"Nice to see you again, Delga." The lion said with a grin. "It's been too long. Interesting new attire you have there. Not that it makes you any different."

Duncan the Octoling wasn't a fan of the guy standing before them.

"Judging by the outfit-"

"Or lack there of." Delga cut in. "This guy is also from whatever world that bovine was from."

Duncan nodded.

'But what are these guys doing here?' He thought.

"Listen up, buddy." Delga growled, making a fist. "I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but you're not welcome. If you don't want to end up like that bovine, then I suggest you leave now."

"Bovine?" The lion questioned. "Oh, you mean Minotaur?"

Duncan was right; those two must have known each other. However, was it true that they knew Delga?

"Was it really you who did that, Delga?" The feline asked. "When Minotaur was found, he was almost dead. I didn't think that someone like you would have been able to pull that off."

"Damn right it was me!" Delga yelled, catching both Leo and Duncan off-guard. "That sick fuck had the nerve to flash his dick out in the middle of the city!! And there were many younger people there who didn't need to see that! So of course I beat him to an inch of his life!!"

The octoling was a little surprised to see his boyfriend like this. He did understand that Delga was angry for what happened. Although, he didn't actually know that the Minotaur guy was almost killed. The video that went around just showed Delga knocking him out and carrying him away.

It was in the news, and of course the flashing parts were blurred.

"He got what he deserved, and you will too, if you don't leave now!"

The lion chuckled.

"Even without your memories, you're still as stubborn as ever." He said with a sigh. "You'll still be loser in my book though. From what I heard, you were supposed to be dead. Kuma killed you, or at least that's what everyone thought since you went missing for a few months. Guess he got tired of you."

Duncan had absolutely no idea what the guy was talking about, and looking up, he could tell that Delga must have understanded just as little.

However, the lion soon shifted his gaze from Delga to Duncan.

"And who's this?" He asked. "This world has a lot of them. This one your boyfriend? Didn't think you were into cubs."

"Excuse me, but I'm nineteen!!" Duncan exclaimed. "It's not our fault that you guys are way taller than we are."

Leo laughed, and both the dragon and the octoling's patience were reaching their limit.

"Stand back, Duncan. I'm going to crush him!" Delga stated.

"No way!" Duncan replied, pulling out a couple prayer slips. "I'm fighting too!"

Leo laughed louder.

"Well, the shrimp might be a challenge." Leo taunted. "But I've never seen you win a fight, Delga, and I don't think that's gonna change. You're the weakest person I've ever met. You've always been about 'fighting with honor' and that crap. We live in a world where people live to see other fail, and watching you fail will be a pleasure."

"No, that's wrong!" Duncan interjected.

"Duncan's right!" The dragon consented. "Now, but some divine chance that you're actually telling the truth about knowing me, then maybe I can say this to change how you see things."

Delga held his hand out and flipped the Lion off.

"This 'Loser Delga' that you speak of, doesn't exist anymore."

For some reason, those words made the lion cease his laughter.

"And maybe your world might be all about that watching-people-fail crap, but not this world!"

The dragon almost yelled that sentence.

"Your world and my world are two different places." Delga continued, a frosty breeze blowing from behind him. "This world is all about rising up to be the best you can be. Yeah, while there are winners, there are losers, but the ranks of the defeated are our friends, and we support each other through good sportsmanship. Even the losers are winners."

'Kinda like how the octolings were allowed to join the inklings after being imprisoned underground.' Duncan thought. 'We lost the Great Turf War many years ago, but we were welcomed to Inkopolis after being underground for so long...'

Duncan was too deep in thought to realize that Leo had a disgusted look on his face.

"Don't you dare compare this world to yours." The dragon growled. "Now, I'll give you one more chance to leave. Head back to the Hell you came from. You're not dragging me back there. My home is here, and not only will I remain here, but I'll also defend it from the likes of you!"
______________________________________________________________

Yay!! Though it's a bit on the cartoonish side, I'm so glad I finally a pic of these two together.

Funny story, my Octoling was originally just going to be a placeholder as Delga's Boyfriend.
I didn't know who I wanted to ship him with. I was thinking Zangoose Aladar, but he already has quite a few husbandos, and Fox Aladar... I dunno, I wasn't really feeling him and Delga.
Then I thought of using Kyo the Inkling, but I already had a tall, otherworldly husband for him in Kass.

I discovered Delga about a couple weeks before Octo Expansion came out.
At first I had little interest for the octoling boy. I liked him, but I didn't think I'd use him much, so since both Delga and Duncan were new to me, I thought of putting them together because it was kinda cute, and it would be temporary.

Yeah, now I just love seeing them together and imagining everything they'd do together.

Art is by RadicalGator on twitter: https://twitter.com/Radicalgator

Also, fun fact: The official average height for Inkings and Octolings is 4ft10
That's the size I always imagined them to be.