Living Situation || Agent 3 x Agent 8

[2]

The sun was starting to rise. Rays of sunlight shone through the teal curtains, shining onto 8's face. He groaned and opened his eyes, blinking a little from the sudden light.

3 wasn't next to him. The space felt slightly cold. 8 remembered that she had to go to MakoMart and assumed she left a while ago. Still, he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of disappointment. He got out of bed and opened up his box of clothes. After digging through it for a bit, he eventually put on a Retro Gamer Jersey and Punk Blacks. He turned to leave, but then remembered that he needed headgear. He grabbed the golden toothpick from a small velvet case and poked it in his hair. Now he was ready.

To 8's surprise, 3 was lying on the couch with a small blanket draped over her. Did she sleep here the entire night...? He gently poked her arm and she stirred. "Morning, sleepyhead!" he laughed as the Inkling sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Aren't we supposed to go to MakoMart today? Might as well go now before it gets crazy!"

3 nodded in agreement and went to her room to get changed. She emerged wearing Studio Headphones, a White Tee, and Pink Trainers. It was seen as a basic outfit to some people, but she liked it and thought it suited her well.

The agents left the apartment and walked down to MakoMart. The chatter of sea creatures filled the air, along with cars and trains. Inkopolis never slept.

They eventually arrived at the grocery store. It was larger than the average store since it housed an arena for Turf War. Speaking of which, there was one going on right now. The sounds of splatting and bombs mixed into the already annoying sounds of squeaky cart wheels and check-in beeping.

3 grabbed a shopping cart and tugged 8's sleeve to get his attention. They went to the cereal isle first. "Can we get Fish Flakes?" 8 asked, pointing to the brightly colored boxes. The cereal wasn't actually fish food...at least, to everyone's knowledge. It still tasted good anyways. 3 nodded and 8 put two boxes in the cart.

They went to the frozen food section next. 8 watched as 3 dumped several boxes of frozen microwaveable hot dogs into the cart. "3, I don't think that eating frozen food is healthy," he said as he read the ingredients. She shot a glare at him and he flinched. "Sorry...I just wanted to..." He trailed off and looked down at his shoes.

3 immediately felt guilty. She knew that eating this processed crap wasn't exactly the most ideal meal, but it was quick and easy to make. Then again, she didn't remember the last time she had made herself a proper meal. She sighed and put all but 2 of the boxes back into the freezer.

8 looked at her in surprise. Did she really listen to him...? He then broke out into a smile. "H-Hey, I can cook actual food, you know. I'm guessing you're not the best at cooking...I can teach you too if you want!"

The Inkling blushed a little and nodded. They were going to be living together after all, so maybe it would help them get to know each other some more.

The pair went to various isles to collect ingredients for curry. It was apparently a popular dish nowadays. 8 talked excitedly about different food while 3 only half listened. Her mind was somewhere else.

A group of four Inklings turned the corner at the end of the isle. They were talking amongst themselves a little too loudly. 3 didn't think much of them until she got a closer look. She suddenly hid behind 8, slightly shaking.

"3...? What's wrong?" he asked her, confused. He studied the group to see what about them had scared her. But all he saw were normal Inklings. They disappeared into the next isle.

3 slowly peeked around him and stepped out. She still had a terrified look. Ignoring 8's worried glance, she forcefully grabbed the cart from him and pushed it towards the check-out isle.

"That will be 1600 coins, please!" the jellyfish cashier behind the counter said. 8 handed him the money and made some small talk. 3 kept her head down. After the bagger jellyfish finished bagging their groceries, the agents went on their way.

There was some tension between them as they walked back to the apartment. 3 looked like she was in a worse mood than usual. But she was a girl of secrets and 8 knew that he wouldn't be able to get her to "talk". Maybe some cooking lessons would cheer her up...