(A/N: Time to listen to romance songs to get the ol' fluff juices flowin' again! I'm gonna type this entire chapter listening to nothing but 'When you Love' By Sinead O'Connor. If you'd like, you can listen to it while you read a certain part of this chapter. Don't worry, I'll tell you when, just because I love you all. Enjoy this filler! )
Bic groggily rose out of bed, wiping her tired eyes and turning to the left - no alarm clock. "Oh...right..." Bic whispered to herself. A part of her was secretly wishing this was all just a horrible nightmare, that she'd be waking up soon and would be greeted by her room's compact walls and red alarm clock - but it wasn't. With a sorrowful sigh, she hopped out of the old, dusty bed and took a peek out of the window she snuck out of last night. A quick glance at the sun's position told her it was around 7 am. "Overslept..." she said to herself quietly, wiping her face. One sluggish, sleepy trip to the kitchen later, Bic perked up with a very fun idea.
Agent 6 locked the back door to his apartment complex - He and the building's owner were good friends, which was why he had a key. He tended to sneak out at night, and during the early morning; He thought that having a key to the door was kind of a dumb idea, but now that he worked for Cap'n, he was glad the owner trusted him with a key. With that thought in mind, he pocketed the key and headed to the kettle to Octo Valley as per usual.
"Hey! Ce-Ce!"
He turned, being greeted by Milly, who was waving happily and ushering him to come over to her. This was unusual, as he didn't normally see Milly opening shop until about two hours after he'd be leaving for Octo Valley in the morning. Regardless, he walked over to her as she was opening the door to the Cafe. As he came upon her, she silently waved him inside, locking the door behind him. "Uh- Mills, what's up?"
"Mornin' dah'lin'. Ah had somethin' ah wanted ta talk to ya about."
"Uh...sure. You normally don't open this early..."
"That's why Ah'm here. It was important."
"Okay..." Agent 6 took a seat in a chair in the kitchen as she typed a few things into a computer - Clocking in, most likely.
"So, about yer lil' girlfriend..." Agent 6 gulped. "Ah know she's one a' them Octolin's."
Agent 6 froze in his chair, heart skipping a beat. How did she catch on? She didn't seem to know when she was serving them last night...did someone tell her? No, Cap'n doesn't come to the Cafe, he always gets delivery, so how...? He swallowed hard, watching her put on her apron and name badge before turning on her oven for the day. His eyes followed her as she got her pencil and notebook from a counter, placing them in the pockets of her apron, then opening the fridge to get some pre-made dough out and place it on the counter top next to him. She got out a rolling pin and started to roll out the puff pastry dough. Her silence during all of this was driving him nuts, allowing him too much time to think about too many questions about how she knew, so he tried to break the silence.
"H-haha, Milly, you're funny as always. I mean...an Octoling? How would I even-"
"Ce-Ce, ya might'a hid 'er tentacles, but she was still wearin' 'er armor."
Agent 6 thought for a second, then put his head in his palms as she continued to roll, humming to herself. He mentally cursed himself, being so careless about the whole thing.
"Ya should be glad ya came into the Cafe when ya did. There wasn't any customers at that late time 'a night...Ce-Ce, ya coulda caused a scene, a panic, an uproar...Ya normally aren't that careless. Ah can tell ya really like 'er."
"...Are you gonna alert the town?" Milly stopped rolling and gave him her signature smile.
"Nah, silly. Ah meant what ah wrote last night. Ya'll are cute together. So, ya wanna explain how in the heck ya'll started bein' an item?"
Agent 6 sighed, adjusting himself in his seat. A faint dinging sound was heard from the far end of the kitchen, making Milly walk over to it for a bit. She came back with a cup of coffee, Agent 6's favorite blend, and handed it to him before going back to her dough expectantly. He stared down into the freshly brewed coffee, taking in the brilliant scent before allowing himself a sip. It slightly burned his tongue, but didn't let it stop him from proceeding to tell of his adventures with Bic to her.
Milly listened intently, taking everything in as she prepared her doughs for the day. Her expressions came and went as she cut the dough, mixing in different berries and jams to make her famous pastries. She was quite saddened when she heard of his dreams, trying her hardest not to cry into the pastries going into the oven. A few laughs escaped her as she heard of how she kept saving his butt from the silliest of situations. As his story came to a close, a faint ding came from the oven - the pastries for the morning were done. By then, Agent 6 had already drank 3 cups of coffee and finished with a weak smile. "And after a little convincing, we finally got Cap'n to let her stay with him until this whole zapfish thing blows over. That's...that's it."
"Ah see...So ya'll have some kinda connection goin' on. That's pretty cute." This earned a blush from Agent 6 as she took the coffee mug from him, placing it into the sink as she ushered the two into the front of the shop. "Ah had a feelin' she had ta' have been somethin' special. 'Ere- ", She reached behind her counter, handing him a few bags before continuing, "Take 'er these. Ah don't mind havin' 'er in fer a cup 'er two every day, but she can't be causin' a scene in my Cafe, ya hear?" He took a look into the bags, smiling widely when he saw what was inside.
"How did you-"
"Ah'm a shop owner, Ce-Ce. Ah got connections. Now git, I gotta open up shop and ah'm sure Bic's waitin' on ya."
"R-right! Thanks, Milly! I'll pay you back for this, " He said, hastily running out of the newly unlocked front door, "I promise!"
The ringing of the bell made it clear that the door had closed behind Milly's back as she sighed, grabbing her cloth from behind the bar. She walked to the door, flipping the 'CLOSED' sign to 'OPEN' before calmly returning back to the bar and thinking to herself.
'I hope everyone'll be as accepting of her as I am...for their sake.'
"Cap'n, " Agent 6 called, knocking on the shack's front door, "I'm coming in!" He opened the door and was immediately greeted by a fantastic scent. He inhaled deeply, humming to himself upon smelling the mixed scents of warm syrup and cooked meats. "Man...", He closed the door behind him, "What's cooking, Cap'n?" He questioned aloud as he walked into the small dining room area. Cap'n sat at a table with a fork and knife in each hand.
"Aye, lad! Ye be just in time!"
"In time for wh-"
"Breakfast~!" Bic sang in a happy tone, bursting from the kitchen. In her hands was a giant platter full of delicious looking food; Golden pancakes, an assortment of scrambled and fried eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and an array of jellies. "Agent 6! You're just in time!~ It's a good thing I made enough for all of us!" She excitedly declared, sitting the platter down. Upon closer inspection, he found that she'd shaped the pancakes into hearts and butterflies. He couldn't help but think it was cute. "I hope you two enjoy! I'll get us something to drink for us!" She said, dancing back into the kitchen. Cap'n nabbed a few pancakes on a fork with a few strips of tuna bacon before pouring syrup over it all before starting a conversation.
"Ye certainly know how to pick 'em, lad. She'll make a fine bride for ye." Agent 6 almost choked on his pancake.
"Wh-What?! C-Cap'n, don't say stuff like that!"
"What? I'm just sayin' that she'll make a fine bride. She be a great cook, she be bright as the sun an' she be willin' ta' train with ye to aid ye against Octavio."
"She...She is?"
"Aye! She even made us a fine power breakfast fit for a king! Aye, if I wasn't old an' never married..."
Agent 6 fake gagged right before Bic happily sauntered out of the kitchen with a large pitcher of light brown liquid. "I hope tea's okay, it's all Cap'n had..."
"Tea's a fine drink anytime, lass! Thank ye fer whippin' up this feast!"
"A-ah, it's no trouble," Bic blushed as she scratched her cheek, "I figured it was the least I could do, considering..."
"S-So," Agent 6 said, trying to get rid his own redness from Cap'n's shenanigans, "Cap'n tells me you're considering training with me?" There was a bit of silence before Bic nodded slowly, chewing a mouthful. "Cool. Maybe we'll train tomorrow-"
"Aye lad, isn't splatfest tomorrow?" Cap'n interjected, taking a sip of of his tea. Agent 6 jumped a little in shock, having forgotten all about it.
"Awh, crud! I almost forgot! But, wait, that means-"
The door burst open suddenly, grabbing the three's attention. "Gramps!," A black and pink-clad inkling called, strutting in happily. "We've brought groceries!" A white and green colored inkling female quietly walked in behind her, carrying a great amount of bags. As she set them down, both of them met eyes with everyone sitting at the table, eyes locking on Bic. Agent 6 facepalmed in advance, knowing what was coming.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GRAMPS! THERE'S AN OCTOLING! RIGHT! THERE!" Callie screamed, hiding behind Marie. Marie, wide eyed, quickly grabbed a lamp and threw it at Bic, who quickly ducked under the table with a scream. "KILL IT, KILL IT! AAAAAH!"
"CALLIE! MARIE! CALM DOWN!" Agent 6 yelled, standing in front of the table.
"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! THERE'S A-"
"Lass, we be fully aware of her bein' here. Yer actually in time fer breakfast. Why don'tcha come have a seat?" Cap'n calmly said, not missing a beat in taking another sip of his tea. Upon seeing Cap'n relaxed, the two instantly did the same, pulling up a seat at the table Bic slowly rose from with the help of Agent 6. After they fixed themselves a plate, Agent 6 went about, once again, telling Bic's story.
"Ooooh. Why didn't you just say so? Geez, I'm sorry for freaking out at you, Bic. Totes unfresh of me." Callie said with an apologetic look. Marie fretted as well, rubbing the back of her head.
"Yeah...sorry about the lamp..."
Bic laughed and shrugged it off with the wave of a hand. "O-Oh no, it's okay! I completely understand, after all...Octolings aren't always the kindest..." She laughed nervously. Callie got up, walking behind Bic and hugging her lightly from behind. Bic smiled, now feeling safe. "S-so, what are you guys doing here?" She asked, looking at Marie.
"We normally come visit gramps before a splatfest and on holidays!" Callie said, bringing her face close to Bic's.
"And we bring him some food, since he can't really go back and forth to Inkopolis to shop for himself..." Callie said, calmly taking a sip of tea alongside Cap'n, who did the same.
"Splatfest..?" Bic questioned, head tilted to the side a bit.
"You've never seen a splatfest, that's right! Splatfest is this totally fresh time where all the inklings come out and play like, non-stop turf wars to defend their teams! Whoever has the most points at the end of the splatfest gets some awesome stuff, plus bragging rights! Even the losing team gets stuff, just not as much - almost like a consolation prize. But it's all in good fun, since Marie and I sing our hearts out all day in front of our fans! And there's fireworks and neon lights and great food and just an overall awesome time!" Callie said excitedly, watching Bic's eyes widen with excitement.
"Oh man! It sounds so fun! I...I wish I could go..." Bic said, happiness and excitement quickly dying down once she remembered she couldn't be seen. Callie saw this and frowned for a second, looking up at Marie. Marie rolled her eyes and nodded, making Callie grin and rub her cheek against Bic's.
"Well...We DO have an extra splatfest tee...You'd just have to come at night. Sure, Splatfest would be almost over and almost everyone'd be gone home but-"
"R-really?! You'd do that for me?! OHMIGOSH!" Bic screamed, jumping out of her seat and immediately embracing Callie. Callie stood, shocked for a moment, before hugging Bic back and smiling widely again.
"It's no biggie, right Marie?" Marie quietly nodded, taking another sip out of her cup. "See? We'll give the extra tee and wristband to 6 when he's at splatfest early tomorrow and he can bring it to you!"
"Ahmygosh, thank you guys so much!" Bic screamed exitedly, crying tears of joy. Marie's eyes widened for only the splittest of seconds before softening again. Cap'n took notice, whispering to her.
"Ye be seein' why I couldn't separate the two now...This lass isn't like the others."Callie nodded, pouring both herself and Cap'n another cup of fresh tea.
(A/N: Another filler! The next chappie will be the last filler before the plot continues, so enjoy it while you can~! Also, let me take the time to say that you all's reviews is what keeps me writing. Seriously, you all enjoying my story gives me life. I cry tears of joy everytime I check my email and get reviews of you guys enjoying reading this tale, and I highly appreciate every one of you. And yes, I am teasing you when it comes down to Ce-Ce's real name. That'll be revealed in about 2-3 chapters from now. ;D Excited? Don't forget to review, and thank you for reading my story! )