Chapter Text
Everyone has their secret things. A secret box, a secret trait, a secret talent. Agent Three? They have only a few secrets, determined as they push the small box under their bed. This was one of theirs.
The container they hid had few things. A small plush that held a rattle within it (They like to call it Stoat after a skeleton they saw in the museum.), a few pacifiers that won't hurt their beak, and a small notebook. It was a comfort, but they'd prefer not go the lengths to explain it to their two new roommates. How they had let Four and Eight drag them into this arrangement, they had no clue. At least Pearl would be paying the rent.
With a small sigh, they sat upright and turned to face the door. They were greeted by a friendly, though unwanted, face.
"Heya, Three!" Four called out from the doorway, holding another box from the truck. "I brought this for ya'! Thought you wanted it," the inkling stated, setting it down. They pushed it forward with their boot.
Three bit their tongue, unable to bring out the words to reply. Simply, they gave a thumbs-up and made their way to the box. With care, they picked it up and shoved it into the middle of the room to unpack it.
"What'd you put under your bed?" Four asked, helping Three to begin clearing up the floor of the room. It was cluttered with several random objects, all meaning to be stored. They had also had managed to put an entire set of drawers in the mid-left of the room. Wonderful.
Three tore a layer of tape from the box, tugging the rest off from the sides and pulling it open. What could they say? 'Hey, Four! Sometimes I feel like a child and also for some reason I have adult pacifiers!' No thanks. With a huff, they simply shook their head. Four seemed to take it well and decided to leave the conversation be.
There was silence other than the crackle and shuffle of various objects, filling the dimly lit room. One side was an utter mess, the other held Three's bed. Three liked to shove more items into the mess. To them, it was organized.
"Eight finished unpacking her things. Pearl and Marina just left a bit ago," Four told them, folding an empty cardboard box. There was a small pile of them.
"..."
"Oh, right," the inkling soon realized Three wasn't speaking. This never bothered them, but Four was not very fluent in Inkopolis Sign Language, so most of the time they just wrote back and forth until Three could bring themself to speak.
"Do you want me to go? I'm going to take these," Four picked up the mass of cardboard boxes she had been stacking. There wasn't anything Three needed to know just yet, so they shook their head.
"Alright! I'm going to go tell Eight you're not done yet, then," they gave Three a small nudge before stumbling to their feet. Four always seemed to dress a bit strange. Golden ink matched with a white tank top, lime and black shorts as well as the boots Marie had given her to go with the hero suit. Orange, black, lime and white. What a combo.
Three pulled out blankets from the box and shoved them onto the blank bed. It had been set up yesterday. There was a small plush toy in the box as well- an orca. They had gotten it to go with the shark plush Eight got. The orca didn't have a name, but Eight had named the shark Chip.
Fitting name.
The room was... Sort of finished. Three got to their feet, taking a step back to avoid having to look directly into the window. There was their bed, a bunch of drawers on the floor, scattered supplies. Yep, finished. Definitely not an utter mess they'll have to search through anyways. Though, there was only one problem. The box.
What if Four gets curious? They might look through it. I've got to re-hide it, but where?
There wasn't a viable spot to place it. Everything had a place, and they had already given Eight permission to go through the scattered piles if she needed something. Suddenly, their eyes lay on the vent on the wall and the screwdriver nearby.
Do I really want to disassemble my wall any time I want to regress?
...
Three grabs the screwdriver and pulls off the metal cover. This would only be temporary, as they reached under their bed for the box. Their sharp ears prick up to listen for any incoming noise. In their minor hearing troubles, there was no sounds that would imply a possibly intruding inkling or octoling.
"This is just temporary," they told the plush toy hidden in the box before re-adding the screws onto the vent. There, the deed was done. No awkward explanations for Four today, no sir.
With a smile on their lips (or, more so, a tense line), they stood up. There was a sudden jab of pain in their tentacle but that was fine. They don't have an iron deficiency, that was a lie. A lie told by Eight who won't stop trying to feed them iron supplements and get them to eat more than they needed. Though, at least she can cook.
Three turned to exit the room and stare at their new roommates because why would they talk when they're able to watch? It was astonishing, really. Communication wasn't needed.
They made their way out of the room, walking through the wall. A sudden flash of color startled them. Right, Four's room. Yeesh, their decor was bright. That, they could think about another time.
Soon, they had reached the living room of their apartment, where two familiar foes sat.
Eight turned, her round ears perking up a bit when she noticed the presence of Three. She seemed happy as her gaze focused on them. It was hard to tell.
"Hey, Three," she greeted, grabbing the attention of Four.
"Oh, you're finished?" Four asked, standing up from the couch. Them and Eight had moved in a week earlier than Three, so most things were already in place, like the couch, for example.
Three nodded. Yes, their room was messy. No, they didn't feel the urge to fix it. That would be stupid.
"Awesome! Eight said she wanted to set up some ground rules since we're all here. Do you have the time?"
This was going to be a good day.