Living Situation || Agent 3 x Agent 8

[5]

3 cringed and turned around. Her eyes widened with recognition. It was the Splatterscope user that had splatted 8 earlier. But she recognized her from a different event. In fact, she recognized all the Inklings on the team.

"My my, how you've grown!" the Splatterscope user said, smirking. It seemed like she was the leader. "You're still the same noob from 2 years ago, huh?"

8 was shocked. Tara? Was that 3's real name...? "How do you know my friend?" he asked the pink team hesitantly. 3 kicked his shin in an attempt to shut him up.

"Tara, you made friends with an Octoling?" Splatterscope Girl scoffed. "But anyways, we know her from when she first moved to Inkopolis Plaza. I'm surprised she's never told you about us." The girl's voice was dripping with fake sweetness.

3 wanted to curl up in a hole and die. Of course this day had to get worse. She wiped her tears away, but more threatened to spill.

"Aww, look! Tara's going to cry!" the Inkling wearing the Straw Boater said mockingly. The pink Inklings laughed snidely.

8 clenched his fists. "How about you guys get lost before I tear you a new ink hole?" he snapped, taking a threatening step forwards.

They looked scared for a moment, but laughed again. "I can't believe you need an Octoling to defend yourself," the leader said, flipping her tentacles behind her. "Well, we should be going. I can't waste time talking to little babies like you two." With that, she shoved 3 to the ground as the team went to the exit.

8 helped her stand up again. "Let's go home," he said quietly, a bit of rage still simmering inside him. The agents exited Moray Towers and started walking back to the apartment.

He didn't talk on the way home. 3 kept her head ducked down so no one would notice that she had been crying.

The apartment was cold when they walked inside. The windows had been left open, and all the chilly air from outside had blown in.

3 closed the windows. Her muscles ached slightly, probably from crouching for so long. She glanced at 8 for a moment; he caught her eye and he looked away. They didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day. 3 just watcher TV motionlessly and 8 went in and out of the apartment to who knows where. It was only till the evening that 8 said something.

"Hey...how about I make curry for dinner?" 8 spoke, breaking the silence. He rubbed his arm awkwardly.

3 looked up. She remembered him saying about how he wanted to teach her to cook. This was a perfect opportunity to distract herself from her thoughts. But she couldn't bring herself to offer her help. Instead, she just gave a single nod and went to the couch. She was slightly mad at 8. Of course he didn't know...but tricking her into playing wasn't really fresh of him.

8 went into the kitchen and got out a couple pots. He looked at his OctoPhone for a few moments and got out the necessary ingredients. He sang "Calamari Inkantation" as he did.

3 wrapped the couch blanket around her and listened to him sing. He had a nice voice, something she didn't notice before. The other times he had sang was at Off the Hook and Squid Sisters concerts, and his voice was drowned out by everyone else.

About 30 minutes of kitchen noises, 8's singing, and 3 drifting in and out of sleep, the curry was finally ready. The apartment was filled with a delicious smell. It was enough to lift 3's spirit a bit.

"Get ready to taste deliciousness!" 8 said confidently, handing her a plate and fork. A tiny smile formed on her lips and she took a bite of the steaming dish. She immediately regretted it after it burned her tongue. But aside from that, it was actually quite good.

8 smiled, but his eyes were sad. "Listen, 3...I shouldn't have forced you into playing Turf War," he said quietly. "I thought it would be funny to surprise you like that. Clearly it wasn't. P-Please don't think less of me..."

3 stared at him for a few seconds and lifted her hand to his cheek. 8 blushed magenta as he stared into her amber eyes. They were very pretty, actually. There were flecks of what looked like a light teal color in her irises.

His trance was broken as she slapped him hard across the face.

"Oww!" he whined, a red mark starting to form already. "Heh...I guess I deserved that though..."

3 smirked and went back to eating her curry. It was a bit hard for 8 though, as his cheek was sore. She felt kinda bad; maybe she shouldn't have slapped him so hard. Well, she would make up for it soon.

After dinner, they went to go get ready for bed. 3's eyes were hurting slightly from having stared at the TV for so long. She rubbed her eyes to see if it would help. It did slightly.

"Hey 3?" 8 asked as he sat down next to her. "I know you probably don't want to talk about the whole thing today...but could you confirm something for me?" She looked up at him and nodded.

"Is your name really Tara?"

She froze for a bit, then nodded.

"It's a pretty name. I like it," he said, smiling. "We can't give our identities away, you know. Is it alright if I start calling you that?"

She nodded, a smile growing on her face. It would take some getting used to. But what about 8's name? She pointed to him.

"Oh, I forgot!" he exclaimed, face-palming. "I never told you my name. I'm sorry! You know how I have a terrible memory." He laughed slightly. "My name is Richie!"

She grinned. It was a cute name, and it suited him too. Her heart beat a little faster as she pushed herself up on her hands and reached up to give him a kiss on his cheek—right where the red mark was.

"H-Heh...goodnight Tara," Richie said, blushing a lot. He laid down and brought her close to him for another hug.

Needless to say, Tara slept well that night.