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kyuuppi · 4 years

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“You lie to your best friend/crush that you have an OnlyFans just to see their reaction”

Ft. Sugawara; Nishinoya; Tsukishima; Oikawa; Kenma

Pt. 2

A/N: My bias is so obvious here LOL

KARASUNO

↳ Sugawara

➣ You are over at his house, the two of you idly watching a sitcom while browsing your phones and chatting in between; it’s comfortable, as times with Sugawara usually are.

➣ Every time Suga leans in to show you a funny meme on his phone or throws his head back in laughter at a joke from the show, you find your heart skipping a beat.

➣ He is beautiful, basically an angel in your eyes, but he is also your best friend and you don’t think he has any interest in you like that. Not in the way you do.

➣ That’s how you get the idea to test his feelings.

➣ Being the troublemaker you are (how else would you and Suga get along so well?) you decide to shake things up by casually mentioning you’re interested in starting an OnlyFans and asking if he thinks its a good idea.

➣ You expect either of two reactions: either he’ll be as supportive as usual, possibly advising you to be cautious with strangers online like the mother hen he is, proving he only sees you as a friend—or he’ll tell you not to, possible evidence that likes you.

➣ The response you receive is not quite what you were expecting...

➣ Once the words leave your lips his head immediately whips around in your direction, light brown eyes looking at you with a serious expression on his face, something you’d never really seen before. It makes you uncomfortable and you begin to regret all of your life decisions.

➣ Suddenly though, he is leaning into you, his arms coming up to trap you against the couch as you try to back away. Your eyes are as wide as saucers and face completely flushed as he continues to stare you down before speaking.

➣ “Even though I’m your best friend, I’m still a man, you know. You’re being awfully cruel right now.”

➣ You audibly gulp, suddenly feeling light-headed but he keeps speaking, close enough that you can feel his hot breath fan across your cheeks.

➣ “Asking me to watch the person I like show off in front of thousands of other men? Even I have my limits.”

➣ And that marks the day of you and Sugawara’s first kiss. ♡

↳ Nishinoya

➣ Your best friend, Nishinoya Yuu, is notoriously unabashed with his affections.

➣ The two of you have an interesting relationship—Noya has no qualms with expressing how pretty he thinks you are, borderline flirting with you at times, and you frequently return the favor.

➣ But you don’t take any of it seriously, of course, regardless of how much you secretly wish it were real. Everyone at Karasuno knows about Noya’s undying dedication to the volleyball club manager, Shimizu Kiyoko, and he confesses his love to her at least twice a day.

➣ Unbeknownst to you those professions became less and less frequent after he met you and now most of Karasuno thinks the two of you are basically dating

➣ The two of you are at the mall, a frequent hang out place where Noya can look at volleyball gear and you can browse manga at the bookstore, when you get the idea to prank your friend.

➣ “Hey, Noya? I’ve been thinking about finding a way to make more money but I don’t have time for a part-time job so I decided to make an OnlyFans—I already have a few subscribers.”

➣ Nishinoya nearly trips and falls flat on his face. You would have laughed if it weren’t for how he immediately grabs at your shoulders, staring at you with a mix of anger and fear.

➣ “Absolutely not! No one should be allowed to see your beautiful body like that but me!”

➣ You immediately fluster at his loud declaration, acutely aware of how other customers in the mall are giving the two of your strange looks as they walk by.

➣ “B-but Noya, we aren’t even dating—”

➣ “Then let’s start dating!”

➣ And what are you gonna do? Say no?

↳ Tsukishima

➣ Being friends with Tsukishima could be frustrating at times—a sentiment you and Yamaguchi frequently discuss when the blond isn’t around.

➣ Tsukishima likes to think most things are beneath him and he’s too cool to find enjoyment in activities most other friends enjoy, ranging from mini golf to video games. The man seems content to waste his life away studying and listening to music if it weren’t for you and Yamaguchi forcing him out of his room.

➣ Naturally, something like a prank war would be something Tsukishima would want no part of—not that that has ever stopped you.

➣ Usually, your pranks are failures. Either Tsukishima easily figures out what you’re doing before it can happen or he doesn’t give you the satisfaction of a reaction, chastising you for wasting your time pulling pranks when you have a failing grade in mathematics you’ll later beg him to help you study for.

➣ He still helps you though, he’s whipped

➣ Your newest prank however, you feel exceptionally confident in. Not only is it simple to pull off, only relying on your acting kills, but it also might answer your curiosity on whether you have a chance in getting your dearest Tsukki to see you as more than just a friend.

➣ The day you decide to do it the three of you are hanging out in Tsukishima’s bedroom as usual, you working on the math homework Tsukishima forced you to study while he reads a book and Yamaguchi sits in the corner reading a book.

➣ You had already discussed your plans with Yama beforehand, to which his expression looked suspiciously devious, like he knew something you didn’t know, as he proclaimed his support.

➣ You hear Tsukishima turning a page and decide to speak up.

➣ “Hey, Tsukki, have you heard of OnlyFans?”

➣ You hold back a snicker as you see Tsukishima visibly tense, his eyes widening behind his glasses for a moment before he relaxes. From the corner of your eyes you can see Yamaguchi smirking behind his comic, watching the blond closely.

➣ “...yeah, I’ve heard of it,” Tsukishima simply replies.

➣ “I’ve been thinking about making more money but I don’t have time for a part-time job so my friend suggested it. She said I could make over ten thousand yen a month.”

➣ “I think only the really attractive ones make that much.”

➣ You gasp, thoroughly offended, and Yamaguchi looks mildly annoyed by his friend’s response, already opening his mouth to chastise him for being so mean—but before he can say anything, Tsukishima is speaking again, still looking down at the book in his lap.

➣ “Don’t do it though.”

➣ “Why not?” You pout, refusing to look up at him when you speak.

➣ “...I don’t want the person I like to do those types of things.”

➣ You nearly choke on your own saliva, head darting up to stare at him in disbelief. Yamaguchi, for some reason, only smiles softly, looking unsurprised by the admission.

➣ “W-what? You...like me?”

➣ “Oi, shouldn’t you be studying? One more F and you’re gonna flunk out of the class, dummy.”

➣ You’re slightly disappointed by the change of subject but when you notice the soft pink on Tsukishima’s cheeks you can’t help but to smile the whole time you finish your homework.

AOBA JOUSAI

↳ Oikawa

➣ Oikawa is a busy guy.

➣ You were well aware of that before the two of you happened to be paired up for an assignment and got to know each other, eventually becoming close friends.

➣ Between volleyball practices, tournaments, magazine interviews, and appeasing a passionate fan club, Oikawa rarely has time for himself, let alone another person.

➣ Despite all of that, you could tell he always made sure to spend time with you, dedicating a few weekends a month to hanging out, just the two of you, and constantly texting you in the times the two of you couldn’t physically be together.

➣ From an outsider’s perspective, it was almost like the two of you were dating.

➣ But alas, you know the sad reality is that Oikawa is most certainly not your boyfriend and you have no idea if he has any interest in your like that…

➣ ...Which is why you decide to try to make him jealous one day to push him towards confessing his feelings, if they exist.

➣ The two of you are at a café, sipping lattes and gossiping about other students when you bring it up.

➣ “Y’know...I’ve been thinking of making an OnlyFans.”

➣ To your surprise, Oikawa’s eyes seem to light up, his lips curving into a smile of excitement.

➣ “Wow, really? Maybe I should make one too!”

➣ Oikawa immediately pulls out his cell phone and the color drains from your face as you realize your plan has completely backfired.

➣ “My fans are going to love this—hey do you think we can do a collab? The two of us in one pic would make us top creators for sure.”

➣ You can only nod numbly with a fake smile at Oikawa’s enthusiasm.

➣ Oh god, you’ve created a monster…

NEKOMA

↳ Kozume

➣ Unless you’re Kuroo, becoming friends with Kenma is a nearly impossible feat. Actually making him want to spend time with you alone, even more so.

➣ But somehow, you managed to work your way into Kenma’s tightly knit social circle more like a two point line segment of him and Kuroo and your evenings after his volleyball practice are usually spent in one of your bedrooms, playing Splatoon and Animal Crossing until your Switches die or your parents force you to come home for dinner—whichever comes first.

➣ You love spending time with Kenma, his quiet presence somehow making you feel comfortable—but over time those feelings of ease have shifted into something more akin to nervousness and excitement as you’ve come to develop a crush on the setter.

➣ Every moment with him, watching the small smiles tug at his lips when he wins a match or his cute, frustrated pout when he can’t figure out how to defeat a boss makes your heart flutter and it’s becoming more and more painful to idly sit by without expressing your feelings.

➣ A direct confession, especially to a boy with nearly 0 social skills, is scary, so you want to be sure your feelings are returned before you even attempt to share them.

➣ Thus, you’ve decided to take Kuroo’s advice.

➣ “Push him into a corner. Kenma will only act when he thinks he has to.”

➣ You take a deep breath to steel your nerves before you speak, eying him sneakily from behind your Switch.

➣ “Gamer girls and boys are kind of trendy these days; I’m thinking about starting an OnlyFans to make money to buy more games.”

➣ The only visible response you receive is a slow blink as Kenma continues to play his game, fingers tapping furiously on the keys.

➣ “Ah...I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

➣ “Why not?”

➣ There are a few moments of silence between you two, the room only filled with the SFX of your games as Kenma seems to finish his round. You recognize the victory music as Kenma pauses to finally raise his gaze to meet your own.

➣ “It's your body so I can’t tell you what to do but...I would feel really jealous of all your subscribers.”

➣ And just like that, Kenma returns his attention to the video game, unpausing and starting a new match, blissfully unaware of you struggling to calm your racing heart and flushed cheeks.

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eiden-squid · 7 years

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20 Marchant Stories - Part 4: The Proposal

(( It is here, finally. After running this blog for nearly 2 years now, we have almost reached the end of Eiden’s story. This will be the second-to-last story in this blog, and the remaining 15 stories will be found over at @marchant-girls.

The very last story will be posted on July 21st, the same Friday when Splatoon 2 releases to the public.

This fic features a special squid from @a-demo-of-a-hero‘s blog

Without further delay, enjoy this reading!))

The day has finally come. Eiden Marchant, a 19 year old purple squid from Inkopolis, was set to change his future for good. He dressed up nicely, hid a nice pink leather box in his pocket, called Eimie and Eika over to meet at the Inkopolis Fair, which had just recently opened again. He then called Demo, his girlfriend, over to come to the fair again.

Eiden was waiting patiently at the fair entrance. He had been here nearly half an hour early. He saw Eimie and Eika far in the distance, waving excitedly.

Eika tackle-hugged Eiden. “OH MY COD! IT IS FINALLY HAPPENING, ISN’T IT?!” He said, snuggling up to him.

“Agh! E-Eika! Calm down..! As promised, you will get to witness this magical moment..!” Eiden hugged Eika back.

Eimie caught up with the hugging siblings and smiled faintly. “Hey loser... I just wanted to say... thank you for calling me over. Kinda nice that you considered me to be here... despite all the bullying that I have done to you...” Eimie felt a bit ashamed. She had given Eiden a lot of hell before. Now that he will be gone, she felt a bit guilty.

“Oh, come on Eimie... it’s not that big of a deal.. I mean, you are older than me, so it is your job to ‘bully’ me, right? It is like an established rule for siblings..!!” Eiden tried brushing it off, as if it were nothing. Yet, Eiden was still careful around Eimie.

“Y-Yeah, I guess... Also... hope everything turns out well for you once you are up there in the ferris wheel. Eika has told me that you revealed your feelings for Demo up there? I mean, kinda cliché, but I guess it is meaningful to you...” Eimie said, helping Eiden back up and taking Eika off him.

“Yep.. Oh! Here she comes!” Eiden waved at Demo, who quickly showed up in front of them. “Shall we?” Eiden extended his arm, which Demo quickly and happily clinged to.

Eiden, Demo, Eimie and Eika got up on the ferris wheel, all in the same cabin. It was even the same as the one before, since there were crude repais done to it. Demo had cracked it open to escape the cabin, back when the ferris wheel failed to work.

Eimie nudged Eika’s arm. “Psst.. record this.. It will either be a hit or miss..!” She said. Nonetheless, Eimie was nervous for Eiden. She has known how easily Eiden gets nervous. Would he be able to pull this off swiftly?

Once at the top, the ferris wheel stopped abruptly. Demo groaned. “Oh damn is this happening YET AGAIN?!?” Demo stood up to try and force-open the cabin doors. Eiden quickly jumped to action.

“D-Demo.. wait! D-Do you remember what happened right here, in this same cabin, months ago..?” It was happening. Eiden had set this plan to motion.

Demo stopped to remember, which caused a small dark blush to fill her cheeks. “Oh yeah! Heh, you snuck up here a bag of marshmallows. You were so nervous back then, doing the whole “Oh I love you” thing. Really sweet of you, by the way!” Demo smiled.

“Yep! What a scene, I remember...” Eiden said, standing up next to Demo, and admiring the whole city from the top of the ferris wheel. Eika took out her phone and started recording. Eiden and Demo didn’t noticed, as they were looking out at the rising sun.

“Actually D-Demo... ever since t-that day... you helped me realize something...” Eiden’s little heart started pumping faster.

Demo looked back at Eiden and was able to notice. She couldn’t help but to giggle at the little babi getting nervous, just like always. But this could only meant one thing.. Demo started blushing.

“Back that day, y-y-you made me realize that... that I had a new purpose in l-life. I n-now wanted to accomplish new t-things... I started thinking... that I w-wanted to travel the world and have n-new stories to tell...” Eiden gulped. The phrase was coming up.

“I... I realized that I wanted to... t-t-to share them w-with you...” The time had come. Eiden looked at Demo, directly into her eyes. He took her hands and slowly knelt down. Demo knew what this meant, she had seen these in cheesy movies. But it was now happening here, and happening to her.

“A-And.. ah!... I w-want to know... i-if you are willing to... to accept t-this journey I w-w-want to start... !” Eiden reached for his pocket. Eimie and Eika were both screaming internally, showing an enormous grin.

“D-Demo... Demo Woods.. my tall and strong squidfriend...” Eiden nervously opened the leather box, revealing the shiny ring that he had bought weeks ago.

“W-W... Will... Will you marry me...?” Eiden muttered the magic words he had been practicing for weeks now. Demo was covering her mouth with one hand, as Eiden held the other. She was speechless. Little smol Eiden had now proposed to her, making her an engaged squid.

“N..Nerd... Of course I want to be your wife, you cheesy gremlin!” Demo lifted Eiden up from the floor and planted her lips on his, engaging on their first romantic kiss as future Mr. and Mrs. Marchant.

Eimie and Eika stood up, clapping and holding back their tears. Eimie smiled and Woomy’d, while Eika giggled happily.

After their long kissing session, Eiden took her hand and slid the ring in her finger. Demo was internally screaming as well. She admired it from close. Eiden had this enormous grin and huge blush across his entire face.

“Demo.. I love you...” Eiden hugged her tightly. He was the happiest squid in the world.

“And I love you as well, my little flustered smol boi...!” Demo giggled through her overwhelming emotions. She hugged back as well, even tighter than his embrace.

Eimie and Eika went over to both hug and congratulate Eiden and Demo. They all shared this happy moment in Eiden and Demo’s life.

The day has been perfect. Eiden and Demo exited the fair after playing all the games and eating tons of food. Eimie and Eika followed behind, but not to close to allow them to share their moment.

“Wow.. he actually did it..!” Eimie whispered to Eika. “I... I actually though he would bail and just leave it as it is... but I guess he built the guts to really do it..!”

Eika smiled back at Eimie. “Yup! Eiden is a really strong squid! I never doubted him and his skills. He might be like the most anxious and nervous squid in the world, but he found someone who he really loves. Love can do anything, Eimie!” She whispered back.

Eimie was about to reply, but those words from Eika struck hard. Eimie took a deep breath, and relaxed. She will need to remind herself those sentences, as she patiently waited for Fynn to come back.

After walking out the fair, Demo used an app in her phone to request a special ride back home. They were patiently waiting for it, so Eiden and Demo could spend the night together.

“Alright you two, we are heading home. You go spend the rest of the day together, as the engaged squids you now are!” Eimie cheered on them.

“Yes! You now go watch Squidflix and chill, or something! I dunno what engaged squids do, but just go and have fun!!” Eika also cheered. “See ya around~!” Eika and Eimie started walking the opposite way, leaving Eiden and Demo alone.

As soon as their requested ride arrived, the driver squid stepped outside the car to open the door for the couple.

The driver looked at his phone to identify the squids. “Alright, got a request to travel back to Downtown Inkopolis from.. Demo Woods?”

Demo nodded her head. She then had the idea to tease Eiden even more.

“Demo Woods is fine, although you may now call me Demo Marchant!”

#;;eiden #;;eimie #;;eika #;;demo #;;20 marchant stories

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inklingleesquidly · 7 years

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LEE SQUIDLY’S NEW GROOVE

After a long, agonizing recovery of performing the Charge Shot, Lee Squidly has given up on Turf Wars– leaving him with virtually nothing going on in his life.

That will all turn around when a chance encounter, watching family friend Coral dance ignites an interest in Lee he never imagined he would have. What will he learn from her? And what will Coral learn from Lee?

See a new chapter begin in Lee’s life, and see what new challenges he gets ready to accomplish before the events of Splatoon 2

Co-starring @yundarigods‘ Coral and featuring her big sister, Faviidea

Word count: 4,454

“–And then I said to her ‘If you think I’m gonna pass up a deal like this just because the translators are getting all flustered than ‘alors vous avez une autre chose à venir’!” Janine concluded a story in which she recounted one of her many dealings in the world of television

Her tale was met with hearty, uproarious laughter, “AH HA HA, HAHAHAHAHA, oh Cod, Janine, no one ever pulls one over on you.” The laughter came from Faviidea; a friend of Janine who welcomed the older woman into her modest apartment for a friendly chat. She slapped her knee and laughed so hard she nearly spilled the wine glass full of drink she clutched in her hand.

Janine confidently replied, “Ohh you better believe it,” she took another sip of the zesty beverage in her own glass. She had brought two things with her to meet Faviidea that day; one was a bottle of fine cider given to her by one of the foreign television producers she met during that meeting. The ingredients were grown, processed, and bottled at the producer’s private farm. “Isn’t that right Lee,” she gestured to her son, whom she had also brought along to the meeting.

“Heh-eh,” Lee chuckled nervously, “Trust me, you can’t.” If there was anyone who knew how difficult it was to fleece his mother, it would be him. He sat on the cloth love seat beside her; quietly listening in on the conversation.

Faviidea felt concerned though; he seemed to come without any entertainment and listening to two old ladies talk and drink couldn’t have been very exciting. She tried to involve the youngster wherever she could but still asked, “Are you all right Lee, this isn’t too boring or anything, is it?”

He shook his head, “No Miss Favii, I’m fine, really.” Neither he nor his mother said but he came along on his own accord as he didn’t have much else to do. Ever since recovering from his accident he stopped playing Turf Wars so Sundays without Squad Practice became rather humdrum. He got his weekend homework done as soon as possible and his friends were usually too busy on Sundays to meet him.

It was rare for Lee Squidly to have nothing to do.

Faviidea rolled her eyes at being called ‘Miss’ but she said, “Well, all right then. Anyway, so this happened to me the other day; I was at work and this customer—“

Her story was interrupted by the sudden opening of the apartment’s front door. “I’m home, Favii,” a voice came from just out of eyeshot.

The Inktoling woman readily greeted, “Welcome back Sis, come on in, we got company!”

“Ohh-ohh, we do,” the new arrival questioned apprehensively.

Encouraging them, Faviidea answered, “Yeah, come and say hi.” There was a brief pause thereafter, and the three cephalopods took notice of someone just barely peeking around the bend of the entrance to the room.

When it seemed like she confirmed the identity of their guests, the younger sister of the household walked in. “Ohh, hi Janine, hi Lee,” she greeted with a sincere smile and a happy wave to both of them.

“Hi Coral,” they both said; Janine smiled and waved with her fingers before taking another sip of her drink, and Lee waved with his whole arm.

Coral’s shoulders dropped slightly as she let out a little sigh, glad and relieved that it was the Squidlys; close friends of her family that came to visit.

Faviidea summoned her with a wave of her finger, “Come sit with us, have a drink.”

Janine nodded, “Yeah Sweetie, take a load off.”

“I’m sorry Janine,” Coral respectfully declined, “But I need to practice so I was just going–.”

“–Ohh that’s right,” Faviidea interrupted with a snap of her fingers. She remembered; “You’re gonna be dancing for the Spring Equinox Festival, right?”

Lee and Janine remembered that the arrival of Spring and Fall were celebrated by Octarians as it signaled the cycling of crops farmers could grow in Octo Valley.

Confirming, Coral nodded, “Mm-hmm, I don’t want to disturb you so I’ll just practice in my room and–.”

Once again she was interrupted by Faviidea who giggled and brightly suggested, “Jee jee, hey I got an idea, why don’t you show the Squiblys what you’ve been working on?”

This intrigued the mother and son but Coral seemed reserved about the idea. Her eyes went wide and she nervously peered off to the side, stuttering, “Umm—well—uh-huh—umm, Favii, I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

Faviidea clicked her tongue and replied, “Come on, why not? You perform all the time.” Despite her sister’s coercion, Coral just stood there, tapping her fingers against her purse and shifting her eyes from one side to the other. She never told Faviidea but she was only relaxed in front of crowds because she had practiced day in and day out long before she appeared on stage. That way she could do her dance routines even in her sleep.

Janine proposed, “We’d love to see it; have you ever seen an Octarian dance before, Lee?”

“At school, a long time ago,” he answered, barely able to recall the memory. “I wanna see, but if you’re too nervous, you don’t have to.”

He was being considerate of her feelings which made Coral smile but Faviidae still urged, “Just trust me, they’ll love it.”

“Well,” Coral inhaled deeply then exhaled in a long sigh, “Huu—okay, I’ll do it!” She gave into her sister’s urging. On her retreat to her room she called out, “D-don’t go away, I’ll be right back,” and left to prepare.

A short time later Coran returned; this time adorned in a beautifully designed kimono. Janine whispered to Lee that the style she wore was traditional to Octo Valley and different from the kind seen in Eastern Inkopolis. She also mentioned that the way she wore the garb and how she tied the belt was absolutely picture perfect. Coral gave her cell phone to Faviidea to connect it to their small speaker dock so she could have music to dance to.

With that; her impromptu recital began. Old timey Octarian acoustics guided the Inktoling as she rhythmically twisted and turned. With her feet covered by the long garment it looked as though she was gliding along the carpet while she fluidly waved and swayed her arms.

Every part of her moved in perfect harmony with the music. From every tilt of her head down to the most minor movement of her fingers and toes, the music flowed through her. Lee’s and Janine’s eyes were glued to her; they were captivated by her performance. They were especially taken aback by a shift in the melody that cued Coral to produce a pair of paper fans from within her sleeves. They seemed to come out of nowhere which baffled the mother and son but made Faviidea candidly smile.

She incorporated the fans into the remainder of her dance; swinging and waving them about and fluttering with them as she danced about.

Her performance soon came to a close with a finish that made Lee and Janine lean back and go silent until Faviidea put her glass down and began to clap for her sister. They joined shortly after; Janine stood up and applauded while Lee whistled and cheered. Faviidea encouraged, “Way to go! That wasn’t so bad, was it?” 

“No,” Coral breathlessly smiled from ear to ear, “No it wasn’t.”  She brushed one of her tentacles out of her face; more out of breath from nerves as opposed to tiredness. She nodded to Lee and Janine, “I hope you two will come to the festival, I’ll have my dance perfect by then.” Next, she said to her sister, “Well uhh,  I’ll be in my room for a little bit.” 

Faviidea answered, “No problem,” and watched with a satisfied smile as Coral practically bounced with exhilaration back to her room. When she left, Faviidea returned to the conversation with Janine, “So anyway, here’s what happened, I was–.”

Her words droned into nothing in Lee’s head. He just sat in awe, still seeing Coral dancing in his head; he was still utterly captivated by her performance. Unable to get the vision out of his head, he suddenly got an idea; an idea he NEEDED to act upon.

He stood up, interrupting, “Miss Favii, can I please use the bathroom?”

In response, Faviidea’s lip curled in irritation; she didn’t like that he kept calling her ‘Miss’ but he was polite so she put it out of her head. “Sure, it’s down the hall,” she instructed, excusing him from the conversation. He followed her directions but took a detour to another room along the way.

Without thinking he opened the door to the room, barging in without knocking and called out, “Coral!”

“Eek,” the Inktoling shrieked, quickly whipping her head around as she covered her front with her arms. Her kimono was slipping down her body so she tried to grab it while desperately blathering, “Lee—get out—please!”

Suddenly realizing what he did, Lee sucked in his breath and babbled, “Eee—I’m sorry—I’m—I’m—!”

“Just close the door and let me get dressed,” Coral ordered, holding her garment with one hand while trying to cover up as best as she could with the other. Lee did as he was instructed, shutting the door to let her have privacy, and to take time to fully comprehend the idiocy of his actions.

Moments later, he heard her voice; “Okay Lee, you can come inside now.” Slowly, timidly, he peeked in. He saw her kimono neatly hanging on a hook attached to the outside of her closet door, and Coral, herself, dressed in a long terrycloth robe, sitting at her vanity table.

Before Lee said anything else he profusely apologized, “I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean to, I should’ve knocked, I didn’t—please don’t tell my mom!”

Coral halted him by holding up her hand. She sweetly reassured him, “Lee, it’s okay it was just an accident, I won’t tell your mom or anything.” She knew he didn’t have malicious intent so she wasn’t mad. After he relaxed, she asked, “So what’s up? Want to show me more of that game you’ve been playing?” Even though Coral didn’t particularly like video games she did like watching Lee since he got so excited about them. She quite liked this one about ghosts that he was currently obsessed with.

“Actually there’s something I wanted to ask you,” he had something else in mind.

“Ohh, what’s that,” she was genuinely curious; she couldn’t imagine what he could want from her of all people.

Lee didn’t hesitate, “CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DANCE,” he blared out his request with all the excitement he had.

Thinking that she was hearing wrong, Coral squeaked, “Kuh—what?"

"Please Ma'am, I want to learn how to dance,” Lee repeated, the sparkle of wonder not leaving his eye as he restated his request.

Coral couldn’t believe it; sure she did love to dance, it was one of her greatest passions, however she doubted how good of an idea this would be. She suggested, “I don’t know, wouldn’t you feel better taking a class from an actual instructor? Also, don’t call me 'ma'am’."

"No way,” he replied, not wavering for a single moment. “Just—watching you was really really amazing, you’re so good, I umm– I-I want to learn how to do that kinda stuff, too!” He couldn’t completely explain it, especially without stuttering due to his brain being unable to catch up with his mouth. Lee wanted to learn, pure and simple.

Tapping her finger against her cheek, Coral murmured unsurely, “I dunno, I never taught anybody before.” She had never even entertained the idea of giving dance lessons. Not only that, she had her hang ups about people watching her when she wasn’t fully prepared to be seen.

Despite her reservations she knew he wouldn’t take no for answer, unfortunately. He really wanted this, and he wanted her help to make it happen. Coral couldn’t help but smile at that so she answered, “You know what, sure, I’d love to teach you to dance."

Lee couldn’t help but squeal in delight, as silly as it was, he was so excited! "Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise, Ma'am I’ll try really hard!"

In response, Coral rolled her eyes and shook her head; "Stop calling me Ma'am,” she said under her breath. He was being polite but she didn’t like being called that; it made her feel old. Putting that aside, Coral picked her phone up from her vanity desk and sent a text message to Lee. “Meet me at this address tomorrow and we’ll get started on your first lesson."

After a quick skim of the directions and time, Lee said, "I’ll be there!” With that, the joyful boy left, his feelings of exhilaration lingering about in the room. It gave Coral a strange sense of anticipation; one that bewildered her for the rest of the night.

The following afternoon, Lee arrived at his destination, lucky enough he had been there previously. It was Madame Tiidae’s Dance Academy; Coral’s family was friends with one of school’s dance instructors so without a class going on she gave Coral access to one of the classrooms.

He greeted Coral who he found stretching at a ballet bar mounted to the wall. “I’m sorry I’m late, Ma'am,” he groaned, "I met a friend at the train station and I kept trying to tell them I had somewhere to be.“ The sounds of his soft steps on the sprung floor bounced all over the empty room as he approached his teacher.

She replied, "Lee, don’t worry about it, you’re actually a few minutes early—and don’t call me 'Ma'am’.” After he set his backpack down, Coral took a deep breath and reminded, “Like I said, I never taught anybody before so please, be patient with me, all right?"

Lee simply smiled, "You’ll do great, I know it!” He had so much confidence in her which put Coral a little bit at ease, “Now, what can you teach me first?"

Tapping her finger against her chin, Coral realized she hadn’t actually planned that, much to her dismay. In her mind, she quickly began to cobble together what could loosely be described as her lesson plan. "Let’s try—some basic exercises to uh—see how you are at this—kind of thing."

First was a simple test of stepping in rhythm to see how he could follow a beat. Coral was confused at first when he giggled and asked, "Is this the part where we start kicking?” She didn’t understand but none-the-less she clapped her hands and had him follow her timing.

Surprising to her, he kept in step, and even adapted well enough when she changed the speed. “Good job,” she praised, “Let’s see if you can follow these steps; watch me closely.” She performed a short series of steps for Lee to mimic. “Need me to show you them again,” Coral asked before stepping back.

“No,” Lee said, looking to be deep in thought, “I think I got it.” He showed by mimicking her movements exactly.

Coral nodded approvingly; then she gave him another set of steps, then a second, and a third, each increasing in the number of motions to remember. Lee managed to do them all without stumbling once.

"Wow,” Coral gasped while engaging him in another exercise. She was wagging her index finger, counting a beat while Lee followed with steps she instructed him to perform. “You’re a pretty fast learner,” she said eagerly.

Lee exclaimed, “Kinda, I just pay attention real well.” He gave a laugh as he mused, “Heh-eh If I could take notes then I’d be totally set."

As nerdy as he suddenly realized that was, Coral still thought it was funny. "Fee fee,” she laughed, holding her hand over her mouth, “Well, dancing is a bit too 'hands-on’ to be taking notes.” She stepped toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She said, “If there’s one problem though—that I think we should work on– it’s that you’re too stiff." Though nervous to give her critique, Lee wasn’t upset by it. She continued; lifting his arms to loosen him up, "Dancing takes your whole body so you gotta move everything!"

Lee gave her directions a try; beginning to move his arms along with his feet. The constant movement of multiple things was a bit too much for him, and it caused him to lose balance, nearly tripping. "Woop, oop,” Lee fumbled, catching himself. “Sorry,” was all he could say.

Coral stepped in, “Don’t worry, you’re fine,” she comforted, pushing him up by the shoulder to help him regain his stance. “Let’s try this,” she suggested, positioning his arms so he held onto hers, and she held onto his. “Do the steps with me and feel how I move my arms,” she instructed, beginning to move. Lee did the same, looking down for a moment to prevent from stepping on her feet but Coral proposed, “No, no, no, don’t look down, look at me. If you keep looking at me,” she suggested, “You’ll pick up the cues better."

"Gotcha,” Lee replied; a slight surprise to Coral that he was following her directions so willingly and keenly.

As she moved and swayed with him she commented eagerly, “You’re picking this up really fast, are you sure you’ve never done this before?"

Lee sucked in the air and his cheek while his lip curled into a lopsided smile. He said, "Actually—when I was a kid my mom and I took dance classes together."

"Really?"

"Yah-huh,” Lee nodded, “It was a lot of fun, heh-eh, I guess I kind of always wanted to do it again.” Memories came back to him of how much he enjoyed that time in his life with his mom.

Coral also commented, “You’re pretty quick on your feet to."

Mumbling for a moment under his breath, Lee revealed, "Well when you have to run away from stuff as much as I do, you gotta be."

Coral couldn’t help but furrow her brow and puff out her cheeks at hearing that. “Right,” she grumbled; cruelly reminded of how much her friend dealt with bullying.

She couldn’t understand; Why would people mess with such a sweet kid like him? Another thought came to her, But then again, my sister always said the same thing about me.

The thought of the bond they shared caused her annoyance to fade only for them to be interrupted by the door to the classroom opening out of nowhere. A tall anemone girl peeked her head in and gasped, "Ohh, Coral, you’re here?"

Looking back toward her, Coral turned and answered, "Hi Sandy and yeah I am, you said I could use this room."

"No I didn’t,” she mumbled before fishing out her phone from her purse. Lee and Coral watched as she scrolled through something before letting out a frustrated grunt, “Ahh shoot, I did, sorry girl but I forgot I had a class today and they’re coming in five minutes."

"What,” Lee and Coral unintentionally replied together; knowing the other classrooms in the dance academy were booked for the time, their lesson was prematurely over.

Coral knew she couldn’t be mad at her friend; use of the room was a favor after all. Her friend was also a bit of a scatterbrain so this wasn’t the first time she made a promise without completely thinking it through. Coral said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, well Lee, I guess we’ll have to take this up some other time."

He looked at her dissapointedly and was about to voice his displeasure when Sandy said, "I’m surprised, I thought you were teaching him from square-one but—say, did you finally decide to take my offer to represent the school for the city’s couple’s dance competition?!"

This caught Lee off-guard and was confusing to him but Coral rapidly answered, "Oh no, no, no, no way; I’m just teaching him is all.” Though he still had a lot of questions, Lee nodded; confirming the extent of their involvement together.

Sandy gave a defeated shrug, “Well suit yourself,” she sighed, “Still, take this flyer and think about it won’t ya?” She took a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Coral. As she and Lee collected their things, ready to leave, Sandy offered a parting thought, “Besides, anyone taught by you will dance like they’ve done it their whole life."

As they were leaving, Lee skimmed over the flyer and asked, "The dances for this are the Waltz, Tango, the Foxtrot, and the Cha Cha; can you teach me them?"

He looked at her hopefully, only for Coral to enthusiastically reply, "Of course I can."

Lee gave a laugh, "Heh-eh,” and returned to studying the sheet of paper, “Well, if you entered this with somebody you would totally win it!"

While appreciative of his confidence, Coral explained, "I don’t think so, I love to dance, but I’m not really a competitive type."

"Me too,” Lee agreed, “But I feel like—I feel like I really wanna—.“ He paused to think, only for his face to completely light up. “Ma’am, I think we should enter,” he finally just blurted out.

Taken aback, Coral gulped, “W-what, and don’t call me ma’am,” she mumbled.

He reasoned, “I just feel like we should enter, I feel really-really confident about it,” more certain than he had been in a lot of things in his life. He punctuated his excitement by tightening his fists and looking at her with a twinkle in his starry eyes.

Holding her hands onto her purse and having a skeptical look on her face, Coral breathed, “I don’t know I just don’t think it’s a good idea."

Lee could only pout, he had a feeling he knew why she couldn’t, "If you don’t want to, I understand, I mean if you wouldn’t wanna dance with an amateur who’d make you look bad, I get that."

Coral gasped, he was being self-deprecrating yet that wasn’t the case at all. "No, no, no,” she said, “It’s not you at all—it’s me."

"Huh, how could it be you when you’re amazing at this,” he wondered.

Her hands fidgeted, and she tried not to look him in the eye as to avoid answering the question. How could she explain to him how massively self-conscious she would be under such circumstances? The thought of other people; judges, professionals, and people who probably danced longer than her watching her, and having to worry about possibly making her partner look bad—it made her knees shake.

Finally, she explained her feelings as best as she could, “Just thinking of all those eyes on me, it makes me really nervous."

She watched Lee’s head bob slightly, he seemed like he understood. He replied, "Well—I would be nervous too so hey, we could be nervous together!” Coral couldn’t believe her ears; that was so silly but it was one of the single sweetest things someone had ever said to her.

“Fee fee,” she silently laughed, covering her lips with her hand. That didn’t stop her from doubting the idea; she had other problems she needed to address. “Even then, I- I wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable dancing with me."

"Huh?"

"In a lot of partner dances you have to be close with your partner, like, touching-close."

Lee merely shrugged, "Well if that’s what you gotta do than what’s the problem?"

He’s not getting it, Coral thought, How innocent is he?

She struggled to explain, "Well, you see, I–,” her hand hovered over her chest; there was one other major hang-up she had about herself besides her talent and that was her body. Her sister always joked that all the growth that should’ve gone to her height went to ‘other places’ and it internally and externally caused her grief her whole life. All the comments she got and stares; there were many times when she frankly felt ashamed about herself.

Lee was so nice; he never made comments or seemed to notice her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, and she didn’t want him to start. "-I just don’t want you to feel weird around me, okay,“ she repeated.

He gave her a look like he still didn’t understand, and he really didn’t. "Well if it makes you uncomfortable, I don’t want to force you to but I promise if we did I’ll work really hard, I’ll practice the steps every night, and I’ll listen to everything you say! I wanna do this real bad,” he shook his fists as he said that, “So please Ma'am, gimme a chance, please!"

He really does want this, Coral thought; gazing into his eyes and seeing a burning fire in them. It was radiating so strongly that she felt her heart begin to quicken, and strangely her inhibitions about herself were slowly but steadily fading as well. It was so weird; he was a teenager but he was showing enthusiasm akin to a small child—like her when she was first learning to dance as a young girl.

She loved to dance so much and maybe; if she could pass that love onto him, this would all be worth it.

"You’ve really got me in a bind here, Lee,” Coral rested her hand on her hip and smiled, “But okay, for you, I’ll give it a shot."

He was so elated that he breathlessly gasped, "You mean it?! Ohh thanks, Ma’am; I promise I won't dissapoint you!"

Coral’s lip quivered and her eyes squeezed shut as she let out a grumble within her throat. "I know you won’t, but before we start,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. If they were going to see each other more often, there was something that needed to change.

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, imploring, “Will you please stop calling me 'ma'am’?"

Her pink lipstick lingered on his face; strongly framed by the changing color of his flushed skin. "Ye-Ye-Yes, I’m sorry, Coral,” he stammered, fastly giving into her whims.

“Perfect,” Coral chirped happily, glad that 'ma'am’ business could finally be put to rest. She playfully fluffed his hair and said, “We’ll get started tomorrow, text me when you get out of school and we’ll start practicing."

Lee stammered, "Ye-yeah, YEAH,” though he was still flustered, he was ready and raring to go, to learn to dance and compete with Coral.

As for Coral; she had a long way to go with her bashfulness, but she was glad someone like Lee understood her.

#splatoon #fan fiction #nintendo #lee squidly #squidly stories #yundarigods

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