Four clutched the collar of the light jacket she was wearing as a gust of wind whipped across the sidewalk. She was still accustomed to the warmth of summer and wasn't yet adapted to the cold. Spending two weeks at a tropical island resort a short while ago hadn't helped her acclimation.

"Suck it up, Agent 4." She mumbled to herself. "It's going to get a lot colder than this."

It was a relief that the highrise building she was heading for was already in view. It's many large windows reflected the morning sun, and the arrangement of its large balconies reminded four of a stepladder. Her eyes focused on the top ones, trying to remember which one belonged to the right penthouse until she got so close she was having to crane her neck.

Someone exiting the building ahead of her gave her suspicious look as she passed. With her weathered jacket and tattered backpack, she probably didn't look like the sort of person who belonged at a building with residents that made six-figure salaries at a minimum.

Four ignored them and pushed through the door into the vestibule. This was as far as she could go on her own.

The guards inside looked up from their cell phones or newspapers and eyed her. She didn't blame them; it was their job to be suspicious of people like her, given the clientele they were protecting.

Four reached for the number pad on the wall and dialed a memorized four digit number. A ringing sound came from the speaker next to the pad and Four waited. On the fourth ring, someone answered.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Eight. Wanna let me in?"

"Of course. Please come in."

There was the sound of beeping followed by a buzzing noise. Four quickly reached for the inside door and it opened with no trouble. From there, she had to sign her name on a sheet at the guard office then went to the elevator. A couple minutes later Eight was welcoming her into Pearl and Marina's penthouse.

The octoling was wearing her maid uniform, the one she had gotten at the fancy designer house, the same place Marie had gotten Four her beautiful dress.

Four gritted her beak as bitter memories surfaced. She banished them by summoning more pleasant memories, like Marie's warm hugs, her honey sweet voice, and wonderful smell. It helped.

"I am happy you could come. It has been rather lonely here recently."

Snapped back to reality, Four hurriedly forced a smile. "I bet. It's tough when your family has to be away for work all the time."

She removed her shoes and jacket then carried her backpack into the living room. Eight wandered towards the penthouse hallway.

"The console is in the entertainment unit on the third shelf from the bottom. I just have a couple of things I need to finish up and then I will be finished."

"Sounds good. It'll probably take me that long to get things set up anyway."

Eight disappeared down the corridor while Four knelt in front of the entertainment system, carefully pulling out the game console and checking the cables. She moved behind the TV and made sure the red, yellow, and white cables were in their matching sockets.

It was a relatively simple matter to move on from there. She took her game out of her bag and put in the disc then her memory card. The great thing about this particular console model was that you didn't have to set up a profile first, you just plugged in and played.

Eight returned a few moments later, the game booted up and Four having finally found the right input channel on the TV remote.

"I haven't tried playing co-op in this game before. You're actually kinda' helping me out here."

"I am happy to help." Eight sat next to her and Four gave her a quick look up and down.

"You're really filling out that uniform now, eh?" She grinned and gave her a playful shove.

Eight blushed. "Ma-Marina tells me that I should stop swelling soon. Apparently, this is what I am supposed to look like."

"Well, you look good. I heard that you and Three had a long sparring bout yesterday. I bet she was lookin' you over the whole time."

Eight chuckled nervously, blushing deeper as she fiddled with the ends of her front tentacles. "Well, I do not think we are at such a stage."

"There's no stage," Four said. "If she's not ogling you now, she just has to start seeing through her own thick head first and then her eyes'll be all over you."

Eight arched an eyebrow. "Is that something a junior should be saying about her senior?"

Four lifted a finger. "But she's also my sister now, and that means I get to tease her and provide my own constructive criticism on how she acts, because I love her."

"That and you enjoy it, yes?"

Four grinned. "Of course. Three teases me back, so it's okay."

"She does?" Eight raised an eyebrow. "She is normally so serious around you."

"Only because she thinks she has to act all responsible and junk. You know, be the example. She's a job first kinda' girl."

"Ah…" Eight nodded. "I suppose the... um, transition from working relationship to personal one is not always smooth. Ah!"

Four raised an eyebrow. Eight's eyes were suddenly wide and her mouth was open, as if in revelation.

"What?"

"I think I may have just realized one of the reasons that my relationship with Three has hit a wall, of sorts. I have been trying various romantic things- for example, I made her lunch yesterday, but nothing really seems to be changing. Is it because she has difficulty seeing me as something other than a comrade or colleague?"

Four frowned and rubbed her thumb over one of her suckers thoughtfully. That kind of thing did sound like Three. She was a girl who tended to see things in black and white with not much grey, at least from what Four had observed.

"Maybe, but you were already her friend. I figured that after everything you'd been through together, you'd have crossed that threshold."

Eight sighed and leaned back into the couch. "I am honestly not certain. She is still something of an enigma to me. Distant and mysterious." Then she smiled. "But she is trying."

"Oh?" Four leaned towards her keenly. "That sounds like something good happened."

Eight giggled like a little girl. "She complimented me yesterday. Not only did she say my lunch was good, but, before she left, she told me that I was already a better girlfriend than she would ever be."

Four's eyes widened. "Wow. I mean, I get the compliment about the lunch, that's basically her being polite, but that last one - that's a pretty big deal for Three."

Eight nodded eagerly, her tentacles flapping happily. "Yes, it took me by surprise. I do not think it changes anything, but I do think Three is slowly becoming more comfortable with me."

Four shrugged and started navigating through the menus to get them playing the game. "No idea. Callie and Marie are the only ones who really understand her. It's kinda scary how loose she gets with them but how stiff she is with everyone else."

"Loose?"

"Um… relaxed, chill, uh… normal? Basically, she acts like most people act around their friends."

Eight shrugged with her tentacles. "Well, for the Squid Sisters, this does not surprise me."

"I guess, but it does mean that Three is at least capable of acting normal. Maybe it's just some kind of state of mind she reverts to - oh, choose your character here."

"Oh, which one should I pick?"

"Whichever one you like the look of. They pretty much play the same for the first couple of levels anyway."

"I see. Um, back to what you were saying before, why do you think Three reverts to that state of mind and does not simply stay like that all the time?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's how she deals with the job. She's been doing it longer than I have and...well, we both saw that Three isn't exactly bloodthirsty, even when she's seriously mad, she doesn't view life cheap." She doubted anyone who had been there that night and saw Three spare the single person who had offended her most, who had hurt her the deepest, would assume otherwise.

"That is true." Eight agreed, smiling. "I think it was the moment I truly fell in love with her."

"I still think you're crazy for falling for someone like her," Four said, nudging her again as the game began. "Never really saw her as girlfriend material, and you're not exactly having an easy time of it."

Eight grinned. "I surpassed many challenges in the metro for a nebulous goal of a 'promised land', which turned out to be a lie, even if I did eventually reach it. For the goal of having a partner in love as great as Three, I feel very motivated. I don't have to worry about getting splatted if I break the rules or fail either."

Four glanced sideways at her, barely paying attention to the screen. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about what Eight just said bothered her. Was it the actual content, the odd tone of voice behind it? It did sound perhaps a tiny bit forced.

"So… are you saying that Three being so difficult to crack is part of the fun?"

"Perhaps, or I simply know that I will appreciate her far more if the effort is greater."

Four shook her head. "You're too good for her, Eight. You deserve some rich hunk for a husband and someone of Callie and Marie's quality for a bondmate."

Eight laughed. "Be fortunate she is not actually my girlfriend at the moment, Four. I believe that, by your own customs, I would be required to defend Three's honor otherwise."

Four laughed back. "That's old stuff guys still like to spout to seem macho. Nothing usually happens - hey! Don't kill my character; we're on the same team!"

Eight shrugged unapologetically and Four couldn't help but grin in spite of it all.

"You're definitely too good for Three. I might try to steal you from her myself."

"I will keep that in mind. In the meantime, kindly help me with these monsters."

"Can't help you until I respawn. This is a video game. It doesn't necessarily happen as fast as it does in turf war. Good thing you like a challenge huh?"

Eight sighed, as her character succumbed to the mob of enemies on screen and a large FAIL flashed on-screen.

"Sometimes, to my cost."

Four laughed. "Well, we'll just have to make sure Three works out better. And, as long as you're aiming for her, you know I'll help."

Eight twirled the tip of one of her tentacles around her finger as the game reloaded. "Navigating and learning about Inkling customs is the real puzzle right now. If I push too hard or take things out of order I might end up pushing Three away."

Four tilted her head. "I don't think it's too complicated, but then, I guess I was raised with it. Maybe it actually is complicated and I never realized it." Her fingers started rapidly manipulating the controller as the game began again. "I honestly never thought about what other species might think of us. I just know the stereotypes they use."

"It is far more complicated than it is for Octarians, that is certainly true, but then, we do not have the concept of the White Lily either."

"Yeah, but Three is like a guy in a lot of ways, so maybe that's something in your favour."

Eight hummed. "Perhaps, but I would not know how to exploit that."

Four laughed. "I've never dated a guy so I wouldn't know either. Just know that I'll be here to help ya' if ya' need a hand."

Eight nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Tani."

"That's what besties are for. Now help me with these monsters."

—

"Come on in, Three. Glad you could come early."

Callie moved out of the way and Three came inside the Squid Sister's home. Callie's casual demeanor helped alleviate the anticipation she felt. Callie and Marie had often called on her to visit their house to discuss things. Usually it was related to agent work, something private, or Squid Sisters related. She hoped it was the latter. Callie had been sending her on recon deep into Octo Canyon to find a reasonably secure route to an Octarian prison, but the idea of a jailbreak deep in enemy territory made her nervous.

Marie was already seated at the kitchen table, which led Three to believe they would be discussing Squid Sisters business. Had it been something less serious, they would have sat in the living room.

The table was round so it didn't matter where she sat. She took a seat at Marie's left, greeting her with warm orange-yellow in her mantle which Marie returned, a gentle smile on her lips despite the seriousness in her eyes.

Callie sat down a moment later. "So, how is your iya, Three? She doing okay?"

"The usual symptoms. She's still not sleeping well and she's upset that her clothes aren't fitting right any more. She says it doesn't make sense since my mother didn't start outgrowing her clothes until she started showing."

Marie chuckled softly. "I bet she wishes she could just lay the eggs and let them grow on their own."

"I remember Daddy showing me pictures of what squid egg clutches used to look like," Callie said. "They look like underwater mops or something. I wonder when we started keeping them inside for most of their development."

"Most likely when we started living on land," Marie said. "We still generally lay our eggs in water. It might just be because our bodies became more complex." She waved her hand. "Anyway, we're glad to hear she's doing okay, Three, but that's not the reason we called you here."

Three pulsed green. I know.

Callie placed her hand on top of Marie's and the two cousins shared a look and Three's mind went all sorts of odd and even unpleasant places as she tried to guess what it was they were about to reveal or ask.

"Three," Callie said gently. "Marie and I are nineteen; we're going to be legally adults soon, and that means we're going to lose a lot of the protection society gives us."

"Like from official marriage proposals," Marie sighed. "And certain types of photos and articles paparazzi weren't allowed to publish before but will soon be able to."

Three felt a sick twisted knot in her gut. She held a special kind of hatred for people who invaded the personal lives of others for a quick buck. She got a certain sadistic satisfaction from being rough with them. But Callie and Marie were referring to the privacy laws that protected pre-adults. Without them, things were going to be much tougher and likely interfere with their duties as agents too.

She reached across the table and grasped both their hands. "What can I do?"

They smiled back at her, squeezing her hands in return, then Marie spoke.

"Cortina, we would like you to be our full time bodyguard."

Three suspected as much. Fully certified, she had already done it on occasion, and at sixteen, she could work a proper job now too.

Before Three could turn her mantle a bright accepting green, Marie and Callie both turned their mantles a solid red tone that said "hold."

"Before you accept," Marie continued. "You need to hear all of the conditions."

Three frowned. Conditions?

"To be our full time bodyguard, you will have to move out of your home and live here, with us."

Three felt her stomach drop and her mantle turned pale with splotches of dark red. "L-leave my family?"

"It would be too impractical to have you commute," Marie explained. "And we need someone here with us, someone who can always follow us around wherever we go if we need them to."

"Which we won't," Callie hastened to add. "At least, not most of the time. You'll have to come with us on tour or for international trips and the like, vacations, but you'll still be able to have a personal life." She gave her a wink and Three knew she meant Eight.

"You'll also get a pay raise," Marie said. "And you'll be able to eat Callie's cooking more often, which we know you love." She grinned and Three blushed. She really did love Callie's cooking and baking.

"Speaking of which, I made cookies!" Callie got up and ran to the kitchen, and when she came back, Three found herself staring down at a plate of a dozen shortbread cookies, her favourite.

She looked up at the two with a raised eyebrow, her mantle a suspicious yellow. "Are you bribing me?"

"Maybe a little," Callie replied with a shameless smile.

Three's mantle pulsed blue and Marie's mantle showed spots of dark purple: regret.

"Three," she said, her voice soft once more. "We need you. We trust you as much as we do each other, you already know most of our secrets already and we don't think we could bring anyone else in like we could you, and honestly, we're scared."

That was like a knife to the gut. Three could feel it twisting with every word Marie said, and her own chest felt tight. Something about that feeling Marie expressed felt uncomfortably familiar. Maybe it was similar to the way she felt about how her own life was due to change with the coming of her new siblings. Or perhaps it was similar to how she felt back when the weight of her duty as an agent had truly dawned on her, back when Callie and Marie had been little more than strangers.

Still staring down at the cookies, she replied, "I want to, I really do, it's just… my iya, two siblings on the way, and my dad working so much…"

"We know," Callie replied gently. "We know it feels like you're abandoning them but we didn't think it would be right if we didn't tell you exactly how we felt. We owe you nothing less than the total truth, Three."

"And I'm sure we could promise to let you be there for when the big day comes," Marie added. "And give you leave to babysit them from time to time."

"I-I know." Three assured them. "I know you wouldn't force me to leave them completely. It's just… a lot to think about."

"We know." Callie repeated. "The idea of moving out of home was pretty scary for us too, and we didn't have to worry about little brothers or sisters on the way. That's why we're telling you this now, so you have lots of time to think about it."

"And do take your time to really think about it," Marie said. "There's no rush. We want you to be comfortable with your decision. Whichever you choose, it won't change the way we see you."

"Maybe not," Three said. "But I bet it would change how I see myself."

Callie and Marie both frowned and looked at each other, then back at her.

"Three, is something wrong?" Callie asked.

Three shook her head. "I don't know. I think I'm just dealing with a lot of things at once."

"Want to talk about it?"

Three flashed red. "No, I can't even put it into words anyway. Maybe… maybe when I figure some more things out."

Callie pulsed grey, the tuk'yan equivalent of a shrug then gently pushed the plate of cookies closer. "Take a cookie. I promise it'll make you feel better."

Three managed a small smile and took one. She was right, it did help her feel a tiny bit better. If only everything in life could be solved by cookies.

Author's Notes:

I'm sure a lot of us wish that some problems could be solved just by cookies. Not a lot of romance in this chapter, but now we are starting to be introduced to the conflicts that will be weighing on our characters. Growing up is tough. Fortunately, there are friends to help them out. Will it be enough? You'll have to stay tuned to see more.