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Inkopolis winters were more like the rest of the world’s fall. Cold, yes, but never enough to snow - and on the rare occasion that it did, it’d never stick to the ground for more than a few minutes. The city was warmer than others, which often resulted in bustling tourism just as the winter holidays rolled by. Those from normally colder climates would use their time to warm up in Inkopolis’s sun, while the locals would hide inside their own homes from what they considered freezing weather.
Fortunately for Off the Hook, the duo quickly learned that most of their leisure time came from the winter months. Summer was by far the busiest, leaving little room for breaks unless they specifically planned months ahead, but with most people on a break to see family or go on vacation, it left plenty of time for the two of them by themselves. The couple would use this time not only for themselves but for charity events too - something they do often throughout the year until Pearl made it into a competition in December simply because she liked competitions.
“Mar,” Pearl prodded at her girlfriend one early morning. It was early January by now, which meant the city was getting quieter as tourists slowly returned home and left the locals to themselves. “Maaaar. Mar-Mar.”
Marina rolled over on her side, groggy and confused. “Don’t call me that,” she slurred. Pearl was never up before she was, making this a rare sight of ‘grumpy morning octopus girlfriend’. “What is it?”
“Wahoo World!” Pearl said. Marina’s eyes were still glued shut, but she could feel Pearl’s presence hovering over her. She tugged her blankets closer to her for more warmth. Pearl only scootched herself closer. “We gotta go before it starts getting crowded. I got pumped and woke up extra early just for you. C’moooon.”
“Mm.” The octoling finally opened one eye, just barely, to look at her girlfriend. The sun was just starting to rise, but she could still see that Pearl was almost completely ready to go minus the extra layers of warmth. Marina wasn’t surprised - when Pearl was determined, she was determined.
Marina let her brain wind up and slowly wake, something that Pearl didn’t mind. The inkling was impatient, but she wasn’t pushy, so she could wait for her love to rise for however long she needed (and this wasn’t an excuse to just watch Marina be cute and sleepy, no sir, not at all).
“Marina, if you don’t get up-”
And then Marina’s plans for the day hit her like a train.
“I’m gonna have to sm-”
The octoling shot up, her forehead immediately colliding with Pearl’s.
“Ow, Mar!”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry Pearlie -” Marina scrambled into a sitting position and pulled Pearl’s head close to her, planting 5 quick kisses on her head where she hit her, and another on her nose just in case. “I just, er..”
"Got excited?” Pearl snorted.
“Yeah,” Marina smiled, pushing a tentacle out of her own face. “Exactly that.”
“Well!” Pearl climbed out of bed and stretched, then shook her head like she was shaking excess ink off. “You better get ready then! I made breakfast, too. Wouldn’t want that gettin’ cold.”
Marina giggled, following suit. “As long as it’s not pancakes.”
Pearl twirled around on her heels and puffed up her chest like a small animal trying to be bigger. “That was one time! One!” She lifted a finger for emphasis. “I bet those pancakes were meant to explode anyway, no biggie. But I made eggs this time. My eggs are great.”
She twirled back around, making a show of herself for Marina in a way that was so unnecessary and so Pearl , and headed back towards the kitchen.
Marina rolled her eyes, trying to stifle another laugh. She was too tired to argue about the pancake incident again today, so she’ll save it for later. “I’ll be a minute. I need to get clean.”
“I’ll keep the eggs toasty, then!”
She drowsily made her way to their master bathroom to make herself presentable for the day. Normally, she would do this after they ate, but she felt that changing the order of things was necessary for her plans for the day, so she made an exception and hoped Pearl wouldn’t notice. Marina hoped she wouldn’t, at least.
The octoling got all of her business done in a normal amount of time. Teeth brushed, showered, clean tentacles and putting on a light amount of makeup, all in a timely manner as to not keep Pearl waiting too long but to not make her curious either. Fortunately, the inkling didn’t seem to notice, otherwise, she would have come knocking and asked if something was wrong. Marina carefully cleaned up after herself, putting everything back where it belonged, and put on her warm day-clothes. With everything in order, she quickly peeked out the door to make sure Pearl was still in the kitchen (thank goodness she was) before creeping out and opening her drawer on her side of the bedroom they shared.
The octoling carefully moved some of her clothes around to reach into the back and felt what she was looking for. When she found it, she carefully brought it to her, checking if it was intact and not tampered with in any way. It was a small black box with a lid that fits perfectly into the palm of her hand and inside contained an engagement ring.
Marina carefully opened the lid and examined the ring for anything off, which turned out to be completely fine. The ring itself was extremely special, completely custom made - something Marina had gone through hundreds of hoops to get done and keep Pearl from noticing what she was up to. Just special enough that she knew Pearl would adore it. It was an elegant, oval-shaped Aquamarine surrounded by diamonds and set in a rose gold halo - Pearl’s favourite. The gemstone itself had days of research put into it as well, with a lot of thought into what kind of gem she felt fit them best. The aquamarine signifies the love the two had, their own courage, health and communication. It also happened to be Pearl’s gemstone and tied into their own anniversary, which happened to fall on a 19th. The fun part was that Marina knew Pearl would get all this deep symbolism quickly, even if she wouldn’t admit it upfront - Pearl was just as much as a sucker for this stuff, if not more, as Marina was, and also had her fair share of gem knowledge because of her family’s history. But Marina knew Pearl would pretend not to know in the end, and she was completely ready to explain everything if she asked. Marina closed the box and tucked it into her sweater pocket, making her way back into the kitchen.
In Marina’s eyes, it was perfect.
The day passed quickly at Wahoo World after they arrived. The couple spent most of their morning shopping and taking as many cheesy romantic photos as possible, with a good portion of their day being taken up by long, eccentric rides and excitement. The sun was setting by now, and the park itself was becoming less packed as it got colder. The colourful park lights slowly flickered on, one by one, and the two decided it was time they took a break on one of the benches as they decide what to do about dinner. They were sitting in front of a large fountain with a statue of the Wahoo World Dogfish mascot erect in the middle, cold water splashing in the distance in sync with the outside speaker’s music and chatter of families around them.
“Psst,” Pearl nudged her girlfriend. “Hey, Marina?”
“Yeah?” Marina was going through her recent photos to see what would be nice for inkstagram and what they could print for later. She placed her phone on her lap to make sure Pearl knew she had her attention.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if I pretend-proposed to you here?”
This caught Marina off guard quick, making her jump. Pearl seemed to enjoy that reaction, responding with a smug grin. She held one of her tentacles in place and blushed. “Wouldn’t that be a little...I dunno, silly?”
“Well, yeah, duh,” Pearl giggled. “But we’d get a lot of attention!”
I can work with this, actually, Marina thought. Normally she’d be against this kind of thing - she was far too shy, even if paparazzi weren’t so bad around them (they had managed to go a whole day without being bothered by them, with the exception of a few children who were no real bother, after all). But this opened up a perfect opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
“Why don’t you then?” Marina smirked, playing along with Pearl’s game.
“Okay, okay. Stand over there,” Pearl pointed, “by the fountain.”
Marina did just that and kept a hand in her pocket, pretending to fumble with her phone. Instead, she held onto the earlier box, rubbing a thumb over it with nervous excitement. “Alrighty.”
“Marriiiinnaa Iida,” Pearl sing-songed as she approached, getting on one knee. A small group of kids were already starting to look their way. “Would you do the honours of --”
She pulled out a small black box and flipped it open, revealing a gorgeous expensive Emerald ring, complemented with white diamonds and a platinum band.
“PEARL?” Marina practically shouted, both excited and shocked. This was definitely not something she expected at all, but it was so in character of Pearl to do that she really should have expected it.
“--marrying me?” Pearl winked, standing up. There was a crowd around them now, cooing at the sight. One person, a bit of a distance away, shouted “say yes already!”, resulting in a quick glare from Pearl.
At this point, Marina was on the verge of tears. Trying to hold them back, she pulled out her own box.
“Pearl, oh my cod,” she got on one knee herself, opening her box. “You doofus, I was going to ask you first. Of course I will.”
Pearl instantly squealed, nearly tackling the octoling to the ground. “Maaariinnaa! Yes yes yes!”
The two embraced within seconds, the crowd around them clapping and taking pictures of the sight. There was “WOO, YEAH” shouted in the distance that, this time, Pearl chose to ignore this time.
“I can’t believe you, Mar.” Pearl said in a tone just above a whisper. “You stole my idea.”
“Nuh-uh,” Marina planted a kiss on now-fiancé’s forehead. “You did, now I gotta marry you extra hard.”
“That’s not a thing!"
“I’ll make it a thing!” The octoling laughed, loud and full of joy.