Chapter Text
As eight lay in bed, getting lost in thought and staring at her ceiling, all she could think about was all the painful memories…each time she got splatted replaying over and over again when she made a mistake, fighting Marina in that brainwashed state… the first few floors in the Mem-verse weren’t bad. Just splatting enemies and progressing forward. It wasn’t like she hadn’t done it before, she’d done it multiple times in fact. But seeing Marina like that nearly broke her. It’s a good thing she’s safe now…but what would happen if she had failed? What would happen if there wasn’t enough time to stop Order? She didn’t want to think about it.
Normally eight liked the quiet. She was able to relax and actually hear her own thoughts, but right now she was in desperate need of something to distract herself. She sat up and looked around her apartment seeing if it needed to be cleaned. Since it was already clean, because she cleaned it yesterday, she sat up and went to look through her kitchen cupboards and her fridge to see if she needed to stock up on food. She saw there wasn’t much food that could be made into filling meals, just snacks, juice boxes, and a couple mini water bottles. Good, something for her to do. So, eight got dressed in something other than comfy clothes and something she felt good in, and left her apartment. Right as she did, she received a text from Pearl.
‘HEY EIIIIIGHT!!!! Me and Marina are gonna go shopping and get smoothies wanna come with??’
Eight thought for a bit. She loved Marina and Pearl, but sometimes it just kinda felt like she was third wheeling. But depending on where they were shopping she could stock up on actual food and not just snacks. Maybe it could also take her mind off things as well.
’I just checked in with three and she said she’s down to go toooooo’
Eights face flushed slightly at the mention of her. Ever since three saved her and captain cuttlefish, she grew quite fond of her in a way. Maybe with her around she didn’t have to feel alone and have a friend with her.
’I will go. Where are we shopping? I need groceries’
’YAYY!!! I’ll tell Marina you’re coming with!!’
‘I’ll also tell her you need groceries first. Want us to pick you up?’
‘Thank you and yes’
‘Yay!!! See you there eight!’
With that, eight put her phone back in her pocket and locked her apartment before leaving.
Eight wandered around the store, searching for different food items to make into meals. She figured she could get spices and seasonings as well to add flavor, but considering how much cash she had, she could either get a few or wait another day…it’s best to wait another day. When she acquired the necessary ingredients for meals, she figured she could get microwaveable meals too just in case. As she looked, in the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar looking octoling getting a variety of sodas. Could this have been an octoling she fought in the past? No, it couldn’t have been… but she looks like she’s been sanitized or maybe it was her eyes playing tricks. Eight caught herself staring for too long and came to the conclusion she needed to hurry up and leave before memories start to creep in. So she purchased her items, which thankfully she had enough cash, and returned home to refill the cabinets and fridge before Marina and Pearl arrived.
Once everything was put away neatly, she whipped her head around the second she heard her doorbell ring. She opened the door and was met with Pearl and Marina as well as agent three behind them. “Hey eight! You ready to go?” Marina asked. Eight nodded and gave a slight excited smile. Pearl and Marina led the way with eight and three following beside them. Whenever eight was bored or was waiting, she’d unintentionally listen to Pearl and Marina as they talked and joked. They’d talk about plans for the future or shows they were going to perform or silly things that happened in the past…or they’d flirt with each other. She snapped out of her thoughts when three brushed her shoulder on accident. Blush crept onto her face as she remembered three was with her as well and it wasn’t just herself, Marina and Pearl like how it usually was. She couldn’t help but silently admire three’s outfit…and how she looked in general. She wanted to compliment her appearance but she always gotten shy around her for some reason. “How’ve you been doing lately?” Three asked, causing eight to flinch slightly. In response, she signed ‘good’ hoping that three understood what she said. Thankfully she did. “That’s good…I like your fit by the way.” Three complimented. Eight blushed and tried to hide her face. ‘Thank you. I like yours too.’ She signed to her again. Three smiled at her. “Thanks.”
Eight and three started to talk more as time went on. As they talked, eight managed to push aside her nervousness. As three talked, eight began to space out a bit. She liked listening to her voice and it was almost soothing to hear. She kept spacing in and out of her thoughts both focusing on her voice and what she was talking about. She still wasn’t very familiar with inklish yet, so it was a bit hard to understand some things. Their conversation had been cut short once Pearl’s voice was heard. “What’d you guys wanna do first? Me and ‘Rina are thinking of going to the arcade.” “Arcade sounds good to me, but I’m down for anything honestly.” Eight didn’t really mind what everyone else was doing and like three, she was fine with doing anything. So she signed that she was fine with going to the arcade. Pearl and Marina went to different claw machines to win cute plushies for each other, while eight and three played a racing game. They end up tying several times and played for about 20 minutes until three lost on purpose so eight could finally win. Eight had also lost purposefully to return the favor. Once they left, eight pointed out a game she wanted to play. “They made a second squid beatz? I didn’t know that. Have you played it before?” Eight nodded excitedly before taking three’s hand, and almost running to the game. It’s been a while since she last played it and after the racing game she played, it felt like she got her spark back. That feeling of spending time with someone that didn’t involve risking getting splatted. It warmed her soul.
It was obvious to three that she was excited and it brought a smile to her face seeing eight genuinely happy. After a few tiring and exciting rounds of squid beatz 2, they met up with Marina and Pearl and saw the plushies they won for each other. Earlier while eight and three were playing the racing game, there were a few times they heard Pearl yell and cuss out of anger which was quite amusing to hear. All four of them seemed tired out and came to the conclusion to order smoothies and refresh themselves. Marina ordered a raspberry smoothie with whipped cream, Pearl got a chocolate smoothie with an added twist of her own (the twist being mayonnaise), and three ordered something with orange in it. “Yo eight! Have you ever had a smoothie before?” She shook her head in response and Pearl seemed flabbergasted at first. “Well today’s your lucky day! Oh! A flavor that I personally recommend is-” “Pearlie, not to be rude but I don’t think eight would like the same flavors you do.” Marina said teasingly…and slightly worriedly “Yeaaah now that you mention it, I think eight should decide for herself! And and if she doesn’t like the flavor she chose she can get another one! And if she doesn’t like THAT flavor she can-” Marina silenced her for a moment with a kiss on her cheek. “Drink your smoothie silly! But, like she said eight, you can order whatever you think sounds good to you.” Eight nodded before observing the menu some more wondering which flavor seemed good. As she looked at flavors, her eyes kept darting back at one in particular. That being strawberry mango. So she decided to try it. Once Eight purchased her smoothie, she sat down with the others. She looked down at the beverage for a few seconds, and brought the straw to her mouth hesitantly before taking a decent sized sip. “Sooo what’d ya think?” Asked Marina. Once eight could actually taste it and feel the smooth, cool liquid, her eyes had quite literally sparkled and gleamed with delight like someone tasted a smoothie who’s never had one before.
Eight quickly drank it but stopped halfway once her head began to hurt. She expressed a slight discomfort and put her hand to her head. “Yeeah that can happen if you drink something cold too fast. Ya get brain freeze, hehe!” Three said. Eight silently chuckled before drinking her smoothie again…much slower this time. “What flavor did you get?” She heard three ask. She set her drink down for a second to sign ‘strawberry mango. It’s my favorite now’. When everyone finished drinking their smoothies, they wandered around the mall some more, explored various stores, and bought some more clothing. (Primarily three and eight) After a few hours, the four simply chatted before they all went back home. Marina and Pearl had went home first, leaving eight and three alone together. Eight faced three and waved goodbye for now with three waving back. She turned around trying to hide her disappointment in leaving. It hadn’t even felt like she’d been at the mall that long even though past the buildings, the sun had been setting. The orange and yellow and pink hues reminded her of the smoothie she drank earlier. She longed for the fruitful sweet taste again… just like how she already missed being with agent three. She almost felt guilty for wanting to spend more time with her as an aching feeling in the back of her mind made her feel like an inconvenience to three…a waste of time…
”Hey! Eight!”
A voice called out to her, three’s voice. All of her negative thoughts that were consuming her had simply vanished once the inkling’s voice called out to her. She turned around as footsteps approached her rapidly. “Hey uh, it was fun hanging out with you today. So I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my place for a bit before you head home.” Unexpected and involuntary blush crept onto three’s face when she asked her. That familiar gleam of delight appeared in eight’s eyes again and the familiar warm glow spread across eight’s cheeks. She couldn’t help but nod excitedly to her request before being led to three’s home. On the way there, eight internally memorized the streets so it’d be easier to find her way back. For the rest of the night, they played video games that three either had owned or rented as well as talking about different games they liked. It was mainly three who talked about them though due to her having more experience, but eight didn’t mind listening to her talk. There were also snacks that three had made and offered and some bottled water to keep themselves hydrated. Although their interaction would be considered simple or normal everyday things, it felt special for the both of them. Especially for eight. It wasn’t something she was able to do often and each moment of spending time with someone else she was comfortable with felt like a reward. Or a lost memory from the past she was finally able to grasp again. Today felt like one of the best moments in her life as far as she could remember.