Marina was an extremely patient octoling. She always tried to give those around her the benefit of the doubt, and never jumped to conclusions when an unfavorable situation presented itself. That said… she was about two seconds away from pulling out her turf gear and splatting the nearest warm body.
What in Cod's name was taking Pearl so long?
Those around her were beginning to give her looks of pity; Marina absolutely hated being on the receiving end of those looks. She was many things, but pitiful was something she'd never willingly allow herself to be. But what other than pity should you feel for someone being stood up on Valentine's Day.
Not that Pearl would ever stand her up, of course not. She was just running late. Obnoxiously late.
The dark tentacles atop her head began to sway indignantly as she huffily pulled out her phone to check the time. Pearl was now over half an hour late.
Of all days for this, why today? Why the single most romantic day of the year? They'd planned this lovely evening together a week prior and now that the date had rolled around, Pearl was nowhere to be seen.
It was an expensive, fancy sort of restaurant and Marina had gone lengths to appear head-turning. Her dress was a black-fade-to-pink halter dress, which did well to both compliment and contrast her dark skin and green highlights. She wore her tentacles pulled messily back in a sort of low chignon updo. Her (pearl) earrings fixed themselves nicely to her rounded ears and her heels were Tony Kensa, damn it! She'd gone all out, and that's not even mentioning the makeup. All to look stunning for her precious Pearlie. Maybe a bit overkill in retrospect, but honestly, Marina always liked an excuse to dress up. What better excuse than a romantic Valentine's date at a high end restaurant?
Pearl had better have a damn good excuse.
Sighing, Marina brought her second glass of water to her lips and took a small sip. Just as she did so, her waiter swung by the table with an apologetic - and slightly uncomfortable - look plastered across his face. "Er… hello again miss," he begun with uncertainty, "are you ready to order, or are you still waiting?"
Marina worried her bottom lip between sharp teeth. She couldn't wait here forever, and if Pearl had actually, seriously, gotten caught up in something then she should probably step out and give the inkling a call, right? To make sure everything was okay?
Marina sheepishly smiled at the young man serving her, and with a bashful look in her eyes she shrugged as casually as she could manage. "Oh… uh, s-sorry, I'll wait a little bit longer."
He nodded in understanding a went to check on his other patrons. Even if she ended up leaving without ordering, Marina made a mental note to leave him a generous tip.
From the corner of her eye, Marina caught a middle aged couple sniggering amongst themselves while glancing in her direction. It took a great deal of willpower not to shoot them a murderous glare.
It was then Marina resolved to wait another ten minutes. If Pearl was a no-show, she'd leave and give her a call. And for her girlfriend's sake, Pearl better have a really good story behind her absence.
Lost in seething thought and too busy thinking of all the colorful words she had in store for her lover, Marina hadn't even noticed the shambling movement of a small, pale, inkling sliding slowly into the seat across from her. That is, until a quiet voice cleared her throat and went to get Marina's attention.
"Uh… happy Valentine's Day, babe."
Marina's hued eyes snapped up to meet the embarrassed and sorry golden stare of her girlfriend. The octoling opening her mouth to give Pearl a stern piece of her mind, when something very important and more than a little concerning caught her attention.
Pearl was not looking good.
She was wearing a nice button up shirt, a cute pink tie and a pair of dark slacks. She'd look positively dashing if not for… well, everything else. Her bottom lip was swollen and it looked like she had the beginnings of a nasty black eye forming. Her ears, though barely visible behind her bob cut, could be seen downturned much like a dog in pain. Not to mention how roughed up her really nice clothes were.
And just like that, Marina's frustration and annoyance had turned to intense worry.
"P-Pearl?! What the hell happened, you look awful!" Marina was quick to scramble out of her booth and move diligently next to her injured partner. She plopped herself right by Pearl and began inspecting the damage done. She couldn't help but grimace when she observed what looked to be a gash across the inkling's cheek; Pearl hadn't done a swell job cleaning to the wound, dry ink still dirtying her face. Small though it may have been, it was still an injury, and Marina would be damned to let it get infected.
"I'm… yeah, I'm good Reena, don't worry about it." Pearl meekly glanced to the side and shrugged Marina's clawed hands away. "Er.. have you uh, been waiting too long?"
Marina blinked first in confusion, then in disbelief. Pearl walks in here looking like she'd been attacked by a Maws, and she's asking if Marina had been waiting long? Well… yes, she had been. But that was far from her priority now. Letting out a gentle breath, Marina began to get up and gather her things. "Okay Pearlie, we're getting you home so I can make sure you don't need a doctor. Come on."
The injured inkling sputtered for a moment, before looking up at Marina with, what the octoling could only assume, was her best look of reassurance. "W-what? Nah, for real, I'm good. Don't be such a worry wart. You've been looking forward to this, right? Don't let my dumbass ruin it."
The pity which had been emanating off the restaurant had turned to surprise and morbid curiosity. There were far too many eyes on them for Marina's liking, so even if they did sit back down and order, she'd be on edge the whole time. Like… sure, they were celebrities and whatnot. She was used to being looked at. But that was on stage, or at meet and greets. This was her and Pearl in their private lives trying to have a nice, relaxing Valentine's Day date. That plan had thoroughly gone to shit already, they had nothing to lose in leaving.
That and… well… looking at Pearl in such poor condition made Marina's chest ache.
"To hell with the date Pearl, just…" Marina took Pearl's small hand in her own and lead her out of the booth and looked down at her with worry. "You can walk, right? I'd be happy to carry you."
Pearl's cheeks flushed an embarrassed pink glow, and she scoffed playfully at Marina's over attentiveness. "Yes babe, I can walk. I promise it's not bad. I've been fucked up worse."
That… didn't make Marina happy to hear. Like at all. But the questioned raised from that could be saved for another time.
The octoling leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss over the barely closed cut across Pearl's cheek. "Okay hot shot. But let's go home. After I'm down fixing you up though, you're going to tell me what happened, okay?"
If the look on her face was any indication, Pearl didn't particularly want to spill the beans. But she knew by now that Marina could be extremely stubborn when she wanted to be. There wasn't any point in concealing the truth.
"Fine," she mumbled, tightening her hold on Marina's larger, softer hands, "whatever."
Hand in hand, the pair made their way out of the restaurant. But not before leaving the waiter a nice 1000 G for his work.
The walk home had been a relatively quiet one. Not awkward per say just… the air seemed a little thick. Especially for Marina, who noticed Pearl's limp despite the latter girl's insistence that she was fine to walk. Not wanting to start an argument though, Marina opted to drop it until they made in to Pearl's place. Though really, Marina spent so much time there that it was basically a second home to her. How long she wondered, until the two officially moved in together? The thought made her feel warm and fuzzy, living with the inkling of her dreams was something Marina had yearned for ever since the romantic feelings had even begun to fester which was… a while ago. They'd been friends for a couple years before they'd started to date. At current, the two had now been together for about a year and a half. But Marina's feelings for Pearl predated the day it became official by a long shot.
Looking at her life as it now was, Marina was thrilled to know her time as an Octarian military engineer hadn't been her peak; she'd made it to the surface, met Pearl, and was now living some of the best days of her life. Though that said, she supposed today could be going better.
There was always next Valentine's Day.
The two stepped into a large, spacious home. Pearl's family was loaded and hadn't minded helping Pearl pay for a house. Of course it wasn't as nice as the lavish mansion-esque place the inkling had grown up in, but it was definitely on the higher end of what most young adults could even begin to afford.
Marina lead Pearl to sit down on the comfy couch in the living room, on which Pearl plopped with a tired and audible sigh.
Marina smiled gently at the small girl. Cod… Pearl was really cute. Date or no date, she was so in love with this troublesome little squid. The MC was a bit of a handful sometimes, but damn if it wasn't worth it.
"Now then," the younger girl mused, "I'm going to go get some stuff to clean you off with." She punctuated this with a small peck to Pearl's small, pointed nose. "Hang tight, princess." The flustered blush to creep across Pearl's cheeks didn't evade Marina; she knew that nickname made her lover feel some sorta way. It was really fun to watch her brash and assertive girlfriend reduced to an embarrassed puddle of swooning ink, though.
Marina used the nickname at least once a day. It was her prerogative.
It didn't take long to track down everything she needed. A couple damp rags, some band aids, disinfectant and so on. Supplies in hand, the octoling returned to the living room to find her partner waiting silently with her skinny arms crossed sullenly over each other. Her black eye was now more developed. It hadn't become as dark or swollen as it was surely going to, but it was notably more defined than it'd been earlier. A handful of smaller bruises had revealed themselves as well; littering her pale, creamy skin.
Marina frowned.
She kneeled in front of her beloved Pearlie, damp rag held firmly in hand, "Hold sill, okay? I don't know how deep this cut is, this might sting."
Luckily, it didn't look too bad. Pearl cringed when the rag began to wipe away dried ink - even more so when Marina started with the disinfectant - but all in all, it was a pretty painless process. The ocotling began raking over the rest of Pearl's body, looking for anything else which may require her attention. She handled the gash, and then busted lip. Everything else seemed to be no more than a minor bruise or scrape, so those should be fine to leave alone. Then there was that limp…
"Pearl, could you stand up for me real quick?"
The inkling, who'd been pretty quiet throughout her impromptu checkup quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "What for?"
"Humor me."
Shrugging, Pearl slowly and with a soft grunt, got herself standing. Once up, she shifted nervously between her feet, and the pained finch which occurred when her right foot took the brunt of her weight didn't escape Marina's attentive eye.
Marina's frown deepened. "Pearl, may I take a look at your ankle please? And while I do, could you tell me what happened to get you like this?"
Pearl scoffed, "Not like I have much choice."
At this, Marina smirked. "Correct," she affirmed, gently stroking the inkling's face with a green tipped thumb. "Now spill it, missy. And sit down so I can see what you did to your ankle."
Pearl rolled her eyes, but obeyed regardless. "I didn't do jack shit to my ankle."
"Don't bullshit me, princess, I can tell it hurts to stand on." Marina cringed, more than a little guilty about letting Pearl walk all the way home on an injured limb.
The elder girl offered a cheeky smile, her pointed ears waggling slightly underneath her tentacles, "I like it when you swear, Reena. Kinda hot."
Despite the circumstances, Pearl managed to pull a laugh from her girlfriend just by being her usual, crude though endearing self. "Okay, okay. Shush up and let me check you out."
"Babe, this late into the game, I think we're passed the 'checking you out' phase."
"Pearl."
"Heh. Sorry."
Chuckling under her breath, Marina turned her attention to Pearl's foot. And… yeah. It didn't look pretty. The flesh around her ankle was swollen and pink, like the ink was rushing to that spot in particular. Not to mention to bruising which surrounded the inflammation. Marina bit her lip, fingers gliding softly across the injury. "Okay Pearl," Marina started sternly. She was getting to the bottom of this. "What happened? And please, just tell me the truth. What did you do?"
Pearl glanced away, squirming uncomfortably where she sat, golden eyes flickering with an emotion Marina couldn't quite understand. "Like I said…" She started gingerly, "I didn't do jack." Special emphasis on the word 'I'.
Marina groaned, "Pearl now isn't the time to be stubborn, just tell me what ha— wait…" Something suddenly clicked in the octoling's mind. But no that couldn't… please say that wasn't it.
"Pearl," Marina's voice had lowered to something dark and threatening, it was a tone of voice few had ever heard leave the idol's mouth. Pearl's eyes widened in surprise, unused to hearing such venom drip from her partner's mouth; an appropriate metaphor given how the octo-girl had bared her pointed fangs. "Did someone do this to you?"
Pearl tensed. She moved to study the blank, undecorated walls of her living room. "Ah… w-well…"
That was all the confirmation Marina needed. Pearl was, and had always been, an open book. "Who and why?" The Octarian pressed, her eyes narrowed with seething anger.
Pearl tried to flash a comforting smile but the only emotions she could muster were surprised and nervous. "W-woah, hey now. Settle down, Reena."
"Settle down?" Marina sneered, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to settle down after hearing my girlfriend was fucking assaulted. Cod I-I thought maybe you'd fallen down some stairs or something but… but not... "
Why would anyone ever wish to bring harm to Pearl? Sweet, perfect, amazing, talented, Pearl.
"Assault," the smaller idol began, twiddling her thumbs, "is a pretty strong word."
"Then what the hell should I call it?" It honestly would've been less terrifying had Marina started to yell and stomp and act generally enraged. But her voice had taken on a low, dark, near emotionless tone. And that was scary.
Pearl clicked her tongue, looking as though she wanted to say something but was unsure how to go about it. "How about…" she mumbled, refusing to meet Marina's eyes, "we call it…" her voice lacked its usual confidence, "me-starting-shit-with-an-ignorant-asshole-and-then-getting-punched-then-punching-back-then-getting-my-ass-kicked…? Something like that?"
Marina stared at Pearl.
"You… started a fight with someone? Like… right before our date?"
"He was asking for it!" The smaller girl's hands flew outwards in a display of passion. She'd always had expressive body language.
Marina gaped. After giving herself several moments to comprehend the situation, the only thing she could manage was a tired roll of the eyes. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how annoyed she should be. She was glad Pearl hadn't legit been beaten in the streets, and of course she was still worried about the injuries she had sustained but… come on now.
And the rapper had always been abrasive, but as far as Marina was aware, she hadn't gotten into a fight with anyone in years.
Not to mention how quickly this would likely make the news. Unless they had duked it out in an abandoned corner of Inkopolis, people would start to talk. It's not everyday an idol is caught in a street fight, even better, Pearl seems to have had her ass handed to her.
"And what, might I ask, did he do to provoke your wrath?" The octoling had an eyebrow raised both high and incredulously. Her toned arms crossed squarely over her chest in a show of how unamused she was.
"Dude said some speciesist shit about Octarians so I called him an ignorant fuckwit. Then he punched me and I punched him and then I was forty five minutes late to our date… er… sorry again, by the way. You look great tonight… just... just so y'know."
Damn it, Marina couldn't stay mad at that.
She couldn't remain cross at those sparkling eyes, that tinge of pink blush, or the way Pearl smiled at her like she was a precious treasure.
The younger of the two fought to keep a loving grin off her lips; this was serious time. But she couldn't help it. Pearl was just too much for her tender heart to handle.
The inkling continued to inspect Marina's elegant get up. "I don't think I've ever seen this dress before. It suits you."
The octoling snickered lightly. Suddenly, the night's events seemed minuscule in the grand scheme of things. "Thank you, Pearlie. I'll ignore this blatant change of subject because you're just too cute. You look lovely as well, I adore that tie on you. Although," Marina's voice took on a moderately sassy sort of inflection, "the black eye takes away from it a little."
"Nah," the inkling giggled, "it makes me look tough."
"Whatever you say, love." Marina finished looking over Pearl's ankle, and turned her gaze up to her favorite inkling all while soothingly rubbing the pale foot in her hold. "Good news, it looks like it's only a bad sprain. It should heal perfectly so long as you stay off of it for a couple days. Can I ask what specifically he did to your ankle?"
Pearl hummed absently in response. "I think it was like… I was pushed over and the guy stomped on it?"
To be honest, even knowing full well Pearl had been the one to instigate the fight, it still pissed Marina off that anyone would dare hurt her. "Asshole," the octoling growled under her breath.
"It's alright, Reena." Pearl motioned for Marina to join her on the sofa, which the younger girl was more than happy to do. She moved to sit right next to her battered little inkling and was quick to lean affectionately against her. "Nobody calls my girlfriend a menace and gets away with it!"
Granted, if Marina could've helped it, she would have prevented Pearl from tossing in a dangerous situation in an effort to defend her honor. But it was the thought which counted, she supposed. "Did he call me a menace, or Octarians in general? I mean… Either way, he was a jerk but…"
"Doesn't really matter, Marina." Pearl turned to nuzzle against the tall dark beauty next to her, "I would've called him out for trash talking urchins or jellies too. I have no tolerance for that shit. But I guess it spurred me on a little further that one of my favorite people in the world is an octoling. And we can't forget about Eight. We'd both throw hands for that sweet little octo-girl, and you know it." Pearl paused, her face shifting first to one of pensive thought, then flashing with amusement. "Can you imagine if it'd been Three to come across that bastard? Cod knows she would've splatted him into oblivion. Chick adores Eight more than Inkopolis adores Splat Fests."
Marina chuckled at the thought, "I guess he should count his blessings it was you and not Agent 3 he fought with, huh?"
"Heh… yeah, I guess so."
The two fell into a calm silence. It wasn't heavy or tense like the quiet which hung over them on their treck home. This was a nice, appreciated quiet for the duo; the night had been rather hectic, they needed a moment of relief.
Marina took Pearl's hand in her own, and held it like breakable glass. Her claws drug themselves gently over the pale flesh of her girlfriend's hand. She loved the feel of the inkling's skin against her own.
She loved Pearl, more than words could describe. Words may not have done her love justice, but with three words she could at least try to express her adoration.
"Pearlie?"
The elder idol acknowledged Marina with a soft hum in response.
"I love you."
Pearl shifted towards the octoling with upturned lips. Despite all the bravado she put on in public, it was moments like these which really cemented how much of a softie she was towards her loved ones; Marina in particular. "Love you too."
Cuddled together on the couch, blanketed in comfortable quiet, neither could deny it. Neither could deny that despite how rough their evening may have started, that maybe this Valentine's Day was a pretty good one after all.