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Goggles had been gone for three days when the rest of its polycule began to worry about it.
It had been gone for a week when they found out it and its team had disappeared to Splatsville, without so much as a goodbye to anyone.
It had been gone for three weeks when Rider, Gloves, and Hachi got the call that Goggles was dead.
Everyone was silent for the few minutes after Rider put down the phone—though those few minutes felt more like an eternity.
Hachi was the first one to start sobbing. He buried his face in his hands, and both quickly began soaked with tears as his breath hitched in his throat.
Gloves rubbed small circles on Hachi's back in an attempt to comfort him. The green Inkling themself was staring into space with a shellshocked expression, unable to speak.
As for Rider, his look of shocked sadness quickly morphed into one of anger, as he slammed his fist on the table his phone rested on. This startled Hachi, causing him to let out a yell.
"That fucking bastard!!" Rider yelled.
"Rider—" Hachi stammered.
"It didn't…it didn't even tell us it was leaving…and then it goes and dies?!"
"Rider, please, I'm sure it meant to let us know…but…"
"I don't fucking care!! It didn't, that's all that matters!! And now—"
"It-it's gone," Gloves said. Their voice was quiet, and yet held gravity within it.
"Yeah, of course it is," Rider grumbled, before sighing and closing his eyes. "I…I'm sorry, I just—"
"I mean, you're grieving, it's—"
"I shouldn't be talking about Gogs that way."
And with that, Rider got up and walked out of the room, leaving his phone on the table and Gloves and Hachi alone.
—
The Salmonids had been invading Splatsville. The sky had been a bright, dangerous red, and Wahoo World had been flooding. Goggles had teamed up with three people its polycule didn't know to fight these invading Salmonids.
It thought it could be a hero.
It thought that all the way until its body was torn apart and dismembered by Salmonids, its blood and bits of its organs splattering onto the faces and slopsuits of its teammates. And all Shady, Barreleye, and Polpo got as compensation for watching Goggles get brutally murdered was a pay cut.
Despite the invasion and Mr Grizz's apathy, however, Goggles' remains were collected from Wahoo World, for burial at its funeral a few days later.
The funeral was held in Inkopolis, of course. Goggles' original stomping grounds, where it had played Turf Wars with its team and met the three loves of its life.
And of course, Rider, Gloves, and Hachi all attended the funeral. The sky above threatened rain, and yet they stood outside in the graveyard, listening to Specs give a stammery, tear-filled eulogy.
The three of them stood in the back of the crowd, Gloves and Hachi holding each of Rider's hands. Gloves and Hachi both were making an attempt to pay attention to the eulogy, but Rider's eyes were on the grass in front of him, yet barely even seeing anything.
He didn't try to stop the tears that were flowing heavily down his face. It didn't seem like he even noticed them.
When Specs finished with his eulogy, it started raining.
—
A day later, Rider knelt in front of Goggles' grave.
It was sunny now, with barely a cloud in the sky.
There were flowers in front of the grave.
Rider had his own bouquet of flowers in one of his hands.
In the other hand, he held a knife. He didn't remember when or how he obtained it, but he didn't intend on using it—
—not on anyone but himself.
"Gogs…why didn't you tell us you were running off to Splatsville to die?" Rider mumbled.
No answer, obviously.
"Why didn't you say goodbye to us?"
Silence. Rider set the flowers at the base of his lover's grave.
"Me…Gloves…Hachi…we all love you…"
Rider felt the cold knife handle in his hand.
"We would've listened if you had anything to say…if you somehow wanted to die…"
Finally, Rider brought the tip of the knife to his chest.
"But you didn't, Goggles. You never said goodbye to us, and we never got the chance to say it to you."
He sighed, and an angry grimace appeared on his face.
"At least I said goodbye to the others. I…couldn't say it verbally, but at least I left a note on the table."
He rested his hand unoccupied by the knife on the gravestone.
"Soon it'll be just the two of them left. I hate to leave them…but…"
Rider could barely explain why he was doing this. All he knew was that the flood of grief in his heart was unbearable.
And he had some things to say to Goggles.
"I'll see you soon, Gogs. I…I love you."
Rider's arm moved to stab himself in the chest—
"RIDER!!!"
At hearing his name yelled with such desperation, Rider dropped the knife and turned around.
Gloves and Hachi were running towards him.
And in just a few moments, their arms were around him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Gloves yelled, the worry in their voice coming across more as anger. This perception caused more tears to flow out of Rider's eyes, and he started sobbing.
"Rider…please…you know you don't have to—" Hachi started—
"Yes I do…I can't…I need to see him…" Rider stammered through his sobs.
"We're here, Rider. We're here." Gloves' voice was softer now, as they leaned in closer to Rider and gently caressed his face.
"Gloves is right," Hachi said. He pressed a quick kiss to Rider's cheek before saying, "You know Goggles wouldn't want this, right?"
"Y-you sure?" Rider muttered.
"Of course we're sure. It would never want you to kill yourself," Gloves said.
"It would want you to stay alive. To stay strong. To be resilient, even in its absence," Hachi said.
Rider took a deep, shuddering breath."You're right."
"You can do that, right?" Hachi said. "You can stay alive, for Goggles."
"F-for Goggles."
"That's right," Gloves said, pressing a kiss to Rider's cheek. "Now, let's go home…"
"Yeah, let's go," Hachi said. He offered a hand to Rider, which he used as an aid to stand up. Gloves picked up the knife Rider almost committed suicide with, the other hand taking Rider's free one.
And the three of them looked down at Goggles' grave below then, surrounded by flowers.
"We have to go now, dear," Hachi said. "But we'll visit you again, okay?"
"Yeah, we'll come back every day, dude," Gloves said. "We love you."
"Gogs…I-I'm sorry for scaring you," Rider said. "But I'll stay alive. For you."
As the three boyfriends walked away, they could almost feel Goggles watching over them from some kind of afterlife.
If there was an afterlife, did Goggles regret not saying goodbye?