Pearl's eye twitched as she slowly awakens from her slumber. She pushes her self upright and stretches her arms out, yawning. Finally she rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
"Man how long did I sleep?" She muttered out loud. The inkling grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and opened to see that it was around 6 and 7 in the afternoon.
Hm not long at all. She thought.
She had this most wild dream ever. She came back from the store with her mom and Vic and saw someone sitting by Vic's house. Vic went over to see who it was and like 10 minutes, she brought over the person. That person was Marina! She and Marina caught up and fell asleep in her room.
Pearl sighs before putting her face in her hands. "I wish that was real. It felt real too!"
Then Pearl heard a soft grunt next to her, which nearly made the inkling jump off her bed in surprise. There was someone in the blankets with her.
She narrowed her eyes and slowly reached over to pull the blankets from above the figure.
"I swear if this is some random guy, I'm cutting a fish."
But when she pulled the cover off, she silently gasped. It was really Marina, curled up in the blankets, as she slept peaceful.
"It wasn't a dream..." Pearl quietly whispered as a soft smile reached her face. Her golden eyes growing glossy as she looks at her long time friend. 9 years...
She looks....so beautiful. Pearl couldn't see her eyes yet but still. Her face looks really soft too. The inkling chuckled a little bit as she noticed Marina slightly drooling. Cute.
Pearl paused before mentally slapping herself. What were those thoughts? That was...weird.
She quietly slipped out of bed and grabbed her phone. She should probably go check up on her mom and Vic. Before she left the room, she put the covers over the sleeping Octoling and gave her one last smile.
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"Pearl! There you are!" Rose exclaimed as Pearl walks in the kitchen. Pearl rubbed her neck and sheepishly laughs. "I sorta fell asleep with Marina. She wanted me to stay with her..."
Rose looked at Pearl before giving her a strange look. She had this smile on her face and a mischievous look in her eye. "Oh is that sooo~"
Vic chuckled, as she rolled her eyes. "Rose don't tease the poor girl. Although, that's cute."
"What are you guys even talking about?" Pearl asked, as she looks at the older adults.
They both snicker and wave off the question, which made Pearl even more confused. But she didn't question anymore as she looks at the cake on the counter. It was a vanilla cake with pink and white frosting.
"Oh man, this looks gooood." Pearl said, looking at the god of desserts.
"It does. I'm not a fan of cake but Rose's cakes are an exception." Vic said.
Pearl then thought of something. "Hey, how long have you known each other for? Just a random thought."
Vic and Rose shared a look before laughing. Vic looked at Pearl with a grin. "We've been best friends since we were kids. Rose was a hand full. Always getting into trouble at school and beating up boys."
Rose placed her fist in her hand. "They were annoying. Only boy I didn't beat up was your father. I had a soft spot for him back in the day."
"Ah that's cool! So you've been best friends for over 40 years? That's rad." Pearl exclaimed.
"It is. Most people would lose contact with old friends but Rose and I? We never split apart." Vic said smiling at her friend. Rose smiled back.
Pearl grinned at the two before taking a plate and knife out. "Can I get some cake now?"
"Of course. It's yours after all." Rose said.
Pearl sliced a big piece and slide it on her plate. Then she grabbed a fork and began eating her cake. "Marina must of been really tired. When I woke up, she was still out."
"She has had a tough 9 years. Building all that stuff and having something blow up in her face. I can't imagine the exhaustion she was having." Rose replied.
"Yeah. I kinda still hate the dude that took her away that day but seeing that he's brought her back, makes him somewhat okay." Pearl said.
"Marina told me about how he treated her in that place. She said he really cared about her and had to hold that sort of attitude to keep his powerful image up."
Before anyone could reply, there was a soft thump coming from upstairs. Pearl nearly choked on her cake as she remembered about Marina's situation. "Ah shit! I forgot about Marina's sight!"
Pearl placed her plate down before rushing upstairs to her room.
She opened the door to see the Octoling on the floor, holding her head as she softly groans.
"Marina! Are you okay?!" Pearl rushed over and knelt down towards the Octoling.
Pearl's sudden arrival startled the Octoling, causing her to shriek in surprise. Pearl placed her hand on her shoulder. "Marina! Hey it's me Pearl."
Marina flinched once more before slowly calming down. "P-Pearlie?"
"Yes? I'm here Mar."
Marina holds her hand out and reaches for where she thinks Pearl is. Her hand made contact with Pearl's tentacle before sliding down to her shoulder. Then she pulls the inkling into a tight hug.
"I-I thought it was a dream. Then I woke up and I had no idea where I was. I thought I was back at the base." Marina said into Pearl's shoulder.
Pearl hugged the Octoling back. "I thought it was too. You're here and I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere no time soon. You're home 'Rina."
"Rina... I missed that." Marina laughed. Pearl smirked before joining in on the laugh.
Pearl pulls away and helps the Octoling to her feet. Then the inkling gently guides Marina out the room.
They reach the kitchen are where the two adults were still present. Vic looked up and smiled brightly. "Good to see you up, sweetie!"
The older Octoling goes and hugs her daughter. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling okay. Still feel a bit tired but it's alright." Marina replied as she hugged her mom.
"Have you eaten at all today Marina?" Rose asked.
At the que of that question, Marina's stomach rumbled which caused her to laugh sheepishly. "I haven't eaten anything since early this morning. I had a granola bar."
"Oh goodness! Why didn't you say anything?! Let me warm up some stuff for you, dear." Rose said as she quickly put some stuff together.
Marina smiled before grunting as she puts her hand up to her covered eyes.
"Marina?" Vic and Pearl both said.
"I'm okay... I need to clean my wounds. They are starting to become irritated."
"Would you like for me to help you? While mom makes your plate?"
"Yes please. I would but... I'm at a disadvantage." Marina sighed.
Pearl grabbed Marina's hand and lead her to the bathroom. She had Marina sit on the toilet seat while she grabbed her first aid kit from under the sink.
"So I just apply cream and then wrap more bandages right?"
"Yep. That's what my nurse told me." Marina replied.
Pearl stood in front of the Octoling. She gently takes Marina's head in her hands and uses the small scissors to cut a part of the bandage. Then she takes that part and starts unwrapping it from Marina's head.
"How long have you been...y'know." Pearl asked.
"About 3-4 weeks so far. Its only temporary so I should be able to see real soon." Marina replied, as she feels Pearl's hand occasionally touching her tentacles which sends some sort of thing going on in her stomach.
Pearl gimme in response as she tosses the bandage. Then she gets a look at Marina's face...
Her whole eye area was slightly pink and looked very tender. The pink tenderness went around to her ears. Pearl winces at the nasty wound. "Cod damn. That looks like it hurt real badly."
Marina gripped her arm. "I don't actually remember if the blast hurt or not. I just remember hitting a wall and blacking out. I woke up in the infirmary with a huge amount of pain in my hand, and my head area. I had a massive headache for 5 days."
"Are you like able to open your eyes at all?"
"No I tried to before. They still need to heal. It hurts when I try to do so."
"Oh. Well let's get this ball rolling.
Pearl grabs a cold wet rag and gently cleans her wound. Marina winces and hissing a little bit but makes Pearl's heart hurt.
Once she does that, she grabs the cream and places a small amount on her two finger tips. "Im sorry if this hurts..."
"It's okay. Let's just get it over with." Marina gives Pearl a brief smile.
Pearl gives a smile back even if the Octoling couldn't see it. She gently applies the cream to her skin. Marina's grip on her arms would tighten as the pain would flare up in certain spots.
"Almost done..."
A few moments later, Pearl finished putting the cream and began to apply the bandages. Marina sighed as the pain subsided.
After Pearl wrapped the bandages on, she cleaned up the kit and placed it back before looking at the Octoling. "Marina... I'm so sorry you had to go through that. From now on, I'll be here to help ya in every step of the way!"
Marina smiled. "It's okay Pearl. It's my fault this happened anyway. And...as selfish as it sounds, I don't want you to leave me like I left you."
Pearl gripped Marina's hand. "I won't ever leave. That's a promise."
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Surprise Update!
Finals are donezo and I passed em all (I think) Winter break is here and Christmas is coming up in 5 days :o
Anyway, Hope you enjoy this chapter :P