Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For reference (may change in later chapters):
(Three bedroom unit. Vintage and Omega have their own rooms while Red and Double “share” a room.)

Omega yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen, eyes blinking wearily from lack of sleep. She was used to waking up in the middle of the night for no reason, and going back to sleep was a daily chore.

She opened the refrigerator door, wincing slightly at the loud squeak it made. The inkling glanced around out of habit, despite knowing that no one else was usually up at this unholy hour. After making sure the noise didn’t attract a ghost or whatever she expected, she grabbed a jug of milk from the side, one with a “Do Not Drink” sticky note slapped on it.

Omega closed the refrigerator door and grabbed a glass near the sink before seating herself at the kitchen table, pulling the chair out as quietly as she could. She pulled the jar stopper out with a slight pop, pouring in about half a cup of milk before setting down the jug on the table.

She swirled the milk around the cup, watching the dimly lit white liquid slosh around the glass, before taking a sip of it. Creamy and tasty, with a hint of vanilla; just how she liked it.

Omega sipped a bit more as she looked out the large window above the sink, the clear glass showing her the view of the outside world. Neon colors and building lights lit up the dark sky of Inkopolis, the nearest ones reaching far enough into the apartment that she could navigate the area without having to turn on the lights. It was a somewhat comforting feeling, being alone in the quiet darkness surrounded by bright lights.

“Yo, Mega-”

She whipped her head around quickly towards the voice, muscles tensing up at the unexpected company.

“Hey, chill.” Double Egg raised his arms up in surrender. “It’s just me. I live here too, ya know.”

Her body relaxed, shoulders slumping downwards. “Double, what are you doing at this hour?”

“I could ask the same to you.” He pulled a chair out with a loud whine as it’s legs scraped against the tiled floor, letting his body fall onto the seat lazily. “Well, I just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. I’m guessing the same for you?”

She nodded her head in response, taking another sip of her drink as she glanced at her late night companion. His signature shades were missing, and she could make out the contrasting red and blue colors of his eyes. His heterochromia was old news, but she never did get close enough to him before now to notice the purple markings underneath his eyes, or the fact that he seemed to be missing the black eye mask inklings usually had. They made eye contact for a second, Omega breaking it by averting her gaze with a slight flush on her face.

“It’s a bit odd how I didn’t hear you coming out of your room.” She brought up, trying to distract him from her embarrassment. “You aren’t exactly the stealthy type.”

“Oh, I wasn’t in my room; I was on the couch.” He scratched his head. “Probably why I couldn’t fall asleep in the first place. I’m surprised you didn’t notice me.”

She shook her head. “I always go straight to the kitchen from my room. The couch is facing away from it, so I wouldn't have seen you unless I walked over.”

She took another sip of her milk. “If the couch isn’t comfortable, why don’t you sleep in your room?”

“Red’s always kicking me out. Says she needs her beauty nap, locks the door and doesn’t let me in till the morning.”

Omega cracked a small smile, holding in a laugh. “I didn’t know she did that, but it sounds exactly like her.”

“Well I wish she didn’t, my back is sore from sleeping on the couch so often.” He grumbled. “Her reasons are complete bullshit too, I don't even snore, I swear!”

She chuckled softly, taking a gulp of the milk to stop any laughter from escaping her lips. Double cocked his head to the side, eyeing the drink.

“So, is that your favorite drink or something?”

“Sort of. I’m always waking up in the middle of the night, so I guess I drink it often.” She pushed the jug of milk towards him. “Want to try? Maybe you’ll be able to fall asleep too.”

He accepted the offer and popped the lid open, not bothering with a glass and drinking straight from the jug, making the girl frown at his lack of manners.

“Mm, holy shit, this stuff is good.” He tilted the bottle down and licked the liquid off his lips. “Really creamy, but I don’t think it’s gonna make me sleepy anytime soon.”

“Well yeah, it’s not exactly a sleeping agent. It’s just comforting to drink.”

“Well, is it working for you?” Double tilted the jug back up to his lips, swallowing the last of the liquid with a contented sigh.

“Not really.” Her mind was more active due to her conversation with Double, and with her body no longer tired from a lack of sleep, milk wasn’t going to help anytime soon.

“Well hey, if you can’t make yourself sleep, why not tire you body out a bit?” He grinned at her.

“It’s only, what, 2am? Let’s go and grab a midnight snack! There’s a really dope noodle bar nearby that should still be open.”

“I’m not sure.” She appeared hesitant to accept the offer. “I’d still need to change to go out….”

Her oversized shirt and basketball shorts weren’t exactly the best things to wear while going out, especially in the cold of the night.

“Pfft, no need for that, the night doesn't judge! Just throw on a jacket and let’s go!” He stood up from his seat and went over to the couch, grabbing his jacket hanging on the headrest and throwing it on in one quick move.

“Cmon, it’ll be fun! I’ll even pay.” He tugged at her hand expectantly, eyes bright and filled with excitement.

She weighed her options. She could stay home and try to get a few hours of sleep before having to wake up for training tomorrow, or she could spend the rest of the night with Double, eating and chatting the night away to either of their hearts’ content.

“....Alright, let’s go.”

Chapter Text

(Two bedroom unit. Goggles and Specs share a room while Bobble and Headphones share the other.)

“GOGGLES!”

“Mmmmph?” The aforementioned inkling poked his head through the doorway connecting the living room to the kitchen. Specs stood in front of the refrigerator with a look of disbelief on his face, one hand holding the door open while the other gestured wildly towards the jars upon jars of pickled foods filling up the fridge.

“Can you explain why our fridge only full of pickled food???”

“Oh! I got bored yesterday, so I stayed up all night pickling vegetables!” He beamed proudly.

“Goggles, you made way too much! I can’t believe you even made all this!”

“I didn’t! This one is from my grandma!” He grabbed one of the jars from the front and opened it, popping a plum into his mouth and smiling as he chewed on it. Specs groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Goggles, what are we gonna do with all of these? We can’t live off of pickled foods, that’s way too much salt.”

“I can!” He pouted. “I even pickled a bunch of different veggies so we won’t get bored! There’s umeboshi, radishes, pickles, cabbage-”

“Wait, did you use all the vegetables?!”

“....Maybe?”

“Guys, what’s wrong?” Headphones and Bobble walked in, attracted by the noise. Specs pointed at the inside of the fridge, and they understood immediately.

“Oh. That’s….a lot. That really explains the stash he was hiding under my bed, too.” Headphones pulled out another jar of pickled plums, and they all looked over at the blue inkling.

Goggles looked downwards while pushing his fingers together. “I ran out of space, and her bed is near the air conditioning, so that’s the same as it being the fridge, right?”

“It really isn’t.”

“Haha, he made too much!” Bobble laughed.

“But I really like pickled food!” He held the jar he was holding closer to his chest, pouting once more.

“We know Goggles, but you went a bit overboard this time.” Specs sighed. “We can always buy more vegetables, the problem is that there’s no space in the fridge. The pickled vegetables will go to waste if we leave them out in the heat, but we can’t really put them anywhere else.”

“Then let’s eat them all!” He began to shovel plums into his mouth, but soon enough his lips puckered up. “Too sour…”

“Sorry Gogs, but I’m not sure anyone else will be able to enjoy this much pickled food besides you.” Headphones paused, then a lightbulb went off in her head.

“Actually…”

xxx

“Goggles!” Hachi smiled at the sudden guests, stepping back to allow the four blue inklings inside of the Octo team’s apartment.

“I wasn’t expecting you guys!”

“We wanted to see how you and your team were holding up!” Goggles beamed, entering the unit while hiding something behind his back, his teammates walking in a similar fashion.

“How are you guys adjusting to city life?” Specs asked, looking around the apartment as the rest of Hachi’s team began to walk over to greet them.

“We’re still moving our belongings in, and we need to buy a lot of furniture. We don’t even have beds!” Nana chuckled.

The inside of the apartment was mostly barren, true to Nana’s word. Piles of boxes were scattered around the area, some opened and some in the process of being moved by his teammates. Only a few electronics seemed to be plugged in, namely an oven and stove seemingly attached to the wall and a small fridge off to the side of what seemed to be the kitchen.

“Pearl and Marina-” Nana hesitated. “I mean, Off the Hook bought the place for us, so we only need to deal with buying the important stuff and paying the bills! We really owe them a lot.”

“That seems awfully nice of them, especially for a place this big.” Headphones commented. “We don’t even own our place, we pay monthly rent. Pearl must’ve been feeling really generous.”

“It’s closer to the Square and more convenient, but I miss the trees and animals at the camp.” Afro frowned. “The view of the sunset over the lake was the best too…”

“We couldn’t stay there forever, even if Pearl’s family owns the place.” Pony sighed. “Besides, we can always go back and camp there if we feel nostalgic.”

“That would be fun! Maybe we could all go back there on a camping trip someday!” Hachi looked over to Goggles, who nodded in agreement, hands still behind him.

“That would be awesome! We could bring Rider, and Captain Curry, and-”

“I see you’re hiding something behind your back.” The octoling finally noticed the way that the blue team was standing, and eyed their hidden hands curiously.

“Oh, right! We brought a surprise!” Goggles grinned widely as he revealed what he had in his hands, a few jars of umeboshi. The octoling’s eyes sparkled when he realized what it was.

“The pickled plums! You shouldn’t have!”

“Consider this a moving in gift!” Headphones smiled as she handed some pickled radishes to Nana, who eyed them curiously.

“Pfft, what a coincidence.” Pony smiled as Bobble handed Afro some more jars.

“Coincidence?”

“Thank you guys for the food, but this is way too funny!” The octolings all giggled.

“What is?” Specs asked, confusion written on his face.

“We had the same surprise planned for you!” Pony moved towards Specs and revealed a completely different jar of pickled plums.

“Tada! We also pickled some food for you!”

“Awesome!” Goggles smiled brightly, as Specs and Headphones’ grins faltered. “It’s like an exchange gift!”

“Thanks, you shouldn’t have…” Headphones said as Nana handed her a few jars of pickled radishes. “Seriously…”

“This was fun!” Bobble laughed, holding even more jars than before.

“Yeah, but we should probably get back to unpacking.” Afro sighed. “There’s still so much left to do. Thanks for the food, though!”

“Come visit us again when the place is all fixed up, we’ll have a celebration!” Hachi smiled as the teams said their goodbyes, both teams waving each other a good rest of the day as he closed the door, leaving the Blue team outside, hands still full.

“That was a great idea Headphones!” Goggles smiled, holding up the jars of pickled plums and radishes they had been gifted. “Now we still have plenty of food for lunch and dinner! And tomorrow! And the day after that-”

“Hooray!” Bobble beamed as the other two blue inklings cried inwardly.

“Guess we need to buy more rice…”

Chapter Text

(Two bedroom apartment. Rider and Stealth technically share a room, but Stealth sleeps with the girls pretty often so he basically lives in that room too. Yes this means Rider gets two beds to himself. Yes all three of them fit in a bed, it’s king sized.)

“I’m home.” Rider called out as he entered the apartment he shared with his team, leaning his dynamo roller against the wall as he kneeled to untie his boots.

No response came, and the inkling raised an eyebrow, removing his leather jacket and kicking his shoes off. He placed them both in the closet off to the side before hefting his dynamo up and walking over to the living room. No signs of his teammates there either.

“Hello?”

As he inspected the area and got closer to the other bedrooms, giggles came from the one Bamboo and Blazer shared. He made out a few sounds, all of different voices, and sighed as he realized the reason why no one was responding, though a small smile graced his lips. Well, what his teammates did outside of turf wasn’t any of his business, and the same held true for their relationship as long as it didn’t interfere with training.

Rider walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking at the numerous jars of pickled vegetables in confusion. He didn’t remember any of his teammates buying these, and he himself didn’t particularly enjoy sour foods. He shrugged it off and took a can of iced coffee, leaving his dynamo off to the side to clean later. He settled himself down on the couch, turning the TV on and flipping through the channels as he cracked the can open and sipped from his drink. He had time to slack off; it would be a while before dinner anyway.

x

“Ow, Blazer, you’re digging into my back!” Stealth shifted uncomfortably on the bed, video game console in his hands as he tried to lay down on his stomach.

“How else am I supposed to watch you play?” The smaller inkling pouted, her front half on top of his back, elbows digging into her partner as her hands kept her head propped up.

“Can’t you just move your arms? Or lay down next to me instead?”

“Or turn into a squid.” Bamboo spoke from her working desk, not even turning around to look at her partners. Her eyes and hands were too busy focusing on her current carving, chipping details away into the wood.

“Okay, okay, fine.” She shifted into her squid form and flopped down on top of him, crawling a bit so that her much smaller body rested on top of his head.

“Better?” She patted his cheeks with her tentacles.

“Better.” He purred happily, resuming his gaming session as Blazer nuzzled him affectionately.

“Bam, get over here so we can all cuddle.” She waved a tentacle over at the other inkling.

“Not now, I’m busy.” Bamboo squinted her eyes and raised the statue she was working on towards the desk lamp, looking for the next spot to carve.

“You’re missing out!” Blazer pouted as she snuggled up to Stealth, the octoling still focused on his game.

“We can always do that later.”

“You can also carve later! Come and watch whatever Stealth’s doing with me!”

“You don’t have to Bam.” Stealth commented, fingers moving rapidly to click the different buttons on the console.

“He’s just matching the colored blocks to make them disappear.”

“Yes, and it’s very interesting.” She huffed.

“Sure.” Bamboo smirked a bit to herself as she continued to work on her carving, not even sparing a glance at them.

“C’mon Bam, I wanna cuddle pile!” She whined, hitting the top of Stealth’s head lightly, the tentacle draped over his head jiggling in response.

“Ow.”

“Like I said, later. Also, I think there’s something you’re forgetting to do.”

Blazer looked at her with confusion written on her face before her eyes widened in realization.

“Oh squit, I completely forgot about dinner!” She shifted back into her inkling form in a panic, crushing Stealth’s head from the sudden weight of her entire body.

“Guh-can’t...breathe…”

“Whoops!” She quickly hopped off of the bed and he gasped for air.

“Well, there goes my chance at first place.” He sulked, turning his game off in defeat.

“Ahhh what do I do?! It completely slipped my mind that it was my turn for dinner…” She paced back and forth rapidly, Bamboo chuckling at her reaction.

“Maybe I can make a pasta with the umeboshi Goggles gave us earlier-”

“Nonononono, you are NOT allowed to cook anything other than rice after last time.” Stealth sat up from his position on the bed, stretching his muscles out. “I don’t wanna have to put out a fire ever again, especially one you somehow made with water.”

“That was an accident and you know it!” She gave a frustrated sigh. “Got any other ideas then?”

“Just get something delivered.” Bamboo responded, finally spinning her office chair around to face them with an amused expression. “I’m craving for Chinese anyway.”

“Yeah, I guess we can just do that.” Blazer grabbed Stealth’s phone from the bedside table, unlocking it without an issue due to the inkling knowing his password.

“Anything specific you want?” She asked, tapping on the screen.

“I want beef noodles.”

“Hey, why am I the one paying for it? It’s your turn-”

“Hush, I’ll pay you back with kisses. What does Rider like?”

“I dunno, go ask him. He should be home by now.” She jerked a thumb towards the door. Blazer opened it, and sure enough Rider was staring intently at the Rainmaker match on the TV.

“Rider, we’re getting Chinese! What do you wanna get?” Blazer called out.

“Just get something with meat that isn’t too saucy.” His eyes flickered over to his teammate briefly before immediately going back to the TV as the sounds of excitement grew louder. “C’mon, what is that dapple user doing?”

“Two beef noodles it is.” She closed the door again and scrolled through the delivery app, tapping some options before looking at the octoling in the room. “I’m getting the honey fried shrimp, what about you Stealthy?”

“...Orange chicken.” He grumbled. “With fried rice.”

“Figured.” She patted his head and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for paying Stealthy!”

“Are you actually going to pay me back or…”

“Later, once Bam decides to join us too.”

“Don’t drag me into this.”

Chapter Text

The sound of thunder boomed in the distance as a strong downpour rained down on Inkopolis. Grey clouds covered the sky as far as the eye could see, no end to the rain in sight. Red Sole sighed as she closed the kitchen window to prevent any more water droplets from coming in, the rain making pitter patter noises as it hit the glass. Heavy rain always signified indoor days for any water-fearing species, so the cephalopods were forced to spend the day lounging around their homes, watching the unaffected jellyfish down on the streets with envy in their eyes.

Vintage locked himself up in his room, clearly upset over not being able to play any ranked matches for the day. As he sulked by his lonesome, Red joined her other teammates on the couch in front of the TV.

“Cod, I’m so boreddddd.” She whined, plopping herself to the left of Omega, who didn’t even look up from her phone, tapping the screen for what looked to be a game.

“Same here.” Double Egg replied, lazily flicking through the different channels while leaning on the couch end. One arm propped his head up while his legs stretched out and took up most of the couch’s backspace.

“Ugh, more your stupid long legs.” Red flicked a finger against his calf, the inkling not reacting a bit. “This isn’t your bed, you know.”

“Oh really? I couldn’t tell after all the times I was forced to sleep here.”

Omega yawned, covering her mouth with a free hand as she continued to play with her phone with the other.

“Hey, no ones telling you to sleep on the couch.”

“Oh, so I’m the one locking myself out of my own room?”

“Well maybe I wouldn’t have to kick you out if you’d let me sleep in peace, and didn’t leave your dirty clothes all over the floor!”

“Hey, I’ve been improving on that, and I DO stay quiet most of the time! I use earphones when I’m playing my games, and I don’t even snore at night!”

“Liar!”

They were both getting pretty heated, maybe due to the lack of anything better to do. Omega yawned again, blinking wearily. She clicked her phone off and set it down on the low table, clearly tired.

“Ugh, if it were up to me I wouldn't be sharing a room with you at all!”

“I dont wanna share with you either! You take way too long in the shower, and the room always smells like shit because of your candles!”

“Rose candles smell amazing, you just have bad taste!”

Omega closed her eyes, slumping her back against the cushions while she tuned out the argument going on in front of her, breathing slowing down as she drifted off.

“Fine, how about we have a 1v1 to settle who gets the room?”

“That’s not fair! I can never dodge all your stupid bubbles!”

“What’s wrong? Your tiny brain can’t understand how to jump back and forth to avoid the tiny little bubbles?” Red mocked. “I bet you can’t even spell Bloblobber.”

“You know what I can spell? B-I-T-C-” Double was cut short by a sudden weight falling onto his chest. The two inklings looked down in surprise to see Omega, who had somehow fallen asleep despite the noise, leaning her head against Double’s chest.

Whatever arguments they had died in their throats as they both stared in silence at the sleeping inkling. Double slowly moved to get the tv remote, muting the channel so that the only sound was that of the rain droplets hitting the glass.

Omega murmured something in her sleep before shifting slightly, body gravitating towards the warmth radiating from the other inkling. Her hand placed itself against his stomach while her face practically buried itself in his warm chest. The taller inkling felt heat rush to his cheeks just from her simple movements, something not unnoticed by Red. The other inkling silently reached for her phone, quickly going to the camera and aiming the lens at her friends.

“What are you doing?” He hissed quietly, voice barely above a whisper.

“Shhh, you wouldn’t wanna wake up the sleeping beauty now would you, Prince Charming?” She gave him a devilish grin as he fumed silently.

“Don’t you dare.”

Of course, Red didn’t listen as she snapped multiple photos with her phone, Double at her mercy as Omega’s sleeping form left him more or less immobilized. He made sure to scowl up at the camera, but he couldn’t control how big the blush on his face was. It had probably spread all the way to his ears by the time she was satisfied with her photos.

“Guess I’m getting the room all to myself tonight.” She smirked, getting up from the couch. “Have fun with your princess!”

“I hate you.” He glared at her fleeting form, the inkling simply blowing him a kiss in response as she closed the door, making sure to loudly lock it.

Double sighed and looked down at the peacefully sleeping inkling on top of him, soft snores showing that her slumber was genuine. The inkling wiggled his body down along the couch and laid face up, so that his upper back was leaning against the couch arm. He tucked a tentacle behind her ear and wrapped an arm around her lower back, pulling her closer. At least she looked cute.

xxx

Red came out of her room a few hours later, stomach grumbling and signalling it was time for dinner. She decided to check up on her friends, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they hadn’t moved from their position on the couch. The only difference being that Double had fallen asleep as well, both arms wrapped around Omega as they dozed off in each other’s embrace.

She smirked at the scene before turning off the TV that Double had left on, snapping a few more photos of them for good measure. After a few seconds of contemplation, Red decided to be a good friend for once and got a blanket fresh from their dryer, draping it over their sleeping forms and smiling softly at how cute they looked.

The sound of a doorbell ringing snapped Red out of her thoughts, and she skipped over to the entrance, opening the door to see Bobble holding a few jars of pickled food in her hands, the rain still pouring heavily in the background.

“Oh, you’re from the Blue team. What’s up?”

“We’re giving away some food! Goggles made too much, so I brought umeboshi and radish!”

“Oooh perfect! I was craving something sour!” She smiled as she took the food from her hands, thanking the blue inkling and waving her off before shutting the door with her foot, happily carrying the jars to the kitchen.

When she got there, Vintage was already heating up some of his spicy instant noodles, waiting patiently in front of the microwave. The grey clouds seen from the kitchen window hadn’t moved at all, and he was giving them a nasty glare, seemingly cursing their existence.

“Who was at the door?”

“A girl from the Blue team. They’re giving free food.” Red lightly shook a jar in front of him as she said so, and he stared at it in disgust.

“Eugh, I hate pickled plums.”

The other inkling shrugged. “More for me, then.”

She placed the pickled food on the table before grabbing a bowl and chopsticks, moving to the rice cooker to scoop some of the viand into her container. The microwave beeped loudly to signal it was finished, and Vintage took the plastic bowl out of the microwave, setting it down on the table and pulling a chair out next to Red, whose mouth was already busy chewing a combination of rice and umeboshi.

“Dude, you can’t eat instant noodles every day.” She spoke with a muffled voice, swallowing her food before continuing. “That shit’s garbage.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Vintage grunted, splitting the wooden chopsticks apart before digging into his meal, slurping up the noodles at an incredibly fast rate. “Especially when you have that giant pack of chocolate in the fridge.”

“I only eat one teeny tiny piece every once in a while!”

“Sure….” He finished the noodles and quickly moved onto the soup, sipping a bit of the spicy broth. “By the way, have you seen Omega? I don’t want her skipping dinner.”

Red threw a glance at the couch behind them, knowing that Vintage wouldn’t be able to see Omega’s sleeping form cuddling up to Double from their position, with only a bit of Double’s spiky hair poking out.

“Oh, she’s just sleeping. I’m sure she’ll be hungry when she wakes up.”

Chapter Text

(Four bedroom unit. They each have their own rooms. White sleeps over in Blue’s room a lot though.)

“Evening, Captain.” Blue stifled a yawn as he entered the kitchen, White trailing behind him and murmuring a similar greeting.

“Good evening Blue, White.” Army replied as he took out a few different vegetables from the fridge, namely potatoes, carrots and onions, and placed them on top of the kitchen counter. Forge glanced up at the new arrivals, halting her progress on whatever she was in the middle of scribbling down.

“Ah, you two look well rested. Did you sleep the entire afternoon?”

“We worked on our manuals a bit after lunch, then we took a nap.” Blue replied as he stretched his arms up, his shirt hiking up a bit to expose his midriff and making White giggle.

“That’s good, rain is no excuse to slack off.” Army commented as he closed the refrigerator door before opening a drawer to take out a cutting board and knife.

“Blue, come over here and put the big soup pot on the stove.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“What’s for dinner?” White looked over at the assortment of veggies on the kitchen counter as Blue bent down to grab the pot from a lower cabinet.

“Curry!” Army beamed at her brightly, but wasn’t met with the same enthusiasm.

“Ughhhhh.” White groaned as she flopped down onto a seat next to Forge.

“Don’t ‘ugh’ me young lady.” Army scolded, a frown immediately replacing his smile as he grabbed a hanging apron from a hook.

“I’m tired of curry!” White sulked, laying her head and arms down flat on the table. “You make it everyday! Can’t you make something else?”

“If you wanted something else, you should’ve told me earlier.” He huffed, sliding the apron on and tying it behind his back.

“I already bought all the ingredients I needed for a new curry recipe I wanted to try, it’d be a waste to not use them.”

“But you haven’t started yet.” Blue pointed out, standing back up to his full height with the large pot in his hands. “And we can use the ingredients you bought another day for a different recipe.”

“Can we eat something other than curry? Please, Army?” White looked at him with a mopey expression and he simply sighed.

“Well, what do you have in mind?”

“How about we order something? Stealth told me that his team got Chinese from a place nearby the other day.” Blue set the pot down on the stove burner, though it obviously wasn’t on.

“I don’t really like Chinese, you know that Blue.”

“Ah, yeah. What do you want then, love?”

“Mcdonalds-”

“We are not getting Mcdonalds!” Army snapped at the inkling. “It’s extremely unhealthy!”

“It’s better than curry for the millionth time.” Blue grumbled under his breath, though it was loud enough for Army to overhear.

“I cannot believe you two think fast food is better than my cooking! Don’t you know what they add to that stuff?!” He pointed the knife in his hands accusingly at White in the distance, making her stand up straight as she puffed her cheeks out in anger.

“We’re not saying it’s bad, we’re just tired of it!”

“I’m a bit tired of it too.” Forge mumbled silently.

“We are NOT getting fast food,” Army folded his arms. “and that’s final.”

They continued to argue over their plans for dinner, so much so that the sounds of their raised voices almost covered up the ringing of the doorbell. Forge sighed to herself and took it as an excuse to leave the table without a word. She opened the door and was greeted by Specs, who was holding a jar of what seemed to be pickled plums.

“Oh, good evening Specs.” Forge nodded in greeting. “Excuse the noise—what brings you here?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if you guys would want some umeboshi.” He patted the jar in his hands.

“Goggles made too much again, and we figured it’d be better to just share the stuff with everyone instead of trying to eat it all by ourselves.”

“We’d appreciate some, thank you for your kindness.”

“So uh, are you guys….discussing something?” He chanced a peek inside as he handed the jar over to the orange inkling. “I could hear some talking from outside.”

“Arguing would be a more accurate term. Captain always wants to make curry and gets upset when he can’t, but we also get tired of him making the same stuff over and over.” Forge sighed.

“It’s kind of stupid, really. We don’t have problems during training; the only fights we ever have are over food.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, that happens to me and Goggles all the time.” Specs chuckled a bit.

“We argued about ice cream one time and it nearly cost us a match. And more often than not we get tired of all the pickled stuff he enjoys, but he never listens and makes more.”

“Sounds like we have similar problems then.” A small smile graced her lips. “Maybe we should trade places sometime. Army would be happy to feed someone who’d actually enjoy his curry, especially you.”

“H-He would?” Specs stuttered, face flushing a bit before quickly shaking it off. “I-I mean—I’d love to eat with Army—a-and you guys too!”

He coughed awkwardly.

“If you’ll have me, anyway.”

Forge raised an eyebrow at his sudden stuttering but shrugged it off.

“We only live a few floors apart, you can always drop by to see if we’re making curry—I’ll be sure to let you in if we are.”

“Sounds like a plan! Well, maybe after I help Goggles go through all the food he made…”

Forge hummed in thought, tapping the top of the jar in her hands with her fingers.

“You said this isn’t the first time he’s done this, right? Well if he keeps doing it, how about you try making a business out of it? As a way to make profit on the side, or at least breakeven.”

“Huh. That’s….not a bad idea actually!” His face lit up, the gears in his head already turning.

“I’ll ask my team what they think of it, then I can start thinking about the specifics. Thanks for the idea!” He waved goodbye and headed down the stairs, already muttering some calculations to himself.

Forge waved him off until his tied up tentacles were out of sight, then she looked at the jar full of pickled plums in her hands. She turned around and closed the front door, walking back to the kitchen table where her teammates were still arguing.

“Captain, we need to explore other flavors every now and then!”

“Curry can be whatever flavor you want!”

“You’re addicted to making it!”

“Cooking curry is NOT an addiction-”

She slammed the jar down on the table, the sudden sound loud enough for the three of them to jolt up and look at the source.

“We’re having onigiri for dinner. White, help me set the table, Blue get the seaweed from the pantry, and Captain, please heat up the rice.”

“Y-Yes Ma’am.”

Chapter Text

“Mask, get out here.” Moon called from the living room, pillows and blankets strewn everywhere. “We need more pillows!”

“Ughhhh, this place is a messsss.” Mask groaned as he came out of his room with more pillows and blankets as per Moon’s request, carefully navigating through the piles forming on the floor as to not trip on them. He had ditched the bulky gas mask he normally wore for turf in favor of a regular cloth facemask that only covered his mouth and nose, revealing his hazy eyes that looked like they were ten seconds away from closing shut from exhaustion.

“Listen, there’s no way we’re all squeezing onto the couch, so we might as well make the floor comfortable to stay on.” Moon responded, not even glancing at Mask as she shuffled through the cd shelf, muttering to herself as she picked some movies out. Mask huffed and sat down on the couch next to Bobble, dumping the pillows he brought on the floor and waving the blanket to spread it out in front of him.

“Wellllll I hope Skulllll likes dust mites-” He did a double take at the smiling blue inkling sitting on the couch next to him.

“Hi Masky!” Bobble chirped.

“What is sheeeee doing hereeee?” He hissed, eyes narrowing as he scooted backwards onto the opposite end on the couch.

“She came by to give us some umeboshi, so we invited her to join us.” Jersey’s voice came from another room, poking her upper half out of the doorway with bowls full of chips in her hands. “I doubt Skull and the rest will mind anyway.”

“Well I doooooo!”

“Oh pwease.” Designer rolled his eyes as he placed large bottles of soda of various flavours onto the low table they had in front of the TV. “I’m suwue this is a dweam come twue.”

“Absolutely notttttt!”

The doorbell rang, and Desi shot Mask a knowing smirk before heading to the door to open it.

“Yo, Des.” Aviators’ grinning face greeted the catboy, with the rest of the purple team and a differently colored inkling behind him. “Hope you don’t mind an extra guest.”

“Hey guys!” Goggles beamed as they were let inside, kicking off his shoes before running towards the rest of them while wildly waving his hand. “Hey Bobble!”

“Hi Goggles!”

“Not another oneeeee.” Mask groaned, glaring at the other blue inkling as he took a seat next to Bobble.

“Hey, the more the merrier.” Moon shrugged as she finally turned away from the cd shelf, facing the new arrivals with a few cd cases under her arm.

“Do you have any food?” was the first thing out of Skull’s mouth as he plopped himself on the floor right next to the low table, eyeing the soda with a glint in his eye.

“Yep, got the snacks right here!” Jersey walked over to the living room, hands completely full with various types of junk food. She handed Skull about half of what she was carrying, which he accepted eagerly, before setting the rest down on the table.

“We got some flavored chips, some cheetos, some marshmallows, pickled plums from Bobble, and I even got gummy worms for you, Pais!” She held up a pack of colorful gummies.

“Yessss, thanks Jers!” Paisley went to hug the cyan inkling, though it only lasted a few seconds before a hand pulled on her shoulder to tug her away.

“She’s taken.” Stitch said coldly, Jersey rolling her eyes in response.

“Jeez, I’m aware. Touchy much?”

“No need to get jealous, babe.” Paisley pulled her bandana down and gave Stitch a peck on the cheek before taking her hand and guiding her to sit down next to Skull and Avi, the other girl simply crossing her arms and giving a grunt in response.

“Ughhhh, affection.” Mask made a gagging noise. “I didn’t agreeeee to thissss.”

“I mwean, you technicuwually did?” Desi shrugged. “We told you we wewe gowoing to hwave a mwovie night, and you said you didn’t cawe.”

“I change my mindddd!”

“A bit too late for that.” Jersey snarked as she took a seat next to Desi.

“Relax man,” Avi gave a smile. “you won’t even notice us once the movie starts.”

“Yes I willll! You’re all sooooo noisyyyy.”

“We can be quiet!” Goggles chirped, “Pinky promise!” He held a pinky out towards Mask, who just shrank back even further away, the end of the couch digging into his side.

“Ughhh, fine, just start the movie alreadyyyy so you can leave quickerrrrr.”

“Okay, what genre are we feeling today?” Moon stood in front of all of the gathered squids and fanned out the cd containers to show off their options. “We have a few animated stuff, some action, a bit of comedy-”

“All our comedies are shit,” Jersey cut in, “they all have that one actor who isn't funny at all.”

“Okay, so not comedy.” Moon took one of the cases out and tossed it behind her carelessly. “We also have physiological horror and hack n slash.”

“I vote for the last one.” Stitch raised a hand.

“I vote not that one.” Avi chuckled a bit.

“I’ll cool with whatever Stitch picks!” Paisley piped up.

“Same here.” Skull spoke through the muffled sounds of him stuffing his face with potato chips.

“Sounds fun!” Goggles beamed as Bobble also nodded her head.

“Well, that’s guest majority. Hack and slash it is.”

“H-Hold on guys.” Avi’s chuckling quickly became nervous. “T-There are more options to go through.”

“Eh, not weally.” Desi sighed. “We usuwually watch stuff on Netfwix, but Jewsey’s bwothew changed the passowowd and we’we still twying to figuwe out the new one.”

“I’m still pissed about it.”

“Yep, so unfortunately these dvds are what we got.”

“C’mon guys, t-that’s barely scratching the surface! What about Squidtube? Crustyroll? W-What if we didn’t even watch a movie at all?” He gave a forceful laugh. “I-I could go for a few rounds of Smash Bros!”

“Why so desperate, Avi?” Stitch snorted, “What are you, chicken?”

“No! No, I’m fine with horror! In fact I love it! I watch that stuff all the time!”

“Okay, then Mr. Horror Aficionado, you get final pick.” Moon held up two cases. “Final Booyah, or Triggerfish Massacre?”

“Oh..Oh cod those both sound terrifying—er, terrifyingly good! I just can’t pick!”

“Do Triggerfish Massacre.” Stitch snickered. “Final Booyah is for babies.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that one!” Bobble laughed, “Isn’t that the movie where the family eats other inklings?”

“THEY WHAT?!”

“Alright alright, settle down children.” Moon said with an amused expression as she slid in the chosen movie cd into the player before plopping herself down in between Mask and Goggles, the former muttering a small thank you under his breath.

The opening credits played as the inklings waited in anticipation for the start of the movie, Avi gulping nervously and shrinking as far as he could behind Skull as the last of the text on screen faded and the movie officially began.

-

The lights were dimmed and the curtains were drawn to leave the room shrouded in darkness, the only light source coming from the flatscreen tv playing ominous music as the inklings watched on in interest, disinterest, or fear.

“W-Why the shell would they go inside a random house in the middle of the woods?” Avi stammered, eyes flicking between the movie and his surroundings.

“A better question is why their first thought after breaking into a stranger’s house is to bang on their bed.” Jersey laughed.

“Ughhh, stop moving aroundddd!” Mask hissed, “I can feeeeel it from hereeeee!”

“Sorry!” Bobble stopped her legs from swinging as per his request, but still continued to bob her head up and down. “I just really like the music! It’s catchy!”

“I’ll never understand youuuu.”

“Avi, you’re shaking.” Moon called out, to which the purple inkling in question flinched.

“Oh, haha, I’m just a bit cold. Your air conditioner sure is doing its job!”

“Cold? Even with that jacket?” Jersey raised an eyebrow. “I thought three star gear was supposed to be high quality.”

“Well, uh, the breeze is hitting my legs?”

“Rightttt. Also you’re digging your claws into Skull’s arm.”

Avi blinked, then straightened his back as he loosened his grip on his friend’s arm, leaving behind small fingernail marks.

“Squit man, sorry about that.”

“It’s alright.” Skull grunted, seemingly unbothered as he paid more attention to the food he was eating rather than the movie. Of course, the others weren’t actually paying as much attention to the movie either, most of cyan team side eyeing Avi curiously as the movie continued.

“The furniture was made out of lobster shells?!” Paisley gasped.

“Yep, you didn’t notice it at first, did ya?” Moon chuckled. “They frame it perfectly so that you don’t realize it the first time till they reveal it in the film, but if you’ve already seen it you can notice how they hint towards it the entire time.”

“T-They didn’t use actual lobster shells to make it, did they?”

“Of course not! They got a volunteer to be a model and studied the way their armor worked, then they made replicas of each separate part so that they could put then together however they want. Buuuut the furniture actually was made with chitin extract, they just spray painted it red to give it that extra scary reveal!”

“Wow, you sure know a lot about this movie!” Goggles exclaimed, finishing up the pickled plum in his hands before continuing to talk. “Are there any other cool things?”

“Oh I can go on and on about all the crazy things that happened during the production of the movie! There’s the fact that the entire movie was comissioned by the Houzukis YEARS in advance for their daughter’s 16th birthday, and also the lesser known fact that the main villain was originally going to be an octoling. Oo, oo, wait, I completely forgot about the best part! In the scene right at the end—spoiler alert—where the killer makes it to the highway and encounters a hitchhiker? That was completely unplanned! The hitchhiker was actually a hiking jellyfish who didn’t know they were filming, and so the infamous scream that the movie ends on was genuine fear!”

Moon continued to ramble with both Bobble and Goggles listening intently. Avi on the other hand was trying to both watch and not watch the movie at the same time, which basically meant he was keeping his eyes shut but still refusing to move from the listening range of the tv.

“You know you can just tell them if you’re scared.” Skull finally said, turning to face him. “I know you’ve never watched a horror movie before.”

“....Okay, fine, maybe I don’t like horror movies.” His shoulders slumped as he admitted it aloud. “I just didn’t wanna ruin anyone else’s fun because of a stupid fear.”

“Hey Avi, I get that,” Moon patted him on the back. “but as funny as it is to see you freak out, that gets boring fast. It’s way better to just all have a good time together.”

“Gwad you’we weady to admwit that.” Desi snickered. “Unfowtunatewy, mowovie night wules state that we can’t switch mowovies untiwl someowone dies.”

“What? Who made that a rule?”

“I did, just now.” Jersey stuck her tongue out. “I’m fine with changing movies but c’mon man, nobody’s even died yet!”

“Everyone quiet!” Stitch shushed everyone. “This is the best part.”

An ear piercing scream followed by a select few gross sounds came from the tv, making everyone watching it flinch. At the same time and in the blink of an eye, Avi’s humanoid form was replaced with his smaller squid one, whimpering as he crawled towards the nearest pillow and sank headfirst into it.

“I wanna watch something else….”

“Fine, we’ll put on Night at Shellondorf next.”