Chapter Text
This has only been two days. How can a single person make such a mess in such a short span of time? Jay huffed as he made Cody’s bed. Was this some kind of cultural difference that he didn’t understand? Or was it just this squid in particular that couldn’t keep his very own bedroom tidy? Well, Jay did only see his bedroom, so he had too little ‘empirical data’ to make any judgment in that regard.
Thankfully, only Cody’s bed and desk really needed to be cleaned. Everywhere else seemed generally okay… ish. As silver of a lining as he could get. After he was done with the bed, he sat down and let out a deep sigh. He raised his eyes and looked at the reflection in the tall mirror, hanging from a wall right in front of him. He looked at his tentacles. The magenta was coming off; they were slowly regaining their own color. It was a nice sight.
After a brief break, he went back to his self-imposed chores. Now, time for the desk. He saw a laptop in the middle of it, a dirty mug, a couple random papers and mechanical tools (he was almost certain they were for his dualies), and… something. A small square device with a few buttons and a screen, with a pair of earphones connected to it via a thin wire. A music player! Jay grabbed it with curiosity. Inklings have a much larger variety in terms of music. I wonder what Cody likes… Carefully, he put the earphones on and looked at the buttons. There was one with two crossed arrows: shuffle. He didn’t know any of these artists, really, so why not. He pressed the button and let the player choose for him.
Immediately, he heard something he really didn’t expect: a familiar tune. He recognized it all too well. The melody, the voices, the circumstances…
Uh. Okay! Great! I found him. Now what…? Cody just looked at the octoling in front of him, unmoving and seemingly uninterested by his presence. Apart from the same creepy eyes, he looked very… normal. Well, apart from the shiny arm and an unnerving amount of scars peeking through the collar of his shirt. Where the shell do you gotta end up to look like that?
Shaw raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to say something or…?”
That seemed to bring Cody back. “Uh… Yeah. What I came here for… Who the shell are you?”
“…I’m Shaw. I believe I’ve already introduced myself to you.” He let out a quiet huff. Was that an attempt at laughing? It sounded like an attempt at laughing. “But I’m gonna take a guess this isn’t what you wanted to know.”
“DUH.”
The octoling stood up, slowly as if he was expecting to lose balance, and looked back at him. He was a head taller. How are you that threatening without even trying? Come on! “Well? What would you like to know specifically?”
Okay, now they were getting somewhere. Or, rather, they were starting to. A little calmer now, Cody thought of a proper first question… “My friend Jay, the one with the charger? He acted all weird whenever you’d show up in front of him. Do you, like, know each other? Have a history together or something?”
“Hmm… I don’t think we’d met before,” mused the octoling. “But he does feel… familiar to me, sort of. The way he talks, the language itself, the look in the eyes. We’re definitely from the same neighborhood.”
“Which is…?”
Here, Shaw suddenly fell silent. His face conveyed the message clearly: he was thinking of a suitable answer. Was the subject so touchy, people all around that place tried to dodge it?
“A little north of Inkopolis,” he said, finally. Clearly, he was only telling half of what he meant. The crimson eyes looked down, at his oddly shiny hand. Cody’s eyes followed them. Finally, it clicked in the inkling’s head: a prosthesis! Wait, but couldn’t he just, like, regenerate? Unless… The octoling finally looked back up, mild smile adorning his face. “Sorry if I sound misleading. There’s this… quiet agreement between our kin: don’t mention home too often. It’s not a nice place to grow up in.”
“As in… brutal and lawless-kind of ‘not nice’ or…?”
“Brutal, yes, definitely. Lawless? Not so much.” Shaw started slowly pacing around the store, eyeing the posters on the walls. “Orderly. Efficient. Nothing and nobody would ever go to waste, as long as they were of some use.” The smile widened for a brief moment.
“That’s… Yeah, I see why nobody talks about that place. Feels freakin’ ominous.”
“You have no idea…”
Cody was legitimately not mentally prepared for this kind of conversation. The way Jay talked, the way he acted, his immense restraint… It all made a lot more sense now. And Shaw? He seemed a decent guy. Still creepy, especially given the context, but decent nonetheless.
By the time the inkling came home, it was already evening. The sky was nice and orange from the slowly setting sun. He opened the door, and he saw the entire apartment perfectly cleaned up. Everything was back on its place, with the only untidy looking place being the sink, with like two mugs inside of it.
Where was Jay, though? He wouldn’t just wander around on his own, would he? His shoes were still here. Cody had left a laptop in the room, so maybe he was doing something with it? Worth checking out. He walked up to the door and slowly opened it to see inside. Nope, the desk was empty, save for his stuff. And wow, he’d cleaned up here too? Was he really this bored of waiting for him?
As the inkling walked in, he finally found who he was looking for. Jay, tentacles tied into a messy ponytail, was fast asleep, curled up on Cody’s bed. Next to him, there was his music player, with the earphones wrapped around it. The scarred octoling looked so calm. Cody couldn’t help but smile. I guess it’s my turn on the couch tonight.