Marina sighs after Four and Eight leave. Three feels a nigh-uncontrollable urge to join her. Man. This fucking sucks. Sure, it'll probably pay off, like, tomorrow or something when the party happens, but getting there is going to suck.
It's going to suck so much.
Silence settles over the two. Three doesn't know how long it goes on for, she just knows that it does. Tapping her foot against the ground, she decides to start counting things in the room. Two Splattershots, three paintings, four plants...
"So..." Marina breaks the silence. Five... There aren't exactly five of any object in the room. "Um, do you want me to go tell Pearl that you're here?"
"... Yeah," Three mumbles with a sigh. "That's probably a good course of action."
Marina nods and hesitates before walking off. Now alone, Three feels, uh. Incredibly out-of-place. Without Four or Eight here, who... Even is she..? Her hand trails up her neck to behind her ear where her gill slits are located, quickly finding the small piercings within them. Her fingers run over each one - three on that ear, and then she checks the other - three on that one. Six in total, and still not the five that she needs. Rolling her eyes, Three twists and turns the piercings until she feels her slits grow agitated and sore. She tugs on one accidentally, and pain shoots from her gill. It's at that point where she decides it's an okay time to stop.
The room is silent, deafeningly so. Three can't stand silence, not now, and her foot anxiously taps against the ground. Tap-tap-tap, then pause for a second, then- Tap-tap-tap. Wait two seconds, start again. Yet her foot grows tired, and Three stops, and silence starts again.
She stops and looks at the art on the walls, all paintings of various landscapes. One is of the beach, seemingly a little newer due to the bluer hue of the water. When she was younger, Three went to the beach frequently, but the water was a murky green, sickly and rotting and acidic. She has a feeling the younger her would have loved to see the beaches of today. Maybe that would have made her grandparents a little happier - nice scenery to go with their house and not the turbulent, dangerous waters. Three starts tapping at the thought of them. There isn't any use in making her mood worse.
Fucking... Speaking of reasons to be mad, where the hell did Marina go? She looks over at the stairs, waiting for any signs if her. And, uh... Nothing. Fucking fantastic. She sighs heavily and takes a seat on the carpet. There's a split-second urge to just text someone, but Marina should be back soon anyways...
Sure enough, Three hears Marina walk down the stairs, Pearl in tow.
"I'm sorry it took so long!" she apologizes with. Pearl waves behind her.
"Yo!" she greets.
It takes a lot of effort to not roll her eyes. Three waves back with her customer service smile. "Hey," she offers. "How are you?"
"Eh. I'm alright, yeah? How are you?"
"Terrible," she wants to say. "I'm good."
Pearl nods. "So... Uhhh, whaddya... Y'know?" She cocks her head.
Marina sighs and shakes her head. "Use your words, Pearlie."
"... What exactly are we doing?" she asks. Three tries her best to keep her tentacle color stable, but she's sure some part of it turns a dark, dark black. "Sorry, sorry, I-"
Three has to hold her tongue, and she closes her eyes to take a deep breath. It's one day, after all. Just one. Three can handle them for one for day, right?
"Tell me," she starts after opening her eyes, "Exactly how much progress you've made on planning?"
Pearl and Marina share a glance. Three sighs loudly.
"You have made progress, right?"
More silence.
"Okay," Three says in a voice that's too calm to be natural, "I'll give you ten seconds to give me a good reason as to why I should stay."
"Uh," Pearl replies eloquently, "You. No car."
Hand hovering over the doorknob, Three gives Pearl the sweetest smile she can muster.
"I can walk, dipshit."
"Fucking. I'll pay you?" Pearl offers. Marina gives her a look. It's one of vague disappointment and inward panic. Three knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of those very, very well. "Rent? Roller?"
"How much are we talking?" she asks, because that's a good fucking offer. Pearl pauses and licks her lips as she thinks, which is a little fucking gross but it also reminds Three that she should probably find her fucking chapstick soon given that she lost it. Again.
"25,000?" Pearl says after a pause. Ooh. Tempting. That'd be enough to pay her month's rent and give her a little extra spending money. Three's hand wavers but ultimately falls back onto the knob.
"You've got bank to spare," she replies, furrowing her brow. "Little higher."
Marina mutters something beneath her breath that Three doesn't catch, but it's accompanied by an eye roll. At a much higher volume, Pearl whispers "Shut up, Reena, it's fine." Or, well, it's a whisper for Pearl, so Three has to give her some credit for trying.
"50,000 C," she says, confident. "That should be a fair amount, right?"
Ooh.
Very tempting.
"... Deal," Three says after a pause. Pearl pumps her fist while Marina just shakes her head.
"You two are..." Her voice trails off. "... Something. You're... Definitely something."
"Fuck yeah we are!" Pearl exclaims with a grin. She strikes a very dumb pose.
"I cannot believe you fronted a metal band," Three mutters. Pearl narrows her gaze.
"Rude. I'm super metal." Three makes a noise of an unspecified emotion. "I even got a tongue piercing. What's more fuckin' metal than a tongue piercing?"
"Tongue piercings are for sucking dick," Three mutters as she walks back over. Pearl replies with a series of gibberish because she's currently coughing. Or choking. Loser. "So, what do you need me to do?"
"Uh..." Marina casts a glance at Pearl. "Well, we were going to just push ideas around, or something? We- Or, I, I suppose- Want to know who we're inviting, what day it would happen, um... Things of that sort."
"Ignoring the fact that you haven't thought about any of this at all," Three starts, "I think you should invite Gra- Er, the Captain. You said he was there with her in the Metro, right?"
Marina nods. "Yes, I was thinking that'd be a good idea. And, um... You, obviously, and Four, since she's helping out..."
"What about the Squid Sisters?" Pearl suggests with a small cough at the end. "From, uh, from what I understand, the Calamari Inkantation is pretty important to her, so she'd probably be happy to see 'em, right?"
Huh. Yeah, that... Actually made sense. Not that Three would ever let Pearl get the satisfaction of knowing. "They're pretty busy, though," she mutters. Pearl hums softly.
"Yeah, they are, but... I'm sure we could, like, bribe 'em or something. I dunno. Maybe if we get Four to ask, or something."
"Four? Why her?" Three asks. "Like, I get that she's good with people and all, but..."
"Three, come on." Pearl rolls her eyes. "You know Marie's into her, right?"
"... Is she?" If anything, Marie's just... Fucking meaner to Four than she is towards everyone else. Constantly teasing her or jokingly berating her, yet... Well, Three could see it, but at the same time... "Seriously?"
"Oh, hell yeah. Dude, you should see the shit she sends in the group chat."
1. Three really wants to see those messages.
2. They have a fucking group chat?
"I, uh... I see." Well, shit, now Marie has to come, if only so Three can tease her about this just like she teased Three over Eight. "I... Guess we should?"
Pearl nods. "Yeah, let's... Just hope they're not busy?"
"Oh, actually," Marina says, reminding them all of her presence, "I just asked them about it. Callie says she'd love to go, and Marie just sent a, uh... A thumbs up."
Fucking Marie, always communicating in emojis and shit. "Yeah, typical," Three mutters. "Do you know when they're free?"
"Umm..." Her voice trails off as she types, claws loudly clacking against the screen. "Thursday and Friday?"
"Can we aim for Friday?" Three asks.
Marina blinks. "Sure, but... Why?"
"Four has practice on Tuesdays and Fridays, and it gives us more time to prepare for it, so..."
She nods. "Okay, I'll tell them Friday, then."
A few second pass, and then Marina speaks again. "They want to know what time."
"Uhhh..." Pearl scratches her cheek as she thinks. "Well, I mean, we gotta announce the stages in the morning. Most of it's pre-recorded except for that. We're done by 12:00, though."
"Hold on," Three mumbles, searching for her schedule on her phone. "It's the fifth, right? I get out at 4:00, and it's about a forty-five minute drive to here..."
"Would 6:00 give you enough time to be ready?" Marina asks. Three nods. "Okay! Pearlie, do you have any problems with that?"
"I don't think so?" Pearl shrugs. "Yeah, I think 6:00 is good."
Marina hums as she types. "They said they're okay with it." She smiles. "So! Um, what do you want to work on first?"
"What do you mean..?" Three says slowly.
"Like, um... Well, there's always the matter of food. The party's in two days, right? So... We could definitely start now."
"Won't it spoil?" she asks.
"Depends on what we make," Pearl replies. "And where we store it, obviously."
"Well, yeah..." Three's voice trails off. "Uh, what can you make? Eight mentioned that you like cooking..."
"What can I make?" Pearl laughs sharply. "Buddy, what can't I make, is the question?"
"I am not your buddy," Three mutters, "And shit, you're about as humble as you are tall."
Pearl glares at her. Three glares back.
"You..." Pearl's voice trails off as she tries to think of a comeback. Take that, mayo gremlin. "You have dumb shoes."
Three looks down at her feet. Her shoes are worn, with stains of every single color of the rainbow splashed on them, although they were once white. "Hm... Yeah. Anyways..." She sighs. "Lemme rephrase it, I guess. What do you want to make for the party?"
"Uh... Well, there's probably seven people coming, right? Or..." Pearl pauses to count. "Eight?"
"No, my agent number's Three."
Pearl rolls her eyes. "Fuck you, you know what I mean." Three shrugs. "But, yeah, eight people... I dunno if we have enough stuff here to feed all of 'em."
"... Do you want me to go and shop?" Three's hoping they say yes, and then she gets to leave and experience the hell of shopping at MakoMart.
"Once we figure out what we're making, we can go!" Marina replies and Three feels her dreams shatter. "Admittedly, I'm... Not the best chef."
Three briefly remembers Eight saying something about Marina being god-fucking-awful at cooking and nods a little. "Yeah, same." That being said, she'd never fry the fucking milk, but... Whatever.
"Reena, babe." Pearl sighs. "You boiled cereal. And- Then I fucking saw you dump ketchup on it? Like, I- What the hell were you trying to make, anyways?"
Marina rolls her eyes. "Uh, oatmeal?"
"You-" Pearl pauses to let out a noise of vague frustration. Three wishes she could join her. "Babe, I- Come on. We have the microwavable oatmeal here? Just- Just put it in a bowl with a cup of water and pop it in for like a minute and a half?"
"We have microwavable oatmeal," Marina replies quietly after a beat of silence, "But we don't have a microwave."
"Wha-" Pearl shakes her head. "Marina, we- What do you think is above the stove?"
"The microwave." Pearl gives her the look. Marina sighs. "I- I needed some of the parts for a thing I was working on! So I took them out and then replaced it, but I think the replacement parts screwed up, um... Something, because, like, everything I put in there catches on fire and- Don't look at me like that!"
Three is trying really hard not to laugh.
Pearl takes a breath in. A breath out. A breath in again. One last exhale.
"You," she says after a decently long pause, "Are so lucky I love you."
"I ordered a new one," Marina mumbles. "It's just... It's not here yet." She furrows her brow as she thinks for a moment. "Oh! Wait, why don't I just..?" Suddenly, she whirls around and jogs up the stairs.
"Is this... Normal?" Three asks. Didn't they still have shit to do? She just fucking ran off, the hell?
Pearl nods. "Unfortunately, yeah. Sometimes it's cute... Other times, it's..." She sighs, shaking her head. "We got shit to do, you know?" Oh, Three did know. And she would really, really like to get that shit done, please. "Do you know if you or Four have any allergies?"
"Uh..." Her voice trails off as she thinks. "There's, like, some medication that I'm allergic to, but I don't think it's in any food? Or- Shit, it'd be weird if it was. And, uh... Four doesn't have any allergies, as far as I know."
Pearl makes a small noise of acknowledgement. "Alright, cool. All the things I wanna make are ones I don't make a lot, so... Come with me?" she says with a slight beckoning motion. Three resists the urge to roll her eyes and follows Pearl into the kitchen.
1: What the shit? Mega-what the shit? Why is this kitchen so big. Why do you need a kitchen this big there are three people living here. Why in the sweetest, pious, reverential of gargantuan shits would you ever need a kitchen this big? This fucking room is, like, the size of Three's living room. This isn't fucking fair, what in the literal turd-gargling fuck?
2: Why do you need three fucking ovens? Three understands she is not the best chef. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she, quite frankly, sucks ass at cooking, and maybe she doesn't understand it, like, at all. But why does Pearl need three entire goddamn ovens? There are three people living here, and Three knows for a fucking fact that Pearl bought this before Eight was even in the picture because she briefly mentioned moving on her shitty morning talkshow with Marina, like, four months ago, aka before Eight fucked off into the murder hole, so she'd be buying for, what, two people? Why would two people need three ovens? Like, okay, she likes the number three and all, but you don't- Fucking. Whatever. It's FINE.
It's fine.
Three spends too much time gawking at the disgusting amount of ovens because Pearl clears her throat and nods in the general direction of the fridge. Which is. Guh. Too fucking big. What the hell. Three could probably fit two bodies in there. Is that a little gross? Doesn't fucking matter, fridges this big are also disgusting. Pearl fucking grabs a stool after opening the fridge doors.
"Hey, can you write this down for me?" she asks, handing Three a pen and a notepad. So Three nods because what the fuck, she can't just tell Pearl no now. "Great, thanks..."
Pearl starts rummaging through the fridge and what the SHIT. Why does she need so much mayo? So far, Three has counted five sixty-four ounce jars of mayo. Oh, wait, Pearl just set two more down. Okay. Okay, cool. This is fine. Pearl likes mayo. Shit, is that why her tentacles are white?
Pearl gets on her tiptoes to shove a few bottles of ketchup aside. (A few. A fucking few, why do these people insist on having so many giant containers of condiments, what the hell?) "Salmon steaks," she finally says, so Three hastily jots it down.
"Okay," she mumbles, leaning against an oven.
"Seal butter."
Three pauses to make an absolutely fucking bewildered face at the back of Pearl's head, but she writes it down anyways. "Why seal? That's fucking expensive." And then she remembers who she's talking to. "Just get almond or soy."
"Uh," Pearl says in the "what the hell, isn't it obvious?" tone, "It tastes better? The flavour's richer, dude."
"Can you even taste the difference?" Since seals are starting to become more and more reliant on sentient caretakers, and also because they're disgustingly hard to take care of, the price for seal-milk products (which are also easier to find than, say, other authentic dairy products from whales or walrus) tend to go for about three times the price of synthetic dairies such as soy or almond. Three's tried seal cheese before, and it was, uh... An experience.
"Yeah, obviously. It's sweeter, you know?" Three hears a few bottles clink together. "Actually, write down almond butter, too. And, uh... I'd get whale if MakoMart carried it, but you gotta go to a speciality cheese shop for that." Three rolls her eyes. Of course.
"Right, my bad," she mutters, writing it down beneath the rest. "What else?"
"Uhh... Hey, check the pantry for me? Do we have any flour?" Three checks and nods. "Do we?"
"Yeah," she replies. "What do you need these for, anyways?"
"The party," Pearl says, ever helpful. "I wanted to make some puff pastry thingies with salmon, but I don't know what they're ca- Oh, write down dill." Three does just that. Pearl starts putting the seven jars of mayo back. Once she's done, she hops down from the stool and starts rummaging through a drawer. "Garlic, too, and seal cheese... Pine nuts, too. Do you know if Four's lactose intolerant? I know a lot of people are, so I'm just wondering..."
"She... Wasn't the last time I checked," Three offers. Pearl makes a small noise and continues rummaging.
"Raspberries." What? "Relax. I know what I'm doing."
"You better." Is she putting the raspberries with the salmon, or..? "What's that for?"
"I think I wanna make a sauce with it? That or I can mix it with chocolate and make some tarts... That or it could be, like, a cake topping - write down two containers for it, please - but I dunno if Eight likes 'em or not... Shit, I should've asked."
"Do you want me to?"
"Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great, actually."
Setting the notepad down, Three pulls her phone out from her pocket.
You, 1:14 PM: Hey 8 do you like raspberries?
Eight, 1:15 PM: I think so? Why?
You, 1:15 PM: Pearl wants to know
You, 1:15 PM: How are things there?
Eight, 1:16 PM: Oh okay, then yes, I like them
Eight, 1:16 PM: Four got lost
Eight, 1:16 PM: I'm so sick of this song, Three
Eight, 1:17 PM: I think I'm in Hell
She laughs quietly. "She said yeah," Three tells Pearl, who nods.
You, 1:17 PM: And I cannot control it~! The way your making me feel
Eight, 1:17 PM: Three no
You, 1:17 PM: And you have got me going spinning in circles round your warm ink
Eight, 1:18 PM: Give me one good reason why I shouldn't block you
You, 1:18 PM: My scrambled eggs are somewhat edible
"Lemon... Write down flour anyways, because I don't know if we'll have enough."
Eight, 1:18 PM: ...Fine :( But only because of that
You, 1:18 PM: What not because of my nice ass?
Eight, 1:19 PM: Eh
Eight, 1:19 PM: Four's is nicer
"Shrimp and coconut."
Eight, 1:19 PM: Like obviously I still like you more, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything but
Eight, 1:19 PM: It's... Nice.
You, 1:20 PM: No
You, 1:20 PM: No your right
You, 1:20 PM: Its kind of unfair to be honest
Eight, 1:20 PM: Yeah... She has to be bad at something, right?
"Pineapple."
You, 1:21 PM: She can't cook and can't sing but I'm sure you know the last 1 by now
Eight, 1:21 PM: Gods, do I ever
"What do you need pineapple for?"
"It's nice to have. Oh, write down flatbread and tomato sauce, I don't feel like making my own."
"You're making pizzas?" Three asks. "Won't that be a lot?"
"The leftovers won't go to waste," she replies, and Three accepts her answer. "Oh, and just write down toppings, please? Whenever Reena finishes dismantling her... Whatever, we can go."
Pearl finally closes the drawer and closes the fridge, dusting her hands off. "So, uh..." Pearl sighs. "I guess we wait."
"... Yeah." Three drums her fingers against the oven. "Oh, um... You and Marina are dating, right?"
Pearl nods, taking a seat on the stool. "Yeah. We're not public about it for, uh... Kinda obvious reasons, but... We are, yeah. It hasn't been too long, but... Why?"
"Maybe this is, like... Kinda weird, but... Does your mouth ever get, like, tingly after you kiss?" Pearl blinks and gives Three a look. "No? Okay, sweet."
"What," Pearl deadpans and then shakes her head. "I- What do you mean by tingly?"
"Like... The tingly feeling when your foot's asleep but not totally numb?"
Pearl's brow furrows as she thinks. "... No," she says. "I've never felt that before in my life. Maybe ask Marina about it-" Her voice increases in volume. "- WHENEVER SHE COMES DOWN."
"Sorry!" she hears Marina yell back.
Three rolls her eyes with a small smile. "Alright, I'll... Be sure to ask, I guess."
"And, uh... Sorry if this kinda personal, but... Eight doesn't hurt you, does she?" Pearl asks, voice serious.
What?
"I- No, why?" She narrows her gaze. "Is she supposed to?"
Pearl sighs. "No, it's... I don't know. Fucking Kamabo, man, it... It was really fucked up." Three nods. "And, you know, since she doesn't really remember things from... Before that, we just kinda, like... We worry, yeah? We've been trying to point her in the right direction and, like... Fix that, but... Learning your morals from a death factory, it... It's not the best. And we just want her to be happy, and we don't want her to, like... You know. And... Fuck, I don't even think Eight knows, but Reena's found some shit on... On before, that she doesn't mention, and it- It really explains it all, you know? Or, some of it, and I think, even though her memories are gone, they're not gone, they're just repressed and subconsciously they're still, like, there, and-" Pearl takes a deep breath. "I don't know. Sometimes... I see octolings that flinch or shy away when they see her, and I know she doesn't know why they do, but, like... I know, and... I know they have, or... Or had a reason to, and... We just... We don't want her to turn out to be like that again."
... Oh. That's... That's a lot. "I... See. Um..." Fuck, what does she even... Say? Three doesn't think Eight would really... Hurt her, but... It's nice to know. Maybe..?
"Sorry," Pearl mumbles, rubbing her eye. "You probably shouldn't worry. From what I've seen, she's... Been fine. I think we've done a good job with it all, anyways. At... At least, I hope so."
Three can remember fighting Eight. Or... Fighting not-Eight, because she hadn't fallen yet. She remembers the Captain telling her to be very careful, because Eight was dangerous. Three didn't really understand until Three shot at her.
She moved fast. Much faster than any other octoling she fought beforehand, with unpredictable, sporadic movements. Three remembers her yelling at Three the entire time. She didn't speak the language, but she knew Eight was furious.
There was something strange about her ink, because it burned. It stung and it burned like liquid fire, and every hit Eight landed slowed Three down while each one Three landed barely seemed to affect her.
She remembers Eight's fist crashing into her stomach. She remembers crying out in pain, and she remembers Eight's grin - all edges, all points. She remembers the dizzying blow to the head she got from Eight's elbow, and how the world span around her. She remembers Eight's claws digging into her neck as she strangled her and how each frantic scratch at Eight's face barely seemed to faze her.
Three remembers Eight's laugh, as harsh and as sharp and as terrifying as her smile.
"You lose," she breathed, and Three distantly recalls seeing the light of the Captain's Bamboozler lining up with Eight's temple.
Three's lucky the ground gave out when it did, because she doesn't think she would have lived.
Her head hurts.
"Yeah," Three breathes, digging her nails into her palm. "Yeah, I- I think you've done alright with it."
"Did..." Pearl's voice is small, smaller than it should be. "Did you know Eight from before?"
She nods. "It... It wasn't pretty." Three clears her throat and slightly shakes her head. "Yeah, uh, anyways, um... You... Have you been making any new music, or..?"
Pearl doesn't question the sudden change in subject. "Eh. I've got some lyrics I've been writing, but it's not quite right yet. I don't think we'll produce another song this yeah, but... Why, do you like our stuff?"
"I'm more of a rock fan myself," Three mumbles, hand moving to behind her ear to mess with her gill piercings. "Wetallica, Led Submarine, y'know."
"Shit, you listen to Wetallica, too? They're so much better than Wet Korn, right?" Three nods. "God, whenever I get a chance, I'll show you my albums. They sound so fucking good on vinyl, man. What's your favourite song?"
"Oh, definitely Battery." Pearl grins, nodding. "But Whiplash isn't bad, either. All their songs kinda fuck, you know?"
"Hell yeah, do I know!" She air-guitars the opening riff while poorly mocking the guitar. "LASHING OUT THE ACTION, RETURNING THE REACTION, WEAK ARE RIPPED AND TORN! A! WAY!" She meets Three's gaze with a doggish grin. Yeah, fuck it.
"Hypnotizing power, crushing all that cower! Battery is here to stay!" Three sings, and she's not really that great at it, like, at all, but who the hell cares? Four isn't here to give her shit and Pearl is literally the only Wetallica enthusiast she's found in like, close to nineteen years of living, besides that one guy that was in her history class in ninth grade whose name she can't remember.
"SMASHING THROUGH THE BOUNDARIES-" "- Lunacy has found me!" "CANNOT STOP THE BAT-TER-RY!" At that, both of them begin aggressively air-guitaring while shittily imitating the guitars.
"What," says Marina, "Are you two doing?"
They stop mid-air-guitar. Three drops her arms immediately and leans back against the oven and pretends she never did anything in the first place.
"We're bonding, Reena," Pearl says in the "it's obvious" tone. "Did you finally dismantle your... Thing?"
Marina nods, holding up a few pieces of metal. "Yeah, I did! I'll fix it when we get back, though... I don't want to hold you guys up any longer."
"Right, right," Pearl replies, brushing a tentacle out of her face. "Three, you have the list, right?" She holds it up and shakes it a little. "Nice! Yeah, okay, then I guess we're good. Reena, are you driving?"
Setting down the microwave parts, Marina holds up a set of keys and jingles them. "Mhm! But... I'm guessing you want control of the radio, right?"
"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaase?" Pearl asks, batting her eyes. Marina laughs.
"Fine, but next you drive, it's mine."
Pearl pumps her fist in the air. "Yesssssssssssssssss! Three, we're listening to the entire Wetallica discography. You know all the lyrics, right?"
"Uh, fucking obviously?" Pearl cackles as she hops off the chair.
"Nice! Yeah, yeah, let's go!"
Marina rolls her eyes without a melodramatic oomph, which is honestly a lot rarer than Three thought it'd be. "You two are... Really something, huh?"
"You know it!" Pearl shoots back.
Maybe today won't suck as much as Three thought it would.
sorry for the wait!