Work went by smoothly again the next day. With something of a plan in mind, Rigby wasn't as lost in thought while they worked. Today's focus was on the house, taking out the trash, changing any lightbulbs, airing out the rugs, etc. Mordecai and Rigby just pretended they were cleaning up after one of their pizza parties just with higher standards.

"Hey man! We may even get done early!"

"Yeah-yuh! Benson's gonna think we're up to something" Rigby laughed. "Maybe we should pretend we are!" The prospect of the perfect prank excited him.

Mordecai mulled it over for a second, it had some promise. They couldn't get in any trouble because they wouldn't actually do anything.

"It's tempting….naahhh, let's just enjoy him easing up on us."

"Huh, that's funny, I thought you were a blue jay, not a chicken" Rigby taunted with a grin plastered on his face. Mordecai simply stared at his friend nonplussed. It wasn't until the full force of the ridiculous statement started sinking in that he broke his composure and started laughing.

"Dude, please tell me you didn't just say that. How long have you been waiting to use that?"

"Long enough" Rigby replied and joined in Mordecai's laughter. They finished work early as they predicted. Rigby was glad for the time to put his mind towards the task of getting in touch with Margaret. A year or so ago this wouldn't be an issue, he'd just go to the coffee shop.

'How to get in touch with a college girl with a job' Rigby groaned as he made a mental not not look that up on the internet.

"Yo dude! Look what I found!" Mordecai walked in carrying their long lost copy of Strong Johns.

"Where was it!?"

"Under the dresser!"

"How'd it get there!?"

"I don't care!"

"You know what we have to do, right!?"

"We have to play it."

"Right now!"

"Yea-oh…ahhh"

"Whaaat?"

"I was actually in the middle of texting CJ…" Mordecai raised his hand with his phone.

"Our long lost son returns to us and you're gonna pass up our reunion!?"

"It's just a ga-"

"Our son! This is just like the time before the unicorns when you ditched it for Marg-!" Rigby then remembered how the game got lost. When Mordecai passed up on it, Rigby hid it under the dresser to spite him and must have eventually forgotten himself. He also realized that Mordecai was still uncomfortable with talking about his former love interest, so he decided to change his approach entirely. "Okay, it's fine. What if we just pause when you text her?"

"Sounds good," The look on Mordecai's face told Rigby that he appreciated the change of subject. "Lemme tell CJ the good news and we can get the snacks ready." He quickly tapped his phone and set it on the table before running into the kitchen. Rigby watched as he left and glanced at his phone on the table.

'He always seems to be texting a girl. Although I guess he didn't text Margaret this much…' he smacked his head 'c'mon this should've been obvious! Just text her!...I just need her number…' He returned his gaze to Mordecai's phone, the blue jay had left the room only a minute ago. '…If I'm gonna do it, it has to be now.' He picked up the phone and swiped his finger to open it hoping there was 2 or 5 minute period before it locked.

No such luck.

'I'll just have to guess it…I guess.' The wallpaper was a pic of CJ. 'Would he?...He might. Well I don't know their anniversary or her birthday…maybe he wouldn't be that obvious, he likes to be clever…the New Year's party! Basically what started their relationship!' He entered "1231". The phone buzzed in denial. 'Okay…hmm, well they technically kissed at midnight. Let's try 11-' he was interrupted by a text from CJ.

Strong Johns? Taking it old school, ain't we? Do you wanna talk later about my little talk with…

"…No" Rigby sighed "it'd be wrong to go through his phone. 'sides he'd get suspicious if he didn't see this text when it came." He set it back in its place and started to set up the game system. Mordecai returned with chips, sodas, and pretzels in hand and set them on the table.

"Snacks ready!'

"Game's ready! Also CJ texted you."

"Oh, thanks" Mordecai looked intrigued at the text, but quickly hid his expressions. "Alright! Let's play some Strong Johns!"

They played for the rest of the afternoon. Whenever Mordecai got a text he quickly replied with his full attention before returning to the game. Around the time they would usually get off work, Benson came walking in with his clipboard. When he looked up to see the two lounging, his trademark shade of red started to come over his face.

"And what have you two been up to!?"

"Strong Johns! Mordecai fou-"

"UP-BUP-BUP! You better have the perfect reason for slacking off! Mr. Mallard is coming this evening for a very important meeting!"

"No worries Benson. We took care of the whole house" Mordecai assured.

"…I'm slightly inclined to believe you after yesterday…" Benson said with hesitation.

"C'mon Benson, take a look around. The place is spotless" Rigby boasted.

"I will admit everything seems to be alright…fine I'll cut you two some slack, but I better not find anything out of order" he stressed "and that goes double for Mr. Mallard."

"Scout's honor" Rigby said, faking the salute.

Benson sighed "Whatever, either way you two need to put this stuff up and go out so Mr. Mallard and his guests won't be interrupted.

"Whoa what?! We live here and he's just gonna kick us out?"

"Just calm down, it's only for the evening, and it is his house. At least you don't have to stay here late and do all the work at one of those meetings."

"Dang…that blows" Mordecai offered.

"Yeah man, he doesn't pay you enough to put up with that."

"You got that right" Benson sighed. "Anyway, I suggest you find something to do, go catch a movie, anything."

"Oh hey! There is that new monster movie reboot!" Rigby suggested.

"Oh uh…actually I think I may just hang out with CJ, I think she wants to talk about something important."

"Oh what?"

"Sorry dude, bad timing" Mordecai shrugged.

"Fine, I'll figure something out." The two then cleaned up the table. Afterwards Mordecai left, leaving Rigby to find some way to spend the evening.

'I still wanna see a movie…oh!' Rigby remembered Eileen. Ever since they started hanging out, they often watched movies, especially when Mordecai left Rigby high and dry like today. 'It's been a while since we've watched a movie' He pulled out his phone and texted Eileen.

Yo Eileen! We have to be out of the house for a bit, would you wanna watch a movie? He went to the kitchen to snack a bit while he waited for a reply. A minute or two later his phone buzzed.

Sure What movie were you thinking of watching? Rigby smiled, happy that he would be spending the evening with Eileen instead of having to hang around the park alone or something.

Dunno yet, what's a movie that's just fun to watch? The next text took a bit.

Have you ever heard of Labyrinth?

All I know is "You remind me of the babe".

Sound good?

Sure

So when can I expect you?

I'll be leaving in a bit

Okay, see you then, door's open

Rigby sighed. Tonight was going to be much better than he first thought.

-At the coffee shop-

Work at the coffee shop was going well. There was a decent sized crowd and Eileen had no trouble getting into her stride. When she went on her lunch break she saw a text from CJ.

So I've been thinking of doing something and I need your thoughts before I do it

Okay, what is it?

Would it be okay if I enlisted Mordecai's help with being a lookout? He may be able to get more out of Rigby when I'm not around. It's totally up to you

'Hmmmm…would that be right?…'

Wouldn't that be like spying? As much as Eileen would like to know for certain what Rigby thought of her, she knew getting his best friend to gain his confidence and then spill the beans wouldn't be right.

Don't worry, I was just thinking like "you're getting warmer"

'Hmmm…I suppose that's not as bad.'

Okay, as long as we keep it at that

Promise I'll see what he says

'Goodness…I just hope this all works out.' For the rest of her shift, her mind would wander to thinking about if it did work out. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She was glad that the puppy dog infatuation phase of her crush had faded, that gave a much lower chance of their potential relationship being one-sided. But what about Rigby? They were pretty close already, but would he open up even more to her right away or would it take time to ease into that? How affectionate would he be? She couldn't imagine him being overly lovey-dovey, but was certain he wouldn't be cold and aloof. Would they stay up late texting or calling each other? Would they have a song? Would they ever have-

Eileen snapped back and decided to think about this later when she didn't have to worry about work.

-Later at Eileen's house-

Eileen kicked off her shoes, threw her apron in the hamper, and put away her tips for the day. She let out a tired sigh.

"Now what to do for the rest of the day?" She was going through different options in her head when she got a text from Margaret.

Hey, can you check and see if I left a folder on my bed? If it is, I can get it when I come home between broadcasts Eileen walked across the door to see a folder on the foot of the bed.

It's here

Yo Eileen! We have to be out of the house for a bit, would you wanna watch a movie?

"Huh?" Eileen did a double-take, but then saw that this text was from Rigby. She already knew her answer so she decided to let Margaret know.

Just letting you know me and Rigby will be watching a movie when you get here

Thank you! Oh~? Whatcha watching? Eileen then remembered to text Rigby.

Sure What movie were you thinking of watching?

Dunno yet, what's a movie that's just fun to watch? Eileen tried thinking of a good candidate but drew a blank.

'We've seen so many, it's hard to think of new ones…maybe Margaret knows some.'

We don't know yet, do you know any good fun-to-watch movies?

Have you seen Gremlins?

Yes

Ghostbusters?

Both

Longest Weekend? Jk never again

I still don't fully understand what happened to Starla

Oh there's this good one I saw while I was away called Labyrinth

Oooh! Sounds interesting, thanks Margaret!

Np ^u^ Eileen went back to texting Rigby to run the option by him.

Have you ever heard of Labyrinth?

All I know is "You remind me of the babe".

Sound good?

Sure

So when can I expect you?

I'll be leaving in a bit

Okay, see you then, door's open Eileen smiled; she was glad to hang out with him. She gave the living room a once-over to make sure it was decent. She then remembered she was still in her work clothes and wanted to take a shower before she got settled in for the evening.

'I should hop in now if I wanna get out before Rigby gets here'

-Back at the park-

Rigby was glad to see that Mordecai hadn't taken the cart and made his way to Eileen's. He came inside but didn't see Eileen anywhere. He saw the bathroom door closed and figured she'd be finished in a minute. 8 minutes later, he started getting curious.

'The lights were on when I got here and all her stuff is here…maybe she's in her room?' her door was cracked open and the room was empty. He went to knock on the bathroom door when Eileen came out wrapped in a towel. One second Rigby froze in his tracks and felt all the heat in his body rush to his face. The next second Eileen turned to go to her room, faced Rigby, and froze herself. A few blinks later, Rigby shot his hands up to cover his eyes and Eileen took a step back into the bathroom.

"Sorry! Eileen I'm sorry! I thought you were just using-!"

"How long have you been here!? I wasn't expecting-!" They both talked over each other for a moment.

"Okay, I'll just go back to the living room and you can change" Rigby said as he felt his way back to the living room with one hand on the wall.

"Sorry Rigby, I'll be out in a minute…" Eileen said glumly. She went to her room and changed into her house clothes. 'Way to go Eileen…he didn't come here to see that' she sighed. 'Hopefully we can just forget it happened…'

Rigby waited on the couch and tried to settle his thoughts. 'Dangit Rigby! You just had to go snooping, now you've upset her!' Rigby groaned at himself. 'I just hope she doesn't think I was trying to peep.' This thought was particularly troublesome to him. Rigby greatly respected her and didn't want Eileen to suspect otherwise. Eileen came out with her laptop open and started hooking it up to the TV. Neither said anything and the silence was killing Rigby. 'What should I even say? I could just pretend it didn't happen…but that wouldn't help. She deserves more than that.' Eileen finished hooking up the laptop and started walking towards the couch when Rigby got up and stopped her halfway.

"Eileen?...Look I'm sorry I should've announced myself, I thought you were just using the bathroom. I didn't mean to walk in on you when you were…y'know… Can you forgive me?" Rigby was a little surprised at himself. This was possibly the most heartfelt he's been but the words just came out. Eileen was both shocked and moved by what Rigby said. After it sank in she couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay Rigby, I know you didn't mean to. Of course I forgive you." Rigby returned her smile and gave her a big hug. Eileen hugged back and was relieved that she hadn't messed anything up and they weren't uncomfortable with each other. "Now let's watch this movie."

"Yeah-yuh!" they both got settled in and watched the movie that could only be described as "80's". They sat next to each other and they'd talk and laugh here and there. Once the movie had taken more of their attention, Rigby's thoughts began to relax and wander.

'Man today's not been too bad. Mordecai ditched me, but then I got to hang out with Eileen. I still can't believe I walked in on her coming out of the shower.' Rigby looked over to her 'Thank goodness it wasn't too bad…' Rigby was proud of the way he handled the situation so the possibility of worse outcomes came and went lightly. But then his thoughts turned to if she hadn't come out with as much covered up as she did. Rigby blushed and tried to push away the thoughts. Try as he might, however, the image he caught of her kept popping up. It wasn't anything you'd find in a dirty mag, but Eileen's modest looks still deserved notice, especially to Rigby. He then became conscious of how close he was to the girl he liked and was increasingly attracted to. Eileen noticed Rigby fidgeting and giving her an occasional glance.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"Hmm? Oh! Uh, nah. Just got a crick in my back" Rigby lied.

"Oh! I'll get you an ice pack."

"Th-thanks Eileen." As Eileen was in the other room, Rigby paused the movie and tried to control his breath to calm down. He heard the door open and saw Margaret walk in.

"Oh! Hey Margaret."

"Hey Rigby, how're you enjoying Labyrinth?" Margaret kicked off her shoes.

"It's pretty cool. Wait how'd you know what we were watching?"

"I suggested it, I had a feeling you two'd like it."

"Oh…oh!" Rigby then realized that he was talking to the exact person he was trying to get ahold of earlier today. He got up and approached her. "Hey Margaret…this'll sound weird but…can I have your number? There's something I wanna talk about?"

"Oh?...What about?" Margaret was visibly intrigued.

"Uhh…well…" Rigby wasn't sure how if he wanted to get it now.

"Oh hey Margaret!" Rigby heard from behind. He stiffened and his eyes grew wide for a second before he turned around. Margaret was able to get the message.

"Hey Eileen!" Margaret grinned knowingly.

"Here's your ice pack Rigby."

"Thanks Eileen" Rigby said as he pressed the pack to his lower back. He cringed a bit as he did so, hoping nobody would see through his charade.

"Would you wanna watch the movie with us?" Eileen invited.

"Hmmm, sure" Margaret smiled. "Lemme just grabb a soda." As she went into the other room, she grabbed a notepad and scribbled her number and the times of day she was available. She walked back in to see the two on the couch and opted for the seat to leave them alone together. After the movie was over, Margaret got up "Welp, back to work."

"I thought you just got off work" Rigby puzzled.

"They got me on the 11 o'clock broadcast too most nights. Oh! I almost forgot my notes."

"I'll get them" Eileen volunteered. Margaret watched her go before pulling out her note and handing it to Rigby.

"If this is what I think it is, you better be serious about it." Eileen returned with the folder and Margaret went on her way. ""Don't have too much fun you two!"