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Agent 4: Perry's dad knows his son pretty well. Perry isn't exactly someone to think things through, sometimes. Even if Perry's dad wants to see his ex-wife again, he worries things would go badly if his son somehow finds her. But we'll see what happens!
Perry's mom's charger is not based off of any existing charger in Splatoon. Since a lot of the Splat weapons in Splatoon are based off of water guns, however, I searched up some old ones to base the old charger off of, as well as adding my own ideas.
On to the story!
Roy's PoV
As Roy packed up some clothes he wanted to bring for the trip tonight, his phone began to ring. Picking up the phone, the caller was listed as Oscar. A smile lighting up his face, he accepted it and brought the phone up to his ear.
"Happy Octivus!" the orange-haired octoling exclaimed. "...Wait, you do not celebrate Octivus."
"I'm gonna be honest with you, I have no idea what that is," he admitted, shoving a Squidmas sweater into his bag. "Sounds like an Octarian holiday."
"It is," Oscar confirmed. "We eat much more than usual on Octivus. Every unit had their own feast, and there were parades, too. There were public fights that we could watch, also. Some elites challenged officials, or maybe DJ Octavio himself."
"No presents?" Roy blinked, surprised. Giving gifts was the best part of Squidmas!
"Actually, yes," Oscar replied, much to the inkling's relief. "It much more minor, though."
"Oh."
"Tomorrow is Squidmas Eve. We could be going on a date."
"Yeah, but there's one problem—I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'm going over to my aunt and uncle's house. They live down in Surume County—it's like, two or three hours away if you drive there. They have some pretty nice beaches."
"Is it as beautiful as the beaches of Inkopolis?"
"Eh... It feels kind of empty there sometimes. I can think of a few people who'd like it, though."
"When will you come back?"
"I dunno... Squidmas Day, I guess. Don't know what time, but I'll keep you updated."
"I will see you then," Oscar promised. "Goodbye, Roy."
"Bye." He hung up, setting his phone off to the side. His red eyes drifted over to his bag again. Now, to keep packing. He was glad he had no homework for the holidays—that would just suck. He felt bad for the squids that did. He shook his head, dismissing his thought. He had to focus on this, so that he would have more free time before he had to leave.
Roy shoved some clothes into his bag, and after some time, he had finished, zipping the bag up. He walked over to his laptop and opened it, starting up a video game. He plugged a controller into his computer and leaned back into his chair as he played it. He didn't intend to play too much today—given the nature of competitive games, he was bound to start lashing out and screaming cusses at the computer screen at some point.
But minutes soon turned into hours. Before he knew it, he could hear a knock on the door. Right in the middle of a match, too.
"It's open," he called.
The door opened, and glancing over his shoulder, he saw his mom stepping inside his room, her hands on her hips. He quickly returned his attention to the game, however. He bit his tongue as his character was splatted, then panning over to the player who had defeated him.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"My bag's there," he replied. "Right next to my bed."
She sighed. "Can't you take a break for one second and give it to me?"
"But-"
"C'mon, Roy, you're not going to lose if you don't do anything for five seconds. Just get up."
He sighed. "Fine." He set his controller down and rose from his chair, scrambling over to his bag and handing it over to his mom.
Satisfied, she smiled and dipped her head. "Come downstairs once you're done with that round. We're leaving pretty soon."
"Alright, alright." He ran back over to his laptop and picked up the controller, sitting right back down in his chair. He frowned upon seeing the score—the other team had pulled slightly ahead in the seconds he was inactive. He could probably tip it his team's favor again, but there was always the slight chance that he didn't. He leaned over in his chair, his gaze steadying on the screen as he worked harder to secure the win for his team.
Soon enough, his team won, and he cheered, "Booyah," raising a fist into the air. With that, he shut off the game and unplugged the controller, closing his laptop. He put on his shoes and walked downstairs, where his mom was waiting. His dad was just walking in, his hands behind his head.
"That's everything," he announced. His brown eyes focused on Roy. "Oh, Roy! You're here! Let's get going, then."
"Coming." He walked past his father, to the car. He climbed into the back seat and pulled out some earbuds, putting them in and opening Bubblify. With the press of a few buttons, the first song of a playlist began, the rock music blasting into his ears. He noticed his parents get into the front seats, and an instant, the car started up. His dad turned on the radio and drove off into the night, out of Inkopolis.
Roy found himself falling asleep, and when he woke up, he could pick up the faint scent of the salty sea, palm trees rustling in the breeze. They had arrived. He rubbed his eyes and climbed out of the car, staring at the house in front of him. It was a rather large beach house, the sides of it painted pink. Some other cars were parked in the driveway, one of which he knew belonged to Wyatt's parents. He took a deep breath. He hadn't really interacted with anyone in his extended family other than Wyatt in a year. And now, he would face them again. It wasn't that he didn't like them, but they can be a little...intrusive.
"Roy," his mom called. "Come get your bag."
"Alright, alright." The red-haired boy walked behind the car, lifting a bag out of the trunk. Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked to the front door and rang the doorbell, his parents not far behind him. Answering the door was a tan-skinned boy close to Alexis's age, sea-green hair styled into a bowl cut—Wyatt's brother, Clark, though he did not have that haircut the last time he saw him.
"Hi," he greeted, dark circles under his red eyes. "Guess you're here now."
"Yeah, I am." Roy walked past him, standing in the middle of the entryway. The kitchen was off to the right, and up ahead was the living room, followed by some stairs. The TV was on, playing a movie on its screen. Sitting on the couch directly across from it was Wyatt, dressed in pajamas.
He stepped in front of the TV, and immediately, his cousin's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, you're in the way."
"I don't think you'd notice me otherwise," Roy argued.
"Yeah, but still," Wyatt admitted. "Now move, they're just getting to the good part."
Roy stepped out of the way, and his cousin nodded his head, satisfied. He looked towards the television, which depicted two inklings clinging onto the mast of a makeshift boat. A Maws's lure poked out of the water, circling around the boat as ominous music played. Moments later, the boss salmonid leaped out of the water, swallowing them both and taking the ship down with them. A layer of dark green ink floated where the inklings had splatted before dissolving completely, leaving only pieces of the boat and their clothes behind. The scene then cut to another inkling wearing a fishing uniform, looking through a telescope. It was then Roy stopped paying attention to the movie, his mother tugging on the sleeve of his jacket. She gestured for him to follow her, and together, they walked upstairs.
Standing at the top of the stairs was a middle-aged inkling with tan skin and red hair tied into a low ponytail, a small beard framing his chin. Unlike Wyatt and Clark, he was dressed in a suit, though he wore nothing but socks on his feet. He was smiling, his arms spread out.
Uncle Oliver, his mom's older brother and owner of the beach house.
"Bea! You're here!" he greeted. Red eyes focused on Roy and his dad. "...And your husband and kid, too."
His mom smiled. "Nice to see you again."
"Of course, of course," Oliver concurred. "Mom and Dad are asleep. Matt's watching a movie downstairs with his kids. His wife's asleep."
She crossed her arms. "Matt fell asleep, too. I could hear him snore."
Roy blinked, surprised. He didn't even notice his other uncle—he was so preoccupied with Wyatt's presence that he didn't bother to look for anyone else. But he supposed it didn't matter—if what his mom was saying was true, he was sleeping, anyways.
"What about your wife and kids?" Roy's dad asked. "They're somewhere too, aren't they?"
"Nora's dealing with Ava," Oliver replied. "That girl just can't sit still, I swear." He cleared his throat. "The others are sleeping. They're a little young to be staying up so late."
It was then a door down the hallway creaked open, and emerging from the shadows was an inkling woman with light brown skin. Like his uncle's, her hair was red, though Roy knew she had blue eyes as well. She wore a nightgown, and soon she joined Uncle Oliver, clasping a kid's book in her hands.
"Hi," Aunt Nora greeted. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's fine," Roy's mom assured her. "Oli was just telling me how you were trying to put your kid to sleep."
"Really?" his uncle deadpanned. "'Oli?' We're not kids anymore, Bea."
"If you can call me 'Bea,' then I can call you 'Oli,'" she argued. "Simple."
Oliver groaned, but his anger quickly washed away as he replaced his previous expression with another smile. "So, anything exciting happen to you recently?" He walked up to Roy, lifting his head. "Speaking of exciting, I hear you're a senior now! How is it?"
Roy shrugged. "OK, I guess."
"Only OK?" he gasped. "Why, your senior year of high school is one of the most exciting years of your life! Right behind college!"
"College is where I met Oliver, you know," Nora added. "We fell in love, and we've been together ever since." She smiled. "Are you dating anyone, Roy? It's usually around this time many people start dating."
He rubbed the back of his head, frowning. Why did she have to bring that up now, of all times?
"Uh, no," he lied. It would be better if his aunt and uncle didn't know about his and Oscar's relationship—that way, he wouldn't have to answer any questions he may've gotten. Though his parents didn't know either, to be fair.
"Tough luck with love?" she guessed. "Don't worry, you'll find the right one some day."
"Well, no matter," Oliver concluded. "Let me show you to your room."
In a moment, Uncle Oliver gestured the group to follow him, and they descended into the hallway, and soon enough, he opened a door to the right, revealing a room that wasn't very decorated, consisting of only two beds, a nightstand with a lamp in-between the beds, and a few plants. They stepped into the room and dropped their bags inside.
"Thank you." Roy's mom bowed.
"Of course, of course," he said. Together, Oliver and Nora stepped outside of the room, their footsteps pattering away. Now, Roy and his parents were alone.
Roy turned to face them and gestured to himself. "Uh... Can I change?"
"Of course," his dad replied.
They stepped out of the room, allowing Roy to change out of his everyday clothes to his pajamas—simply a t-shirt and shorts. A few minutes later he opened the door, signaling to his parents that he had finished. They exchanged places so his parents could change into pajamas as well, and when the door opened, they invited him back inside to go to sleep.
Roy plopped onto the bed opposite of his parents' and opened up Squidsagram on his phone, scrolling through the latest posts. There were some pictures from Octa Prisma, depicting various Octivus activities he recalled Oscar describing to him earlier. One picture showed, every member sitting around a banquet table stacked with food, while another showed Iris and Peyton engaged in a wrestling match, Brayden smiling in the background as he held his phone up to take a picture. The final picture he came across was a drawing of the Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma together, engaged in a turf war against each other. According to the caption, Eight drew it. Despite the scene, only a smile could come across Roy's face. Despite their rivalry, the two teams were still friends.
He opened up a text from Oscar. The orange-haired octoling had sent him a picture of himself, holding up a pair of red-and-orange socks. Oscar himself wore an ugly Squidmas sweater that looked very itchy.
'Thinking of you,' the next text read.
Grinning, Roy typed back, 'Me too,' before setting his phone down on the nightstand, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.
Roy woke up to the sound of something crashing on the floor beneath him, jolting him awake. Alarmed, he dashed out of the bed and ran downstairs to the scene.
His face quickly fell upon arrival. Standing in the kitchen were two young inklings, both red in color. One had a pot over her head, her arms flailing around. The other inkling, younger than the first, was frowning, a few tears pricking her eyes.
"What happened?" he demanded, walking over to his younger cousins.
"Eep!" The girl who was crying jumped at the sound of his voice, shielding her face with hands covered in oven mitts. "I'm sorry, Roy! Please don't be mad!"
He pulled the pot off of the other girl, and she explained, "Ava spilled the cookies."
"It was an accident!" Ava defended. "I'm sorry; I wanted to surprise everyone by making cookies."
Roy's eyes trailed down to his feet. Indeed, sugar cookies were scattered around the tiled floor, alongside a cookie sheet and some other pots.
"I was helping her," the other girl, Maria, explained. "Ava bumped into me, I bumped into the counter, and you know the rest."
"What are we gonna do now?" Ava asked, her head lowered. "The cookies are ruined!"
"...Clean it up?" Roy suggested, albeit a little more rudely than he would've liked.
"Aw," Maria whined. "Do we have to?"
"Well, you're the ones who made it," he argued, "so, you're the ones who have to clean it up."
"Can't you help us, Roy?" Ava pled. "If we make a new batch, I'll let you have as many as you want!"
Normally, he wouldn't get greedy, but the prospect of having unlimited cookies did seem quite promising... "Aight," he agreed. "I'll help you."
"Yay!" the girls cheered.
"You squids clean up the cookies," he instructed. "I'll deal with the other stuff."
They nodded, and immediately, they began picking up the cookies, throwing them in the trash can. As Roy put the pots back up on the drying rack, the oven began to beep, signaling that whatever was in the oven was ready.
"Oh! That's right!" Ava recalled. "Maria put more in the oven!"
"It's the last batch, though," Maria remarked, frowning. "We spilled everything else."
"I'll get them out!" she declared, starting to walk towards the oven.
"No, me!" the other girl interjected, hopping in front of Ava. "You know what happened last time!"
"But they're my cookies!"
"I'll get them," Roy interrupted, walking over to the oven. He pulled out some oven mitts and raised the cookie sheet out, setting it on top of the stove. He turned around to face them. "See? Everything's good now." A small smile tugged at his lips. "Does that mean I get to eat one now?"
"No," Ava replied, "because I was gonna take them out myself, until Maria stopped me."
He groaned. "Seriously? You're still fighting?"
Before the sisters could answer, a new voice interrupted them.
"What's going on here?"
Roy turned his attention to the speaker—Uncle Oliver, who stood in the middle of the living room wearing slacks and a green sweater, his hands on his hips. His eyebrows were furrowed, the wrinkles on his face becoming more prominent.
"Daddy!" Ava ran over to him, her hands clenched into fists. "You didn't hear that, did you?"
"If you mean the pots crashing, then yes, yes I did." He sighed, shaking his head. "What were you even doing?" Oliver lifted his head, red eyes focusing on Roy. "And why are you with them?"
"Hey, I was helping them clean up," he snapped.
"Yeah, that's right!" Maria agreed, jumping up into the air and waving a hand.
Oliver crossed his arms. "Still doesn't answer my first question."
"W-We were making cookies," Ava stuttered out, panic-striken. "You're not mad, are you?"
"Cookies...?" His uncle blinked. "What kind?"
"Sugar cookies!" exclaimed the other girl.
Oliver seemed more amused than anything. "You two tried to bake some yourselves?"
"Y-Yeah." Ava shuffled her feet nervously. "There's still some left."
The older inkling walked over to the kitchen, hovering over the stove. He picked up one of the cookies and bit into it, chewing it. After a few moments, he swallowed and looked back at his daughters.
"This is good," he complimented. "It's a little lumpy, but still good."
"We still gotta put icing on it," Maria pointed out. She grabbed a bowl and held it up. Peering into it, Roy spotted red icing. "At least we still have this!"
"Yeah! I was putting them into the oven, and Maria was icing them," Ava explained. Her eyes then focused on her sister. "See? We did good!" She raised a hand, and they proceeded to high-five each other.
Oliver chuckled. "When they aren't fighting, they get along splendidly," he whispered to Roy.
"I can see that," he deadpanned. He expected some remark from Uncle Oliver about being an only child, but none such remark came. Instead, he watched the girls as they iced the remaining cookies, pride radiating off of him.
After the first cookie was iced, Maria held it out towards Roy. "For you!"
He took it. "Thanks." Roy started to eat it as he walked out of the kitchen, to the living room. He turned on the TV to see another movie playing, this one being Squidmas-themed. An inkling wearing an elf costume walked around an office, the employees there simply staring at him with puzzled expressions. Not wishing to watch this movie, he changed the channel to some footage of turf wars from Inkopolis. A disclaimer at the bottom of the screen told him they were simply rerunning old footage from last week, seeing as not many inklings would be out battling during Squidmas.
Ava soon joined him on the couch, sitting right next to him. "You live in Inkopolis, right?" she asked, directing his attention away from the television. "Is it fresh?"
He swallowed the piece of the cookie he was eating before answering, "Of course." He glanced back at the TV. A new match was just beginning, and a gasp escaped his lips as he saw himself emerge from one of the spawn points. Ava looked over at the TV as well, and upon seeing her cousin, she leaped off of the couch and started jumping up and down, clearly excited.
"Daddy! Maria!" she called. "Roy's on TV!"
"Huh?" Maria waddled over to join her, and upon sight of the tan-skinned inkling, she gasped as well. "Oh my cod, he is!"
Some footsteps climbed down the stairs, and he looked over to see Uncle Matt—Wyatt's father—descending into the living room. "What's going on here?" Though there were some obvious differences, like his eyes being red like Roy's mom instead of green like the sea, he looked like an older version of Wyatt.
Oliver emerged from the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head. "It's a long story." Matt walked up to him, and he began to recall the events of the past ten minutes or so to him. Once he finished, Wyatt's dad merely nodded.
"I thought it was something outside," he mused.
Uncle Oliver gave a nervous chuckle. "Dense as always, I see."
He blinked. "Dense?!"
"Just forget about it."
Roy turned his attention back to the TV. Slowly, but surely, the rest of his family filtered into the living room. Wyatt and Clark plopped onto the couch with him, watching the turf wars. No one he recognized had popped up since Roy's own appearance, but Clark, on the other hand, did recognize some people, happily pointing out his classmates and other friends. Roy dipped out of the living room briefly to change into a green striped LS and leggings, but when he came back, he was met with warm reception. As Squidmas should be, the house grew more and more lively.
Soon enough, his grandparents appeared, with his grandma rolling his grandpa out on a wheelchair. With a smile, she waved to the rest of the group, and everyone greeted her back. Roy's grandpa waved as well, but he lacked the energy of everyone else.
"It's good to see you two," Roy's dad remarked, stretching out a hand. The two elderly inklings took it, slowly shaking his hand.
"You too," his grandma agreed.
"I wish we could go to Inkopolis more," his grandpa added. "But as you can see..." He gestured towards himself. "I'm in no state to do so."
"At least Oliver's kids are here," she continued. "They're a joy to be around."
Even Roy's grandpa started to smile. "Matt and Beatrice's kids are growing up. Why, I remember when they were babies!"
"Grandpa..." Clark groaned, throwing down his hands.
"What? It's true!"
"Wyatt and Roy are seniors now," Roy's grandma commented. "Next thing you know, they'll be in college!"
"Speaking of Wyatt..." Aunt Nora inserted herself between Roy's dad and his grandparents, smiling. "I heard he broke up with his girlfriend."
Suddenly, all eyes fell on his cousin. "Yeah," Wyatt confirmed. "It's been a long time since then, but it still hurts."
"What about you, Clark?" Oliver asked, looking over at him. "Are you dating anyone?"
"I can't believe I didn't ask him yesterday," his wife lamented, shaking her head.
"No," the boy with the bowl cut replied, "but I do have a crush."
"A crush?" Nora seemed to leap out of her seat, her blue eyes sparkling. "What's her name?"
"I-It's a secret," Clark shot down, his face flushed with red. "But, I can tell you, she's amazing. She's on the student council, and she can act pretty feisty, but she's super nice, I swear. A-and she's cute, too. The hat she wears is adorable."
Roy leaned back into the couch cushions, crossing his arms. Who could Clark possibly be talking about? It had to be someone that went to his school, judging by his comment about the student council. But his knowledge on squids in his younger cousin's grade was limited. Maybe Alexis would know someone who fit that description...? Speaking of squids that were on the student council and wore hats, she just happened to fit that description. He didn't want to assume anything yet, though, nor did he want to make her worry. Besides, no matter who it is, Alexis probably wouldn't be interested in anyone anyways. The idea of romance always did make her seem squeamish, even as she grew older.
"Well, it's gonna suck if my brother gets a girlfriend before I get a new one," Wyatt noted with a chuckle. "Can't let that happen."
Roy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you've moved on from Naomi?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure," he affirmed. "After the whole deal with the Vigilante, I can never see her the same way ever again." He rubbed the back of his head. "I just haven't found anyone I've liked since, that's all."
"The..." The youngest of Uncle Oliver's kids, Noah, spoke up, directing everyone's attention to him. "Vi...vigil... What?"
"Vigilante," Wyatt repeated. "Vi-gi-lan-te."
Noah continued to stumble on the word, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Vigal... Vigilat..."
"Don't worry about it," Roy assured him. "All you need to know that the Vigilante was just a squid my age that did stupid things."
"Oh." His little cousin gave a nod. "OK!"
"Can't you tell me more?" Ava piped up, running over to Roy. "I guess he lives in Inkopolis? He must be fresh, since Wyatt's girlfriend was fresh, and there's no way she wouldn't have a fresh boyfriend!"
"Seriously, don't worry about it," he insisted. "It's all in the past now."
"Aw..." Ava pouted and returned to where she was previously standing, plopping down and crossing her arms.
Nora laughed. "That's Ava for you."
The family continued to mingle as Roy directed his attention back to the TV, though it was hard to see what was on it with everyone blocking the way. The hours passed by, and sunrise turned to sunset. A little past noon, Uncle Oliver and Aunt Nora disappeared to prepare dinner, and when the clock struck six o'clock in the evening, the former directed everyone to the dining room, where Roy was presented with a buffet of food. A plethora of seafood was laid out in front of him, alongside some vegetable dishes, pasta, and drinks. Of course, in the very middle of the table was a white cake decorated with various fruits. Though the cake was very obviously bought from some store, at least Oliver had the foresight to buy two of them!
Roy was seated between his dad and Wyatt, and the two exchanged glares as they filled up their dishes. They ate away at their meal, with Wyatt stealing some pieces of salmon from his plate every-now-and-then, much to his chagrin. Roy paid him back by stealing some of his cake once it was time to serve it, much to Wyatt's surprise. But, if they wanted to fight, now was not the time to do so.
After the meal was finished, Wyatt's mom switched the channel to some Squidmas movies, watching them with the other adults. While everyone was occupied, Roy retreated upstairs to the room he was staying in, closing the door, his back pressing against the wood. He tried calling Oscar first, but the octoling failed to pick up. Next, he called Inigo.
"Hey," his friend greeted seconds later. In the background, he could hear some music playing. "What's up?"
"Just family things," Roy replied, shrugging. "What about you?"
"Same here. I'm at my grandma's house; everyone's watching a movie." Inigo sighed. "I'm glad Mom's an only child. Don't have to deal with cousins."
"What about the other side of your family?" he puzzled. "Don't you have cousins there?"
"Yeah, but they're visiting tomorrow. I'll deal with them when they get here." A few moments later, Inigo proceeded to change the subject. "What about you? Isn't your mom's side of the family kind of big?"
"Not big compared to some other people," Roy defended. "But yeah, it's crowded down there. It makes me glad that my uncle's house is so big."
"The one that lives in Surume County? Isn't he rich or something?"
"He's not that rich. At least, not Perry-rich."
"So he's rich."
Roy sighed in defeat. "Yeah, basically." To elaborate, Aunt Nora's family was rich, and Uncle Oliver married into it, giving him access to the luxuries of the upper class. Unfortunately, moving down south to Surume County also meant that he seldom saw him. The only time he was guaranteed to see him was Squidmas. With each passing year, Roy's younger cousins only grew older and older. Soon enough, they would be able to change forms! ...He still had four years before that would happen, thankfully. He was not prepared to see Maria in a humanoid form so soon.
"Told ya." Roy could only just imagine Inigo sticking his tongue out at him right now. "You should take some pictures."
"Why would I do that?"
"Well, you could post them to Squidsagram, and besides, maybe Oscar would want to see them. I'm sure one day he'll be coming over with you to visit."
Roy lowered his voice. "To visit? But my family doesn't even know I'm dating anyone!" He shook his head. "It's possible we won't even be together by next year."
Inigo's voice raised in pitch, imitating Yuri. "Don't say that! I'm sure you'll still be with him by this time next year." He laughed, his voice dropping to his normal tone. "How was that?"
The red-haired boy smirked. "Pretty good. Felt just like I was speaking to him myself."
"I wonder how he's doing," his friend mused. "I haven't seen him since this morning."
"Can't you check his Squidsagram?"
"I would do that, but I've been too busy. Maybe before I go to bed. Or maybe he'll send something to the group chat."
"Ah." Roy simply nodded. "Right, right."
Inigo paused before saying, "I gotta go. My mom wants me. See ya."
"Bye."
The indigo-haired boy hung up, and Roy slipped his phone back into his pocket, sighing. Too bad he couldn't spend Squidmas with any of his friends. That would be much better than staying out here in the middle of nowhere, with his family.
But, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He had to deal with them, whether he liked it or not.
Roy stared out the window of the car, the skies above them grey. At last, he was going home, on Squidmas Day, nonetheless. In his lap was a blowfish newsie his grandpa had given him for Squidmas. He didn't want to upset him, so he wore it the rest of the time he was at the beach house before leaving around noon. His little cousins were sad to see him go, but he did promise them he would come back some time. At least the trip to Surume County wasn't too long. He could go there and go back home within the span of the day.
The skyline of Inkopolis came into view, and he leaned forward in his seat, surveying the two towers of Inkopolis that peeked through the skyscrapers. His leg bounched with excitement. Finally, he would almost be home!
Roy pulled out his phone and texted Oscar, 'See you soon.' Once he got home, his plan was to meet up with Oscar in Inkopolis Square to make up for the time lost while he was away. It wasn't long now before he could finally see his face again.
About a half hour later, Roy's dad parked just outside their house, and the family climbed outside, gathering their belongings and entering the house. Roy slipped the newsie onto his head and carried some bags upstairs, consisting of both the clothes he wore while at the beach house and the presents he received this morning. It wasn't anything special—just a bunch of clothes. Wyatt did gift him a squid bumper for personal use, but with how little space was in his house, there wasn't much use for it. At least he didn't get any ugly Squidmas sweaters.
"Eager today, aren't ya?" Roy's dad commented as he returned downstairs, prepared to leave the house.
His mom sighed. "Wish you had this energy yesterday."
"Hey, it's Squidmas Day," he reminded them. "I...just want to do some ink battles, that's all. You can't really do that in Surume County."
His dad chuckled. "Well, if you say so!"
"Have fun, Roy," she wished. "Don't get in trouble, alright?"
"No need to worry." Roy gave a thumbs-up before exiting the house, running towards Inkopolis Square, his heart pounding. Finally, he was free! It wasn't long now before he would meet Oscar once again.
After a few minutes of running, he stopped, catching his breath. He lifted his head, looking up at the Deca Tower.
Why does it have to be all the way over there? he whined. It was then an idea popped into his head: he could just super-jump! Why didn't he think of that earlier?
Turning into a squid, Roy leaped into the air, red ink trailing behind him. He blasted towards Inkopolis Square, continuously gaining speed. When the front of the tower was in sight, he transformed back into his kid form, only to end up barreling into someone. The two inklings rolled across the pavement, stopping just outside the news studio. Roy lifted himself off of them, his body aching.
"Sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was..."
Getting a better look at the squid he hit, he quickly recognized the beanie they wore. It was dark green—a color that only one person he knew of wore.
"Giovanni!" he gasped. "Shoot, I didn't realize-"
"It is fine," the octoling groaned, sitting up, rubbing his head. "Just watch where you are going next time."
"I will." Roy laughed. "I just got impatient, that's all."
"Hm." Gio smiled. "That was not the answer I was expecting." He cleared his throat. "You are looking for Oscar, yes?"
Immediately, Roy felt his cheeks flush with heat. "Yeah, yeah, how did you know?"
"He told me," he replied. "Anyways, he is at our table near the Crust Bucket."
"Let me guess, he bought some food?"
"Indeed. You should probably go now. Maybe he is finished with the food by now..."
"Right, right." He wiped some dirt off his jacket and nodded. "Thanks a lot, Gio."
"Of course, it was my pleasure."
Roy ran off to the Crust Bucket, looking past the truck in search of the familiar octoling. Quickly, he spotted him. His orange eyes were focused on his phone as he drank a Short-Respawn Mocha. The other plates surrounding him were empty.
"Oscar!" the red-haired boy called. At the sound of his voice, Oscar lifted his head, looking over towards him.
"Roy!" he exclaimed. "Come, sit!"
He sat down next to him, and immediately, the orange-haired octoling frowned. "I am sorry for eating everything." He rubbed the back of his head. "I was hungry."
"It's fine," Roy assured him. "I already ate back in Surume."
"Really?" He blinked. "How was the food there?"
"Good, I guess. Just normal stuff you'd eat."
"You...have a Squidmas dinner, right?" Oscar then inquired. "I wonder if it better than Octivus feasts."
"You can come over next year," Roy suggested. "You can see for yourself then."
"So... Do you want to go anywhere?"
"Nah." He grabbed the octoling's hand, their fingers interlocking. "Just being with you is enough."
Saying no more, Oscar rested his head on Roy's shoulder, and together, they watched as snowflakes began to fall on Inkopolis, dusting the land in white.
A/N: Sorry this is late, I had a pretty bad headache over the weekend, and when I woke up yesterday morning, I just knew I wasn't going to be able to finish on Sunday. Nonetheless, I feel like this chapter is a little rushed - you can especially see towards the end, I think. But, it's a cute chapter. The next two chapters are also going to be Squidmas-themed, but unlike Roy, Octavia and Yuri are spending their Squidmases in Inkopolis. It's kind of funny I'm writing Squidmas chapters around Easter, isn't it? Anyways, see you all next week. Maybe we'll get some Splatoon 3 news by then. Oh well, we'll see. Branchwing, out!