Marie sat at a bus stop. The glass walls and the roof provided decent shelter from the rain. The next bus was supposed to be there about ten minutes ago. All the white inkling was doing was looking over the other red folder. She had all too many thoughts ringing through her head. She sighed, closing the folder and resting her head in her hand.
"I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack…" Marie muttered before she heard a slight banging on a piece of metal, looking over to her right with a quirked eyebrow.
"Uh, knock knock?" she saw Maize beside the bus stop sign, having knocked on it jokingly. She was not in the mood to hear a mission went completely off the rails and he needed her help. However another thought came to mind.
"Wait a minute, Maize… why are you here?" Marie questioned. She had felt like someone had been following her for quite a long time ever since she visited Amaranth's apartment. She could only presume it was her dear friend here.
"I followed you," Maize honestly answered. She opened her mouth, initially wanting to scold him, but she paused, confused. She expected a lie from him on that part. Now the Squid Sister was unsure whether to be upset with him for his stalking, or be thankful that he told the truth. She moved over, letting him take a seat on the bench. He was soaking wet, though she was not in much better condition.
"So what's so important you had to follow me around?" Marie requested, returning the file to her bag. Agent 3 showed a clear sign of worry on his face. He decided to be straight forward about this, even at the risk of being slapped for invading her privacy.
"I know about the procedure you signed up for," Maize began, just sitting there. He wanted to do as Callie requested and make sure her cousin was alright. It was a good sign though that she was not depressed or jealous. He just wished the real truth of her matter was not revealed at least to him.
"…I guess I didn't do that good of a job at hiding it," Marie rolled her eyes, rummaging around in her bag before pulling out and presenting the tan file to him, just to let him get confirmation since he already knew.
"I got approved fast, and bribed my doctor to let me get more information on the two donors I selected," Marie claimed. Maize opened the file, revealing the mere results from a check-up, which gave him confirmation for what he talked about with Amaranth earlier. He almost could not believe it, but it was true. The top of the folder had a signature and other writing on it.
"Approved by Dr. Goldenwood to undergo in vitro fertilization."
"…Marie," Maize stuttered as his friend took the folder back, returning it to her bag. She took her damp hat off her head, letting her tentacles back out. She lost care for being disguised for now. If any other squid saw them, she would just find a way to lose them, but thankfully no one seemed to be coming, not even the very bus she had been waiting for.
"…but… why do you want to have a squishie?" Maize asked. All of this was just a minor operation to impregnate an inkling with the anonymous help of donations, or at least they were supposed to be, until she bribed her way into getting more information and keeping the medical visit secret.
"I guess you won't let up if I leave it at 'I just want to have one'," Marie joked. He sure seemed to be in a different mood. The usually cheery blonde squid kept his straight face, trying to solve the puzzle. He was not against the idea of his best friend having a squishie, but he wanted to make sure her reasoning was sound.
"Are you jealous of Callie for having Bondi?" Maize spoke up, seeing her rub her eye tiredly. It was not even two in the afternoon, yet she felt completely drained already.
"No… I'm not jealous… I'm really happy for them. It's just…" Marie seemed to hesitate, looking ashamed to really even consider admitting her true feelings, but she loved Bondi just as much as her cousin did. Jealousy was the last thing on her mind. Maize put a hand on her shoulder, wanting her to continue. He had no intentions of judging her no matter what she said or did.
"I… ever since she got Bondi, it's somewhat put my life in perspective. The truth is… I feel unfulfilled. Sure, I'm rich and famous, and now a part of an ever growing group of agents helping out as many squids as we can, but I still feel empty," Marie explained. Everything she had done once made her fulfilled, but ever since Bondi had come along into the Squid Sisters' lives, it really set the white inkling into some deep thought. She felt unaccomplished in her personal life. The yellow inkling looked at her in awe, unsure what to respond with. He decided to try and more focus on the main part of the conversation, while reassuring her otherwise.
"And you think having a squishie would fill that emptiness?" Maize saw Agent 2 nod. He was beginning to get an idea on what to do. He did not seeing her having a squishie as a horrible thing at all, but her reasoning was what worried him. Even so, he understood how she felt entirely.
"I'd like to think so… I know I don't sound like my normal self, and I'm sorry. It's just really...I feel like my heart is speaking more than my brain…" Marie stated in apology, noticing Maize gain a small smirk. He recalled those exact words being said by Callie a while back when she first considered adopting Bondi. The Squid Sisters seemed to be in great sync, even if it was unintentional.
"You really aren't acting like yourself," he nodded, trying to understand from her point of view as much as he could. He decided it was time to quit holding back and to share his true thoughts and feelings on the matter. He was being nice and hoped what he would say would not upset one of his best friends. She was rubbing one of her tentacles for comfort.
"Marie… when you have a squishie, you're not just making a new squid. You're dedicating a part of your life to raising it. Nothing will be the same, and decisions like this need a lot more time to be made. In hindsight… I feel horrible for how I pressured Callie into adopting Bondi like I did. I feel like I robbed a part of her life from her," Maize declared how he felt about the adoption situation. He was happy with how great she did as a mother so far, but he still felt guilty for it all. Despite her joy.
"And I know you'd be the freshest mom you could be… but this isn't something you can decide in one week's time," Maize added. Marie looked at him, surprised to be having this kind of conversation with him. She of course planned to talk with Callie and Captain Cuttlefish about it, too, but that was going to be after the procedure was done.
"…guess I kind of do look a bit crazy, don't I?" Marie asked while pulling out and holding her folder, sighing. She was aware of all of his points. Each one of them was valid. As if the awkward atmosphere was not enough.
"Yeah. You do," Maize smirked, seeing her look to the right where a trash can was stationed. She looked hesitant to toss away the folders.
"How long do you think I should wait before I decide?" Marie asked while dropping them into the trash can. She had no idea how long she should wait before she decided whether or not to proceed with the plan to have a squishie. Maize insisted that it would take a lot of time to make a decision like that. However he had no idea how long would be good enough.
"If you're thinking about it as often as you say… I'd say… I dunno, maybe a month or two," Maize grinned.
"Well… if I do decide to go through with it, I'd have to pick new donors personally… and get approval again," Marie sighed in annoyance. He wondered if it was really that painful or expensive to pick a donor to help have a squishie. He had an idea on how to brighten her mood.
"Hey! I owe you a million coins after all. So if you decide to go through with it, I'll gladly be your donor!" Maize grinned, noticing that mile long stare and blank look on his best friend's face. Before he knew it, Agent 3 was pinned on the bench with Agent 2's hands around his throat. She was blushing furiously.
"Wh-what kind of sick joke is that?! What goes through your head!?" Marie shouted, not sure about taking his offer of being a donor as a great thing from a dear friend, or the extension of an idea from an entirely oblivious squid's thoughts. Maize expected this kind of reaction from her, just with a little less choking.
"He-hey! You're the one who wanted a squishie! I'm just being nice!" he coughed, trying to get her to let go of him. He hated joking in serious moments unless it was to try and lighten the mood, and right now he was trying to be that one friend that could be there to help whenever no one else could. The yellow inkling noticed nothing from her attempted choking. The only thing he felt right now was slightly sleepy. He wondered if that was from Amaranth's medicine he tested. Suddenly they both could hear a loud ringing.
"…that's my cellphone," Maize said. Marie finally got off him, sitting back on the bench. The yellow inkling sat up, getting his phone out and looking to the small screen. Captain Cuttlefish was calling. He was glad the elder squid called.
"Hello, cap'n. What's going on?" he answered.
"Squiddo! It's a bit of an urgent matter and I need you over at Octo Valley right away," Captain Cuttlefish spoke, and he sounded distressed.
"Sure, cap'n. I'll be right over," Maize hung up, concerned over what the captain needed him for. He got up from the bus bench and adjusted his splatterscope on his back, making sure it and his ink tank were ready to go.
"The captain needs us," Maize told Marie, holding his hand out to her. She grabbed it, letting him help her up.
"Alright… I don't think the bus is coming anyway," she stated it had been at least forty minutes and that bus still was nowhere in sight.
"Oh! About that… this bus stop got shut down due to construction on the fifth avenue," he stated. Marie's eye twitched in shock. She felt like a fool now for not knowing that. If he had not come along then, she could have been out here for hours before they left. However, she kept his hand firmly in hers.
"…your offer… thank you for it… thank you for a lot of things," Marie sighed. She could not believe what she was about to say.
"If I do consider it, then I'll let you be the donor… but not because of the debt," the white squid girl claimed. With that said, she let go of his hand before beginning to walk ahead. Maize scratched his tentacle, confused.
"...I really need to learn how to read people better," Maize groaned, unsure if he should take that as a compliment and not care about the million coin debt. Otherwise she might have agreed to let him help her have a squishie out of some other miscellaneous reason. He tried to ignore it and just be happy to have helped her. He went to catch up to the Squid Sister. They were both concerned what was going on in Octo Valley that could cause their captain so much distress. They both planned on handling it quickly if it was a simple task, but they doubted that since the captain rarely had easy missions for them.