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Marie wiped down the barrel of her hero charger again, slowly, methodically even.
At least it seemed methodical to anyone who didn't see the tremble in her hands as she held the nozzle of the charger with a grip fierce enough to turn her knuckles white, nor the tight look on her face, illuminated by the low-tide ink's light emitting from the charge reservoir.
A memory came to Marie's mind, much older hands than hers doing the same 'methodical' cleaning. A much younger Marie, who would peek around the corner, watching those hands clutch a terribly worn bamboozler with a grip not unlike the one she held now.
He sat stiff as a board yet his hands trembled as he carefully worked the rag against the guns grain. She didnt understand why he kept wiping down the same spot, over and over again. Her parents told her to disregard it, that gramps was 'a little out of it' or 'he's just particular about his gun, dont worry squiddo.'
Callie was infinitely facinated by Gramps. Marie couldn't even try to deny that she was too, so when Callie dragged her to go ask him a million and one questions she didn't argue. The old commander's hands stalled at the sound of their voices, setting the worn bamboozler down as a smile tugged at his lips but didn't reach his eyes.
Back then, between how hard he tried to make the two cousins laugh, and how young and admittedly stupid she was, she somehow never realized the look in her grandfathers eyes when he cleaned was one of regret and pain, nor did she realize why his hands shook.
She thinks she understands now.
Dreamless nights became her solace. Rather unfortunate that comfort seemed to be dwindling as she got older.
It wasn't always that the dreams were bad! Sometimes she dreamt of her and Callie's first concert, or the spring festival back in Calamari County, or the first days of having Callie back after everything that happened with the hynoshades, Octocanyon, and DJ Octavio. Getting to introduce Callie to Agent 4 was fun, considering the two squids had so much in common.
But some nights.
Some nights, her dreams make her relive the first mission Callie and her went on as Agents 1 and 2 respectively. An octarian managed to knock away Callie's Hero Roller, and pinned the squid to the ground, gun pointed so close to her face that the squid just.. froze. Things had never been so real before that, target practice and ramblings from their grandfather, rants of the octarian menace, and how they were going to save society. There was no danger, Gramps was there with them protecting them —
Marie shudders thinking what would have happened if she hadn't made that shakey shot with her charger.
Other nights, it was dreams of Agent Four. The day she had snuck off to the kettles, wanting to impress Marie by doing getting further into octarian territory while Marie was out. By the time the squid had realized and grabbed her gear, she found her agent on their last life and almost unconscious. She was bleeding so much that Marie didn't think she would make it, and cod only knew she would not EVER forget the sound of the impromptu vitals monitor she had shakily hooked Angel up to in the cabin. Those hours she spent watching that monitor praying for that noise to never stop were etched into her very soul.
She thinks tonights dream was worse than either of those.
She pushes the images of Callie looming over her the hypnoshades hanging half way off her face, and low tide ink burning through her skin, out of her mind and drags the cloth down the guns barrel once more.
Then the memories of Angel, her agent, a 'representative of chaos' as the squid called herself, pale and quiet. Only muttering to herself, something about order and other things that didnt quite make sense. She became a shell of the agent she recruited and the squid she had come to care for so much, and it made Marie was right back in that train station waiting for Callie to arrive home when she wouldn't.
She swallows dryly, another drag of the cloth against the guns cool metal.
There's a creak from the sewer grate behind her, causing her hands to still as she plasters a smile across her face turning to look —
A groan escapes the black and pink tentacled squid as she drags herself over to Marie, "Mar Mar! Finally found you!"
Callie drops down beside the other squid, taking a second to take in the state of her cousin before sighing, already gently tugging the rag and charger from her hands "Jeez youre worse than gramps, Mar.."
Lime ink rushed to Maries cheeks at the exasperation in Callies voice "cleaning your weapons is a good habit cals,," the look given in response was more than enough to make her stop any further attempts to save her ego.
"You know im always a text away-" Marie makes a noncommital noise to the statement as Callie continues, "not even a text, we share an apartment so really im always like- 15 feet away!" The pink squid jabs a finger into Marie's side, "Yet you always come here and clean your Hero Charger until your hands are sore, instead of talking to me!"
Marie prickles at Callie's words, wrapping her arms around herself in place of scrubbing her gun.
She knew Callie had not meant them to sting, but sting they did. In her peripherals she could see that she was starting to glow with embarrassment, a lime light coating the surrounding area. A very unfortunate side affect of her kind of squid.
Callie's aggravation fizzles out at the sight of her cousins discomfort, leaving the pink squid to rest her head on Marie's shoulder with a huff "You're so stubborn Mar,,, guess its just one more way we're the same."
A small laugh leaves Marie as she glances down at Callie, nudging her with her shoulder, "Its okay, I," she pauses, "It's stupid, but I missed matching all the time." Its quiet for a moment before Marie nudges Callie with her shoulder, "plus, maybe we can blame it on gramps somehow."
Callie snorted, a quick nod following — "oh definitely, its gramps fault, not ours we're innocent in the matter!"
The two laugh, before Callie sits up, looking at Marie with her signature smile, "Squid Sisters always and forever, right Mar?"
The lime squid stares at her for a moment before sighing, a similar smile plastered upon her own face as she nods, "Of course. Squid Sisters, always and forever Cals"