Notes: How about that Octo expansion, huh? I've loved these two since the game came out, but the Octo expansion really cemented a lot of things about them for me, so I finally got around to writing something. We need more fic of these two, so I'll gladly throw my addition on to the pile!

Riding the Wave

Ch. 1: Adventures in Babysitting

It's a brand deal that does it. Grizzco is fishy, but they (Marina) don't want to alienate a loyal advertiser and they (still Marina) want to support a local business. Pearl couldn't care less, to be completely honest, but Marina is so positive! About the whole thing! Saying things like "Oh Pearl, just think! It'll bring in freelancers! Then Mr. Grizz will be set!" Pearl knows for a fact that Mr. Grizz is already set, considering the emails she's read on her father's computer, but she doesn't mention that because Marina is so damn cute when she's smiling and clapping her hands.

Yeah, Pearl has a problem. She knows she's wrapped around Marina's finger, but Marina doesn't know it yet. Pearl also knows that she can't say anything about her feelings (oh, and there are many feelings), because she's... Well, she's scared. And she's not sure Marina feels the same way. Well, she kinda doesn't know. Marina is really handsy and touchy-feely, but that's probably a Marina thing. An... Ocotling thing maybe... Agent 8 isn't like that but maybe it's a specific Octoling thing. An if-you're-close-to-an-Octoling thing.

Yeah, Peal knows she's hopeless.

Pearl's had an embarrassing crush on Marina for a while, but the whole Agent 8 thing really localized and magnified it for her. For a while there, she thought for sure Marina was going to figure it out, especially after she threatened to cut Cap'n Cuttlefish if he hurt her, but Marina never figured it out. But, there are moments when they're back in their apartment and Marina touches Pearl just there, with this tender look on her face, and Pearl swears that she sees something there. Marina's smiles are like the clouds parting before a brilliant sunset, but those moments look like an emotion that Pearl recognizes but can't put a name to. Marina always looks at Pearl so fondly when it's late and they're lit only by the television; things are softer then, including their bickering, and especially Marina's quiet gazes. In these moments, Pearl swears that there's something growing between them that they're tiptoeing around, testing, probing, but never leaping into.

But, predictably, come morning, with the harsh light of the sun and then the studio lights, Pearl isn't so sure. She never makes her move, never asks, because this is something that should be reserved for quiet and private, but by the time they get there, she's talked herself back into the corner of uncertainty. She second guesses, fears she'll ruin things with Marina if she asks, so she keeps her crush to herself.

So, the brand deal. What Pearl thought it would be: Posing with Marina in a bunch of Grizzco Brand clothing from Mr. Grizz's new clothing line (it looks about as grungy and crusty as the stuff he throws at his part-timers as compensation for working a few shifts; Pearl half-expects all the clothes to be straight from the bowels of Mr. Grizz's closet, but she doesn't say that, just wrinkles her posh little nose at it like her Papa taught her to), holding their signature weapons and smiling a lot (well, Marina smiling, Pearl glowering and smirking because she knows she looks like a gremlin). But, that's not what she gets.

Record scratch, freeze-frame. Right there. Witness Pearl's personal hell.

What she gets from the brand deal: Spawning Grounds at dusk, two cameras, attached to drones, two teammates, who look to be as new as the Jr. Marks stitched into the shoulders of their Grizzco Mandated Uniforms, dualies and splat brella in the rotation, both of which the newbies are blinking at in confusion, Marina with an Octobrush and Pearl with a Splattershot Jr.

So, no, she's not happy.

She poses for the pictures. She follows Grizz's barked, tinny orders when they filter in from her earpiece. She's not happy about it. One time, she pretends to not hear him and jumps in the water and he's contractually obligated to revive her, and she lives for the sound of his cursing as he does so. But then Marina gives her this look, the kind of look that makes her want to crawl out of her own skin and beg for forgiveness because she's disappointed her.

She's so, so, so hopeless but she doesn't care really. Marina makes her want to be better with all of her passion and attention to detail, and the sight of her hands on the turntables always does something to Pearl that just lights her up inside and she just. Wants to make Marina happy. And if that means dealing with the angry bear man then so be it.

"You know what I think?" Pearl says as they're taking a short snack break. (At least Grizz has the decency to provide food, even if it is cheap and stale.) "I think Grizzco is a glorified daycare."

Marina glances at the two inklings standing guard over the snacks. One of them has the timing to take a long, loud slurp out of a juice box. "I think you might be right," Marina answers, bemused. Then, she asks them: "Hey, how old are you?"

"Fifteen," they chorus in their high-pitched woomy voices.

"Thought so," Pearl says. Marina does that thing where she tries not to laugh and fails, so what comes out is an adorable little snort. Pearl has to look away to hide an embarrassing blush.

"This is child labor," Marina mumbles as Grizz calls them back out to finish the shoot. Why he's in charge is a mystery to Pearl. Shouldn't there be some sort of middleman out here? What about their manager? This is the last time Pearl's letting Marina handle business for the foreseeable future.

"Maybe so," Pearl mumbles back as she watches the kids shoot each other with their weapons. The ink pellets off them harmlessly and paints the immaculate floor, causing Grizz to grumble. Marina mumbles something about a Squee-G being the perfect fix for that but Grizz doesn't hear her.

They take a few more photos and things are looking to wrap up nicely. The kids are actually pretty good at modeling, so Pearl wonders if they're actually not just some apprentices that Grizz picked up off some roster. Explains why they don't know how to use the weapons all that well, if they spend all their time modeling at least.

Then, of course, the foghorn goes off.

"Uh oh," the kids, who Pearl is now calling Dualies and Brella, chime together.

"'Uh oh?' Why uh oh?" Pearl asks, but she has a sinking feeling in her gut, because she knows what the foghorn means.

"Grizz, what the heck is going on?" Marina demands. Her hand flies up to her ear, as if that'll make Grizz's answer come out clearer.

"I forgot to mention," comes the grizzled voice. "There's a wave coming in."

"There's a what?" Pearl squawks. Her hands tighten around her Splattershot Jr., and she feels Sheldon's painstakingly crafted casing crack from the strain.

Marina is pacing—not a good sign. "We're jumping back to the boat," she commands.

"Nope, sorry missy." Pearl can practically hear Grizz's slimy smile through the comms. "Super jumping is restricted in this area and I have all the permits. We need some action shots. Smile for the cameras!"

"Grizz—!" Pearl begins, taking in a deep breath to unleash the most vibrant and vile curse words she can come up with (the ones she saves for the special occasions), but she's cut off.

"See you back at the boat!" Grizz sing-songs. Across the Spawning Grounds, the all-too-familiar basket appears. "Now go get me some golden eggs!"

Comms go silent with a loud buzzing sound. Pearl rips hers out. "I'll kill him," she declares.

"Not if I get to him first," Marina mumbles darkly. She grips her Octobrush tighter as the foghorn comes again.

Pearl can see smallfry and chum climb out of the water on the docks. "Let's kill him together. Hey kids," she directs towards Dualies and Brella, who are cowering together, "group up and stick with me and Marina. We got this."

Across the Spawning Grounds, a Steelhead heaves itself out of the water and onto the docks. The kids scurry to huddle behind Marina's taller frame, and she holds her Octobrush out with perfect form. Suddenly, Pearl remembers that Marina used to be part of an elite fighting force. An Octoling force, and she was high ranking. She holds the Octobrush like it's an extension of her arm and her whole stance changes, crouched, lethal, familiar, deadly.

Pearl is... hm. That's attractive, isn't it? That's killer. Pearl forgets where she is for a second as she watches Marina launch herself toward the chum. She even takes the Steelhead out by swinging her Octobrush a few times from right below it. Then, she jolts Pearl out of her daze by yelling for help with the eggs. Pearl nearly trips over herself and can't find the trigger of her weapon for a few seconds. But, when she manages it, Marina beams at her.

And that's... hm.

They're on the third wave when it finally happens. Pressed against the basket with two dead teammates (Brella and Dualies fought hard) and next to no ink, Pearl knows that her end is coming. She sees a cohock wind back, pan primed to bludgeon her into an inky pulp, and she flinches, her weapon useless. They're down three eggs and there's only a couple seconds left. What's worse is that the whole world will get to see her temporary demise, and that hurts more than anything. She may survive this, but her career probably won't.

She closes her eyes. This part is never easy. Feeling her whole being fling outward in a burst is never fun, and the resulting respawn is even less fun, but, like every other inkling, she's used to it. Luckily, Grizzco's jobs are pretty safe and most people respawn without trouble. There are always exceptions though—

"Get away from my Pearlie!" comes a cry, so guttural that it takes a few seconds for Pearl to identify the voice. That's Marina, flying through the air as if she has wings, swinging her Octobrush (because of course the weapons didn't rotate like they were supposed to; this was a glorified photoshoot after all) and howling like there's death hot on her heals. She destroys the cohocks and chum in a couple swipes of her weapon, slams a bomb down on their teammates' life preservers, and they all pop eggs into the basket, grabbing quota at the last second.

It's the hottest thing Pearl's ever seen. She's cemented in place as the foghorn goes off again and the salmonids turn tail and run. Marina gives her a bright smile, the complete opposite of the harbinger of death that she just embodied, and she scoops Pearl up into her long arms. Face pressed to Marina's chest, Pearl can only blink in surprise, limp.

"Oh Pearlie, I was so worried! I turned around you were gone!" She gives Pearl a loose shake. "We're supposed to stick together! You know that!"

Pearl very much wants to say that she'll always stick with Marina, if she'll have her, but her tongue is stuck to the roof of her mouth and her teeth feel like they've been rattled loose. She swallows once, forcefully, and nods.

"Y-you got it," she manages, and almost collapses as Marina releases her. Luckily, Marina grabs her again, this time by the arms, and holds her steady. "You didn't have to save me though," Pearl continues, because she has an image to uphold. "Grizz is a pretty good babysitter. Almost everyone respawns."

Marina laughs, and it sounds a little hysterical to Pearl. "I can't stand to see you splatted. I hate it." Her voice is so gentle, so tender, something Pearl isn't accustomed to hearing, and Marina rubs her thumb just there, on Pearl's arm, exciting little goosebumps.

Pearl's head is still spinning so that doesn't make sense to her. "Wha—"

Maybe it's the nerves. Maybe it's the panic. Maybe it's the relief. But, Marina pulls Pearl close again. Everything slows down, right there. Their teammates in their squid partying become muffled background noise and all Pearl can hear is her own heartbeats, her own breathing. Because suddenly, all she can see is Marina, and her face, getting closer and closer.

Until, their lips are touching. Marina's arms pull Pearl impossibly closer, as if trying to meld their bodies together, and Pearl swears she can feel Marina's hearts, hammering against her own chest. Marina's hair is wriggling around them, and Pearl feels one of Marina's hands come up to cup her jaw.

The world is nothing but Marina, and Pearl nearly falls down again as her knees give in. The shock of the last few minutes is too much for her but that's okay. She uses her weak knees as an excuse to surge forward and press her lips harder into Marina's and is delighted when Marina squeaks and then hums against her lips.

When they eventually pull apart, the world has calmed down. Their teammates aren't looking at them, respectfully, and all of the salmonids are gone. Everything seems clearer. Pearl can feel every single pore on her face as she smiles.

Then, she realizes what they've done and that smile falters. The cameras whirr above them, trained on their heads.

"Shit," Marina mumbles. Pearl can't help but share the sentiment.

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