Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Three wakes up suddenly when something solid smacks into their face. They shake their head, trying to adjust to the darkness and see what hit them - and then they see it.

The egg had rolled out of its little nest of blankets on the bedside table, hitting Three on their cheekbone before rolling onto the pillow, still warm from their body.

Tenkay is still asleep - he's always been a heavy sleeper, so he didn't even stir when the egg moved, or from Three's sudden awakening.

Three noticed subtle movement out the corner of their vision - the egg was moving again, shaking back and forth as if whatever was inside was agitated. They picked it up, and frowned; the shell had gone flexible and slick, and it was slightly squishy as they held it in their hands.

Then something pressed against their hand from inside the egg, and Three almost fumbled and dropped the egg on the floor - thankfully they caught it in time.

"What the hell is with you tonight..." Three whispered to the egg, squinting at it in the darkness of the bedroom. Then, vaguely, they remembered Tenkay had told them, when he'd been obsessively researching everything on egg care.

"Hm... 'When the egg is close to hatching, the shell will become soft, so that it is easier for the hatchling to break the egg'..." Tenkay had murmured, flipping through the pamphlet in his hands. "Then we must be vigilant, and check the egg regularly! We do not want to be catching surprise!"

"Wait, shit-" Three whisper-shouted. Holding the egg close, they turned around to shake Tenkay awake. "Tenkay! Tenkay! Wake up!" Three vigorously shook him by the shoulder to try and wake him. "The egg's hatching!"

The octoling grumbled, an ear flicking in irritation at being woken up so early. " Ba'tze ..." He groaned in Octarian, propping himself up with an elbow to look at Three. "It is still dark... What is wrong? Nightmare?"

" The egg! " Three whispered, feeling a little frazzled. "I think it's hatching, what do we do?"

It took a second for it to register, but once it did, Tenkay almost fell out of bed with how quickly he scrambled. He made his way to Three's side of the bed - his superior vision coming in handy once again - and gently took the egg from their hands as he sat next to them.

Tenkay held the egg up a little, mumbling in Octarian and frowning.

"Little one, this better not be a trick- '' Something must have happened, because he flinched, then chuckled. "Ah, not a trick, then. But very inconvenient for me and your maht'ra indeed." Another chuckle, then he held the egg to his chest. "Three, go prepare a small bowl of water. Warm, but not hot or cold, or it will shock the little one when they hatch."

Three nodded, then proceeded to stumble out of the bedroom, still unused to the darkness. Once they made it to the kitchen sink to prepare the water, Three noticed that their hands were shaking. They paused, taking a deep breath, and then reached under the sink to grab one of the plastic bowls. They filled it with cold water first, leaving the hot water to run and reach the right temperature before adding some. Their job done, Three walked back into the bedroom, trying not to spill any of the water, and noticed that the bedside lamp was turned on, filling the room with soft, warm light.

Tenkay sat on the edge of the bed, cradling the egg and murmuring to it in soft Octarian. He looked... handsome, in a way. When he looked up and smiled at Three, they blushed a little, going to sit next to him with the bowl of water.

Gently, Tenkay placed the egg into the bowl, leaving it to roll back and forth, disturbing the water.

"I will go get clean blankets and towels for the hatching." He pressed a kiss to Three's forehead, then got up. "Back soon." A soft smile, and then he left to gather the blankets and a couple of towels from the hallway cupboard, leaving Three to watch the egg.

As they watched, the egg warped, bending outwards with the force of the hatchling pushing from inside.

It was kind of... morbidly cool, in a way.

Three propped the bowl atop their legs, holding it with one hand, and reached the other in to touch the egg.

The shell flexed again, pushing outwards, and Three went to press against it. It seemed to motivate the hatchling inside, pressing back against Three's hand with more force.

A strong kid, then... They thought.

They were startled out of their thoughts by Tenkay returning with the blankets and towels, sitting next to Three on the side of the bed again.

"Everything still good?"

Three nodded. "Strong."

"Good. That means they are healthy..." He trailed off. "But even still, healthy hatchlings might need help..." Tenkay's ears pinned back a little in worry.

Three shifted their grip, switching hands so that they could hold Tenkay's hand over the blankets he was holding. His hand folded over theirs, squeezing, and Three squeezed back.

"It'll be fine," They began. "We did everything right, just like what we looked up. It'll be healthy. It'll be okay. We'll be okay." Three looked at the egg in the water bowl. "We all will."

Tenkay nodded, a small smile gracing his face. "Yes. Everything will be well..."

The pair sat there for a little while, holding hands and watching the egg toss around in the water and whispering encouragement to the hatchling inside.

Then, suddenly, a small tear appeared in the soft shell of the egg, clear fluid oozing out and mixing with the water in the bowl.

"Uh, what's that?" Three asked, worried. Was it something bad? Was something wrong?

"It might be leftover ami- amin- leftover fluid the hatchling was in, inside the egg. Nothing bad. If it was bloody, then it would be bad. But there is no blood..." An ear flicked. "Yet, anyway."

"Right, right..." Three sighed. "Okay." They reached a hand inside the bowl again, poking a finger near the small tear.

At one point, something soft and squishy pressed against their finger, then grabbed it in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Oh, shit-" Three gasped. "I think it's grabbed my finger-"

"Strong!" Tenkay laughed, sounding relieved. "Come, little one. You are strong, don't you want to meet your maht'ra and daht'ra ? Come, come..." He whispered to the hatchling, and his words seemed to invigorate it - a whole, chubby arm reached out of the tear in the shell, widening the opening enough for the other arm to come through.

Three and Tenkay watched with bated breath.

"C'mon, kiddo," Three whispered, adding their own encouragement. "Don't give up yet, you're almost there..."

A few more minutes of struggle, and then, finally, the hatchling's head poked through the opening in the egg, quickly followed by the rest of it's body, tearing the eggshell almost in half.

Tenkay reached in quickly, cradling the hatchling with a single hand - It's so tiny , Three found themself thinking - and lifted it free from the water to wrap it in a towel.

Three quickly set the water bowl aside, turning to look at the hatchling.

Once Tenkay had finished fussing over it - drying it's body and murmuring to it, checking it's small, chubby body over just in case - he smiled so warmly Three could've sworn they felt the heat radiating from him.

"A strong dawt'ma ... A strong young girl. " He whispered, cradling the newborn octoling in the soft, warm blanket in his arms. "Welcome to the world, our little dawt'ma ..."

Tenkay started purring, nuzzling the hatchling's head - she sneezed, her little body tensing fully with the action, and making the funniest face - and he laughed.

"Oh!" He started. "The shell - she needs to eat it, for nutrients. It will help her grow strong." Tenkay nodded towards the bowl. "Into small pieces, so she won't choke."

Three nodded, reaching into the bowl and tearing up the soft shell, which had now gone very soggy after sitting in the water for a while.

"Here," They said, offering the torn-up pieces of egg. "Small pieces, like you said."

Tenkay nodded, and gently began to hand-feed the hatchling her eggshell. It took a little while - she was very fussy, and seemed to decide halfway through that she wanted to be stubborn and refuse to eat it. But, eventually, Tenkay had fed all the eggshell to her.

"There we go. That was not so bad, was it - Ah! " He cried out suddenly, making Three flinch.

Tenkay put his finger into his mouth, smiling through the pain.

"Their beaks are sharp, when they are freshly hatched. I almost forgot," He smiled, removing his finger after it stopped bleeding. "But this little de'marht reminded me."

Three huffed out a little laugh. "What does that mean? 'de-' 'demat'?"

" De'marht, " Tenkay repeated. "It means 'troublemaker', or 'mischief', in Octarian." He glanced down at the baby with a grin. "Usually used for troublesome little ones." The little one in question sneezed again, undisturbed.

Three nodded. "And the... other ones? 'Dat-ma' and the others you said?"

" Dawt'ma , means daughter or young girl." Tenkay explained, smiling gently. He always liked teaching Three little bits of Octarian, here and there. "And maht'ra and daht'ra ... ah, it is embarrassing..."

Three cocked their head, curious. Tenkay let out a short chuckle.

" Daht'ra means... well, in Inklish, it would translate as father, but it translates literally to 'he who cares'. Maht'ra is the same, used for the, ah... bearers? No, carriers? The mother, the one who nurses the child...?" He sighed. "I do not think it has a literal translation. It is used for any mother figure, not just nest-mothers. For example, Pearl and Marina would be my maht'ras , even though they did not... carry me, so to speak."

Three nodded. "I get it. Maternal figure, I understand. Thank you for telling me." A small pause. "You... think I'm like a mom?"

Tenkay looked panicked. "Ah, is that not your feeling today? Do you not, um, 'vibe' with being maht'ra ?"

"No no, it's okay," Three shook their head. "I just... didn't expect it. Makes me feel... complicated. But good." They smiled slightly. "Really good, actually. I like it." 

"Ah," Tenkay sighed. "Okay. I did not think, when the egg was hatching, and it came out so naturally... Octarian is a very... black-white language. So unfortunately there are no words to describe..." He shrugged apologetically. "Well, to describe people like yourself."

"Yeah. But like, I don't mind it." Three shrugged also. "Plus, I don't think Octarian is the kind of language where you can make up words and everyone starts using them, you know?"

Tenkay nodded, glancing back down at the baby and smiling. "She has a very handsome maht'ra , if it means anything." He side-eyed them, smirking.

“Flatterer.” Three gently pushed his shoulder, getting a chuckle for their effort.

Then they jolted- "Wait, shit. She needs a name." They began. "We can't just keep calling her 'baby' or 'little one', can we?"

Tenkay paused, as if he hadn't realised. "Ah." was all he said.

"Um, names, names, what are good baby names..." Three murmured. "Coddammit, I knew we should've bought that book..."

“It is okay!” Tenkay reassured them. “I am sure that we can find a good name for her, a strong name for a strong child.”

Three wracked their brain in silence, feeling the adrenaline slowly leaving their body and their hearts slowing down from the panicked pace that the egg’s sudden hatching had caused. Tenkay must have seen them struggling, because he nudged them with his elbow.

“Do you want to hold her?” He whispered, a gentle smile on his face. “Perhaps that might help with the thinking, to hold her yourself?”

Three took a deep breath, hesitating. 

Three wasn’t a big fan of children. Too messy, too loud, too much , was always their excuse. But then Pearl and Marina’s own child had come along, little Kiro, and everytime Tenkay had volunteered to babysit, Three found themself tagging along. They found themself playing with Kiro, listening to his baby babble, helping feed him, even cleaning up when he made a mess of his food. 

Maybe Three had begun to like children, then. Even so, babysitting Kiro hadn’t prepared them for looking after an actual living newborn . Kiro was older by at least a year.

Nevertheless, Three nodded, and held their arms out.

Tenkay smiled, and gently maneuvered the baby into their arms. She shifted, disturbed by the movement and temporary loss of warmth, but settled down again once she was cradled by Three.

She was… warm. And soft. A bit squishy, actually, but that was normal - at least that’s what Tenkay had told them. Octolings didn’t have the semi-rigid cartilage that Inklings did, which made them more flexible but also more susceptible to internal damage. Three angled themself to better see her; her ink colour was a lovely shade of teal, a few shades brighter than their own.

Three felt their ears start to move of their own accord, gently wiggling up and down, just like how Tenkay’s did whenever they’d got back from a long mission and the pair hadn’t seen each other in a long while and wrapped each other in a long, tight hug. 

The baby squirmed in their arms, yawned, and then opened her eyes.

They were perhaps the most beautiful shade of blue Three had ever seen. Then again, they might be a bit biased. 

Suddenly, Three had an idea for a name. 

“Hey, Tenkay?” They asked, whisper-quiet. “How does ‘Rhea’ sound?”

A quiet chuckle. “You’ve been doing your research. The old Octarian god of water?” He reached a hand over to gently stroke the baby’s cheek. “I think it is perfect.”

“No going back now then, I guess.” Three leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, like Tenkay had done earlier. “Welcome to the world, Rhea.”

Chapter Text

After staying up the rest of the night to keep an eye on Rhea, Tenkay called Marina and Pearl to excitedly tell them the news. Marina’s response had been a heartfelt congratulations - Pearl’s had been an ear-splitting BOOYAH! down the phone, making Tenkay hold the phone well away from his ear and even startling Three holding Rhea on the other side of the room. 

“You can bet your suckers that we’re coming down there ASAP!”  Pearl had yelled down the phone. “We wanna see the lil’ tyke too!”

“Pearlie! Not so loud, Kiro is still sleeping!” Marina had replied. “I’ll try and calm her down before we get there. And congratulations, you two!”

After a hurried goodbye and hanging up the call, Tenkay sighed. “Pearl seemed very excited… I hope she does not wake up Rhea…”

“Pearl already woke me up, if it’s worth anything.” Three yawned, not bothering to cover their mouth; they had almost dropped Rhea’s egg so many times that they did not want to drop Rhea herself, keeping a secure hold on the child with both hands. “How can she be so loud so early in the morning?”

“Marina made many promises to her if they woke up early together,” Tenkay explained with a sheepish smile. “Also, newborns do not have a very good grasp on the concept of time, and are very good at being alarm clocks.”

Three snorted with laughter at the thought of Pearl being shocked awake by a crying Kiro. Yeah, that’s a funny picture for sure…

“We should get dressed before they get here… You first?” Tenkay asked.

“Huh?”

“...Do you not want to get out of your sleeping clothes?”

“...Do I have to? I’m pretty sure Pearl and Marina have seen me in worse.” Three shrugged. “Like, they saw me after you beat the absolute shit out of me. Pretty sure it can’t get worse than that.”

“Three…” He pouted. “I do not like thinking about that. Please?”

Three sighed. “Okay. Here, hold her for a sec while I change.”

Tenkay nodded, then reached for Rhea to hold her. He pressed a kiss to Three’s cheek as they passed by, only for Three to pause and give him a kiss back with a smile. The pair only parted when Rhea started to shift and gurgle quietly.

Tenkay huffed out a laugh. “Already so embarrassed at seeing your paht’ras kiss, little Rhea? How silly, little one.” He gave another quick peck to Three’s nose this time. “Go on, get changed. I will look after her.”

Three smiled, then went into the bedroom to change out of their pajamas - a ratty, torn tank top that they couldn’t remember buying, and a pair of old grey sweatpants with various stains that they hadn’t been able to get out from washing. Looking through their side of the wardrobe, Three wondered what to wear. 

After thinking for a little while, they settled on a simple t-shirt and jeans combo, with a zip-up hoodie on top. Walking over to the mirror, they tied their tentacles up and out of the way, the severed end of the right-side one just barely making it through the hairband. Finished, Three left the bedroom.

“Hey, Tenkay?” They asked, stepping into the living room. “Sorry I took a while-”

Three stopped in their tracks at the sight in front of them; Tenkay sitting on the couch, legs together, to make space for Rhea to lay down. He was baby-talking to her in Octarian, babbling along and nuzzling her face to make her laugh - the sight made Three’s chest ache a little, and they smiled. As they watched, they saw him lean down enough for Rhea to clumsily grab one of his ears, tugging at it. Tenkay only laughed, a soft, deep chuckle.

“Already a strong fighter against your daht’ra !” He whispered. “So strong! I will be earless if I left you to yourself! But that will not do - your graht’mas are on the way to see you! Oh, they will love you, just as I and your maht’ra do, Marina especially, but Pearl is also very excited.” Tenkay seemed enamoured with telling Rhea everything, even if she couldn’t understand yet. “You have a very big family, yes, very big! Many aunts, strong and brave fighters… They will all love you dearly, I promise you. Callie will almost definitely spoil you, and Marie, even if she says otherwise. I will have to convince Four to not use her money to buy things for you instead of groceries for her home. And Hachi…” He paused at the mention of his sister. “She is not very well at the moment. But she is getting better, and I know she will love you!” 

Rhea giggled, the sound ringing out in the room, and Tenkay smiled so wide Three feared he might pull a muscle. 

“Yes, little Rhea, you are loved so much, so dearly and so deeply.” He whispered, nuzzling his nose to Rhea’s forehead. “I am glad that Three and I found you, that day. We did not know what to do, but we took you in anyway, unprepared as we were…” A gentle kiss to her tiny nose. “But if we had not, we would have been no better than those who left you in the first place…” A low purr started up in his throat, rumbling in his chest and making Rhea giggle again.

Three could see the shine of tears in his eyes before he closed them, pressing his forehead gently against his daughter’s, his purr increasing in volume tenfold.

“We love you so much, little one,” He whispered quietly, as if he was not trying to cry. “ I love you so much. So, so much…”

“Don’t start crying on me, babe.” Three murmured, making their way over to sit next to him on the sofa. “Pearl and Marina are gonna wonder why your eyes are all red and nasty.”

Tenkay laughed wetly. “They would understand. I was there when Kiro hatched, and Pearl would not stop crying, even the next day…” He sighed. “I am so glad that everything is okay, and that Rhea is healthy.” 

Rhea giggled at him again, waving her chubby fists. Three waved a finger, and she latched onto it almost immediately, dragging their hand around. “Me too. I have, like, no experience at all with kids. My family…” They trailed off.

“Mm?”

“...Nothing. I just… hope I’ll be better than they were, you know?”

Tenkay nodded, and leaned against Three to press a kiss to their ear. “It is always difficult to be the breaker of a cycle.”

It was silent in the living room for a moment, Rhea quietly playing with Three’s finger.

“C’mon, I’ll hold her while you get changed.” They said, returning the kiss to Tenkay’s cheek. “Go on.”

He carefully passed Rhea to Three, who positioned her in the same way he had - lying on her back on Three’s legs, looking up at them with wide eyes.

“Hey kiddo.” They said simply, not knowing what to talk to a baby about. Tenkay snickered as he stood up and walked to the bedroom to change. “How’s life treating you so far?”

Rhea stayed quiet and wide-eyed, waving her hands slightly. Three sighed and frowned a little. “What, you like your dad more than you like me? I see how it is.”

At that, Rhea smiled and gave a little gurgly laugh.

“Oh, okay, now you laugh.” They rolled their eyes. “Little so-and-so, you are.” Three leaned down closer to the baby and gave her a quiet purr. “Cute though. I can see why you’ve got Tenkay wrapped around your little finger, even though you popped out the egg like… five hours ago, or something.”

The baby shoved a fist into her mouth, chewing on it with her beak.

“You don’t even understand a word I’m saying, huh.”

Rhea continued to slobber over her hand. Gross, Three thought. They could hear Tenkay rummaging through his wardrobe and muttering something, but he was too far away for Three to hear exactly what he was saying.

Three sighed. I… We have a kid now. Shit. A few years ago I would’ve never thought I’d have a partner, let alone a kid. They looked down at Rhea, who was lying comfortably on their legs and wriggling slightly. Oh, I’m gonna need to read so many parenting books… I hope Pearl and Marina still have theirs. I’ll ask when they come over later. Wait, what’s the time - 

Three was interrupted from their thoughts by Rhea gurgling and reaching her other hand towards them.

“Huh, what do you want, kid? Want to play with my ears like you did with Tenkay?” They leaned down closer again so Rhea could reach, and then - a tiny hand, pressed to their face. 

Or, more accurately, to their scar.

Rhea’s hand pressed against the mottled teal scarring, and she giggled, as if it felt weird under her tiny palm and fingers.

Three froze, not wanting to dislodge her hand. “Oh.” They whispered quietly. 

The muscle under the scarring twitched involuntarily, but it didn’t hurt like it used to, back when it was fresh and more sensitive. Three closed their eyes and heard Rhea gurgle again, squeezing her tiny fingers over their scarred cheek. 

Letting out a breath they didn’t know they’d been holding, Three smiled. 

“Man. You’re gonna fuckin’ love your family.”

“ Three! ” Tenkay called from the bedroom. Three flinched harshly, dislodging Rhea’s hand and making her giggle. “None of the swearing in front of Rhea!” 

“Sorry!”

Chapter Text

A few hours later, as promised, Pearl and Marina knocked on their door, and Tenkay rushed to meet them.

“Sorry we’re late!” Marina smiled apologetically. “I had to convince Pearl not to use the helicopter to get here, which took almost an entire hour.” She looked pointedly at Pearl, who was standing proudly with her hands on her hips and Kiro strapped to her chest in a papoose. 

“Look, ‘Rina, this is our grandkid . We should’a gone all out!”

“Where would we have even landed ? Tenkay and Three live in an apartment complex in the middle of the city, and there’s not even enough room on the roof!”

“So you took…” Three called, looking out the window with Rhea in their arms. “... The limousine instead?” The long flashy vehicle, in shining cream and pink paint instead of the usual black, was parked outside the complex, taking up at least three parking bays. Three hummed. I hope the landlord doesn’t get on our ass about that.

“Nevermind, nevermind!” Tenkay laughed. “Come in! You’ll love to see her, she is very cute!”

“Ooh!” Marina squealed, clasping her hands together and shimmying from side to side. “A baby girl? Let me see her, let me see her!”

Tenkay stepped aside and let Pearl and Marina in - Marina rushing to the living room where Three was with Rhea, and Pearl behind her, kicking off her trainers. “‘Rina, wait! Shoes!”

“I do not think she can hear you, Pearl.” He smiled. “Do you want me to hold Kiro for a minute, while you take your shoes off?”

“Nah, I’m good. Just gotta - there we go!” She grinned, managing to slip her other trainer off without disturbing her son sleeping in the papoose. “C’mon, I wanna see the lil’ tyke!”

Tenkay and Pearl walked into the living room, only to see Marina cooing over Rhea and Three looking extremely uncomfortable with someone so close to their face. Seeing Tenkay in the doorway, they looked at him desperately, mouthing “ help ”. He smiled, walking over to Marina and gently laying a hand on her shoulder.

“ Maht’ra , you are crowding Three again,” Tenkay said, trying to guide her away from them. “Remember what I told you, about Three and personal space?”

“Oh!” Marina started, quickly moving away with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Three!”

“Don’t, uh, don’t worry about it,” Three replied awkwardly, glancing away. “You didn’t mean to, so I’m not like, mad or anything. Um. You… wanna hold her?”

“Oh, if it’s not a bother?”

“‘Course not.” Three carefully handed Rhea off to Marina, who held her as if the baby was a delicate glass sculpture.

“Oh, she’s so cute!” Marina could barely keep still, but she held it in - she didn’t want to shake the baby too much and accidentally hurt her. “You’re a little cutie! Yes you are! Yes you are!” 

“Already got her wrapped around her tiny finger, huh,” Pearl smirked, sitting down next to Marina. “Don’t blame her though, she’s one heckin’ cute kid. Not as cute as our Kiro though, heh.”

Three’s ears perked up at that, and a quiet growl slipped from their throat before they could catch themself. Pearl glanced at them, a little shocked. “Oh, uh… sorry. About the growling. I don’t know what happened.” They looked away embarrassed.

Pearl only snickered. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, I get how ya feel. Although I should warn ya -” She leaned in to whisper to Three. “I dunno much about octo’s, but if Tenkay is gonna act anything like Marina? Keep an eye on him, will ya?”

Three looked at her, confused.

“Apparently, octolings get mad protective over their kids.” She elaborated. “I had to stop Marina biting one of our bodyguard’s fingers off once, because he tried to pick up Kiro without her letting him.” Pearl sucked a breath in through her beak. “Had to pay him extra on his next paycheck to make up for it.”

“Oh, I see…” It wasn’t often that Three had seen Tenkay upset, let alone angry, but still… they wanted to avoid hurting anyone if they could help it. Plus, he’d feel really bad if he hurt someone, even on accident…

“Anyway!” Pearl said, clapping her hands together. “Lemme see her! ‘Rina, take Kiro for a quick sec?”

A small game of pass-the-baby later, Rhea found herself in Pearl’s arms.

“So then, lil’ squirt! What’s your name? Been good for your parents?”

“Her name is Rhea!” Tenkay piped up, grinning. “Three came up with the name!”

“Oh, I haven’t heard that name in years .” Marina hummed. “I last remember hearing it in Octarian History, back in the domes…”

“That’s the, uh…” Pearl found herself stumped. 

“The old god of water,” Tenkay supplied. “She was considered the mother of all sea-life - inklings, octolings, even salmonids.”

“I think it suits her,” Marina smiled, her tentacles curling slightly at the ends. One unconsciously curled around Kiro. “Especially considering the colour of her ink - not many octolings from the domes have ink in shades other than red, pink, or purple.”

“Wait, really?” Three asked. “I thought that was like, an army thing. Everyone has the same ink colour so they can work best together and avoid friendly-fire, or something like that.”

“Well, that’s part of it,” Marina started. “But colour is a big thing in the domes - we couldn’t really indulge in fashion the way inklings could, so someone with a different ink colour was seen as someone special.” She bobbed up and down, soothing Kiro who had begun to fuss in her arms. “I, uh… actually had to argue my way into the army, because they didn’t want to risk my ink colour dying out if I got caught on the front lines.”

“Huh.” Three said simply. “That’s… way different to inklings.”

“Mhm. But the majority of octolings are on the surface now, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore, thankfully.”

“Yeah…”

Meanwhile, Pearl was playing peekaboo with Rhea, and seemed to be enjoying it more than the child herself.

“Heh, lil’ cutie! Here I am!” She hid her face, then quickly uncovered it. Rhea looked at her, startled eyes wide with surprise. 

“Ah, before I forget -” Tenkay piped up. “How is Hachi? Did she not want to come and see Rhea today?”

Pearl paused her little game with Rhea. “Oh, uh, she said she wasn’t feeling too great…” She trailed off.

“One of the bad days again.” Marina elaborated. “We promised her we’d take pictures to show her once we got back, though. And you know you can always visit!”

“She will be fine in the house alone?” Tenkay worried, ears drooping. “You are sure?”

“Yvonne stayed the night - I think they’ll be okay,” Pearl snorted, one of her fingers in Rhea’s grasp. She waved the finger around, the baby giggling as she did so. “Hachi invited them by herself this time, so she’s making good progress.”

“Ah, that is good…”

“I really hope Yvonne doesn’t try and teach her more slang this time,” Three sighed, exasperated at the thought. “Hachi’s still learning Inklish, right?”

Marina nodded. “Yeah. She’s making quick progress though! I think she’ll get the hang of it soon enough - she only really struggles with context.”

“That’s good. How’s her ink-therapy going?”

“Same as usual,” Pearl replied, pausing to blow a raspberry that made Rhea giggle again. “But we noticed that her skin is starting to heal and go back to its natural colour again, which is like, great , according to the doc’s at the hospital.” She wiggled a finger in front of the baby’s face, tiny blue eyes trying to follow.

“Ah, that is very good to hear!” Tenkay exclaimed, perking up. “I have a friend who was in a similar position to Hachi. I will contact him and ask for any tips he might have?”

“Sounds good!” Marina agreed. “Rome, right? He lives over in Splatsville now, doesn’t he?”

“That is the last I heard,” He hummed. “But I still have his contact number, so I will message him sometime soon and ask.”

Pearl nodded. “I thought he was nice, last time I saw the kid - MOTHERFU - ”

Marina lurched over to slap a hand over Pearl’s mouth to muffle the swear, careful not to jostle Kiro too much. “Pearl!”

“Ah,” Tenkay began nervously. “I should have warned you - she, ah, likes to bite fingers.” He sheepishly held up his own hand, showing the scab from when Rhea had bitten him earlier.

Pearl almost looked like she was about to cry, Rhea’s beak latched onto her finger and drawing blood from the small wound. She glanced at Marina, who slowly lowered her hand.

“Motherflipper , ” She whispered instead. “Mother-freakin’- flipper that hurts like hell. Ow . Please let go kiddo, I need that to hold things.” Pearl looked down pleadingly at Rhea and gently tried to pry her finger from the baby’s mouth.

Finally, Rhea let go, and Pearl immediately put her finger into her own mouth to soothe the pain. “You guys got any plasters?”

Tenkay nodded, and walked over to a drawer in the kitchen to grab one from the first-aid kit. Pearl held her hand out while Tenkay unwrapped and applied the bandage, Marina stifling a quiet giggle.

“Thanks, kid.” Pearl sighed. “She’s got one heck of a bite, huh?”

“She has, yes.” Tenkay nodded with a smile. “We will have to buy many teething toys for her.”

“That's the birthday and holiday presents planned out then,” Marina chuckled. “I guess we need to start buying them now, though, to avoid any missing fingers in the future.”

Three looked at their own fingers, scarred from their agent work. “Yeah. It’d be really stupid if I went all these years as an agent just to lose a finger to my own baby.”

At that, everyone in the room started laughing, Three joining in with their own quiet chuckle. They glanced at Tenkay, who was looking at them with a warm smile, and they smiled back.

This is nice, Three thought. This… feels like family. I like it.

Chapter Text

After Marina and Pearl had left and said their goodbyes, Kiro dozing away in the papoose (now worn by Marina), the two left, and Three watched the limo awkwardly pull out of its space on the curb.

Pearl had promised the pair that she’d send a couple of people over with gifts for Rhea. Tenkay had insisted that they already had enough supplies to take care of the baby, but she was having none of it, simply waving their concerns away. Marina, on the other hand, had simply given Tenkay a hug, and whispered something in his ear that Three couldn’t quite hear over Rhea fussing in their arms. Whatever she had said, it seemed to have an effect on him - his eyes had started to go misty, and his ears had begun to flap up and down.

“I am absolutely pooped ,” Three said, flopping onto the sofa. Tenkay smiled and sat down next to them, holding Rhea in his arms. “Why is interacting with other people so hard?”

“Well. You are used to only one or two adults being around you, yes?” Three nodded. “And today, there were two adults, and two babies. It probably did not help that Marina was so excited to see Rhea and got too close, even if it was an accident.”

“...Yeah. You’re crazy good at this.” They murmured. “I’d go and lie down for a bit, but I don’t want to leave you to take care of Rhea by yourself…”

“I do not mind!” He smiled brightly. “It is time she ate some food anyway. We still have the small crab legs, yes?”

“Yeah, but they need defrosting. There’s some pre-made plankton soup in the fridge though.”

Tenkay nodded solemnly, tickling Rhea’s cheek with a finger. “Then the little ma’shta will be having plankton soup for dinner. A very good meal!” In his arms, the baby giggled, waving her arms and kicking her legs. “And the ma’shta herself agrees!”

Three sighed and smiled gently. “I’m feeling kinda hungry too, to be honest. Lemme see what’s in the fridge.” With a huff, they dragged themself up off the sofa and walked into the kitchen, Tenkay close behind.

Opening the fridge, Three looked inside - plastic tubs filled with food made by Tenkay, a half-empty jar of pickled chilies that Three would occasionally snack on, various small jars of preserves from Callie’s efforts at a new hobby, and some pre-packaged salmon meat from MakoMart sat inside. On one of the higher shelves sat the food they’d bought specifically for Rhea - pre-made soups, small soft-shelled crabs, and diced pieces of sea-stars.

Reaching in, they grabbed one of the tubs, checking the contents then showing it to Tenkay. “Hm. How long has this been in here? Still good?”

“Ah, that is the fish pasta, yes?” He leaned over, taking a look. Frowning, he shook his head. “I think it is on its last day, I would not trust it for eating.”

Three hummed, opening it - which was a big mistake, as a foul smell made itself known quickly in the room. They immediately closed it again, holding the tub at arm’s length and pulling a face. “ Phew ,” Three made a sound of disgust. “ Absolutely not. Dashing that.”

“Agreed.” Tenkay said behind them.

Setting the tub on the counter, they reached back in for a different tub. “You made this yesterday, right?” Three squinted at the food inside. “Veggie curry?”

“Yes!” He said, nodding. “It was very nice, yes? It will taste even better today - the spices have had time to…” Tenkay trailed off. “...What is the word…?”

“Um…” Three thought. “Marinate?” They guessed.

“I don’t think that is the word. But it will taste better!”

“Cool. I’ll heat this up and we can share?”

Tenkay nodded again with a smile. “Do not forget the plankton soup for Rhea!”

“I got it, I got it, don’t worry.” Three grabbed a small container of soup as well, shaking it to mix up the contents inside. “Soup for the baby, soup, soup, soup…” They hummed as they walked to the microwave.

“Soup, soup, soup! Soup for the ma’shta !” Tenkay sang along, bouncing Rhea up and down as well.

Three smiled back at them. “What’s that word mean?”

“Little royalty! Or princess, in inklish.” He explained. “I think it suits her, no?”

“With the way everyone loves her?” They scoffed. “ Definitely suits her.” Tenkay laughed, Rhea giggling and squealing with him.

After dinner had been eaten (and the bad food had been thrown away, tub and all), it was time for bed. Rhea had started yawning after eating her soup, and so Tenkay had dressed her in tiny pyjamas and rocked her to sleep in his arms while Three washed the container that the curry had been in.

In the bedroom, the pair got ready for bed, dressing in their own pyjamas, Rhea sleeping soundly in a cot near the bed that Tenkay had insisted he assemble far before she had hatched. (“ We do not know if it will hatch early! ” He had said at the time, tools in hand. It had been two weeks since then.)

Switching the lights off, Three shuffled over to the bed, Tenkay walking normally thanks to his superior nighttime vision. He sat under the covers, patting the space next to him.

Three flopped onto the bed face-first, bouncing a little on the mattress. Groaning, they dragged themself up to grab Tenkay, who in turn helped pull them further under the blanket with a smile. 

“Come on, you have to be working with me, Three, I am not that strong in my arms to be dragging you.” He chuckled quietly.

They made an unintelligible noise, but cooperated, pushing with both arms and swinging a leg onto the bed to lie down. Three grunted, latching onto Tenkay.

“Alright, time for sleeping. You are very tired, yes?”

Another grunt.

“Okay,” Tenkay pressed a kiss to the top of Three’s head. “Good night, skal’arzt .”

“‘Night…” They mumbled, already slipping. “Love you…”

“I love you too.” He murmured.

And with that, Three fell asleep.

-

It was dark.

Three couldn’t tell if their eyes were open or not. They swung their head from side to side in the void, to try and find some semblance of light, but found none.

Then, turning around, they saw a cot a little distance away.

Three gasped, running towards it.

As they got closer, they realised that there was something inside, glowing faintly. The glow got brighter the closer they came, but Three didn’t care.

Finally arriving at the cot, they peered inside, only to see…

… Sludge?

All of Three’s hearts seized in their chest.

That couldn’t be right , they thought. Rhea’s supposed to be in there, asleep .

A wet gurgle sounded behind them, and Three spun on their heels. More sludge, bubbling like boiling water in a pot.

Then it started to grow. Upwards, like some sort of grotesque plant, or as if someone was rising up from inside the glowing green-blue goop.

Wait. 

That colour is familiar. Scarily familiar , they thought.

Before they could react, the pillar of sludge lurched towards them at speed, aiming for their face.

Three screamed wordlessly, clawing at the glowing ooze. It stung horrifically, like a chemical burn eating away at their skin and ink. Their hands began to ache from trying to get it off their face, fingers growing numb from pain.

They tried to scream again, but the sludge forced itself into Three’s mouth, the horrid chemical taste invading their throat and muffling any attempts to cry for help. 

Choking, they fell onto their knees, gagging, trying to cough it back up, trying to get it out -

Three managed to look up, and saw Tenkay, holding something in his arms. Holding some one in his arms.

Rhea.

Feeling their body move on its own, they lurched up to stand again, staggering forwards. Tenkay stepped backwards, trying to keep Rhea away from Three. 

Another step forwards. Another step backwards.

Then, all at once, Three felt their body leap forwards, and they screamed.

- 

Three screamed, back arching off the bed as the entire right side of their face burned with pain.

They tried to open their eyes, but the right wouldn’t open, forced shut by the muscle spasming so painfully that Three wanted to claw at it to try and get it to stop.

“-ree! Three! ” 

They could only make some sort of pained, choked-up growl, unable to speak words.

A face found itself in their field of vision, blurry and looking scared.

“Three!” Said the voice again. “Wake up, it is me! Tenkay!”

Everything suddenly came into clarity, and Three could finally see. Tenkay held their arms in a firm grip, and they realised that they had tried to actually claw at their face - orange and teal ink stained Three’s fingers and nails, and they could feel wetness on their face.

“Rhea -” They choked out, tugging their arms away from Tenkay. “Check on Rhea -” 

“Wait -” 

Three’s body lurched off the bed, arms slipping from Tenkay’s grip as they clambered out of bed, shoving aside the blankets. They stumbled over to the cot, hearing crying, and Three looked inside.

Rhea lay on her back, crying, her small blanket kicked away from her and eyes scrunched up, tears running down her chubby cheeks.

Three wheezed out a heavy breath, and then felt bile rise up from their throat - they tried to scramble away from the cot and out the room, only getting as far as an arms-length away from the bathtub before their stomach emptied itself.

Thankfully, most of it went into the bathtub instead of on the floor.

They felt a hand on their shoulder, and they turned their head to see Tenkay kneeling next to them. 

“Rhea -” Three coughed between heaves. “Go check on Rhea -”

Tenkay looked torn, looking back towards the bedroom.

“ The baby. ” Three growled with another forceful heave.

That seemed to do the trick, as he quickly got up and left. Distantly, they heard him trying to comfort Rhea, shushing her quietly and murmuring in the other room. 

Ten minutes later, when their stomach was empty and they were left dry-heaving, Three sat on their knees fumbling to turn the tap on to wash away the mess. With heavy limbs, they grabbed a roll of toilet paper and tried to clumsily mop up what hadn’t made it in the tub. 

“Let me.”

Three looked up, seeing Tenkay kneeling down next to them with a hand reaching for the roll. 

They let him take it, too tired to argue.

“Sorry.” Three mumbled, face warm with shame. Tenkay frowned slightly, continuing to clean up. When he finished, he tossed the used tissues into the toilet, flushing them away.

“Do not be sorry, skal’arzt . It was not your fault.”

“It is.”

“It is not.” He insisted. “You had no control over the nightmare,” Tenkay paused. “Or yourself.”

“‘S why I’m sorry.” They said. “I should be getting better, not… not this.” 

“Progress is not a clear path.” He replied, looking them in the eye. “There will always be obstacles and opponents.”

Three stayed silent at that. Tenkay held a hand out, and they gently grabbed it. He squeezed it comfortingly.

“Is… is she okay?” Three whispered. 

“She is asleep again, yes.”

“... Okay.” Three murmured. “Sor-” A hand suddenly covered their mouth.

“No more sorry, please.” Tenkay said. “Okay?”

Three paused, then nodded. The hand moved away.

“Your face.” He motioned at them. “I will go and get the kit. Come, in the living room.”

Tenkay helped them up, letting Three lean on him as they made their way to the living room. Gently, he lowered them onto the sofa, and went to grab the first-aid kit from the kitchen.

When he returned, he opened it, grabbing the antiseptic, a cloth, a gauze pad, and a bandage.

Before Tenkay opened the bottle of antiseptic, he looked at Three. “Hold your breath. I know you do not like the smell - I will be as quick as possible.”

Three nodded, taking a deep breath. 

Working quickly, he opened the bottle, soaking part of the cloth with the liquid. The smell stung his nose as he dabbed gently at the wounds around Three’s bad eye, orange ink and blood spotting the soft white cloth. Once finished, he stuffed the cloth into his pyjama pocket, the smell lessening somewhat. 

Tenkay reached for the gauze pad next, ripping open from its packaging and pressing it over Three’s eye.

“Hold, please.” One of their hands came up to hold the pad in place as he grabbed the bandage and unrolled it, then wrapped it around their head to hold the gauze in place.

Tying off the bandage, he sighed. “Finished. I will get rid of the cloth, back soon.” Three nodded again. 

Tenkay frowned, eyebrows coming together. He grabbed the first-aid kit and stood, walking back into the kitchen to put it away and dispose of the used cloth. When he came back, Three still hadn’t moved from their spot on the sofa.

“Three.” One of their ears perked up slightly. “Water?” A nod. He reached for a plastic cup on the draining board and filled it with water, then brought it over. Kneeling next to Three, he lifted it to their lips.

Slowly, they began to drink, taking small sips. After about a minute, one of their hands came up to hold the cup. Tenkay didn’t let go until both of Three’s hands were holding it securely. 

“Rhea’s supposed to be the baby,” Three whispered hoarsely. “Not me.” They lowered the cup, and Tenkay gently took it from their hands to set it on the table nearby.

Silence.

“I don’t think I trust myself with her. With Rhea.” Three said quietly. “But I’m not going to leave you to raise her by yourself.”

“I know.” Tenkay murmured. “You are too brave to do otherwise.”

Three felt tears well up in their eyes. 

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

Tenkay’s arms wrapped around them, and they let themself go. They sobbed quietly into his shoulder, staining his pyjamas with tears. They stayed like that for a while in the silent living room, Three’s hands grasping his pyjama shirt as Tenkay rubbed their back and whispered to them. 

Once their tears had dried up, they pulled away a little, but still held on.

“I don’t want to go to sleep again.”

“That is okay. I will stay up with you.”

“But… Rhea -”

“I will be fine,” Tenkay insisted. “I will drink one of the energy drinks if I must.”

Three swallowed, then nodded. “Okay.” They sniffled. “Thanks.”

“It is no problem. You are not a burden,” Tenkay whispered, as if he were speaking a sacred vow. “And so I will continue to carry you, even if my arms and legs should fail.”

Chapter Text

Long after the sun had risen and Three no longer felt like they would fall apart at a slight breeze, they slowly made their way to the fridge. Without thinking, they reached inside for the jar of pickled chillies, walking back to the sofa with the cold glass jar in hand.

Sitting down and opening the jar, they picked out a smaller chilli, popping it in their mouth and crunching down on the spicy, vinegared vegetable. Three thought as they chewed, only vaguely listening to Tenkay checking on Rhea in the bedroom. They could feel the area around their right eye aching again now that the adrenaline from the nightmare had worn off.

Three sighed, swallowing and picking out another chilli, but they didn’t eat it just yet.

It had been a while since they’d had a nightmare that bad. They thought they had been making progress, and they were , just…

It must have been stress, Three thought, finally popping the chilli into their mouth. I was stressed way before Rhea hatched, and I was stressed when she did hatch, and then I was stressed the whole of yesterday too because some many people were here… 

Three crunched and swallowed, their tongue numb from the spice.

… I gotta get my shit together. I am not ending up like my parents. Rhea deserves better than that. And Tenkay. They both deserve better. I’m going to get better.

Three was startled from their miserable thoughts by a quiet giggle from the bedroom. Turning their head, they saw Tenkay walking in, holding a sleepy Rhea. He came over and sat next to Three, careful not to jostle the baby as he made himself comfortable.

“She okay?”

Tenkay nodded. “Still sleepy. She might be hungry when she wakes up, but there is starfish pieces in the fridge to heat up for her.” He murmured. He looked tired, eyelids and ears drooping. Three glanced away, feeling a little guilty.

Setting the jar on the table, they held out their arms. “Here, let me hold her for a bit.”

Tenkay simply looked at them. “Are you -”

“I’m sure. You look tired as fuck, rest for a bit.”

“What did I say about the swearing…” He mumbled to himself. “Okay, if you insist. But I won’t be asleep for long.” Carefully, he passed Rhea to Three, who took her gently into their arms, and then he leaned back into the sofa cushions, closing his eyes.

“Hey, kiddo.” Three whispered to Rhea, who had begun to stir. “Sorry about scaring you last night…” Rhea only shifted a little, completely undisturbed. 

As if the nightmare last night had never happened. Three sighed.

“I wish I could forget about my nightmares as quick as you, Rhea.” They sighed. “It’d save me a lot of hassle.”

Three thought back to when they were a freshly-recruited agent. Clearing kettles, rescuing zapfish, defeating the Octoweapons and then Octavio.

The nightmares that had followed after that… made-up outcomes of what could’ve been - a respawn point not working, not getting to Gramps in time, Callie and Marie coming too late to help them, or even Octavio simply beating them to an inky pulp with his Octobot, over and over again.

Three thought back to how, for nearly a month afterwards, they had nervously knocked on Callie’s (or Marie’s, if she had been up late enough) bedroom door almost every night, shaking with barely-contained fear from vivid nightmares as one of cousins would comfort them until the crying passed. Later, the nightmares had become manageable, waved away by a glass of water at two in the morning or by a midnight snack.

Of course, things had gotten worse again - the whole situation with Kamabo and the Deep Sea Metro, the discovery of sanitisation, their own sanitisation, and the fight that had ensued afterwards hadn’t helped in the slightest. Waking up on a platform held up by a helicopter flying over the sea back to Inkopolis had almost sent them into a panic, and seeing Gramps unharmed was the only reason why Three hadn’t started attacking people there and then. 

The nightmares after that had turned more vague, but followed the same theme, more or less - being controlled by the sanitisation sludge again, hurting someone close, things like that. Three had begun to manage those bad dreams too. Cutting off the tentacle that had been affected had helped, even if it was taking its sweet time growing back - unfortunately, nothing much could be done about the scarring on their face unless they wanted to pay out the wazoo for cosmetic surgery.

But now, with the arrival of Rhea, everything had come rushing back. The nightmares, the stress, everything. 

… It reminded them of being back at home.

No, Three thought, shaking their head slightly. It’s different now. I’m not being punished just for existing. I have a family now. I have a boyfriend, sisters, and friends, and now I even have a kid. They all accept me for who I am, even if I’m a squid-shaped wreck sometimes.

Three thought back to one night when they’d been staying at Callie and Marie’s apartment. They hadn’t yet got enough money to start renting out their own place, and Callie had excitedly said something about Marie could be such a boring roommate, even if they were cousins and the best of friends, and so Three had found themself bunking on their couch for a little while.

(Callie had insisted that they take her room and she could sleep on the sofa instead, but Three had seen her room - the mess would have driven them insane if they’d stayed in there longer than five minutes - and they knew Marie appreciated her own personal space, and so Three had resolutely plopped themself on the plush couch in the living room and not budged a muscle until Callie and Marie had both gone to sleep.)

-

The three of them decided to order takeout for dinner that night - Callie chose something that would almost definitely turn her ink into sugar-syrup, Three chose something tongue-numbingly spicy, and Marie chose a dish with so many substitutions that it was barely even the original meal from the menu.

The food arrived, and everyone was happy with their meal - except Marie.

The restaurant must have decided that making all the substitutions to her meal was too much effort, and put the regular meal in the order instead. Callie looked guilty, and Marie’s lips had tightened and her eyebrows furrowed.

“It’s okay.” Marie said, already getting up from the table. “I have food in my room. Callie, Three, you want this?”

Callie was about to argue, but Marie just raised a hand. “Either it gets eaten or it goes to waste, and I know you two like your food. I’ll be in my room.” And then she left, going into her room presumably to settle for the rest of the night. 

“She’s not going to eat anything if she doesn’t have dinner…” Callie murmured. She gave Marie’s takeout meal a sour look. “We’re not ordering from there again if Marie’s eating with us.”

“...Does she not like it or something?”

“Marie has… specific limitations. If it doesn’t taste right or if it has a funky texture, she’d rather go hungry.” Callie shrugged. “Which, y’know, we kinda wanna avoid bad food habits as pop stars.”

“...What does she usually have?”

“Oh, she doesn’t like anything with strong flavours, so she doesn't eat seafood. And she hates squishy textures, so that strikes out anything mushy like porridge.”

Three hummed, shifting a piece of their food around with their spoon. They felt kind of guilty that Marie couldn’t eat her food all because the restaurant got the order wrong…

“Hey, Callie.”

“Mm?”

“Does Marie like sandwiches?”

“Yeah? She doesn’t like fillings that make the bread soggy, though -”

“I’ll be back in a sec,” Three said quickly, getting up from their seat. “Can you put my food in the microwave until I get back?”

“Wh - I mean, yeah, sure, but where are you going?”

“To get Marie some food she can eat.” They said, as if Callie only had one brain cell. “I don’t want one of my sisters to go hungry.” And with that, Three had opened the door and left the apartment, hunting down the nearest 24-hour store for a sandwich for Marie’s dinner. Callie was left at the table, dumbstruck.

“Huh. Okay.”

Three scoured all the shops in the neighbourhood, eventually coming back to the apartment with two whole shopping bags full of packaged sandwiches. They knocked on Marie’s bedroom door, waiting for her to answer. When she did, they held up the bags.

“Hey. Um, I didn’t want you to go hungry because the restaurant was dumb, so I went to go get some sandwiches for you.” Three looked inside one of the bags. “But, uh… I don’t really know what kind you liked. So I got ones with dry fillings and ones without seafood, so I hope there’s some in there you like, want to eat.”

“Oh.” Marie had said, standing in the doorway. “Thanks, Three. You didn’t have to, I know you’re trying to save money -”

“I don’t care about that.” Three said simply. “But I do care about you eating. Here.” They handed Marie the bags, who took them without a word, still a little stunned.

Then they walked back into the kitchen to eat the rest of their food, and as they finished their meal, Callie gave them a quiet thanks and a warm smile.

- 

Back in the present, Three smiled as they heard Tenkay mumble something in his sleep and turn onto his side. In their arms, Rhea shifted too, before opening her eyes and scrunching her face a little.

“Good morning kiddo.” Three whispered. “Tired little baby… Your papa’s asleep, so I’m looking after you for a bit while he gets some rest.”

Rhea squirmed a little and made a quiet noise. One tiny hand reached up, and - 

“Ah-ah-ah, no touchie,” Three said, quickly moving their head back. “Not today, kiddo. Sorry.”

In their arms, Rhea’s bottom lip began to wobble.

Uh oh.

“No no no, don’t cry!” They whispered to the baby. “Don’t cry! You can, uh… play with this!” Three moved their head to dangle their severed tentacle near Rhea, who batted it away. “ Shit shit shit - uh, you like playing with papa’s ears right?” They leaned down enough for an ear to flop near Rhea’s hands. 

Thankfully, she took it, tugging on it with a tiny fist and with enough force to make Three wince.

“Ow -” Three hissed in pain. “ Ow - ”

Tenkay stirred, shifting to get more comfortable in his space on the sofa.

“Tenkay!” Three whispered, punctuated by Rhea pulling on their ear. “Tenkay! Babe! Wake up!”

“Mrmph , ” He mumbled. “ Miet kormfat… ”

“No, don’t go back to sleep -” Tenkay turned on his side, nuzzling into the sofa cushions, and Three almost wanted to cry out of frustration. “Dammit…”

I guess this is my life now. 

Rhea giggled, happily trying her best to tug Three’s ear off. Three sighed.

… Not too bad though, as long as Rhea’s happy.

Chapter Text

“And this picture is of your brother holding Rhea!”

“Brother…”

“That’s right, Hachi,” Marina nodded, zooming in on the image on her phone. “That’s your brother, Tenkay, holding Rhea, the little one that hatched from the egg he and Three found.”

“Rhea…” Hachi murmured, leaning closer. “Rhea is… little.”

“Mhm. She’s very cute, isn’t she?”

Hachi nodded, her usually still tentacles twitching slightly. She raised a scarred hand and pointed at Rhea in the picture. “Small.”

“Yep, babies are small. I imagine you were small at some point too~!”

“Brother… Want to visit.” She mumbled, moving her finger to point at Tenkay. He was smiling in the picture, a wide grin that made his eyes scrunch shut with happiness. “Please?”

Marina smiled a little, and nodded. “I’ll see if I can talk to him about it. He’s going to be very busy looking after Rhea, but hopefully he can come and visit. Three too, if they want. Or maybe we could go visit them…” She hummed, raising a hand to her chin in thought.

Hachi nodded again, her lips twitching upwards in an almost-smile. Marina moved her hand to hold Hachi’s, the green scarring a contrast to her own dark skin.

“Anyway, how were things while we were gone? Was Yvonne okay looking after you for a few hours?”

“Yes.” She said quietly, dipping her head a little with a slow blink. “Helped with the ink.”

“She helped you with your ink therapy shot?”

Another nod.

“That’s good! She do okay with it?”

“Struggled with the needle. She did not want to hurt me.”

Marina hummed again. “Mm, yeah, I don’t think she likes needles. But she cares about you a lot, so I think that’s why she was able to help you with it.”

Hachi’s turn to hum - more of an exhale, really - and her hand twitched in Marina’s.

“Yo, food’s ready!” Pearl’s voice boomed from the kitchen. Hachi flinched and then froze, staring at the hallway leading to the dining room. 

“ It’s okay, Pearl says dinner is ready. ” Marina gently told her in Octarian. “ She probably didn’t mean to be that loud, okay? ”

Hachi nodded, her head hanging low. “ Sorry. ” 

“ It’s okay, I promise. ” Marina pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Hachi’s tentacles. “ Now, let’s go see what Pearl made for dinner, alright? ”

-

Dinner turned out to be fish pasta, something that Hachi found she quite liked since she started living on the surface. It was also Tenkay’s favourite, but he preferred to add all sorts of seasonings and such to his, whereas she preferred hers plain. She couldn’t really taste much anyway, thanks to the sanitisation, so it didn’t bother her.

Yvonne was also apparently staying for dinner - she walked into the room carrying Kiro, and began buckling him into his highchair by the table.

“C’mon lil’ man, let's get you buckled up while your mama dishes up dinner, eh?” The yellow inkling said, expertly sliding him into the seat and clipping the buckles closed. Kiro giggled, his lavender-coloured tentacles bouncing as he laughed. 

Hachi went to sit down at the table, and Yvonne sat next to her when she finished with Kiro. Marina went to help Pearl with plating the food and bringing it over, setting a plate of plain fish pasta in front of Hachi and one regular in front of Yvonne, who eagerly licked her lips. She looked up from the delicious food, wriggling in her seat.

“You didn’t have to let me stay for dinner, y’know, I have my own at home!”

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo!” Pearl said, setting a small plate of plain pasta in front of Kiro, who immediately grabbed a piece and shoved it messily into his mouth. “Least we could do for you for keeping Hachi company while we were out, right ‘Rina?”

Marina nodded, bringing her and Pearl’s plates of food over to the table and setting them down at their spaces. “We’re very thankful for it, Yvonne. We know that Hachi doesn’t like to stay alone for too long.”

Yvonne blushed, yellow dusting her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “It’s no problem, Mrs Hozuki-Ida! I always like hanging out with Hachi, she’s real chill - especially when I’ve had a hectic day of ranked matches…”

Marina giggled. “I can imagine~! And please, you don’t have to call me or Pearl that, just our names are fine.”

“Ah, I know, but I’m so used to it,” Yvonne sighed. “I’ll try not to be so formal all the time, heh…”

“Pfft, yeah, being called ‘Mrs’ makes me feel old ,” Pearl snickered, sitting in her chair next to Marina and picking up her fork. “Anyway, ‘nough about that, let’s eat!”

Hachi nodded, and she picked up the fork next to her plate. Carefully stabbing a piece of pasta and fish onto the fork, she raised it up to her mouth and ate it, chewing slowly.

…Did Pearl put something different in the food this time?

Hachi continued chewing, and then swallowed. Repeating the process - pasta, fish, mouth, chew - her eyebrows began to press together. She felt a vague feeling of confusion worming away at the back of her head.

“Hachi?”

She looked up - Marina had noticed. 

“Is everything okay?”

Hachi tilted her head, and she saw Yvonne pause with her own fork halfway to her mouth before setting it back down on the plate.

“Pearl,” Hachi began quietly. “The food. Did you put different ingredients in it, this time?”

“Uh…” Pearl hummed. “No? I made your pasta in a separate pot ‘cause I know you like it plain, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t get them mixed up while dishing up dinner…”

“Tastes… different.”

“In a good or a bad way?” Marina asked, concerned.

“I am… unsure.” Hachi said, this time eating just a piece of the pasta. She chewed, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with that taste -

Taste?

She paused, realising what she’d just thought. Hachi shouldn’t be able to taste anything at all. 

“It tastes…” She looked up at Pearl, and smiled. “Nice. It tastes nice. Thank you.”

“Wait,” Yvonne began, confused. “You can taste the pasta? I thought you couldn’t taste food?” Then she promptly snapped her mouth shut, her beak clicking as she realised what she said.

“I also thought so. But…” Hachi ate a small piece of fish, chewing and savouring the taste - very different to the pasta. “I think that the ink-therapy is working. I could not taste breakfast this morning before the injection.”

“Well, that sounds great, then!” Yvonne said, beaming excitedly. “That means I can take you out for ice-cream one day! If you want to, I mean.”

“Heck yeah!” Pearl cheered, pumping a fist into the air. “Okay, now we gotta take you out somewhere so you can taste a different buncha food and see what one you like!”

“Maybe not quite so soon, though,” Marina gently lay a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “I’m very happy that Hachi is regaining her sense of taste, but we still have to take it slow so she doesn’t get overwhelmed, okay?”

Pearl nodded vigorously. “‘Course! Hachi, how does it sound?”

Hachi swallowed the bite of food in her mouth, and nodded slightly. “It sounds like a good idea. I have heard many things about different foods.”

“Like how pancakes are absolutely better than waffles?” Pearl grinned. “Gotta take you to my favourite pancake place one day, heh.”

Marina glanced over at Pearl with a look, one of her tentacles twitching slightly. “Pearl.”

Pearl looked back at Marina. “Yeah?”

“Waffles are way better than pancakes. We went through this already,” Marina sighed, smiling exasperatedly. “We even had a Splatfest about it, and Team Waffles won, remember?”

“Peh,” Pearl grumbled. “I still stand by pancakes being better!” She stabbed a piece of pasta and fish with her fork. “Food’s gonna get cold, by the way, ‘Rina.”

“Oh!”

Chapter Text

The room was dark.

The only light was the soft orange glow of the streetlights outside, and the occasional car passing by the apartment. Three was trying to get to sleep, but it was difficult without Tenkay, who had gone to visit his sister for a couple of days.

Stop being such a wimp, Three thought to themself. He’ll be back sometime tomorrow. It’s fine.

There was a quiet shifting sound from the corner of the room, and Three bolted upright, alert, before realising.

Right. Just… just Rhea. Moving in her sleep. It’s fine.

“Ugh,” Three groaned aloud. “This is dumb. Why can’t I get to sleep?” They whispered to themself, so Rhea wouldn’t wake up. They briefly debated turning onto their other side to sleep, but that would irritate their scar… Three sighed. Staying awake it was, then.

They moved the blanket so that they could get out of bed, ignoring a sharp, painful twitch from their scar. Three lifted a hand to rub at it, but instead was greeted by…

…Wet?

Three moved their hand to look at it. On their palm, smeared like blood, was glowing green ink. They stared at their hand, silent, and swallowed thickly, like something was stuck in their throat. The room was dark now, pitch-black - did the streetlights go out? - and Three spun in place, trying to find the light switch to no avail. 

An ice-cold shiver ran up their back. Something was wrong. 

Drip. Drip. Drip. 

Three froze. 

Drip. Drip. Drip. 

They glanced out the corner of their eye at where the mirror should be. Their reflection looked back at them, but it was… wrong. 

Their limbs were too long, their claws sharp instead of blunt. The wrong expression on their face. The wrong colour of ink - instead of orange, it was that horrid, sickly glowing teal, dripping from their eye. Three's reflection jerkily turned to look in the direction of Rhea's cot. 

Three felt their throat closing up. 

I need to protect Rhea. Need to keep her away from it. 

Quietly, they padded over to Rhea, eyes fixed on their reflection. 

No sudden movements. It'll catch me. 

Three swallowed. The sound felt so loud in the dead silence, despite their blood rushing in their ears. 

The reflection cocked its head, as if curious. Its single visible eye - that same glowing teal - narrowed. Three felt as if they were prey being stalked by some deadly hunter. Was this what it was like, all those thousands of years ago, when they were all still squids and octopi in the oceans? 

Carefully feeling their way, Three leant down to pick up the sleeping Rhea, who made a soft noise. They cringed - but they knew that forcefully trying to keep a baby quiet always ended badly one way or another. Three prayed that she would stay quiet. 

Okay. I have Rhea. She's safe. She's safe. Don't drop her. For Kraken's sake, don't fucking drop her. 

Keeping a secure grip on Rhea, Three began to back out of the room. Their reflection kept staring at them, following them into the kitchen. 

Drip. Drip. Drip. 

A soft glow from the floor distracted Three. They glanced down - small splotches of the glowing ink were dripping onto the ground, falling from their eye. 

Drip. Drip. Drip. 

A rattle from the door made them spin violently, Rhea clutched to their chest. Something metallic jangled from the other side, and Three silently cursed whoever - or whatever - was behind the door. 

Drip. Drip.

The lock turned, and Three fumbled behind them - 

Drip. 

Their hand gripped the handle of something, and they pulled - 

Drip. 

The door opened, flooding the room with light - 

Drip

" Stay back! " Three yelled, holding whatever they had grabbed in front of them, shielding Rhea. 

Drip 

"Three? What-" 

Drip

" I said stay back! " Three's voice cracked. " Get the fuck away from me! " 

Dri-

"Three!" 

The light suddenly flicked on, and Three flinched harshly, blinded by the brightness. Someone stood in front of them, an octoling - looking at them with a worried but cautious expression. 

"Three," The octoling said, both hands in front of him. "It is me, Tenkay. I am your partner, remember?" 

Three's hand shook. 

Tenkay's eyes flicked towards their hand. "Three, I need you to drop the knife, okay?" 

Their right eye twitched. The dripping sound had gone, as well as the glowing, but that didn't mean it had left yet. 

"What's my name?" Three said, voice quiet and shaky. 

Tenkay's eyebrows furrowed. "Your name is Thr-" 

"My real name! What-" They swallowed. "What's my real name? If you're Tenkay, you should know." The knife shook in their hand, unsteady. Rhea shifted restlessly in their other arm.

His expression changed, now saddened instead of worried. "Your name is Sango. Sango Kaori-Iikar."

It's him. He's back. I'm safe. 

Sango glanced down at Rhea. 

We're safe. 

Their eyes flicked to the knife-

Shit - 

The knife clattered to the ground, metal against wood. Their now-free hand went to cradle Rhea. 

She's crying, Sango thought distantly. I'm crying. 

Gentle, warm arms surrounded them, guiding them gently to the sofa to sit down. 

"Sango?" Tenkay whispered to them. "Please, let me hold Rhea. She is small and delicate, remember?" 

"Small and delicate." Sango repeated, sounding distant. "Delicate…"

Tenkay gently took Rhea from their arms, shushing her and bobbing her up and down. 

"Rhea." Sango said, looking at the baby. 

"She is fine. Just…" Tenkay glanced at them. "Shaken."

Sango nodded. "Words…" 

"It is okay. Remember the signing?" 

They nodded. Sango made a fist and moved it in a circle over their chest. Sorry. 

Tenkay sighed. "I know."

Sango looked away, ashamed. Instead, they listened to the quiet sounds of Tenkay saying gentle words to Rhea, calming her down. 

"What happened?" He asked quietly. 

They held their hands in front of them, hesitating. Then, they began to move - they tapped their head, then put both fists together, fingers touching. Memory. Sango's ears pinned back. Bad memory. 

"The Metro?" 

A nod. 

"I see." Tenkay sighed. 

Sorry , Sango signed again. Stupid. 

"No, not stupid. Never stupid." He whispered. "Even like that, you wanted to protect her. That is not stupid."

Almost hurt you. Knife. Sango paused. Almost hurt R-H-E-A, they spelled, looking guilty. 

"But you did not, no? You wanted to protect her. I understand."

Sango felt like a child again, being scolded despite his kind words. You care much for me. 

"I care too much for you?" Tenkay looked confused. " Skal'zart, I could never care too much for you. I love you, remember?" 

They blushed at that. I love you too, they signed at him, as if pushing it in his direction. Tenkay smiled, and returned the gesture. 

Sorry for scare, Sango signed again. You and R-H-E-A. Promise will take medicine. 

Tenkay sighed. "I will be making sure. Where is your face cream? I will help you."

Bathroom, behind mirror. Second shelf, Sango glanced at the doorway. Need more soon, low. 

"I will make a call tomorrow, yes? Another prescription." He stood up, Rhea now sleeping quietly again in his arms. He looked softly at Sango. "Do not worry. We are safe. You are safe."

Sango hesitated, then nodded. Safe, they signed, more to themself than towards Tenkay. I am safe. 

Chapter Text

Sango blearily opened their eyes. Well, one of their eyes. 

They reached a hand up clumsily to their face, only to be met with the texture of cloth.

Right, the stupid fuckin’… bandage thing I’m supposed to wear, Sango’s sleepy brain supplied. They vaguely remembered putting it on the other night with Tenkay’s help - a special compressive covering that they were given when they were discharged from the hospital after the Metro incident, to help with the pain and stop the sanitization burns from getting infected until it healed enough.

Speaking of Tenkay… 

Sango looked to the side - Tenkay lay next to them, sleeping like a rock, the tentacle on his head occasionally twitching or flashing different colours. They smiled. It was cute to watch it happening, on the odd occasion that Sango woke up before Tenkay.

They rolled over, careful not to disturb the blanket too much, and faced him. Carefully, they reached a hand to cup his jaw, smoothing a thumb over his skin. Sango hummed quietly to themself as their thumb met the scraggly beginnings of a beard, smiling. Briefly they wondered if he’d keep it, but that was unlikely - apparently the army didn’t allow their soldiers to grow beards, and old habits die hard. Plus, Tenkay had mentioned a few times before that he couldn’t imagine himself with one, after having marvelled at Craig’s own bushy beard a few times.

Sango moved their hand further along his jaw, reaching to where his ear lay twitching slightly as he slept. He was a very active sleeper, Sango had found - more than a few times he’d accidentally pushed them out of bed from some violent sleep-kick in the middle of the night. They laughed quietly to themself at the memory. They gently stroked Tenkay’s ear, running a finger along the bottom edge and then rubbing the skin between their finger and thumb. Soon enough, Tenkay stirred slightly, groaning quietly as he awoke. He opened his warm, grey eyes to see them looking at him, and he smiled, sleepy.

Sango slowly removed their hand, half-closing their hand and keeping their thumb raised as they clumsily moved it from the left side of their chest to the right.

“Good morning to you, my light.” Tenkay’s smile widened. “Why have you woken with the sun today?” He asked, voice husky with sleep.

They moved their hand in front of their face this time, swiping it downwards, and then using a finger to circle around their face as they smirked.

“Handsome?” Tenkay chuckled, leaning forwards. “Have you not been looking in a mirror recently?” He asked quietly, before kissing them.

Sango smiled, easily reciprocating the kiss as they moved their hand to rest on his jaw again. Eventually, Tenkay pulled away.

“Every morning that you are beside me is a good morning, my light.” He whispered, full of love and sincerity.

They smiled, then thought for a moment before moving their hands again. " And if I made a good morning… better? " Sango asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

“How might you be improving my morning, love?”

Tenkay let out a small noise of surprise as Sango suddenly kicked the blanket off them both, swinging a leg over his hip to straddle him. They looked down at him before signing again, tapping their head with a finger and then rubbing their thumb as if holding up a coin. 

"Can think of some ways…" Sango smirked, leaning down to kiss Tenkay again, who eagerly accepted.

The kiss quickly deepened, Tenkay resting a hand on their waist under their tank top as Sango slid a hand up his pyjama shirt-

Only to be suddenly interrupted by a cry from the cot in the corner of the bedroom.

The two of them quickly separated, looking towards the source of the noise - Rhea had just woken up, crying and wriggling in her bed. Tenkay tried to get up, but Sango pushed him back down gently. "You stay," they said, quickly getting up and walking over to get Rhea.

Sango carefully picked her up, the baby squirming like an eel in their arms as they carried her back over to the bed. Tenkay sat up against the headboard, watching as they brought Rhea over and carefully settled back onto the bed. He leaned over to gently press a kiss to their cheek once they got comfortable.

“Maybe another time, yes?” He murmured with a quiet chuckle.

Sango flushed and rolled their eyes, a little embarrassed. They shifted Rhea to hold her securely with one arm before awkwardly signing with one hand. " Yeah, another time. Need a babysitter. "

Tenkay hummed. “Maybe Callie?”

They gave him a concerned look. "Callie, babysitter? We’d get back and have no apartment left," Sango laughed quietly. 

“You never know! She might have changed?”

Sango snorted. " Might. "

Tenkay shook his head playfully, reaching for Rhea. Gently, Sango transferred her to his arms. “Speaking of, they are arriving soon, yes?”

"In a couple of days, " they said, easier with both hands free. " They both want to see R-H-E-A, they’re very excited. "

“Even Marie?”

Sango nodded. Even they were a little surprised that Marie wanted to see Rhea - she usually wasn’t the kind of person who interacted with kids if she didn’t want to, unlike Callie, who loved playing around with Kiro and the other kids at the park when she occasionally babysat Pearl and Marina’s child.

“Are you feeling well enough for them to visit?” Tenkay asked, Rhea sniffling quietly in his arms. He gently stroked her head with a finger, one of her blue tentacles curling around the digit. “The past week has been…” He grimaced awkwardly.

Sango glanced away with a nod. Things had been a bit… rough, to say the least. After their most recent episode, they hadn’t been able to get much sleep thanks to paranoia, which had led to them being grumpy, which had then led to them isolating because they didn’t want to snap at Tenkay or Rhea. Last night had been the most sleep they’d had in the past four or five days combined , and that was only with the help of the medicinal cream for their scar, painkillers, and sheer exhaustion.

They turned back to Tenkay with a sigh. "I’ll be fine. I’m feeling better," they said, leaning over to rest their head on his shoulder.

“If you are sure.” He said, resting his head on theirs in turn. “Callie and Marie are like your family - they will understand if you are not in the mood for visitors.”

Sango huffed, but not out of annoyance. Tenkay chuckled. He knew well of the sibling-like relationship between Sango and the Squid Sisters, and was very aware of how they acted with each other - to those not in the know, their friendly bickering often looked like serious arguments, and Tenkay had been concerned the first few times he’d seen them argue (He soon learnt that wasn’t the case, thankfully, but still).

"Still want them to visit," Sango said with a yawn. "Callie and Marie need to meet R-H-E-A soon anyway, before Callie busts our door down."

“Alright. We can clean up the planning later on.” Tenkay pressed a kiss to the side of their head. “You are still sleepy, no?”

Sango grumbled, but nodded. They shuffled down to lie their head against their pillow again, pulling up their half of the duvet to cover themself. One of their hands reached out to tiredly grab onto Tenkay’s pyjama shirt. 

"Join?" Sango clumsily signed with their other hand. Tenkay smiled and shook his head. 

“No, sunlight. I will stay up and begin making breakfast, and take care of Rhea.” He gently stroked the hand that was grabbing his shirt with a thumb. “I will see you again when you wake up for the day, okay?”

The inkling grumbled again, but nodded, letting go of his shirt. They quickly buried themself under the rest of the duvet as Tenkay got up and out of bed, Rhea squirming in his arms, and busied himself with getting ready for the day.

-

A few days later, Sango was busying themself with cooking dinner - curry, for them and their visitors. Callie and Marie were sitting in the main room with Tenkay, their chatter drifting into the kitchen. 

The pot bubbled away on the stove, the smell of spices seeping through the apartment. They finished cutting up a carrot, picking up the orange chunks and putting them into the pot with the rest of the veggies they had previously chopped. Next to them, Rhea babbled in her high-chair, happily watching Sango cut the veggies and squealing and giggling when they disappeared into the pot of curry with wet plops . Sango grabbed another carrot and angled the knife, about to cut it, before they paused and glanced at Rhea. They hummed, thinking for a second before setting the knife down and picking up the vegetable. I wonder if she’s able to change colours yet, they thought. Neither they nor Tenkay had thought to try and see if she could change colour from her natural azure-blue, but now seemed like a good chance.

“Rhea.” Sango waved the carrot in front of her, spelling her name with the other hand. The baby octoling perked up, looking at them with big blue eyes. “This is a carrot,” Sango said, twisting their fist by their mouth as they talked. “Copy?” Rhea raised her hands and smacked them down onto the plastic table of the high-chair with a bubbly laugh, before trying to reach for the carrot.

“No grabbing, Rhea,” Sango said, shaking their head and pulling it out of reach of the child’s chubby hands. “Copy paht’ra, see? Carrot.” They repeated the sign, making sure that Rhea could see them clearly. “It’s orange. Can you turn orange?” Pointing at the carrot, signing the word, and then opening and closing their fist as if squeezing a ball, Sango focused for a second to change the colour of their tentacles to a bright orange, shifting from the yellow-green they had chosen that morning.

Rhea babbled in delight at the change in colour, smacking her hands on the desk of the chair with a big smile that showed off her pointy beak. Her eyes followed the carrot, and then she scrunched up her face tight. Soon after, orange bloomed on Rhea's tentacles in small splotches of colour, and Sango smiled, setting the carrot down on the chopping board and leaning to give her a soft peck on her forehead.

“Guess that means me and your papa have gotta start teaching you different colours, huh?” They murmured to themself, putting the carrot on the chopping board again and readying the knife to cut it up.

-

“Ugh, you really need to give me that curry recipe of yours, Sango!” Callie complained, swallowing a mouthful of curry-soaked rice. “It’s so unfair that it tastes this good!”

“Unlikely,” Marie chipped in with a sly grin. “I don’t think even Tenkay knows what they put in their curry.”

Tenkay nodded, bouncing Rhea up and down on his knee as he carefully blew on a spoonful of simple fish soup. “It is true. They do not let me stay in the kitchen while they cook, so I do not know any of their recipes.” He slowly let the baby sip from the small plastic spoon. “But that is okay! It tastes good, and that is all I need.” He smiled, looking at Sango.

Sango finished chewing on a piece of carrot and swallowed it. “Nerd. Glad you guys all like it, though.” They scooped up another spoonful from their bowl and blew on it. “Took me ages to get it right.”

“Time well spent, I’ll say.” Marie hummed, closing her eyes as she ate her own curry. 

“Oh, that reminds me-” Sango quickly swallowed. “I made up a tub for Gramps, you think he’ll be okay with it?”

Callie snorted. “Of course! Now that you don’t live with us, Gramps misses when it was your turn to cook all the time. Plus, he’s gotten this old anyway, I doubt some curry is gonna make him kick the bucket anytime soon, heh!”

“Mm, fair. But he still looks like a stiff breeze could turn him into squid confetti, so, y’know.”

“Honestly, what should be worrying is how often he gets lost. Like, how do you purposely get lost on some weird underground train? That’s what I wanna know…”

There was a brief yet uncomfortable pause in the room.

“Callie.” Marie murmured, glancing between her and Sango. “I don’t think-”

“We did not have a choice to be lost on that train.” Tenkay suddenly spoke up, sounding a little distant. The hand holding Rhea’s spoon shook slightly, his arm trembling. “We did things that we were not proud of, if only for a small chance of escape.” He sighed, then looked at Sango. “Please, can you take Rhea for a moment? I will be back soon.”

Sango nodded, setting their bowl down to take Rhea from his arms. They settled her on their thighs and took the spoon and the small bowl of soup he had been feeding her, setting them down by their bowl to hold Rhea with both hands. Sango glanced at Callie, who had stopped eating her food and watching Tenkay leave the room.

“You should apologise.” Marie said bluntly, once he had shut the door behind him.

Callie hung her head in shame. “I know. I didn’t think… I’m sorry.”

“Give him a minute to calm down before you go to him, though.” Sango added. “He doesn’t like thinking about… back then, as you can imagine.”

“Yeah, I get it. I mean, we all have things we don’t like talking about, so it’s fine.”

There was an uncomfortably long pause, and then Callie sighed, setting her own bowl aside and getting up to go after Tenkay. After the door clicked shut, Marie spoke up.

“So, other than that… how have you been? You been using that face cream for your scar like you should be?”

Sango let out an amused huff. “Yeah. I’ve been mostly okay - I had an episode the other night, and a bad dream before that, but nothing that some rest couldn’t fix.”

“You? Rest? I’m surprised Tenkay didn’t have to wrangle you into bed himself.”

“Well,” They smiled, unable to resist making a joke. “What happens with me and Tenkay behind closed doors is for me and him to know, y’know?”

Marie let out a loud snort of laughter, trying to force down her giggles afterwards. “Even adopting a kid hasn’t made you change, huh?” She took a deep breath to calm down. “At least you’re doing okay. But Gramps wanted me to pass on a message, if you want to listen.”

“Oh, uh…sure? Is it a new mission or something?”

The green-grey squid smiled knowingly. “Of sorts. He wants you to meet him at the outpost a couple of weeks from now, on the twentieth. And bring your agent gear, too.”

“That’s….” Sango paused. “....Oddly specific for him.”

“Hey, I’m just the messenger.” Marie shrugged. She paused for a moment, then gestured to her empty bowl. “Got any more of that curry?”

-

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay with looking after her while I’m gone?” Sango fretted, swinging their bag onto their shoulder. They had decided to forgo their cape - it now hung in the closet, gathering dust, too painful a reminder - and instead had opted for one of Tenkay’s older hoodies, worn and spotted here and there with the occasional barely-visible hole.

He stood in front of them, holding Rhea, who was cooing quietly in his arms. “Yes, Sango, we will be fine!” Tenkay soothed them. “You must stop being panicked about this, my light. Craig said that you won’t be gone for too long, yes?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Then trust him.” He paid no mind to Rhea when she grabbed at his ear, tugging at it. “And if anything goes wrong, then I will be turning him into a seafood dish myself, I promise you.”

Sango couldn’t help their brief chuckle of laughter. “Okay, okay. Listen, if I hang back any longer I’m gonna be late,” They leaned up to press a kiss to Tenkay’s cheek, and then to Rhea’s forehead. “Let me know if anything happens, alright?”

“You know I will, my light.” He smiled gently. “And I will send you lots of pictures as well.”

“Yeah, I know. Love you - I’ll let you know when I’m coming back, okay?”

And then Sango was off, towards the city centre where the shortcut to the outpost was. The bus into the city was quieter than usual; a few older inkfish probably on their way to Mako Mart to do some shopping, a teen with their messenger bag on their way to school, or maybe to go turfing.

School’s probably more likely, Sango thought. Kids haven’t been turfing around here for a good while. It’s all the rage to go to… wherever it is in the desert that Splat-city is. Or something.

They pulled their phone out and scrolled for a bit, distracting themself from the way their hearts raced a little - what could Gramps want? Why call them out to the outpost now, of all times? And with their gear, too? Sango didn’t want to assume the worst, but… well. They wouldn’t be surprised.

-

After waiting for the perfect moment to slip down the manhole, they found Craig sitting on the bench, with Octavio dozing off in his snowglobe as usual.

“Graaamps, I’m here,” Sango called, ignoring how Octavio grumbled and turned over. “What did you need me for?”

“Oh! Sango! There you are, you really kept these old cuttlebones waiting, you know!”

“Sorry. Had to wait until it was clear enough to sneak through the manhole, y’know how it is.”

“Yes yes, I know, I know,” Craig patted the bench next to him. “Now, come park yourself over here, will you?”

They nodded, walking over and sitting down, putting their bag between their legs. The chunky agent headset inside clunked against their water bottle, and the silence of the outpost made it sound louder than it really was.

“What’d you need me for?”

Craig smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges under his bushy beard. “For agent work, in a way.”

“...What kind? A patrol?” They were confused. If it was agent work, why go to all this trouble?

“No no, nothing like that. Here-” He reached up with a thin arm, taking off his Captain’s Cap, and set it on Sango’s head. “For you, kiddo. Look after it, will ya?”

Sango was dumbstruck. “What?”

“I’m retiring!”

“W-what?”

“And I’m making you the Captain!”

“ What? ”

Craig frowned. “Has all that music busted your ears?” He said, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“No, just- you’re not going to be the Captain anymore?”

“Yep! My ol’ cuttlebones are tired, kiddo, and I thought it's high time I go have a nice retirement holiday! I heard the Splatlands are lovely this time of year, you know.” Craig swung his legs, closing his eyes as he thought about his upcoming trip.

The heavy cap brim sagged over their eyes, and Sango reached up to take it off and hold it instead. “And… me? The new Captain?”

“Yep!”

“But… why?”

He cracked open an eye to look at them. “Already told you a long time ago, kiddo,” Craig leaned over, poking a finger into their forehead. “You got that look in your eye, that fire . You made a good agent, and you’ll make a fine Captain, I just know it!”

“B-but… I’m injured. Like, chronically. I’m blind and deaf on the whole right side of my face, I’m unfit, I- I have a child, Gramps! I can’t be Captain!”

“Yes you can!”

“No I- Craig!” Sango raised their voice and stood, gripping the aged fabric in their hands. “You don’t understand. I can’t be Captain. No-can-do, unable, not possible, I can’t! ” Tears pricked at their eyes, stinging. “I… I can’t…”

Craig looked at them, sighing. “Listen, kiddo. I know you’ve been through a lot, more than anyone else in this group - and I’ve lived through a war!” A brief chuckle, then he continued. “I know that, lookin’ back, most of it was my fault. I should have never made a kid go through all that. But I know you love everyone here. So, as my last act of bein’ the Captain, I’m gonna make sure you can still stay with us, without all the life-changin’ injuries and such.” He nudged them with his cane. “And then, when you’re Captain, you can retire whenever you want, you hear?”

Sango took a deep breath, the air catching in their throat. It felt like their hearts were beating too fast for them to handle, thumping in their chest like a drum. They wrung the cap in their hands, twisting the fabric in an attempt to calm down.

“...If it helps any, I’m not due for my holiday until the start of next month, so I’m not goin’ anywhere until then.” Craig smiled. “But just think about it, alright? And if you really don’t want to… well, I’m sure we can figure somethin’ out.”

-

Sango was silent the entire trip back, the cap in their bag feeling like it was made of lead. They bit anxiously at their fingers, leg bouncing as they ran the conversation back through their head.

Until the start of next month… I have some time, at least…

They were so deep in their thoughts that they almost missed their stop, rushing to push the button for the driver. Sango felt the exhaust on their back as it drove off, engine droning off into the distance, and they began walking towards the apartment. 

Each step felt like it was worsening the dread in the back of their mind, creeping further and further. It was only when they got to the front door, key in hand, did they realise;

Shit. I have to tell Tenkay.