Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Three Hearts Are Hard To Compensate For
Willie stared up at his apartment's ceiling with wide open eyes, the weight of blankets keeping him stuck in bed. It's been a few years after that initial interview, Willie and Zip happily living their lives and performing their jobs rain or shine. That being said:
Willie was extremely concerned on what to get Zip for a Teuthiatine's Day present.
Teuthiatine's Day, another Inkling tradition based off of a certain other holiday, wasn't too much of a celebrated holiday anymore in Inkopolis since the elementary days when the young and foolish squiddies went around gifting multiple paper hearts to each other. However, it was generally a good idea for those in serious relationships to spend all their gold, doubloons, or whatever else they used for currency on sappy gifts proclaiming their love. As such, one would assume that someone like Willie, bursting with energy, would've already decided on something spectacular for their loved ones.
Not really.
Willie sat up straight on his bed, pushing away the sheets with a sigh, clutching his cheeks in his palms.
"C'mon Willie...need to find something for your girl. But what? What does she want that she doesn't have?" Willie thought to himself, looking down. "Jewelry?"
Willie reached into his shorts pockets, pulling up nothing but dust bunnies which somehow remained untouched inside.
"Crab. That's out." Willie thought to himself, slumping backwards on his bed.
Staring at the ceiling, Willie waited and waiting, silently hoping and praying for a thought to come to him. He heard nothing except for the outside sounds of kids playing and automobiles drifting by in the streets. Willie closed his eyes, waiting for something to come to him. After a few minutes he groaned, stood up, and kicked his apartment door.
"Oh, whoops!" Willie hummed, reaching for the doorknob.
Twisting the doorknob, Willie opened the door, then kicked the door as to get that last bit of effect he had initially intended to get. Smirking, he began dashing to his left, not before roundhouse kicking the poor door again to close his apartment, the hinges screeching from the force. Willie sprinted downstairs his apartment building, bursting out of the front doors, running down the streets. His run slowly shifted into a walk, Willie taking in the sights and sounds of the city. Nothing much was happening, just another normal day. Willie frowned, scanning stores and buildings for anything he could get his beloved waitress soulmate.
"...Maybe I'm going about this all wrong. I could ask someone for advice, haven't given anyone a Teuthiatine's Day present in a long time, not since squidnergarden...maybe I could ask someone with a little more experience?" Willie thought to himself as he walked.
"Ha ha! Yesterday, I met the most beautiful woman I've met in my life!" A voice shouted.
Willie smiled. "That sounds like opportunity calling!"
Willie broke into a sprint, whirling around a building corner, finding himself in the Inkopolis Plaza. Shopkeepers were taking inventory, Spyke was tapping on the ground as usual, and the Squid Sisters were broadcasting the stage rotation changes. Willie was somewhat confused, scanning the plaza for whomever shouted earlier.
"Wha? Hello?" Willie called.
"Really now, was she really that good-looking?" A female voice chimed up from above him.
Wille gulped, recognizing the voice. Willie walked out into the plaza, and looked up. Standing on the top floor of the plaza by the Squid Sisters' studio was our as-of-late somewhat less egomaniac star of the show himself, Ari, leaning on a railing, almost swooning. Sari sat nearby, watching him with an amused interest.
"Oh, please no." Willie groaned in his mind.
"Ah...she was so direct, so assertive." Ari gushed, leaning back. "Dear Sari, your cousin has been lovestruck by nothing short of the most amazing women on the Earth."
"No offense cous, but didn't you say that about the last few hundred girls you've met?" Sari asked, grinning.
Ari blinked, standing up straight, pushing away from the railing. "Cousin, you wound me! She was nothing less of a predator, hungrily hunting after my hearts!"
Sari rolled her eyes, giggling. "Well, if she brings out the improvised poetry in you, I suppose she must be quite the catch."
"The catch of the day, the week, the year, she's amazing!" Ari said, spinning around. "The perfect Teuthiatine's Day date...that's what I need for a woman like that!"
Willie, swallowing his pride, walked over up to Ari and Sari, waving. "Uh, hey! Loudmouth."
Ari stopped spinning, flailing his arms in an attempt to revert to a normal posture. "Oh- Uh, eh, heeeeeey dude...man?"
"Yeah, 'sup!" Willie greeted him.
The two male Inklings stood in what would be an awkward silence if it weren't for the constant music being played over at the Inkopolis Tower, Sari glancing from Ari to Willie curiously.
"Alright, well, I came here to ask you something, Ari." Willie began.
"Sure, sh- Ahem, what do you wish to implore of me?" Ari asked, leaning on the railing again.
"I overheard you talking about a lady you like-"
"You HEARD that?!" Ari gasped, nearly falling off the side of the railing, Sari and Willie catching him by his legs.
"Yep, a couple blocks back!" Willie said as he pulled up.
"Ari, to be fair, you weren't being very discreet about your relations." Sari told him, getting Ari to grow somewhat red.
"C-Curses." Ari "cursed", looking to the side.
"No no no, I think it's cool and all that you finally have a person to call your significant other man." Willie reassured him.
"Er, well, she's just an acquaintance." Ari corrected.
"Oh." Willie frowned, then a prying smile spread across his face, poking Ari with his elbow. "Love at first sight, eh?"
Ari somehow managed to blush harder, slapping away Willie's elbow. "Oh, shush peasant! You don't even KNOW her."
"Heh, sorry man! But hey, just out of curiousity, how do you think you're going to pick this chick up?" Willie asked sincerely.
Ari's face went blank. "Oh ship." A glaring flaw ran through Ari's mind. "Will flirting work on Tai?! What's the first thing Octolings like?! Uh oh...I'm in trouble!"
"Uh…" Ari began sweating.
"Ari?" Willie asked. "You alright man?"
At this point, Ari's pupils had shrunken to that of a pea, his face flushed white. "I'll get back to you on that!"
With that said, Ari began running away. Sari, completely taken by surprise, waved her goodbyes with a sheepish smile, then dashed after her fleeing cousin.
"That didn't help." Willie commented, looking out with a blank face. "Yeesh, the speed at which Ari runs could give Splin and Sharq a run for their- Wait a minute…that's it!"
Willie grinned, looking up and over outside of Inkopolis. Very far in the distance, a familiar wooden house could be spotted, with two Inklings looking like specs toiling hard. Willie then transformed into a yellow squid, aiming towards the house. He leapt up into the air with a burst of yellow ink, spiraling as he flew through the air. Eventually, he managed to make it halfway. Hitting the soft dirt below, he immediately Super Jumped again, this time nearly about to land, soaring high above the hills.
"Aw, Splin, do we really have to do all this work? Doesn't seem like it would be much help." Sharq complained, lugging around a bunch of wooden boards.
"Look, Sharq, I don't enjoy the prospect of getting free splinters either, but we need to board up the house. You felt that dimensional tremor, I think as the few people in this world who know what this means, we should at least take precautions." Splin explained, raising a hammer as to demonstrate. "What if an attack blasts us from far away or an ancient evil or some video game stuff like that happens? You can't bunny hop away from a mutant bunny, if that's a thing that exists."
"True, true." Sharq said.
As they spoke, the two brothers could hear something slam into the side of the house. The two flinched, Splin turning around to face Sharq.
"See?! That's what I'm talking about!" Splin yelled, running around the house. "Get ready Sharq, we could be facing yet another threat!"
Sharq nodded, reaching offscreen, grabbing his Krak-On Roller, then followed Splin around the house. Instead of a vile creature or robotic ninja assassin like he'd expect, instead there laid Willie, who got up to his feet quite quickly.
"Hey, Music Man, Shady, how you two doing?" Willie asked energetically.
"Oh, hi Willie!" Sharq greeted him, dropping his Krak-On Roller, where it landed softly on the ground below.
Splin lowered his weapon. "Ah, hey Willie. What brings you here?"
Willie stood up straight, then cleared his throat, leaning on the side of the house. "You two have girlfriends, right?"
Splin and Sharq blinked, each facing Willie with the blankest of stares.
"Uh...I'm only fourteen." Splin spoke up.
"So?" Willie asked with a grin. "Pretty sure there are a couple of people just as young as you who are just swimming in- Uh, romantics."
Splin sighed, shaking his head. "Never been in those kinds of relationships, sorry. Sharq?"
Sharq laughed, leaning on his younger brother's shoulders. "I'm only a year older than you Splin, what makes you think I would have more experience?"
"Err...you have one more year of experience than me?" Splin said, only prompting Sharq to laugh a bit harder.
"Nah. Sorry Willie, we're both just a bunch of squids without a girl to call ours!" Sharq said with a chuckle. "Unless you want tips on how to be a cool brother, then I don't think we'll have much material to work with."
Willie smiled, turning away while still looking at the brothers. "I don't doubt that Shady! Thanks anyways guys!"
With that, Willie shifted into a squid, and Super Jumped away, Splin and Sharq waving him off.
"Huh." Splin cleared his throat, picking up the wood. "Back to building."
"Oh hey wait, Splin, after we're done building, wanna go down to Inkopolis to get some practice for the new Splatfest?" Sharq asked, picking up wood as well.
"There's a new Splatfest? What's the theme?" Splin asked as he entered the house.
"Um...Red and Blue I think." Sharq told him, following behind.
"Now I've heard of some rather lackluster Splatfests before, but that takes the cake. What's the appeal in choosing between two colors?" Splin asked with a smirk.
"Splin? Sharq?" Maria's voice called from inside.
Splin and Sharq quickened their pace somewhat, walking straight into the house. The two brothers stopped. Maria was standing up, waving at them nervously. Her eyes constantly glanced to the right. Splin and Sharq followed her gaze suspiciously, then froze, dropping their building supplies. Sitting in the kitchen was a pair of large animals, staring back at the two, Tele-Cube glowing nearby, Ann-Gel hopping as best as she could using her trophy pedestal over to Maria for safety. One appeared to be an orange dragon with great wings and a flaming tail and the other appeared to be some sort of blue turtle (no relation) with dual cannons sticking out of its shell, both blinking in confusion, taking in their new surroundings.
"Whoa." Sharq said, staring in awe at the two.
"...Voice?" Splin asked, looking up at the ceiling.
Moving on from that nod to Nintendo's interesting Splatfest selection-
"Voice, wait, don't leave! What do we do with them?!" Splin asked, speaking up to the sky.
Feed them or something, don't leave them hungry Splin!
"But-"
Like I said, moving on, Willie was walking through Inkopolis with his hands in his Varsity Jacket's pockets, frowning. The daylight was already fading, and Willie was getting nowhere with any gift ideas. Crestfallen, he walked around Inkopolis, walking through the sidewalk along the streets, passing by other Inklings. A particular instance Willie came upon made him especially peeved, walking past an Inkling couple, one happily hugging the other, a ring on her finger, smiles on both of their faces.
"Aw man! I'm getting nowhere! What can I do now? No money, nothing! It's hopeless! I can't think of anything special…" Willie thought, kicking at the ground underneath his feet.
Willie thought to himself as he walked. Eventually, his subconsciousness directed him back to Oahu, where he leaned on a newspaper dispenser nearby, the sign on the inside dictating that his work hours weren't until tomorrow. Willie could only stare straight up at the sky, dreaming up ideas.
"Work doesn't start until tomorrow, you know."
Willie squeaked, then turned around, where lo and behold, Zip herself, was leaning next to him.
"Zip? What are you doing here?" Willie asked.
"Looking for you. I had a strange feeling in my gut you'd be around here." Zip explained, letting her head drop on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Oh." Willie managed. "Um, sorry?"
"William, what were you doing wandering the city on Teuthiatine's Day alone? C'mon dude, I wanted to spend time with you." Zip told him.
Willie sighed, looking away melancholily. "Trying to find you a Teuthiatine's gift."
Zip perked up. "What? That's what you've been doing running all over the city for?"
"Wait, how'd you know I was running around so much? Have you been watching me?" Willie asked, dumbfounded.
Zip smiled warmly. "No Willie, I ran into Ari. He was kinda flustered, though he mentioned bumping into you. It's sweet of you to try and find me a gift, you know."
Willie blushed. "It would've, if I'd have found one."
Zip suddenly leaned in and kissed Willie on the cheek, taking him by surprise. "Dude, it's fine. You're the only gift I could ask for. Besides, who goes to all that trouble for Teuthiatine's Day anymore?"
"I do?" Willie told her, getting Zip to giggle somewhat.
"Well, thanks so much for trying for me Willie." Zip said, hugging him. "I'm sorry too."
Willie blinked, looking down at Zip. "Wha? W-Why are you apologizing, Zip?"
Zip's own face reddened. "I...kinda tried to find you a gift too. I couldn't either."
Willie smiled. "Guess we're both hopeless when it comes to finding gifts, huh?"
The two laughed, staying in each other's grip for a while, Zip comfortably shifting somewhat in Willie's warm hug. After a while, the two broke the hug, staring straight into each other's eyes dramatically-
"Tai! I've got a present for you!" Ari shouted in the background, saving me from having to awkwardly write romance.
Zip looked around suddenly, confused. "Did you hear that?"
Willie blinked, glancing around at the city. "...No?"
"Hmm. Must've been my imagination." Zip said, walking out of Willie's personal space and away, disappointing Wilie somewhat. "Hey, Willie, you coming?'
"Huh? Where are we going?" Willie asked in interest.
Zip smiled, turning back. "I was thinking instead of us serving dinner, we'd treat ourselves for once. Make up for both of our follies, you know? Just a simple Teuthiatine date, how about it Willie?"
Willie grinned, kissing Zip on the cheek, then gestured ahead with open palms. "Sounds awesome. Lead the way, I'll follow behind!"
Zip smiled warmly, dashing down the street, gesturing for Willie to follow. Willie chuckled, following suit, the two Inklings dashing through the city together in the light of dusk with naught a care in the world.
AN: Happy day early Valentine's Day! I apologize, I wanted to do a bit of a Valentine's Day thing, but hot dang, after multiple attempts, this is what I ended up with. Eh, maybe it isn't that bad, but I feel like if I had a little more romance experience it could've gone better. Oh well, back to playing video games alone...online with a full team of funny people, of course! Fun "fact": Splin and Sharq's lack of romantic experience is pretty much a direct rule set on them for my lack of romantic ideas, so don't expect any serious shipping involving either of them in the future! (Or at least not with Splin, Sharq seems like a more likely candidate.)
"Hey!"
Other than that, have you noticed that love is in the air? Well, that's sort of obvious, but you know what else is in the air? Reviews I guess, that's a thing. Thank you RMVHXtreme and sebastian G for reviewing! I suppose the Ari x Tai thing kinda stuck with me, maybe we'll delve a little more into that next time! sebastian G, thanks for the review, nice to see you again. Other than that, thanks again for reading everyone, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to train to be the very best like no one ever was for Splatfest! Adieu!