Inigo's PoV
December 13th, 2016
"Ya think Geneva will like this?" In Inkopolis Plaza, Roy held up a dark green sweater with white squid patterns on it and showed it off to his friends.
"Yeah," Octavia replied. Her long hair was tied back in a similar manner to Callie's, though she lacked the bow the idol sported. She had thrown one of her tentacles over her shoulder and was now petting it. "She loves sweaters."
"What do you think, Inigo?" the red-haired inkling asked the indigo-haired one, loose tentacles hanging over his shoulders.
"Yeah, you're dating her," Perry agreed. His hair was tied back into a ponytail like most inkling boys, though he sported bangs as well.
"I say..." Inigo paused. It's green, and it looks nice. She'll like it, right? "Yes."
"Fresh." He stuffed the sweater back into the gift back and promptly sat down on the fence. "Now we wait."
"What did you all get for her?" Bonnie suddenly spoke up. On the other hand, while she had long hair like most inkling girls, she lacked the bangs most of them had. Though she was quiet, she always seemed to be listening and always had something to say at the right time.
"I got her this shirt." Via threw her tentacle back and pulled a lime striped shirt out of the gift bag she had in her lap. "It's the latest from Splash Mob. Cost me a fortune!"
"Ooh..." they all marveled.
"I got her a hat." Yuri, who had six small tentacles on the back of his head, pulled out a white cap out of his gift bag. "It's not much, but I hope she likes it!"
"I don't see her takin' off that beanie of hers any time soon," the orange-haired inkling joked.
"Not with that attitude!" the yellow-haired boy exclaimed. He patted her on the head, causing her to cross her arms and make a small sound.
"I got Geneva..." Perry pulled some tickets out of his pocket. "...Two tickets to the next football game! She and her brother can go."
"I..." Inigo was going to say that she might not like it, but he didn't want to be rude. Perry shelled out a lot of money for two tickets, after all.
"I... what?" Roy asked.
"Nothing," he replied.
"You're getting her nothing?" Bonnie asked.
"Wha- NO!" The fair-skinned boy shook his head and waved his arms around. "That's not what I meant!"
"Then what are you getting her?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah, I don't see anything on you," Octavia commented, her orange eyes scanning him for a few brief moments.
"It's a surprise..." Inigo looked over his shoulder to see if his girlfriend was coming. She was not... yet. "But I'll tell you."
"Spill it, Inigo!" the dark-skinned inkling egged.
"Yeah, don't keep us hanging!" the bronze-skinned girl agreed.
"It's..." The indigo-haired boy put a hand on his chest and looked to the side. "It's a light show." His gaze returned to the other Rainbow Squids. "I bought a few fireworks, and I'm gonna launch them on the rooftops when she gets there. Then, I'm gonna take her inside and turn on these disco lights I bought." He grinned. "It's gonna be great!"
"That sounds so fresh!" Yuri complimented. "I kinda want to be there myself."
"It's just for the two of us," he pointed out. "I don't want anyone ruining the moment."
"I know, I know..." he said. "But it just seems so fun!"
"Yuri..." Roy warned.
"Can't you lighten up, Roy?" the yellow-haired boy requested. "I wasn't going to bother them anyways."
"She's coming!" Perry announced.
On the other end of the stretch of land, Geneva emerged from the Inkopolis Tower, brushing some ink off of her. Her long green hair and her Splattershot, filled with the same green ink, glistened in the sunlight. Her green eyes searched the area before laying them on the Rainbow Squids. She put her weapon away and ran towards them.
"Inigo!" she exclaimed, grabbing the fair-skinned boy's hand. She looked over at the other inklings. "Squids!"
"So, Geneva..." Via started. Everyone held out their gifts.
"Happy birthday!" all of them announced.
"Aw, thanks." She took Bonnie's gift first, a thin box wrapped neatly in turquoise paper. She tore it open to reveal a box containing a Fresh Squiffer inside. "A new weapon?"
"You said you wanted a charger, so..." She met her blue eyes with Geneva's green. "I got you my favorite type."
"And it's the new one, too," the green-haired girl commented, holding the box up in the light. "Fresh."
"It's in the name," Perry teased, throwing some finger guns. Everyone chuckled at his remark.
"Here's mine." Roy handed his gift bag to Geneva, and she proceeded to open it as well.
She examined the sweater and smiled. "I like it."
"And here's mine!" Octavia handed her gift bag to the green-haired girl.
She pulled out the lime shirt and gasped. "Oh!" She hugged it. "The latest from Splash Mob." Her eyes met with Via's. "Thank you."
"You better wear it tomorrow," she teased.
"Don't worry, I will."
"My turn!" Yuri plopped his gift bag in Geneva's hands. "I really hope you like it!"
She pulled the hat out of the bag and proceeded to take her beanie off to replace it with the white cap. She tipped it downwards and gave a smirk. She gave a thumbs-up to show her approval.
"Simple, but fresh," she noted. "I like it."
"And here's my gift." Perry handed her the football tickets. "Have some fun with them."
"Football tickets..." Geneva glanced between the tickets and the purple-haired inkling before saying, "Thanks."
"No problem." He snapped his fingers. "Anything for your birthday."
"So, Inigo." The green-haired girl turned to the aforementioned inkling, smiling. "What's your gift?"
"It's a special one," he replied. He walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "Meet me in Flounder Heights tonight."
"We're going rooftop running?" she perplexed.
"It's more than that." Inigo smirked. "You'll see."
In a hero costume, the boy with a ponytail paced around the rooftops of Flounder Heights, waiting for his girlfriend to show up.
Where is she? he wondered. She's not usually late.
It was not long before the green-haired girl arrived in her own hero costume. She walked up to Inigo and smiled.
"Hey," she greeted. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and asked, "So, why'd ya bring me out here?"
"Your birthday present, obviously." The boy with the ponytail winked.
"...I don't see it," she stated looking past him.
"Well, we gotta run to find out." With that, Inigo started racing towards their next destination. "Follow me!"
"Hey, wait up!" Geneva yelled after him.
Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the two inklings ran through the night. The lights below illuminated the streets, while only the moonlight illuminated Geneva and Inigo. Every now and then, the latter would look over his shoulder to make sure the former still followed him. Her presence was marked by the lights the hero headset replica gave off—a convenient feature of the hero costumes they wore. They ran past Flounder Heights, getting closer and closer.
Eventually, they arrived on top of an office building near the two towers of Inkopolis, Inkopolis Tower being closer. There, some fireworks laid on the ground. Nearby was an entrance to inside, where Inigo had stored the rest of his lights.
"We're here!" he announced.
"...To what?" the green-haired girl asked after an awkward silence.
"Stay right there." The indigo-haired boy walked over to a torch lying next to the fireworks. He separated the explosives, picked up the torch, and began lighting them one at a time. After the last firework was lit, he ran back to Geneva and wrapped his hands around her arm. The fireworks shot up into the air, exploding into various colors. Green, indigo, and he even put a rainbow one in there. A big smile started to spread across the long-haired girl's face, the lights reflecting in her eyes.
"Woah..." she breathed.
"'Woah' indeed," Inigo agreed, a smile spreading across his face as well.
"Inigo... You didn't have to do this," she remarked, looking at him.
"But it's your birthday," he pointed out. "How couldn't I?"
She chuckled. "Ha ha, true. I guess you wouldn't be Inigo without going all out in the name of love."
"Oh, shut up." Despite his words, the boy with the ponytail couldn't contain his laughter. Soon, the two were on the floor, laughing until it hurt.
Soon, they faced each other, tears of joy in their eyes. "Will a kiss make you shut up?" Geneva asked, inching closer to him.
"Y-Yeah." The two met lips, and as quickly as it started, it ended. Afterwards, Inigo stood up and told the other inkling, "There's more."
"More?" She stood up as well, tentacles dragging along the cement as she rose. "Where?"
"Not fireworks, but I think you'll like this even better." The fair-skinned boy walked over to the door leading downstairs and picked the lock open with a paperclip he had in his pocket. "After you." He bowed and watched as his girlfriend walked inside. After she entered, he walked in and closed the door behind him. They went down a flight of stairs, towards a storage room. They stepped into the dark room. Inigo tapped a button with his foot and in an instant, the room burst into color. The disco lights spun around, spotting the room in different colors. Squidmas lights shifted between green and indigo, which were arranged to read, 'Happy Birthday Geneva!'. A projector in front of them flickered to life, displaying an ocean pattern on the ceiling.
"Wow... That was nothing to compared to this," Geneva commented with awe.
They sat down again. "Happy birthday, Geneva," Inigo said. "Happy birthday."
The green-haired inkling threw one of her tentacles around the indigo-haired one and leaned against his shoulder. Feeling her suction cup on his chest, he proceeded to undo his ponytail and let one of his own tentacles fall on her head. He wrapped an arm around Geneva and pulled her closer to him. Comforted by the warmth of her body, Inigo watched the lights, together with his girlfriend.
Present Day
As per his mom's orders, Inigo dug through his closet, looking for stuff to throw away. All while he chatted with Roy over the phone, being put on speaker so he didn't have to carry the electronic the entire time.
"I can't even look at Bonnie," the red-haired inkling whined. "Not without thinking what happened before the Salmon Run."
"You could try thinking of something else," he suggested. "That's what helped me not tear up every time I talked to Geneva after we broke up." The very statement brought memories of their break-up back to his mind, forcing him to bite his tongue to distract himself from the thoughts.
"Would that even change anything, though?" Roy muttered. "I still tried to hurt her."
"Roy, this is probably the fifth time I've said it—no one hates you, and we forgive you."
"How do you know? You're just one squid."
"The Rainbow Squids and I have talked about it. Multiple times."
"Who's to say they're not lying?"
"You really think we're lying?"
"I-I... No...! I just..." Roy let out a groan. "I can't talk to you right now!"
"Roy, wait-" And just like that, his friend hung up. Inigo sighed and picked up his phone. Why is he being so difficult? He frowned. I just want him back... I want Geneva back... Once again, he found himself with tears rolling down his cheeks. "Dang it, Roy!" He punched the wall, causing a box in his closet to fall to the ground. "Why'd ya gotta make things difficult!"
After the box fell, however, he noticed something fall out of it. Rubbing his eyes free of tears, Inigo picked it up and examined it. A disco light. Memories of its last use—Geneva's 16th birthday—came rushing into his head. Much simpler times, they were, where Inigo wasn't sitting here, loathing the break-up.
It was then something Fable had once said to him came into his head. Just think of the good times you had with her! she had once said regarding how to move on from Geneva. And to him, the light show was one of the highlights of his relationship with the green-haired inkling. He doubted it would be something he would forget soon.
But so many things were reminders of Geneva... Perhaps he could rid of it? Once he was sure he would not burst out into tears again, Inigo made the decision to take it somewhere else. To someone who deserved it more than him.
Cupping the disco light in his palms, the indigo-haired inkling started walking down the street, towards Geneva's apartment. He arrived at the apartment complex, entered it, and took the elevator up to the floor the Gonati residence was located. Soon, he was standing outside of the front door. Gripping the base of the light with one hand, he took a free hand and knocked on the door. No one answered.
"Asher?" Inigo called. "Are you there?" From within, he heard footsteps scurry around. "It's me, Inigo."
The door pushed open to reveal a disheveled Asher. His hair had been taken out of its ponytail, leaving two tentacles to just barely drape over his shoulders. He wore nothing but shorts and a t-shirt, and he slouched, making him seem only just barely taller than Inigo. What was most striking, however, was the fresh bandages wrapped around his forearms. He had seen them only once before, and even then, Asher didn't want to talk about why he had them. He doubted he would talk about them now.
"Inigo!" the green-haired inkling gasped. "I-I didn't expect you." He tugged on the end of the bandage closest to his hand.
"I know," he acknowledged. "I just wanted to bring you this." He held out the disco light.
"What...?" The young man looked down at the object.
"You remember Geneva's 16th birthday, right?"
"When you bought a bunch of lights for her?" With a frown, he nodded. "I remember her telling me about that."
"Well, this was one of the lights I used." The boy with the ponytail glanced between the light and the older inkling. "I wanted you to have it."
"But... why?" Asher leaned against the doorframe and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "Geneva should have it."
"She should..." Before he could stop his tongue, he found himself saying, "But she isn't here." Sadly, he added silently.
He looked away from Inigo. "I don't deserve it," he muttered.
"What?!" the indigo-haired inkling cried. "Why not?"
"I..." Asher took a few steps deeper into his apartment, into the darkness.
"Asher?" he called. The green-haired inkling started receding further into the apartment, until he tripped on a slipper and fell onto the firm cushions of the couch. "Asher!" The younger boy ran over to him. "Are you OK?!"
The young man groaned and sat up. "My back isn't," he said, rubbing it.
"I know there's more to it than that," Inigo insisted.
"There isn't!" he snapped.
The fair-skinned boy was taken aback by his harshness. "But-"
"Leave!" he demanded.
Slowly, Inigo started backing away, towards the exit. Just as he was about to bolt out of the apartment and back home, he noticed something peculiar. Suddenly, it dawned on him just what Asher had been doing before he got here. With horror, his indigo eyes drifted back towards the other inkling's watery green ones.
"Asher..." he whispered.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I've been failing her." He shook his head. "I've been failing everyone."
"Where did you get that idea?" Inigo pondered. He walked back up to the couch where the other resided. "You aren't failing anyone!"
"You don't get it," he croaked, more tears flowing from his eyes. "You don't."
"Please, Asher!" Inigo demanded, kneeling down. He raised a hand, his fingers brushing Asher's bandages. "How long have you been doing this for?"
"Years," he replied. "Before I even came to Inkopolis." He gulped. "Geneva... I promised her I would see the day she returned. But now..." He flexed his fingers, balling his hand into a fist and then releasing it. "I-I don't know how much longer I can keep that promise."
"Asher..."
"I failed her at the Deca Tournament," he croaked. "You would have won if it wasn't for me." Once again, his green eyes met the boy's indigo ones. "You know how good Geneva is." His eyes dropped again. "I should have never accepted your offer."
"Look, Asher, look." The boy with the ponytail put his hands on Asher's shoulders. "I miss her too, but..." He paused, searching for the right words. "You did great at the Deca Tournament." He smiled. "Geneva would be proud of you."
"Would she? Would she really?"
"Yes. She would."
The green-haired inkling let out a laugh and hugged Inigo. "Thank you."
"Any time." Inigo patted his back. "We care 'bout you, too."
Asher let go and sniffed. "Y'know... I'm glad you were her first love, Inigo." His smile fell, and he looked down at the ground. "I'm glad it wasn't another her..." he muttered so quietly that Inigo could barely hear him. He decided not to press on the identity of 'her'. His green eyes met Inigo's again, and he finished, "I'm glad she has such an awesome group of friends."
"Well, you know the Rainbow Squids—we stick together no matter what."
"And I'm glad for that."
"Me too, me too." The indigo-haired boy started walking towards the exit of the apartment. "Stay safe, Asher. Call me if you need me."
Asher simply nodded, and the other inkling left, leaving the disco light in the young adult's hands.
A/N: A solemn note to end this chapter with. How in detail I can go with the ending is quite limited by the rating, but I tried my best, even if I feel like I am pushing it quite a bit. I really hope you guys get what I was trying to imply here. Anyways, I really wanted a flashback chapter at some point in The Rainbow Squids, and now seemed like a fitting time. The main idea I wanted to introduce is that Inigo and Geneva used to do rooftop runs, but I also wanted to show some of Geneva's dorky side, as well as go into how her disappearance affected Asher more. The next chapter is much more positive, I promise you. Until next time, Branchwing, out!