AN: *cracks knuckles* okay! Busting out of my writer's block by way of Splatoon fanfiction. This isn't my first, but it is my first posted so here we go. I used to write for these two a lot about two years ago but deleted them from my iPod sometime in the last year because the writing just wasn't quality enough to justify finishing and posting. I like to think I've improved greatly, so without further adieu here's a little drabble I wrote at 3AM during a bad thunderstorm.
Quick note: Callie and Marie are not actually related in this story. I headcanon they only pretended to be cousins because the Youth Folk Singing Contest was limited to family members if more than one inkling was contesting, and they also didn't want to be questioned about always being together.
A loud crack of thunder jolted Marie awake, the windows rattling from the sheer force of the rain and the boom of the roar. She yawned and sat up, rubbing an eye sleepily as she threw the blankets off of herself unceremoniously, meandering over to the window with a stumble in her step. Humming sleepily, she pulled the string to let the blinds up, using her arm to wipe away the fog that had settled on the glass and thus removing the white haze that blurred the landscape. She lowered herself onto the built-in seat, leaning against the wall and watching the droplets hit the small bay window, merge together, and slide down in a streak. Stifling another yawn by pressing her hand to her mouth, she used her free hand to pull the blanket sitting at her feet over her legs. She hated her sleep being interrupted, but there was something about rain and its rarity that drew her in. The soft taps of the rain as it hit the roof and the windows, the howl of the wind, the way the world seemed to freeze if only for a moment. Time didn't exist.
She heard the knob on her door turn before it slid open, but she didn't need to turn her gaze away from the outside scene to know who it was. Who else could it be? As the soft footsteps grew louder as they neared, the quiet sister giggled lightly in her throat before sighing.
"The rain wake you up?" No answer came, only a nervous shuffling of feet on the carpet. "Did it scare you?" Her wording may have sounded condescending had it not been for the evident concern she allowed to lace her tone. Her partner was easily frightened during storms, she knew this.
"Um..." Her sweet voice sounded frail and small, fretful and wavering, an indirect confirmation of Marie's accusation. "Yeah... And... I had a nightmare..."
At this, the white haired one's ears pricked, her head snapping to finally gaze at the shadow of the figure standing there, the outline of her tentacles, nose, and torso highlighted by the moonlight shining through the clouds. Her shoulders were slumped, one arm crossing over her body to hold the other, and Marie could faintly tell her ears were tilted downwards. She was really bothered...
Flashing the younger but taller inkling a small smile, Marie opened her arms wide and turned her body just enough to make her offer clear. The squid wasted absolutely no time bending over and wrapping her arms around her as she laid on top of her, tucking her face into her neck as Marie stroked the back of her head reassuringly. "It was only a dream, Callie, and it's only rain. It's all okay."
The normally talkative inkling was silent for a few beats, and Marie began to think she wouldn't answer, until she finally piped up in a demure, quivering voice. "I dreamed she took over..."
They both knew who she was. She had been a subject of many a nightmare for Callie ever since her rescue. She had continued to cause the bubbly squid grief even now, three months later. She being the evil side of Callie DJ Octavio had coaxed out of her conscience and allowed to take over. Marie sighed, planting a kiss to the girl's temple.
"She won't anymore, I promise. You're safe now, I won't let anything happen to you. Not even her."
"But what if she corrupts you, Marie? What if... What if she somehow awakens the dark side of you or she-"
"Callie. That won't happen. Remember, she is part of you, and you're stronger than she is. Much, much stronger." As she spoke, Marie rubbed her singing partner's back leisurely, tracing invisible designs against her shirt.
"You don't know how scary she was, Marie..." The younger idol lifted herself up, the light through the window reflecting in her eyes and revealing the line of tears threatening to spill. "You don't know what she thought of doing to you..." A single drop fell. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Callie..." Her name escaped the older popstar's lips in a whispered hush, gentle and measured as she moved her hands to cup the girl's cheeks. "You won't hurt me. She's gone, and you don't have a single spot of bad ink inside you. Your heart is so pure..." She leaned closer to her 'cousin''s face with each word, their mouths just an inch apart. "Don't worry so much. It'll be okay. I'm here, and I'll make sure she never hurts you again." Their lips met in a chaste kiss, the older inkling moving her mouth against the younger's with the gentleness of a baby bunny. Callie melted at her touch, her body noticeably easing and relaxing as she returned the kiss, her hands curling against Marie's shoulders as she let the green squid envelop her in her thin but strong arms, pulling her into a tight embrace as she broke the kiss. "That's my girl." She nuzzled their noses together, successfully pulling a heartwarming giggle from the sweet girl. Her head lowered to rest against Marie's shoulder, her body shifting into a more comfortable position. No more words were spoken, they didn't need to be. As Marie adjusted the blanket to cover both of them, as she let herself succumb to her drowsiness intensified by the rain, she inwardly promised Callie and herself that she would forever help her fight her inner demons, that she would ensure they never won. Despite that the star had hardly done anything wrong while in her brainwashed state, Marie knew just how upsetting it was for her to think about, and she knew without Callie ever having to say, it was the what she may have done if not saved that was the worst of it. And they never would find out just what that was. It was Marie's unspoken vow she would die honoring.
AN: I'll probably be posting any Callie X Marie content I write to Archive of Our Own instead of here...if I ever figure out how to navigate that site.
