes of ice steadily drift down from the sky, catching the light of the barely visible sun in a way that makes them appear as brilliant golden prisms. the wind, surprisingly harsh despite the strikingly blue sky blanketed by fluffy, honey-colored clouds, seeps under the cracks of skateboard’s window and rattles the thin planes of cracked glass.
he shifts on his netbed, grumbling as he tugs his fuzzy blanket over his head. five more minutes of sleep, that’s all he wanted. couldn’t windforce be a little kinder? maybe mess with the clouds a little bit? shift them a little to the left–
“SKATEBOARD!” a familiar raucous voice booms throughout the room, harmonizing with the slam of the door.
skateboard jolts awake, panting hard as his head whirls from side to side like a panicked deer. “wh- what? who's there?!”
he calms as his eyes finally adjust to the light in his room, gaze finally resting on a giggling boombox, dressed in a thick, oversized coat and struggling to put on snow boots. “it’s just me, skate! you’re such a scaredy cat!” they adjust their askew visor, their optics shut in amusement. with a grumble, skateboard rolls his eyes, face growing hot with humiliation.
“whatever, dude…” his mouth stretches open in a wide yawn, the adrenaline gradually ebbs from his nerves. he furiously rubs at his sore eyes as if the hairs on his arm would wipe away the bags. “why’d you decide to barge into my room so early? what’s the occasion? also how did you get into my house??”
boombox’s mouth hangs cartoonishly agape, as if skateboard considering the current time “early” was a crime against humanity. they weren’t exactly wrong. only a man like skateboard could sleep from 8am to 8pm and still complain about “not getting enough of his manly rest”, whatever that means.
“coil let me in, but that’s not important,” boombox answers quickly. “early?” the musician reiterates, eyes wide. “EARLY?”
skateboard shields himself with his hands, a puzzled expression etching its way onto his features. “woah, woah, woah. you don’t have to repeat yourself that many times, man!”
with their hands on their stout hips, boombox leans forward. “i do when you think waking up at 2 in the afternoon is early!”
“pfft,” skateboard stretches, “you’re hanging out with slingshot too much. that’s early in my opinion. which is, obviously, the objectively right one.”
boombox shakes their head, but the faint curl of their lips gives away their (poorly hidden) mirth. they tuck one of their long ears back before they strut up to skateboard’s net, wrapping their fingers around his thick wrist and attempting to haul him out of bed, the blanket slipping off of him. “c’mon! it’s snowing! we have to get out there, i don’t remember the last time ive had a real snowball fight or- or even built a snowman! we could totally visit slingshot as well, it’d be so fun. oh! and—”
“boombox! boombox!” skateboard interjects with a chuckle. “c’mon, dude. im not going out into the winter wonderland you’re so thrilled about without some snow gear!”
boombox pauses, realizing that skateboard is, in fact, clad in nothing but his black, racecar-covered shorts. “oh.” their digits gently unfurl, letting the skater’s arm fall back down.
skateboard sits up, the cords creaking under his weight, “let me get my hoodie on, some shorts, then we’ll go from there, alright?”
boombox nods, their signature, infectious grin returning to their face. “alright! i’ll meet you outside. don’t be too too long—you know how the subways get when it’s late!” they wink and flash skateboard a thumbs up, before dashing out the door.
once he’s sure boombox is gone, skateboard flops back onto his bed with an enervated groan. today’s going to be a long day, surely a couple more minutes of rest couldn’t hurt too much, right? he’ll just be resting his eyes, that’s all.
…right?
eventually, the skater awakens from his deep slumber, nearly falling from his bed as he reads the time on his alarm clock. he rushes to shower, nearly tripping over his own feet. haphazardly drying himself off, he slips on his favorite hoodie, some cargo shorts, and of course, his favorite helmet, before grabbing a stale protein bar from the fridge and hurrying out the front door.
boombox sputters as skateboard barrels into them, nearly sending them both tumbling down the steps and into the sea of snowflakes below. the skater only barely manages to right himself, fangs digging into the oat bar to keep it from falling from his lips.
“took you long enough!” boombox laughd, jabbing his elbow into skateboard’s stomach as they rise up to their feet.
skateboard doubles over in pain, clawing at the place that boombox had hit, “jeez, ow, you gotta be more aware of your strength, dude. ”
a sheepish titter pushes past boombox’s lips. in lieu of an apology, a gasp forces their mouth agape as their gaze drifts to the icy sight in front of them. like an overzealous kid in a candy store, they immediately begin hopping down the short flight of stairs. they sigh, the warm exhale a striking contrast to the cool air, as their feet sink into the soft coat of snow enveloping the sidewalk and the road beyond.
skateboard can’t hold back a heavy chortle, entertained by the sight of boombox so enthralled by something so simple as a collection of ice crystals. “you’re so cute,” he teases, lifting boombox’s hat to ruffle their coils.
“hey!” boombox whines, warmth spreading across their face as they desperately hop to retrieve their hat from skateboard’s grip.
skateboard sticks his tongue out and lifts it higher above their head, “come and get it, little guy!” he taunts as he sets off into the distance, his fluffy tail wagging in delight.
“oh, you’re on!” boombox chuckles, visor displaying furrowed brows. they chase the skater down the slippery walkway, his fluffy jacket billowing in the howling wind.
the dj tails the skater through neighbourhoods, weaving between crumbling shops, and scrambling up frost-covered fences (that skateboard may or may not have slipped on more than once), taking short breaks in between (which skateboard says desperately pleads that he's “T” and boombox can't take the hat back), until they finally reach the train station.
boombox heaves, chest burning as they stumble forward, falling against skateboard’s broad frame. “oh my god,” they wheeze as the skater struggles to keep them upright.
“i seriously don’t know how you can run for that long without collapsing.”
skateboard giggles, intertwining their fingers and dragging them down the inoperative escalator. “you need to work out more.”
“not everyone’s a gym bro like you,” boombox snorts, bumping their head against skateboard’s shoulder as they reach the gate.
skateboard raises his bushy eyebrows. “if you’re gonna call me a gym bro, then you have to, at least, include coil and punk.”
letting go of boombox’s hand (to both of their disfavors), skateboard fishes around in his pocket, searching for his wallet. the dj gives him a bewildered glance, pressing their fingers against his arm to stop him, the digits sinking into the thick, red fabric of his sweater.
“let me pay, i made some good bux from the streams this month.” boombox reaches a hand into their coat pocket, fiddling around for their wallet.
“what? no way. just let me…” skateboard insists, coins and various knick-knacks spilling from his pockets.
boombox shuffles in front of the ticket kiosk, kicking it a few times to get it to flicker to life. “lemme do it! i haven’t paid for anything in a while, i feel bad.”
before skateboard can even utter another protest, boombox is already equipped with their card. “fine,” the skater laments, mumbling obscenities under his breath as he gathers his belongings. “but i’m totally gonna one-up you later.”
boombox rolls their eyes, selecting a day pass for both of them and tapping their card on the reader. out comes two slips, which the dj snatches eagerly. they bounce on their heels, excitement surging through their veins. “i can’t wait to see sling. c’mon, c’mon!”
as boombox hurries forward, one of the passes slips between their fingers, which skateboard manages to catch before it hits the concrete floor. considering the winding cracks in the ground, the skater is sure it would’ve fallen into them if not for his amazing reaction time.
“wait up!” skateboard laughs as he smashes his card against the reader, practically vaulting over the creaking gates. he zigzags between writhing thickets of inphernals, too, waiting for the sky train. he spots a pair of familiar, green, quarter-note-shaped horns in the crowd and dashes toward them.
“oof!” boombox squeaks as skateboard barrels into them, enveloping them in his burly arms to keep them from falling on their ass. if this was any other place than Playground, he's sure people would be staring daggers at them. But everyone is either pre-occupied with their own groups, or making sure they don't get mugged.
“you little gremlin!” skateboard smirks, his hands resting on the dj’s shoulders as he leans back. “you can be pretty speedy when you’re excited, that’s for sure.”
boombox twists their fingers together, letting out a soft titter. “it’s been a while since we’ve seen slingshot. can’t blame me for being on cloud nine!”
“aww,” skateboard coos mockingly, lightly patting boombox’s head. giggling, the dj swats his hand away.
“d’ya hear that?.” boombox cocks their head toward the tracks as a rumbling swells through the station, echoing across the platform. the subway rolls into place, the doors opening with a mechanical hiss. “oh! the train’s here. gods, we made it just in the nick of time. come on, let’s go!”
boombox grabs skateboard’s wrist so the pair doesn’t lose each other in the sea of inphernals flowing into the sky vehicle.