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“trust” When can an individual trust someone else? Who can you trust? A thing many Octolings and octarians are struggling with, trusting others to share their true nature. But who can blame them, they got hunted by a group called Squid beak splatoon for generations now. They would eliminate and get rid of “dangerous beings” including most Octoling that lived on the surface. Sometimes even those who were born up there. Like Stealth Goggles. Stealth was a hybrid inkling and octoling, with his mother being an inkling and his father an octoling. Stealth was born on the surface in the metropolis called Inkopolis. Since he was a kid he was raised to be careful about his true nature. His face, hair and ears were hidden by a hat that had Stealth goggles on them, which is where his name came from. Stealth always was a shy and sweet guy, even if he was always too anxious to speak to others. Still he found a friend by a miracle, who was called rider.
“You look alone. Wanna play?”
Those simple words began a strong friendship that lasted for years. They began to visit turnwars, where only inkling could participate back then. But since Stealth passed as one, this was no problem for him.
Years later during training, they fought against the Leader of the S4 called Skull and his team, team purple. They were known to be the strongest team in Inkopolis Plaza, and Rider's team, including Stealth, were more than honored to train with them. Stealth fought a lot with anxiety when outside, scared that someone would find out his secret. He started running through the small paths of the map, holding his Jet Squelcher close to his chest, feeling his hands sweat, his breathing slightly uneven and a bit faster than it should be. He tried to look for his teammates, but they all were somewhere else on the map. As he saw neither his teammates, nor anyone from team Purple, he released a breath he didn't realize that he held.
“Looking for your teammates?”
Stealth yelped out and immediately jumped to the side and saved himself from a paintshot of the second in command of team Purple. His name was Aviators, hair tied up, purple ink, and of course wearing Aviators that hid his eyes. He chuckled slightly as he saw Stealth try to attack back, with no success, losing the 1v1 against him. After Stealth respawned and tried to take a different path, he got caught again.
“H-how are you doing that?!" He asked, completely confused. His weapon shook as he shot at Aviators.
“Oh, well, communication in a team is the key, you know?” He dodged the attacks easily, and looked Stealth up and down, which Stealth immediately realized, panic immediately rising.
“What a-are you staring at, and what do you mean by that?” He asked, trying to hide his panic, also finally hitting Aviator's arm with his ink. But he just seemed impressed.
"Well, we as a team all work together to win.Besides can’t I check the other team out?”
He replied slightly teasingly, but not in a mocking way, to Stealth's surprise. He was used to being mocked for his more pathetic appearance in general, but nonetheless he was defeated after a longer 1v1.
After the training, just as he wanted to leave he heard Aviators’voice again.
“Hey! You with the camouflage hoodie, good game.” Aviators said with a calm voice, sounding a bit out of breath himself after the turf war training.
“Thank you, y-your team was also great” Stealth murmured a bit, looking at Aviators, trying to seem calm and chill.
“Your teammates weren't so bad themselves, y’know. We can train from time to time again, ok?”
He quickly nodded, somehow liking how Aviators spoke: chill and calm, but still in a cool way. They quickly said goodbye and Stealth went to his own team. He and his childhood friend Rider were still doing Turf war together, but Rider… he got a slight… temper… over the years.
“You guys had one job and that is?”
“To do as you say”
His team replied. His current team was just there to fill empty spots so Rider could participate in tournaments, including Stealth. Over the years, his closest friend got this mindset of ‘I am the best in my team, I can play alone’, but the rules said that he would still need a full team of four players. Now, here they are. Training against the strongest team in Inkopolis Plaza, with a lot of Inklings there, and a high rank that make them kind of known. It was Stealth's nightmare, but hey, at least he could spend time with his friend.
Weeks passed by and they trained more often with the Purple team, especially since Rider seemed to get along with their leader, Skull. He was a giant squid inkling, which made him seem rather intimidating for Stealth. But still, he couldn't complain, it was kind of fun to train with them, since their matches were usually a very close race on who would win. Despite this, it still was team purple that usually won. Bookended the match, Stealth would often find himself in a conversation with Aviators. They would have conversations about the match, what they could improve, how it was, and so on. But one day after another training session, Stealth felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, Stealth. Want to grab some snacks and drinks…maybe?”
His voice sounded inviting, and not as if Aviators was forcing himself to be kind. Stealth quickly looked around,realizing that Aviator's team was nowhere to be seen.
“Eh, sure but. Where are your teammates? Don't you want to go with them maybe?”
He asked, unsure. But on the other hand, after such training, he wouldn't complain about grabbing some snacks and soft drinks. Plus, he also had nothing planned with his own team, and the more he thought about it, the more this idea sounded appealing.
“Na, they've already left since they got other stuff to do. So what do you say?”
Stealth thought another moment before nodding, quickly gathering his stuff and turning to leave. They headed to a small 24/7 shop and got themselves some soda and snacks. Stealth got himself some canned cold green tea while Aviators chose a grape soda. They found themselves a nice spot close to the Urchin Underpass and sat down on a bench. It wasn't so full, so Stealth could let his tense side rest a bit, smiling slightly.
“Do you often grab snacks after training sessions?”
He asked with a soft and, so it seemed, careful voice. While struggling to open the can of his drink. Feeling more and more embarrassed by any passing second. Aviators meanwhile just let out a small laugh, taking the can out of Stealth's hand and opening it.
“Yeah, but usually with Skull, but he got something else to do today, some site job. So I thought it would be nice to still get something with you”
He gave Stealth a small smirk, and it had a good effect on Stealth. He ended up having to pull his goggles down to hide his blushing cheeks. They spent the rest of the afternoon till evening talking about various topics, it felt natural for some reason.
From that day on, they grabbed snacks more often after practice, it was always the same. But Stealth couldn't deny that he somehow liked the moments with Aviators. While Stealth was waiting for Rider in front of the weapon shop, he thought about Aviators: his smile, his appearance, the way he talked, his smirk, his kindness—
“Stealth?” Rider stood next to Stealth, waving his hand in front of his goggles, trying to get Stealth's attention.
“Can I ask why your ink is slightly purple, mate?”
Stealth immediately blushed, looking away and trying to hide his hair under the helmet of his goggles again. He didn't realize they slipped out, too caught up in his daydreaming. He quickly got Aviators, mostly, out of his head. Now facing Rider.
“I- nothing.. don't worry… eh- so, shift is over?” He asked while fidgeting with the hem of his sleeves, trying so much to hide his embarrassment. But Rider already realized that his good friend is acting weird, letting out a small smirk.
“Ok, Stealth, you can't fool me. Who’d you think about?” Rider asked casually while walking with Stealth through Inkopolis Plaza, on the way to play some Airsoft, a small hobby that Stealth had.
Stealth, meanwhile, tried to hide his embarrassment as best as he could, but failed miserably. The rest of the day was spent with Rider trying to find out who it was.
“Is it Aviators!?”he guessed during their Airsoft round, while trying to target, but he instead got hit by Stealth.
“WHAT!? How do you- No?!” He stuttered out while trying to hit Rider and also not get targeted himself.
God, how was Rider able to find out? Was it that obvious? He felt a blush creeping up his face again and his ink color also getting slightly purple on his hair tips again. He really wasn't good at hiding his feelings. He tried to argue against it, but just as their round ended, Stealth realized he actually had some feelings for Aviators. It was just that feeling of trust towards him, how chill Aviators seemed even when stealth was panicking over nothing, it was comforting.
It was now evening as they made their way home again, Stealth fidgeted with his sleeves.
“Rider, do you think I will ever have a chance with Aviators? I mean, he is so much cooler than I could ever be. What if I'm out of his league—?!”
He couldn't even finish his sentence as Rider interrupted him with an annoyed sigh, his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky.
“Stealth, mate, I love ya’, but shut up…”He states while holding the bridge of his nose. This, of course, made Stealth quiet, and Rider continued.
“Listen, you're not out of his league, so don't worry and just go for it. If it works, great! If not, god it happens, you'll get a rejection and than move on. That simple.”
This little speech that he held was enough to stop Stealth from overthinking. He nodded, thanking him. Stealth decided to go for it the next time he and Aviators would hang out.
A week passed. Stealth and Aviators were hanging out again at the Urchin Underpass. Talking about god knows what, the topics bring fluid and light. Stealth finally to a deep breath, eyes fixated onto the ground.
“Avi… c… can I ask something?...” His voice was shaking with nervousness, but he tried to keep his cool. He felt his heart beating faster.
“Sure, what's it?” Aviators replied casually. This was Stealth's chance, now or never.
“Can we date?—”
Just as the words left his lips, he wanted to disappear. How could an inkfish creature mess up like that? He wanted to ask if Aviators was interested in Him, but not that! Stealth felt his heart hammer in his chest, and his face blush an extreme shade of green, making him feel as if he got burned alive—
“Stealth? Hey, are you ok here? Of course we can date, no need to get so stressed!”Stealth stared up, completely confused. His eyes wide, as if he spoke an unknown language. Aviators sounded genuinely interested, and this made Stealth smile like a fool. He just nodded.
The relationship was sweet, Stealth seemed like a real romantic, putting a lot effort in to make Stealth happy. And of course Stealth tried the same as best as he could. It was perfect, they trusted each other completely… More or less. They both had still one thing that held the complete trust away. Aviators’ glasses and Stealth's helmet and goggles. Neither of them were able to take them off. On Stealth's side it was because he was too scared of Aviators’ reaction if he would find out that Stealth was a Hybrid.
One night, at Stealth's place. They were cuddling in his bed, Aviators’ arms gently wrapped around Stealth. It was peaceful, but both wore their headgears.
“Stealth, love. How about you take this helmet off? I can't imagine that you can get comfortable like that…”He whispered gently, a bit sleepy himself. Stealth meanwhile was already half asleep.
“Avi… why should I?... I don't like it…” His words slightly slurred due to him being sleepy, but he seemed more calm for once.
“I don't think you can sleep like that. Plus, I want to see the gorgeous face of my boyfriend for once.” His voice was a soft and caring whisper. It made Stealth catch his own breath; he was struck as he heard that. He considered agreeing to it, giving in. But what if Aviators would hate him after finding out, leave him, or report him?
“I'm… I'm so sorry, I can't, Ii—” He immediately got cut off.
“You trust me.. right?”
Stealth stared at him confused, but nodded. Just then he witnessed how Aviators took off his glasses. His face is handsome, maybe basic for many. But for Stealth it was the biggest proof of trust he could have received.
“Well, I trust you, Stealth, and I would love it when you would trust me” Those sweet and gentle words, combined with Aviators who cupped Stealth's face softly, was enough. He took all the strength he had. And took off his helmet and goggles, revealing his true appearance.
He had the ears and fingertips of an inkling, but his hair, eyes and teeth were those of an Octoling. His hair is short and a bit curly, with a yellow-green color combined with purple tips. His eyes were closed, bracing himself for the rejection. Instead he felt a warm feeling on his forehead, it was a soft kiss from Aviators.
“You're gorgeous, Stealth. I don't see why you hide it.” Stealth felt a wave of relief wash over him, and confusion. Why is Stealth not mad at him?
“You… d.. dont hate me?”
“Because of some extra ordinary eyes and hair? No, not at all”He just smiled.
Soon after, Stealth found out that inklings nowadays just think that Octolings are weird looking inklings, which made him realize that most of them wouldn't even report an Octoling if they would see one. And even if, he knew he could trust Aviators.
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