Chapter Text
Aloha stood outside a bar and restaurant, leaning against the brick wall. He aimlessly scrolled through Squitter while waiting for Rider to return from Sheldon’s shop, said something about returning a loaned roller or something. It was only 18:15 as the sun inched its way down the horizon, turning the sky a milky lavender and deep orange. The streets began to feel more alive with neon signs lighting up and more and more inkfish cluttering the streets. He raised his head when two shifty footsteps approached him.
His eyes met an octoling and inkling pair, both grinning devilishly and were rank with booze. The way they swayed in their place confirmed their overindulgence of alcohol. Aloha scoffed and rose to his full height, matching the blue inkling’s and only slightly under the octoling’s height. Aloha loved using his height advantage whenever he could, often picking on Army, the shortest of their partners, and Rider of course, just the few centimeter difference between the two was enough for Aloha.
“What’s a little queer doing out here by his lonesome?” The octoling pestered. His saunter wasn’t one of swag, just pure drunkenness. Rather unattractive for Aloha’s taste.
“Can I help you two boys?” Aloha asked with a smirk. He pocketed his phone and cocked his head at the blue and green pair. The octoling’s green wasn’t even Rider’s lime, it was just plain gross. Besides, both these guys were drunk and pretty ugly. He wasn’t worried.
“Yeah… yeah you can help us..” The inkling slurred out as he reached his hand around Aloha’s waist. Aloha’s heart picked up immediately at the sudden touch.
“Woa-woah there buddy, I’m taken already. But I can take you down the street. There’s some guys down there who wouldn’t mind messin’ with some closeted folks-” He awkwardly pushed the guy’s hands away from his waist, but was only met with retaliation.
The inkling’s hand swiftly and roughly grasped Aloha’s wrist, pulling it down and closing the distance between them more. Aloha’s nerves started to prickle, he knew he was entering a dangerous game. He tugged a little harder to escape the grip but his efforts were futile as the drunken man’s hand tightened then grabbed his other arm. Aloha’s heart sank. Oh Cod, what now? He tugged once more and met the same fate as the two of them started to close in more. Desperation began to crawl over him. It was suddenly very lonely in the crowd. No eyes seemed to stray his direction, and he feared no cry would beckon help.
His body seemed to move without him and he kicked swiftly at blue’s ankles. The blow was enough to free him from the grasp but as he started to move backwards, he was met with a punch right to the nose. His head whipped about and he got the glimpse of pink droplets glittering to the ground. Stunned for a second, he wiped his upper lip to reveal more ink, slowly trickling from his nose. He straightened up.
“Jeez. Do you hit your girl when you’re about to go down on her just cause she plays around a little-” A blow to his gut stopped his mocking words immediately. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around his stomach while the octoling swung for his head. He missed, probably from the not-so-soberness, and instead rammed his fist into Aloha’s shoulder, promptly sending him to the ground. His head met the ground with a crack and everything slowed down. Aloha breathed in, but he just kept breathing in, and in, and in, and in, and holy shit I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. Breathe out coddamit! The lost air finally released from his lungs and he began to recover his breath. His eyes peeled open as he prepared to be kicked, but he wasn’t met with kicking. Instead, his eyes opened to a flash of lime and a dark hand gripping the inkling’s shirt so damn hard, if he held any harder, he would’ve ripped the shirt clean off him. Then he landed a real, hard, sexy , punch right across the idiot’s face, sending him reeling to the wall of the restaurant. If Aloha hadn’t been squirming on the floor with a chokehold on his consciousness, he’d ask Rider to do it again so he could film it and watch it repeatedly.
Only in his red t-shirt and shorts, Rider was immediately hit by the lone octoling, but he didn’t stagger. He lunged forward and punched up through his jaw which was returned with a punch right to Rider’s left eye. He didn’t take time to feel, only act, right now, right fucking now. Rider landed another punch, hooking across his face.
Aloha urged himself to rise and help Rider, but his body was without him. He felt the rapid sparks of desire to get up and fight ripple in the back of his head, but all he could manage was a weak hand skidding against the pavement. Get up dammit. Cod, GET UP! Using what he swore to be every last square inch of muscle left, he propped himself up to an elbow. He quickly glanced up to Rider as he scrunched his knee up high. Rider planted his foot right in the middle of the octoling’s abdomen and kicked as hard as he fucking could. The man was dripping green ink at this point and simply flew back at Rider’s strength.
Aloha got to his knees and opened his mouth to communicate anything to Rider, like Wow babe, you’re so cool or Holy carp, that was sick as shell or thank you. But he was interrupted by the shattering of glass. He quickly raised his arms as shards splashed the ground and riddled his arms and legs with new cuts and fresh pink. Rider spun around with a look of pure stress and fear in his eyes. The inkling dripped blue all over and thrusted up a broken bottle, still dripping booze.
Rider was no longer functioning off of pure hatred and disgust. He felt his heartbeat in his ears and sensed Aloha’s pained gaze from the ground behind the inkling. There was a sudden need for this to end now for new fears crept onto his back. Rider shifted backwards but only an inch. He couldn’t dare let the inkling turn back to Aloha, Rider was finishing this. The inkling swayed then rushed forward, aiming his bottle for Rider’s chest. Rider quickly pulled back in hope to sway him on a different trajectory. Aloha stopped trying to get up and instead used his position to firmly kick the inkling's ankle. The man sputtered and missed Rider’s chest but slashed his right arm from palm to elbow. He winced as ink neatly drained from the wound but took the opportunity to slap the bottle away, gathering more cuts and glass on the back of his hand, and curtly grabbed the back of the man's shirt and threw him to the ground, where he was already headed thanks to Aloha. The blue inkling writhed for a second then gave up and remained on the ground, next to his octoling friend.
Aloha finally met Rider’s eyes. There was a streak of lime running down his cheek from his temple and various other scratches along his face and arms. Aloha struggled to his feet.
“Rai-”
“Not now,” Rider was immediately around Aloha, helping him up. “We need to go.”
Rider grabbed his jacket, strown on the ground nearby and they took off. They moved as quickly as their bodies would let them and simply picked a direction and went. After a few minutes of walking, clinged to each for fear of collapsing, they found a bench outside a quiet clothes shop. They rest, sitting as close to each as they could bare, as if either of them could be swept away in a single moment, never to be seen again. Aloha wanted badly to address the situation, but Rider broke the silence first.
“Do you have your phone? I don’t know where mine…”
“Yeah- here.” Aloha fetched his phone from his pocket. It seemed ages ago when he last put it there. Rider dialed a number, presumably Army’s cause Mask’s phone was always either dead or about to be, Skull could be anywhere and possibly without service, and Army’s, you know, Army. Mx. Reliable themself.
Rider fidgeted with the hem of his shorts but stopped to shrug his jacket back on. His arm snaked around Aloha’s waist and pulled for him to lean on his shoulder. Aloha complied without argument and listened carefully for Army’s voice.
“Army? Could… could you come pick us up?” Rider sounded a little strained.
- at Forge’s place. We just got back home, what do you need?
“Just- come pick us up.”
Is something wrong? Are you ok? Is Aloha with you? Leave it to Army to immediately figure something’s wrong.
“We’re… Yeah we’re alright. Aloha’s here with me, just come get us, please?”
Yeah, yeah Rai we’re on our way, ok? Where are you?
“Uh, outside some store-” Aloha craned to get a look at the sign name then relayed it back to Rider, loud enough for Army to hear.
Ok, we’re on our way. Are you sure you’re ok?
“...”
Rider? Are you ok? The clang of keys and car doors seemed to stop in the background.
“Yeah, we’re alright now.”
…Ok, I love you.
“...Yeah” Rider’s voice seemed to crack with his last word. Aloha perked up when he quickly ended the call.
He reached his hand up to his cheek, the one stained with lime and the beginnings of a black eye. Rider winched at his touch.
“You’re not alright…” And Rider looked to Aloha, still leaning on his shoulder, with the same worry he had in his eyes earlier.
“It’s alright ‘Loha… just close your eyes for now. I heard your head hit the pavement real good earlier. They'll be here soon, ok?” His voice sort of faded to a murmur and Aloha hesitated, not moving his eyes away from Rider’s. However, Rider looked to the ground past Aloha and then away completely. His comment had reminded Aloha of the searing pain throbbing from the base of his head, so he readjusted himself and closed his eyes.
. . .