Chapter Text
Bikini Bottom was in a state of celebration.
Just a few months ago, the small seaside town of Oceanites had been rocked by fear and dread. The residents had been disappearing as though snatched away by an invisible hand. The news had constantly been reporting on how members of the community were suddenly vanishing with no cause, sparking a whole wave of anxiety, rumors, and conspiracy theories. Then people started claiming they had seen things on both the parts of the town both on land and underwater; Things like UFOs and…strange human-looking guys with blank eyes that all looked the same and didn’t talk in the way they should have.
Suspense began to wrap the whole village in a tight chokehold. Stores closed early. Neighbors became wary around each other, and no one went outside after dark. The mayor and police didn’t know what to do at all about anything. What was once sunny, vibrant, and happy around the beachfront soon became closed off, afraid, and…nothing like how it always was. The very air seemed to be wound up by unseen forces, and some would even say that someone- or something was overseeing the fiasco with a grin.
And a sinister one at that.
Just when everything seemed to be getting worse and worse, however, suddenly it all got better in a single day.
A small team of mysterious individuals- vigilantes as Bikini Bottom came to call them- suddenly appeared and returned the missing people, all while proving who the culprits of the kidnappings were. It was a miracle, the residents cheered, as though Neptune himself had heard their prayers. Lost families had been reunited with hugs and tears. Friends had clapped each other on the backs, blinking back tears. The life in the Oceanite town had been restored in an instant. A glorious, relieving instant, thanks to the new guardian vigilantes and their smaller, more foreign friends that had also participated in the rescue and saving of the village.
Thus, the Mayor declared it a holiday and the entire town had now taken the day off to throw one of the biggest parties of the night. Nightclubs and bars were packed and offering everything free. The streets were alight with strings of lights and confetti, people dancing and giving away homemade snacks. Everything about the way Bikini Bottomites did to celebrate were in full swing, bringing the sense of homey and whimsical wonder only it could bring. Some people weren’t out in the roads and about- that was fine.
After what most of the victims had told the police they experienced at the hands of the mystery captors- well, if the public had been allowed to know, they wouldn’t have judged the unfortunate crowd.
For now, those who had been kidnapped were simply glad to just be home with their families and friends, cozying up on their couches, sleeping in their own beds, and being in their own houses.
As for the vigilantes? Well…they disappeared, as expected. Everybody wondered many things— who were those Oceanites? Would they ever come back to protect their town if something like this happened again? Were they really here to help? And what of the small group of Land-Lifers that had helped them-? Rumors swirled like a living tornado- there were four of them that looked similar to the SëaKřanis- ancient beings from the ocean that history called ‘sages’. The other two were humans from the Land- that certainly caught the people off guard to learn some of their saviors were those…dirt-dwellers.
Or that’s what the gossip about the vigilantes said anyway. The main word on the street was that the vigilante team of Oceanites and their younger allies had gone to the mayor and told her everything.
Hopefully that meant that everything was alright now…and the people could get answers soon.
As the night went on and the party in the karaoke shop continued with lights, music, and food,
21-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants was joining in the celebration with his friends- the closest people he knew as family- with all his heart and soul.
The music blaring from the machine signaled the beginning of the chorus, and as he gripped the mic tighter, Sponge really let his voice loose, singing as loudly and clearly as he could, the infectious joy and excitement throughout the small club echoing through his soul. Every single cell in his body vibrated and felt as though there was a light inside him igniting and shining out, mingling with everyone else’s. It was an incredible feeling after so many weeks of dread and fear tearing apart his small town, and he couldn’t get enough, his gleaming smile the widest in the room.
Putting all the energy into his strong singing voice, SpongeBob couldn’t help but also dance around, swinging his hips to the rhythm and rocking his legs. His tail lashed gracefully and his fins flapped along to the beat of the 80s pop ballad, and despite the sweat starting to bead near his spongy blond hair and his breath running out near the song’s bridge, he still smiled, absorbing the party’s warmth with gusto.
Next to SpongeBob singing to the same song was his close friend Sandy, her furry tail whipping around like his more yellow, smoother one. Her brown hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and her eyes shone as she also let loose her country-tinted mezzo-soprano, stomping her paws on the ground.
Since the club was luckily in one of the air-tied sections of Bikini Bottom, Sandy had thrown on a small, cozy outfit instead of her clunky, big underwater suit, and clearly with the way her fur whirled around and her ears flicked, she was a LOT more comfortable and enjoying herself. SpongeBob smiled impossibly wider seeing her- his older sister in a way- joining in the jubilee in her own way, bringing that Texas warmth and boldness he always admired about her to the beachfront city he knew and loved.
Tonight was a great night, now that everything was back to normal.
…Well, as normal as it could get after you fought off a race of robot aliens that had been secretly trying to invade your home and barely made it out alive.
As the song died down and the small crowd near the karaoke machine cheered and clapped, SpongeBob and Sandy walked down from the small stage and headed back to the tables, grinning at each other and slightly catching their breath.
“Whew!” Sandy laughed as she flopped into a chair, tugging at her blue shirt collar. “I ain’t never sung that hard to anything that wasn’t country before!”
“You guys were great up there!” A familiar low voice said next to them. The duo turned and smiled as Patrick set down a few drinks- a bright tropical smoothie with bright flowers, obviously for his best friend, and a sharp, ginger-heavy whiskey for Sandy. “Thanks, Pat.” Sandy smiled as she grabbed her drink and knocked down a few gulps.
SpongeBob and Patrick followed her lead, and drank with her, the trio sitting together and soaking up each other’s company, both out of friendship, but also relief. Relief that they were all alive and unharmed…that the aliens- now known to be named the ‘Kraang’- had no more access to the town…that they had all been able to fight back. Just sweet, cold relief, like the icy fruit mixture now making its way down SpongeBob’s throat.
The Sponge hybrid set down his glass with a soft ‘clink’ and took a moment to look around the nightclub, taking in the minute view with the giant energy, looping an arm around Patrick’s broad shoulders and resting his chin on them too.
The whole room was filled with flashing strobe lights and chaos-swarmed dance floors, as typical of a bar like this, but near the karaoke machines it was quieter and mostly people were just sitting at the tables drinking and enjoying the party. Honestly with a small place like this, SpongeBob had never seen so many fellow Oceanites in a single bar before. He had been here a couple times before with friends to relax, and usually at this club, there were a few small crowds enjoying the velvet lounges and smoky corners.
Tonight however was special and now the familiar atmosphere was filled with more bodies partying on the dance floors and the chatter of multiple voices. The small business was getting more attention than thought possible with the occasion and as SpongeBob scanned the room for his friends, he found himself a little overwhelmed…but mainly shrugged it off due to how he wasn’t about to let something like this disrupt his good time and how good his drink was too.
Finally he saw them and sighed a little through his nose. He wasn’t sure why he was anxious there- maybe it was because they had all come close to death at the Kraang’s hands not that long ago? The fry cook held back a shiver at the memory of those blank pink eyes and robotic chirps, shoving those thoughts back.
Squidward stood by the bar, sipping a melon cocktail and occasionally looking over at the bartender with a strange expression. To SpongeBob’s delight, the Octopus Mutant seemed to be enjoying himself and was even talking with the other people sitting by him. He seemed to be bragging about something. SpongeBob grinned a bit, wondering what it was about.
Larry was near the dance floor, chugging a glass of water and chatting with his beach buddies. He had an arm around one of them especially and seemed to keep close to one in particular: Don the Whale, one of the residents the Kraang had kidnapped. He looked relaxed and eager to party for once, grinning and antennae flicking happily.
Even Plankton and Karen were there, roaming near the lounges and keeping to themselves. All they cared about was just them two, holding hands and Karen stroking her husband’s hair to help him withstand the noise and light. It was adorable and SpongeBob admired it for a bit, glad that they had each other.
They were both as cute as the other couple the happy sponge knew, over by the opposite lounges, specifically in the more relaxing, smoky side. He could see them there, just glad to be with each other and that there was no more chaos in the town anymore. From the way Mrs. Puff was just looking down at his boss, Mr. Krabs, to the way the latter was resting his head on her, eyes closed and grinning calmly. He looked so happy to be there with her after she had been captured for so long. His face looked a little redder than normal, too…
SpongeBob couldn’t keep the smile off his face seeing them all and exhaled through his nose, satisfied and slightly victorious. He turned back to Sandy and Patrick, who were wearing the same expressions, and the three friends let the chaotic background fade away from their small group.
Then a couple of Oceanites coming back from the bar passed by, and SpongeBob’s keen ears picked up part of their conversation.
“So did you hear about those mysterious crime fighter-types that supposedly saved everyone?”
“Hear about them? Dude, I SAW them! They looked so badfin!! They had ancient lookin’ weapons and everything!”
“You think they’re actually stayin’ around and weren’t just a publicity stunt?”
“I hope so- it seemed like they know what they’re doing!”
The two walked over to a more distant table and the last thing that could be heard was the first one pondering out loud; “I wonder who those guys were…?”
The trio instantly gave each other a knowing look, partly made of knowing an answer someone didn’t, but partly also a sort of grim feeling about it.
“‘Publicity stunt?’” Sandy muttered under her breath, taking another gulp of whiskey. “Publicity stunt, my tail. We spent weeks workin’ against the clock, blowing up those alien freaks’ bases and disrupting their invasion! If we all tried to count how many times we risked our necks doing all that, we’d be here for a week.”
Patrick looked around nervously and gestured for her to not say anything. “Shhh! We can’t let anyone else know, remember?” He reminded.
SpongeBob squeezed his best friend’s shoulder and gave him a gentle grin. “It’s ok, buddy. I doubt anyone could hear us over all the music right now, anyway.” He pointed to the ceiling and as if to prove his point, the DJs broke out into a loud rave, making the cheers rise louder and the noise throughout the room to echo even more. Both SpongeBob and Sandy cringed at the increase of stimulation and instinctively flattened their ears against their heads, blocking it out a bit.
Plankton also reacted in the back, glaring at the DJs and baring his mandibles in a threatening growl, but before he could do anything rash, Karen cradled his face with her metal hands, cooing in a sweet mockery and stroking his sharp ears to distract her husband. It worked, and the Copepod settled on burying his face into her steel frame, grumbling but calm.
Watching this from afar, SpongeBob sighed again, glad he didn’t have to worry about fighting someone again. He had already fought enough in his opinion, and battling Plankton after he had finally put aside his grudge against Mr. Krabs and had helped them defeat the Kraang? He felt far from up for it. His muscles ached slightly just thinking about all the punches, kicks, and other combat moves against metal robot bodies with hard plastic-y exoskeletons he had to try.
Now that he was thinking about it, everyone else seemed more lively and joyous than him and his friends- which to say the least was unusual in Bikini Bottom. Usually it was the young Sponge Mutant and Sea Star tearing up the dance floor or being the lives of the party, but now all the duo wanted was to just sit down, enjoy their drinks in peace, and bask in a day of relaxation after such a long time battling in a war they never saw coming…but also one that no one else besides them and the others could know about.
That was what Sandy was irritated and Patrick was anxious about— they were the Vigilantes. Or more accurately, The Bikini Bottom Resistance Fighters as Larry had called them. (Both Squidward and Plankton had turned up their noses at that, but the name stuck.)
They were the ones who had fought against the Kraang and dismantled their growing invasion of the seaside town, bit by bit, until finally tracking down what the brain-shaped aliens were looking for: an old base they had built thousands of years ago in the ocean, holding all the weapons they needed…and their deadly chemicals called “mutagen”. There were even two powerful relics the Kraang were using as power generators that used to belong to the very people they had experimented on all those centuries earlier, and they were being put to use again for experiments on the residents they had all kidnapped.
Since the police didn’t know and wouldn’t listen- after all, who’d believe alien robots were behind all the disappearing people?- it had been up to the group of village misfits to save everyone and stop the invasion. Just them. And even though SpongeBob and Patrick had always fantasized about being superheroes, since they were kids in fact, the infiltration and getting everyone out had almost been impossible against all the monsters the Kraang had made in the base and the soldiers stationed there too.
Even with Sandy, who had a black belt in karate and had 3 college degrees in different science fields.
Even with Mr. Krabs, who was one of the toughest men they knew and had fought for years in the Navy.
Even with Plankton, who could outsmart anything thrown at him and could invent anything too.
Even with Larry, who could hurl an anchor 10 yards with ease.
That was until the team found out that they weren’t exactly alone against the Kraang.
Even so with their surprising new additions to the squad, it had been a close battle between the Mutants and the Aliens. Too close, SpongeBob reflected, as he took another drink of his smoothie.
The anxiety from the previous months still lingered like a stain of mustard on the kitchen floorboards, snaking around his head darkly. Sure, the Kraang had been chased out of the town, but they weren’t GONE-gone. Heck, from what he had been told afterwards, there were even more of them on the LAND. The same possibility of those ruthless brains returning and causing more havoc had swirled in his thoughts since he had been in the street with the victims reuniting with their families.
It had even been repeated in his mind even up to the mayor’s office…and there a whole new floodgate of thoughts had opened up.
They had all told her everything, the Mayor.
Maps of the bases, remains of the Kraangdroids, even the files from the computers Karen and Sandy had hacked.
Mrs. Puff had even been there to attest about what the Kraang had done to the people they captured, though the whole time she had held onto Mr. Krabs’ arm a little tighter than normal. Pearl had also been there, insisting on knowing what had happened to her Daddy and stepmother, since she had narrowly escaped the Kraang’s clutches too.
(The only thing they hadn’t shown her that day was who had worked alongside them. The six kids had been reeling from enough, and they said they were ninjas- they couldn’t let the authorities know about them yet.)
It had…well, it hadn’t gone the way they expected. The Mayor had looked over all their evidence and proof, silent for once, then immediately put on her ‘public’ face and started thanking them for their ‘services’. She went on and on about how she’d tell the police about the Kraang and such…she even gave them all big paychecks right there in her office, something Mr. Krabs was especially elated about.
But the reason for it wasn’t what they all thought.
“Keep quiet!?” Sandy had snapped. “‘Don’t tell anybody the truth’??” Her brown eyes were aflame with indignation.
“Wait- this is a bribe?” SpongeBob piped up, shocked and suddenly feeling dirty for being excited about the piece of paper in his hands.
“Oh, no, no no no, Mr. SquarePants, that’s something a political figure like me would never do.” The Mayor laughed and flipped her hand, her purple curls bouncing with her words.
“That’s just a reward for saving everybody- and also cementing our deal to keep this ‘alien’ discovery under wraps from the public.”
SpongeBob’s face fell, not exactly soothed. And upon locking eyes with Patrick, he could tell they both felt the same.
“No offense Ms. Mayor, but that’s ridiculous!” Larry spoke up, exasperated. “The people here deserve to know what threats are out there after everything! They’re gonna want answers at some point!”
The Mayor’s face twitched a little at that and she got up, pacing a bit and sighing at the now-confused and disappointed faces in her ornate office.
“Look…Mr. Clawmarian. You’re a lifeguard, right?” She said after a moment, gesturing to the Lobster Oceanite.
Larry stared at her but nodded.
“And you, Eugene- you own a small business yourself, yes?” The Mayor continued, turning to Mr. Krabs.
“Hey now-“ Mr. Krabs growled in a threatening tone, but before he could finish that inevitable triggering sentence Mrs. Puff and Pearl instantly moved both their hands, covering his mouth. “—MMRPH!!!” The veteran grunted in surprise then surrendered, albeit not happily.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Ms. Mayor responded. “You both know how fast everything can go wrong if you’re not careful. For example, if someone yelled ‘sea monster’ at the beach or ‘urchins’ at the restaurant- people panic. They scramble blindly to get away from the threat and in the process if they aren’t careful- other people get hurt. That’s simply what I’m doing here. If any of the people here knew about the Krin- Krackens- Craniods-“
“Kraang.” Pearl corrected.
“Krungs!” Ms. Mayor stated confidently, rousing a giggle from Patrick and SpongeBob. “If any of the people here knew about the Krungs, there would be even more mayhem than when they simply suspected something was happening. There’d be nothing but pandemonium- people paranoid about everything, moving away in droves, etc. If your team hadn’t stood up and used your…unique abilities to defeat the threat, the scare throughout the town would have multiplied exponentially. And we definitely don’t want that in our small city, don’t we?”
The group all didn’t like it but they nodded along solemnly. They hated that it made sense but she was the MAYOR, and they were a gathering of fast food workers, a teacher, a schoolgirl, the local ‘gym bro,’ the local ‘foreign’ scientist, and the local ‘unemployed dude’.
“That’s a load of-!!” Mr. Krabs began to say again but caught Mrs. Puff’s light gray eyes and shut his mouth.
“The Kraang aren’t gone either- they could come back, and almost all the Mutagen in that base leaked out into the waters- there could be new threats that arise from that!” Sandy explained, throwing her hands in the air.
Someone else spoke up too, but it wasn’t anyone SpongeBob had expected.
“What about the victims?” Squidward said- quietly at first, but once the Mayor looked at him. “All those Oceanites that were grabbed by those aliens and tortured until I-WE had to do something- and we’re not even law enforcement! The closet thing to that is Larry, and he volunteers at the Fire Station!” He jerked a tentacle at the Lobster in question and crossed his two more human-y arms.
“The victims have been told the same as I’m telling you right now, Mr. Tortellini.” She answered cheerily. “They were even paid for their troubles, same as all of you. Although they probably won’t continue to make money from fighting threats to this city like you might.”
Squidward’s eyes flashed with annoyance at her deliberately mispronouncing his name but then he joined in with the rising confusion among the other people in the room. They all looked at the person next to them, slightly intrigued but still disgruntled. For a second, SpongeBob and Squidward locked eyes and both thought the same thing: ‘What did she mean?’
The Mayor grinned, seeing that she all had them on a hook, bouncing her purple hair. “I have a proposition for you, vigilantes.”
“Hey, guys.”
SpongeBob hopped off of his memory train and looked up, blinking away the white marble walls and fancy art pieces to be replaced by the dark rooms with loud music and neon lights.
“Hey, Larry.” He beamed up at his friend. “Hi, Squidward.” He beamed even wider at his neighbor.
“Yo.” The lifeguard said, grinning and high-fiving the two besties, giving Sandy a fist bump. “How ya guys doing?” He asked, grabbing a chair and pulling it up.
Squidward just stood there and slightly nodded at his coworker, holding his arms together in an awkward position, his tentacles knit and rubbing almost shyly. He still looked his usual manner of annoyance and deadpanning, but for some reason, he couldn’t really seem to meet anyone’s eyes.
“All things considered? I don’t know but better than a few days ago, I’d say.” Sandy replied, snorting dryly at that last sentence.
Most of the table chuckled in relation, Patrick and SpongeBob laughing more in innocence and not getting the joke.
Larry set his glass of water on the table and stretched out his arms, wincing and clutching his side abruptly. “Those damn aliens.” He grunted, rubbing where he had been stabbed by one of the soldiers’ blades attached to their guns. “I’m not gonna be able to lift with the guys anytime soon- or even surf! Man, I’m gonna hate the next few days until this gash closes up and my walker grows back.” He pointed to his stump where one of his crustaceous limbs had been severed.
Sandy winced, likely remembering Larry’s hollers of pain before she had clobbered the Kraang soldiers and smashed her homemade tasers through all their heads.
“Hey, you can still go on jogs and walks though, right?” SpongeBob said, trying to see the brighter side.
“True.” Larry sighed. “I’m just glad I’m alive though- we all did pretty good, right?” He pointed at Sandy and Patrick. “I thought I could handle myself in a brawl, but you guys? You fought like demons!”
Sandy smiled and knocked back her drink, finishing her whiskey.
Patrick gulped his energy drink and slurped a mouthful of the sour gummy worms out of the glass, smiling a little wider but the fatigue in his expression increasing right alongside his friends’. As the conversation continued and Squidward occasionally joined in (usually with a snarky sentence but also a sarcastic joke.) the 20-year-old Sea Star started spacing out more and more, only responding to questions or sentences addressing him with neutral grunts or not at all, rubbing the back of his neck spikes and struggling to keep his eyes open.
SpongeBob looked at him sympathetically and brought his hand to one of Patrick’s deep pink, pointy petal-like ears, gently stroking it like how he did with Gary’s. The effect was instantaneous and Patrick closed his eyes in peaceful glee, his opposite ear flicking with satisfaction. Below on the ground, his pink tail started thumping, and coming from his chest, though only SpongeBob could hear, a low, happy purr started emanating. Sponge smiled and spaced out from the conversation too, taking a moment to just sit there by his best friend and stroke his ear in that way he liked, after brushing aside a lock of vibrant rosey hair. Patrick always looked so cute when he purred and relaxed like that…with all that had happened, Sponge had been a little worried they’d never get a moment like this again. Of course he shouldn’t have been all that worried- they really could handle everything, and SpongeBob was never about to give up his home without a fight. But still…he couldn’t have helped but worry. Alien invasions were always something that happened in comics and tv shows…he never knew it could happen in real life.
…And with the proposal that the Mayor of Bikini Bottom had offered to all of them…the Bikini Bottom Resistance Fighters’ lives were probably going to change even more.
As the night went on and the celebration continued, the life in Bikini Bottom showed no sign of slowing down…but a few party locations were dwindling down, and some festivities had quieted away. Even the fireworks that had been lighting up the night sky had stopped, and the crowds in the streets had shrunken a significant degree.
There may have been an air of excitement and joy in the air, but now a small wind of tiredness and calm began descending into it too.
SpongeBob definitely noticed it as he stepped out beyond the karaoke shop’s doors, smelling the dark air and breathing in the surprising chill in the breeze. He had loved the party in there but seeing how late it was and remembering he needed to get home soon made him glad to finally be out away from the noise and light, clinging to Patrick’s arm and stretching his own fins out.
“Sure is pretty tonight.” The former said quietly, looking up with Sponge. “Yeah…” the young fry cook agreed.
“Whew!” Larry said as he exited with Squidward and Sandy, the latter who had a furry arm looped around the formers’ shoulders. “I think I’m gonna head home now, guys. I love myself some partying but after the last few days, I need a power nap. A HUGE power nap, at that too.” He rubbed his shoulders and looked out at the roads for a minute.
“Anybody need a lift home or a place to crash?”
“I will.” Sandy announced, her words starting to sound a bit slurred. “I think that whiskey was a lil strong for me- and seeing as I’m from Texas, that’s sayin’ a LOT.” The squirrel woman attempted to do finger guns with that remark and instead nearly ended up on the sidewalk if it wasn’t for a certain cashier catching her with his side tentacles. “Larry, you don’t mind if I snooze on ya couch for the night, do ya?” She asked, pointing a twirling hand at said Lobster.
“Pfft. Sure thing, Sands.” Larry snorted.
“Niiiice.” Sandy said, standing on her own feet while still keeping an arm around Squidward, who struggled to keep his face straight.
“Well, I think I should be getting someone home as well.” A matronly, low voice stated, keeping a giggle out of her voice.
SpongeBob and the others turned to see Mrs. Puff helping Mr. Krabs walk, who was obviously more drunk than all of the other people there.
“Huuh?” Mr. Krabs said slowly, looking around, his words slurred beyond belief. “Ohhh, ya dun’ need’a do that, Penny.” The manager said suddenly, looking up at the driving teacher with pure, unfiltered affection. “Yer probably more tired than me am- I’ll just gooo hom’ an’ uhhhh- sleEP!” The Crab Oceanite then attempted to take a few steps forward, but promptly fell flat on his face- or he would have, if Mrs. Puff and Squidward both hadn’t lunged and caught him.
Mrs. Puff laughed out loud, holding her lover by the hands. “Oh…Eugene, dear, I think I better make sure you get home safely.” She sighed but continued chuckling as Squidward helped hoist Mr. Krabs up by under his shoulders.
“Urgh- ok, no more drinking contests for you, sir.” The Octopus grunted. “Please, if not for your precious winnings, then for my back.” He added under his breath.
“Whhooo!” Mr. Krabs half-cheered as he finally found his footing and slipped an arm around Mrs. Puff’s waist, arousing a surprised chuckle. “Ya hear that, kids? She’s walkin’ ME home! I think I might let ‘er kiss me if I’m feelin’ fLIR-TYY!” He drunkenly boasted, his already scarlet face somehow flushing even more as he pointed to Mrs. Puff like she was a prized gemstone.
The others lightly giggled and played along, shooting a couple thumbs up and Patrick even wolf whistling, causing a bigger outburst of laughter.
Mr. Krabs smiled smugly at that and frog-blinked, then noticed SpongeBob and Squidward and stared hard, then stretched out his hands and wrapped them around both of his close employees.
“I’ll see ya both ter’marrow if ye feel up to it..! Yer both some of th’ best crew a captain could ask fer, ya know that, right?” He drawled, ruffling SpongeBob’s hair (or tried to anyway.) and patting Squidward’s back affectionately.
SpongeBob giggled and helped support his drunk boss, almost hugging the old sailor. “Aye, aye, Captain!” He answered, pulling his hand in a salute before quickly going back to helping him stand. It was clear as the glass in the windows he had quite a bit of beer from his breath. Squidward rolled his eyes and scooted closer, also helping support the weight of the mutant crustacean. “Yeah, yeah, sir. It’s not like I have anything else to do.” He grumbled.
“Atta lads.” Mr. Krabs smiled, then he blinked a little and pulled both of them closer, almost hugging them both tightly. “Yer both good kids.” He half-whispered, his voice halfway cracking.
Squidward shot SpongeBob a look showing this was something he was very unprepared for, but to the Sponge’s surprise and slight delight, the cashier joined in on the hug. For a second, the three men stood there on the dark sidewalk, gripping the back of each others’ jackets and sweater.
“Alrigh’.” Mr. Krabs said after a bit, pulling away. Before he turned back to leave, however, he cradled SpongeBob’s head in his hands and gazed right into his eyes, lime green meeting bright blue.
“Now you listen here, boyo.” The old man said slowly. “Ye make SURE ya get home safe and batten yer hatches down good, ok??” He patted his fry cook’s cheeks softly. “I know ya ain’t a little boy…” he grinned and it almost looked like he was trying not to tear up. “But Neptune dammit, if I had one, I would’ve wanted him to be just like ye… as far as I’m concerned, yer my boy.”
Before Squidward could walk away, he was targeted next and scooped up in a bear hug before he could react.
“GAH-!”
“This one, too! Yer me oldest boy! He migh’ not remember it, but I still remember when you were a little swashbuckler lad when I firs’ hired ya!”
“Yeah, ok, great, sir.” Squidward muttered, embarrassed but…it seemed not as embarrassed as he could have been. “I…I do remember-“
“Eugene?” Mrs. Puff jumped in, laying a hand on Mr. Krabs’ shoulder. “I think we might need to get home, darling. Pearl’s probably waiting for both of us.”
“Oh..yah, yah. Tha’s true.” Her partner sighed, setting his worker down and settling on just ruffling Squidward’s bright teal hair. “Y’both make sure ya sleep well, saavy? Ya heard th’ goddess ov’r here- gotta get meself home.”
Mrs. Puff scoffed and covered her mouth, rolling her eyes but very much blushing. “Oh please- you don’t need to be a flatterer around me.”
“Yeah…goodnight, sir. I understand.” Squidward said, shuffling awkwardly and patting his boss on the back. “I’ll uh…I need to get home, too. Thanks for coming along here, guys.” He added as he started to leave.
“Anytime, Squid.” Larry said, Sandy hanging onto his elbow. “Catch y’all later!” The scientist said as they went, waving.
“Bye, everybody!” SpongeBob waved eagerly, Patrick doing the same as the two close friends linked arms again. “Bye, Larry! See you tomorrow, Sandy! Byyye, Squiddy!”
For once Squidward didn’t turn around and snap at his coworker about calling him that.
SpongeBob glowed at that and turned to his teacher and boss, who were both now well in the opposite direction he and Pat were about to go in.
“Bye, Mrs. Puff! Bye, Da—“ he caught himself and blushed bright yellow. “Uh…Goodnight, Mr. Krabs!”
“I’ll see you in class, SpongeBob.” Mrs. Puff called back distantly, grinning.
SpongeBob giggled, hoping a little that nobody had heard his slip-up.
However, he looked at Patrick and saw that wasn’t the case. “Wait-were you about to call Mr. Krabs ‘Dad’—“
“Uhhhhhh, let’s just go to my house!” Sponge cut him off, tugging his arm and his face practically dandelion hued. “We got very important company waiting back there, remember?”
“…Oh yeah!” The Sea Star said, eyes widening in realization. A happy smile broke out and with that, the two started walking back to the pineapple-shaped house.
“You think if they go to sleep when we get back, we’ll catch that special episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy?” Patrick asked, tying his Hawaiian-themed jacket around his hips.
“Hahahaha…I’d love that, pal.” Sponge chuckled, resting his chin on his best friend’s shoulder as they walked through the still-celebrating town, both of them thankful beyond measure that their home was still standing.