Welled Up

by orphan_account

Summary:

Pearl and Marina have a fun, relaxing date tonight!

In a dimly lit and dingy bar, alone in one of the many burgundy, leather-lined, and vaguely uncomfortable booths running along the walls, sat Pearl. At the moment, she was drumming her blocky fingertips against the polished wooden tabletop in rapid and increasingly anxious succession. Both her circular little eyebrows and mouth were forced downward into a deep scowl, and subtle lines of tension were beginning to form upon her black eyemask. Her golden, prowling eyes scanned the length of the establishment from tip to tail, as they’d done over and over for the last 10 minutes.

No Marina in sight.

The little squid blew a dejected raspberry and sank down into the squeaky cushion, her crown sitting lopsided atop her head and just barely visible over the table’s edge. She violently grabbed and pulled her tropical pink cocktail from the sopping wet coaster napkin where it rested, causing the ice and liquid and cute little parasol floating inside to slosh dangerously close to the lip of the glass. She brought it to her lips, tipped it, and quickly chugged the cold, fruity concoction, hoping it’d in some small way help ease her nerves.

As she drank, she dead-eyed the half-empty, light blue cocktail that sat alone at the other end of the table. The condensation that was slowly dripping down the sides had already formed a dangerously large small moat around the base of the glass. The ice cubes floating inside had deformed to the point of being more “sort of fucked up”-shaped rather than cube-shaped.

She slammed the glass back down with a gasping sigh of frustration.

Cod, how could Pearl relax at all?! All she had was her girlfriend’s fucking gay little drink for company, which was slowly becoming watered down shit. Marina had excused herself to the restroom over 15 minutes ago, and Pearl still couldn’t catch hide nor tentacle of her!

And it wasn’t for lack of trying on Pearl’s part. Try as that octoling might to make herself seem as small as a newborn larva, Marina had a particular knack for standing out due to being damn near taller than any inkling or octoling Pearl had ever seen. If she was out there on the floor, Pearl would catch sight of that girl standing about a head above nearly everyone else in the establishment.

So, the fact that she hadn’t yet seen her girlfriend since she’d stepped away to the little octopus’ room, well, Pearl would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t becoming a little more frustrated and concerned as the seconds slowly dragged by. 

It wasn’t like Marina to take so damn long like this.

She usually does everything so fast, she even pisses efficiently, Pearl thought to herself, a small smirk cracking through her troubled mask. Cod, ‘Rina would fucking hate to hear that one.

All the more reason for the little inkling to be anxious for her taller girlfriend’s return. Here she was sitting on all these sick jabs with no Marina to jab at, who’d most assuredly jab Pearl right back! There was nothing to do here but watch the surrounding young inkfish mosey around, try and fail to flirt with each other, and make asses out of themselves. The entire lameass display made Pearl feel more and more ill as a scowl was etched deeper and deeper on her face with each passing second.

Sitting alone in this empty booth, twiddling her thumbs and resorting to counting all the miniscule wrinkles and rips on the faded wallpaper behind her… it was just no fun at all here without her other half.

It was her idea to come here anyway, cod knows why, Pearl thought, sitting back up. She squirmed in her seat, fidgeting around, then leaned her torso up and over the edge of the table to try and get a more leveraged view, conducting another survey over the heads of the bar patrons for her teal-tinged friend.

A place like this though, it definitely wasn’t Marina’s scene; not in Pearl’s long memory of knowing the girl at least. She was more of a… mall outings, ice cream dates, and pop concerts kinda girl. Never in Pearl’s life would she have expected Marina to ask out of the blue if they could go drinking together. And on such short notice too! The octoling had only asked last night, and here they were now, all because Marina was so eager and pushy to get going.

For cod’s sake, she doesn’t even like drinking!

Even when she came of drinking age, Marina hardly, if ever, touched a drop. At most she’d take a single sip of red wine when the two decided, on the rare occasion, to blow a bit of the seemingly endless Houzuki fortune on some random outing to a 3-star Menhaden restaurant of their choosing. Pearl would order a bottle of the oldest from their selection, mostly for herself, and Marina would, out of politeness, indulge at the bare minimum. And Pearl could tell from the expression the octoling would make that it was solely to be polite, because every single time Marina’s face would twist and scrunch in abject disgust as soon as that wine spilled across her taste buds.

And every single time, Pearl would straight up tell Marina she doesn’t have to drink it, like at all. And every time, Marina would protest, saying she doesn’t know what Pearl’s talking about, and that she’s just sipping it very, very slowly because she wants to savor the flavor. After the first couple rounds of this sort of back-and-forth, it became such a borderline comedy routine that Pearl decided to just let Marina do what she wanted if it made her happy.

However, Pearl would at some point like to tell her sweet, beloved girlfriend that she could do without causing the nearest small decorative plant to smell like it had an alcohol addiction that it just couldn’t kick when they’d get up to leave.

As she finished that thought, Pearl also finished her survey of the bar with the usual results.

No Marina.

Pearl sighed again and flopped forward in defeat, chin squished against the sticky table and arms outstretched as she tapped aimlessly with her hands, before spotting their half-empty bowl of bar nuts. She dragged it towards her, scraping it along the tabletop, and proceeded to sort all the nuts into little piles. Evidently, she was desperate to try anything to get her mind off her growing frustration. However, without fail, Pearl’s girl would worm her way back into Pearl’s head and beat around her brain like a ping pong ball.

Now, she definitely wasn’t mad at Marina for being gone so long, of course, but that itself was the very issue. Marina would never leave her hanging like this unless she had a good reason. What in the coddamn was she doing in there?

The inkling quickly got bored of sorting the various little nuts into little nut armies to prepare them to fight and die valiantly in little nut wars, and decided to instead check her Squapple watch. It’d been a bit since she’d last checked the time, because she didn’t want to sit there and drive herself crazy watching the minutes tick by. It couldn’t have been that long yet anyway.

Pearl shifted her bored, half-lidded eyes to the rose gold watch on her wrist.

Her eyes snapped wide, almost painfully.

8:00 pm.

It’d been over 40 minutes now.

The inkling felt her three hearts still their beats for just a moment as she stared blankly at the digital watch face.

8:01 pm.

Alright, yeah, fuck that. Fuck this.

Pearl quickly sidled her way across the booth’s overly long cushion and out from behind the table. She jumped down from the raised seat to the lower bar floor, and pushed her way through the crowd of mingling inkfish towards the bartenders, her head whipping this way and that as she still tried to catch sight of Marina from her now much lower and unfortunate perspective.

“‘Yo,” Pearl shouted over the noise of the venue upon reaching the bar counter, plopping herself up onto a stool and waving an arm to catch one of the tenders' attention.

A blue crayfish was behind the counter tenderly handling a shot glass in one claw, and gently wiping it down with a dry cloth in the other. They lazily turned their head to the side, one of their black eyes staring down onto the loud little inkling.

“Ma’am,” the craytender said flatly, still not fully turned round and still wiping down their glass. “Something you need? Another drink for your table, maybe?”

“Nah man. Have you- oh damn, hold on.” Pearl pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened it to scroll through her photo album, attempting to find a good, non-embarrassing nor suspect picture of her girlfriend. It took her longer than she expected.

“Aight,” Pearl said, finally settling on a rather charming and clear image of the octoling with a goofy, beaked grin on her face. She turned her phone to show the bartender. “Just wanted to know if you’ve seen this girl recently, maybe wandering around the floor or somethin’?”

The crayfish squinted the eye still facing Pearl, kneeling their segmented legs down a bit to get a better look at the picture.

“Oh, that was the girl sitting with you a while ago, yeah? The one that had a few.” They swiveled their eye back to focus on Pearl. “Worried she walked out on you?”

“Wha-” Pearl sputtered, taken aback, before her face twisted into a smug sneer. “Nope, not worried about that at all actually.” She nonchalantly laid an elbow down and leaned over the counter, squinting her eyes. “Have you fuckin’ seen her or not?”

“Right,” the bartender said dryly. “Well no, haven’t seen her since she got up to use the restroom actually, must’ve missed her when she walked out.” They then turned back to the sink before them, continuing to clean their singular glass.

“O-Oh…” Pearl said, trailing off as a scowl grew on her face, dejection and the slightest bit of fear filling her as she pocketed her phone, before sliding off the stool and hopping to the ground with a soft thud.

Fuck.

Nobody knew where Marina was, she didn’t know where Marina was. Cod, why didn’t she just get up and check on her sooner instead of sitting at their table bullshitting around?

Well, Pearl knew why she didn’t check. Because she didn’t wanna be up Marina’s ass, plain and simple. She knew Marina was a fully capable young adult, she didn’t want to make Marina feel like she couldn’t go to the fucking bathroom by herself.

But, in a place like this, somewhere Marina isn’t used to… was it all too overwhelming for her? Was she sitting in the bathroom, alone, crying and silently begging for Pearl to come to her aid?

Cod, or worse yet, was she hurt? Did the poor octoling, in her rush to take a piss, accidentally slip on some water, hit her head against the toilet seat, and was now lying, dying, in a pool of her own ink on the bathroom floor?

The squid sucked in a painful, sharp breath at such a thought.

Oh my fucking cod, that’s exactly what happened.

Pearl suddenly bolted, willing her tiny legs to carry her as fast as they could towards the restroom, pushing her way through a crowd of patrons standing and milling about, in her way, as her hearts pounded against her tightening chest.

I’m gonna get you the fuck out of there, Marina, was the singular thought in her mind, strong enough that she had to grit her teeth to stop from yelling it out loud in the middle of the bar.

Upon reaching her destination, the tiny inkling kicked the swinging door open with enough force to cause it to crash against the wall and send the wooden plank loudly rattling against its hinges. The cacophony of door against mildewy floral wallpaper and scuffed wood against creaking metal caused most onlookers who’d already noticed her frantically running past to now stare in bewilderment. But Pearl didn’t care about that, nor them, none of that mattered right now.

Racing down a short hallway, Pearl’s sneakers caused a shrieking screech as she skidded to a stop against the tiled bathroom floor. Three stalls lined the right-side wall, and to the left were two sinks, one of which was occupied by a turquoise octoling that seemed a bit frazzled, gawking and obviously startled by this small inkling’s overly dramatic entrance. She looked just a few years younger than Pearl, probably around Marina’s age.

Marina…

“MARINA,” Pearl suddenly yelled out while cupping her mouth, her ear-splitting voice reverberating against the ceramic walls of the tiny bathroom. “PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE NOT FUCKING DEAD!”

The only noise in response, once the echoes stopped ringing, was a small squeak from the octoling that was still washing her hands and trying to avoid getting involved in the situation unfolding next to her. She quickly shuffled her way to the paper towel dispenser, ripped out a few, and shuffled out of the bathroom, staring at the ground and keeping a wide berth from Pearl.

Pearl stood stock-still in the middle of the bathroom floor as the sound of the door swinging open and closed, gently this time, was heard. She waited a second, two seconds, but there was no response.

Was she… not in here…?

No way, I never saw her leave, neither did that crayfish, she thought. Was she passed out, or, or…

Choosing to abandon that train of thought, the pink inkling got down on all fours so she could peer into the bottoms of the stalls along the wall. It seemed that only one was occupied; the furthest one in the back corner. From her view, she could see the person inside was kneeling on the floor and facing the toilet, wearing pants and heels matching those Marina had been wearing that night.

Pearl quickly pushed against the floor and jumped up to her feet, then jogged down to the last stall, before giving the door a few sharp raps.

“‘Rina? You in there?”

No response.

“...‘Rina…?” Pearl asked, her voice pitching up on the last syllable with uncertainty.

A mistake, maybe? Was this person not her ‘Rina? But, surely if it wasn’t then the person inside would respond, telling her ‘no, sorry, you’ve got the wrong person’ or ‘fuck off freak’. And those clothes, they had to be Marina’s. Was she… oh cod…

She tried pushing on the door. 

Locked, of course.

“Marina, I know it’s you in there, and I know you’re not pissing.”

She jiggled the handle, and waited a moment in case the woman inside decided to unlock it, or at least decided to acknowledge her. 

She did not.

“...I’m coming in.”

Pearl only heard a sudden, small gasp from the person within the stall before she changed into her swim form and slid right under the large gap of the door. A very gross move to be sliding around covered in ink on this disgusting fucking floor, but in situations like this, sacrifices have to be made…

Instantly, the little squid caught sight of the woman she’d been waiting and fretting and searching for. Marina, in the flesh, hunched over the toilet bowl, on her knees, with both hands weakly gripping the seat. Her entire body was shaking, and she seemed woozy, holding onto the ceramic bowl in an attempt to steady herself as the sound of labored, heavy breathing was heard. She seemed to be ignoring Pearl, as she in no way acknowledged that someone had just intruded upon her.

For Pearl to call it a worrisome sight would be an understatement.

Shifting back into her humanoid form, Pearl got down onto her knees as well, and kept a careful distance as to not startle the octoling more than she must’ve already had, nor offer any unwanted physical contact. She did however keep her hands raised and ready, in case she needed to catch and hold steady the swaying girl.

“Hey, ‘Rina,” Pearl muttered softly, “You okay?”

At the sound of her partner’s gentle voice, the shivering octoling flinched, yet made no attempt to respond, and no effort to turn around. 

Alright, she’s okay enough to react to my voice, that’s something.

“Is it alright if I scooch up closer,” Pearl said in a calm, even tone.

Marina’s only response was a barely audible hum, one that in Pearl’s experience of her partner’s various hums and grunts sounded affirmative enough. Still on her knees, the inkling shuffled up to her girlfriend, trying as best she could to comfortably squeeze next to her in the small enclosed space. However, upon entering the octoling’s line of sight, Marina twisted the other way, and hid her face from Pearl’s sight.

Pearl made a deep rumbling sound within her throat, perturbed by the action, but not wishing to pry as to the reason for it just yet. Instead, she gingerly lifted her left hand and hovered it atop the back of Marina’s right, as it continued to grasp the seat in a slackened grip. It was a question, one that requested permission for the two to touch, however small the connection need be.

The answer she received was Marina slowly releasing her grip and turning her hand to touch Pearl’s, palm to palm. The two interlocked fingers, and Pearl used her thumb to rub soft, soothing circles into Marina. The two stayed like this for a minute or so, Pearl trying to coax out the shivers still running through the octoling’s body. Pearl then allowed herself another opportunity to speak.

“Is something wrong,” she asked.

Marina shifted a bit in place, and seemed hesitant to respond verbally. After a few beats of silence however, she took a deep, shuddering breath, and attempted a response.

“I… I’m…okay…” Marina said, voice wavering, raw, and raspy. She capped it off with a short, rough cough.

Pearl exhaled through her nose. That didn’t sound okay at all.

“Ya don’t sound that convincing, baby.” Pearl gave her hand a small, reassuring squeeze. “Please, I gotta know what the deal is so I can help.”

Marina released a soft, exasperated sigh, seeming to not wish to explain further. Pearl squeezed again, and this time Marina squeezed back, albeit with a much weaker grip.

“I-I’m fine Pearlie, really…” Marina protested, anxiety clear in her tone. “Please just, just go back to the table, I-I’ll be out in a sec…”

“‘Rina,” Pearl said incredulously, “I’ve been waiting out there for ya for like 40 minutes.”

Marina’s body jolted upon hearing this and turned fiercely to face Pearl, her shock visibly evident.

“N-No way it’s been that long! I thought… I thought it’d only been a few moments…” 

Shame began to bloom across the young octoling’s face as she trailed off into silence. That despondent look however was not what Pearl was focused on at the moment, as she was instead more keen to take in all the other little details.

What Marina had been trying to hide from her were puffy and bloodshot eyes, prominent dried tear tracks mixed with running mascara, a face drenched in sweat, mucus leaking from her nose, and bits of puke that clung around her mouth. Pearl dragged her eyes from the disheveled sight of her best friend to peer at the inner contents of the toilet before them.

Ah, alright.

Yeah it was all starting to click together in Pearl’s head.

“Marina, you’re sick as fuck,” Pearl said bluntly.

Marina’s eyes widened as that look of shame was quickly replaced with one of startled surprise.

“N-No, I’m fine!”

“Oh my cod, Marina-”

The still shaking octoling quickly pulled her hand out of Pearl’s and, using the toilet as leverage, attempted to quickly rise up from the floor and off her knees. 

Keyword being attempted.

“I’m… I’m okay! I just need to go back and… and sit down and-” As Marina said this, her legs, weak and numb from the previous exertion of ejecting her stomach contents and staying in the same position for the last half hour, buckled. With a yelp, her stance broke.

“Aw fuck!”

Pearl frantically jumped up from her kneeling position and steadied her staggering girlfriend with both hands, helping and guiding her to lean against the left stall wall. The smaller woman then offered her shoulders to her taller friend, who took the offer gratefully, supporting one arm around her girlfriend as she braced the rest of her weight against the wall, her cheek pressed against the cold, dark surface. A relief for her no doubt burning and sweat-drenched face.

The two stayed quiet, neither sure of how to proceed from that moment. Marina stood sweating and borderline heaving, trying to steady her hearts and catch her breath after her brush with death. Pearl stood beside her, propping up her struggling friend, wishing to give her a chance to relax before either one spoke.

It was Marina who broke the silence this time.

“...I’m sorry…” she rasped out weakly, cheek still squished against the laminate partition wall.

“Huh?” Pearl said, turning to look up at Marina with confusion. “What for?”

Marina’s body began to shake again. Her lips trembled, her beak bit down in an attempt to silence any stray whimpers, and her eyes squinted as a watery sheen began to blur them. Her tentacles curled into themselves, and squirmed upwards in an attempt to shamefully hide the girl’s face in undulating shadows.

“I… I’m ruining our chance to have a good time tonight…”

Pearl’s confused expression fell to be replaced with one of dead-panned disbelief.

“Nah.”

The blunt response caused Marina to whip her head around to Pearl, and that sadness was partially masked with confusion of her own.

“Wha-”

“Nah. Not that shit right now, Ida,” Pearl said softly. She pulled her girlfriend, her beloved best friend, away from the stall wall and down into an embrace, allowing the taller girl to limply rest her body against her own smaller one. Ignoring how fucked up her back was gonna be tomorrow, Pearl used one hand to alternate between patting Marina’s own back and rubbing circles into it in to calm her.

And Marina almost immediately curled into that embrace. She wrapped both arms around the inkling’s waist, gripping onto her as tightly as her spent muscles could, using both hands against Pearl’s back to push her partner closer until they were pressed together, chest-to-chest, hearts beating in time with one another. Her back was arched out, greedily drinking in the soothing sensations Pearl was providing her. The octoling quivered, and in inkling’s ear, right where Marina had slotted her face in the crook of Pearl’s neck against the bunched up fabric of her jacket, Pearl could hear muffled choked sobs and sniffling, and all that composure Marina tried so hard to maintain was lost.

She didn’t say anything.

The two girls stood for a while. Slotted together. One a mess of fluids and the other covered in bathroom debris. Standing together, against each other, in the furthest tiny bathroom stall of their local bar.

And Pearl stayed silent the entire time, allowing Marina to cry all of her feelings out.

And after a few moments, Marina became silent, now doing little more than tiredly resting against Pearl.

“You good now,” Pearl whispered. She felt a single nod against her shoulder.

“Cool.”

They stood for a moment.

“...Is it cool if we like, sit for a sec? I feel like I’m about to fall over and make us both bust our asses,” Pearl said.

“O-Oh yeah, sure…” Marina replied stuffily, regrettably removing herself from the soft, pleasant-smelling warmth of Pearl’s jacket. She then resumed her previous position of sitting on her knees, though this time to face the opposite wall rather than the toilet. Pearl got comfy in the space right beside her, sitting criss-crossed and closest to the door.

Seeing Marina’s face now, out in the flickering fluorescent lights of the bathroom and free of the obscuring shadows of tentacles and shoulders, Pearl had a full view of just how red the octoling’s eyes were, and just how freshly wet her face was with tears. It damn near sent an icy spear through each one of Pearl’s hearts. She hated having to see her girlfriend this upset. 

But, on the upside, Marina looked much more relaxed compared to her demeanor just a few short moments ago.

Marina must’ve noticed the way Pearl was ogling her, because she hurriedly pulled her pink embroidered handkerchief out of her pocket and attempted to wipe her face clean.

“I must look like a mess right now, huh,” she said with a soft chuckle, a small smile beginning to peek out through the tears, like sunlight piercing through thick dark clouds.

“Oh, uh! N-Nah,” Pearl stammered, eyes darting away from Marina’s as she tried to come up with a convincing lie on the spot.

“You look hot,” she blurted out.

That only made Marina laugh harder as she pocketed her handkerchief and playfully pushed at Pearl’s arm.

“You need to sound more convincing than that, Pearlie!”

“Hey,” Pearl shouted, poking Marina in the side, “I really mean that! You’re always hot as fuck, being covered in puke ain’t gonna change that fact!”

“Oh, that’s sweet Pearl…” Marina said with a coy smile. “Though, I don’t know if I can believe that last part.” That smile fell into a small grimace. Her salmon pupils swerved away from Pearl to the toilet beside them. Her grimace deepened, and was accented with a small wince. She flushed the contents away. “Ugh.”

“Believe whatever you want,” Pearl said, watching Marina’s actions carefully, judging whether or not her movements were still shaky and strained. “I’m just saying, it’d take a hell of a lot for me to not be in the mood to kiss ya.”

“Well, we should probably hold off on that for a bit at least,” Marina replied with a smirk. “I wanna get a chance to wash my face first. I can’t stand how sticky and gross it feels…”

“Not a prob ‘Rina,” Pearl said, grinning sharply and rising to her feet. “You alright standing?”

“Well…” Marina looked to the floor pensively, lips pursed.

“Do ya wanna use my shoulders...”

Marina’s eyes shot up and brightened considerably in utter joy, her lips stretching into a goofy grin.

“If you don’t mind,” she said giddily.

The inkling rolled her eyes, and leaned down to offer Marina purchase. The octoling wrapped an arm around the smaller girl’s neck in an almost half-hug and, using the wall as leverage with her other hand, shakily stood on jelly-like legs, this time with a more confident stature.

“You don’t gotta look so damn happy about it,” Pearl teased as she shifted her shoulders to better support the weight Marina was leaning on her. She was met with a curt huff in response.

“Is it wrong to be happy that my chivalrous girlfriend is treating me so kindly…” Marina said, trailing it off with a pout. Pearl snorted loudly and tried to swallow her laughter, almost choking in the process and nearly causing the both of them to topple over.

“You don’t gotta say corny shit like that either!”

“It’s not corny, it’s romantic,” Marina said petulantly, poking one of Pearl’s chubby cheeks with her free hand. “If you’d read my manga recommendations you’d get what I mean.”

“I did read some of ‘em, and I still think it’s corny.”

“You misunderstood them then, because they’re the height of romance in my eyes,” Marina said aloofly. She brought her free hand to her chin, becoming lost in thought. “Maybe we should read them together, so I can explain them to you…”

“I wouldn’t be complaining if you did~” Pearl said in a sing-song teasing tone. Assured that Marina was properly secured, the inkling reached out to unlock the bathroom door so the two could hobble their way to the sinks together.

“Oh, I’ll have to prepare a list of a bunch of my favorite volumes then~” Marina said brightly, matching Pearl’s sing-song intonation. She moved her feet forward in tandem with Pearl’s steps, grateful to finally be freed from her cramped bathroom stall prison.

“Wouldn’t miss the chance to hear you explain a bunch of shit you’re into for the world,” Pearl snickered. 

She meant that.

Reaching one of the sinks, Pearl helped Marina lean herself against the countertop, gingerly and hesitantly removing herself to allow the octoling to support her own weight.

“Think you’ll be able to stand here on your own,” Pearl asked. She’d be ready and willing to be on standby in a heartbeat, but she’d be lying to herself if she said her own legs weren’t starting to feel like lead.

“Oh, yeah, I think I’m starting to get my strength back,” Marina said with a small, sweet smile. “Thanks for helping me, Pearlie.”

“You know I gotchu ‘Rina,” Pearl shot back with double finger guns and a wink. 

Teal blush dusted Marina’s cheeks, before she giggled lightly, nodded, and turned to wash the dried bodily fluids away from her face. Pearl looked down to her own hands, remembering back to all that time she spent crawling around on the floor. She briefly pondered how often it was mopped.

Yeah, I def gotta clean this shit off.

The inkling walked down to the other sink on the left-side of the counter, and turned the faucet on to hot water, full blast, because she’s a hard ass motherfucker.

And the two washed their hands in silence, mostly.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Marina,” Pearl said out to the open air.

“Oh, th-thanks. You uh, really helped with that…” Marina’s blush deepened. “So, thank you for that too…”

“‘S no problem, you know I hate seeing you cry.”

“Ah, yeah, I’m sorry about that-”

“‘Ey,” Pearl shot out quickly, narrowing her eyes at the octoling. “Stop apologizing for feeling shitty, that’s not your fault.”

“...Alright, Pearlie…” Marina replied with a dejected sigh. Pearl responded with a short hum.

Thinking back, Marina actually seemed perfectly fine when they first arrived, so why was she puking all over herself now?

“Hey Marina, what made you so sick anyway,” Pearl asked. “Ya seemed pretty alright when we sat down.”

Marina froze, and didn’t respond, seeming to pretend that her girlfriend hadn’t just addressed her directly, instead choosing to splash her face with water, followed by walking away towards the paper towels to vigorously dry her face. For much longer than necessary.

“...’Rina.”

Marina hummed a sound of acknowledgement, muffled by the paper covering her face.

“Do you know why you got sick…?”

“I, uh…” Marina muttered, still muffled. She exhaled another sigh, this time to ease her apprehension, and threw the paper towels in the trash, her back to Pearl the entire time. “...It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if you got so fucked up by it,” Pearl said bluntly, turning off her own sink, hands steamed and cleaned. She walked over to mingle by the paper towel dispenser, ripping out some for her own use.

Marina bit her lower lip, and shuffled her feet in place.

“You… you won’t think I’m cool… if I tell you…”

“Marina,” Pearl said, drying hands that were starting to look a bit red now, “you’re literally one of the coolest people I know. I won’t give a fuck, just tell me.”

Marina pursed her lips, tapping the toe of her high-heel against the floor and looking like she’d puke again if she even attempted to open her mouth. However, her face was etched with the slightest bit of dread as it fell with a huff.

“Okay, fine.” She tapped her clawed fingers against the sink’s granite countertop, taking a moment to think. “Well, you remember when our drinks first arrived?”

“Yeah.”

“And I, uh, downed mine pretty quickly?”

“Yeah, that was pretty fucking impressive, you must’ve really liked that shit,” Pearl said, nodding her head with a fond, knowing smile, as if the moment that happened an hour ago was a decade-held memory.

“Yes, well…” Marina paused, pressing her fingertips together before collecting her thoughts and continuing. “Well, then I started eating those little peanuts that they gave us and, cod, they made me really thirsty… so I went ahead and ordered another drink, and downed that too…”

“Yup, I remember.” Pearl’s lips curled into a shit-eating grin. “I remember you were all over those nuts too.”

Marina shot the little inkling a glare and rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” the octoling huffed as she continued, “Well do you remember how I kinda just… repeated that cycle like, two more times?”

“Sure.”

“And on the fourth time I only got about halfway through my drink before I suddenly had to get up and leave…?”

“Uh-huh...” It was Pearl’s turn to pause as she crossed her arms and thought back through the events of that night. “Yeah, that’s when you got sick, right?”

“Yeah… so…” Marina laced her fingers together and stared at her feet in embarrassment.

“So…” Pearl repeated unsurely, not really knowing where Marina was going with all this. “So you like, drank a lot?”

“Yes, Pearl…” Marina drew her teal, shame-filled eyes upward to meet Pearl’s golden ones. “I drank like three and a half cocktails in the span of 20 minutes…”

“Okay…” Pearl looked at Marina with confusion, trying to decipher meaning that she couldn’t quite grasp. “And that's uh… unusual, somehow?”

“Well,” Marina said, attempting to mask her growing frustration, “I guess for me it is…” She then scoffed to herself. “I can’t believe I let myself go overboard like that, I should know better…”

“Oh! Shit!” Pearl smacked herself in the forehead as realization hit her. “I forgot that you had baby tolerance!”

“What?!”

“Baby tolerance,” Pearl said flatly. “Cause you like, never drink.”

“No I don’t,” Marina said with an angry pout, crossing her arms. “Also, don’t call it that.”

“I’ll call it what it is. And yes, you do,” Pearl said with a teasing smirk.

“N-No, I don’t,” Marina sputtered, “I couldn’t help it, it was the peanuts! They release serotonin in your brain when you eat them, which makes you want to keep eating them, which just makes you thirstier. They give you those on purpose so… you…” 

The octoling trailed off when she saw Pearl’s face curling further and further into the wryest, shittiest smirk while she kept trying to explain herself. So Marina shut herself up, and kept her arms crossed while Pearl just kept on smirking. She tapped her foot against the ground sharply, trying to come up with some witty retort.

“Besides,” Marina began, with a sly look and a glower, “that shouldn’t matter anyway. Based on our differing heights and weights, I should be able to handle just as much as you can.”

The small inkling became stone-faced, and tut-tut’d her tall girlfriend upon hearing this. She then held up one squared-off finger.

“Aight, first of all, you’re not that much taller, so I’m not even gonna entertain that thought.” Marina pouted while Pearl curled a second finger up. “Aaaand two, I’ve been at this way longer than you have, and beat my guts to ever-loving shit. My liver’s like fucking steel now.”

“But-”

“‘Rina, seriously, I was at it at an age when I wasn’t even supposed to be allowed near that shit. Don’t try to mimic me,” Pearl said, a harsh sternness drenching her voice.

“...Okay,” Marina muttered, slowly turning her back to Pearl to face the countertop. She went back to rapping her fingers against the counter, that perturbed look still stuck on her face.

Pearl's forbidding expression faltered upon seeing her girlfriend’s reaction to what she thought was well-intentioned advice. Evidently, Marina did not take it that way. In fact, it seemed like everything Pearl just said put her girlfriend in a bad mood, when just a few moments ago they were smiling and playfully joking around with each other, right after Marina’s whole ordeal. 

Kinda makes a squid feel like shit.

Alright, I probably took it a little too far there , Pearl thought to herself, cupping her face with a hand as she tried to think of a way to salvage the situation. Was it the ‘baby tolerance’ thing? That one was probably too mean, even she’d have to admit.

Pearl cleared her throat loudly to catch Marina’s attention. The octoling’s eyes flicked up slightly from where they’d been staring down at her own hand, watching it listlessly draw circles into the speckled, monochrome counter.

“Hey Marina, I’m uh, sorry for saying you had baby tolerance.” Pearl scratched one of her arms, uncomfortably shifting in place and unsure of how to continue. “That wasn’t cool of me to say. I should know better than to poke fun at shit like that. And you’re uh, probably right about the peanut thing. I dunno anything about serotones and shit but the um, rest sounded like, smart.”

“Oh, um…” Marina replied, turning towards Pearl to provide her full attention. The teal girl looked confused and equally unsure of how to respond. “That’s okay, I guess? I uh, just took that as our usual sort of banter…”

“O-Oh…”

That definitely wasn’t the reaction Pearl had expected either.

“Well… I’m sorry for the steel liver thing too,” Pearl tried, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. “I guess that was weird to say so proudly?”

“Not really. You say stuff like that everyday,” Marina said blankly.

The inkling groaned internally. This girl was gonna kill her.

Then it hit Pearl like a brick to the mantle.

“Was it the lecturing that upset you,” Pearl said outright, concern and guilt growing on her face. “Cause yeah, I shouldn’t be telling you what to do. You’re a grown woman, if you wanna do crazy shit like get completely sloshed then I’ve got no right to stop ya.”

All at once it hit Marina that Pearl was trying to apologize to her for Marina’s own dour mood. She covered her mouth and gasped, and her eyes too began to fill with guilt.

“Oh, no! No no no, Pearlie,” Marina said hurriedly, waving her hands as if to dispel Pearl’s entire sense of guilt, before stepping forward to grip the inkling’s shoulders in reassurance with an anxious smile. “You’re not the one I’m upset at. I’m… sorry if I made it seem that way…”

“Oh…” Pearl said dully, taken aback by how much she had misjudged the situation. Usually she’s on the up-and-up with Marina’s emotions, but tonight she was acting weirder than usual. It was then that she noticed Marina’s choice of words.

“So, you’re not upset at me ,” Pearl said slowly, before she looked up at the octoling, latent anger washing over her. “But there is someone you’re upset at. Shit, ‘Rina did someone try to talk you up or mess with you in here? Cause if some asshole did, you know I can track ‘em down to gut ‘em like a fucking fish and-”

“Ah! N-No Pearlie!” The octoling interrupted the ranting squid, squeezing her shoulders gently yet firmly to stop the slew of gorey details she’d heard dozens of times before. “No, it wasn’t anybody else!”

“Are you sure,” Pearl said hotly, fearing the worst as her brain spiraled. “Be honest, Marina. You don’t gotta protect anyone.”

Cod. A sick, drunk Marina, alone in the bathroom for that fucking long, of course something bad could’ve happened. Pearl thought bitterly back to how she stewed alone in their booth, just bored and waiting for her girlfriend to come back, all the while anything could’ve occurred right under her inattentive nose.

Marina seemed to notice the dark clouds that began to swirl behind Pearl’s eyes and her increasingly agitated tone, because the next thing the inkling knew, the octoling was down in front of her, kneeling to Pearl’s eye level. Pearl’s smaller pale hands were enveloped in Marina’s larger dark ones, and it was the larger that reassuringly and warmly squeezed the smaller this time.

“Yes Pearl, I’m sure,” Marina said, voice instilled with as much tenderness and reassurance as she could muster to soothe her boiling girlfriend’s mind before she spilled over. Teal eyes stared into golden ones, searching for understanding.

Pearl stared back, feeling the anger she was brimming with slowly ebb as the voice of the girl kneeling before her made it fade away. All that was left however, was a lingering hollow feeling in her chest. A hollowness born from failing to be there for the one she cared for most, when she was needed most.

The way Pearl’s face fell into some form of muted shame was not lost on Marina, who was unsettled to not have been met with instead the relief that she’d been aiming to instill in her partner. The octoling removed her right hand from the inkling’s left, and instead used it to brush back one of her girlfriend’s larger front tentacles, revealing a tiny, triangular ear. It flicked sharply in the cold, open air, earning a soft chuckle from Marina and a soft blush of pink from Pearl, who was still unwilling to meet her girlfriend’s eyes despite the sudden (yet not unwelcome) intrusion to her personal space.

Marina’s right hand moved to cradle Pearl’s face, resting her palm just above her jawline, squishing up the inkling’s little cheek, and allowing her thumb to circle and play with the little ear that continued to flick and swerve with each movement. Her girlfriend’s warm and soothing touches did little to dispel her sudden dejection, but that didn’t stop Pearl from sinking into them, closing her eyes to allow herself to just feel Marina’s disruptive and playful motions against her skin. The inkling’s shoulders began to sag, and her breath began to come out slowly, and evenly. To Marina, this now seemed the perfect time to pry.

“Tell me what’s up, Pearlie,” Marina murmured, running a feather-light finger slowly along the ear’s outer ridge, causing a slight shiver to run through the inkling. “Is there something you’re upset about?”

“Ugh, Marina,” Pearl scoffed, yet still leaning into Marina’s touch, eyes still thankfully closed so  she could avoid those assuredly much-too-soft eyes. “Don’t try to change the subject, I was just asking you the same thing.”

“I’m not, really,” Marina said reassuringly, laughing lightly, “it’s more of a small detour, I guess?”

“Oh yeah? And why do we need to take a detour,” Pearl asked flatly.

“Because I’m allowed to worry about you too.”

…There she goes, being so over-the-top and corny again… Pearl thought to herself, trying and failing to prevent her girlfriend’s sappy words from digging in and infesting her too. She cracked open her eyes to shoot her partner a hard look.

“...There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Pearlie…” Marina said softly, staring at Pearl with the biggest, wettest, roundest eyes she could muster. “Please…?” 

Pearl stared back, then groaned, easily defeated by those tender touches and that relentless pleading. Once Marina got to worrying about her Pearlie, there was just no stopping her. Any and all pouting and sulking Pearl would try to stew in was powerless against those puppydog eyes.

“Whatever…” Pearl said with a sigh, relaxing fully into Marina’s palm as she prepared to spill her hearts out. “I just… feel shitty about not being there for you, ya know?”

“Oh, Pearlie, you-”

“Lemme finish spilling my guts first, ‘Rina,” Pearl said, cutting Marina off with a small, strained smile. The inkling stood up straight, removing her face from Marina’s grasp and moving to instead loosely clasp that open palm with both of her own smaller hands. She ran a thumb up and down the back of her girlfriend’s own thumb slowly.

“You were in here, all alone, and I was out there, all alone, and I coulda done something to change that and help you outta here sooner, and I didn’t.”

The pink inkling paused, tilting her head down, almost afraid to meet Marina’s eyes lest her own composure break mid-speech.

“And part of that was prolly cause I didn’t want you to feel like I didn’t trust you, cause I do. I just… don’t wanna be some kinda overbearing girlfriend, y’know? I felt that shit from my parents, and I know they meant well, but cod was it stifling sometimes. I don’t wanna be that kinda person to you.”

Pearl paused again before suddenly releasing her grip on Marina to hold her head in her hands and expel a loud groan.

“Cod dammit and just a second ago I was telling you not to drink, like I’m your coddamn mom. You’re twenty-three Marina. Cod who the fuck do I think I am-”

Almost instantly Pearl’s hands were ripped from her face, cutting off her rapidly spiraling speech. Pearl’s eyes snapped up to meet Marina’s and, cod, the sight almost made her feel even worse. Those eyes stared right back into her soul with a certain seriousness and poignant sadness rarely found within them.

“Pearl,” she said quietly, “I’m… I’m sorry you’re feeling like this…” The octoling worked her fingers between the inklings, interlacing them together.

Pearl simply hummed, unable to muster up a response after borderline trauma-dumping all over her girlfriend in a public bathroom. A self-loathing scowl was glued to her face. Marina subtly chewed on her bottom lip as she attempted to formulate the best possible string of words she could think of; something that could possibly drag her girlfriend out of her funk.

“I think…” Marina continued slowly, as to not fumble through her next words, “ I think you’re just a protective and selfless person. Which, honestly, is something I really admire about you…”

Pearl shot Marina an incredulous glance, and simply snorted in response.

“That’s pretty damn funny, considering I was too busy sulking and bitching to myself to check on ya.”

“Pearlie, you can’t blame yourself for that, you didn’t know anything was wrong.”

“Yeah, well I should’ve known.” Pearl’s eyes narrowed and her fingers tensed and clenched down between Marina’s, shaking ever so slightly, only held steady by Marina’s own grip. “I could’ve known. I want to be there for you when you need me.”

The inkling hung her head, eyes to the ground, as the bitterness of her tone and facial expression ever increased, the words retched out like caustic bile.

“And yet, there I was, not doing that as if I don’t give a coddamn about what happens to you. Cause I’m too worried about my own shit to be who I need to be for y-”

Pearl was cut off by a heavy weight pressed against her downturned forehead. She felt that familiar, soft skin against her own, and those familiar smooth, rubbery tentacles that curtained those familiar eyes that were now similarly too ashamed to look into their partner’s eyes.

“Pearl,” came the trembling voice of the girl kneeling before Pearl, forehead pressed against hers. “Please, stop.” 

The sound of that broken tone made Pearl’s stomach churn. The inkling strained her eyes upward, daring to catch sight of Marina’s. The position was awkward, but she could see those teal eyes staring down blankly. That hardened sadness they still radiated was palpable; her eyes were dry, no tears were shed, and yet the emotion conveyed was too clear. Her mouth was as thin as a rail, and it looked as if she was about to choke on her next words.

“Please,” Marina continued, willing with all her strength to keep her voice calm and even. “I… I can’t handle hearing you talk about yourself like that…”

Her fingers, still entwined with Pearl’s, too clasped down, her claws unintentionally digging into the back of Pearl’s hands, forming a small dotted line of indentations upon them.

“Do you really think that you don’t care, after hearing yourself going in circles worrying about how much you worry about me? Do you think that I think you don’t care…?”

Pearl was taken aback by the solemnity of Marina’s words, and by the accusation that she was devaluing her emotional intelligence.

“N-No, ‘Rina! I didn’t mean it like that, I-”

The inkling moved to look up and face her girlfriend head-on, but was quickly halted by a long, slender hand that released Pearl’s right, and lightly pressed against the back of her head in one deft motion, keeping the two squished together.

“I know…” Marina said quietly. “Cod, Pearlie I know you didn’t. I’m… I’m sorry…” She paused.

Pearl felt that hand on her head start to tremble as it lightly squeezed at her four smaller tentacles. She felt Marina’s front tentacles begin to shake and writhe ever so slightly, anxiety filling them down to their tips and betraying Marina’s attempt to stay stone-faced.

Marina’s next words came out in a voice as meek as Pearl had ever heard.

“I’m sorry for making us come here.” The hand grasping Pearl’s tentacles clenched slightly. “This was a mistake.”

Pearl’s ink ran cold. 

This was all her fault. Her breakdown greatly uneased Marina. It was the final nail in the coffin for their date. The inkling’s mind raced as she tried to think of something to say that could at all salvage things.

“It’s… it’s not your fault!” Pearl frantically grabbed the hand pushing them together and pulled it away, dragging it down in front of them. She cupped the back of Marina’s hand with her palm, and gripped her fingers around it. The inkling did the same to their other hands, having to unlock their fingers to secure a similar grip. “Here, let’s get up and outta here. We can go sit back down and, and you can order whatever you want. I’ll pay for whatever. And you can have all the fucking free peanuts and serotone you want.”

Pearl tugged at both of her partner’s hands in an attempt to help her off her knees. She didn’t budge.

“Marina…” Pearl tugged again. She didn’t budge. “C-C’mon. We can’t stay here all night.”

Marina’s head stayed hung, her eyes set downward, with that same blank, hardened look inside them that was threatening to crumble. She made no indication nor acknowledgement that she’d even heard Pearl. Her eyes simply searched the ground, as if reading something only she could see.

Pearl chewed on her bottom lip, her brow furrowed heavily with concern. She sighed and sat on her knees in front of Marina.

“I’m sorry, Marina.” The octoling didn’t react, but her eyelids twitched ever so slightly. “I don’t know what got into me, dumping all my feelings on you like that outta nowhere. Especially when you’re feeling like shit.” 

Marina’s fists balled.

“Just, cod, that’s my bad. This is my faul-”

“Stop,” Marina lifted her head, revealing her eyes; wet, tears pooling at the sides and looking as if they’d fall all over again. “Please just stop… apologizing to me…”

“Pearl.” Marina scooted closer on her knees, and placed a splayed hand to her chest. Her eyes were filled with desperation. “ I’m the one that needs to be sorry. All of this, everything that’s happened tonight, all of it is my fault.”

“No, it’s not, Marina.” Pearl’s tone was almost aggressive. She was unsure whether Marina would be reciprocal to touch right now, and had to stop the momentum of a hand that was now hovering millimeters above the octoling’s shoulder. “You keep saying that, but that’s not how I see it.”

Marina grasped her tentacle and clawed at it, digging into it, needing some other stimuli to distract from the growing throbbing sensation in her head. 

She winced. As did Pearl.

“You would if you knew why I dragged us out here tonight.”

Pearl gently pulled her hands away from the slightly scratched-up tentacle, and placed them palm up in Marina’s lap.

“‘Rina,” Pearl pleaded, “don’t hurt yourself.”

“...I’m sorry…”

“Shhh,” Pearl hushed, “it’s fine, you’re fine. Now…” Pearl leaned forward and pulled Marina’s handkerchief out of her pocket, and dabbed dry the tear tracks running down the octoling’s face. “I’m all ears, cause it feels like there’s somethin’ you need to get out.”

“...Okay,” Marina inhaled deeply, attempting to swallow and relax her strained and raw throat enough to speak. “... I just hate feeling like I’m holding you back. I hate feeling like a burden to you.”

“Wha…” Pearl was dumbfounded. She didn’t really see the connection between the events that occurred tonight and that confession, but nevertheless, it was one that unsettled and upset Pearl to hear.

“Marina!” Pearl dropped the handkerchief and lunged forward, grasping Marina’s upper arms and squeezing them, having to stop herself from shaking some sense into the girl. “You’re not a burden! At all! Did I say somethin’ to make you think that?”

Marina sniffled, and looked down, hiding her face behind her biggest tentacle.

“No…”

“Then where in cod’s name did that come from?”

“I…”

Marina opened and closed her mouth. She was trying to speak, her emotions were welling up, but the words just couldn’t come out.

“I…”

Pearl sat patiently and waited, giving her girlfriend a moment to collect herself and settle her undoubtedly frayed nerves.

“…I’m just afraid. That I’m changing you,” Marina looked Pearl in the eyes. “Changing you for the worse.”

The inkling took a moment to ingest those words, turning them over in her head, trying to decipher what her partner was trying to get at.

“Why…” Pearl started, frowning quizzically. “What makes you think you’re changing me for the worse?”

“Cod Pearl, just, everything .” Marina sniffled again. “For starters, we were supposed to have a fun, relaxing date tonight and I,” she waved a hand, gesturing vaguely, “ fucked all that up beyond repair. Even made you start having a crisis.”

“‘Rina, I told you, that was my-”

“Pearlie,” Marina interrupted, shooting Pearl an incredulous look, “you almost never get that emotionally raw, you’re always so put-together. I made you like that.” Marina dug a finger, harshly, into her chest. “I did that. Because it was my stupid idea to come to this stupid place and get stupidly wasted the second we walked in.”

The octoling pressed her palms roughly into her eye sockets, trying to soothe herself by massaging gentle circles into them. The stress and overstimulation of her endless tears and her feelings finally spilling out and her latent nausea and her partner sitting across from her with so much hurt and concern etched on her face and the alcohol still inside her and the fluorescent lights that were just a little too bright and the distant pounding sound of music just beyond the bathroom door were all making her want to bubble down into a puddle of ink.

“I’m such an idiot.”

“Hey,” Pearl’s eyes flashed heatedly, and her voice was harsh and challenging. “don’t you dare call yourself an idiot. You’re the smartest motherfucker on this entire fucking planet.”

“No no, I am Pearl.” Marina’s hands slide down her face in despair, looking to Pearl through slitted fingers. “I am because I thought this was something you’d enjoy doing for once. But obviously, I was so fucking wrong.”

That ‘for once’ her partner tried to subtly slip in did not go unnoticed by Pearl.

“Girl,” Pearl said, raising an eyebrow, “Do you really think I don’t enjoy all the shit we do together?”

“Well-”

“Cause I do,” Pearl interrupted, her brow and eyemask scrunching down in frustration. “I’m sorry that brain of yours is telling you I don’t, but I do. I’m sorry that whatever I did made you think-”

“I get it Pearl!” Marina spat tensely.

The octoling slapped a clawed hand over her mouth, in shock of herself for allowing her own frustration to get the better of her, causing her to lash out against her girlfriend. Pearl simply leaned back a bit, her lips a thin line and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, cod I…” the octoling spoke, muffled through her hand, before she allowed both to fall limply into her lap. “I’m so sorry…” Shame and guilt bloomed yet again across her face, and it seemed to take all her strength to hold her head up high to face Pearl and maintain eye contact, as her lips trembled. “Give me a chance to explain. Let me just… explain.”

Those words silenced any and all lingering interjections that would have slipped past the inkling’s lips. She knew when she needed to keep her trap shut. Pearl simply leaned forward, hands resting on her knees, and nodded once, waiting for Marina to continue.

And Marina simply sighed, and flashed Pearl a forced, weak smile. She stewed within herself, eyes darting every which way as she tried to materialize in her head just how she could ever possibly begin.

The octoling inhaled slowly, and spoke.

“Ever since that day, back on Mt. Nantai, about seven years ago…” Marina paused, throat bobbing as she tried to swallow down the strain within it. “Ever since we met, and started hanging out together, and making music together… I feel like, slowly, over the years, you’ve changed from that person I met so long ago…”

Marina quickly raised her hands in preemptive and instinctual defense.

“And I know it’s okay to change, and everybody changes, and yadda-yadda-yadda! But,” She drew her hands back to her lap, fidgeting them together and fiddling with each digit, knuckle, and clawed nail. “You’ve just changed so much. You’re so different from who you used to be, and for the longest time I just couldn’t wrap my head around why that was.”

Her eyes shot back up quickly, almost frantically, to meet Pearl’s.

“O-Of course that’s not to say that I don’t love who you are now,” Marina stammered out with a soft, nervous smile. “I love who you are now, and I loved who you were then, and I’ve loved every you that you were in between. But… I couldn’t help but start thinking…” 

Those teal eyes glinted with the slightest hint of pain. 

“Thinking that I was the reason you were changing. That you were, I don’t know,” She winced. “Just catering to me, and my interests, and what I wanted, because you thought you had to. For that poor girl that had nothing in the world; that girl that you felt like you had to give everything to…”

Pearl was trembling in her skin. It ached every muscle in her little body to have to sit there in silence. To just sit patiently and quietly while having to listen to her girlfriend pour her hearts out and explain in detail one of her deepest insecurities regarding their relationship. And it ached her jaw to keep it clamped shut, to not be able to jump in with a comment refuting everything Marina was saying.

However, the inkling’s respect for the octoling and her wishes outweighed her natural instinct to swoop in to play damage control and try to fix and shut down every little problem Marina was facing immediately . And so, Pearl sat patiently, and quietly, and kept it clamped, and allowed her partner to continue unabated.

And continue unabated Marina did.

“I mean, cod Pearl, didn’t you start out wanting to sing punk rock? Heavy metal?” Marina’s hands gravitated to her front tentacle again, this time simply fidgeting with and idly swirling its tip. “And now, we’re just doing stuff like pop, EDM, club music… and I mean you still have your rapping parts, but… all of it is stuff I wanted to do...” 

Marina’s voice trailed off meekly. Those hands around her tentacle tensed, and the octoling grimaced as she willed herself not to squeeze down. To not worry and alarm Pearl more than the octoling knew the inkling already was, simply based on the look of complete, unconcealed concern on her partner’s face.

“A-And your old bandmates, your old friends, all those fans you had before we started performing together. The ones that left as soon as they saw you playing with me, and heard the kinda music we were making…”

The octoling then ran a hand through her hair in anxious distress, pushing back her shortest tentacle as she focused her eyes on Pearl with a stare that was near-manic.

“And all of your old hobbies Pearl, everything you did that you always seemed to be so proud of, and that you were always happy to brag about to me.” She began to wring her hands, and her lips morphed back into that tense, nervous smile. “And then I just had to tell you how uncomfortable I was, and how I didn’t like what you were doing, after hearing you boast about how you’d destroyed the last venue you performed at, or how you had a black eye and a torn abdominal muscle after getting into a bar fight with some other random musician you barely even knew.”

That forced, strained smile looked as if it was about to crack.

“Every time, I’d see that proud look on your face fall. Until after a while, you stopped telling me about those things. And then, you stopped doing all those things…”

She broke eye contact with Pearl. Her hands shook. She crumpled up the fabric of her pants. The trembling didn’t stop.

“I never meant for you to quit doing all that. I just, I couldn’t take it, hearing and knowing what you were doing to yourself. But,” She clenched her hands. The trembling wouldn’t stop. “But that was me being selfish, wasn’t it? I was just, shitting all over what you loved to do while indulging in the things you gave me.”

Marina tried to swallow down the soreness in her throat.

“So, just recently, after I finally figured out that I was the problem, I-I thought that I could finally surprise you with something you might enjoy. Something that didn’t have to be another fucking,” she waved her hand aimlessly, “ice cream outing or Squid Sisters concert or whatever the hell you put up with me doing. However, as you can see,” Her eyes did a survey of the bathroom interior. “ that kinda blew up in my face, because it’s something I wasn’t capable of doing for you…”

Marina's breath came out in heaves. Her eyes were screwed shut, with the barest hint of tears leaking through. She grasped her upper arms, and her claws dug into her skin.

“Pearl, I’m so, happy , making music with you and, and doing things with you, and just being with you. But, I just don’t know.” Marina inhaled a shuddering, labored breath. “I don’t know if you’re happy. Doing all that, and living like this, with me. I just, I just-”

Pearl just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Marina!”

That shout instantly cut off the octoling’s increasingly incoherent babbling in self-loathing. Her eyes snapped open, and she was met with her partner’s golden pair directly in front of her. The inkling’s face was twisted into a scowl, and those gold eyes glowered with a stare so intense it could’ve bored straight through Marina’s head. The intensity of her partner’s expression caused the octoling’s face to fall, shifting into a look that made it clear the girl was absolutely petrified of the next words out of Pearl’s mouth.

But, the inkling did not yet speak. Instead, still holding onto that same hardened expression, she trudged towards Marina on her knees, slowly, until the two were face to face, mere centimeters of distance between them. The octoling lurched backwards slightly, almost defensively, and held a clenched hand over her pounding central heart.

Pearl drew both of her hands upwards, and Marina winced, before the inkling placed them delicately on each of the octoling’s cheeks, squishing her face a bit and causing her lips to purse into a slight pout. She held her girlfriend’s face steady, and took a brief moment to fixate her gaze on Marina, stewing on every word she’d just heard tonight. 

And under that stare, Marina could do nothing but squirm slightly in Pearl’s slack grasp, and expel a soft, pathetic whimper. She was just waiting for the inkling to start berating her, and telling her everything she’d said was true, and that Marina was just a leech taking advantage of years of Pearl’s coddling and kindness, and that they were over, and that she never wanted to be with or see or hear from Marina ever again. And Marina had to be okay with that, she had to be able to live with that outcome.

But, how could she ever?

After what seemed like an eternity, Pearl took a deep breath, exhaled, and finally spoke what were, in Marina’s mind, the final words they would ever exchange.

“I love you.”

The octoling said nothing for a few moments, and looked as if her brain had sputtered to a halt.

“...Huh,” Marina said dully, through puckered lips.

“I love you,” Pearl repeated, and that scowl and glower instantly softened, replaced with a weary smile, and raised eyebrows, upturned with both fondness and worry. “I love you, and I’m happy being with you.”

The inkling took a brief pause, waiting for her partner’s response.

“Wha…” was all the octoling could utter, face scrunched in abject confusion. Pearl simply snickered.

“You okay there, ‘Rina,” Pearl asked.

Marina blinked rapidly, coming back to herself.

“Y-Yeah! I’m fine,” Marina exclaimed. However, she didn’t drop the muddled face she was making. “But, you’re not… mad?” Her voice cracked on that last word and she looked as if she wanted to shove her foot in her mouth.

“No, of course not,” Pearl said, her words colored with light laughter. She brushed a thumb across Marina’s cheek. “Why would I be?”

The octoling shivered from that gentle touch and squirmed in place, then chewed on her inner cheek nervously.

“B-Because you,” Marina made eye contact with Pearl, and her brow creased with her usual worried expression. “You seemed mad…?” She shrugged helplessly.

“Oh,” Pearl said, feeling a bit dumb. She pursed her lips. “Yeah, I probably laid it on a little too thick there.” The inkling then flashed Marina a toothy grin and winked. “But if I didn’t go all serious mode on ya, I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

Pearl laughed to herself for a second, before her face suddenly dropped.

“You do believe me, don’tcha ‘Rina?” The inkling seemed a tad more serious this time as she waited expectantly for her partner’s response. And said partner seemed all too eager not to disappoint.

“Y-Yes! I definitely… do…?” That worried face cracked an anxious smile. She must’ve thought she nailed it.

Pearl’s face and tone of voice fell flat.

“You don’t believe me at all,” she deadpanned.

Marina’s eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head in Pearl’s cradled hands furiously, her tentacles lightly swinging to and fro.

“No I-I do! Honestly I-” The octoling faltered, tripping over her words, and finally opted against digging herself a deeper hole and feeding her girlfriend more lies. Her expression turned sullen, and she regretfully nodded her head.

Her girlfriend’s answer wasn’t one Pearl was particularly ecstatic to hear, though it didn’t exactly surprise her. The inkling hummed to herself thoughtfully, thinking for a bit, before her mouth slipped into a sly and mildly giddy grin.

“‘Rina,” Pearl said, catching the girl’s attention. 

Marina looked to Pearl curiously, yet apprehensively, likely worried about Pearl being displeased by her answer.

“Yeah…?”

“Is it alright if I tried something else to convince ya?”

Marina cocked her head to the side inquisitively, perking up her rounded ears.

“Like what?”

“Oh, I don’t wanna ruin the surprise…”

Pearl then leaned forward, closing even more distance between the two, until they were practically nose-to-nose. From up close, Pearl could see that Marina’s eyes were absolutely trembling , and she could feel the octoling’s hot breaths picking up speed the longer her partner invaded her immediate personal space. The inkling removed her hands from her girlfriend’s cheeks, and slowly grazed a finger past the octoling’s lips, and down her chin. Pearl’s voice was low, husky, and thick as it slipped past those lips pulled into a smug smile. 

“I just need your permission…”

Marina’s breath caught in her throat, and all she could do was make a barely audible squeak. If she could blush any harder, her face would be nothing but a sea of teal. She nodded her head vigorously, as if her life depended on it.

Pearl smirked, elated, and used that same finger to gently tilt Marina’s head upwards. The inkling rose herself up to be just slightly elevated over the girl, and smiled down on the quaking octoling.

“That’s my girl,” she said softly. Pearl grabbed Marina’s shoulders, and pulled her beloved octoling closer, and closed her eyes, and connected, her soft lips pressing heavily and hungerly against Marina’s.

That kiss made Marina nearly turn into her swim form and melt . 

She keened against Pearl’s lips, and desperately reciprocated. She placed a hand against Pearl’s back and another against her head, and greedily pulled her beloved inkling into an even deeper embrace, squeezing the two’s lips so closely together that it almost hurt .

Pearl’s tongue prodded against Marina’s mouth, asking for entry, and Marina accepted. She opened her lips ever so slightly, and the inkling took the opportunity eagerly, her tongue entering to run along her gum line, and across the roof of her mouth, before tangling itself in her partner’s own tongue in such a way that it sent the octoling shivering.

And all too quickly, Pearl needed air. 

And all too quickly, in Pearl’s mind at least, and in Marina’s too, they parted. 

The two fell backwards, landing on their seats and panting. A single line of spittle was their only remaining connection before it snapped in the air.

“How was-,” Pearl gasped out, recovering rather quickly. “How was that?”

Marina’s response was a weak thumbs up and a goofy, lopsided smile in between attempts to catch her breath. Pearl merely chuckled to herself and smirked.

“So,” Pearl started, clicking her tongue once. “We all good now?”

Her girlfriend shot her an incredulous look, and if the girl could talk were she not light-headed from their heated moment of passion and tongue-wrestling, Pearl imagined she’d be saying “Are you fucking kidding?”. Maybe. Something along those lines.

“Yeah, I figured a kiss wouldn’t be like, the magic solution to our problems,” Pearl said thoughtfully, chuckling. “Honestly, I mostly just did that to help you chill out. I mean I’ll kiss you any fuckin’ day of the week, but,” The inkling then trailed her fingers to her girlfriend’s knee, and used them to slowly crawl up Marina’s leg. “I know it’s something that never fails to make my ‘Rina all gaspy and light-headed…”

“P-Pearlieeee…” Marina whined, finally stable enough to speak. She bashfully turned her head to the side, and grabbed one of her tentacles to attempt to bury her burning face within it.

“Aww, it’s okay sweetie~” Pearl lightly teased, gently squeezing the octoling’s thigh through her leggings. Marina peeked out from behind her rubbery hiding place to puff out her cheeks and give Pearl a petulant, narrow-eyed glare. All that did was make the inkling snicker to herself.

“Seriously though,” Pearl continued, her voice dropping a bit. “You alright now? Cause I kinda wanted to, um,” She paused for a beat. “Talk about stuff.”

Marina’s body froze for just a second, and that pouty look was replaced by one of unease. She slowly put her tentacle back down, and reluctantly nodded, knowing that this was absolutely an inevitable discussion that had to happen right now.

“So…” Pearl said.

“So…” Marina repeated apprehensively.

The inkling looked to the octoling with a kind smile, and tried to think of a decent starting point. But honestly, there was so damn much, her head was spinning trying to decide what she could possibly cover first.

Thankfully, it was Marina that decided to swoop in and begin the conversation with an anxious smile and a nervous giggle.

“So, I kinda, heh, really,” her face fell, “really, went off there…”

“Y-Yeah…” Pearl said simply, before catching herself and hurriedly continuing. “But that’s not a bad thing, at all! You obviously needed to get all that shit out.” She paused. “How long have you been thinking about all this stuff?”

Her partner mulled over her answer, pondered on it to herself for a bit, before she opened her mouth to answer.

“Well, technically, it’s always been something I’ve been thinking about for, uh… years…” Marina’s voice dropped on that last word, and Pearl’s hearts dropped along with it. Marina must’ve noticed that Pearl’s expression became troubled, because she quickly added an addendum to her previous statement. “But! But this stuff, all the stuff that I just ranted about… all that only started a few weeks ago…”

“...I see.” 

That really didn’t make Pearl feel any better. The first thing was concerning enough, but, knowing that her girlfriend was having all these intense feelings of self-loathing, and such a strong lack of confidence in their relationship, for weeks ? And Pearl didn’t notice a single thing? No change in her demeanor? Never realized that maybe she’d been acting strangely recently, and there was probably a reason behind it?

That maybe Marina wanting to go to a fucking bar out of nowhere wasn’t her just being weird and spontaneous and out-of-character, that maybe she should’ve pried a little more into that, to maybe prevent this whole shitshow in the first place?

Evidently, she really wasn’t the best at emotional shit.

“Shit ‘Rina…” Pearl struggled to materialize the words to continue. “I didn’t… I never realized you were dealing with all that. And for so long too.” Her eyes became downcast, and her gaze fell to her lap. “Shit…”

“I-It’s not your fault, Pearl,” Marina muttered. “I’m the one that shouldn’t hide stuff like this until it, you know,” she shrugged to herself, “boils over…” 

“Nah, that’s somethin’ I legit need to work on. I mean, talking is good too but, you know how I can be. I tend to, uh,” She scratched the side of her neck awkwardly. ”be pretty bad at picking up on stuff like that unless I’m told outright.”

Marina simply hummed to herself, and said nothing. Yeah, that was definitely something even she had to agree with.

“I guess we’ve got a few communication issues to work on, then,” Marina said with a bitter laugh.

“I guess we do,” Pearl said, bitterly laughing alongside her.

And for a moment, the two girls fell into silence.

Pearl sighed heavily, breaking that silence.

“Marina, I need you to know somethin’.” 

The inkling crawled away from her position in front of Marina and towards the space to the right of her. She plopped herself down and sat squished against her girlfriend, their thighs pressed together. She stared up with golden eyes at the octoling, attempting to initiate eye contact. 

“I really am happy being with you. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I know.” Marina refused to meet Pearl’s gaze. “You said that already.”

“Yeah well, do you believe it?”

The octoling remained silent, seeming more interested in absentmindedly fiddling with the sleeve of Pearl’s jacket between her thumb and index finger than answering.

“Marina.” Pearl pressed a hand down against Marina’s to cease her movements, curling her fingers around it with a squeeze to redirect her girlfriend’s attention. “Do you?”

“I…” Marina paused, and grimaced. She chewed on her bottom lip, and removed her hand from under Pearl’s, opting to instead rest it upon the inkling’s thigh. “I want to.”

“But…” Pearl inquired expectantly.

“But…” Marina continued, gently bunching up Pearl’s shorts in her claws. “It’s just… not as easy for me to do that, Pearl…”

Pearl hummed ambivalently in response. She rested her hand atop the clawed one attempting to poke holes through the fabric of her clothes, and used an index finger to tenderly draw aimless circles into the back of it.

“You know,” Pearl started again, “you left out a bunch of details in that story.”

The octoling looked to Pearl with a raised eyebrow and a slight frown.

“Which story?”

“That one about me ending up with a black eye and a torn muscle after a bar fight.”

“Oh…” Marina’s face scrunched as the memory of finding Pearl, broken and haggard, on the couch of one of the many living rooms of her extensive mansion within which Pearl had so graciously allowed Marina to stay while she was still getting on her feet was dredged back up, as fresh as the day it’d happened. “Did I forget something important?”

To that, Pearl guffawed, hard, her boisterous laughs echoing against the bathroom walls.

“You seriously don’t remember,” Pearl asked excitedly in disbelief.

“I-I don’t, no,” Marina said, cupping a cheek with her hand as Pearl’s excitement filled her with some strange sense of dread. “And I’m not sure if I want to. I can’t imagine what else I said…”

“Oh c’mon.” The inkling tilted her body towards Marina with a lopsided grin, shifting onto her left side and using a hand against the bathroom floor to prop herself up. “You don’t remember how you screamed bloody murder the second you walked in and saw how fucked up I was? Or how you threw a trillion questions my way asking how and when and where and why it happened, all while busting out the first aid kit and wrapping me in a ton of compression bandages and cold compresses and shit?”

As Pearl spoke, it all started to flood back to Marina. That frantic and near-paralyzing fear when she found her new best friend in the middle of the night with open, weeping wounds, and a swollen left eye, and blood oozing from her nose. Just sitting there, alone, laid up on the sofa and nursing a ziploc bag stuffed with melting ice cubes against her right side. And the way Pearl jumped at the sound of Marina’s scream, and attempted to sit up with a wince and a groan, facing the octoling and flashing her a forced, gritted grin and trying to look so, so proud of herself.

“I, um,” Marina said quietly, her fingers instinctively flinching into the clutched fabric of Pearl’s shorts, “I think I vaguely remember that happening…”

Pearl cackled, her golden eyes alight as she continued.

“Hell nah, I know that look, you remember every damn detail.” She playfully poked her girlfriend’s arm, and laughed to herself again. “Cod, you remember how I had to practically fight you off from putting me in a full-body cast? Damn, you were like seconds away from breaking out the IV bags.”

Marina’s cheeks became lightly dusted with teal and her ears drooped. Pearl continued her fervid laughter, clearly amused by the distant memory, while the octoling’s tentacles were squirming in embarrassment. She then forced out some anxious laughter of her own, trying to match the inkling’s level of amusement.

“Y-Yeah,” Marina said, giggling uneasily, one of her long back tentacles curling around her own arm, “That was… That was silly of me. I was overreacting way too much.”

“Huh?!” Pearl shouted, whipping her head towards Marina so fast her short tentacles bounced and swayed, her widened eyes staring directly into their partner’s teal ones. “Nah girl! I wasn’t making fun of you!”

The octoling clammed up, her tentacles falling slack and that forced smile replaced by a half-smile of confusion, and then by a tense frown and a furrowed brow.

“B-But, I, you,” Marina stammered out, “I… I was being way too much back then, I should’ve just let you rest. I was bothering you and getting all over you and acting so embarrassing and-”

“Baby,” Pearl interrupted, placing a hand on Marina’s shoulder, “What you did back then? That was…” She paused. Her eyes became slight, golden half-crescents. Her lips curled into a soft, fond smile, and she gave the shoulder a gentle squeeze. “That was one of the sweetest things anyone had done for me. In a long-ass time.”

The inkling heard her partner’s breath catch in her throat. She watched the bottom lids of the octoling’s eyes twitch up ever so slightly, trying to maintain their composure. And then, that caught breath was exhaled out through her nose; slowly, evenly.

“...You’re exaggerating,” was all Marina said, breathless yet remaining expressionless. One of her tentacles unconsciously curled upwards, and wrapped loosely around the wrist of the hand resting upon her shoulder. Pearl’s smile only grew fonder, eyes flitting down to her hand before returning to the face of her beloved partner.

“Sweetie, you know when I’m exaggerating, and I know you know I’m not.”

Marina hummed non-committedly, while that tentacle curled around her girlfriend’s wrist just a little tighter. The little inkling chuckled, watching the thick, rubbery appendage affectionately wrap itself around her, claiming a small piece of the physical touch the octoling wasn’t yet ready to wholeheartedly seek out.

“Cod,” Pearl continued, “I remember that I somehow got it in my head that you’d wanna hear about my daring escapades of being a total asshole in public, all while you were freaking out and patching me up over said escapades. I guess I thought you’d like, be impressed and chill out after hearing what happened.”

She paused, and smiled softly.

“You weren’t impressed. At all.”

The tentacle wrapped around Pearl’s wrist tensed uncomfortably.

“...No, I wasn’t,” Marina said quietly. Her frown deepened, and she pensively tapped a claw against her own thigh. “I should’ve just played along, and been more supportive. But, I couldn’t… it wasn’t something that I felt like I could lie to you about...”

“Y’see,” Pearl exclaimed loudly, shooting up to her feet and gesturing animatedly with her hands at the octoling. Marina jolted and nearly toppled over, saved only by the tentacle still latched onto her girlfriend, before attempting to stutter out a response.

“S-See what?!”

Pearl pointed down squarely and dramatically at the girl awkwardly hanging off her wrist.

“ That’s that sweet shit I’m talking about!” The inkling crouched slightly and dragged the octoling to her feet by her forearms, and said octoling was too startled to do anything other than allow herself to be pulled up like a ragdoll.

“Me telling you I couldn’t lie to you about that single thing, and disappointing you in the process, all while I was lying to you about so many other things at the time, was sweet…?” Marina asked, befuddled.

“Uh, duh. I mean, you do remember you had a good reason to lie about all that shit, right?” Pearl grinned at her flummoxed girlfriend, and jabbed a finger teasingly into her stomach, earning a soft squeak from Marina and light laughter from Pearl, before the now grumbling octoling swatted the aggressing hand away. “Do you know how many coddamn enablers I had surrounding me?”

“N-Not really,” Marina responded, now protecting her exposed stomach to prevent any more sneak attacks. “I just know you had a lot of friends back then, but you never really talked about them to me. Especially after you fell out with them…”

Pearl crossed her arms bitterly and snorted, her previous excitement replaced with a sour look that spread across her face.

“Yeah, ‘friends’.” She deliberately and exaggeratedly air-quoted the word ‘friends’. “AKA enablers. A bunch of miserable assholes that surrounded themselves with other miserable assholes like me so they could try to stop feeling shitty and alone.”

The inkling paused and looked to her partner, who was clasping both hands anxiously. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes were filled with sympathy.

“Oh I… I didn’t know they were like that…” Marina replied quietly.

Pearl huffed as the memories of the time she spent with her old band, her time before Marina came into her life, became freshly revived in her mind.

“You don’t gotta pity me, ‘Rina,” Pearl said squarely. “Like I said, I was one of those assholes too. We were all assholes mooching off each other because we were less than shit without each other. I needed a band behind me, and they needed my dad’s money funding literally everything we did. So, we kinda just…” Pearl stopped, and sighed heavily. “…indulged each other’s bad habits and shit attitudes. We didn’t wanna piss each other off too much, break up what we had, y’know?”

She paused again, her fingers on her own upper arms then tensed, and she shrugged non-committedly. Her eyes were distant and expressionless, dulling their usually bright golden tones. 

“I mean, I guess you’re kinda right. At the time, they were the closest thing I had to friends.”

Pearl felt two heavy hands clasp onto her shoulders, causing her to jump and refocus her eyes onto the girl in front of her. She was met with two teal and salmon eyes the size of watery saucers, belonging to the aforementioned girl who looked as if she was about to drown Pearl in a sea of tears. There was no malice in that gaze, and yet Pearl couldn’t help but feel herself shrink as she darted her own eyes away.

“Oh P-Pearlie…” Marina warbled, crouching to Pearl’s eye level, trying to hold herself together long enough to force the words out. “Y-You’re not… that , and you’re nothing like them …” The octoling’s hands gripped down tighter, both thumbs rubbing tenderly into Pearl’s collar. “Y-You’re the kindest, sweetest, m-most generous and loving and amazing and perfect squid I’ve ever met and… and…”

“C-Cod, Marina…”

On better days, Pearl would be soaking up this kinda praise like a smug little sponge. But, coming off the heels of the two being at their absolute nadir of vulnerability, and Marina’s teary rambling being so incoherent yet such a genuine display of raw emotion, and the octoling being so adamant to comfort Pearl completely over this ancient, reopened wound… The inkling wouldn’t say it made her uncomfortable, but it did leave her a blushing, flustered mess, and for once she was at a loss for words.

“You… you don’t gotta lay it on so thick,” was how she responded, verbally stumbling. Pearl reached up to grasp the wrists of the hands latched onto her. She wasn’t able to initiate eye contact. “You don’t know what I was like before you met me. I was awful .”

“I don’t… I don’t care what you were like before we met, Pearl,” Marina retorted, sniffling, still trying to wrangle in her quavering voice. “I was… a-awful before we met too…”

“You weren’t awful Marina,” Pearl said tensely, giving her partner a hard look. “You were a kid .”

Marina returned that tense, hard look. The inkling felt the pads of the octoling’s fingers press deeply into her collar muscles.

“So were you.”

Pearl fell silent, her eyes fell to her feet with a scowl, and for a moment she didn’t respond.

“Whatever,” she muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Wha-”

“Look, Marina,” Pearl interrupted, desperate to get off the subject. “The point is… I didn’t like who I felt like I had to be around those people, and I didn’t want to bring their shittiness around you. You didn’t deserve that.”

Marina pouted, and slackened her grip on Pearl’s shoulders to allow a hand to travel down and caress one of the inkling’s forearms.

“You didn’t deserve that either, Pearlie,” she said.

“I know, ‘Rina.” Pearl suddenly smiled warmly, and locked eyes with her partner. It was some small attempt to forcefully shed the oppressive sadness veiling the duo. “I realized that after I met you.”

The octoling ducked her chin meekly, and scrunched up her face.

“I don’t know how meeting me made you realize all that…”

Pearl was sent into a fit of roaring laughter, flabbergasted that the octoling was still acting willfully ignorant and outright rejecting the hint she kept trying to throw down.

“Fuck, Marina! I dunno how I could say it any blunter than I already have!”

Pearl pried off the hands locked on her shoulders and clasped the larger pair together between her own smaller pair, and held them up at chest-height (chest-height for her at least; mostly waist-height for Marina). She looked up to face her girlfriend, her eyes alight and face beaming.

“‘Rina, when you gave me shit for acting like an ass and hurting myself back then, yeah, I was pretty fucking disappointed.”

“Oh,” Marina said dejectedly, her face falling. “I… I knew it… I’m sorry then for what I said way back…”

“Don’t be,” Pearl continued, “cause you telling me all that? It kinda like, flipped a switch in my brain, you get me?”

The octoling cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.

“That’s… a good thing…” she asked unsurely.

“Fuck yeah it was,” the inkling said with a wide grin, bouncing on her heels. “Like, here’s this girl that just met me a few months ago. She’s living in my house cause she’s got nowhere else to go, and one night she finds her new dickhead friend all fucked up and bleeding on the couch. And what’s her first instinct?”

Pearl snickered lightly before continuing giddily.

“To run over, bust out the bandages, interrogate me about what happened, and berate me when I try to act like a tough guy about it.”

“I wasn’t trying to berate you,” Marina said, grimacing, “I just… I was worried about you. I was afraid you’d do something like that to yourself again, or that it’d be worse the next time.” The octoling’s shoulders sagged. “You… you basically saved my life, Pearl. And not just, you know, in a ‘physical wellbeing’-sense…” She took a deep, steady inhalation. “You meant the world to me… I-I mean you still do, but, you know…”

“Oh, Marina…” Pearl started, fondness warming her voice. “That’s exactly what I mean. You had every reason to just… let me do my thing, or say whatever to placate me if it meant staying on my good side and getting to stick around with a roof over your head for a little while longer. And honestly, in your position? I couldn’t even blame ya for it.” 

The inkling stopped for a moment, thinking, then sighed, and continued with a shakier smile. 

“But, you didn’t do all that. Because that wasn’t the Marina I eventually grew to know and love. You were real, and honest, almost to a fault.” The hands encasing Marina’s squeezed ever-so-slightly. “It was so… fresh. You were fresh. You…” Pearl breathed in slowly to even herself out, but even when she spoke again, her voice nearly cracked. “I felt like… like I’d finally found someone that genuinely cared about me.”

Marina bit down on her bottom lip as it began to quiver. 

“I do care about you Pearlie, a lot. I’ve always cared about you.”

“I know baby, you make that clear every single day of my life,” Pearl said with a pensive smile. “And I’m so, so grateful that you choose to give that to me every single day of your life.”

Marina’s eyes were blurry with pooling unshed tears, and her lips still quivered, but that didn’t stop a small smile from spreading across those quivering lips.

“How could I not, Pearlie,” she said. “You’re amazing to me, in every way…”

 “ You’re amazing, ‘Rina.” 

The inkling suddenly wrapped her arms around the octoling’s waist in a tight hug, causing the trembling octoling to almost break down once again. The smaller girl pressed a chubby cheek into her girlfriend’s chest, nuzzling her, coveting the warmth of Marina’s skin against her own.

“And what you did,” she continued, muffled slightly by the fabric of Marina’s crop top. “ That was amazing too.”

“O-Oh, well…”

Marina fumbled over her words before clamping her mouth shut. The girl was blushing furiously, both due to her lover currently nuzzling into her chest so deeply that she could feel her pointy little nose digging into her skin in such a way that it made her squirm, as well as due to the octoling needing to quickly reply with something much more coherent than “O-Oh, well”.

“Well…” Marina started, trying to keep her voice steady as she languished. “I-I’m glad what I did back then helped you figure that out.”

“Aw sweetie, it wasn’t just that one thing,” Pearl said, pulling back a bit to unmuffle herself from Marina’s top. “It was a whole slew of shit. All the way back from when I was getting to know you, and learning about all your weird ass quirks, and watching the way your eyes would light up every time I showed you something that was so mundane to me, but so fascinating to you.” Marina felt those arms around her tighten. “It just… felt different, being around you. It was nice…”

The inkling felt silent for a moment, lost in thought, before she suddenly snorted to herself.

“Cod, you remember all that angsty crap I’d write, way back before we started working together? Me being a stone cold lonely knight and whatnot?”

“Oh, yes!” Marina pulled herself together enough to start gushing, clapping her hands together as her eyes glinted. “You’re not about to say they were bad, right? Because I always thought they were beautiful.”

“Oh nah, yeah, those lyrics were fire and still are,” Pearl said with a wide, smug grin. “I don’t regret writing them for a second, but, I just don’t think I could get into the right headspace to come up with stuff like that anymore.”

The octoling’s eyes widened slightly in response to her partner’s sudden and out-of-character self-deprecation, and she quickly shook her head before flashing the inkling a reassuring smile.

“Aww you definitely still could, Pearlie!” Marina then similarly wrapped her arms around Pearl, reciprocating their hug, and knelt down to squish her face lovingly against the inkling’s. “You’ve always been a lyrical genius, you could never lose your spark!”

“Damn right I couldn’t! I’m a fucking once-in-a-generation squid,” Pearl shouted, nuzzling into Marina’s cheek and delivering a small peck, easily hyped up by her girlfriend’s enduring praise. 

However, she quickly slowed those nuzzles, and reigned in her excitement in order to stop herself from getting lost in the weeds of endless ego-stroking and lesbianism.

“Arright, arright,” Pearl said, regretfully ceasing her own affectionate gestures, yet making no attempt at stopping Marina from making hers. “I know I’m a genius but like, my point is, I wouldn’t be able to write stuff like that anymore. Like, I legitimately can’t.”

“Oh? What makes you say that,” asked Marina, who made no attempt to pry apart their squished cheeks.

Pearl’s gaze dragged down to her feet, and she shrugged.

“Because I’ve tried . But, it just doesn’t flow like it used to, none of it ever feels genuine. I mean shit, there was a time when I thought I really was losing my touch.” The inkling then suddenly relaxed heavily, allowing herself to melt into the octoling’s grasp.  “But then I realized, it was cause I was trying to tap into a source that just wasn’t there anymore.”

“So you…” Marina closed her mouth and pondered a bit before continuing. “So you like, lost the thing that was your main motivator to write like that?”

“Well, sorta…?” Pearl unglued her face from Marina’s so she could turn to face her partner, then gently placed her hands on the octoling’s upper arms. “Look, do you promise not to take the next thing I say the wrong way?”

Marina simply stared at Pearl, as she felt latent anxiety once again leak into her from the tips of her subtly squirming tentacles to the beats of her hearts lightly quickening their pace. She hugged Pearl just a little tighter, and held her just a little closer to her chest.

“What exactly would I be taking the wrong way…?” 

The smaller girl held the taller with a firmer grip, one meant to communicate reassurance, and set her expression into a fixed gaze.

“Just promise me, okay? It’s nothing bad, I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“...Okay, I promise,” Marina said with a hint of hesitation.

“Okay, cool,” Pearl said. She chewed on the inside of one of her cheeks before she began again. “So, yes, I did essentially lose the thing that was my main motivator. It kinda, well...” 

The inkling paused, nearly holding her breath before she quickly spat out her next sentence. 

“I kinda lost it more and more the longer we were hanging out together.”

“O-Oh…” Marina said quietly. Her expression was unreadable, and it looked as if her eyes were glazing over.

“...You’re taking it the wrong way,” Pearl said bluntly.

“I…” The octoling suddenly took a slow intake of air, exhaled, and then gave her girlfriend a soft, controlled smile. “I’m completely fine. I’m just eager to hear what you mean by that.”

“Uh-huh,” Pearl said flatly. “Ya look like you’re about to choke, but thanks for not breaking down after hearing that, cause I meant it in the nicest way possible.”

Pearl absentmindedly allowed a thumb to affectionately stroke one of Marina’s upper arms before she continued.

“You gotta understand something ‘Rina. Before I met you, I…”

Pearl paused for a moment to think, before her lips morphed into a pensive frown, and she continued.

“To be blunt, I was lonely. Like, really lonely. I was, well…” She simply shrugged. “I was in kind of a dark place at the time. I don’t really wanna get into the details but, I mean, y’know.”

Marina’s expression was even, but Pearl could feel the muscles of those arms still wrapped around her tense.

“Pearl…” she breathed out, quietly.

The inkling flashed her a small, pained smile.

“No one got me. It felt like it was me against everyone else in the world, even my parents. Being the little squit I was back then, I didn’t really feel inclined to let them back into my life, or let them know anything about how I was feeling.”

Pearl’s hands slide down Marina’s arms slightly, loosening their grasp and now doing little more than weakly hanging off of her.

“I didn’t know how to process what I was feeling in any kinda healthy way. So, to keep myself from spiraling out, I forced myself to channel all those feelings into my music. And for a while it worked. It helped distract me from how I was feeling, and cod, did my fans fucking love the direction I was taking.”

Pearl’s eyelids trembled, yet stayed dry. 

“But, eventually, that creative high would wear off, and I would remember the state my life was in. Nothing really changed. I would keep trying to chase that high, but nothing ever changed.”

Pearl locked eyes with Marina, whose own gaze was tense, concerned, and unrelentingly fixated on her partner. The inkling allowed herself a soft, genuine smile.

“And then I had the chance to meet you. And everything changed.”

Until now, Marina had remained quiet and mostly stoic while Pearl spoke, save for the very hard look she was receiving, leaving the inkling to wonder how the octoling was taking this, or whether she was just trying to process all of it. Pearl decided there was one thing that would definitely get her point across.

“What you said before, about you worrying that you were changing me? I mean, you were kinda right. You did change me.” Pearl then reciprocated the hug she’d been cradled in, wrapping her arms tightly around her partner, and resting her head against her chest.” “But it was for the better, ‘Rina. It’s always been for the better.” Her voice became quiet, and poignant. “No matter what happens, I never want to be in that place again. Which, for me, means that I’ll always want to be by your side.”

Upon hearing that, the octoling dropped to her knees. Her grasp on Pearl tightened, which made Pearl feel both incredibly comforted and incredibly thankful that she lacked a skeletal structure. The inkling felt the octoling nestle into the crook of her neck, and she heard breathing that struggled to remain even.

“I…” Marina started, before she stopped, and let a heavy breath spill out from her nose. She shifted her face deeper into Pearl’s coat, and pressed a featherlight kiss into the side of her neck. “I’m glad I was the one you met, back then…”

“I am too,” Pearl responded. She similarly smothered her face into Marina’s neck, drinking in the warmth of her scent. “I don’t know who or where I’d be without you.”

“I wouldn’t know either,” Marina said quietly. “I… I need you, Pearl. More than anything else in the world…”

Pearl pulled Marina away in order for them to meet, face-to-face.

“So do I, Marina.” She planted a kiss on Marina’s nose, and her mouth stretched into a wide grin that showed off her beak. “I don’t care if I gotta tell you that a thousand times a day until you get that.”

Marina couldn’t resist allowing a small smile to crack across her face.

“Well, I don’t think I’d really be opposed to that,” Marina said, accenting it with a soft giggle.

“Good,” Pearl said, cupping Marina’s face and nuzzling their noses together playfully. “Cause that’s all you’re gonna be hearing from me for the next week!”

The inkling then gently pulled the octoling back by the shoulders, and dropped her voice a bit.

“Just like, promise me we’ll talk first before you start getting any crazy ass plans in your head again, alright?”

“O-Okay,” Marina said with a sheepish smile. She placed her hands on Pearl’s shoulders in tandem. “I’ll try to remember that.”

To that, Pearl flashed her a cheeky smile.

“Even if you don’t, just remember that I’ll always be there to pull you outta whatever shit you’ve got going on,” Pearl said, as she made a move to check her watch. “Aw squit! We’ve been in here for a whole-ass hour!” She removed a hand from Marina’s shoulder to awkwardly rub the back of her neck. “They’re gonna think we’re doing some kinda weird shit in here…”

Marina cocked her head to the side inquisitively, perking up her rounded ears.

“Like what?”

Pearl paused.

“Well, you know,” she said, making a vague gesture.

“...Kissing?”

“I mean, we’re kinda well past that point,” Pearl said with a chuckle. She stopped a moment, and hummed to herself, looking around the bar bathroom. “This place was kind of a bust anyway. Why don’t we salvage this by doing something a little more fun?”

“What’d you have in mind,” Marina asked.

“Well,” Pearl began, holding her partner in a soft caress, dragging a hand down the taller girl’s back. “We could maybe head home, order-in from that ice cream place you really like?”

“Oh.” Marina pursed her lips as she lightly rested her arms around Pearl’s neck. “But, it’s kind of late, they’re probably closed by now…”

The inkling shot her partner a sly look and a smirk, before wiggling out of her arms. She fished out her keychain out of her pocket, connected to a bubblegum pink carabiner and chaining an utter slew of keys of nearly every shape, size, and color.

“Lucky for you, you’re dating the girl whose family owns the whole damn chain.” She began spinning the keychain in heavy circles by its carabiner, causing a cacophony of metal on metal. “And, perhaps unwisely, they’ve allowed me a copy of the master key.”

“I-I don’t…” Marina began meekly, her brightened eyes betraying her. “I don’t wanna put you out like that…”

“Oh, we’re definitely doing it then,” Pearl said, grinning madly. She flung the keychain up, caught it, and shoved it back in her pocket. “C’mon, we’ll head over and I’ll personally make you your favorite.”

Marina stayed silent for a beat.

“...Even the gummy worms,” she asked expectantly.

“Honey,” Pearl said tenderly, grabbing Marina by the hand, “I’ll slop on every last gummy worm they got in there.”

“...Can we go right now…”

“Uh-duh!” Pearl began pulling Marina out of the restroom. “Let’s go pay and then blow this shitstand!”

Marina nodded giddily and followed closely behind her shorter girlfriend, both girls pushing out past the swinging door, through the crowd, and towards the bar counter.

Upon reaching the counter, Pearl noticed that the crayfish tender was still there, and still wiping down their glass. They heard the pair approach, and turned around to address them.

“Oh, you found her,” they said, their black eyes fixing themselves on Pearl. “You both were gone so long I got worried you skipped out on paying.”

Pearl snorted loudly.

“You must not know who I am then,” she said with a smirk, reaching into her pocket for her wallet.

“Not really,” they said bluntly.

“Wha-” Pearl started, mouth agape and dead-eyeing the craytender. “Pearl Houzuki? You don’t recognize the Pearl Houzuki.”

“No, you like famous or something?”

“Uh, kinda,” Pearl scoffed sarcastically. “Only one of the most famous fucking inklings in the world.”

“Well, I’m not really a movie guy, so-”

“Movies?! You think I’m some kinda two-bit actor?!” The inkling roughly dug her thumb into her chest. “I’m a coddamn artist !”

Marina could sense that things were about to get heated very quickly and knelt down to Pearl’s height, forcibly butting herself in to de-escalate the conversation.

“Hey, Pearlie,” Marina whispered in the inkling’s ear, “maybe we can just get going?”

Her partner huffed to herself, stewing and looking like she was ready to explode to defend her and Marina’s rep, but then simply grunted.

“Yeah, sure…” she murmured, flicking her eyes slightly in Marina’s direction. She then turned her attention back to the crayfish before them.

“You’re lucky I’m so damn nice, cause a lesser inkfish would be giving you the damn tirade of the century.”

“I’ve probably heard worse in the last hour,” they said, unamused.

“Whatever, man.” The inkling slid her credit card out of her wallet and slapped it on the counter. “Just gimme the check.”

“Sure, man.” They began calculating the duo’s total at the nearby register. “Table 17… kind of a hefty tab you two managed to rake up.”

“I’m good for it,” Pearl said indifferently. “Just hand it over.”

“Alright then…”

They printed out the receipt and slid it across the counter for Pearl’s perusal and signature. She looked it over, ensuring the calculations for each of their drinks was correctly totaled up, and then she took a look at the final total.

“About 22,000 geso…” Pearl turned her head towards Marina, who was similarly looking over the check. “Is that a lot?”

“M-Maybe…?” Marina simply shrugged. “I’m honestly still not really sure about how much most things are worth in Inkopolis, especially stuff like this…”

“Huh,” Pearl said, tapping her cheek, thinking. “Just figured it would’ve been more.”

The inkling quickly and messily scribbled her signature on the designated line, then did some mental math to figure out how much she’d need to tip, before scribbling that down too and adding it to the final total.

“Aight, here ya go,” Pearl said as she slid the receipt back to the bartender, before flashing him an impish smirk. “Hope you don’t mind the tip.”

The crayfish took it in their claw, did whatever the crayfish version of rolling their eyes was, and dragged their eyes down to the tip section. They nearly cut the receipt in half.

“A-”

“Heh,” Pearl chirped, rubbing her nose. “Sorry, had to slice it down to 95% this time. Maybe next time you’ll put some respect on Off the Hook’s name!”

With that, Pearl turned on her heels and gestured to Marina to follow suit.

“C’mon baby.” Pearl wrapped an arm around Marina’s waist with a sharp grin, and pulled her in close so that they were attached at the hip. “Let’s go get some cream in ya.”

“Yaaaaaaay, I can’t wait~,” Marina cheered, grinning and lightly clapping her hands.

The bartender simply watched the pair as they left. The pink little inkling pushed through the crowd and scurried towards the exit. And the teal tall octoling was keeping pace, still clinging closely beside her, a tentacle draped across the inkling’s shoulders.

The crayfish too turned on their heels, facing away from the crowd and towards the sink, picking up their discarded rag to return to their glassware cleaning duties. With a light sigh, they simply shook their head, half-grateful and half-thoroughly exhausted.

“Squeegus Christ…”