Chapter Text
Walking into Pearl and Marina’s home was like entering a new world, someplace alien, unknown, entirely unlike anything Eight had seen before, in either Kamabo or in the few scattered memories he regained of the times before. And yet despite its strangeness… It felt safe.
Eight was quickly herded into sitting on a couch, and was looking around nervously. They had just arrived at Pearl and Marina’s home after watching the sunset, Eight had been awestruck at the sight, his hearts warmed after all the horrors and stress he had dealt with down in Kamabo.
But now, he was anxiously waiting as Pearl and Marina scuttled around their home, idly fidgeting with his hands as he awaited further instructions. He shifted uncomfortably in the faux leather of his outfit, ripped and filthy from all trials he had been through, especially the final escape where there had been no respawn points, and Eight had to make it through without being splatted.
Not long after being sat down, Pearl approached him, eyeing him up and down as she took in his appearance. Eight couldn’t help but fidget under her gaze, suddenly feeling insecure.
“Aight, you look like shit Eight, when's the last time you had a shower?” Pearl asked. Her observation striking true as Eight looked down at his outfit once more, frowning when he realized he might be getting their couch filthy.
“I am… Not knowing? What is a shower?” He asked, looking upwards at Pearl as he tilted his head, curiosity showing.
He must have answered wrong, because Pearl fixed him a deadpan look before bringing her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she released a sigh. Eights frown deepened, he’s been here for only a few minutes and he is already upsetting his hosts.
Marina returned at that moment, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of her before speaking up. “What's wrong Pearlie?” She inquired, causing Pearl to turn towards her.
“Eight doesn’t know what the shell a shower is! That just ain’t right! We gotta get him in the know as soon as possible!” Pearl stated, clapping her hands as she turned towards the hallway Marina had just walked out of. “‘Rina, you get him some towels, I’ll head over and get him some-”
Pearl paused, her eyes opening wide and one twitching, Marina leaned in with concern, waving a hand in front of Pearl’s face. “Pearlie?” She asked. “Why are you-” But she was cut off by Pearl turning towards Marina, face screwed up in worry.
“Ey uhh, ‘Rina? Do we even HAVE spare clothes that Eight could use? Like, at all?” Pearl asked. turning to Eight and gesturing at him with a hand. “Cause like, No offense but his clothes are kinda fucked, and I sure as shell don’t want him washing up only to be shoved back into those rags!”
Marina gained a thoughtful look, turning to look at Eight once more. Eight, who had been rather uninvolved in this conversation up until now, didn’t find Marina’s searching gaze much better than Pearls, and spoke up.
“I am not minding wearing this again, I am able to be fixing it if given supplies-” He began, but was stopped when Marina began shaking her head.
“No Eight, we aren’t going to make you wear that, it doesn’t look very comfortable anyways.” Marina said, then turning to Pearl. “You know Pearlie, me and Eight are about the same size, he could just borrow some of my clothes until we can get him some of his own!”
Pearl nodded at this, turning to look at Eight as well, “Yeah I guess that can work! I’d offer the same but uhh-” She looked down at herself and waved a hand right above her head. “I’m a bit lacking in the height department, anything ya wear would end up looking like a crop top and shorts” She added with a laugh, causing Eight to give a shy smile.
Pearl continued. “But yeah, you fine with borrowing some of ‘Rina’s stuff Eight? Should only be for tonight! We can bring ya shopping tomorrow and get ya some new digs!” She asked.
Eight nodded, he could hardly find fault in their idea after all. “I am not minding! I would be very grateful if you would be lending me clothing.” He assured them, he really didn’t mind, and being honest he is looking forward to getting out of his current clothes.
After his agreement, Marina nodded and led Eight over to the bathroom, explaining how to use the shower (Thankfully Eight grasped it very quickly, instinctually knowing how to control the temperature, seems like he’s taken showers before after all) before handing him some towels and telling him to use them to dry off and cover himself.
Marina then left Eight to clean up, letting him know to ask her or Pearl if he has any questions. Eight nodded and quickly began to wash himself, enjoying the feeling of the ink-treated water running over him, using some of the soap that had been pointing out to him to scrub out all the dirt and much that he’d accumulated during his stay in Kamabo.
He ran his fingers over some of the sanitization scars he’d acquired. Lingering on the ones covering his lower back the longest, echos of “Test Failed” causing him to shiver. He shook his head, not wanting to linger on those thoughts. He quickly finished after that, exiting and wrapping one of the towels that had been left for him around himself. Giving the second one a confused look, He decided on using it to dry his tentacles before leaving it in a basket.
Stepping out, he stops when he notices some folded clothing resting in front of the door. Eight leans down to pick it up, giving a quick glance before looking down the hall, not seeing anyone. “Pearl must’ve left these here…” He reasons, then turns back into the bathroom and closes the door.
Going through the clothing, Eight was pleasantly surprised to find that all the names for each item jumped into his head as he looked at them. The memory loss is annoying, but at the very least it still allows him to remember some basic things.
There was a pair of sweatpants, simple and grey, along with a loose shirt that has a Tentatek logo printed onto it. A bundled pair of socks was also included, but to Eights dismay, the last piece of clothing was something he hadn’t considered when he agreed to borrowing clothing from Marina.
A simple pair of underwear, nothing notable about them, but the mere thought sent Eight into an uncontrollable blush. “I-I can’t!” Thought Eight, holding them at arm's length, but he knew he couldn’t just go around in Marina’s clothing without any on…
Eight gathered his nerve and began donning the clothing, trying to ignore any of the “Don’t wear used underwear” quotes popping up in the back of his mind, determined not to think about the fact at all. But to his pleasant surprise, everything fit quite well, almost perfectly in fact.
The pants were a bit long for him, but other than that everything fit perfectly, and Eight was awed at just how comfortable the clothing was. It was not overly snug like his military attire had been, which had been made with protection against projectiles in mind.
These clothing were loose, and soft, and Eight found himself running his fingers along the material even as he exited the bathroom and made his way back to the living room, where he found Marina resting on a chair looking exhausted and Pearl growling at her phone. She threw it onto the couch before turning and noticing Eight.
Her face lit up as she noticed him, a smile quickly forming on her face. “Oh hey Eight! Looking a lot better! Everything fit alright? Took me a bit to find a pack of unused undies but I managed!” Pearl said, Eight couldn’t help the wave of relief that went through him as he realized the undergarments were new, but he didn’t show that outwardly.
“Yes! They are fitting me very good! Thank you for lending them to me Ms. Marina!” Eight said, turning to send a smile over at her, Marina just smiled back at Eight and waved her hand.
“Oh cods, Please don’t call me Ms! You’re going to make me feel old!” She laughed, her tone lighthearted, yet the exhaustion from the day was still shining through.
Eight turned back to Pearl, his eyes lingering on the phone that she had thrown. “Is everything being alright Ms. Pearl? You were seeming very frustrating.” He asked, sending a concerned look her way.
Pearl just scoffed, an amused look on her face. “Its “frustrated” Eight, and none of that Ms. shit for me either, I ain’t my mom!” She said, but then she let out a sigh before continuing. “But yeah, I just got off a call with me and ‘Rina’s agent. We took a lot of time off to help you out in Kamabo, and well…” She paused, bringing her hand up to scratch the back of her head. “We’re kinda in a bit of shit? We do the news for turf n shit, and since we took so much time off so suddenly we’re gonna have to work pretty damn hard to make up for it, along with our other gigs we’ve been ignoring.”
Eight got a concerned look on his face. This was his fault wasn’t it? He was the one who distracted them by needing help. Pearl quickly caught the look on his face and cut in before his mind could wander.
“Hey, hey! This ain’t your fault aight? Me and ‘Rina would do it all over again if we had to! We weren’t just gonna leave ya down there to become toast!” She said, walking over and flicking Eights forehead lightly, causing him to snap out of his thoughts.
Pearl continued, her tone slightly frustrated. “But yeah, we are gonna be shella busy for like… A week? We ain’t gonna be able to take ya shopping for new clothes or anything for a while, so you’re gonna have to keep wearing ‘Rina’s stuff, unless ya wanna go shopping yourself?” She ended with a question, giving Eight a look.
Eight froze, he had seen a bit of the city while they were making their way back to Inkopolis via helicopter, and during the ride to Pearl and Marina’s home. It was… Very large, he was not sure if he could navigate it himself, and the idea of having to shop himself…
Eight shook his head, and Pearl laughed a bit, taking this as an answer. “Yeah I didn’t think so, you’ll just gotta put up with wearing ‘Rina’s stuff for a bit then.” She said, turning to Marina and raising a questioning eyebrow. “That's good with you right?”
Marina nodded. “Of course, I’m hardly going to let Eight go around bare for a week now am I?” She said, turning her gaze over to Eight, who eeped and looked away, blushing at the thought of what Marina said. He could never!
Eight stammered, blush still lingering on his face. “I- I am very grateful for the kindness of you two, thank you so very much for taking me in and lending me your clothings.” And he meant it, Pearl and Marina doing all this for him… It's very kind of them.
The two just smiled and made their way over to him, Marina wrapping him into a warm hug that caused him to tense up, Pearl patting him on the shoulder with a gentle smile on her face. Marina then let him go, backing up as he remained there frozen, affection unfamiliar to him.
“Eight, we really are happy to help, you don’t have to keep thanking us. You deserve these things, a home, clothes, safety? You don’t have to ask us for, or thank us for any of these things, we are happy and willing to give them to you for as long as you need and want them from us.”
Eight, still frozen from the hug, now mentally processed the words that Marina had given him. All he could manage was a nod, these new warm feelings threatening to overwhelm him. Marina smiled at his nod and stepped back to stretch, a yawn escaping her, and quickly spreading to Pearl, and even against his greatest resistance, himself.
Pearl let out another laugh. “Looks like it's bedtime for all of us! We all had a long day! You ready to see your room Eight?” She asked, earning a nod from Eight, and began to lead him to it.
It did not take long for them to arrive, only down the same hall as the bathroom had been. Pearl opened the door and showed Eight the room. It was simple: a bed, some dressers and some side tables, perfect for a guest room but no real decoration other than some lamps and the bedsheets.
“Me and ‘Rina are just down the hall if you need anything aight? It's the door we passed by on the way here.” Pearl notified him. Eight thanked her, bidding her goodnight after she did so.
After she had left, Eight made his way over to the bed, closing the light and turning on one of the lamps next to the bed. Running his hand across the bedsheets, he mused. “They’re so soft… Nothing like the benches down on the train…”. Was everything on the surface so soft?
Crawling in, Eight drew the covers over himself and nuzzled his face into the pillows, enjoying the feeling of the soft fabric on his skin, quickly getting the scent of the soap he had used all over it. He curled up, quickly feeling himself drifting off to sleep.
“The surface really is amazing… This bed is so soft… Marina and Pearl are so nice… And these clothes are way better than the ones I wore before… I can’t wait to see everything else the surface has to offer…”