Three stood next to a mastlight, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. She didn't lean against it, not wanting to dirty the clothes she had chosen for her first real date. Nothing fancy, just her best fitting t-shirt, but she did mix it up a little by wearing a short skirt over black tights. Save for her running shoes, none were useful for turf war, and she hoped that quality was enough to show Eight that she did care enough to put in some effort. She was even wearing mantle gloss.
The sun was high and bright, providing Inkopolis with the warmest day of the month and possibly the last warm day before Autumn took firm hold. This was obvious from the crowd, as Wahoo World was even busier than normal. From her position between the entrance pathway and the parking lot she got a good view of the crowd and the long queues to get in. Still, it wasn't as bad as Inkopolis Square on weekends.
Three looked at the analog clock at the entrance. It was nearly ten o'clock, the time she and Eight had arranged to meet. Originally, Three had wanted to come earlier and miss some of the initial crowd but Eight had explained she needed the extra time in the morning to finish some of her chores. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Eight had a job.
Her right ear twitched as she heard rapid footsteps approaching. She turned her head and Eight slowed to a stop in front of her. "I am sorry to have kept you waiting," she said, panting a little. "Chores took longer than expected."
Three took a second to look Eight up and down. She was dressed in a cropped, fiery red top that was almost like a jacket. It left her shoulders and collar exposed. It had small sleeves that were more like hoops for her arms and the rest of the top was held in place by a pair of shoulder straps the way it held firm to her chest. Below that she wore tight-fitting jeans and her familiar turf war sneakers.
Three knew virtually nothing about dating and had almost no experience at all, but she had heard Callie and Marie complain plenty of times about their own experiences. Thus, she knew what it was she was supposed to do at this moment.
"It's okay. Um… you look… cute. It's a… nice outfit." She wasn't just saying that either, it was a very nice outfit and quite pleasing to the eyes.
Eight blinked and appeared stunned for a moment before her face warmed and her front two tentacles parted and drew back before returning to their natural position. "Thank you."
Three's hearts skipped and she turned her head away, heat rising to her cheeks. "S-sure. So, let's go."
They walked together to the entrance and stood in line. In front of them was a male and female couple. Three observed the girl constantly rubbing her hip and rear against her date, who smiled back at her big enough but even Three could tell that smile was forced. Seriously, girl, calm down. She honestly felt sorry for the poor guy and wondered if this was some kind of pity date.
She looked to her right and noticed that Eight was also observing them. Three grabbed onto the back of Eight's head with her tentacle and pulled her close to whisper to her in Octese.
"Don't do that. That girl's coming on way too strong and that guy isn't as happy as he looks." She saw Eight's cheeks warm. She had clearly been thinking about it.
"Understood."
Eventually, their turn came up and Three stopped Eight when she reached for her wallet. "I'll pay." She stepped up to the window and held up two fingers. "Two full-day passes, please."
The purple jellyfish behind the window placed two light-blue bands on the counter and rang up the till. "Two-hundred gees please."
Three winced. That was more expensive than she thought it would be, and she heard Eight hiss air through her beak, clearly having a similar reaction. That amount would be a decent down payment on a new weapon.
Three pulsed grey and took out her credit card. She rarely used it but it was useful for large purchases like this.
Their bands paid for, they moved up and then slipped the bands on their wrists. She did note some apprehension on Eight's part. She had worn similar bands back in the Metro, if Three recalled correctly.
Three took her hand and pulled her gently. "Don't worry. This place will ink over those old memories."
Eight felt her hearts flutter as Three took her hand. How had Three known what she was thinking? Three was so cool it was hard to imagine she would be bothered by such trivialities as the medical bands she had worn in the metro. She had forgotten how liberating it felt to finally remove them after arriving in Inkopolis.
She let Three lead her through the covered entranceway. When they stepped out into the sunlight, all dark memories of her past were banished instantly.
Eight had purposefully avoided looking up too much information about Wahoo World so that she could experience the full wonder of being there for the first time. She had turf warred in Wahoo World, technically, but the turf arena was somewhat isolated from the rest of the park, so she was not quite prepared for the sheer amount of activity around her.
Rides like the roller coaster and Ferris wheel were things she had only seen from a distance. Now that she was up close, she saw how big they really were. The Ferris wheel was nearly as tall as Pearl and Marina's whole condo building and the roller coaster was nearly as tall as that, at least a dozen stories on its own, before descending down twists and turns at high speed. Just the sight of it made her stomach lurch but she couldn't wait to ride it.
The biggest thing, however, was the atmosphere. The bustling crowds, the noise of people and machines; there was even music playing from hidden speakers. Everyone was trying to enjoy this last lovely day before things got too cold. Eight didn't know where to begin.
"You want to go on some rides or look around first?" Three asked her. "I mean, I guess we can do both at once, but-."
"Let's do that!" Eight shouted excitedly. She couldn't help but bounce a little on the balls of her feet. Three didn't smile but she did start leading her deeper into the park and Eight couldn't wait to see where she would lead her first.
The first ride Three took her to was an umbrella-shaped machine with rows of seats dangling from the underside of the canopy. As the machine spun the seats were pushed outwards, or rather, inertia forced them there. Three described it as a warmup ride.
For Eight, it was a wonderful feeling. It almost felt like flying and she wished for a version that would let her lie on her stomach for an even more visceral experience.
Once that ride was over, Three took her to a ride called "Scrambled Eggs 1", a device with Three arms spouting from a stout central axle, each with a vertical axle with three seats sticking out sideways and rotating around it. Each axle spun, creating a sense of rapidly speeding up and slowing down. But, since it was constantly spinning, the person on the outside got crushed by anyone on the inside and Three insisted that she be the one in that position. Eight couldn't decide whether the ride or being crushed against Three was more thrilling.
As they explored the park and ride after ride, Eight was understanding the logic behind the armbands. It was a free pass to as many rides as they could get in a day, which, if one rode enough, was cheaper than paying for each individual ride or for the equivalent number of tickets.
After coming off a Swinging Ship and a Log Flume, among many other rides, Eight started to feel hungry and suggested taking a break for lunch. Three said that it was unwise to have lunch and then go on the especially intense rides, because you risked vomiting that much more. Eight didn't want to go through that if she could help it so decided to wait until she at least rode the roller coaster.
The queue for the roller coaster was long, probably the longest of any ride in the park. People in mascot suits tried to keep those waiting entertained as they waited but it was still almost an hour before they were finally able to mount the ride.
They were second in line but the two people in front of them went right for the back of the train, while Three guided them towards the front. For Eight, climbing into the roller coaster car felt almost like getting on a little train. They were following a similar principle after all: cars on a metal track.
"The front has a better view but the back is more intense," Three explained.
Eight didn't reply. She was too excited, wondering what was going to happen, what it would feel like. She knew it was fast and heard they could be scary, but she didn't care. Surely it couldn't be that bad, not after what she had been through.
In spite of those feelings, when the restraints came down and the train started to move, she started to feel anxious. A part of her realized she was now trapped. There was no escape, she had to ride it on to the end.
As the train began its ascent up the steep incline to the top of a long drop, she grabbed onto Three's arm tightly.
"Hold onto the restraints," Three told her, speaking up to be heard over the clanking noise of the chain pulling their train up the hill. Eight compromised by grabbing the restraints with one hand and keeping hold of Three with the other.
They reached the top and the nose of their car rolled over the top. Eight saw the bottom of the hill and felt her stomach plummet when she realized how far down it was. A second later, the rest of her followed.
Three stayed close behind Eight as the octoling staggered away from the roller coaster and into the nearby gift shop. She soon stopped and held herself against the wall, visibly shaking, probably from an excess of adrenaline. Wahoo World's roller coaster was intense even for regulars; probably a lot for someone new to coasters to handle.
"You okay?" She asked quietly.
Eight nodded. Three was relieved to see her smiling. "That was amazing! I do not think I will ever forget this experience as long as I live."
Three remembered her first time on a roller coaster, her mother sneaking her past an inattentive operator because she wasn't tall enough for the ride. The memory brought a small smile to her lips, even the part where her iya became furious with her bondmate for that reckless action.
Eight pointed to a small kiosk where they were selling people prints of on-ride photos, and even frames. "I want one. I should make sure to get a digital one too so that I can share it with Pearl and Marina and Four."
"No," Three said hastily. Eight gave her an odd look, prompting Three to explain. "They send you the photo through your email. But now they have your email address which means you'll get sent ads all the time. Spam."
"Oh…" Eight's voice trailed off. "Well, between the two, I would rather have the print anyway. Thank you, Three."
Three pulsed grey. "It's fine."
Five minutes later, they had their ticket to retrieve the print. They would pick it up when they left. After all, they didn't want to be carrying around a fragile photo while they went on rides.
They dodged puddles of vomit on the pathway beyond the roller coaster and Three found herself glaring at the handyman uselessly cutting grass nearby when there was puke to clean off the paths.
From there, she suggested they take the train to the food court. It would give Eight's stomach and nerves a chance to settle after the roller coaster and she would be able to see other parts of the park. Eight agreed eagerly and minutes later they were sitting side by side in the scaled-down faux-steam train. The seats were wide enough for three people but Eight seemed determined to stay close. Three generally preferred her personal space, and that nagging twisting feeling was now rearing its very ugly and unwelcome head.
She's not used to this. She needs me to be with her because she'll be nervous otherwise. She needs my support. She trusts me. That was the excuse she told herself to not push Eight away and abate the nagging feeling somewhat.
After they disembarked from the train they headed towards the food court. The myriad of smells wafting into their nostrils from what was clearly one of the busiest parts of Wahoo World. Not far away was the turf war arena, no doubt also quite busy with the warm weather.
Three stopped when she felt a tug at her arm. She turned her head and found Eight standing very close to her, their faces barely forty centimeters apart. She looked at her with big earnest eyes, cheeks lightly flushed.
What is she doing? Is she going to do or say something? Out here? In front of everyone? Three looked around rapidly, taking note of all the people around. Nobody was looking at them but that would soon change if they made a scene.
"Three," Eight whispered.
She swallowed. "Wha-what?"
"I… need to use the washroom."
Three felt all the tension in her body release, like someone letting go of a party balloon. Idiot, getting worked up for nothing. What's wrong with you?
"Over there." Three thrust her chin out towards the squat building on the edge of the food court, just a short distance away. "I'll wait here for you."
Eight nodded and hurried off to the building while Three folded her arms and waited.
It wasn't the most ideal place to stand, but with the bathroom so close to the main thoroughfare of foot traffic it was difficult to avoid people. Every time a ride ended and people got off there was a brief influx of people and Three soon found herself caught at the edge of two such influxes converging and dodging around each other.
Three dodged one person, only to brush against another going the opposite direction and tried to get out of the crowd. Then someone slammed into her particularly roughly and Three cursed silently as she staggered away, quickly regaining her balance and turning around to see who had bumped into her so hard, she found her hearts stopping.
Her eyes beheld an octoling with yellow tentacles. She was older than Eight by at least two years and her light blue eyes were still, as if she had frozen mid-thought. But Three recognized her face, stirring the bitter memory from the back of her mind when she had shoved an octoling off on a tower control match. It was the same girl.
The octoling's eyes focused on her and went wide as saucers. Her tentacles seemed to shrivel and the colour drained from her face. Three wasn't unaccustomed to this reaction, it was typical for octolings to react this way to her. It always gave her time to act first.
Her right hand reached for her hero shot but it clawed only air. Of course, she wasn't on the battlefield, she was in the middle of Wahoo World, surrounded by people - her people, and she was wearing her natural colour. And, this octoling recognized her.
Barnacles. She cursed.
The octoling started to cry, her legs buckling beneath her until she collapsed to the ground, leaning away. "P-p-please…. Please don't," she croaked through tears.
Three's mantle turned yellow with a mix of puzzlement and panic. The girl was going to make a scene at this rate. Already people were stopping and looking on with concern. They were holding off involvement for fear of intruding, for now, but if things kept going that would probably change. She needed to stop things from getting out of hand.
"Calm down," she said, but her voice came out weak and soft, barely audible to her own ears over the tumult of the theme park. Get it together, she chided herself. This isn't a time to be breaking, this'll be trouble if it's not handled quickly!
The octoling held up an outstretched hand between them, shuffling fearfully away as she started to chant.
"Don't hurt me, please. I'll be good, I'll be good."
Three grunted. "Listen, I'm not-." Suddenly, she saw Eight's image laid overtop that of the octoling on the ground. Amber eyes full of terror, her tentacles pale and shriveled with submission and fear, just like in her nightmares.
Three felt her knees go weak, threatening to give out beneath her; her breath became short and her hearts began beating rapidly. She felt a chill, like icy claws on her shoulders, and her mantle darkened. It was like one of her nightmares being made manifest, only worse because she was being exposed in front of one of the busiest places in Inkopolis.
She had to do something, she needed to think, but her mind was such a storm of thoughts and emotions that she was in a borderline panic. Should she run? No, if she just left things like this it would leave lingering questions, and suppose the octoling told everyone what and who she was, the NSS could be ruined. She wished Callie or Marie were there. Somehow they always knew what to do.
Come on you idiot, think, do something, anything!
"Three!"
Three was yanked from her whirlwind of inner thoughts and mild panic, and nearly screamed when she saw a familiar pair of amber eyes in front of her face and took a step back.
Eight stood between her and the other octoling girl who had finally fallen silent. She looked at her worriedly, tentacles curled inwardly.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
Three's breathing was still rapid, and her skin felt warm. She could only imagine what she looked like to everyone else. She managed a green flash, feeling too breathless to speak. Seeing that, Eight then whirled on the octoling girl on the ground and stomped towards her.
"Get up!" Eight snapped at her in Octese. "What are you doing? Is this how your splatoon was trained? Deal with adversity by writhing and sniveling on the ground like a worm on a skillet?"
Eight grabbed the girl's outstretched hand and hauled her roughly to her feet. From there, Eight spoke so quickly and sharply that Three could barely understand a word. Honestly, she was a little stunned. She had never seen or heard Eight speak so harshly or seen her so angry.
She flinched a little as she felt someone gently lay a hand on her head. She looked to the right to see an Inkyora of about forty standing next to her smiling gently with concerned eyes, her mantle a soothing blue colour.
Another inkyora about ten years younger appeared on the other side of her, and the two began gently stroking her mantle and tentacles. Combined with their blue hue, it was exactly the soothing sensation Three needed to gather her wits.
The other spectators seemed to be breaking up, a few staying to watch the spirited, if one-sided, interaction between the two octolings. They were still a novelty to most people in Inkopolis and seeing two of them interacting like this was bound to attract some interest. For Three, it felt like Eight had just defused a bomb.
Eight soon calmed but she kept her arms crossed, her tentacles curled irately as the other octoling girl finally began to speak. Three couldn't hear what was said and she couldn't read her lips, but she seemed to have recovered a little, more bewildered than afraid now.
Once Three had finally calmed, she displayed a gentle green of thanks and the two inkyora released her, each giving her an affectionate pat on the head before they left and went about their business. The older one returned to a pair of impatient looking children and a somewhat concerned inkyar of the same age.
Three returned her gaze to the octolings just in time to see Eight hand the other girl what appeared to be a business card. Eight then leaned in to whisper something to her that made the other girl pale slightly before she nodded and scurried off.
Eight sighed then returned her attention to Three, eyes full of concern. She walked up to her and looked right into her eyes.
"Are you alright?"
Three felt knives of guilt, humiliation, and indignity stab into her gut. She was the one supposed to be asking that question. The idea she needed rescuing from such a silly situation was enough to give her ego a serious pounding. She had been like a little girl that had scraped her knee and been wailing, waiting for someone-anyone, to come and help make the boo-boos go away. The comparison filled her with self-loathing and bitterness.
She simply flashed green and Eight seemed to accept that. "It seems rather crowded here. Perhaps we should try another ride and wait for the food court to clear up a bit before trying to get some food."
That suited Three just fine. Getting food would just mean standing in line for ages together and then sitting together eating, awkward conversation and silence the whole time. Going on a ride would at least occupy them both for a time, hopefully, long enough for Three to mentally pick herself off the ground.
Wahoo World's Ferris wheel was one of Inkopolis' famous landmarks. Although she had seen many taller and more complex structures, Eight still found it impressive and yet more proof that Inklings, if they applied themselves, were capable of superb examples of engineering. She wondered what kind of view they would have at the top.
"Have you ever ridden on this before?" She asked her inkling companion, but Three only responded with a simple green flash.
Ever since that odd incident with the other octoling, Three's expression had been dark and moody; and she hadn't spoken since.
Eight's beak clenched with frustration. Things had been going so well. Three had invited her here, had been talking with her, they had been having fun on rides together. Now, after that incident, she had relapsed back into aloofness and silence.
She knew it couldn't be all her fault. It was perfectly understandable that she would be upset with what happened, but why did she have to be given the cold shoulder? Couldn't she confide and relax with her just a little? It wasn't as if it was her fault, was it? If it was, she would appreciate it if Three would actually tell her how.
Eight's resentment abated somewhat when, at last, they came next in line and the ride operator opened the plexiglass oval pod to let them inside.
It was just tall enough to let them stand up straight with bench seats on either side just long enough for two people to sit side by side or across from each other.
The door clicked shut and the two of them sat down on the same bench facing the inside of the Ferris wheel as it moved to bring the next pod into the station.
Time stretched as their pod gradually moved higher and higher. The silence grew more and more awkward and unbearable with every minute.
Eight glanced over at Three, but the inkling's mood didn't appear to have improved. She sat hunched over with her arms folded over her legs, eyes focused inwardly.
She's acting like I'm not even here. Eight could feel a bubble of anger rising in her but she suppressed it. The incident had started while she was still using the bathroom so maybe there was more to what happened than it seemed. I won't know unless I ask, I guess.
Eight forced herself to appear as collected as possible, taking a deep breath to help calm herself. The frustration simmering inside her refused to be ignored but, for now, she managed to keep it just beneath the surface. Barely.
"Three," she began gently. "I don't know exactly what happened with that girl, but I'm sure it would help to talk about it. You know you can talk to me about anything."
Three moved her arms slightly, and Eight thought she could see movement behind her crimson eyes. Three bit her bottom lip and seemed as though she might speak, but then she let her lip go and turned away, her back sagging even further.
Eight's bubble of frustration, anger, and impatience finally surfaced and then popped. She leaped to her feet, jostling the pod and making Three flinch away at the sudden movement. Eight glared down at her, fists clenched, beak bared, and eyes burning amber fire.
"Why do you always brush me off?" She shouted furiously! "Almost every time I try to help you, every time I try to get you to open up and reveal your problems to me, you turn me away like that. Am I not good enough for you? Did the high and mighty Agent 3 just not have the guts to turn me down properly and decided to string me along by throwing me some chum every now and then?"
Three stared back at her, open-mouthed, her mantle a storm of bright oranges, reds, and dark yellows. "What? No, I-I just didn't want to-."
"Just didn't want to talk about it," Eight finished for her. Her tone was scathingly sarcastic. "You never want to talk about it. I do not mind that you are quiet or never talk, but you barely communicate with me at all! The other day, we had so much fun, you were even talking to me. Now you clam up because of some random octoling and it is ruining our date, a date you asked me out on, but you are acting like it is somehow my fault that things are going wrong."
Three's mantle flared red and she too jumped to her feet, standing to face Eight square on, her crimson eyes blazing with equal intensity. "You don't know what it's like to have people thinking you're a monster. I told you before that I didn't want to be treated like one in my own city! Some random octoling bumps into me, recognizes who I am just when I'm trying to have my first date, and suddenly everyone's looking at me like I'm some kind of freak, wondering what could have made a girl like that almost spontaneously splat just looking at me."
She inched closer, her face blue with fury, but Eight didn't budge. "Do you have any idea what it's like to go through life always worried someone is going to uncover your secrets, find out things you've really done, discover what a monster you are? With every new octolings that comes to Inkopolis I have to worry about another one recognizing me and freaking out, and every time that happens is a chance for Inkopolis to find out exactly who and what I am and what I've done."
"You freed hundreds of us!"
"And do you think that makes up for the hundreds that I've killed? The hundreds I'll probably kill in the future? Do you know what happened when that girl ran into me? She was on the ground, looking at me, terrified, pleading for her life, and the first thing I did was reach for my gun!" Three's body shuddered and Eight's expression softened as she thought she saw tears glistening at the corners of Three's blazing eyes.
"I saw an octoling, in Inkopolis, unarmed, and looking helpless; and the first thing I did was try to make sure I was in a position to kill her."
Eight clenched her jaw. "That is just combat instinct. What does that have to do with how you have been treating me?"
"Don't you get it?" Three held out her arms. "It's not just other octolings, it's you too! I trust you with my life and I've never regretted it, but you're always acting like you're scared I'll do something to you. Maybe I will. What if my combat instincts hurt you someday? Sparring is one thing, but normally, if I see octolings or octarian tentacles, I freak out!"
Three stepped back, wiped her eyes on the back of her arm, and spoke again, this time her voice soft and surprisingly brittle. "I see those tentacles in my nightmares. I've seen the face every octoling I've ever killed replaced with your face, your eyes, your voice. It's not you I don't trust, Eight, it's me!"
Eight's posture relaxed and she stood up straighter. Her frown remained but it softened somewhat, and her eyes grew less intense. "Why didn't you ever tell me? You were experiencing all these things and you never told me."
Three's fists shook at the end of ramrod-straight arms and then she looked away.
"Do not dare go silent on me now," Eight growled. "I deserve to know!"
"I WAS SCARED!"
Eight stepped back, not prepared for Three's powerful outburst, nor the tremendous power in her voice that shook the walls of their pod. She put her hands up in a defensive gesture and swallowed nervously. Only then did she realize that Three was crying.
She had to do a double-take. She couldn't believe it. Not even when her mother's car had been vandalized had she cried and never had Eight even heard of Three looking so vulnerable.
Three collapsed to her knees and Eight hurried to her, kneeling down in front of her and gently placing hands on either side of her head.
"Three?"
The inkling lifted her head, tears streaming down her face in broad streams. To Eight, it was probably the most shocking thing so far. Seeing Three crying, seeming so small and fragile, so… vulnerable.
"I'm always scared," Three said, letting her face fall. "The first time I did turf war I hardly fired my weapon. I tried to run from every encounter and my team yelled at me about how useless I was. After that, I wanted to never do turf war again; I just wanted to go back home, crawl under my covers and never come out."
Eight nodded slowly, finally coming to an understanding. "That is why you resisted my attempts to get to know you better. You were afraid I would find out about… this…"
Three gave a tiny shrug. "I maybe. I don't like talking about myself, so I don't ask other people about themselves much either. I just figure it's fair."
Eight sighed. "I know that it sounds considerate, but it is actually quite rude and even abrasive. Doesn't it get exhausting putting up that tough exterior all the time?"
Three tried in vain to wipe her eyes clear and her voice cracked when she responded. "Sometimes. I don't have to in front of Callie and Marie, but in front of Four, Gramps, and everyone else, they expect me to be a certain way, they expect me to…" She trailed off and Eight nodded.
"They expect you to be Agent 3," she whispered. "And you were not sure who you were supposed to be to me."
"Maybe a little of that," Three agreed. "I tried opening up, I really did, but it's just so hard. Since Mama died, I've never opened up to anyone except Callie and Marie, and that was an accident. At least with Four, I can treat her like a little sister so she expects me to act the big sister."
"Which fits your role as Agent 3 and senior agent perfectly well," Eight agreed. "Yes, I am beginning to understand."
She removed a handkerchief from one of her pockets, grateful she had followed her maid training in always keeping one on her person. She used it to lightly dab at Three's face and wipe the tears away.
"But Three, you still should have spoken to me about these sorts of things. Even if you did not tell me everything, we could have gradually come to understand one another better and overcome the problems between us. Besides, your current condition is dangerous if that incident earlier was enough to freeze you up."
"I know that," Three said, a little angrily. "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do about it." She pouted. "I'm not supposed to need rescuing from silly situations like that. How can it be that Agent 3 fought an entire army but gets tripped up by one helpless octoling?"
Eight found herself giggling a little. "Well, you should be used to me rescuing you by now."
"If it was just her, I could have dealt with it," Three insisted. "It's just… with a crowd… I didn't know what to do. If I tried taking her away someplace to talk, they would have thought I was kidnapping her or something."
"I know." Eight helped Three back over to the bench and they both sat down. "Three, you are one of the most capable and reliable people I know, but you are only mortal. Even Agent 3 has to have weaknesses. You should not add stubbornness and, dare I say, ego to the ones you already have."
Three's mantle turned a sour green, and she averted her gaze. "Sorry." Then she sighed, her mantle turning grey. "Really, I'm sorry."
"I am sorry too," Eight said.
"You shouldn't be," Three replied softly. "I deserved all that."
"Perhaps, but I am not without fault either. I should have spoken up much sooner, and I should not have behaved so timidly around you. I was afraid of offending you for fear that you would reject me, but instead, I only added to your worries."
Three's mantle returned to its natural green colour and she sat up a little straighter, gazing out towards the framework of the Ferris wheel as their pod neared the wheel.
"I don't think I've ever heard or seen you get really mad. It's a side of you I haven't seen before."
Eight laughed nervously and found her cheeks growing warm as she followed Three's gaze outside.
"I suppose we both saw new sides of each other today. Strange, I always thought fighting was a bad thing but, if we hadn't fought, we might never have learned so much about each other. She looked back at Three, smiling. "I wouldn't have learned what you were really feeling."
Three shifted uncomfortably. "I thought, if anything, that's what you would be angry about."
Eight shrugged. "I suppose I was, but I feel better now understanding how you feel. I didn't know you carried so much guilt."
Three leaned back and stared straight up at the blue sky. "I thought I was over it. I'd been through that whole guilt trip before but Callie and Marie got me out of it. Maybe the idea of being a couple with you just made me worried about it again, on top of a lot of other stuff."
"You do seem to have a lot of worries," Eight admitted.
"That's why I wish I was more like you."
Eight gaped, her eyes blinking rapidly as she processed what she had just heard. "Y-you wish you were more like me? Why?"
"Because, even though you've had a life so much harder than mine, and you had plenty you could have been worried about when you got to inkopolis, you never seemed worried. You were always cheerful, always excited, always wanting to try new things. I guess I envied you a little."
Eight found herself blushing and she lightly brushed one of her tentacles away from her face. "I… I am honored. Honestly, I… I suppose I was too excited to worry. But it was thanks to you, Four, Pearl, and Marina that I was able to be like that. Were I on my own, I certainly would have worried a lot more than I did."
Three raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean, you did worry?"
"Sometimes. Worried that I might not fit into the society, worried about the struggles I had understanding inkling customs. Honestly, in times like those, your stoicness was often reassuring."
"I didn't mean to be like that, I mean, not on purpose, but I'm glad I could help."
Eight smiled and shuffled closer. Three noticed this and eyed her suspiciously while she leaned slightly away.
"Now it is my turn to help you, Three."
Three frowned and leaned slightly further away. "What do you mean?"
"You said you were afraid of accidentally hurting me by pure instinct, yes? Well, the best way I can think of to prevent that is by becoming familiar enough with each other that you never confuse me for any other octoling."
She scooted closer and Three leaned still further away. "Um... maybe? I guess?"
She was most definitely blushing now, Eight noted with amusement. She actually found herself liking this shyer more timid part of Three.
"Well, if we are going to try and make this relationship work, surely we need to act more boldly than we were before."
Three's brows furrowed in thought and her mantle rippled blue, considering. "I guess so?"
She sat straight again. They were just starting to come down the other side of the Ferris wheel now, their view, which previously showed only steel girders was now a panoramic view of much of Wahoo World and Inkopolis Bay beyond.
To Eight, the view was breathtaking, a totally different sort of view than she got from the penthouse. Below, the people bustled about Wahoo World's footpaths like swarms of tiny insects and many of the other rides looked like toys.
"We have to be bolder."
Eight turned to Three. The girl was staring down towards the sights below but her vision was turned inwards again. This time though, there was purpose behind that faraway gaze, and the despondency or bitterness that had been there before was gone, replaced by resolution.
"Eight," she said. "I'm dealing with a lot of stuff now, not all of it has to do with you, but it's still affecting… this." She was referring to their relationship of course. "If anything's going to happen I'm going to have to deal with that first."
Eight reached out and grasped Three's hand, pulling it close to her. "How can I help?"
Three looked down at her hand and slowly curled her fingers in a way that managed to wrap around some of Eight's, then she shook her head.
"You can't help with this one. This is down to me, Callie, and Marie. You… you I'll need after. For now, I need you to be patient because we're not going to get any further with this baggage on my back."
Eight took that last phrase as some kind of metaphor. She thought she understood it well enough though. Still, she was a bit disappointed she wouldn't be able to helpt Three.
"So then, are we on hold until then?"
"Yeah," Three said slowly. "After today, but just until I can take care of this other thing. I hope it won't take long."
"And you'll let me know how it's going?"
"Yes."
"Frequently? Daily reports?"
Three frowned. "Not daily. This thing should only take a week or two."
"Twice a week then."
"When it comes up," Three said stubbornly. "Besides, maybe a little break is what we'll need to sort some other stuff out. At least, I will."
Eight sighed. "I suppose so. Perhaps this is the relationship equivalent of regrouping."
Three flashed grey. "I guess. Maybe asking some others for advice would help too."
"Agreed." Eight found herself feeling strangely light. Despite her relationship with Three being put supposedly on hold, she felt this was a good development. Too much had happened today to deal with it all at once, there was too much to consider, so many things learned."
"So, Three-."
"Cortina."
Eight blinked. "Pardon?"
Eight's mantle developed bright pink blotches and rippled bright yellow. "When it's just us, you can call me Cortina."
Eight felt as though her chest might burst. She instinctively felt the significance of this. Three had never gone by her real name, in fact, Eight barely even knew what it was. To have the privilege was more than simply a sign they had gotten closer, it was a sign of particular favour, in that she was distinguishing Eight from others she knew, even those close to her.
"Then, you may call me Hachiko at the same time," she said. She was smiling so broadly she thought she might hurt herself.
"Ah… okay….."
From there until they got off the Ferris wheel, they sat in silence, but it wasn't the awkward silences they were familiar with, rather, it was simply the two of them enjoying being near each other and Eight couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
When they got off the ride, Eight grabbed Three's hand and pulled her out.
"Come on! If we are going to be apart for a while then we must make the best of the rest of our date! We will eat some food and then go on as many rides as we can!"
"Um, okay, but you can't overdo it or else you'll push yourself too far."
"I'll be fine," she assured her. "I feel like I could fly right now. A few rides will not hurt me."
She was wrong.
Author's Notes:
This chapter was a real doozy to write. I must have rewritten it five times before I finally got it. Eight finally regains her agency and starts acting more like the strong girl we all know and love and gives Three the dressing down she needed. Maybe, for the sake of drama, the conflict in this chapter could have been stretched out a little more, but I didn't think it in character for these two to leave things open-ended like that and are more proactive in such situations. Their problems are far from over but at least they've taken some further steps in their relationship.
I hope this chapter was satisfying for everyone. It was my first time writing anything like it.