Work Text:
It would have been a lie to say it was a warm day in suburbia. In fact, it was lightly snowing just past the bustling streets of Inkopolis. It was still bright and pleasant weather, not too windy and not too dark, but the cool was enough to leave Rider shaking in his boots, his breath coming out in small white puffs. He trod lightly, barely leaving a trace of his presence in the thin layer of snow and frost that lined the sidewalk. He barely made a noise, as if doing so would disturb the world. It was the middle of the day, and most inkfish would have been awake, but Rider stayed quiet nevertheless.
It would have been a lie for Rider to think he knew where he was going. He had no clue. Everything looked the same to him. The ice on the grass, the snow under his feet, the path beyond his shaking hands. He huffed into them again to try and warm himself, but to no avail. Had he known it was going to snow soon after he left the comforting static that held his existence, he would have worn something heavier. Currently, however, he was wearing his usual outfit of ripped leggings (for style, not that it mattered to anyone else), a leather jacket and the lightweight red shirt he seemed to always have on.
Rider continued to walk, building after building after building. His surroundings began to blur together. He stopped paying attention to what he was passing, and tried to look for who he was passing instead. The snow was starting to float down more densely, and Rider couldn’t help but admire the little white flakes falling gently onto his face and all around him. It made him shiver a little more, but it was still a beautiful sight. The increasing flakes however made it a little harder to see anyone that may have been around. That wasn’t great. It wasn’t like he was going to in the first place, but if bad went to worst, how was Rider to call out to someone for help if he couldn’t see anyone?
“RIDER!” A voice called from behind the inkling in question,. He spun around in shock and hands landed on his shoulders, stopping him from falling over or slipping on the icy footpath. He stared wide eyed at whoever had yelled at him, only to be greeted by a large blob of bright pink. “Hey, you’re not Rider…”
Rider hadn’t realised his eyes were watering, but a thumb beginning to rub away tears brought his attention to it. His eyes stung from the cold and the haphazardness of the skin rubbing against his, but now Rider could make the alleged pink blob out to be none other than Aloha.
“I guess you technically are Rider,” Aloha began, cupping the smaller inkling’s face. “But you’re also not Rider at the same time! Man, you shadows are so weird…”
“Uh… Sure,” Rider agreed, shrugging the firefly’s hand off his shoulder. He was slightly worried that Aloha couldn’t tell the difference between him - a shadow inkling - and his boyfriend, but he decided to keep that to himself for now.
“Anyways! Long time no see, Shadrai!” Aloha exclaimed, pinching his cheek. “How have you guys been?”
“Sh… Shadrai?” Rider asked, before Aloha slung his arm around the smaller inkfish’s shoulders and began practically dragging him along.
“It’s a nickname silly!” Aloha replied with a big goofy grin. “Shadow Rai…Shadow plus Rai… You know? Simple addition. You get Shadrai!”
Rider looked up at the pink squid for a moment, less than comprehending what was being said. “Sure, whatever you say…”
“HEY! You didn’t answer my question!” Aloha suddenly blurted out, before accidentally inhaling a snowflake and subsequently choking for a moment. “Damned snowflakes… But back to the point! How have you and the other shadows been going?”
Rider rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew he wasn’t being honest at this point… He didn’t feel he could be. But…
“They’re good… Everything is well. Uhm… How about you guys?”
“We’re great as ever!” Aloha began, and Rider could already tell he was going to go off on a whole tangent about his lovers. He hadn’t even picked up that Rider was lying through his teeth, and although he was relieved, he was also a little surprised. He put it down to Aloha’s typical interactions being with his non-shadow counterpart, and left it at that. Between his thoughts, the shadow inkling only caught parts of Aloha’s rambling. Army did this, or Mask didn’t do that, or Skull gives good hugs. That he had to agree with, his shadow Skull gave good hugs too.
“Rider? Buddy, you good?” Aloha asked after a long while of blabbering, shaking Rider gently. The smaller inkling shook his head, clearing away the clouds to look up to who he’d now dubbed the pink blob.
“Wha… yeah, I’m OK?” Rider replied, grabbing onto Aloha as if he was about to fall from the shaking. The pink squid spared a few moments to look down at Rider’s hands, and then back into his eyes with a “really?” expression.
“Boy, do you even realise how much you’re shaking?” Aloha asked, letting Rider go and unzipping his oversized puffer jacket. Even under that, Rider noticed he managed to fit a thick woolen sweater and whatever clothes he may have been wearing under that.
Before Rider could process the sparkling squid’s attire properly, he was being forcibly wrapped in a now even more oversized-looking puffy jacket. He didn’t even bother to slip his arms through the sleeves, and instead opted to just hold it around himself and muffle his breathing into it. Aloha was still huffing out little clouds, but Rider’s exhales were no longer visible.
“You’re so fuckin’ tiny!” Aloha teased, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and tugging Rider close to him. Rider stumbled into Aloha, who caught him with ease before beginning to walk again, now with a much smaller inkling almost attached to his side. “Let’s get you home so you don’t freeze to your damn death out here!”
Rider allowed Aloha to hold him and guide him. He tried not to let tears well up in his eyes, but all their efforts to spring forth for just a little relief worked, and a few little wet patches were left on Aloha’s jacket - not that the pink inkling really noticed. The jacket already had snow all over it, and the white flakes didn’t look like they were about to stop. They were bound to obscure Rider’s little tear stains.
After a few minutes of guided walking, Rider finally saw a familiar place. It was Aloha’s place. Or, the S5’s place, rather. To Rider, the inkling seemed to own the place, but he supposed it was a shared space between the five of them. Aloha fidgeted with a keyring as Rider stayed caught up in his thoughts, eventually finding the right one and unlocking the door.
“Guys!” Aloha shouted as soon as he and Rider were both in the house. “I brought home a stray cat!”
Rider feigned offense, shooting Aloha a shocked expression before Army could be heard rushing to the front of the house.
“Aloha, we talked about bringing home stray cats. You lot aren’t-” Army gasped as he rounded the corner, and immediately rushed to Rider. “Rider! It’s been ages since we’ve seen you! How’ve you been?” Army asked, gently taking a hold of the inkling’s hands and looking up to him. The octoling rubbed the back of the other’s palms gently, hoping they hadn’t startled him
“Cold,” Rider muttered blandly, and Army straightened themself up. Rider’s hands, now free, subconsciously roamed to his chest, where they held themselves almost like paws.
“My apologies, I got a little excited. Do come in, we can warm you up.” Gingerly, Army took Aloha’s jacket off Rider, hanging it up on a hook by the door. Aloha padded by them, reduced to only socks now, and gave Army an unwarranted headpat.
“You’re a doofus, Ami. I’ll tell the others who the cat dragged in.”
Without another word to Aloha, Army fixed up their hat before guiding Rider into the living room. Mask was already sitting on the couch with xyr phone, curled up and… shivering?
“Mask, why are you sitting here freezing half to death?” Army asked, nudging Rider to sit next to the cyan squid. “You know you could just ask to turn the heater up, right?”
“I was gonnaaaaa…” Mask sighed, adjusting xyr position on the couch to accommodate for Rider. “Then he came alooooooong…”
Rider shied away from the thumb pointed at him, pushing it back down and away from him. “Greetings to you too,” He muttered sarcastically as Mask continued to fidget with its squidphone.
“Would you like a hot chocolate or something, Rider?” Army asked, waltzing over to the kitchen. “I’ll be making Aloha one anyways.”
Rider thought for a moment. “I-if it’s not too much effort, then yes please…” Army nodded, and Rider subtly drew his attention back to Mask. The cyan squid was still playing around on xyr phone, tapping and swiping away. It looked like some kind of musical game with colourful and conventionally “pretty” girls, but Rider couldn’t understand much else. There was too much going on for him to interpret all the visuals.
After another minute of gameplay, a bunch of numbers flashed over the screen. There were scrolling bars and shapes and colours, most of which left Rider dumbfounded. Mask seemed to understand what was going on, and Rider found it interesting.
After everything flashed by, Mask turned its phone off and put it down on the arm of the couch, before leaning ever so slightly into Rider.
“You ‘kay?” Mask asked lazily, almost but not quite letting its grey eyes meet with his jarring yellow ones. They stayed just out of reach, leaving Rider slightly disconnected.
“Y-yeah? Why?” Rider responded, fidgeting with his hands. Mask hesitantly reached over at the sight, placing one of xyr cold hands over Rider’s now warmer and slightly less shaky ones.
“You’re teeeeense,” Mask replied, burying xyr face back into their knees and looking up to Rider. The shadow inkling panicked slightly, which Mask could feel in the way he shook. The pair locked eyes, and Mask could immediately tell how the other was feeling.
“Aren’t I usually tense?” Rider asked, trying to cover for himself. Mask shook its head as Rider let out a slightly quivering sigh. “We can talk about this later…”
Mask only shrugged, retracting its hand before Aloha came striding back into the room, this time with Skull and Rider in hot pursuit. Upon entry, Rider froze, causing Skull to almost bump into him from behind.
“Loha.” A sharp inhale. “I thought you said you brought home a stray cat, not a stray pussy.” Rider muttered, glaring at Aloha momentarily before locking eyes with his shadow counterpart. The grey inkling froze as well, though in anxiety rather than the annoyance of his lime equivalent.
“Rider what the hell? I thought you were over this?” Aloha half yelled, causing the shadow inkling on the couch to flinch. Mask reached out to place a discreet hand on his thigh, which helped at least a little to keep him grounded.
“And so did I until you brought him into our house. Look at him! He’s flinching and no one’s even yelling yet!” With that, Rider scoffed and turned on his heel, pacing back through the hallway as Aloha tried to form the words to argue.
“Leave it, Aloha. He’ll come around, I hope…” Army muttered, walking into the living room and handing the pink squid a steaming mug.
“Thanks, Ami,” Aloha murmured back, leaning down and giving the octoling a peck on the cheek. “God you’re short, we need to get you stilts,” he added, before taking a sip out of the mug. Rider let out a weak chuckle in the background, lightening the mood at last.
“Here, Rider,” Army began with a soft smile, walking over and handing the other mug to the shadow squid. He took it gratefully, curling up around it and soaking in its warmth before taking a gentle sip.
“So anyways,” Aloha butted in, sitting himself on the floor in front of Rider and crossing his legs. He took another sip of his drink as Army sat on the other side of Rider, watching the pink squid closely. Skull just stood behind Aloha, observing the four. “What brings you out in the first place?”
Rider sighed a long and heavy sigh at the question, his breath laced with emotional exhaustion. He didn’t respond yet, but the other four could tell something was up.
“Hey, are you okay?” Army asked, hearing Rider’s sighs and moving to sit just a little closer to the shadow squid. They carefully wrapped the other in a hug, cautious not to squeeze too tight. The hug was what seemed to make Rider cave. He suddenly curled up against the octoling and began to shake uncontrollably, though he didn’t seem to be crying. His breathing was harsh though, weighted and almost forced.
“How do you guys do it?” Rider asked, his form becoming a bit staticky with all the shaking, his voice quivering also. “You guys just seem so put together and perfect and… I don’t… I don’t know… I feel like I’m screwing everything up. My Army keeps snapping at things and snapping at us, and Aloha won’t talk to anyone… Mask doesn’t help either… Xe keeps scaring me all the time… I’m sure xe doesn’t mean it but… It happens anyway… And Skull gets dragged into everything, as usual…”
The four inkfish took a moment to absorb the mini rant. “Oh dear… You poor thing,” Army began, pulling Rider in just a little bit closer. “Hey, it’s not your fault, okay? Promise. You just need to talk to them. Communication is key. You could try having little private chats with them, if that’s possible in the static or wherever, or you could try having a chat as a group. Just take it easy on them and yourself.”
Army rubbed Rider’s back, trying to soothe him. It seemed to be working. After the advice and the support - both emotional and physical - he wasn’t trembling nearly as much. His breathing felt steadier against the octoling as well, which were all good signs.
Eventually, the pair felt a movement from across the couch, and quickly thereafter Rider felt a weight on his back. It was a bit of a surprise at first, but it made him feel safe and comforted, and it almost helped alleviate the weight on his chest and shoulders.
“If it helpssssss, we’re faaaar from perfect,” Mask began from behind Rider, snaking a weak arm around the inkling’s waist. “You saaaaaw how our Rider acted earlierrrrrr… And I think Alohaaaaaa would be a pain in the ass in aaaaany universe…”
“Hey!” Aloha interrupted, pretending to be agitated. “I’m gonna get you back later… Just you wait…”
“See what I meaaaaan?” Mask muttered, nestling their head into the back of Rider’s jacket. The static felt odd on xyr face. It felt tingly and electric. It felt alive, despite the fuzz coming from a piece of clothing. It was sort of therapeutic as well. Rider felt Mask absolutely bury themself in his jacket because of it.
“Whatever,” Aloha muttered, getting up onto his knees to join the cuddle pile the other three had going on on the couch. Rider curled up a little in response, feeling safe and loved. The feelings were only amplified when Skull finally decided to join in, leaning over the pile and nuzzling Rider so gently he barely felt it.
“Thank you guys,” Rider whispered, and the hug disbanded, leaving only Mask laying on the shadow squid. He played with the inkling’s tentacles for a bit before Army stood up.
“We should get you home,” Army began, holding a hand out for Rider to take. Mask moved reluctantly away from the shadow inkling before he took the octoling’s hand, standing up from the couch. “You’re getting all staticky…”
“The static is niiiiice,” Mask muttered, curling back up in the corner of the couch. Skull decided to join xem, the pair huddling up together.
“Oh, you can take my coat again!” Aloha blurted out without a second thought. “You look so tiny in it!”
“Th-thanks?” Rider muttered, before Army tugged him to the front door. The two nearly slammed into each other, and lightning yellow met citrus orange. For a moment, there was a connection. Neither were sure what it was, but it was there, and it was right in their faces. Rider decided to push back the thoughts though. Maybe it was because he couldn’t stay, nor could they stay in his home, or more reasonably, maybe it was because they already had each other, even if they weren’t quite the same.
Rider shook his head, static particles flying off him and hitting the walls, the floor and other objects with little silent pixelated explosions. He slipped on Aloha’s jacket once more, and it suppressed some of the fuzz coming off his body.
“You really do look tiny in that,” Army noted, before opening the front door. “Come on.”
“You’re shaking again,” Army pointed out, brushing a pointed finger against the sleeve of Rider’s - No, Aloha’s. Rider was just borrowing it - jacket.
“It’s just the cold this time,” Rider replied, an assuring but small smile on his face.
“We’re nearly there, by the way,” Army noticed, looking down at the frosted sidewalk and the icy grass. Their breath puffed out in front of them and danced around as a little cloud, and Rider’s did the same not a moment after. It took Army a moment, but eventually they managed to synchronise their breaths, and two little puffs of white waltzed around the pair in the winter air before disappearing. Rider let a smile creep onto his face, and Army sighed happily back.
A few more moments passed before Army spoke up again. “We’re here… I’m sad to see you go, honestly… But I wish you luck! I hope all goes well with your… uh… us..es? Usses? With your versions of us.”
Rider chuckled at Army’s struggling. “Thanks… I hope it doesn’t go too terribly. And, uh… I hope you guys have fun here too. Uh… yeah..”
A moment of silence hung between the two, before Army giggled.
“Oh my god, that was terrible. Goodbyes are too serious. How abooooout… See you later, Rider!”
Rider didn’t say anything for a moment, until he suddenly wrapped Army in a tight hug. It shocked the octoling, forcing a small white puff of air out of them, but brought a warmth to their hearts. “Thank you, so much Army…”
“Don’t mention it,” Army replied, hugging the staticky inkling back tightly. Although it was only a moment, it allowed Army to feel what Mask felt when the static caught on their skin. It was like little spikes, but they were sweet spikes. Like the familiar pain of laughing too hard at something and feeling sick after. Like the loving pain of playfully having your hair tugged. Like the pain that came with vampire bites, careful and precise. The embrace didn’t last long before they broke away, leaving a warm sensation on Army’s skin. Rider began tugging Aloha’s jacket off right after, seemingly eager to get back, but also reluctant to leave.
“See you later, Army,” Rider said with a smile, before stepping back into the static with a wave. It left the orange octopus standing there with Aloha’s jacket, eyes trained to the place Rider had just been. He felt a little empty now, but it was okay paired with the lingering feeling of Rider’s static on their skin. It was okay knowing they could go home to their own lovers, one of whom was hopefully less angered now. All of whom loved him, and whom he loved.