A month into their relationship, things were going fantastically. Three wasn't really one for socializing or getting comfortable around others - not since joining the SBS at least - in fact, she was infamously a bit of a misanthrope. But Eight had somehow wormed her way into the agent's sheltered, squiddy heart. A few years of working as an agent had done a number on her, and the small green inkling was merely a shadow of the excitable young squid-kid she once was. But luckily, now with Eight by her side, she was learning to warm up to others. She'd already started talking to Callie and Marie more, conversing with Agent Four, regardless of how much the yellow punk annoyed her sometimes, (an impressive feat given how… well… mute she was,) and had even formed something of an acquaintanceship with Eight's friends Marina and Pearl.

Three was the happiest she's been in years and she had her girlfriend to thank. Words couldn't really describe - neither in Inklish nor Octarian - how much she cared for the octoling. They hadn't even known each other that long. They'd been dating for about a month, and had met no more than three months ago. Well… excluding their first meetup, which was something the both of them preferred to ignore. It had been three months give or take since Three had epicly drop-kicked that evil phone thing and stopped it from blending Eight to an inky pulp. The thought actually sent a cold shiver throughout the inkling's body when she considered what very well could've happened had she arrived literally only thirty seconds later.

It was in the past though.

Of course, she still had a permanent reminder of what soon followed on her face. The splotchy turquoise scar covering her right eye wasn't something she was fond of. Actually, that was putting it pretty mildly. She fucking hated that thing. Eight tried to make her feel better about it by promising it looked badass, (and well… it kinda did,) but it was less so the appearance she detested and more the permanent reminder of being brainwashed and very nearly splatting Eight into oblivion. By then, the two weren't even friends yet. But still, Eight had a fear of curling bombs now and Three couldn't help but feel responsible.

That and her scar made her stand out a reasonable amount. For Cod sake, if a day went by without one random-ass squid asking what happened to "give her such a cool, fresh, scar," it was a good day indeed. She didn't have it as bad as Eight though. Sure, octolings were slowly becoming less and less of a rarity around Inkopolis, but they hadn't become wholly accepted by the community. Three disliked speaking badly of her own kind, but in all honesty, inklings could be pretty discriminatory. Just the other day, she and Eight had gone on a restaurant date, and while the host had been an absolute delight, the server was anything but. The obnoxious young inkling hadn't been at all subtle in his opinions and Three won't ever forget the guilty puppy dog look her girlfriend had made when he decided to actually fucking say the words "octarian menace" to her face.

Suffice to say, he was damn lucky Eight had been there to stop her from splatting a bitch. Eight's pure, gold heart saved a life that day.

Today was a calm one. The two were lazing about their shared apartment, no plans for how to spend the day. It had gone on like that from dawn to dark. Watching TV, talking about nothing, playing games, joking about Cuttlefish's poorly disguised attempts to get on the octoling's good side (likely noticing his "I don't see species so long as you like this song" nonsense didn't quite cut it,) and it had now become dark out. Hey, everyone needs a lazy day every now and then, right?

Three was humming contently as the octoling played her fingers carelessly through her tentacles. Even after three months, the lime green tenta-hair atop Three's head still captured Eight's interest. She'd spent her whole life underground, after all, she hadn't really seen inkling tentacles before. They weren't too different from her own rosey ones, the most noticeable difference being the placement of suction cups. But still, she liked playing with it and frankly, Three thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of someone's fingers in her tentacles.

Breaking the comfortable silence was Eight stretching out with an adorable yawn as she began to sit up. "I'm gonna take a shower, kay?" She mumbled tiredly.

The two hadn't moved in forever, and both were in dire need of a bath. Three nodded and sat up to allow Eight off the couch. "I guess I'll take one after you. Save me some hot water."

Eight did a thumbs up in response and turned to walk away - not before planting a kiss on Three's forehead - then made her way to their bedroom. When they had moved in together, Eight had simply moved into Three's place with her. Which only had one bedroom and one bathroom (attached, actually.) Which was fine, neither cephalopod particularly minded sleeping in the same bed. Especially Eight, who was extremely cuddly. Three somewhat suspected this was a product of being raised so long without warmth or affection, but the thought made her chest ache, so the agent did her best to ignore that speculation.

While the sleeping situation wasn't a biggie however, baths were a slightly different can of worms. It wasn't anything more than a mild inconvenience, but it took everyone longer to get ready for bed. And sometimes, whoever went first would use all the warm water. It'd be easier to just take showers together. Which Three had to admit, was an extremely appealing idea. But the two hadn't actually seen each other naked yet and imagining the younger agent nude well… her fiery blush spoke on its own. Besides, she didn't know how comfortable Eight was with the idea either. They'd talk about it eventually but for now… eh.

Three was content on letting her awkwardness win this battle.

(***)

Minutes ticked by and Eight hadn't come back yet. Minutes piled onto themselves and soon became an hour.

"Where the hell is she?" Three uttered dully to herself. Eight was usually pretty speedy in the bathroom, so her absence was actually a bit worrying. Perking her pointed ears, Three noted the lack of shower sounds.

That was… odd.

It was probably fine. Maybe Eight had discovered some weird inkling gadget hidden in the depths of Three's room and was taking forever to inspect the thing. But still… Three's anxiety was starting to chip away at her.

Not having anything else to do (and desperately needing her turn in the shower,) Three decided she should go check up on Eight. Pulling herself off the couch with tremendous effort, the inkling mosied her way down the hall towards their bedroom.

Pausing a moment to listen for anything amiss, Three proceeded only after not hearing anything.

Cautiously turning the knob, she opened the door. Eight wasn't within her immediate line of sight. Gaze wandering around the room, Three looked around for any sign of her octoling lover.

It took longer than it really should've, but before long, a quiet whimper from the corner caught her attention and—

Eight was curled into a ball way in the corner of the room. Wearing nothing but sweatpants.

That blush came rushing back full-force. Her ears tinged lime green, and her eyes grew wide. Three's first instinct was to apologize for intruding (and for briefly admiring the view) but was quick to shut up when something very very important caught her attention.

Eight was crying… and trembling… she hadn't even noticed Three in the room yet.

Bashfulness turned to concern as fast as a light switch is flipped. Quickly and quietly - so as to not startle Eight - Three tip toed over and kneeled down in front of the distressed octo-girl. After taking a careful breath, Three easily rested a comfortable hand on her partner's tanned and quivering shoulder. The latter girl flinched at first, but soon settled into the touch.

"Hey," Three started tenderly (as tender as she was capable of being at least,) "what's up?"

She wasn't really the best at comforting others. Shit, she hadn't had practice in years. She'd needed to be there for Eight a couple times when the octoling got jumpy or anxious, but never had she seen the poor thing like this. She'd never seen a full-on panic attack. Although, they had only been together for a month. And they'd been living together for only a couple weeks. It's understandable they wouldn't have seen each other in their fullest.

Eight peered up at her with an expression more painful and broken than Three had ever seen. Tears streaked her dark cheeks, and her peachy eyes were red and puffy. She'd been sobbing for a while, it seems. And Three noted, with a certain unease, that she was gasping for breath.

No wonder she was taking so long… Three thought solemnly to herself.

"I-I…"

Eight was shaking.

"My back… hurts. It hurts so much."

Her back? That was…

"Your back?" Three was growing more worried by the minute. "What happened? Did you slip on something? Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?"

Eight shook her head and heaved deep breaths. "N-no… not like… not like that, I…"

Tears continued to slip down her cheeks. Three sighed and moved to sit next to her distraught partner. "Take your time," she gently assured, "I'm not going anywhere."

And take her time she did. Eight buried her face into Three's shoulder and continued to weep. At some point, she had moved to comfortably wrap her arms around Three's body, as if grasping desperately for something to anchor her.

Three sat in silence, rubbing the back of Eight's head soothingly, feeling the plush texture of the cephalopod's tentacles in her hand. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. Eight was usually an incredibly spirited octopus. She was bouncy and curious and enamored with inkling society. She didn't let anyone's prejudice get in the way of living in Inkopolis, she was adorable and strong and… It was crazy how much Three cared for her. As said, the two hadn't known each other that long, much less had they been dating for any significant amount of time. But in their short time together, Eight had already changed the older agent's life for the better.

It had to have taken at least another half hour for Eight to calm down. Her sobbing slowed and quieted down to occasional whimpers and continued nuzzling into Three's pleasant warmth. Over the course of her breakdown, Eight had occasionally choked out some stuff in Octarian. It was a rare occurrence for her to slip back into her mother tongue but when it happened… she was either angry, stressed, or sad. Another five minutes passed and Three finally felt confident enough to speak up.

"So… what about your back?"

Eight tensed in Three's hold before moving away hesitantly. Three was getting ready to hurriedly remind her that she didn't have to say anything if she didn't want, but Eight was already turning around to show the inkling her back.

It was…

"Holy shit," Three gasped softly - mostly to herself - her eyes went wide at what she was being presented.

Eight's lower back looked awful. A deep and terrible looking scar ripped through her usually soft and lush skin. It looked severe and was actually, interestingly enough, colored similarly to the one plastered across Three's face. Her ears twitched in perturbation. Something about its likeness to her own made her skin crawl.

How had she never seen this before? Well… again, the two hadn't seen each other shirtless before. Until just now, that is. And Three had been far too busy hugging her beloved octopus to get a good look at her back.

It didn't appear there was any actual injury there, which might be causing pain. At least… nothing recent. She knew she shouldn't ask, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"What happened?"

She winced at how straight forward and perhaps insensitive that was, but she really really wanted to know.

"Er…" Eight squirmed uncomfortably, "S-so… down in the metro? When you found me? I'd been down there for a while and uh… I had to do a lot of stuff. I… think I'm getting phantom pain."

That was… rather vague. "Stuff like, what?" Three pushed a little further.

"Like… tests. A-and when I failed one, this uh… ink bomb on my back would explode… It hurt so much… every time…" Tears began to prick her eyes once again. At least she wasn't hyperventilating anymore, but still, she looked so hurt… So sad.

Who the fuck strapped a bomb to her back? Why hadn't she known about this sooner? How many times had someone detonated a fucking bomb on her girlfriend?

Since entering the bedroom, Three had gone through an impressive number of emotions. Flustered, confused, concerned, sad, and now absolutely furious. She often hated herself for having attacked Eight. She knew she wasn't entirely to blame, the first time was… well, that's complicated. But the second time, she was under something else's control. But knowing someone else had hurt her, this badly, over and over, on purpose… Agent Three was seeing red.

"Who?" She growled.

Eight looked surprised by the sheer fury lacing the inkling's venom-dripping words. She hadn't ever seen Three this angry before, and to be fair, it took a lot to get her this pissed off. "U-um… just this slug guy. C.Q Cumber. He runs the Deepsea Metro… or something… Anyway, he made me do the tests. To reach the surface."

Three hadn't ever been crystal clear on what Eight had been up to before she found her. Nor had she any idea what she'd gone through to make it to Inkopolis. But knowing that was the price Eight had paid for freedom… She didn't care for that at all.

It took several deep, concentrated breaths to calm herself. If she ever saw this Cucumber bastard she'd curb stomp his tiny ass into next Friday. That said, she needed to focus on Eight right now. She was obviously still stressed out. Baby blue eyes scanned the broken scar tissue enveloping the octoling's back. "Are you still hurting?" She asked, "the phantom pain I mean?"

Three was no stranger to phantom pains. Sometimes she'd wake up clawing at her face; the cold, slimey, burning goop still stuck to her— sapping her of her freewill. It usually took loving words and warm cuddles from Eight to snap her out of it.

The octoling nodded slowly. "Not as bad as before but… it's still there."

The inkling chewed the inside of her cheek as she mulled over her thoughts. "You wanna hop in bed with me? Maybe getting some sleep might help?"

Eight raised a questioning brow, "don't you wanna take a shower?"

"Fuck showers, I want you to feel okay."

For the first time the entire conversation, Eight showed Three a genuine smile. The older agent hadn't expected herself to miss it so much; the fluttering butterfly feeling she got at her partner's adorable smirk.

"Have I ever told you how much I like your potty mouth?" Eight chuckled (though still slightly tense), "Inklish cursing is so funny."

"Er… thanks?" An odd compliment to receive, but nothing Three was about to reject. She could only imagine the field day her girlfriend had talking to Pearl.

Maybe a little too eagerly, the green cephalo-person hopped into bed and patted the area next to her. All she wanted to do was hug Eight close and make sure the octoling knew how safe she was. "Hurry and get your octo-ass up here."

Eight hummed before following Three into bed. It was only then that Three realized how extremely shirtless her bedmate still was. And with her breakdown more or less under wraps, Three was finally able to let her eyes wander.

She'd already known how attractive her fellow agent was, but damn… she was reeaally attractive. The longer she stared the hotter her cheeks got and just when she thought she wasn't physically capable of blushing harder—

"You like what you see, or what?"

Her entire pasty complexion was overtaken by bright green embarrassment. "S-sorry…" She mumbled sheepishly. It only got worse when Eight slid up against her and wrapped her toned octarian arms around her stiff frame.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you think I'm pretty. Even… with my scars."

That was enough so temporarily break the agent's lesbian meltdown. "Of course! I-I mean… That'd be hypocritical, right? Uh… d-do I look alright? Even with all…" Three gestured toward her face, "all of this?"

Eight flashed another smile, then leaned forward to press a kiss underneath her eyelid, right on top of the scar. "You're beautiful."

That did it. Three was dead.

"Just…" the inkling grumbled in her embarrassment, "go to sleep damn it. I can't take this much longer."

Eight smirked. Then smiled. Then teared up— this time, for only good reasons. "I'm the luckiest octoling in the world, to have you. Thank you I… I think I feel better already."

Three felt floaty. She felt high on affection and until a couple months ago never knew she could feel so strongly about anyone or anything; much less an octoling, the very beings she's been fighting for years. But well… Eight was perfect. In every sense of the word. "Don't mention it."

Three got one more kiss for the night, this time a firm and loving one pushed upon her lips. Eight mumbled something in Octarian before closing her eyes and settling into Three's strong yet delicate hold.

If not for how often Marina said it to Pearl, Three wouldn't have known what was said. But thank Cod she did, because the feeling was reciprocated in whole.

"I love you too," Three answered softly, before following the octoling's lead and closing her eyes to rest.