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You awoke with a start. Shallow breathing and tears in your eyes. You rushed out of bed, only to feel lost and confused. This wasn't home.
"Woah there, sweetheart! What's wrong?" Aloha sat up to get a good look at you.
"Where's my family? Are they okay?" You asked, your voice frantic and your breaths short.
They stayed silent. Mask had finally returned while you were sleeping, a little disappointed that nobody had told him you were residing there.
This was the second time. The second time you ask if others are okay. It seemed insignificant- but he thought it showed the true you.
You reached for your phone to text Milo, but then the memories came flooding back. That's right, they probably didn't want any communication right now. If they did, they'd initiate it. You sighed, defeated. Your lip quivered. You sat on a nearby couch with your head in your hands, attempting to breathe normally again. You were sitting next to Army, who gently began rubbing stiff circles over your back to calm you. Almost like how Milo used to, just less soft. He did his best.
You missed them. How were they? Your mind began destroying you from the inside out.
Before long, a cyan pro controller was being held in front of you. You wiped your tears and carefully grabbed the controller without a second thought. Once you held it comfortably in your hands, you grew confused until Mask lazily trudged over to the TV, turning it on along with his switch. Aloha quickly grabbed a pink controller, and Skull a purple one. He placed the Squid Racer cartridge in, putting it on chosen stages, letting you choose the first one despite Aloha shouting "MOO MOO MEADOWS!!"... You did that one next.
You spent the rest of the night staying up and snacking on whatever junk they brought out- soda, chips, chocolate. You treated yourself to forget your worries. You knew you were going to regret all the junk soon enough, but Aloha assured you you deserved a break. Army kept you somewhat in check, though, just like Milo would. You used some shortcuts that Leo had taught you, and smiled as you sped into first place. You swapped controllers around so everybody got a turn- You offered Rider yur controller while Mask gave his to Army. You and Mask were tied for the amount of 1st places you'd gotten. You each had 4 1st place wins, and 4 2nd place wins against each other. Eventually, everyone was intrigued enough to watch a one-on-one between you two.
He would have won had he not taken that half second to look at your smiling face that left him confused all over again. Especially when he felt his own tiny smile beneath his mask. What was he doing? Was he enjoying himself?
...His smile fell, turning into a glare at the screen when he was too late to register the green shell you'd sniped his way, putting you in first. He shook his head when you pumped your fist in the air, Aloha tackling you in a victory hug, shouting: "LET'S GOOOOO!!"
You grinned as your worries left you. - Until you remembered your family. You became worried, doing all that you could: which was wishing they were alright. You shook your head and thought of ways to distract yourself. Army soon interrupted with the idea of sleeping, since it was getting late. It was already past his bedtime, to which you quietly chuckled at.
"You can go ta sleep, but I'm not tired yet! Goonight, Captain Curry!" Aloha stuck his tongue out at the orange cephalopod. Army sighed and shook his head, bidding everyone goodnight. Skull soon followed, grabbing some of his candy wrappers to throw away in the meantime. Mask was exhausted and nearly falling asleep in his spot, so you gently urged him to go to his bedroom as well, he did so reluctantly, not wanting to leave you alone with Aloha or Rider-but he'd never say that aloud. He left without a wave, only a lazy look sent your way. Rider felt the same way Maks did about leaving you with Aloha, but his training from earlier with his dynamo had him exhausted as well. He also promised himself he'd try to get a better sleep schedule. Before he left to take the spare room, he glared at Aloha and whispered: "Don't try anything," You snorted.
There, you sat alone with Aloha in the middle of the living room. You only realised you were in a daze when Aloha interrupted it;
"What's on that pretty mind o' yours, sweetheart?"
You breathed in, but no words came out, still unsure of what to ask. Many questions were on your mind.
"What do you think of me now? I mean- are we okay?"
He leaned back and his smile dropped into a calmer one: "Of course we are, Sunshine. I'm still tryna figure out and digest everythin', but I'm not mad at'chya. " You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. You hugged him as a thank you. This was relieving- finally you had answers. Somewhat. They didn't hate you.
He hugged you back gently, a lot less energetic than you were expecting from the eccentric squid. He was so gentle, and he began rubbing your back to calm you. You hadn't even noticed the tears that began to form. This was all such a relief.
"Shh, darlin', things'll be alright. You're safe here with us, n' your fam will open up anytime now." You slowly let go of Aloha, now sitting in front of him on your knees. He softly wiped your tears away with his thumb, caressing your cheek before dropping his arm to his side. What was this feeling? Seeing you all relieved and happy.
Aloha always thought he'd fall for an energetic party animal like himself. But seeing you happy made him happy. Now, he was usually the type to blurt out what was on his mind. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he decided against it. You were already going through enough at the moment, you didn't have to worry about more feelings right now. It also gave him some time to think about it. He smiled to himself.
"Why don't we getch'ya ta bed, sweetheart? Ya wanna bunk with me? Or I can sleep on the couch if you prefer, 'sup ta you,"
You giggled at his phrasing, he sure spoke in a...unique matter.
"I'll 'bunk' with you, if you don't mind,"
"Right on, lemme show ya to my room!"
His room was lit up with neon pink LED's, posters of his Pink team, the S4, and artists he enjoyed. You noticed a wall full of pictures, mostly of him and the pink team members, but there was one of him along with the S4 as well. Many of them were polaroids, and you noticed his Pink polaroid camera nearby.
"Wanna add a picture to your wall?"
"Hm?"
He tilted his head your way- he was in the middle of adjusting his bedsheets and puffy pillows.
"Oh, sure!" He excitedly went over to his camera and picked it up, posing with you selfie-style and counting down.
Before going to sleep, he offered you a hoodie and wrote the date on the bottom and taped it onto his wall, right in the middle of all his pictures.
