OctoSquids (Splatoon story)

Chapter 8 - No pain, No gain

Later that day, when Alex's shift was over, Plum decided to wait for him outside of Coral Shores Pastries. As soon as he walked out holding his Squid plushie, Alex noticed him.
"Oh, hi Plum! I didn't think you'd wait for me.", Alex greeted him, surprised to see him. Plum smiled at him.
"I actually wanted to offer you something.", he replied as Alex tilted his head slightly.
"And what is it?", Alex asked. Plum approached him.
"Well, I don't want to sound too rude, but I couldn't help but notice you struggle with a sack of...flour, was it?", he asked as Alex sighed.
"Yeah... Don't remind me..", he complained as he looked away from him. "I was never really that strong, to begin with.", he added.

Plum could tell he didn't like to be seen as the weak one. It's probably why he's so aggressive when he gets called short or mistaken for a girl. Either way, Plum smiled.
"Well, if you want, I can always train you!", Plum offered as Alex looked at him with a confused gaze.
"Are you sure?", he asked him as Plum chuckled.
"Of course. My workout routine tends to be...a bit intense at first, but you can get used to it in no time!", Plum offered again as Alex began to think. Plum could tell he was hesitant, so he put his hand on his shoulder for reassurance. "Don't worry. I'll try to tone it down for you for the first few days.", Plum reassured him. Alex looked at him, still trying to make up his mind, but eventually frowned.
"No, I'm sure I can take it. Just text me when and where.", Alex agreed as Plum smiled.
"Perfect. I'll let you know as soon as I can.", Plum answered, then both said goodbye for the day and parted ways, but Plum continued thinking. "I probably should prepare the gym.", he thought as he hurried back home.

The next day, Alex approached Plum's house with a new set of clothing. He was now wearing a light blue sweatshirt to match his ink color, white shorts, and a white sweatband across his forehead. He looked ready to exercise. Plum came out of his house soon after he arrived, wearing black shorts, and an Octo Tee, with wrist sweatbands included. Alex seemed to smile at him, and naturally, Plum smiled back.
"You look ready!", Plum pointed out as Alex scratched the back of his head.
"I guess.", he hesitated.

Plum chuckled a bit.
"Let's start with something easy. Follow me.", he said as Plum began to walk away from the house, confusing Alex slightly. After a few minutes, they both arrived at a public track surprisingly close to the neighborhood. "First things first is the warmup. I usually jog four laps around the track, but since you're starting out, I'm thinking two should be enough.", Plum suggested as Alex looked at Plum.
"It's fine. I can do four.", Alex proclaimed, making Plum frown slightly.
"Are you sure? That's around a mile.", Plum warned Alex, but he shook his head.
"I can do it!", Alex insisted. Plum stayed silent for a few seconds but shrugged as he walked toward the middle lane of the track.
"Whatever you say! Come on!", he called out as he began to jog around the track. Alex was a bit hesitant at first, but as he remembered what happened to him with the sack of flour, he began to jog, following right behind.

A couple of minutes went by, and Plum was already done with his four laps around the track. Now, he was simply resting on a bench next to the track, waiting for Alex to finish. Eventually, he did spot Alex barely jogging by. He stopped right next to him as he tried to catch his breath, panting in exhaustion.
"Need some water?", Plum asked him, but Alex shook his head.
"No...! I-I'm fine...!", Alex insisted as he looked like he was about to resume running, but continued panting in place.
"How many laps have you made so far?", Plum asked, wanting to make sure.
"Two...", Alex answered as Plum stood up and stretched a bit.
"Are you sure you don't wanna take it easy?", Plum suggested as Alex gave a determined face.
"N-No, I can do it..!", he insisted as Alex continued jogging, wanting to finish his two remaining laps. Plum looked at Alex go off with concerned eyes but decided to wait for him either way.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Alex finally finished running his four laps. He looked like he was sweating gallons, and he was definitely out of breath. Plum tried to get him to relax a bit, but he insisted on continuing the routine, given that he barely started, so they walked back to Plum's house and headed down to the basement, where the OPM that fixed up Plum's body sat in the middle of the room. They both headed to a side room, which was the Jardine household's personal gym, courtesy of Lucio.