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It was raining.
The still kind of rain. The peaceful kind that made anybody want to stay inside all day and sleep in. The kind that lulled most people to sleep in a matter of minutes. Eight didn't mind these kinds of days, but it also sucked because she could never go outside when it was raining. At least not for more than a few minutes. Still, though, the rain itself wasn't bad.
Eight rested her elbows on the windowsill and watched as the rain fell on a rather solemn-looking Inkopolis Plaza. Since she and Three had a window above their bed, she didn't have to worry about leaving her space of comfort to enjoy the sights as well as the sounds. The rain was nice. Octo Valley never had rain. Every day had the same sky, the same temperature — the same everything. A huff escaped her at the thought. So boring! Every time she tried to zone out in class, she would be greeted with the same clouds that stared right back at her. Rain felt like a gift when she got to the surface. The first time she saw it, she ran outside in delight, putting her arms out wide and opening her mouth to cherish every raindrop that landed on her skin. That only lasted for a few seconds, though. Marina had frantically pulled her back inside the Houzuki mansion and suffocated her with towels before she gave her a long lecture on why she couldn't go outside when it was raining. Basically, the lecture was: cephalopods + water = very bad. And though Eight pouted during the whole conversation, she heeded Marina's warning, and from then on she avoided the rain as much as she could.
That didn't stop her from loving rainy days, however.
So even though it looked gloomy and dark outside, Eight smiled as she watched nature at work. Raindrops pattered against the glass, and Eight softly hovered her claw over them to play a little game of connect-the-dots. ...Except she never got farther than tracing the outline of a wavy circle. Several wavy circles, actually. She sighed. As much as she loved watching the rain fall, she had to admit: it was boring without someone else. Luckily, there was a certain someone on her right who, in her humble opinion, was the perfect rain-watching buddy.
Three was sleeping on their back, a peaceful expression crossing their face as they slept with small hums. Eight thought it was cute, how they had the blanket pulled over their mouth like a little kid in an oversized bed. Gently, Eight tapped their forehead and whispered their name. Seconds passed without a sound. Eight tried again. "Three? Honey?"
That time, she earned a grumble from the angry Inkling.
"It's raining," Eight continued. "Did you want to watch with me?"
Another grumble. "Y'know I hate when it rains. Makes me feel..." A yawn. "...all wet 'n icky."
Guilt clouded over Eight as her tentacles drooped. "I'm sorry, my love. I just wanted some company and... I like being with you." Slowly, almost regretfully, her claws left their head. "But I don't want to force you. You may sleep if you'd like." She turned away from them and continued staring out the window, though now she couldn't help but feel a little sad.
A few moments later, Eight heard the rustling of sheets, and before she knew it, Three had sat up and was watching the rain as well, though now she had her blanket pulled over her head as well as the rest of her body. She looked like a sleepy blanket burrito. Eight couldn't help but giggle at the sight.
They didn't say anything for several minutes. Eight herself became fully immersed in the rain storm. A smile crept up her lips without her noticing. It wasn't until, much to her surprise, Three piped up that she became aware of her being again. "When'd we get this blanket again?" Three's words were still slurred from her sleepiness.
Eight hummed in thought. "A few years ago. You introduced me to a show you liked. I saw the blanket with those characters on it and gifted it to you during Squidmas that year."
"Yeah." Three chuckled. "I remember, of course. Just wanted to say thanks for that again."
Eight leaned over to Three and nuzzled their foreheads together before planting a kiss there. "My pleasure, Three."
"You hated that show, though."
"Because it made me sad!" she cried, getting defensive. "You know I hate things that make me sad!"
"Yeah, but..." Another yawn escaped Three. "'S better than those boring history documentaries you watch all the time."
Eight scoffed and put a hand over her chest. "How could you?! I thought you loved me!"
"I do," Three said. "But I also love telling someone the truth. And the truth is that history is boring."
Eight huffed and turned away from them. In reality, she wasn't offended by Three's words... mostly. She'd become accustomed to Three's hatred of history through their years of living together. She'd also become accustomed to Three turning on that brainrot channel — Squid Swim, was it called? — whenever she couldn't sleep at night. A few of those programs were fine, but some were just plain weird. Too weird for Eight's taste. But regardless of what she liked, Eight was just happy that Three liked watching something. Right now, she was only being dramatic to be silly.
"Eight?" Three asked her. "Come on, you know I was just kidding."
"Hmph." Eight poked her chin out and turned further away from Three, crossing her arms as she did so. She felt a kiss on her cheek. And then another. And another. "Still not talking to you, stinky." To make the impact of her words sting even more, she stuck her tongue out at them. A cruel move.
Three groaned. "Okay. Fine. I'm sorry. History isn't that boring... but I'd still choose Squid Swim over it any day." She mumbled that last part under her breath, unaware that Eight had heard her.
Eight said nothing at first, but then a cheeky grin formed on her face as she thought of something to say. "That is okay, my love," she said after giving Three a reciprocal kiss on the cheek. "You are entitled to your opinions, no matter how atrocious they are." Now it was Three's turn to scoff and look away. And yet, even that was short lived, as they turned back around in time for their lips to meet Eight's own. Three could never stay mad at Eight, and Eight could never stay mad at Three. It was just how things worked.
The pitter-patter of the rain soon became white noise. Eight's efforts to watch the weather became replaced with efforts to cuddle next to Three once the latter slipped back into their sleeping position in bed; Three was still in their blanket cocoon. "Aren't you going to get hot in that?" Eight asked them while nuzzling her head close to theirs.
"Mmph." Three's eyes fluttered open for a moment before she closed them again. "...'ll worry 'bout it later."
"Three! You'll be all sweaty when you wake up!"
"Fine." Eight helped her stand up. She unfurled herself from her burrito of fluff and spread the blanket out on the bed before she retreated back inside the covers. "We got anything to do today?"
"Not that I know of," Eight said in reply as she traced a claw over Three's long tentacles. "Sheldon gave me the day off today." It was more like he forced her to take one. He'd been so concerned about her overworking herself since, according to him, she hadn't taken a day off in months. He called her a "workaholic," whatever that was. "You haven't received anything from the others, have you?"
From the way Three had stalled on her response, it was easy to assume she was already half-asleep. "Nah. And even then I'd... I'll go 'ntell... tell'emtogo'n... numrmrrrm..." Eight had to bite back a giggle. Three was always so silly whenever they were tired! It only made her love them more than she already did.
Eight rose up slowly. "Sleep well, my angel," she whispered, planting one more kiss on their forehead before she went back to snuggle against them. They were probably fast asleep by now, but something in her head told her that they felt her kiss regardless. Was that cheesy? Perhaps. Three would probably think so. But it was also honest, and Eight wanted to be honest with herself. She figured she deserved it after living a life of lies for so long. She was glad she wasn't a trainee in the Octarian army anymore. She was glad she didn't have to believe in so much propaganda.
Ugh. She opened her eyes and focused on Three. She didn't want to dwell on that anymore, not when she didn't have to. Besides, she was snuggling with Three! Granted, Three was already asleep, but still! Eight enjoyed their presence regardless. Them, the soft blankets, the peaceful sound of the rain... She couldn't ask for anything more. In fact, she never even thought this was possible. If she told her fourteen-year-old self that, years later, she'd be away from the boring Octo Valley life and be on the surface and cuddled up next to Octo Valley's greatest enemy, her old self would've probably laughed so hard she'd be out of breath, wheezing and hyperventilating like an old woman.
And yet, it happened anyway. Not only had Eight reached freedom, but she also had the privilege of seeing Three's sliver of drool that was currently escaping their mouth (they'd always deny their drooling, but Eight didn't care. She found it endearing.) and hearing their soft snore fill the silence. Now, was it weird to watch people sleep? Maybe, but Eight wasn't trying to be weird. She just... liked Three. A lot. She thought it was cute when they tried to act tough (they'd fail most of the time). She thought their smiles, rare yet honest, should be preserved in a museum. She thought their laugh — which was fast and low and honestly more of a snort than anything — was adorable. There were a lot of things Eight thought about Three, and many of those things were difficult to put into words because she felt like she could never do them justice. How could she say she'd sacrifice herself and everything she had for them without it feeling cheesy, or like it'd been said before? Perhaps that was why she'd been so hesitant to write anything as of late.
The rumbling of thunder made Eight jump a little. "You okay?" Three muttered sleepily with their eyes shut.
"Y-Yes. It just... Thunder. It was just thunder." Eight scolded herself. "Go back to sleep, Three. You don't need to worry."
"M'kay..." Eight felt arms snaking around her waist. "You sure you're good?"
Eight smiled. "Of course. I'm with you. That is good, yes?" Three hummed contently at that. "I love you. Sleep well."
"You too..." Three yawned. "G'night."
"It's nine in the morning, my dear."
Three huffed in reply. "S' night when I say it's night." She wiggled closer to Eight, savoring the Octoling's warmth. "'S just have a lazy day today. I wanna... wanna sleep..."
Eight couldn't help but smile. Another round of thunder went off, rumbling around in the small apartment, but she wasn't perturbed this time. "I am fine with that. But let's not spend the whole day in bed, okay?" She stroked the back of Three's head slowly. Three hummed, the noise coming out like a low purr that Eight could never get enough of. "Sleep well."
A soft hum left Three. They nuzzled their head against Eight's chest and hugged her a little tighter, though not enough to cause any pain. Eight relaxed into Three's touch and closed her eyes, smiling contently. The rain lulled her to sleep.
She dreamed about playing in the rain with Three, running in circles and waving her arms around like a child discovering rain for the first time. Once she'd had enough, she went back to Three and hid under their cape to keep warm. Even in sleep, they were always there for her.