Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The moon shines brightly
as the octolings gaze on
finally, they’re free.

x

She found him standing at the edge of the pier, staring at a ship in the distance. He seemed to be playing with his phone, but put it away when she made her presence known.

Stealth gave a small smile. “H-Hey Bam. What are you doing here?”

“I was bored, so I followed you.” She paused, realizing how badly the words came out of her mouth. “Out of curiosity, of course; nothing more.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He laughed nervously, twiddling his fingers around. Cod he was adorable, even in the darkness of the night.

She took a seat at the edge of the dock and he followed suit, swinging his legs up and down.

“Do you come here often?”

“Y-Yeah. I like the sound the waves make. I-It’s calming.”

“I suppose it is.”

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, simply basking in the moonlight and each other’s presence.

“Why don’t you take your helmet off?” He jumped at her sudden question. “I’m not asking you to,” She stated quickly, “it’s just that I've never seen you without it, even when we started.”

She gently placed her hand over his, and suddenly the air around them felt warmer. His breathing slowed down, and he relaxed.

“I…..give me a few minutes.” He broke their contact and shoved his hands into his jacket, bringing a disappointed look to her face. She nodded silently, and they spent another good few minutes staring out at the darkness beyond the horizon, letting the sounds of the sea fill their ears.

“....I’m...worried about people hating me for how I look.” He finally spoke, gaze lowered to his feet still kicking up and down rhythmically. “I look a lot different from the others. Nobody would hang out with me if they saw my face.”

She frowned. “And why is that? I’m sure you look fine; people are just quick to judge solely on appearance these days.”

“Well, I don’t want to risk it. I’d rather hide my face forever than face what I am.”

“Stealth.” She leaned in close and lay her head against his shoulder, “I’d love you no matter what.” She nuzzled her nose against the exposed part of his neck and he granted her more access to it with a smile.

Chapter Text

The cold awful truth
underneath that green helmet
was nothing but lies

x

“Cod...damnit….” Rider wheezed before coughing up a concerning amount of blue blood onto the ground. His entire body shook as he tried to get back up, only for a black boot to stomp onto his back, causing a shout of pain to escape from the inkling as he fell flat on his stomach.

“I wouldn’t move with those injuries.” His attacker sneered, keeping his foot on the fallen leader’s head. One of his arms was wrapped around Bamboo’s stomach, pressing her tightly against his body. The other hand pressed the barrel of a gun into her midriff.

A single yellow green tentacle covered in suckers rested on the middle of his head, curling up at the end. If the situation were different she’d even say he looked cute. The pink highlights underneath his deep green eyes made his gaze sharp enough to pierce through whatever thoughts she had swirling around.

“Stealth….why…?” Bamboo mumbled out the few words that she could get out, low enough that she doubted he even heard it.

“I have a mission.” The octoling replied, acknowledging her words, “I’m just finishing it.”

How did it come to this?

Moments ago they were meeting up for their regular training, Rider mentioning and warning them about an oncoming threat, and the next she was being held at gunpoint by the person she…

“You….piece of-” The boot on Rider’s head pressed down harder, and the yellow green inkling let out another gasp as his body was shoved back down onto the hard floor.

Blazer lay slumped against the wall still unconscious; maybe even dead. The blue blood dripping from the sides of her head formed a small pool underneath her blood stained uniform. Beneath them Rider lay writhing in pain, his coughed up blood blending in all too perfectly with her shoes.

“Nothing else to say?” He asked her. “Or are you at a loss for words?”

She truly didn’t have anything to say to him. To the Stealth she knew, so many words wanted to spill out of her mouth. For the killer next to her, she had none.

“I guess you really didn't mean it when you said you’d love you no matter what.” The gun, a model she had never seen before, pressed harder into the inkling’s side, causing her to hiss in pain.

“I’ll be honest, even if things turned out like this, I can't bear to be the one to kill you.” He jabbed the barrel of the gun against her side again.

“Come with me.” He whispered quietly into her ear. “Octavio is going to kill every inkling he sees. If you follow me back underground I can tell him you were working with me.” He nuzzled his nose against her neck.

Bamboo hated it.

“No.” She hissed back, words along with feelings of betrayal finally surfacing. How could he suggest such a thing after all he had done to hurt her friends? Their friends? He stopped nuzzling her.

“Come with me.” He repeated, his voice dangerously low now. “Last chance. I’m serious.”

“Never.”

He stayed quiet for a while, but the grip on the gun never faltered.

“...You’re really adamant about dying here, aren’t you?”

And then she felt the sudden, sharp pain. Bamboo gasped loudly as he released her from his grip, letting her fall to the ground with a loud thud. She gripped the wound on her side as the blood flowed freely and soaked into her shirt, choking back desperate gasps and tears.

“Goodbye, Bam.” Stealth blew a kiss at her. The world around her started to blur as he walked away, leaving his former teammates to die.

Chapter Text

Chocolate is fine,
yet nothing can be sweeter
than her company

x

Cake vs. Ice cream. The first Splatfest to be held in Inkopolis Square, as well as the first Splatfest performance of the rising duo Off the Hook. It’s a hard decision for Skull to make, but Aviators eventually convinces him to go to Team Cake with him and their other teammates.

“You can have ice cream cake, but you can’t have cake ice cream!” His best friend repeated the words to him as the entire Purple team entered the Lobby to wait for their first match. They had the entire day to spend turfing, and were ready for the fun filled day ahead.

“Oh, Skull is here too!” A cheery voice spoke over the crowd of inklings waiting for their matches, and a few seconds later an inkling with turquoise ink and goggles resting on his head had pulled the leader’s pants down.

“Heya Blue Team,” Avi spoke as Skull decked Goggles in the face. “here for the Splatfest too?”

“Yep, that’s what everyone’s here for anyway.” Headphones replied with a smile as Specs helped Goggles up. Skull eyed the shirt she was wearing, which was a deep turquoise color with a drawing of ice cream on it. Headphones also took notice of his hot pink shirt with a cake on it, and for a split second she looked slightly disappointed, though he couldn't place a finger as to why.

“Oh, guess we’re on opposite teams.”

“This’ll be awesome!” Goggles grinned, already recovered and full of energy. “I hope we get to turf with you guys today!”

“Same here.” Skull nodded before heading out with his team for their match, the Blue team waving goodbye.

They had won all of their matches so far, and it was looking good for Team Cake. No other teams stood a chance against the might of Skull’s sniping skills, especially backed up with his teammates fast movements. Not to mention they far outranked their opponents, as the other S4 teams were nowhere to be found on the opposing end of his shots (he recalled seeing Aloha and his team, but they were also on Team Cake.)

And then finally, after hours of turfing and when the Purple team was nearly ready to call it a day, the matchup they had been waiting for finally arrived.

“We won’t lose!” Goggles yells at them from across the Reef, grin as wide as ever.

“That’s our line.” Skull’s eyes flash in excitement and his body surges with newfound adrenaline as the match starts. The rest of his team covers the ground in pink while heading towards the bridge while he rushes to the best vantage point he can reach. He gets up there in 10 seconds, and splats Bobble from the side not even 20 seconds in.

“There’s a struggle for the bridge between the Purple and Blue teams right now!” He hears the announcer say over the loudspeakers. Better support his teammates.

He follows the ink trail his teammates left behind and swims up the wall, getting ready to splat more opponents. His E-liter charged up, he pivots to splat the nearest target.

The first thing he sees is Headphones, standing on top of the boxes in the middle and charger pointed right at him. They make eye contact just before he hears a loud bang.

As his ghost floats back to the spawn point, he hears a barrage of Booyahs from below, most likely from Goggles, followed by two smaller ones from her other teammates. He catches a glimpse of her face, grinning as she gets another shot at Stitch. Skull can’t help but smile, though no one could tell because of his bandana.

Purple Team still wins, but it’s a lot closer than he and everyone else thought it would be. Both teams leave the lobby with smiles on their faces from a good game.

“That was awesome!” Goggles grinned as he headed towards the Purple team’s leader.

“It was a good match.” Skull firmly held his shorts in place before the inkling could pull them down again.

“Nice shots back there.” Paisley shook Headphones’ hand. “Not everyone can splat my bro.”

“Thank you, I’m flattered.” She replied, scratching the back of her head while her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Skull walked up to her, and Paisley moved to talk to Stitch.

“Hey.” Headphones looked surprised for a moment, but it quickly changed into a smile.

“Hey! Good game, huh?”

“It was fun.” He nodded his head. “You’ve improved a lot since Moray Towers. I want to battle you more.”

“That’s sweet….I think.”

“I’ll be staying around the Square to watch the festivities with my team. Do you want to get some cake?” He paused. “Or ice cream, if you prefer that.”

“How about we compromise and get some ice cream cake? I know a place with a killer chocolate one.”

“Sure.”

Chapter Text

One squid, one octo
too shy to say anything
“Please kiss already.”

x

“For the love of cod, just ask her out already.”

Rider’s sudden words made Stealth jump in fright, and he let out a squeak as he whipped around to face his team leader.

“W-What?”

“You ogle Bamboo every single fucking day. It’s pathetic.”

“Y-You don’t have to put it that way…” The nervous octoling lowered his face in shame. “I-Is it that obvious?”

“Is it that obvious??? It’s fucking distracting. Do you know how infuriating it is to see you constantly fall into the water, all because your eyeballs just HAVE to look in her direction every single second you’re alive?!”

The yellow green inkling’s harsh words made Stealth flinch as he lowered his head even further.

“O-Ok, I get it....” He mumbled out the words, twiddling his fingers around. “What do you want me to do?”

Rider gave a frustrated sigh as he rubbed his forehead. “I don’t really care how you go about it, as long as you stop messing up during turf war. It’s clear your fuck ups are because of her, so if you don’t ask her out anytime soon, I’m asking her out for you.”

“I-Is that a warning?” Stealth asked cautiously, looking up to meet Rider’s eyes glaring daggers at him.

“It’s a threat.”

xxx

“C'mon Bam, he’s totally into you!” Blazer repeated for what seemed to be the hundredth time today as her friend rolled her eyes yet again.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Seriously?! I swear, he checks you out everytime you’re in his line of sight! He gets all flustered whenever you talk to him, and he’s always complimenting you and stuff! What other evidence do you need?!”

“He observes everyone during battle for his strategies, and he’s always been nervous.” Bamboo easily brushed off her friend’s points. “Besides, you compliment me all the time too, and it’s not like you want to date me.”

“Oh, trust me, if I wasn’t taken I’d totally go out with you.”

“Wait, what-”

“Anyway, that’s besides the point, he’s totally in love with you!” And just like that, they were back at square one. Bamboo really didn’t want to repeat the same conversation for another hour, so she gave up trying to justify the octoling’s behavior and just let out a sigh.

“If what you’re saying is true, then why hasn’t he asked me out yet?” She paused. “Not that I want him to.”

“Pffft, this is Stealth. There’s no way he’s making the first move.” Blazer waved away the question with a hand. “Ask him out first! Make a move! Because I’m setting up your first date no matter what.”

Chapter Text

Stealth wrapped their arms around the girl laying next to them, pulling her closer underneath the sheets. They buried their nose in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent.“You smell nice.” They commented. She smelled like trees and nature, from the woodcarving she did today, they guessed.

x

Stealth’s breath hitched as Bamboo stared back into his eyes. He leaned in close, closing his eyes and tilting his head slightly. A finger pushed against his lips, and confused eyes blinked open.

“Not right now.” She whispered. “Someone is watching.”

“Codammit.” Blazer cursed as she put her phone away.

x

“Forge, listen to me!” Scuba waved a hand in front of her, but she was glued to her journal. Sighing, he snatched it and held it high, breaking her focus.

“Scuba, give that back!” She reached for her book, and Scuba leaned down to close the distance between their lips.

x

Googles hugged Headphones and Specs tightly and lifted them up, both of them protesting while Bobble laughed at the sight.

“Turfing with you guys is the best!” He beamed, and the other two smiled at the words. “I want to do this with everyone, forever and ever!”

Forever doesn’t exist.

x

Goggles did a dumb thing. Bobble smiled because it was funny. Mask got her a gift. Bobble smiled because it made her happy. They lost a match today. Bobble smiled because her friends weren’t. She got yelled at today. Bobble smiled because she didn’t know what else to do.

Chapter Text

The smell of the woods
the gentleness of her touch
is most comforting

x

Stealth wrapped their arms around the girl laying next to them, pulling her closer underneath the sheets. They buried their nose in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent.“You smell nice.” They commented. She smelled like trees and nature, from the woodcarving she did today, they guessed.

“Mmm?” Bamboo mumbled, face buried in the pillow she was hugging. They brushed their nose against her cheek, taking another whiff of her intoxicating scent.

“Did you work with pine wood today?”

“You can tell?” She lifted her head up from the pillow and let go of it, shifting her body to the left to wrap her arms around her partner’s neck.

“Yeah.” Stealth pressed their nose against hers, once again taking in the distinct earthy scent that seemingly stuck to her while she giggled softly at the gesture.

“That’s sweet. And a bit weird.” She played with the single yellow green tentacle draped over his head, twirling it around her finger.

“Smelling people is normal!” He protested.

“Are you sure about that?” She closed her eyes and breathed in, Stealth absentmindedly stroking one of her long tentacles.

“Well?”

“You smell like sweat.” She stuck her tongue out before they both burst out laughing, holding each other tighter.

Chapter Text

Oh, calamity!
The princess has fallen ill!
Summon the wizard!

x

Mask was used to constantly being sick in bed all day, especially before he started wearing his signature gas mask to deal with his hay fever. Whenever it acted up, and he ended up too sick to function properly, his teammates would have his back.

Des would bring over a game that didn’t require too much skill and the girls would bring medicine and hot soup. They’d spend time with him at their expense even when he was more of a burden than anything, and he appreciated them immensely for it, though he’d never admit it.

Enter, Bobble. Specifically, a Bobble who was running high with a fever and was currently laying on her bed, somehow still smiling despite probably being completely exhausted.

“Howwww did you getttt like thisss?” Mask mumbled mostly to himself, not expecting a reply.

“I think it was something I ate….my teammates are sick too.” Her voice was weak and feeble, but her smile was still as big as ever. Mask could only sigh at the answer.

Being the “nice guy” that he was, he decided to take a page out of his teammates’ book. Mask placed a damp towel on her forehead, and adjusted the pillow her head was resting on to be at a better angle. He opened up the thermos of soup he had brought with him and gave it to Bobble, who sipped from it slowly.

“I brought some gamessss we can playyyy too if you get boredddd…” Mask took out a switch and placed it on the bedside table.

“Thank you Masky…” She beamed an even brighter smile at him, causing him to turn bright blue as he fumbled to give Bobble her medicine.

“I-It’s nothingggg. J-Just take theseeee three times a dayyyy.”

He almost shoved the medicine packs into her face as she giggled at how flustered he was getting. She shifted her body to the right and patted the space next to her.

“Can we play together?”

The cyan inkling nodded, hints of blue still on the tips of his ears as he hesitantly took a seat on the bed next to Bobble. She nuzzled her face into his neck as he felt his body relax at the touch. She hugged him tightly and got cozy as he booted up the game.

Chapter Text

Curiosity
gets cultivated into
Determination

x

“Do you think it’s like, disfigured or something?”

“I doubt it’s something that serious. He might just be too shy.”

“Nah, he probably just wants to look cool, like me.”

“Obviously he’s half gorgon and protecting us from looking directly into his eyes.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Blazer walked up to the S4 co captains currently conversing at a table. Whatever the contents on top of it were, be it half eaten Seanwiches or open journals, none of them pertained to the current topic at hand.

“That stupid helmet your friend always wears.” Scuba chuckled as Blazer took a seat next to him, immediately wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

“Ohhh, Stealth?” The four of them nodded as Blazer glanced at her teammate in the distance. He was, as expected, wearing his signature helmet while conversing with Rider about something.

“Say, you have to have seen his face before, right?” Forge asked, the yellow green inkling nodding in response.

“Everyone on the team has, but it’d be kinda rude for me to tell you guys what he’s hiding.”

“Aw, come on! Not even a hint?” Avi scratched his head as Blazer shrugged in response. “If you want to know that badly, just get him to take it off.”

“What if I just snatched it off of his head?” Scuba suggested.

“He keeps his helmet buckled on all the time, so you’d probably end up causing a scene.”

“Maybe we can trick him into taking it off? ‘Stealth! Scuba is dying, take your helmet off and give him CPR!’” Moon mimed out strangling motions before half of the table burst out laughing.

“Can I not be the one to die?”

“Come on guys, use your heads.” Blazer commented with an amused expression. “There’s a very simple solution.”

“Hmmm.” Forge drummed her fingers against the table. “Maybe...we need to get someone else to take it off for us?”

“Getting warmer.”

“Oh, so we should hypnotize Stealth to make him take it off himself!” Avi snapped his fingers, but Forge simply shook her head.

“No, that’s going too far.”

“Okay, I give up.” Scuba sighed in defeat. “Can you please just tell us how to take it off?”

“Only if you take me to that new cafe at the Reef next date.”

“Deal.”

“Just ask Bamboo to do it for you.” Blazer giggled, and all at once four heads turned to face the woodcarver sitting alone in the distance.

Bamboo sipped a bit of her drink before closing her eyes, savoring the cool air blowing through her hair. She then opened her eyes and had to blink a few times to process how four inklings of different colors had suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Heyyyy Bam. So, uh, this is gonna sound weird, but we need you to take off Stealth’s helmet for us.”

“And why exactly would I do that?”

“For science.”

“...For science?”

“For science!”

Bamboo tilted her head to the side to see Blazer nodding at her from behind the four inklings.

“...Fine.” She sighed before getting up and walking over to Stealth, who had finished talking with Rider a while ago and was now playing around with his phone.

“Hey Stealth.”

“Oh, hi Bam-“ He looked up from his phone to face her before she suddenly unbuckled his helmet strap. His eyes shot open as his hands immediately went to hold his helmet down.

“Um, what are you doing?”

“I want to see your face.” She shrugged. He blushed a bit at her words, but still looked hesitant.

“O-Oh, but I thought we agreed not to take it off in public…”

“Just this once.” She placed her hands on top of his, and they both slowly took his helmet off, revealing a single yellow green tentacle, round ears, and deep green eyes with magenta markings.

Bamboo set the helmet down and pinched the octoling’s cheeks, his face immediately turning a deep shade of blue as she pressed a small kiss on his forehead.

“D’awwwww.” Moon cooed at the two, sneakily snapping a few photos for future purposes.

“I boat it.” Avi grinned at the scene.

“Guess the only thing he was hiding from us was his love.” Scuba chuckled. “Well, I thought it was kinda obvious there was something between them.”

Forge couldn’t help but frown a bit. “So he’s an octarian…”

“That’s not a problem, right?” Blazer asked, a hint of concern in her voice. “I know your family was pretty involved in the war, but that was ages ago-“

“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s not a problem.” Forge relaxed a bit, a small smile now gracing her lips. “We-I grew up with a negative opinion on them, but well, those two are living proof that inklings and octarians can exist in harmony.”

Chapter Text

Shades rest on your head
How I long to be with you
Why can’t you see that?

x

“You know, Rider is pretty hot. If he worked on his attitude, the girls would be all over him.”

“Uhuh.”

“Stealth is pretty cute whenever he stumbles over his words...I bet his face is just as cute.”

“Mhm.”

The two pink girls were in Octoglasses’ room, the owner laying down on her bed, hugging a large animal plush and facing the ceiling. Straw simply sat at the edge of the bed, kicking her legs back and forth as she listened to her friend’s rambling, absentmindedly scrolling through her Inkstagram.

“Avi has that mysterious vibe going on that makes him so cool, and he’s a total looker too. Too bad he’s totally smitten with you-know-who.”

“Mm.”

“Blue is training to be in the navy or something, right? Who knows how much muscle he’s hiding underneath all those-“

“Um…”

“You know Straw, you never talk about who you’re interested in.” The aforementioned girl jumped and almost dropped her phone at the sudden mention of her name. Octoglasses flipped herself over so that she could face her friend, using the plush as a pillow to lay her head on.

“I-well, er, you just always seem so into it when the topic comes up, I don’t wanna be rude-” Straw’s eyes were bouncing around, trying to stop the blue blush on her cheeks from spreading further.

“Oh, don’t give me that! You can jump in anytime you want, I don’t mind! Besides,” OG grinned as she scooched closer towards Straw. “I’m VERY curious.”

“I-um-”

“How's your love life, Straw? Any crushes? Anybody ask you out recently? C’mon, spill!”

“Well, a few guys asked for my number like always, but I wasn’t interested so I didn’t give it to any of them.”

“Oh, same. I swear that happens at least twice a week; some people can’t take a hint. Anyone else? Say, a certain brother of mine?” OG waggled her eyebrows as Straw gave a sigh. So that was why she pushed the topic onto her…

“I rejected Scuba, if that’s what you’re interested in.” Octoglasses had to hold back laughter.

“Oh my cod you rejected him??? Guess I’m getting a new Splattershot Pro tomorrow. How did he take it?”

“Sorta well? He was upset about losing a bet I think, but he said it was his own fault. Said he should’ve known I liked yo-someone else!” Straw caught herself, and Octoglasses gave a big grin.

“Ah, so you do have a crush! What’re they like? Do I know them? Spill the deets!”

“W-What they’re like? Umm.” She put a finger to her chin in thought. “I guess if I had to describe the person I want to date,” her eyes flickered to Octoglasses as she said that. “they would be outgoing, and a fun person to be around. And well, a girl. And you know them pretty well.”

‘In fact, she’s in this room right now!’

Silence. Straw’s eyes were shut in anticipation, every second of nothing being said was pure agony. Did OG realize who she was talking about?

“...I think I have a good idea on who your crush is.” The other girl said slowly. Straw held her breath. Was this it? The moment that would make or break their relationship?

“It’s Blazer, isn’t it?”

Nevermind.

A sudden force on her shoulders shot Straw’s eyes open as OG shook her excitedly.

“You guys would be so cute together, how did I not see this before?! I’ll try asking Blazer if she’s available for a date tomorrow, give me a few minutes!” Octoglasses whipped her phone out excitedly, rapidly clicking her fingers on the keyboard.

Straw let out a sigh. Of relief? Of sadness? She wasn't really sure.

Well, there was always next time.

Chapter Text

You’re with your girlfriend at night, just walking together down the street. You don’t know why you’re outside this late at night, you don’t even know where you came from or where you’re going. The only thing that you remember is that you’re with the girl you love.

She’s holding your hand while you two walk along the sidewalk, swinging her arm up and down while she talks about something with a smile on her face. You don’t know what the words coming out of her mouth mean, they’re all so fuzzy. All you care about is that she’s happy, and that she looks so cute when she’s talking. It makes you feel all bubbly inside.

A shadow appears in front of you, and it slowly approaches you as you walk in it’s direction, growing bigger the more you walk. The streetlight shines on it, revealing three dark silhouettes with masked faces, and you instinctively pull White closer.

You move to the side to let them pass, in the hopes they leave you alone, but they stop walking right in front of you, all three figures standing side by side, forming a wall to deny you passage. You’re outnumbered.

The one in the middle slowly pulls out a jet black gun. A real one. Not the ink ones that are used in turf, but the ones that splat people permanently.

They point it at you, and demand something. You can’t remember what it was exactly, but you knew you were empty handed. White is shaking now, and you hold her tightly. They notice.

Suddenly the one nearest to her grabs her by the collar and yanks her from your grip with one strong pull. She’s still clutching your shirt when you yell at them to stop, but the second pull rips her from your grasp and she falls to the ground near the strangers.

You forget that they’re armed, and cry out her name as you stumble forward with a reached out arm to take her back. You hear a gunshot and there’s a painful ringing in your ears as you fall facefirst onto the hard cement.

You can’t move your legs, and your entire body feels numb. You feel something trickling down your face, and when it drips off you realize it’s your blood. You hear small sobs through the ringing, and try to reach an arm out towards the girl, bloody hands grabbing thin air in a futile attempt to reach her. One of them kicks you hard in the chest and your body slumps forward, finally giving in.

The last thing you see before your vision blurs and goes dark are your assailants dragging White away, her eyes filled with tears as they make eye contact with yours for the last time.

You wake up gasping, sweat covering your forehead despite how cold the room is. Your entire body is shaking, and you have to hold yourself to stay steady. Your ears are ringing, your heart is racing, your chest hurts, and your throat is dry, so dry. You scramble for the water bottle next to your bed and chug everything in one go, yet you still feel thirsty. Calm down. Just calm down. You breathe in with your nose and out with your mouth. Just breathe. Your body slowly relaxes and your ears stop pounding. It was all just a dream. A nightmare, nothing more.

...Right?

When you rush to practice that day, the only thing on your mind is White. You need to see if she’s okay, make sure it was all just a bad dream. You arrive at Walleye Warehouse a solid ten minutes earlier than the original meetup time, and Army compliments you for arriving early. He looks concerned when you don’t reply. You don’t care.

She’s not here.

You try not to panic. She’s always the last to arrive; this is normal. You keep repeating the words in your head as you pace back and forth near the entrance in a futile attempt to convince yourself not to worry. When Forge or Army try to talk to you their words go through your ears. Minutes feel like hours as you feel your head spin. You can’t focus, not until she’s here, not until she’s in your arms….

She walks in with a skip in her step, smiling when she sees you and waving her hand up high in greeting. You almost knock her down when you hug her with all your might. She giggles and wraps her arms around your waist, happily hugging back, and it feels warm, feels real, so, so real.

When the hug ends you grab her wrist to check if she still has a pulse. Yep, and it’s going pretty fast. You cup her face with your hands and feel them heat up when your eyes reach hers.

“Blue? What’s going on?”

You press a few quick kisses all over her face; on her forehead, on the nose, on each of her cheeks, and lastly a small peck on the lips.

“Nothing. Just missed you.” You murmur softly. You don't want to let go of her, to keep her in the safety of your arms for just a little bit longer. But you can already feel the captain’s eyes judging you, so you reluctantly let go.

Your teammates are still confused by your behavior, but they don’t press you about it. It’s for the best, you don’t even know how you’d explain the nightmare. Training goes by normally, except your shots are faster, more precise, more deadly. They need to be, if you want to be useful to the team, if you want to be the best you can be.

If you want to protect her.

x

The dreams keep coming
Haunting you, taunting your heart
for thinking of her

Chapter Text

Bamboo hummed along quietly to the sounds of nature surrounding them, rubbing circles in therapeutic motions around the area of Stealth’s head, which was currently resting in her lap. She curled the giant tentacle resting on his forehead around her fingers and Stealth purred in contentment, enjoying the devoted attention.

xxx

“This ice cream is pretty good!” Headphones commented. Skull looked up from his empty cup, eyeing the girl across him.

“You got some on your face.”

“Hm?”

He leaned in for a quick kiss, the girl letting out a surprised squeak as he licked the ice cream off her lips.

xxx

“What is the explanation of this soft squishy?” Hachi asked, holding up a plush of a blue squid.

“It’s a stuffed toy.” Specs sighed. “You keep it for decoration, or sleeping.”

“Then I would want to be having this one. It is resembling you.”

Specs’ face turned a bright blue.

xxx

“Do you mind?” Blazer huffed as Scuba tightened the hug’s grip around her stomach.

“I’m trying to study here.”

“And I’m trying to cuddle.” He nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck in a cat-like manner before beginning to pepper it with light kisses. She sighed in defeat.

xxx

“Does it look good?” Forge turned to face her friends, a pair of sunglasses over her eyes.

“Looks great!” Avi grinned. “It’s like we’re matching.”

“It really compliments your orange ink!” Moon beamed.

“It’s awesome! Now we’re all glasses gang!”

“Scuba, for the last time, yours is a diving mask.”

xxx

“Bam, I need this back.” Stealth tugged the hood of his jacket, currently being worn by his girlfriend.

“It’s cold.”

“I can get you a blanket.”

“Not the same.”

“I’m leaguing with Rider and need the perfect slots.”

“If you take this from me I’m scrubbing it later.”

“...Keep it.”

xxx

Gloves couldn’t help but admire how Half-rim looked as they took aim with their Splatterscope, the lollipop in their mouth making them look even cooler than usual as they effortlessly shot down a practice dummy.

“You look fresh, Rim.”

“Thanks.” They replied, simply staring back at him.

“....No homo though.”

Chapter Text

This isn’t funny
what is this, a romcom show?
*on cue, laughter plays*

x

Ah yes, the pinnacle of hardships and problems. The conundrum that Half Rim had always read about in sappy stories and watched on TV shows. The dilemma that they sure as hell didn’t expect to face today.

There was only one bed.

Yes, it was probably their fault for booking the cheapest air bnb they could find that would fit four people, and also their fault for not reading the description of the place properly. Finding cheap accomodations was hard, and they went with the first result that satisfied them. But you had to admit it sure as hell wasn’t their fault for letting Gloves and Clip run into the apartment first, and call dibs on the room with the bunk bed.

They didn’t argue with the two, because any person would immediately assume that if one room had a bunk bed, surely the other room must also have one. Well in this case, they were fucking wrong.

A single king sized bed took up most of the bedroom space, its comfortable appearance mocking Rims for their negligence in booking proper accommodations. They quickly looked around, body tensing up as they realized there was indeed, only one bed. While they stood at the doorway looking like an idiot, their companion walked into the room and placed her belongings on the ground near the bed.

“Kinda small, huh?” Straps brought up casually, kneeling down to open her backpack and get some of her clothes out. “Well, not like we’re gonna be in here all the time.”

Half Rim nodded without a word, their poker face unchanged as they set their stuff down onto the ground as well, near where Straps’ stuff was.

“Something wrong?” She tilted her head at her friend.

“I thought there would be another bed.”

“Yeah, I did too. It’s not a big deal though.” Straps smiled at them. “We can share! Think of it as a sleepover, like when we were little!”

Their sleepovers never really involved sharing a bed, but they understood their point, relaxing a bit as they began to shuffle through their belongings and getting their pjs out. Straps yawned as she stood up, holding some clothes against her chest.

“I’m already really tired, so I’ll go get changed then I’ll be out like a light. You can go ahead and doze off, I’m sure you’re tired too.”

“Yeah, alright.” They nodded as she went into the bathroom, Rims making sure she closed the door before beginning to take their clothes off. Straps was right, they were all tired from travelling and wanted to sleep asap. They just hoped their other two teammates crashed into their beds already.

They slipped off all their clothes easily, but hesitated a bit when they got to their binder, pulling it off over their head after a few seconds of contemplation. Quickly changing into an oversized shirt and some shorts, they turned off the lights except for the one near the bedside table. They removed their glasses and gently placed them onto the side table before climbing into the bed, laying on their side so that they were facing inwards.

Half Rim shut their eyes and tried to let the drowsiness overtake them, almost succeeding until the sound of the door opening made them freeze up slightly, eyes still shut tight.

They heard the sound of feet against the floorboards and the click of the lightswitch being flicked off. Shuffling sounds of what they assumed were clothes filled the room before a sudden shift in the bed made them aware of Straps’ presence. She slipped under the covers as well, and wiggled around a bit until she was comfortable.

What must have been a few minutes but felt like ages passed by in silence, and Rims, still too nervous to sleep, hoped she had already dozed off. Instead, they felt a warmth suddenly fall against their chest, and two arms wrapped around their torso.

“Goodnight Rims….” Straps mumbled, burying her head into their neck.

Rims felt their body heat up, but didn’t fight the sudden and welcome feeling. They wrapped a single arm around her body as well.

“Good night.”

Chapter Text

Morning light shines through
I hold you gently, tighter
Kiss you good morning

x

The early morning sun peeked through the curtains of a small window, the small rays of sunlight cutting through the darkness of the room and hitting a certain inkling’s face, making him stir and slowly blink his eyes awake.

Double yawned loudly, shutting his eyes to block out the light. The bed creaked as his body shifted, trying to get back into a comfortable position. He rolled over to his right, and was greeted with the familiar yet pleasant sight of a small body tangled up in the sheets, the person’s back facing him. The room was tinted a slight red due to the color of the curtains, but he could see clear as day who was next to him.

Double smiled gently, and draped his left arm around her waist, purring softly as he pulled her closer. He buried his face into the back of her neck, nudging her tentacles aside to be granted more access. She smelled of mead and the cologne he wore last night, with a hint of raspberry too. It was a sweet and calming scent, easily one of his favorites.

He placed his left hand over her much smaller one, sliding his fingers in between hers and interlocking them. He loved each moment of it, kissing the exposed parts of her shoulders and smoldering her with his warmth. Her ears twitched as she finally began to stir, making him smirk.

“Morning Megs.” He purred, happy that she had finally woken up.

He nipped the tip of her ear, and they twitched again before pinning back against her head in response. Her shirt had hiked up in her sleep, and Double took advantage of it, rubbing small circles on her exposed skin.

“Mmmmpph.” Omega’s words were muffled due to the pillow her face was buried in, but he could tell she was enjoying it.

He dragged his sharp claws lightly and carefully against her arm, making her shudder and shift away from him in protest, burying her face deeper into the pillow. He repeated the action a few more times before she finally groaned and opened her eyes. She grumbled something unintelligible before rolling onto her back, right hand reaching out to shove his left arm away.

The larger inkling caught it easily, and pressed small kisses all over her hand. He worked his way up slowly, starting at her palm then moving to her pinky, leaving light kisses all over each finger. He paid extra close attention to the golden band on her ring finger, the one he had bought himself. Just looking at it filled him with indescribable amounts of joy.

“What time is it?” She mumbled sleepily, a tired look on her face as he finished with a small peck at the tip of her thumb.

“No idea.” He chuckled, crawling on top of her so that his body was parallel to her own. He placed his arms on either side of her head and lowered himself against her body, pressing their foreheads together and rubbing their noses affectionately.

She returned the gesture, nuzzling back and cupping a cheek with her left hand while using the other to feel for her phone on the bedside table. She succeeded in grabbing something that felt like it, and brought it to eye level, wincing from the screen suddenly lighting up in the darkness. She squinted at the display, eyes quickly adjusting to it.

“It’s a quarter past nine….ah, I have a lot of messages from Vin.”

“What does he want?” Double tried to turn his head to look at the screen, Omega lowering it instead so he could read.

“Asking how I’m doing, and when he can visit.”

“You can text him later.” He huffed. “He can wait a few hours for a ‘No’.”

“It’s been months since we last saw him. You really don’t want him to come?”

“I don’t wanna talk to him, all he’ll do is be an asshole.” Double pouted. “Gonna spout some bullshit about how we’re too young or not ready for commitment or whatever.”

“So, I guess that means you haven't told him yet.”

“Well, have you?”

“I thought we already talked about this,” She sighed. “you tell Vin, and I tell my parents when I bring you to meet them.”

“Can’t you like, tell them at the same time? You have a 90% less chance of dying compared to if I do it.”

“Well if you really don’t want to, I can always send him a text.” She went to the message bar and started to type something in before Double snatched the phone from her hands.

“Nooooo!” He cried out playfully, holding the phone over her head and putting just enough weight on her so that she wasn’t getting crushed, but couldn’t move.

“Hey!” She wiggled around, but gave up quickly once she realized she was trapped under him.

Double quickly typed a reply to Vintage before setting the phone back down on the table, diverting his attention back to the inkling below him.

“What did you tell him?”

“Told him to fuck off.” He grinned, receiving a soft glare in response.

“Eggy…” She sighed, running her fingers through his hair and getting an approving purr in response. One of his hands wrapped around her wrist, and red eyes flicked towards red and blue ones.

“You better not have actually told him that.”

“I was kidding! I told him to come next week.”

“Then you’ll inform him of our plans then?”

“Okay, I’ll tell him. I promise. Just stay in bed with me a bit longer?” He pushed himself off and rolled over to her left side, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer once again, all the while never breaking eye contact.

“...Okay.” She mumbled, pinching his cheek in response before kissing him, the golden ring on her right hand glinting in the sunlight.

Chapter Text

Intoxicating
Your laughter brightens my day
My heart is melting

x

"Wow, you're really good at that game, Masky!"

"Don't call me thatttttt."

The cyan inkling pulled his phone closer to his chest as Bobble tried to peer over his shoulder, continuing to tap his phone rapidly as he played the rhythm game. Fingers flew and glided over the screen as he accurately hit the notes to the beat of the song, droopy eyes behind the mask completely focused on hitting the circles that flew out on the screen. A few seconds later, the song finished, and his score popped up. Perfect combo.

"That was so cool!"

Her voice was as cheery as ever, and Mask could feel her smile radiating behind him without even glancing backwards. It somehow made him feel....light. Like his body wasn't his own. It felt oddly nice, soothing even.

"It was nothinggggg. Anyone could do thattttt."

"Really? Can I try?"

Mask seemed taken aback by the request. He didn't expect Bobble of all people to take an interest in his games, let alone want to try one. Only his teammates ever wanted to hang out with him, and he was never even on top of that list.

"....Okayyy." He silently handed his phone to the blue inkling, who took a seat next to him.

"How do I play?"

"Just hit the buttonsssss as they cross the lineeeeee. Try to hit them at the right timesssss."

She nodded her head in understanding and scrolled through the music tracks in the game, settling for a cheery, pop song and picking an easy level. The beat of the song started, and Bobble hummed along to it as she tapped the screen, her novice side showing as missed notes went past the line.

As she began to play, Mask's doubts began to resurface. She's just being nice, isn't she? He frowned as he continued on that train of thought, staring at but not being able to pay attention to the smiling girl playing next to him. Yeah, she didn't really care about his stupid games, she just wanted to make fun of him! She'd probably call him a nerd behind his back if she didn't already....yet the thought of her actually doing that made his hearts ache. Why did he care so much at the thought of her not liking him? Everyone already didn't anyway......

"I finished!"

Her cheery voice rang out, distracting him from his thoughts. He turned to face her, and looked down at his phone still in her hands.

"....You lostttt."

"Haha, I guess I did!" Bobble laughed. "But that's okay, because I had fun!"

"You did?"

"Yeah! I can just try again anyway, you can help me get better, too!"

She was practically glowing as she said that, and for a moment, his doubts and insecurities faded away under the light of her smile. Mask cracked a hidden smile.

"Yeah, alright."

Chapter Text

What spiky, sharp hair!
Colored blue and tinged with red.
Is it natural?

x

Pat, pat, pat.

Double Egg looked up from his phone as Red Sole lightly patted his hair, the spikes jutting out from the top of his head jiggling each time her hand came into contact with them.

“Huh, your tentacles are a lot softer than they look.”

“...Thanks?” He reached a hand up to the aforementioned tentacles to instinctively run it through his hair. “It’s nothing new.”

“I know, it just doesn’t seem that way from afar.”

She held a singular spike in between two of her fingers, the small thing a light blue color that faded into a deep red at the very tip. She pressed lightly and her finger barely sank into the firm material.

“The spikes seem like they might prick you, but I can even push them in a little bit. Do you use hair gel or something to keep them pointy?”

“Psh, shell no, hair gel is overrated as hell. It stops working the moment you throw some water on it!”

“Yeah, guess there’d be no point to using it when you’re dodge rolling into the water half the time.” She snickered as Double scowled at her.

“Why you—”

“What are you two doing?”

Omega walked into the room with their ever present poker face before Double could retort with words of his own, and Red took the chance of the new arrival to interrupt him.

“Omega, come over here!” She grabbed her teammate’s hand and placed it on top of Double’s head before either could protest, controlling their hand to pet the top of his head lightly.

“Look, it’s really soft! It’s fun to pet, too!”

“What am I, a cat?” He grumbled, but didn’t say much else as Omega continued to gently stroke his tentacles even without Red’s guidance, completely fascinated by the small spikes.

They said nothing, but it was apparent they were enjoying themselves, running their fingers through Double’s hair gently. He seemed to be leaning into their touch a lot more compared to when Red was doing it, bending down to make up for their height difference and even letting out a small purr of satisfaction from a particularly good scratch near his scalp.

“Wow, you really are like a cat.” Red laughed and reached out a hand to try and join in, only to be met with a growl.

“A picky one, too.”

“Shut up.”

Chapter Text

Scrub your sins away
in the fresh, flowing water
Serendipity

x

Omega ran her fingers across the water gushing out of the giant faucet of the bathtub, the warm, clear liquid quickly filling up the large tub as it continued to flow out. She let the water run for a few more minutes before turning the faucet shut with a loud creak. A hand dipped underneath the water, the surface tension breaking as she did so, creating small ripples when she moved her hand around.

Omega removed her hand from the water, satisfied at its temperature, and turned to take a small bottle of essential oil from the counter of her bathroom, opening it and letting exactly two drops of the concentrated liquid fall in to dye the water a very slight tinge of pink. She hummed a small tune to herself as she placed the bottle back down and picked up a hair tie that was right next to it, bunching her tentacles together before beginning to tie her hair up.

The bath tub was filled with warm water, with the flowery scent of roses in the air thanks to the essential oil, and with her hair all tied up to avoid having to dry it, she was all set for a relaxing bath. She stepped in one leg at a time, going at a snail’s pace to minimize splashing, and sank into the warm water once she was fully submerged, letting out a relaxed sigh as her muscles de-tensed. The way she was laying allowed the water to come all the way up to her neck, and she allowed the warmth from the water combined with the sweet aroma in the air to relax her body as she leaned her head back against the cold wall.

Inklings are odd creatures, what with being made out of ink and all that complicated biology. They certainly can't swim with those frail bodies that are ready to dissipate if the water gets too powerful, but they can at least soak in still, calm water—be it in onsens, jacuzzis, or even just in their own private bath at home. One thing is for certain, baths are much more favored compared to high pressure showers in the world of inklings and octolings. It’s one of the things they absolutely love to do after a hectic day, to soak in a warm bath, maybe light a few candles and play some light jazz while they read a book, scroll through Squidbook on their phones, or just scrub away the impurities on their skin.

Omega sank deeper into the water as the minutes passed, her chin barely touching the surface as the calm environment began to make her feel drowsy. Her eyes fluttered shut a few times before the thought of sleep began to sound very appealing to her, so much so she barely registered the sound of the bathroom door creaking open and the shuffling of clothes. She cracked one eye open when she heard the sound of bare feet on the floor tiles getting closer, and that was the moment she realized she had company.

Splash!

Both of her eyes snapped open and she instinctively curled her legs up to her chest as Double invited himself into the bathtub, the water overflowing and spilling over the sides due to the extra weight displacement as he sank into the water, grinning widely at her as he leaned against the other end of the bath tub.

“Hey.”

A blush crept up her face as her arms instinctively crossed over each other to form an X, not to hide her chest, but for her to try and regain focus.

“You alright, Megs?”

“Out.” She snapped once the shock wore off, splashing his face with water.

“Rude.” He pouted, blocking the next water attack with his arm. She noticed he had abandoned his shades, one red and one blue eye meeting her own crimson ones before she forcefully broke eye contact, pulling her legs closer to her chest while avoiding staring at his body.

“What are you doing here?”

“Keeping you company!” He looked around, seemingly scanning the area, before sniffing the air.

“Mmm, this a lavender bath?”

“It’s rose.”

“Eh, close enough. Still a flower.”

“Eggy,” She sighed, the slumping of her body made audible by the splashing of water. “I’m more than capable of relaxing all by myself.”

“I know, I know.” He chuckled in response. “But I thought it’d be funny to see the look on your face.”

“Ass.” Her expression turned more stern, and he returned it with a goofy grin.

“Love you too.”

“We don’t even fit in here.” She leaned forward to flick a finger against his knees, both of which were well above the water and probably getting cold.

“Of course we do! Just gotta move around a bit. C’mere and lean against me.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“Cmon, It’ll be fun! I’ll even scrub your back.” Double leaned his back against his edge of the tub invitingly, letting his arms rest along the edges. Omega stared at him before resigning herself to his presence. She waded towards him and leaned her back against his chest, feeling their skin make contact underneath the water.

She sank into him as he purred affectionately, wrapping his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his face into the back of her neck. Now that they were on the same side, both of them could stretch their legs out fully, though due to Double’s taller stature, his chest wasn't able to fully submerge in the water.

“This isn’t so bad now is it?”

A small “Mmm.” was all the satisfaction she gave him, reaching a hand out to scratch the area underneath his ear. “Are you actually going to wash my back, or…”

“Course I will, I’m a man of my word.” He lifted his head up to look at the bottles they kept to the side of the bathtub. “Which one do you want?”

“The honey one, in the glass jar.” She cocked her head towards their body washes and tentacle shampoos.

Double shifted his body slightly and removed his hands from her waist to sift through the containers, picking out the jar with the correct label from the bunch before twisting the lid open with a pop. He sniffed the yellowish-brown contents of the jar before scooping a decent amount of it in his fingers. The scrub had a crumbly texture, and a sweet odor as well. He stared at it for a few seconds before making up his mind and licking it out of curiosity.

“Don’t eat it.” She snatched the jar out of his hands and set it back down on the side.

“But it tastes good!” He licked it again. “Exactly like honey.”

She ignored him and went to scoop some of the scrub for herself, lathering the mixture over her own body. She started with her arms, lathering it all over her pale skin, and as she worked her way down her arm, she felt the same rough and crumbly texture of the scrub being applied to her back, much larger hands working on spreading the scrub out with inexperienced strokes.

“I didn’t know you liked using this sorta stuff.”

“Red gave them to me.” She replied, finishing up with her arms and then scooping more of the body scrub to work on her legs. “Said that I needed to take care of the rest of my skin, not just my face.”

“Sounds like her. She give you the nice smelling stuff too?”

“Yeah, a whole set. We can use a different one next time if you don’t like this one.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that.”

Double had finished with her back, and was gently massaging her shoulders as she finished up with the rest of her body. What was going to be a peaceful bath had turned out to be a bit noisier than she expected, but she was still enjoying their time together.

“Wanna stay like this for a while?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist once more and pressing a kiss onto her bare shoulders.

“Definitely.”

Chapter Text

Your embrace is warm
warmer than a thousand suns
It’s melting my heart

x

A gentle sigh escapes her lips as Skull’s arms wrap around her waist, her knees going up to hug her chest as she giggles softly at the warmth of his touch. His body is practically emanating heat, and just the action of cuddling up next to him makes her hearts race.

The tips of her blue tentacles are already dusted a deep purple, but he seems intent on spreading even more of his color all over her. His lips brush against her exposed shoulders, giving each little spot of skin equal attention. Each kiss he plants on her fair skin leaves a purple kiss mark that stands out like a oasis in a desert.

“I’m going to be late for practice...” Headphones murmurs as her hands overlap with his, squeezing them gently when he pulls her closer at her statement.

“Let them wait.” Is his simple reply, before he gives her a peck on her cheek, leaving another kiss mark. Before she knows it, he’s attacking her face with affection, getting happy purrs out of her and leaving even more kiss marks all over her cheeks, nose, and neck.

“We should stop.” Her ears, uncovered for once, twitch happily, betraying the words she had just uttered as she giggles at the ticklish feeling.

“I don’t want to.” He murmurs softly, and she raises her hand to cup his cheek, smiling at the affection.

“I know you don’t, but we have time later.”

He grunts and nudges her face with his nose, making her turn to face him a bit before he dives in for a french kiss. She squeaks in surprise initially, but quickly returns it, staining both of their lips in a mesh of purple and blue. They pull away, and he rubs his nose against her own before he finally lets go.

“Mkay, see you later.”

Headphones wriggles out of his hold and stands up, leaning down to plant one last blue peck on his forehead before heading to the bathroom to wipe away all the kiss marks.

-

“Ah, there you are!” Specs looks up at the sound of Headphones jogging up to them, a bit out of breath.

“Sorry! I got...held up near the house.” She sighs, brushing her fingers against her lips.

“Well, that’s fine. Not like you were the only one late.” He gives a pointed look towards Goggles, who’s goofing off a bit ahead of them.

“Let’s practice!” Bobble beams, laughing as she always does before skipping off towards where Goggles is.

Headphones turns around to follow, and Specs raises his eyebrows at the purple kiss marks littered all over the back of her shoulders. He shakes his head and sighs, before grabbing his inkbrush and following the rest of them to the lobby.

Chapter Text

Shoes are a delight
especially when they’re from
the girl that you love

-

“Happy one month, Rims!”

Half Rim’s expression is blank as always as Headphones hands them a rectangular shoe box that’s yet to be opened, the words of the brand Splash Mob printed neatly on top of the otherwise plain white box. Rims straightens their sitting posture on the couch and blinks a few times as they process their girlfriend’s words as well as the gift she had just given them.

“Ah...has it already been that long?”

Granted, a whole 30 days isn’t a lot in the long run of things, but considering it was Headphones’ first relationship and Rims’ longest one so far, it seemed noteworthy enough to warrant some form of celebration.

“I-I know one month seems like too small of a milestone to celebrate, but I thought it’d be nice to give you a surprise gift anyways.”

Her hands are clasped together behind her back, and her face is turned to the side, red eyes flickering back and forth between the floor and his face, with pale cheeks heating up with every second that passes. Her tentacles also sway with the slightest of body movements, the blue to green gradient on their tips making Rims think of her as absolutely adorable.

They trace the top of the shoe box, getting a feel for the smooth yet firm texture of cardboard before carefully hooking their fingers on the sides of the top and lifting it up. They knew the shoes would be from Splash Mob—it’d be odd if they weren’t, yet they weren’t completely expecting them to be the same model as the ones they usually wear. The shoes were moccasins, just like the ones that they had neatly placed in the shoe rack right next to the entrance. The main difference lay in the color scheme, with the jet black material of the new shoes providing a remarkable contrast between the bright orange of the spiked soles and laces.

Even just from appearance alone, they can tell they’re more expensive, and much higher quality than any other shoes they’ve owned before. They almost ask aloud how much it cost her before Headphones starts talking again.

“J-Just tell me if they don’t fit, alright? We can get them replaced for a different size if we need to.”

They take the pair out of the box and start to put them on without a word, gingerly sliding their feet into place and wiggling them around once both shoes are on. It’s a perfect fit, and they briefly wonder if she had known their old shoes were getting too small for them and gotten a size bigger than it to compensate, or it was simply intuition.

“They’re perfect.” Rims speaks clearly, and it makes her perk up with a joyed expression.

“That’s great! I was pretty worried that it wouldn’t fit or you wouldn’t like it...”

“It’s a wonderful gift. Thank you.”

They look up directly into her eyes and give her the smallest of smiles, which is more than enough to make her smile back fondly.

“Why don’t we go out for a walk?” They ask, already standing up from the couch. They’re nearly a head taller than her when she’s not wearing her hi horses, and it makes them want to chuckle.

“Ah, now?”

“Of course, so that I can adjust to wearing them around.”

“I don’t mind, I guess.”

They offer their hand to her, and she flushes up a bit more before taking it with her own. The contact is warm, and it makes them both feel all fuzzy inside in the most welcoming way possible.

Chapter Text

A favor to ask
signatures on the cd
a caged octopus

x

“Dude, your date is tomorrow! What do you mean you haven’t gotten her a gift yet?” Aviators chastised his best friend as they walked along the shops in Arowana Mall, Skull holding onto Avi’s shoulder to prevent himself from accidentally getting lost.

“I thought the date was already the gift.”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s like a shared gift, if you get me. You need to add onto that, with something extra that isn’t necessary, but makes everything better! Like the whipped cream on top of a hot chocolate!”

“Chocolate?” Skull murmured, walking pace slowing down as they happened to pass by a candy store. “Mmm, chocolate…”

“It’s supposed to be for her, not for you.” Avi grabbed his arm and dragged him forward until Skull finally managed to tear his eyes away in mild disappointment.

“Okay, what should I get her?”

“Something that’s special to her. Something she likes to do, hobbies, ya know?”

“….She likes music.”

“Yeah, that’s a start! What kind?” Avi badgered the other inkling on as he recalled certain things about Headphones’ interests, the tips of Skull’s tentacles changing to a deep blue color the longer he thought about her.

“I know she likes the Squid Sisters….was a fan of them ever since their first album.”

“Well yeah, everyone loves Callie and Marie, especially now that they’re making a comeback! C’mon, let’s find the music store, maybe we can pick something out.”

Aviators seemed more excited now, leading both of them towards their set destination with newfound determination. Soon enough, they entered the music store, though Skull frowned as he looked at the Squid Sisters dedicated display, eyes scanning through the different albums and cds, along with the various other merchandise like mugs and shirts.

“Pretty impressive variety, I think!” Aviators made a wide gesture towards the area with his hands. “You shouldn’t have too much trouble picking something out now!”

“…She already has all of this.”

“Huh? Wait, what do you mean?” Avi gestured at the entire display again. “I mean, look at all this stuff! There’s no way—“

“She has all the Squid Sisters’ albums, no doubt about it.” Skull replied, browsing through the different cds with his fingers.

“All her cd albums are on display in the same shelf, and she uses metal dividers to sort them alphabetically. Her ‘S’ category is almost entirely from the Squid Sisters, even the limited edition cd runs. She also puts Callie and Marie’s solo albums in that category too, says that it just doesn’t feel right for them to be separated.”

The fondness in Skull’s eyes made them glow a bright gold color, and Avi smirked as he continued to listen to his rambles.

“She has a Team Marie shirt from the Splatfest, and Bobble gave her their Team Callie one since they knew she’d want it. I’d get her more, but she isn’t interested in shirt collecting since she prefers sleeveless ones. She likes exposing her shoulders, it lets her breathe better, and she likes it when I leave kisses on them.”

“Bit off topic there, bud.” He teased. “She’s a big music fan, huh?”

“Yeah, she has a big collection. All her precious vinyls are tucked away in plastic containers, and she keeps them beside her closet. The only exception is an authentic human era one that she has framed up on the wall opposite to her bed, so that before she sleeps and when she wakes up it’s the first thing she sees.”

“Dude, how do you remember her entire room layout but not my phone number?”

“…Numbers are hard.”

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re so passionate about her, but that doesn’t change the fact there’s nothing here she doesn’t have.” Avi sighed regretfully. “Probably the only thing you could get her are signed copies, but there’s no way you can get those today!”

“….Wait.”

xxx

“Jeez, how much of this stuff did you buy?” Callie chirped, pulling the cap off the metallic bronze sharpie in her hand before signing the first of many cd cases Skull had brought over to the small outpost.

“One of each of your albums, including solo ones.” Skull nodded as he placed all the cds he had brought on the small seating area Callie was partially occupying, Marie simply standing off to the side in her kimono as always.

“Not a lot of people get the chance to get free signatures without lining up, ya know.” Marie commented as Callie handed her the cd she had just finished signing to write her own name, handing it back to Skull once she was done too.

“The lucky girl who’s getting all this stuff is gonna be real happy.”

“I hope it does make her happy. Sorry for the hassle.”

“Pffft, this is nothing to us!” Callie waved away his worries as she picked up another album. “Have you SEEN how packed our meet and greets have been lately?”

“Cod, the one in Camp Triggerfish lasted like 15 hours.” Marie groaned at the memory. “I don’t think I’ve written my name so many times in a day.”

“Besides, Agent 3.5 asked for a similar favor weeks ago for one of his teammate’s birthdays. You guys saved the Great Zapfish, it’s the least we can do.”

“Hey kid,” Octavio waved at them from his snowglobe, knocking on the inside of the glass to catch their attention.

“You know what’d REALLY skyrocket the value of those cds? If I signed some of them too! All you’d have to do is let me out, then—“

A piercing noise rang through the air as a fully charged shot collided with the snowglobe, causing it to shake and flip Octavio over, glitter falling all around him as he grumbled angrily.

“Stupid brats.”

Chapter Text

Eging Jr. stood in the middle of the training grounds behind Ammo Knights, the area enclosed within grey walls filled with training dummies not yet painted with any ink. The yellow inking looked at the weapons in his hands as he twirled them around his fingers, the mostly white colored dualies a far departure from his regular clash blaster, both color and mechanism wise. The ink tank on his back matched the yellow ink that also filled the weapon’s containers, and that combined with the red accents on both the weapon and his coat complemented the inkling's overall appearance.

“How do they feel?” Double Egg asked next to him, his spiky light blue and red hair jiggling as he cocked his head to the left.

“Pretty light, maybe too fragile. Feels like they could snap if I held them too tightly.”

“Pfft, don’t let their weight fool ya. These bad boys have survived being crushed by two splatlings and a bloblobber, they can withstand way more.” Double Egg boasted proudly, clearly prideful on his choice of weapon. “That’s reliable El and Pat for ya!”

“You gave your dualies names?”

“What, and you don’t?” Double gasped in a mock offended tone. “That’s just poor weapon care!”

“Whatever you say man.” Eging chuckled, pausing his twirling to properly inspect the weapons.

“I think the actual shooting is easy enough, but to dodge I just let the weapon propel me towards the direction I wanna go, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it. Takes a bit to get used to the four dodges though, especially when you wanna do all of em in a row.”

“Yeah, it does sound like a hell of a pain.” Eging scratched his head. “I already had a hard enough time trying out Emp’s dualies, trying to do it four times instead of twice sounds like a migraine waiting to happen.”

“Well lucky for you, the trick to the tetras is that you don’t need to actually roll!” Double grabbed another pair of tetra dualies, though these ones had green and purple accents instead of the red on the ones Eging was holding. They filled up with light blue ink as Double waved his hand around in the air.

“You can actually slide instead of rolling, and it’s just as effective for dodging attacks. Personally, I still think rolling is better for that extra distance and cool factor, but lemme tell ya, throwing your body around willy-nilly is one easy way to get your muscles all sore.”

Eging nodded along to the other inkling’s words, positioning one foot in front of the other as he stared at the space ahead. His grip on the weapons tightened, and he lifted them up, eyes locked on the wall at the end of the room. In a flash, he was off, firing a few shots of yellow ink. Eging leaned his body forward, and the tetra dualies propelled him in that direction, making him bend his knee to maintain his balance. His arms crossed over as he slid forward, the ink spurts from the two weapons crossing over each other into one straight line before diverging again when he got his balance back.

“Heh, you’re a natural!”

Eging stopped firing his weapon, and kept his feet steady in a standing position as he turned to look back at a grinning Double with a smile of his own.

“Thanks man, that sliding threw me off though. Nearly ate dirt!”

“Eh, what’s training without a lil chance of getting hurt?” Double waved his arms around again, but this time also positioned himself to get ready to fire his weapon. His foot stepped forward, and he began to fire shots out of his dualies, propelling himself forward with dodge rolls. However, instead of only doing it once, he did it four times in a row, even splatting a training dummy at the end of his trail with a loud pop.

“Heh, show off.” Eging chuckled, finding the display of skill amusing rather than impressive. Double twirled his tetras around his fingers, whistling at how fast he reached the other end of the room.

“Ya see that? Fastest dodge rolling in the Square, I’m sure of it.”

“Pfft, you got any proof?”

“I can go grab a pen and some paper if you want me to write it for you.”

They stared at each other for approximately two seconds before they both burst out laughing, Eging smacking his knee as he cackled.

“Why of course I believe you, after all, how could I EVER doubt one of the strongest, most handsome X rankers in the Square?”

Eging spoke in a regal tone, though he was still giggling. He gave a formal bow to Double, who seemed to completely ignore any mocking subtext and instead take the words as a compliment.

“Well, you’re lucky that you’re learning from the best then!” Double’s ears twitched happily, and a shit eating grin spread across his face once more.

“Now, you wanna learn how to dodge roll like a pro or what?”

“Lead the way, teach.”