Agent 3 hadn't ever been to a fancy restaurant.

Neither had Agent 8.

Neither of them wanted to either, so they went to a place that was bordering on the line between "Nice" and "Fast food" - Inkopolis Pizza.

They had more than just pizza on their menu, and it WAS a sit down affair. But you didn't have to wear a nice dress or tuxedo to get in. Hell you could roll up in your sweatpants if you wanted to. Which Three claims she had done multiple times in the past.

"Table for two please." Three said to the host as they walked in. The host nodded, grabbed two menus and signalled for them to follow him.

"This way please." The host walks into the dining room with Three and Eight following close behind him. Three would never say it out loud, but in her brain all that she could think was "Pleasegiveusabooth" over and over and over again.

"Here is your table, your server will be with you in a moment." The host gestured towards a booth, and Three silently celebrated.

Three took her seat on one side of the booth, and Eight took her seat across from her. They both opened up their menus and began to peruse their options. Three flipped through the pages, something new popping out to her every time she did. EIght seemed to be more idly looking through the pages, as though she was studying the options rather than them all popping out to her.

"Man I never know what to get here, there's so many good options." Three says as she continues to flip between several pages of the menu.

Eight, on the other hand, had stopped flipping through the pages and had settled on one of them, it seemed she was actually pretty quick to decide what she wanted.

"Eh, I'll probably just get pasta. It's one of the few dishes I've had since coming to the surface that has actually made me feel FULL." Eight shrugs. Not wanting to take up too much time after how long Three and her spent at the coffee shop.

Three nodded. "Fair, noodles to have a fair bit of substance to them. In that case I'll probably get some as well."

Three looked over the pasta options more intently, not seeing any specific dish pop out to her but pasta as a whole was now calling her name. She studies her options and thinks she's decided on what she's going to get. Fortunately, their server was coming up to their table so she could order before she changed her mind.

"Hello there! My name is Erika, I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you both off with something to drink?"

"Yeah uh, I'll just get an ice water." Three said, she'd considered a soft drink, but decided against it.

"Oh, uh, I'll get a root beer." Eight replied. Clearly feeling more adventurous than Three right now.

"Alright and are you two ready to order or do you need another minute?" Their server still has her pen and notepad out that she used to jot down their drink order.

"I'm ready if you're ready." Three said, looking over to Eight.

"Yeah I think I'm ready too." Eight smiled.

"Alright what will you have?" The server turned to Three, signaling her to order first.

"Yeah, uh, I'll get your 'create your own pasta' I'll go with spaghetti with alfredo sauce, please." Three closes her menu looks over at Eight who's glancing between the server and her menu.

Their server nodded as she wrote down Three's order on her notepad. "And for you?" She turned to Eight, signaling her to give her own order.

"OH! I'll get the Jambalaya Fettuccine." Eight folded up her menu and handed it to the server, three did the same.

"Alright your drinks will be right out, and your food should be out shortly after." Their server turned and walked towards the kitchen to get their orders started.

Now that they weren't waiting for a server or trying to order anything, they were again able to talk to each other freely. Eight is the first one to speak, and Three is more than happy to let her speak.

"You know, I'm glad you decided to text me today. I had wanted to get to know you but uh, I was a little scared." Eight blurted out, causing three to blush a little.

"Scared? What do you mean?" Three hoped Eight wasn't afraid of her, that's the last thing she wanted.

"Well, partially I was a little intimidated I think. I don't remember much about my past but I remember you were a force to be reckoned with." Eight paused, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts. "And then there's uh, well I mean, I AM an Octoling. Kinda your sworn enemy."

Three rolled her eyes. "Octolings are not my enemy. Okay? They just happen to make up a large portion of a military I am less than thrilled with the existence of. I don't want a war, so I fight to keep it from happening. Cap'n himself made sure I wasn't splatting Octolings for the sake of it, but because they were actively fighting for Octavio. And while that may have been your past, it isn't your present. It's who you were, not who you are."

Eight couldn't help but tear up a little. "You really think that?"

Three nodded. "I do. Besides, if you'd been a double agent for Octavio, you would've lead me away from any respawn points and splatted me with my back turned. But instead, you're here, talking to me. Making me laugh, making me smile, making me cry. I don't care where you came from, it's who you are that matters to me." Three smiles at Eight, she meant every word. Eight wasn't her enemy, there's no reason for her to think Three would dislike her for something that was literally out of her control.

Eight sniffled and wiped a stray tear away from her eyes. "Th-thank you three."

"For what?" Three raises her eyebrow

"Helping me realize I'm actually free." Eight smiled. Three affirming that her past was not something Three held against her helped her to push any pieces of it she had behind her. She wasn't part of Octavio's army, and she wasn't a Kamabo test subject. She was Eight, and she liked that very much.

Three smiled. "Any time Eight."

Unknowingly interrupting the moment, their server returned to their table with their drinks "Here you are, ice water, and a root beer. Your food should be ready in a minute or so."

"Thank you." Three said as their server turned and returned to the kitchen. Three took a swig of her water as soon as she got it, but didn't drink much as she doesn't want to end up without any once her food arrives.

Eight just looked at her drink, then she looked back at three, then back to her drink, then back to Three. She could tell Three had been going through a lot, she didn't know the extent of it, but she did know that Three had shut herself in slightly after she broke down in Octo Canyon. Eight didn't want Three to go through things alone. If anyone could understand how fucked up Kamabo was, it would be her.

"You know, back in the Metro, there were a lot of… discouraging things going on. I had no memories, the tests were borderline torture sometimes, and god knows the lack of food was hellish. But I always had support. Cap'n, Pearl, Marina… they were there for me." Eight's voice wavered as she recalled the events of the Metro, but she found strength in remembering the friends she had made as well.

Three just looked at Eight in her beautiful purple eyes. "What are you saying Eight?"

Three could tell Eight had something she desperately wanted to say or to tell her, it was painted across her face. Three calmly and silently waited for Eight to finish her thought. Eight took a moment to compose herself, taking in a deep breath and slowing her hearts a little as they raced.

"What I'm saying is. Back in Octo Canyon, when you'd had your breakdown, I realized you were like I was in the Metro. Lost and alone. Now you do have friends, but they're so busy all the time. Callie and Marie both care about you I can tell, but they're idols, and you can't exactly go to a therapist every day…" Eight feebly fought back a blush. "I just thought, you know, I could be there for you, the same way my other friends had been there for me."

Now three was blushing, Three's mind raced with different versions of what exactly Eight is trying to convey to her. Three, not being one for tactfulness, opts to awkwardly ask for clarification while her face is almost the same colour as the tentacles that sit atop her head. Bright Orange.

"What do you mean Eight?" Eight bites her lip at Three's query, trying in her mind to formulate the proper words to articulate how she feels and what she wants to say.

Eight took in a deep breath, her own face also practically the same colour as her ink.

"I-I got to know you really well today Three, and I was wondering, if you'd like to… continue."

"C-continue?"

Before either of them could say anything else, their server returned with their food. Both Eight and Three said a silent prayer to whatever deity may exist thanking them for the save. The conversation had become very awkward and they were thankful to have a reason to change subjects. Though a part of Three did still wonder, did Eight want to be her friend… or something more?

The meal was mostly ate in silence, Eight was a monster and yet so polite when she ate. The food was gone quickly but there wasn't a spec of food debris anywhere it shouldn't be. No doubt thanks to Marina making sure she had proper manners.

Three on the other hand, was a fucking mess.

"Oh my GODS three how did you get sauce ON YOUR FOREHEAD?!" Eight laughed, Three was just enjoying her food with no care about what anyone thought.

"It's a talent." She said as she slurped another noodle, somehow causing it to whip about and get sauce on her ear.

Eight facepalmed, Three was adorable, she was helpless to resist her.

"I swear Marina would kill you if she saw the way you eat." Eight chuckled as she finished off her dish.

"Yeah? So would Marie, not gonna stop me from enjoying my food." Three said as she finished off the rest of her food as well. Three did, thankfully, snag a napkin to wipe her face with. As much as she didn't care what she looked like, the sauce felt weird on her face.

Their server rounded the corner just as the pair finished their meals. She came over to their table and Three and Eight offered their now empty plates to her. She loaded them onto the tray she was carrying so she could take them back to the kitchen to be cleaned.

"Is that all for tonight? Would you like to see the desert menu?" Their server glanced between them, patiently waiting for a response.

Eight and three looked at each other and shook their heads. "No we're good, the food was plenty." Three said.

Their server nodded, and walked back to the kitchen with their dishes to return them. Shortly she returned with the bill, and looking at the pair she asked a simple question.

"Together or seperate?"

"Together please." Three said, before Eight could even reply.

"Three, you already bought me coffee today, you don't need to buy dinner too." Eight tried to stop Three from expending any more of her money on her, but Three wasn't having it.

"No no, I insist. It's the least I can do after what you went through in the metro. And after, you know, trying to kill you." Three laughed and rubbed the back of her neck.

Eight just rolled her eyes.

"Okay well the first time was justifiable, we were enemies at that point, and the second time you weren't even calling the shots. You were being controlled."

Three shudders. "Don't remind me, that goop stung like hell."

Eight nods. "Sorry, just kinda thinking out loud."

"No don't be sorry, it's alright. I've had worse things happen to me."

"Really?" Eight raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, I remember one time you smiled at me and I died." Three smirked at Eight.

Eight blushed. She wasn't about to let Three win with that line, as cute as it was.

"How could I not smile, you were the one who looked cute being all dazed and confused."

Now they were both blushing. Three wasn't sure how to proceed, but their server awkwardly cleared her throat, pulling Three's attention back to the bill that still needed to be paid.

"Oh right, sorry!" Three pulled out some of her money and paid their server, leaving them an honest tip. Once their server had gone, Three stood and gestured to Eight. "C'mon, let's go."

"A-alright." Eight followed closely behind Three as they walked out, they'd been together so long it was starting to get dark out. The sun already setting on the horizon.

Three then had an idea, it was a risky idea, but it was an idea.

"Hey, you know how you said you liked the way the sunset looked? Did uh, did you maybe wanna watch the sunset from the roof of my apartment? I think it's one of the most beautiful places to catch it." Three blushed as she rubbed the back of her head. She didn't want to have to say goodbye just yet

Eight blushed, Three had just invited her… to her apartment. Eight had to pause for a moment to allow her thoughts to clear. Eight weighed the options she had, spend more time with Three and watch the sunset from the roof of her apartment, or go home and face Pearl and Marina's inevitable barrage of questions. The decision was easy.

"Sure, that sounds lovely." Eight smiles through her blush, and Three beamed.

Three took hold of Eight's hand and started gently leading her towards the nearest launchpad. "Alright, quickly. Follow me to the super jump pad, if we hurry we won't miss much of it."