Living Situation || Agent 3 x Agent 8

[7]

3 hours later, all the agents returned to Cuttlefish Cabin. There wasn't much that had happened. Only a few aggravated Twintacle Octotroopers according to Tara. As they discussed their patrols, Ashton suddenly winded in pain.

My head hurts again," he complained, massaging his temples. "I keep hearing this weird ringing noise in and out of my ears..."

Marie looked at the Inkling sternly. "Have you been getting enough sleep and eating well?" she asked, taking off her headset. "If you're going to be an agent, you have to have good habits..."

Ashton grunted and looked away. "Why do you care so much?" he said quietly, half to himself. Marie reached out to him, but withdrew her hand and turned to talk to Callie privately.

Richie and Tara went inside the cabin and changed. "What movie should we watch tonight?" he asked her once they had finished. She went over to the desk and wrote down a name on a piece of paper: Maws.

"That one's scary," Richie said and crossed his arms. He still felt chills from Cephalon HQ and didn't want to heighten them with the fear of a Maws springing out of the ground and swallowing him whole. "Anything else?"

Mean Krills, she wrote. He thought about it for a moment and shook his head. He hated the trio-of-mean-girls trope. "Come on. There's gotta be something in that brain of yours," the Octoling teased, flicking her on the head.

Tara stuck her tongue out at him and scribbled down another movie. The Nightmare Before Splatmas. Richie smiled. "Ooh, yes! I love that one! See, I knew you could think!"

The Inkling punched his shoulder playfully and he punched hers back. He laughed and they headed out towards the manhole.

Ashton was sitting on the couch, staring out into the distance. He had a stony expression, far from his usual mischievous smirk. Callie and Marie were still talking to each other, but they kept stealing glances at the yellow squid.

Richie and Tara waved goodbye (not that the others had noticed) and went back to Inkopolis Square. They were thankful for the crowds of people that concealed their arrival. The large TV above the entrance of Deca Tower showed Pearl and Marina doing the stage rotation announcements. They wouldn't be able to say hi to them this time. The agents weaved their way through the masses and headed to Flounder Heights.

"Hey, you know, maybe we should go shopping sometime soon," Richie said as they got home. "Your outfit is cute, but don't you think you should have variety?"

Tara bit her lip. He was right. Even though she had money from her part-time job, she never really had the time to go shopping because of her agent duties. Also, she never did Turf War, so what was the point of having extra clothes?

Richie laughed a little. "Maybe we can go tomorrow. I'll pay for everything, I promise. We could even go to the café if you want." He smiled at her sweetly.

The green Inkling blushed. It sounded like he was asking her out on a date. Maybe she was just overthinking or tired from patrol. But she couldn't say no to his smile. It made her melt a little each time. She nodded and hugged him. He looked a bit shocked, but returned the gesture.

She suddenly bolted out of his arms and towards their room. He blinked and followed her anxiously.

Tara was looking around the room frantically. She picked up a white button up shirt and black jeans. Huh, so she did have other outfits. She took her shirt off—then noticed Richie standing in the doorway. She threw a pillow at him and he closed the door to block it just in time. His face felt hot. It's not that he hadn't seen her in a sports bra before—her armor had shattered a couple times when they were on a mission and she had to retreat momentarily. But this time felt different...

A few moments later, Tara ran out of the room wearing the shirt and jeans along with black shoes. She didn't even wave goodbye as she dashed out the door. Richie's phone buzzed and he looked at the notification.

[quietisviolent: srry jst rembrd I had work bbck at 8]

It seemed like she had typed in a rush due to the grammar errors. Richie looked at the time: 3:02 PM. He sighed and sat down on the couch to play some video games.

When Tara got home five hours later, the apartment was dark except for the bright TV screen. It was an episode of Callie's show in New Sardine. She had filmed it before she got kidnapped by DJ Octavio.

"Tara, is that you?" a sleepy voice called. She flipped on the light switch and saw Richie bundled up in a blanket. "Welcome back...I played video games and watched TV while I was waiting for you. I...kinda went ahead and watched the movie already, hehe..."

Tara smiled a little and picked up the remote. She selected The Nightmare Before Splatmas and pointed to herself.

The Octoling shook his head. "No, the whole point was that we would watch it together!" he stated. "I'll make popcorn and you go change into your PJs."

She nodded and went to their room. Her head felt a little fuzzy. Maybe the overbearing smell of coffee from work was getting to her a little bit. She changed into a pair of grey sweats and a black tank top.

The movie had already started; Richie must've pressed 'Play' out of impatience. It was the first few seconds of the opening musical so she didn't miss much. She sat down next to him and shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Does this count as a Splatoween or Splatmas movie?" Richie muttered, half to himself. "I'm always so confused..."

Tara smiled and shrugged. This had been a long-term debate amongst many people. Honestly, it would make for an interesting Splatfest.

They watched the remainder of the movie mostly in silence. Richie occasionally hummed or sang a few words to a couple of the songs. It was cute.

"We're simply meant to be," he sang along softly as the movie came to a close as the two Inkling monsters shared a kiss under the moonlight. He grinned and clapped as the credits started to roll. "What?" he asked defensively when Tara gave him a look. "I'm a sucker for a happy ending!"