Work Text:
Agent Four's phone buzzed, alerting her to the final Anarchy Splatcast of the day. Just in time, too - the notification came right as she arrived at the back door of the Inkopolis News Studio, leaning against the brickwork immediately beside it. She pulled open the stream, filling the screen with blue, yellow, and gray patterns.
It would be a couple minutes until the broadcast would actually start - to serve as a buffer for anyone who couldn't open the notification right away, Four could only assume - so in the meantime, Four allowed her eyes to wander. The sidewalks were mostly empty, as normal. Inkopolis Plaza's constant activity seemed to act as a magnet for people, drawing in anyone who came close; no one tended to loiter in the areas immediately outside it. Other than Four, of course. That was probably why Callie and Marie always left from the back exit.
Said exit was just a few feet over to her side, an unassuming windowless door. Sooner or later, they'd be coming through, Four would say hi, and the three of them would head to the bullet train to head back to Splatsville, as was routine. They only had to stay up there in their aquarium-room-thing until the Battle Lobby closed for the day, which was also naturally when Deep Cut would do their closing Splatcast, so it would be any minute now. A slight anticipatory smile came to Four's face, and she tapped the fingers of her spare hand against the wall.
After just a few cycles of that, motion on her phone caught her eye. Deep Cut's logo spun into frame, the intro jingle played, and a moment later Shiver, Frye, and Big Man appeared on screen. Four turned her volume up a few notches so she would be able to hear them over the noisy bustle of the Plaza nearby.
"Listen up! It's going down... Repping the Splatlands, we are Deep Cut!"
"Anarchy Splatcast! We're live!"
"Ay!"
How did she always forget to enable the captions...? Four tuned out the routine introduction and pulled up the settings. She poked through the menu, enabling live captions, setting it to translate to Inklish... Somewhere behind the settings UI, Big Man said an unusually fast series of 'ay's. Four dismissed the menu just as Shiver started to respond whatever it was he had said.
"Oh? What kind of news could make you stutter like that?"
"Ay! Ay?"
A brief moment passed while the captions appeared on screen. "Only the biggest news! Wait, did I really stutter?" Frye flashed a bright grin his way, bouncing in place on her cushion.
"You did, but it's fine! Tell us what it is!"
"Ay! Ay..."
Suddenly, the music cut out, and Grizzco's logo appeared on the television screen Big Man stood behind. Four leaned in closer to her phone, eyebrows going up as the captions spelled out. "It's from Grizzco again, and it says it's bad news! I'm afraid to look..."
Shiver's response was drowned out by the creak of the studio building door opening up a couple feet to Four's right. For a moment, the broadcast was forgotten as Callie stepped out, then Marie a half-pace behind. Both of them wore plain coats over their idol outfits, along with their usual covert facewear; Marie had her mask, and Callie was wearing a pair of sunglasses.
Both of them met her eyes - or at least Marie definitely did, and while she couldn't tell behind the shades, it looked like Callie was too. Callie reacted first, pulling her into an excited hug. "Hey Four!" Behind her, Marie gave an easy wave, warmth in her eyes that hinted at a smile under the mask.
Four hugged back, returning Marie's wave with just her wrist. "Hi!" In her other hand, then, her phone vibrated just a bit against her palm - not from a notification, but from a harsh noise coming out of its speakers. Four pulled back from the hug just a bit sooner than she normally would, turning the screen towards the both of them. "I think they're announcing something important on the Splatcast."
Callie took it from her hands, holding it in front of her so Four and Marie could see. There was a picture of Hagglefish Market on Big Man's TV, along with a green statue of... something unsettling. Shiver had just spoken, but Four hadn't quite caught what it was. Frye spoke next, bouncing even more wildly than before, a look of shock on her face.
"But what could they want there?"
"Ay? Ay..."
Four shuffled a bit closer so she could read the captions. "Maybe it's all a misunderstanding? They could just"-
The sentence continued to spell out, but Four's attention was seized by Callie whispering nearby. "Are they talking about a Big Run?"
Marie nodded. "Seems like it." Just as Four looked back at the screen, the caption disappeared. Shoot. Whatever he had said, Shiver seemed skeptical about it, but Frye was wearing a thoughtful expression with her hand to her chin.
"Do Salmonids even have wallets...?"
Callie whispered a triumphant "Salmonids! Called it!" while the camera panned to Shiver's mischievous smirk.
"I don't think that would stop them. After all, YOU show up there without your wallet all the time."
"Ay! Ay!"
Four couldn't help but smile while the captions came on screen. It wasn't like she was any better herself, but it was fun to see someone else getting teased for being forgetful, for once. The translation finished spelling out. "Hold on, I think Frye's onto something! Maybe they're actually going there to sell all their stuff and crash the economy!" Shiver rolled her eyes.
"Come on, do I have to say it again? They're fish, all they do is swim, spawn, eat, repeat. They don't have any economists. Actually, maybe we should live more like that..."
Frye pumped her fist and started saying something in response, but Four's attention was again drawn away. She glanced back to see Callie stifling a snicker behind her free hand. "Did she really say that again?"
... Say what again...? Four looked to Marie in search of answers, but just found her looking mysteriously tired. "Guess we've got another errand to run once we're back in Splatsville." She closed her eyes for a little bit too long to be considered a blink, then opened them back up and finally seemed to notice Four's confusion. "Oh, you weren't th-"
Callie elbowed Marie's side. It didn't look particularly rough, but it did get her to stop talking long enough for Callie to cut in. "Ooh, let me tell her! I can tell her!" Marie rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt. "Back during the first Big Run, Shiver said basically exactly that, like, three times in one day. When Marie found out, she was all, 'That's so inappropriate! She can't say that on the air!' and dragged me aaaall the way to their studio-"
"It wasn't that far," Marie interjected.
"She dragged me aaaaaaall the way to their studio to back her up while she chewed her out for like, a half hour-"
"It was a couple minutes."
"While she chewed her out for like, an hour, and Shiver was all, 'Sorry Boss Marie, it totally won't happen again.' I didn't believe her at all but Marie bought it!" Marie didn't interrupt again, but she did roll her eyes. "It wasn't even that long ago, but now she's back on the air going on about how she's sooo jealous of Salmonids getting to spend all day spawning."
A surprised snort worked its way up from Four's throat. She clapped her hands over her mouth just as Marie leveled her with an exhausted look. "C'mon, Four, you're supposed to be better than her. It's inappropriate."
"It's funny," Callie said. In her hand, Four's phone filled with blue, yellow, and gray swirls for a moment. Four glanced down at it, as did Callie. "Oh, they're moving on. Here you go!" She offered Four her phone back, and Four took it, looking down at the screen. Sure enough, Deep Cut seemed to be preparing to read out tomorrow's morning rotations.
"Yeah, hilarious. Come on, let's catch our train." A moment passed, and then Marie spoke again, a few steps further away. "Don't get left behind, Four."
Four looked up to see both of them looking back at her over their shoulders. "Oops!" She broke into a light jog to catch up, circling around to walk by Marie's side. Marie looped their elbows together.
They walked most of the way more or less in silence, with Four paying most of her attention to the broadcast. Deep Cut went through the first four stage rotations of the next morning for each division of Turf, then Anarchy Series, then Anarchy Open... Just as the rotations for X Battles were starting, Four felt a nudge on her shoulder. It wasn't Marie, though - Marie was still just looking forward, oblivious to Callie, who had reached around behind her to get Four's attention.
There was a devilish grin on Callie's face. She pulled her hand back, covered her left eye, and spoke in a quiet, low, slightly less bubbly tone than usual - an obvious impression of Shiver. "Listen up, it's going down. Repping the Splatlands, yada yada." Marie turned to look at her, tilting her head a bit. "Welcome to Anarchy Splatcast, my name's Shiver, I wish I could spend all day spawning."
Four let out a startled laugh, louder than she expected, while Marie just groaned. "Really, Callie?" Callie just bust out laughing too, prompting a few more giggles from Four. Marie turned towards her next, raising an eyebrow. "You too? You know I'm right."
When she actually thought about it, she did agree. Shiver probably wasn't supposed to be saying things like that live on the air. With some effort, she forced her smile back down. "Um, yeah, you're right. She should've listened to you the first time."
Callie poked her shoulder again. Marie was looking, this time, and so she was able to notice and swipe Callie's hand away, but she couldn't stop Callie from speaking in her Shiver impression again. "I'm Shiver, I fuck to survive."
"Callie!"
Four bust out laughing, tripping over her feet and only narrowly avoiding a wipeout thanks to Marie's arm linked with hers. She couldn't quite find her balance again on her own, half hanging from Marie's elbow - it took a few seconds before Marie righted her, fixing her with an unimpressed look. Callie was still cackling behind her, though, and it was impossible for Four to regain her composure with her losing it right there.
Marie just rolled her eyes, continuing to walk again and pulling Four along. "You two are children."
She didn't seem to be genuinely irritated, but it was hard to tell for sure whether she was just playing along. The tiniest seed of apprehension was planted in Four's gut. She looked back towards Callie, who was hurrying to catch up, wiping a tear from her eye. If there was anyone who could read Marie better than Four, it would be her, so if she was still goofing around, it was probably fine. Still, Four's own laughter died down a bit, and she pulled herself a bit closer against Marie's side. "I still think you've got a good point."
"Hey Four," Callie said, doing the voice again. Four choked back a laugh. "Welcome back to Anarchy Splatcast, the Salmonids are invading Hagglefish Market. I wish I could-"
Even before Callie could finish the sentence, Four was doubled over laughing again.
************************
Despite Callie's constant goading, Marie didn't give anything more than a few tightly suppressed chuckles through the whole ride back to Splatsville Square. It was only a few minutes on the bullet train, sure, but Callie hadn't stopped for a second, and Marie had remained almost entirely unaffected, other than eye-rolls and groans. Four definitely couldn't make the same claim. By the time she, Callie, and Marie had disembarked right outside Deep Cut's studio, Four's throat was sore, and she still felt a bit winded.
Her eyes wandered over to the massive glass window on her left, then caught there. Shiver, Frye, and Big Man's spots were all vacated - in hindsight, it made sense. That had been the final announcement of the day, so they would've gone home after that. She nudged Marie's arm to get her attention, then gestured towards the empty studio.
"Hm?" Marie raised an eyebrow and looked. Callie also leaned past her to check it out. "Oh, don't worry, they haven't gone home yet. They've got a room right through there that they hang out in, you'll see it."
Callie nodded enthusiastically. "It's great! They've got these huge beanbag chairs in their signature colors. Big Man's goes up to my shoulders! I tried to sit in it once and I almost drowned, he had to fish me out."
A slight smile came to Marie's face. "Don't give him all the credit, I was the one who told him to stop freaking out and grab you. He could barely reach you, too. If it'd been Four in there, I don't think he'd have been able to." She glanced towards Four, giving her a teasing bump with her elbow. "So don't try and sit in it, got it? I don't want to have to tell the Captain we lost an agent."
Four gave a grin and a cheesy salute, but Callie pushed her hand down, stepping between her and Marie. "You don't have to worry about that, she's not getting anywhere near that chair. I'm gonna be getting my rematch today."
"Oh no you aren't." Marie took Callie's shoulders and moved her bodily out of the way. "Don't think I forgot about your little standup routine on the train. If Four's coming with, I can't have you there too. You're a bad influence on her." Four hid a snort behind her hand.
"But Marieeee..."
"Nope, not hearing it. Do you think Shiver's going to listen to me if you're there making Four giggle like a schoolgirl?"
Callie's whole body drooped in exaggerated disappointment. "But Shiver's not gonna listen anyways!"
Marie, ever mature, plugged her ears and closed her eyes. "I can't hear you," she sang, turning away. "It's either you or Four, and she's never been in there before. You wouldn't take this away from her, would you?" She opened her eyes with her back to Callie, giving a conspiratorial wink. A cue to play along - Four could certainly do that. She gave Callie the best, most pathetically pleading look in her arsenal, taking care not to drop the facade even as Marie turned back towards Callie with a smug look on her face.
"I..." Callie looked back and forth between the two of them, growing visibly more desperate with each glance. "I can't do it! Four, I thought you were on my side!"
Four only chose to redouble her efforts. She'd been laughing along with Callie since they'd all met up, she owed Marie a little extra cooperation by now. Her choice was reaffirmed when Marie glanced back at her, looked satisfied with what she saw, and turned back to Callie. "Guess not. That settles that then. Now shoo, I'll text you again after we're done."
Callie gave a long, dramatic sigh, but she was still smiling. "Fiiine." She stepped in closer and put her arms around Four and Marie both, pulling them in for a hug. Four hugged back, letting her expression smooth over into one of contentment. A moment later, Marie hugged back too. Something about the movement made it seem like she was trying to act like she was just obliging Callie, but there was genuine affection hidden in the way she settled her hand over Callie's back, giving a few pats. Callie squeezed the two of them, then let go and backed off, nearly bouncing on her feet. "I'll seeya later! Love you! And bye Four! Love you too!"
"Yeah, yeah, you too," Marie said, giving a slight grin and a roll of her eyes. Four smiled back as well, considerably wider - no more genuine than Marie's though, she knew, just more visible. She gave a quick goodbye of her own, followed by a wave; Callie returned the gesture as she backed away for a moment, before turning and bounding down towards the center of Splatsville Square. For a moment, Four watched her go, before looking up towards Marie. Their eyes met, and Marie gave her a soft smile. "Alright, let's get moving now." A little bit of the softness left her expression. "We've got business to attend to, after all. Stick by my side, no one's gonna question you if they see you're with me."
That was an instruction Four was more than willing to abide by. She kept her arm linked with Marie's, very nearly leaning into Marie's shoulder as they started walking. Marie led her through a set of glass doors by the side of Deep Cut's studio, up a long, shallow staircase, lowering her mask as she turned the corner at the top.
There was a deep-sea jelly sitting behind a desk, long head bent down towards a computer monitor. They glanced up as Four and Marie rounded the corner. Marie gave a slight nod in greeting, the movement barely registering in Four's peripheral vision. The jellyfish's eyes flicked onto Four. True to what Marie had told her, though, they only seemed to regard her for a second before looking back to the monitor. Four hadn't even noticed she was tense, but as soon as their attention was off her again she found herself relaxing just a bit. The jelly didn't look up again as Marie walked Four over to an elevator.
A few seconds passed in silence while they waited for it to open up. Four allowed herself to lean a bit more into Marie, setting her head against the side of Marie's shoulder, taking her upper arm in her free hand to hold it to her body. It was surprisingly quiet - not entirely so, but Four wasn't sure she'd ever heard so little noise from this close to the Square. It had been as busy as ever when she'd disboarded the train with Callie and Marie. The Battle Lobby had been closed for a while by then, sure, but the shops were still open, and Grizzco was probably going to start sending out Salmon Run crews in under an hour. If anything, it had seemed a little busier than usual. Probably a surge of inkfish there to sign up for a shift, in preparation for the Big Run.
The elevator arrived with a ding that pierced the near-silence. Marie lifted her shoulder a bit, shrugging Four off so she could walk her into the elevator. Their footsteps took on a slightly deeper sound as they stepped from the smooth flooring onto the elevator's carpet. Just as the door was sliding shut, the jelly at the desk glanced towards her and Marie again - but the next moment the doors had broken their line of sight, and the elevator was descending. Whatever traces of the Square's ambience had been audible up in the front room, they were lost under the hum of the elevator. Marie broke the relative silence. "We're just going one floor down to get to ground level. No idea why the place is built like this."
It took a second for Four to piece together what Marie meant. Her eyebrows went up a little as she leaned back into Marie. "Oh, I guess that is kinda weird. Maybe they couldn't fit the front desk on the ground floor?"
"Could be." Marie caught her eyes, looking down and to the side at her. "You know I didn't mean you have to be this close, right?" Despite her words, it was clear from her tone that she wasn't actually making a complaint, and she made no move to get Four off of her. Four nodded against her arm. "Just felt like being a little cuddly?" Another nod. "Cute."
A smile came to her face, and her eyes slipped shut for just a moment before snapping open at the dual sound and sensation of the elevator stopping. The doors slid open, and the ambient din of the Square could be heard again, slightly muffled. Four tilted her head, giving Marie her arm back - mostly, at least - and stepping into the hall. The noise was coming from behind a featureless door over to the right. That had to be where the studio was, then. Four started towards it, but was stopped by Marie, halting her halfway through another step. "Huh?"
"That way's the studio," Marie said. Four smiled and nodded. She'd been right, then! Marie just raised an eyebrow at her, though. "You already saw that Deep Cut's not in there, their backstage room's the other way."
... "Oh!" Four returned to Marie's side, smile turning sheepish. "Right! I forgot what we were here for."
Marie's shoulder knocked gently against Four's, getting her to look back up at her. "Guess I should've seen that coming. Like I said before: Cute." A light blush came to Four's face. Marie seemed satisfied to see it. "Come on now, Agent Four-getful, this way."
She pulled Four along, and Four followed automatically for just a moment, before the pun registered and she bust out laughing. There was a brief tug at her arm before Marie stopped and faced her.
The skeptical look on her face only made Four laugh harder. So did the "Seriously?" that came right after. "I know I'm pretty great, but it wasn't that funny."
"It was!" Four insisted, as well as she could.
"Sure. You're just feeling giggly today, aren't you?" She set her free hand on top of Four's head, rubbing playfully. "Is that why Callie was making you crack up so much? Giggly and cuddly today?"
"No!" Four let her laughter die down, leaning in to push her head against Marie's palm. "You're just really funny! And I like being close to you, a lot. It's every day!"
"Flatterer." Marie slid her hand down to cup Four's cheek, giving it an affectionate stroke before letting go, all too soon. "Don't get me in too much of a good mood, I've still got an idol to tell off."
If only they had just come to Deep Cut's studio building to cuddle in the hallway, Four's life would have been perfect. Sadly, that was not the case. It would not have been reasonable for that to be the case. She straightened her back with a self-indulging sigh. "Alright..." The fond look on Marie's face made it easy enough to bear, though.
Marie led her down the hall, opposite the direction of the studio. There were two doors, one set into the wall, the other right at the end of the hallway. They stopped at the one in the wall. "There's my good girl. If it's any consolation, you'll have all the time in the world to be cute after this. For now, just stand back, look stoic, and let me handle this." Marie put her hand on the door, looking towards Four. "Let me see your stoic face, agent."
Four schooled her expression to look as serious as possible.
"Eh, good enough." Four had to hold back a surprised snort - Marie was already opening the door. She peeked around the edge of it as it swung open.
Sure enough, there was Deep Cut. Shiver and Frye were in two reasonably sized beanbag chairs, at an angle pointed slightly away from the door. Beside it was a third one, dark gray, of absolutely gargantuan proportion. Callie really hadn't been lying... For a moment Four was tempted to try and sit on it, regardless of what consequences might befall her, but her elbow was still linked with Marie's. Right. Stoic.
Big Man looked up from where he stood, fiddling with a free-standing electric keyboard. He looked at Four for only the briefest moment before focusing his attention entirely onto Marie. "Ay!"
Immediately, Frye burst into motion, stopping in the middle of whatever she was saying and seeming to generate momentum out of nowhere, flipping up into the air. Without even properly standing up, she had launched herself up onto her feet, crossing her arms and beaming towards Marie. "Boss Marie!"
By her side, Shiver had still barely moved. She got up slowly, but not quite lazily, shutting her fan, transferring it from her right hand to her left, planting both of them onto the beanbag chair, shifting her weight forward... Frye hadn't even spared Four a glance, but Shiver gave her a quick look as she turned to face them both, just as Big Man had, before moving on to give Marie a narrow grin. "Boss Marie. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Despite their completely opposite approaches, both Frye's energetic leap and Shiver's languid rise exuded more confidence than Four felt she had ever seen before. It took a serious effort not to let her eyes widen. Marie, meanwhile, had a hand on her hip and a bored look on her face. Was she used to this? Was it possible to get used to this?? "Frye, Big Man, this doesn't concern you." The two in question shared a glance before looking towards Shiver with open curiosity. "Shiver, do you remember the conversation we had after your first Big Run announcement?"
Shiver turned her head slowly, giving a strange glance towards Frye and Big Man. Big Man's fins wobbled back and forward. Frye's smile got a bit brighter. A quick glance to Four's side gave the impression that Marie hadn't noticed it. Or maybe she just didn't find it weird enough to react at all...? Regardless, Shiver was soon facing Marie again. "We have a lot of conversations, don't we?"
"No."
"I guess it's pretty subjective when you think about it. It could go either way."
"It really couldn't."
For a moment, the lofty, thoughtful expression on Shiver's face was replaced with a pout. She flicked her wrist, snapping her fan open, and raised it in front of the lower half of her face. In an instant, her eyes were shining with confidence once again. "We have conversations all the time. That's what we're doing right now, isn't it?"
Marie pinched the bridge of her nose. "This isn't a social call. You're stalling, which means you obviously remember - remind me what I told you during that conversation."
Shiver's expression collapsed back into a pout once again, so abruptly that Four was almost disoriented to see it happen. "Do I have to?"
"Yes, you have to."
Shiver tipped her head back with a dramatic sigh, turning and pacing to Four's and Marie's left. "You told me that I'm not supposed to say things like that anym-"
"Things like what?" Marie pressed. Four had had to lean forward a bit to keep looking as Shiver circled them both, but at the tone of Marie's voice Four's eyes snapped to Marie. That voice was kinda...
Her focus was drawn back away by a petulant growl from Shiver. "You said I'm not allowed to talk about how cool it'd be to be a Salmonid on the Splatcast."
"What exactly about being a Salmonid was it?"
A very slight blue tinge came to Shiver's face. "How they get to spend so much time spawning." A matching heat appeared in Four's cheeks. She'd... completely forgotten that that was the subject being discussed.
"That's right. Can you tell me why you decided it would be appropriate to say that again today?"
"Mnnh..." Shiver scowled and whined, looking down and snapping her fan closed to inspect it, then sweeping her eyes across the room. They stopped on Four. Uh oh. Slowly, Shiver started to look unbothered again. Uh oh. She straightened up, sauntering back to stand alone near the beanbag chairs. "Well, are you saying I'm wrong?"
Four jolted in surprise, and she could tell Marie was caught off guard too. "I- What?"
Shiver's eyes narrowed a bit, but she only grinned wider. "I'm not wrong, am I? That would be a pretty nice way to live."
"That's not- That doesn't mean-" It was really weird to hear Marie stumbling like that. Shiver continued to circle in the opposite direction. "It's still completely inappropriate for the Splatcast."
The direction Shiver was walking was starting to put Four in between her and Marie. There was a predatory glint in her grin, one that had Four's eyes stuck wide and her ears swiveling back. Was it just her, or was the arc Shiver walked just a little too tight to be a proper circle...? It felt like she was getting closer. "I'm just saying..." She took one more step, and suddenly she was very close. Close enough to lift her arm and very nearly poke Four's nose with the end of her collapsed fan. Four's eyes crossed on the tip of it. "It looks like your little assistant here agrees with me. Why don't we ask what they think?"
Marie's elbow, the one that was linked around Four's, straightened to bring her hand and Four's together. With one swift tug, she brought Four back to stand side by side with her, both facing Shiver. The next moment, she had taken a step forward and to the side, putting herself halfway in front of Four, solidly between her and Shiver. It wasn't possible to see her expression, but she had her head tilted back just enough that Four could guess she was looking down her nose at Shiver. It was a gesture of disapproval Four had only earned from her a couple times in all her life. "She's my girlfriend. Back off."
For just a moment, Shiver seemed caught off balance. It was even more brief than the previous slips had been, though. Barely a single beat later, she was back to looking smug. "Oh? A pretty little thing like that? In that case, even you must get where I'm coming from."
The three of them startled in unison as Frye gave an excited gasp over by the door. Four spun around to look, only barely noticing the look of irritation that came over Shiver as she did. She was in the doorway, hands on her cheeks in cartoonish surprise, with Big Man wearing a spooked expression behind her. "Sorry for blowing our cover, but - Boss Marie, you have a girlfriend? For eel?!"
"Is it that surprising?"
Frye brought her hands away from her face just far enough that she could clap them back on. "No, not at all! It's just... You're just, a little..."
"Ay?"
Whatever Big Man had said didn't look like it had impressed Marie. "Thanks a lot." She glanced back towards the beanbag chairs, and Four followed her gaze. There were a couple of takeout boxes lying around, a squidphone, a few random cables, a guitar pick... Actually, a lot of takeout boxes. Marie looked back towards Frye and Big Man. "What are you two doing over there anyways? Neither of you said anything objectionable - on the air, no less," she gave a harsh look towards Shiver, who smiled unusually sheepishly, "- But that doesn't mean you can just leave while this place is still such a mess."
"Ay, ay..."
Frye nodded along. "Right! So we were thinking, we'd... Y'know..."
Sudden, rapid motion caught her eye - in a burst of movement, Shiver was sprinting towards the door. She dove through the air, straight at Frye, who ducked down and stuck her hands up. Just as Shiver was sailing overhead, Frye pushed her up even higher into the air, sending her flying all the way over Big Man - but knocking his hat off - and crashing to the floor somewhere behind him, unseen.
A second passed in silence, before Shiver groaned. "Come on, the plan!"
"Right!" Frye said, uncrouching and clapping her hands, looking a little bit panicked. "We'd ask if you could clean up for us! Run!"
"Ay!!" Big Man spun around, moving deceptively fast for someone so bulky, barreling down the hall and scooping Shiver off the floor.
Shiver grunted as she was picked up. "Thanks Boss Marie!"
Before Four could even process the interaction, Frye was gone too, flying down the hall and squeezing past Big Man. "Got your hat! Thanks Boss Marie!"
Four looked up at Marie, utterly floored. Marie just stared after them, though, as all three of them pushed their way into the elevator. As soon as they were out of sight inside it, she jolted back to life, as suddenly as a movie being unpaused. "Agent Four, stop them!"
Well, it wasn't like that could make the situation any weirder than it already was.
Four broke into a run, instincts priming her to lay down ink and swim, but there was nothing in her hands, and no ink tank on her back. She'd have to stay on foot. Pushing herself to move quickly without swimming felt awkward, but she tried her best, rushing the elevator as all three of its occupants audibly panicked. "She's an agent too!?" "A-Ay!" "She's gone postal!"
She turned the corner right in front of it, launching herself forward through the doors. Big Man was still holding Shiver, who was mashing one of the elevator buttons and staring right at her in transparent shock. Frye was-
Four hit the floor hard, letting out a heavy and involuntary "Oof." Frye was, as it turned out, pushing her out of the elevator. Fair enough... The doors slid shut before she could stand back up, to the sound of muffled cheering.
The cheering retreated upwards, until it was too faint to hear over Splatsville Square's ambience coming from behind the door to the studio.
Marie was by Four's side before she even noticed her approaching, taking her arm and helping her up. "Cod dammit." As she spoke, half-growling, she pressed down the elevator's call button. "Which one of them was that? Which one of them put their hands on my girlfriend?"
The feeling those words gave her was enough of a distraction that she had to take a second to actually process what Marie was asking her. She gave a light pull on Marie's arm. "I mean, it wasn't her fault, I was kinda lunging at them all..."
It was hard to tell if Marie was listening. "Her? So was it Shiver or Frye? If it was Shiver, so help me, I'll-"
Four tugged on her arm again, a bit harder. "Marie..."
"What, I'm supposed to let them push you to the floor, just because..." Marie took her hand off of the call button and put it to her chin. "... I guess I did kind of order you to attack. I'm still mad at them, though." She turned back towards the backstage room and started walking.
After a second's delay, Four hurried to catch up and follow on her heels. "It's not their fault, they were just defending themselves."
"By making me clean up their mess for them?" Marie turned on her. "Was Shiver defending herself by getting all up in your personal space too?"
Four shrank back.
The irritation dropped out of Marie's eyes. "Sorry, I..." She opened her arms, and even before she said anything Four came forward and tucked herself into them. "Come here. I'm not mad at you, Four."
It made sense, she knew that - on an intellectual level, at least - but it was relieving to hear it. She hummed into the crook of Marie's neck. "Mm. 'M sorry too, I wasn't really thinking about what I said."
One of Marie's hands found the back of her head and started stroking, prompting Four to lean in a little more. "Don't apologize for that, I knew what you meant. I was just..." She sighed, ceasing her stroking for a second. Four squirmed a bit closer, and it started again. "You get what I'm saying, don't you? Today got very frustrating all of a sudden."
She nodded against Marie, but stayed silent, inviting her to continue.
A second passed. Marie didn't let go, but she moved back a bit, enough to look down at Four. "... What, are you waiting for me to complain about it?" Four just smiled up at her. "You know me too well. Come on, we'll talk while I clean up their mess." With that said, she let go of Four the rest of the way and started down the hall again. Four followed behind, taking a moment to miss the contact before the words properly registered.
"Wait, you're actually doing it? Why not just leave it for them to get tomorrow?"
"It'll attract bugs. Who do you think they're going to call to deal with it if they find a bunch of ants in here?"
Four screwed up her face, stepping through the door into the backstage room and stopping as Marie let it close behind her. "Right..."
Marie sighed and made her way to the beanbag chairs, around which most of the garbage was scattered. "So-"
"But doesn't Big Man eat bugs?" Four blurted. Marie glanced her way, and Four felt her face light up with an apologetic blush. "Oops- um, sorry, you were saying?"
Instead of returning to her previous thought, though, Marie just gave a faint smile. "I don't mind, Four, it's cute." The heat in Four's face burned a little brighter. "Anyways, yeah, he does, but I think it's only the flying ones. I haven't asked, and I'd rather just deal with this now than take the chance." Four nodded along, and Marie started gathering cardboard containers into her hands. "Not that I particularly want to clean up after three grown adults... I know they do it every day I'm not here, they're perfectly capable."
Four gave an acknowledging hum, kneeling down to pick up some herself as well.
"It's like they think that being their boss means I'm... Oh, Four, you don't have to do that too. I didn't bring you here just to rope you into doing Deep Cut's chores."
"I don't mind," Four said. The stack of greasy cardboard containers in her hands was starting to get unsteady, which meant that was probably all she could carry in one go. Slowly, carefully, she started to get to her feet, eyes locked on the top of her stack. "I, uh..." The boxes wobbled. Four froze, holding her breath. They settled. "I wanna help out, not just... sit back and watch you do it all yourself."
Marie stood as well, carrying considerably fewer boxes. "You're so sweet for me, Four. If only-" Just as she started her sentence, she stopped, giving a skeptical look to Four's miniature tower. "Okay, you can help, but you're not carrying that many at a time."
"I can handle it!"
A small smile came to Marie's face, reaffirming Four's decision. If it got Marie to smile, it was a good idea. "I'm sure you can, my capable agent, but I'm telling you not to. Look, I won't make you put them down, but for the next trip take fewer."
Four gave the best begrudging nod she could without risking the stability of her box stack, following Marie as she led her back out to the hall, holding the door for her. "Thanks," she said automatically.
"S'nothing," Marie responded, letting go of the door to pull her mask back up. "The bin's this way." She led the way to the other door, the one only a few feet away at the end of the hallway, getting that one for Four as well. The ambient noise of the city filled the hall. There was sunlight, too, but only indirect. Just a couple feet out from the doorway was a flat brick wall that blocked all view.
Rather than make Marie wait while she checked it out from the hall, though, Four stepped through and stood out of the way, mumbling another automatic thanks. Marie nodded, using her foot to slide a brick into the door's path, then walking past Four. It had opened up into an alleyway - the wall across from the door was the side of a nearby building. Deeper into the alley, the way Marie was walking, there was a set of dumpsters. In the other direction, it opened up into one of the roads leading toward the heart of the Square. There were a handful of cars, and a fair amount of foot traffic going both ways, although no one spared a single glance into the alley.
Marie whistled behind her, and Four startled, nearly dropping her stack of cardboard. "Over here, Four." Her voice was raised just enough to be heard over the city and the wind.
As quickly as she could manage without losing anything, Four made her way over to tip the whole pile into the dumpster, while Marie held the lid up. Before she could say anything, Marie gestured for her to follow again, walking back to the hall.
"If you couldn't tell, I've had to do this before." Four stopped to push the brick out of the way so the door could fall shut. Marie also stopped, turning and looking over her shoulder at her. "Leave it, we'll be making a few trips. I'm not the one who pays the A/C here."
Four gave a quiet laugh at that, but Marie didn't seem to find much joy in the quip. She just turned back around and went back into the backstage room.
"Honestly, maybe I should be expecting that soon..." The hesitant smile on Four's face fell, and she followed along. There wasn't anything to say, though, or at least nothing she could think of. "What's next, are they gonna start sending me the bill for all this takeout?"
Her back was turned to Four, but from the humorless sigh she gave as she knelt down to pick up more trash, it was easy enough to picture her expression. Four returned to her side, gathering some herself as well. This time, Marie kept an eye on her, giving her a look after she had picked up a few boxes and paper cups - Four assumed that that was her signal not to carry any more. She wanted to help Marie get the work over with, but if Marie wanted her to be a little more careful, she wouldn't argue.
Marie stood up with her and got the door again, before Four could think to. Another quiet thanks, another nod, and Marie kept talking. "Cod. I mean, just look at you. This isn't even your garbage, and they aren't your employees, but you're staying here to help pick up. I'm practically having to hold you back, and you're still thanking me." Four glanced back at her every few steps as she led Marie, this time, out through the alley again. "Would it kill them to be a little more like you?"
With a bit of awkward arm-shuffling, she got the lid up and deposited her load, holding it so Marie could do the same. It felt... kind of odd to be praised at Deep Cut's expense. Not that she was feeling particularly charitable to them either, with how they had treated Marie. Four gave an only slightly hesitant nod and followed Marie back again.
"Speaking of which, the way Shiver treated you... Ugh. It's like she was trying to make me mad. Circling around you like some kind of shark - no, she'd like that comparison. Like a hawk. Walking right up to you from an angle where she thought I wouldn't get in her way." Her tone was getting more heated than before, but something about it gave Four pause. Marie sounded... jealous, over her. She didn't want Marie to worry about that, but it left a strange feeling in Four's chest to hear that in her voice. Marie... didn't want other girls flustering Four like that. Marie wanted her to herself. The thought was hard to move past. "That's why she shoved you like that too, I know it. She was just waiting for a reason to put her hands on you, even though I told her you're mine."
... Shoved her? Wait, out of the elevator? Four spoke without thinking. "That wasn't her." Marie stopped with her hand on the doorknob, looking at her in surprise. "I- I mean, I didn't say it was her, it... could have been... either of them?" Her voice didn't sound convincing at all, even to her. "Um."
"So it was Frye," Marie deadpanned. Four looked away with an embarrassed nod. A second later, she could hear Marie huff and turn to walk into the room. "Whatever. Doesn't matter who it was, no one should lay a hand on you without your permission. Next time I see them, they'll both be getting a piece of my mind."
Four let out a bit of an embarrassed laugh and followed behind her. "I was kinda diving at them, I deserved it. It's fine." She started gathering more of Deep Cut's garbage. It was looking like they'd only need one more trip after the next one. She was just about to point that out when Marie spoke again.
"I... Alright, I shouldn't be mad at her for that, but that doesn't mean it's fine. You didn't 'deserve' it." Four turned her head to look at her, confused. Marie's gaze stayed lowered on her handful of empty containers. "That was my fault. I don't know what I was thinking, sending you after the three of them like that."
Four frowned.
"I was treating you like some kind of attack pet,-"
All the takeout boxes in Four's hands slipped out of her grasp and returned to the floor, and in an instant her whole face was engulfed in fire. Marie looked at her, eyebrows going up. Immediately, she looked away, very away, bringing her hand up and pretending that she was only turning her head to scratch behind her ear. Oh cod what had those words done to her. She knew perfectly well what they had done to her. But oh cod why had they had that effect on her?
"Four? You alright?"
Now wasn't the right time for being really really really flustered by something that had no reason to fluster her. She was supposed to be supporting Marie, not... discovering something new about herself. If there were any worse time for something like this, Four wasn't sure what it could be. Maybe if she were in an Octarian kettle fighting DJ Octavio again that would be worse, but being in Deep Cut's Studio while Marie was still angry about being disrespected had to be a close second. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, just dropped it!" She forced herself to look down at the floor again and pick up what had fallen. "Oops!"
She snuck a few glances to Marie in the very corner of her eye. She was giving her an odd look. Four gathered her handful of garbage, got to her feet, and spun around towards the door. Marie got up as well behind her, slower than Four had. That was fine! That just meant Four was able to get to the door before her and hold it open for her. The kind of thing she was supposed to be doing. Marie kept giving her the same odd look as she passed into the hall, but she didn't look back at her again as the two of them went out and back to the alleyway.
Marie was walking in front, and Four was more than happy to stay behind her and out of sight, so she reached the dumpster first. She dumped what she was carrying, then kept it open for Four. "Thanks," Four repeated. "Uh... So what was it you were saying? About... them. Deep Cut." Not about herself and Four. Especially not about her treating Four like... like...
Four spun on her heel and returned to the hallway, only barely moderating her pace to avoid leaving Marie behind. She wasn't going to ask her a question and then run, she wasn't that bad. Marie followed, sounding slightly confused. "Uh, right. I... Right, Shiver." Frustration crept back into her tone. It wasn't pleasant hearing Marie unhappy, but if airing out her thoughts would help her cool off - and get her attention off of Four - then Four wouldn't complain. "Right. So maybe she didn't push you, but I saw what she was doing when I was right there, sticking her little fan in your nose. As if she hadn't already been inappropriate enough today..."
Four nodded, getting the door to the backstage room for Marie and following her in. This was definitely going to be the last trip they needed to make. She knelt, presumably for the final time that afternoon, next to Marie to start collecting trash, listening attentively as Marie got back into the swing of it.
"Really, what was she thinking? She remembered the last time I told her off for this. That wasn't enough for her, though, she had to do it again." Four nodded along. In everything that had been going on, she'd nearly forgotten what had even provoked the whole situation. "As if there weren't thousands of people watching. At minimum. 'They just spend all day spawning, must be nice.' I told her she can't say things like that, and yet..."
... Oh! She really had forgotten what had caused it. Her cheeks grew hot again, but she was pretty sure her blush couldn't be as dark as before, when Marie had...
"I know Callie was just kidding around, but she was barely even exaggerating. She just came on the air, announced an upcoming major disaster, and started talking about wanting to spawn. Again. This is, like, the fourth time she's said that. What kind of stream does she think she's running?"
Four's hands stalled.
"Putting that kind of imagery in everyone's minds..."
There was only one thing left to pick up, a paper cup with a thin layer of sugary-smelling soda at its bottom. Four made the very deliberate effort to pick it up.
"What's her excuse for it all? 'I'm right.' Like that has anything to do with what she's allowed to say on the broadcast... 'Sure, I said on the air that I just want to eat, sleep, and fuck, but it's fine because wouldn't that be fun?'"
Four stood up, feeling a little bit distracted.
Marie, unfortunately, kept going. "'Boss Marie, wouldn't you just looove to breed?' Does she think that's a normal way to talk to your boss? Or anyone? Cod, trying to have a serious conversation with any of them is always a nightmare."
It really didn't help that Marie wasn't even doing a Shiver impression the way Callie had. The last thing she needed was to hear Marie, in basically just her normal speaking voice, asking if she would like to breed. That wasn't a helpful sentence to have echoing in her ears. And yet, there it continued to echo.
"Hey, Four, that's everything. Come on." Four snapped to attention, finding Marie holding the door open for her. She was gesturing Four along with her shoulder. As far as she could tell, Marie wasn't reading into her uncharacteristic absentmindedness.
... Well, okay, maybe it wasn't actually very uncharacteristic.
Either way, she didn't intend to make her wait. Four hurried along into the hall, keeping her head turned to look back at Marie and walking blindly towards the alley. It was fine, she was familiar with this hall by now. "I know you haven't seen the others do anything like that, but believe me, they're- look where you're walking, Four." Four faced forwards, momentarily stalling in her stride so Marie would catch up and they could walk side by side. "Good girl. As I was saying, they're all troublemakers. I guess you did have to clean up their mess with me, so you'd know what I mean."
They reached the dumpster, and Four was quick to dump the last of her garbage inside. Marie did so at the same time.
"Come to think of it, they also bailed her out of the talk I was trying to have with her, even though they must have heard what she said..." Marie's eyes narrowed, laser-focused on the lid as she let it drop. "Including that classy line after I told her you're mine."
Classy line...?
It came back to her. She hadn't had time to pay it any mind, but she'd heard it well enough to recall - "A pretty little thing like that? In that case, even you must get where I'm coming from."
... Oh c od. Was Shiver saying- was she implying that- that Four, and Marie, would... That Marie... Not the time for thinking about that. Not the time for imagining things like that. "Right," Four squeaked. Oops.
Marie regarded her with a raised brow. After a few seconds of observation, she gestured Four closer. "Come over here." As much as she wanted to hide, Four couldn't deny her. She approached, averting her eyes as Marie put a finger under her head to tilt it back. "... Care to explain what's got you so hot under the collar?"
Four swallowed and fought to push down the mental image Marie's phrasing brought to mind. "I... It's just, the things you're saying..." She glanced up and found that Marie's one raised brow had become both. "I'm- I mean, like, how- like how I'm yours, or saying things like-" Her throat was dry, but her forehead was already feeling damp. Even with her nerves as frayed as they were, she still flattened out her voice to try and imitate Marie while she was quoting her. "Like, 'wouldn't you just love to breed,' and I know you were just copying her, but-"
Marie put her thumb over Four's lips. "I don't sound anything like that." Four looked up to check her eyes again and found them shining with amusement. "So it was me, huh? Only me?" Four nodded. The movement couldn't be too dramatic, considering Marie essentially had the lower half of her face between her thumb and forefinger, but she still tried to emphasize it. "You weren't thinking about what Shiver did?"
Another nod. Then Four furrowed her brow. Marie was asking in the negative, so maybe to agree she should actually shake? She shook her head, then paused. That probably wasn't right either...
She was going to correct herself with another nod, but Marie slid her thumb down off her lips, an affectionate smile hidden behind her mask but clear in her voice. "I'll just let you answer aloud, alright?"
"It was just you! She was just kind of intimidating, I only feel like this for you. I promise."
Marie brought her hand up to splay it across Four's cheek. Four let her head tip down a bit, then tilted into the touch and closed her eyes. "Alright, my pretty squid, I believe you. Do- wait, hold the phone for a second. Is that why you reacted like that when I said I was treating you like a pet?" She spoke like she was holding in a laugh, but there was also a trace of genuine enthusiasm in her voice. Every muscle in Four's body went rigid. "Did that excite you?"
"I..." Deny it. Deny it. "I didn't mind that much...?" Shoot.
Getting to hear Marie's pretty laugh was an alright consolation prize, she supposed, even if it made the heat in her cheeks intensify. "You like being treated like a pet, is that it? That's too adorable."
Four turned her head to hide her eyes against Marie's palm. Something entirely beyond her understanding compelled her to speak again. "Just by you..."
She heard Marie step closer, then felt her other hand rubbing affectionately at the top of her head. "Ohhh, I get it, you like being my pet." An involuntary whine came up from Four all on its own. "How is it that you know exactly which of my buttons to push all of a sudden?" All of a sudden, her forehead touched against the top of Four's head, and her voice came as a near-whisper in her ear. "Are you trying to remind me who you belong to, my pretty little pet?"
Shudders wracked her body. Cod, Marie was just talking to her and petting her head, but she could already feel the slightly off-putting sensation of a wet spot forming in her underwear. She squeezed her knees together, trying her best to swallow a groan. "I'm..."
"Good girl, you can say it."
"I'm yours. I wanna be yours. Marie..."
Marie hummed affirmingly into her ear. "Do you want me to take you?" Four took a sharp breath. "Hm. Don't think I've forgotten what you were saying earlier, either. Does my pet want to be bred?"
The ground seemed to fall out from under her, and Four's eyes were suddenly uncovered as Marie put her arms around her waist to catch her, pulling her a bit closer. Her legs had given out from under her. Four couldn't stop herself from leaning in more, hiding her face again by pushing it into the side of Marie's neck. "Oh my cod." She could feel herself trembling against Marie.
"Easy, Four." Marie tapped the small of her back, prompting Four to try and squirm closer. "Four, take it easy, yeah? Did you forget where we are?" Slowly, her hands came up to Four's shoulders, drawing her back a bit. Four lifted her face just enough to free her eyes from the comfortable darkness they'd been buried in. She stared directly out the opening of the alleyway.
At some point, Marie must have moved to put herself between Four and the street, and while it was nice to be mostly hidden from view behind her now, it only meant that she was immediately facing it upon lifting her face. It was a fair distance away, and no one seemed to be looking their way, but there were still people out there - someone passed right by the mouth of it and disappeared behind the other building right before her eyes. Her whole body froze.
"I'm taking that as a yes. I know you're needy, but we don't want to do this here, do we?" Something about that thought only sapped more of the strength from Four's legs, and Marie caught her again, looking down at her with equal parts surprise and interest. "Oh, strong reaction. Maybe we do, hm?"
Four gave another glance down the alley, but then her gaze locked onto Marie's eyes again, her face filling with heat. "Marie..."
"I'm sure learning a lot about my agent today. Does my pet want everyone to see who owns her?" The thought was too intense to even figure out how she felt about it. "Mm, I'd love that too, but you know we can't. Come on, let's get back inside for some privacy."
Four gave a weak nod, trying to get her legs to support her weight again. "O-Okay, right, I can..."
Marie didn't let her finish the thought, holding her steady and shushing her. Four closed her mouth, settling her weight back into Marie's arms, letting her coos quiet the sound of blood and ink rushing through her head. "Pets don't talk, Four, do they?" She nodded. Wait. She shook her- Marie shushed her again, voice shaking just a bit with suppressed laughter. "They don't nod either, Four. If you need to say something, do it, but if everything's alright I just want you to be a good pet and keep looking at me. Alright?"
The question almost tripped her up and made her nod. Instead, she locked her eyes onto Marie's and stared needily.
"Mm, that's my good girl. Put your arm around my shoulder, I'll help you walk." Four did so, letting Marie turn her so they stood side by side again. "This way." She led her the few feet to the door and into the hallway. The sound of a brick sliding against concrete caught her attention for just a moment before the door swung shut behind them. "I saw those cute ears twitch, I'm just letting the door close. I'm not letting anyone interrupt when my pretty pet needs me this badly."
"Oh...! I mean, um-"
Marie gave a disapproving but soft hum. "No words, Four. Not unless you need me to slow down." Four was about to nod, but Marie kept going. "And no nodding either. Remember that, Four."
Right... She wasn't incapable of being quiet - when she first met Marie, she'd gone weeks without saying a single word to her, after all - but holding her tongue deliberately was challenging. The difficulty of it made her feel unusually tense, enough that another whine crept up from her throat.
"Cod, I love that sound." Four's arm fell from around Marie's shoulder, and before she knew it, Marie had her pinned against the wall, just opposite the door to Deep Cut's backstage room. Her wrists were caught in Marie's hands and held up to either side of her head, and Marie had her body pressed up to hers, staring down at her with a hungry, startlingly intense energy. "This is what you want, isn't it? You want me to push you up against the wall and take you, right here in this hallway?"
All of Four's breath escaped her. Her eyes flicked between the door behind Marie, the nearest fluorescent ceiling light, the bottom of the wall where it met the floor, anywhere but at that expression.
"Look at me. Let me see my pet's beautiful eyes on me." She tried, but it felt impossible to keep them there. Marie's tone became a bit gentler. "Hey, if we're going to do this whole pets-don't-talk thing, which I can see that you want too, I need to know that you're alright. It's fine if you can't do it, but in that case you'll have to tell me instead. I'm not doing anything to you if I can't tell whether you're okay."
... How was she supposed to look Marie in the eyes when she was being so caring...? That only made it harder. But Marie was right - she did want to keep being silent for her, to keep being a good pet, and she also wanted Marie to know she was enjoying it. She forced her eyes to lock onto Marie's, even as her vision went blurry with emotion.
"Oh, sweet girl..." Marie tipped her head forward to put her forehead against Four's. The back of Four's head touched the wall behind her. Their faces weren't even a full inch apart. For a moment, Marie released one of Four's wrists to tug her mask down, and suddenly Four could feel the heat of her breath. "Just keep looking at me, alright? If I do anything that you don't like, or it starts to be too much, I want you to tell me. Keep your eyes on me so I can see that you aren't trying to hide any discomfort."
It was hard, but Four did as she was told. Her eyes stayed locked on Marie's, even as Marie took her wrist back and pinned her against the wall once more. Even as Marie herself broke eye contact, glancing up for a second as she raised Four's hands to hold them both to the wall with just one of hers, freeing up the other. Four offered no resistance. She wasn't sure it would have even been possible to. The feeling of her back against the wall, with Marie right on top of her, pinning both of her arms above her head, and now setting her free hand against Four's hip... Not being allowed to talk, the gentle pressure of Marie's forehead against hers, the squirmy sensation of forcing herself to maintain eye contact... Their faces, so close, her breath... It all combined to put Four under what felt like a trance.
Marie's hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, trailing the silky material of her glove up along bare skin, only stopping right under her arms. Four arched her back into Marie, just enough to allow her shirt to ride up and not impede her touch. It didn't go high enough to expose her breasts, but the feeling of her shirt riding up at all was enough to make her shiver, doubly so when her back settled against the wall again. Marie's gaze turned down towards Four's exposed belly. It wasn't even anything intimate, but there was open lust in Marie's eyes, so hot it almost burned Four to look at it. She couldn't look away, though, even as Marie spoke and sent fire coursing through her veins. "Cod, you're so beautiful. My beautiful, adorable little pet."
Four could only barely restrain herself from moaning out Marie's name. "Ah... M-..." At the last second, she stopped, letting the name collapse into a long sigh that emptied her lungs.
Marie met her eyes again, taking a deep breath in, like she was trying to claim the exact same air Four had just expelled. She was more than close enough for it. "That's a good girl..." Her face tilted forwards just enough to capture Four's lips, and her hand traced around behind Four's back, making her arch into Marie's body again.
Another moan slipped out, disappearing into the kiss. Marie was being almost oppressively gentle with her, even as she kept her pinned against the wall - her gloved hand stroked up and down Four's back in soothing circles, and she kissed her soft and slow. The wall behind her was cold, rigid, but Marie's body as she arched into it was so warm... For the first time since Marie had pushed her there, Four wished her arms were free so she could cling on to her. If she tried, she knew Marie would let her, but the only thing she wanted more than to hold on was to let Marie keep her there. To be at her mercy, to let her have her way with her, to give up control of even herself... Four stayed where she was.
Slowly, Marie pulled away, but only just enough to end the kiss. When she spoke, her lips still ghosted over Four's. "Open your eyes for me." Four did so, meeting Marie's gaze with a needy stare. "Good pet. Bring your hips forward, Four." Again, she did as Marie told her, and Marie's hand dropped until her thumb was hooked under the back of her skirt. "You want this, right?"
Four didn't speak, but she let out another sigh, right into Marie's lips, not breaking eye contact even to blink.
Marie smiled. "Now you're starting to get the hang of it. Such a well-behaved pet for me, I love it." She lowered Four's skirt enough to let it fall to the floor, leaving her underwear untouched for the time being. "A pretty little thing like you shouldn't be wearing clothes, should she? Do you want me to fix that for you?" As she spoke, she brought her knee up slightly, putting it against the wall between Four's legs and sliding it higher.
It settled just under Four's groin, at just the right height that Four could feel its presence through the fabric of her briefs, right under her girldick. She was forced to stand with her legs slightly apart. The only sound Four could muster was a whimper.
Marie let out the slightest laugh into her lips. "My pet makes such cute sounds for me... How am I supposed to resist when I hear something like that?" She put her hand onto Four's hips again, sliding them back until her ass touched the wall - the friction against Marie's leg as she moved, and then the unfamiliar feeling of her butt against the wall with only the thin layer of her underwear as a barrier, prompted another whimper. "Lean forward, I'm getting your shirt next."
Four did so, pulling her back off the wall. Marie kept her arms pinned in place, letting her shoulders bend slightly backwards, taking the hem of her shirt and pulling it up. It had fallen back down to cover her stomach, but now it raised past that point, to the bottom of her breasts, then up past her nipples. Four tipped her head forward while the shirt inverted and covered her face. For a moment, the mental pressure that maintaining eye contact with Marie had been putting on her vanished, and she felt almost uncomfortable without it.
But then the next moment Marie had it over her head, letting it drape behind her neck. Marie's eyes met hers, and the pressure returned. She couldn't look away. "Good girl... I'm going to let go of your wrists now so I can get this off you. Be a good pet and keep them up there for me, alright?"
She just blinked at her. It was getting easier to remember not to speak or nod. Marie hummed a single pleasant note, letting go. She had understood Marie's command just fine, but for whatever reason she hadn't actually prepared for Marie to release her hands - they both fell for a second before she lifted them back up on her own power again, holding them loosely in place as Marie brought the shirt up and off of her entirely.
The moment it was off, Marie moved in close, seizing her hands again and pressing her body to Four's. Her bare back pressed flush against the wall, sending shivers up and down her body; she reflexively tried to arch into Marie's body heat again, but she was pressed too close, pinned entirely. Marie's forehead returned to Four's, and she could hear her drop the shirt to the floor nearby while she spoke in a low voice. "Mm, was that hard for you? Does my poor little pet need me pinning her against the wall like this? Is she a little too weak to keep her hands up without her owner restraining her?" The desire in her voice would have been enough to make Four gasp on its own, but combined with the words, she was startled into a sound halfway between a whine and a moan. Her eyes slipped closed. "Hey, look at me, Four." She forced them back open. "Good girl. It's important to me that you let me see your eyes. Seriously. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt my pet while she was so helpless and trusting for me."
Again, Four found herself having to blink tears away. Even through the film they were forming over her vision, she could see the care and devotion in Marie's eyes as clear as day. Marie's free hand settled over Four's cheek, cupping it softly; Four let her face tilt into it, as well as she could with her arms still held up over her head. Their foreheads separated as Marie tilted her head in the other direction, leaning in to kiss her again.
The feeling was like nothing else. The wall was still cold behind her, but her whole body felt warm. She'd never been so exposed, wearing only her underwear - and shoes, she supposed - in the hall of some building she'd never set foot in before in her life. But with Marie pressing against her so hard there was nowhere that could have felt safer. Marie's eyes were closed, and after a second or two Four was able to close hers as well. Marie hummed affectionately, sending a pleasant sensation through Four's lips and beak, stroking her thumb under Four's eye to wipe away the tears that had formed.
When Marie eventually pulled back again, Four found herself panting. She only briefly glanced down to notice the strand of saliva connecting her mouth to Marie's before locking eyes with her once more. She needed Marie to be able to see that she was okay. That she was more than okay, that Marie was giving her more than she could have ever known she wanted. She could only hope that something in her eyes would convey that to her.
"You're such a good girl for me, Four. You're such a precious, adorable, sweet girl, I'm so glad to be able to call you mine." Four's vision swam; the only thing that stayed steady were Marie's eyes, golden crosshairs at the center of her world. "Let's get your shoes next, alright?" Four tried to work her feet to pull her shoes off, but she felt clumsy and off-balance, and she still couldn't bring her legs together with Marie's knee in place. "Let me do it, pretty pet. Lift your right leg for me."
Her hand dropped to tap at Four's right thigh. Obediently, Four lifted her leg. Marie shifted forward, taking the opportunity to press closer to Four, prompting a surprised whine and a series of rapid blinks, the closest she could get to speaking Marie's name. Her leg was pressed up against the wall like the rest of her, and so she didn't even need to hold it up herself as Marie grabbed her shoe and slipped it off for her, letting it hit the floor with a jarringly loud thunk, then unrolling her sock and dropping it down with.
Marie backed off just enough to free Four's leg. She startled as her foot landed back on the floor, cold and hard, mostly smooth, but with the subtle grit of dirt that had been tracked onto it. Her toes curled against the unfamiliar sensation, and she sucked in a gasp. Marie hummed again, leaning in close and cooing, meeting Four's eyes with an understanding look. "Feels a little weird?" Four just continued to pant. "I know it does, pretty girl. I'm sorry if the floor's cold, but pets don't wear shoes. You're my little pet, aren't you?" A whine escaped from Four's throat. "You are," Marie answered. "You'll be okay. Just lift up your other leg for me."
Slowly, shakily, Four complied. Marie hooked her free hand under her knee to help, pulling it up most of the way and then pressing herself right back up against Four just like before, pinning her leg to the wall. Four let out a shuddering breath as Marie repeated her earlier procedure, dropping the shoe and then the sock, letting her leg drop back down. In the process, she had also stepped out of the skirt that had been pooled around her feet.
"One thing left and you're golden. I'll get that for you in a second, but first, just keep breathing for me, okay? Deep breaths, in, out." There was an undercurrent of concern to Marie's tone, and it was only then that Four realized how hard she was panting - ever since Marie had released her from the last kiss, instead of her breathing calming back down, it had been getting progressively harder and faster. She'd lost peripheral vision of everything that wasn't Marie's eyes. Slowly, Marie lowered Four's hands, draping them across her shoulders and releasing them there so she could put both of her hands on Four's back. Four's own arms curled to wrap behind Marie's neck. With a few shuffling steps, she had taken Four off the wall and encircled her in a loose hug. The feeling of Marie's coat against her bare skin was intense and shocking, but not nearly enough to counteract the soothing effect of her embrace. "Do it with me, Four. In... Then out."
She did a few more repetitions, all of which Four copied without looking away. Each was easier than the last, and the world started filling in in the corners of her vision again. As soon as she was present enough to think to do so, Four moved closer, as close as she could without breaking eye contact. An electric shiver ran up through her at the feeling of the metal zipper against her bare body, in a line from the base of her belly up between her breasts. She kept breathing, though, pace excited instead of frantic.
"Easy, Four... Do you want to keep going? I can keep holding you like this as long as you need."
Four whined, giving Marie a needy look.
Marie smiled and let out a soft, quiet laugh. "I guess you're eager for more, hm? Now you know why I need to be able to see your eyes. Your pupils were getting pretty small there."
She gave another whine. Marie was always so attentive to her needs... How could she have gotten so lucky as to be with someone as gentle as her?
"Don't forget that you can also stop me yourself, okay?" Four hummed, bowing her head slightly and turning her eyes up to keep up her eye contact with Marie. "I'll try to make sure you're okay, but just because I haven't stopped yet doesn't mean you can't say something."
... Marie was very careful with her.
"It won't make you a bad pet. Good pets let their owner know when something's not right, understood?"
She loved how careful Marie was with her. She loved it very much. These were probably things that Four was better off hearing. But she was starting to have trouble not feeling a little impatient. She took her hands back from behind Marie's neck, crossing them at the wrists, and bringing them down to nudge at one of Marie's hands, trying to keep her eyes on Marie's as consistently as possible throughout. She was fine, she was okay, she would really like to keep going, ideally...
Marie looked down at her hands, surprised. "Oh?" Then back up into Four, enthusiasm dancing in her eyes and a smirk playing at her lips. "Is my pet really feeling that needy? I mean, I'm trying to be gentle with you, but if you want to get back into the action..."
Her wrists were seized in Marie's hand, lifted up above her head, and in a rush of motion Marie had pushed her right back up against the wall, quickly enough for the impact to make a peculiar slapping sound as her bare skin hit against it. It echoed slightly up and down the hallway.
Marie leaned in close again, really close, enough that her lips were brushing against Four's, her hot breaths pushing air right into Four's shocked-open mouth. Her voice dropped to a low, smooth, disorientingly attractive tone that made Four's head spin even more than the abrupt shove had. "I'd be so happy to oblige, pretty girl."
An exhilarated, joyful giggle bubbled up out of Four before she could catch it.
Before she could even wonder if she was supposed to clamp down on that too, Marie cracked a grin. "I know pets don't really do that either, but it's such a cute sound, I don't even mind." Four let out a sigh. "How about I get that last bit of clothing off of you now, hm? Do you think that'd be nice?" Even as she asked the question, she was already hooking her thumb into the waistline of Four's briefs.
Four sighed again, trying her best to communicate her readiness through eye contact alone. Marie smiled back at her, then let her attention fall down to look at Four's body. With one final downwards motion, she let Four's underwear fall down and hit the floor around Four's feet. She could feel her girldick bounce slightly as it was released, soft, but with the underside of its tip already slick with precum.
Marie made an approving sound, stepping back a bit and reducing her contact with Four to just the hand holding her wrists to the wall. She looked Four up and down like a woman starved, her gaze occasionally catching - sometimes on Four's girlcock, sometimes her breasts, sometimes all the way up on her hands pinned above her head, and sometimes meeting Four's own eyes for a moment before going back to roaming up and down her body. "I have the cutest girlfriend in the world, and she's all mine. Doesn't it feel nice to have all those clothes off, the way good little pets like you are meant to be?"
Cod... Any of the things that were happening right now would have been enough to throw her hearts into overdrive. The way Marie was looking at her, the feeling of being utterly nude right there in the hallway, the way Marie had her wrists pinned over her head, the sensation of the wall against her back, her butt, her thighs... She was already panting hard again, but not quite hard enough to worry her. It didn't look like Marie was worried, either... Her gaze was locked onto Four's face again, seeming to drink in the sight of her. It had to be the deepest Four had ever blushed in her life.
"I think I could stare at you all day. Lucky for me that I don't have to, though. After all, you're mine, aren't you? Mine to do whatever I please with? Mine to do whatever I please to?" There was a light in Marie's eyes that probably would have made Four moan all on its own; with everything else going on on top of that, the sound came out squeaky and breathless. "Cod, I just..." All of a sudden, she had lowered Four's hands from the wall and used them to yank her closer, all without releasing her, bending down to kiss her once again. She pressed her lips to Four's, hard, then kept pressing, moving into her space and pushing further, walking her back until she was against the wall again.
Four squeaked into Marie's lips, squirming reflexively, but Marie had her completely powerless. She only pressed in harder, squeezing Four between the wall and her body. She hadn't even closed her eyes, and so Four couldn't close hers either, captivated by the breathtaking lust she saw in them - as if Marie needed any help taking her breath away. With her free hand, Marie coaxed Four to lift her leg again, then to curl it around behind Marie's waist. It left her off-balance, but it gave her the ability and the invitation to try and pull Marie closer on her own accord as well, and she had to take it. Her coat's smooth texture felt foreign against her thigh, lower leg, and heel, but she could barely even notice that.
Marie ended the kiss with a sound that felt almost obscene in Four's ears, leaving both of their mouths hanging open for a moment. She regained her composure long before Four could, though, grinning and pressing their foreheads together as before. "Lift your other leg, Four. Wrap them around me, I've got you." Their bodies were pressed together tightly enough that Four could do so without even worrying that she would fall. Marie let one of her hands go, putting the other onto her shoulder and nudging at it; Four took the hint and wrapped it behind Marie's neck, then brought the other one in to do the same with it too.
The world seemed to tilt disorientingly for a second as Marie stepped back from the wall, but then she steadied, putting one arm around Four's back and dropping the other to cup her ass, holding her up. Four locked her legs tighter around Marie's waist with a loud gasp. "Ah-!"
"I've got you," Marie repeated, a bit of effort underlying her voice. "My cute little pet, right here in her owner's arms where she belongs. Isn't that right?" Confidence blazed behind her eyes, enough of it to melt steel. "Open your mouth a little for me this time, alright?"
... It was a strange thing to ask for, but Four couldn't deny her that. She opened her mouth, but Marie just laughed.
"Not like that, Four, I meant while I'm kissing you." Ohh. If Four weren't already blushing, that misunderstanding would have made her start. She closed her mouth again. Her eyes kept trying to avert in embarrassment, but each time, she forced them back onto Marie; she wasn't supposed to be looking away. Marie didn't seem to mind, though, only continuing to smile at her. "You're seriously adorable sometimes. Don't be too embarrassed about it." She squeezed Four's ass, shocking her enough to make her stop looking away, then leaned back and heaved her a little higher. Four found herself tipping slightly forward, even closer to Marie. Her breasts were about level with Marie's head, but Marie was just looking up at her face instead - and what an odd sight that was, Marie looking up at her - with a pleased smirk. "I know you just can't help but do what I say, pretty pet. Whine for me."
Four whined, for her.
Marie tipped her head back, squeezed Four's ass again, and lowered her to bring their lips back together. Four's arms relaxed from their position curled around Marie's neck, draping down past her back instead. Her hearts were racing, she was about the furthest she had ever been from lethargic, but suddenly it felt like she had lost the strength to do anything but go limp onto Marie. Her naked body came flush against Marie's coat, but she didn't even have it in her to squirm at the feeling. She could see the smile in Marie's eyes, and feel it in the kiss. Now that she was leaning forward into her, the hand supporting Four's back was able to come up and start petting her head again. Four let out a subdued whimper, but Marie shushed her with a hum.
The instruction Marie had given her before the kiss had fallen completely out of memory already. It only came back, in a rush of excitement and adrenaline, at the feeling of Marie's tongue sliding between her barely-parted lips. Four was wracked with shivers, only barely retaining the presence of mind to do as she had been told and open her mouth a bit wider. Marie took her invitation without a moment's hesitation, pushing her tongue further into Four's mouth.
It was almost impossible to process the sensation of it. Startling, wet, foreign, almost invasive - but it was Marie who was holding her so close, comforting her with pets and hums, looking back into her eyes with more affection and care than Four could have imagined possible. Marie's tongue, tracing the lower segment of her beak, nudging at the side of the centered point, then sliding over it. All of it was so overwhelming, but cod, she needed her to keep going - she kept her eyes locked onto Marie's, even as they started to burn.
Marie's hand took one of her tentacles and gave it a gentle pull, and Four had to fight back the reflex to click her beak shut, moaning hard into Marie's lips. Marie did it again. It hadn't been a conscious choice, but Four became aware then that she'd been keeping her own tongue drawn back and away, retreating from the exploratory presence that had been introduced to her mouth. She became aware of that when Marie's tugging made it flick forwards, the tip of it touching briefly against Marie's. In just that one instant of contact, it felt as though thousands of volts of electricity had come through into Four, burning permanent tracks through her brain and launching her body temperature through the roof. Marie's fingers clenched around her ass, and the sheer gratification expressed in her hum immediately afterwards was enough to make Four tremble.
Her stomach jumped as she slid a few inches down Marie's body. It wasn't far, but with how close she was, the movement dragged her girldick down Marie's coat, and brought her breasts right against Marie's. Her lips fell away from Marie's, too, but even if they hadn't she would have lost the kiss - she was already crying out before she was consciously aware of what had happened. Marie leaned forward a bit, tipping Four back with her, and Four felt the rigid presence of a wall behind her once more.
But... The wall vibrated a bit right as she settled her weight against it. She couldn't quite restrain the impulse to glance back and see what had happened. To her right, just the end of the hallway. To her left, a doorknob... Marie must have just carried her over to brace her against the door, she supposed. She hadn't even noticed her moving, but that wasn't a huge surprise, with everything else she'd had to focus on... Regardless, it felt solid enough, so she was quick to put her attention entirely back onto Marie.
Their eyes met again, and Marie spoke, panting slightly. "Fuck, it's getting hot in here." It felt cold to Four, if anything - the door was particularly chilly behind her. But Marie had her coat on, while Four was... naked. In the hall of Deep Cut's studio building. Her hearts skipped a few beats. On a second inspection, Marie's face was flushed, and there were traces of sweat starting to appear through her makeup. She let out a slightly winded-sounding sigh, shifting a bit to tuck her knees under Four's butt, freeing up her hands to pull Four's arms off her shoulders. She took hold of her forearms, and Four reciprocated the gesture without paying it any mind. "Turn squid for me so I can take this off, alright?"
As she said it, she rolled her shoulders. Did she mean her coat, then...? Four let her legs unclench from around Marie's hips, settling her feet back onto the floor. Marie drew her knees back a bit, allowing Four to start supporting her own weight again - partially, at least. Her legs were unsteady, but with the solid surface of the door behind her and Marie gripping her forearms she was able to stand. She only needed to be on her feet for a second, anyways. As soon as she could, she ducked and folded and melted, liquifying and reshaping into her squid form. As soon as her eyes and their lids were solid enough, she blinked the ink away to look back up at Marie.
Marie was looking back down at her, and she smiled as Four met her eyes. "That's a good pet. Just sit pretty for your owner, alright?"
Four's arms and tentacles curled slightly. Even with most of her facial features missing, she could only imagine she must have looked intensely needy. It had to be showing in her eyes, if nothing else.
However she looked, Marie seemed to like it; she crouched down and patted Four's mantle. Four slid herself forward slightly to nuzzle into the touch, keeping her eyes trained up on Marie.
The patting didn't last as long as Four would have liked, though. Marie stayed crouched, but she leaned a bit more upright to unzip her coat and shrug it off. It spread out across the floor behind her. "Phew, what a relief. It was getting sweaty in there. Guess it's the price I pay for having such a cute pet to tease, hm?" As she spoke, she pulled her mask off from where it hung below her face, setting it on top of the discarded coat. Her expression turned just a bit focused for a moment as she reached back, presumably to start the sure-to-be complicated task of unlacing her romper, but then she stopped, seeming to think about it. "Actually, maybe I'll keep this on. Seems like it'd be more fitting if you're the only one here to get undressed, right? Cute pets like you don't wear clothes, but their owners can. Isn't that right?"
The thought of it sent another shiver through Four's body. Her arms rapped against the floor, clenching and releasing, and her beak clicked in its hidden recess between them. Marie leaned forward again, putting her weight on one hand splayed on the floor, holding the other just in front of Four's mantle; she squirmed forward to rub against it.
"Aw, I knew you'd like that idea." She started scratching gently, just above her eyes. Four lifted her mantle a few inches off the floor to press into it. "Does that feel nice? How about I make you feel even better, pretty squid?" Without letting up on her soft scritches, she moved onto her knees, freeing up her other hand to bring it up under the hem of her dress. "Do you want me to breed you, is that it?"
Four's breath caught, and she couldn't help but look as Marie hooked her fingers into the waistline of her low-cut shorts and tights. Marie clicked her tongue, and she looked up again.
"Good pets keep their eyes up here, Four." Judging by her smirk, there was no way she was actually worried about Four in that moment - clearly, she just wanted to see her squirm or something. Four whined, but Marie quieted her with a few more scratches, moving her hand down to rub at the underside of her mantle. "Hmm? What's wrong? Don't you like looking up at your owner?"
... Okay, she did, but it was hard not looking away. As much as she loved Marie's eyes, and doing what Marie wanted, the events taking place under Marie's dress were really distracting. She kept catching movement in her peripheral vision, and then a glimpse of Marie's skin tone in the middle of all the lime green and black. It was an impossible task. She lost the battle not to look again, desperately taking in the sight - Marie's panties drawn to the side, her pussy out, shiny with- but Marie clicked her tongue once more, and Four forced her gaze back upwards, curling in on herself. At least Marie was still scratching her underside, though. She pushed her mantle down against her fingers and whimpered.
"Come on, be a little more patient for me. Can't you do that?" Marie was smiling, and there was a lot of affection in that smile, but it was one of the more wicked expressions Four had seen on her face before. Her beak clicked and even gave a chitinous squeak as she ground it down hard. "Aw, I know, it's hard. Come closer."
Four just blinked up at her, until, after a few seconds, Marie stopped scratching and took her hand out from under her. Then she had to move. She slithered forward along the floor for a short distance until the tip of her mantle bumped against Marie's palm again. Instead of petting her some more, though, she just pulled it back again, keeping it in Four's line of sight as she took off her right glove.
She continued to watch, uncomprehending, as Marie leaned forward over her (and oh wow Marie was leaning over her...) to settle her weight on her hand behind Four. On impulse, Four set the club of her tentacle on Marie's hand, and Marie laughed. "Cod, you're sweet. Spread your arms out so I can put this in your beak, it'll help with the grinding." Four did as she was told, allowing Marie to take the glove and slide it into the fold between her arms, into her mouth, delicately closing her beak around it. "That's my good pet. It'll be like that first time. In Alterna, remember?" Marie took her hand back out, visibly dampened with saliva, but didn't even flick it off. She just shuffled back and went back to petting Four, using the un-saliva'd, still-gloved hand.
Having it there in her beak did help, a little. It didn't have the same tough, rubbery quality as the black gloves Marie wore in Alterna, but having something there at all was useful. It dampened the impact when her beak clicked, it reduced the friction from grinding, and just working the fabric between her beak was calming, in a way. She still felt worked up, but it was good enough for her to keep her eyes locked on Marie's like she was supposed to. Her tentacles and arms continued to curl and clench against the floor, but she was able to wait.
... Until, through the fog in her head and the idle distraction of Marie's hand on her mantle and glove in her mouth, she realized that Marie was breathing a little funny. Four impulsively glanced down. Marie was touching herself. She had her thumb on her clit and two fingers inside of her. Hang on. That was what Marie had had her waiting for...? How long had it even been?? Was Marie getting off on watching her desperation? Marie had to click her tongue four times in total before Four could finally force her wide eyes back up. "Patience, Four, remember?"
How could she keep being patient, under those circumstances? She'd thought... Well, she hadn't really been giving it any thought at all, but she'd been under the impression Marie had some logistical reason to make her wait. Not that she was just... Or, okay, it was important that Marie be able to enjoy herself, Four wouldn't downplay that, but did it have to be at her expense?? Four tapped the clubs of her tentacles against the floor and started squirming closer, sliding under Marie's hand.
"Four? Come on, be a good girl for me." Four stalled for a second, but then she heard a noise from what Marie was doing and she couldn't stay still anymore. She continued to slide herself forward, letting out a long whine as she went. "You can wait a little longer, can't you?" Her mantle bumped into Marie's knee. Marie stopped, letting out a breathy laugh, taking Four's tentacles in her hands and spinning her around to point her away. Four's arms scrabbled against the smooth floor, trying and failing to find purchase. Marie kept her tentacles held up, sliding her thumbs along the inner ridge of her suckers.
One of the thumbs was gloveless and wet. Four made an, admittedly, deeply pathetic sound.
Another laugh bubbled up out of Marie. "Aww, is my poor pet really too desperate? Does she need me right now?" Four flexed her arms against the floor and whined again, trying to beg with her eyes. "She needs to be bred, doesn't she?" Four used her tentacles in Marie's hands to pull herself closer, chewing hard on the glove in her mouth. "She needs to be bred by her owner?"
Cod, it was unbearable. Four twisted her whole body, lifting her left side and then her right side off the floor, then flopping back down flat, sucking in air and squeezing it back out. Her tentacles quivered in Marie's hands.
"I can't say no to my poor, needy girl. Get up onto your knees for me."
She wasn't sure she'd ever transformed faster in her life. Her tentacles retracted out of Marie's grip and melted in with the rest of her body, and in just a moment she was pushing herself up off the floor, shuffling to turn around on half-formed arms and legs. Ink dripped from her naked body and rapidly disintegrated off the floor.
Marie reached out and took her girldick between her thumb and index finger. She was only about halfway erect, but Marie's touch still sent lightning arcing up her back. The unashamed half-lidded stare Marie was giving it only added to the effect. "Let's-"
Four hacked up the crumpled form of Marie's glove. It hit Marie's bare forearm, slipping off a moment later to fall to the floor with a wet slap. Both of them stared down at it for a second. Instead of continuing her thought, Marie let out a snicker. Even if she hadn't already given Four explicit permission, it would've been impossible not to giggle along. That only seemed to amuse Marie further, and almost immediately the floodgates were open, both of them laughing openly.
"You know, I'm starting to remember the downsides of owning a pet right about now," Marie teased. "Don't make any more noises like that, or I might just have to take you to the vet." Four stuck her tongue out, and Marie just rolled her eyes, both of their laughter starting to die down. Eventually, Marie sighed, shook her head, and pushed the glove aside with her free hand. As soon as it was out of the way, Four trained her attention back up on Marie's eyes. "Anyways, as I was saying..." The teasing look that had been in them dropped out, replaced by something seductive that felt liable to stop Four's hearts. "You want to be inside me, isn't that right?"
Her girldick twitched in Marie's hands, already starting to stiffen fully. She ducked her head, only barely able to keep her gaze locked onto Marie at the top of her field of view, breathing hard through her mouth.
"Mm, good. And I want to feel my pretty little pet inside me, too." A whine came up from Four's throat, to which Marie smiled. "I know, I know... Keep kneeling like that, alright? Lean back a little and spread your legs." Four followed the order, glancing down as Marie got up - not off of her knees, just lifting her thighs off of her legs - and shuffled close, putting one leg between Four's and one outside. Four's arms curled in front of her chest. "Up a little." She mimicked Marie's pose, gasping when Marie cupped her ass and squeezed, keeping her close. "Legs apart a little more... And look into my eyes again. I'm going to take you now, and I need to be able to see how you're feeling."
Oh. Cod. Okay, right, she could do that. Four adjusted her positioning as instructed and looked up, an intense heat in her cheeks. Marie gave her a smile and started stroking up and down Four's shaft. She managed a weak smile in response, but it was hard to maintain as gasps kept parting her lips.
"Shh, I've got you... Just relax for me, alright?" Slowly, deliberately, Four unclenched her muscles. "Put your arms around my back." She did. Marie used her hand on her ass to guide her upwards, and her fingers around the base of Four's girldick to line her up. She moved back and forth a bit herself, nudging Four's legs a bit wider again... The two of them were close enough that their bodies were touching, her breasts level with Four's neck. The sequined fabric of her idol outfit felt a little weird against Four's bare skin, but it couldn't distract from the anticipation, the excitement, the desperation... "Take a deep breath in for me. Nice and slow, got it?"
Four sighed all the air out of her lungs and started to breathe in. Nice, ...
"Good girl," Marie murmured.
... and slow...
Marie pulled Four's hips up and lowered her own, sheathing Four inside of her with ease. The breath Marie had ordered her to take escaped all at once in a loud, surprised moan. At the same time, Marie let out of a breathy sigh, her eyes closing for just a second before they opened again to watch Four's face. She let go of Four's girldick to tuck her arm behind Four, under her arm and up past her shoulder to the back of her head. Four tipped back against it, panting, lowering her eyes to keep them on Marie's. "You're so good for me, Four... You're taking this so well. Just keep looking at me and breathing for now, okay?"
Four's beak clicked. She tilted her head back forward, staring pleadingly into Marie's eyes. Fortunately, Marie was able to read what she needed; without a moment's hesitation, she bent down at the neck, pressing her forehead to Four's. Her hand stroked the back of Four's neck.
"That's my good girl." There probably wasn't anything in the world as grounding as Marie's voice. Four hung off of each word. "I know, my pretty pet is so delicate... I'll be gentle with you. Promise." On their own, Four's hips twitched. It wasn't even possible to buck properly in the position she and Marie were in, but the slight motion she could achieve still caused her to move inside Marie, which was enough to cut off the breath she was taking and replace the next with a gasp. "Does that mean you're ready to keep going?"
"Not yet," Four gasped, her voice breathy from an odd combination of strain and disuse.
None of the tenderness left Marie's expression. "That's okay. I'm glad you told me, you're such an obedient pet." Her palm on Four's ass gave a soft, slow stroke. The feeling was exciting, stimulating, so close in proximity to where Four's girldick was still buried in Marie's warmth. But the repetitive and gentle nature of it was still enough to make the net effect calming. "It's pretty intense, huh? You'll be alright though, I'll take care of you. Just let me know when you're ready and we'll get a move on."
The patience Marie was treating her with would have been hard to imagine if she hadn't been experiencing it firsthand. Even then, she could barely grasp it. Marie's gentle petting reminded her that she didn't have to, though, at least not right now. She didn't need to understand exactly how deeply Marie cared for her, she didn't need to try and put to words how much she appreciated and trusted her for it, it was enough just to feel it. Her task was to be Marie's pet. To be loved and to love back. That was all Marie wanted her to do. She let her eyes slide closed for a moment, then opened them back up at a slow, even pace. A whimper came up from her chest.
"Feeling ready?" Marie asked, quietly.
Four slow-blinked at her again.
Marie smiled. "If that's a yes, it's the cutest way to say it. Last call." Four held eye contact. "Alright. Hook your leg around my waist now. Don't worry, I'll hold you in place, you won't slip out." Her arms stiffened behind Four, backing up her promise. Four lifted her knee up off the floor, the one which wasn't between Marie's legs, and brought it up behind Marie. It cost her her balance, but she didn't wobble or tip backwards; Marie kept her steady, adjusting her grip a bit. "There you go, you've got it... Now the other one. Just hold onto me, I've got you."
She needed a second to steel her nerves, but not long. If there was anyone she would trust to hold her up, it was Marie. Her stomach dropped as she pulled her leg out from under herself, tucking her knee to her chest so her hips would stay aligned under Marie's. She sank slightly in Marie's arms, but she didn't fall. Marie wouldn't let her fall. The next moment, she had hooked her legs together behind Marie, squeezing in on the back of her romper where the dress flared out. Her hands climbed to hang onto Marie's shoulders, finding purchase on the bare skin there. Marie had held her close enough throughout the whole maneuver that she had stayed inside her, but there had still been enough movement to make her shudder hard in Marie's arms. She didn't have enough strength to handle almost any of the effort involved in holding herself up - that was all Marie's doing, evident in the tension she could feel in the muscles of Marie's shoulders - but being able to cling on, even weakly, made the position feel just a bit more secure.
"Fuck... Cod, I love having you inside me. You're such a good girl, Four. This is your favorite place too, isn't it? Inside your owner?" She punctuated her question with a squeeze of Four's ass, startling a squeaky moan out of her before she could even try to respond. Her eyes snapped shut, but then she forced them back open. "That's my pet. Keep watching me, you're going to spend every moment of this knowing exactly who you belong to. Isn't that right?"
How could she ever forget? It was Marie, of course she belonged to Marie. Only to Marie. She wished she could tell her. The best she could do was to obey, keeping her eyes locked on Marie's, no matter how badly they wanted to unfocus in the wake of the pleasure Marie was giving her. Her legs twitched, trying fruitlessly to draw herself deeper inside, but the position Marie had her in afforded no leverage.
Marie cooed. "Needy girl... I know, you want me to breed you, don't you?" She lifted Four up a bit, accomplishing what Four couldn't. A shallow moan pushed the breath from Four's lungs, and she panted to try and get it back. Marie barely let her have a break, though - she started to stand up, shifting her balance forward and back to accommodate for Four's weight, only stimulating her further. She felt lightheaded. "You're too cute, seriously. Just let it happen, Four, I want that too. You know I want to breed my little pet."
She'd stood up all the way. Four wouldn't have been able to tell if she didn't start walking - she took Four only a few steps forward, tipping her backwards slightly until she was leaned against the door to the studio again. Four gasped at the cold sensation of it against her skin. It shifted slightly at her weight, even more so as Marie adjusted the positioning of her hands to grip Four's hips with both. Her motive was immediately obvious, but Four still felt caught off guard when Marie abruptly pulled her hips up, thrusting her into her. She cried out, her legs tensing hard around Marie.
The burning warmth inside Marie was matched only by the heat in her gaze as she let out an exhilarated peal of laughter. "Mm, I can feel how much you liked that. Do you need me to do it again for you?" Her arms relaxed a bit, lowering Four's lower body, sliding her back out. Not all the way, but enough to drive another moan out of Four. Marie closed her eyes, grinning. "You shouldn't be making sounds like that, Four. Who knows what I'm gonna do to you if you keep it up?"
She pulled her in again, before Four could even catch her breath. Almost the exact same sound came out of her mouth - the single difference was that it came out breathier, needier.
"Alright, I'll tell you. I'm just gonna keep fucking you. No points for guessing. Does my pretty girl want that? Whine for me, let me hear how badly you need me to keep fucking you."
Four tried, but she was panting too hard - no effort was sufficient to stop all the air from rushing out in a wordless vocalization the instant she opened her mouth. She tried again, for Marie, gasping in another breath, but she still couldn't do it. Marie increased her pace, bucking Four's hips for her as her legs twitched and clenched around Marie's back. Each time she exhaled, it came out as another massive, breathy moan. She could barely keep her eyes on Marie's.
"I'm... Fuck." Marie bit her lower lip, not letting up. "Okay, I do have something else in mind. I got myself closer than I realized. Here's what we're gonna do..." She hunched forward a bit, taking one of her hands off Four's hip, but tucking the other further behind her to keep her control. She held her free hand - the one without the glove, righty - in front of Four's face. Four's eyes locked onto it. Even with her orders to maintain eye contact, she couldn't help but follow the motion as Marie reached out and set it on the doorknob.
... On the doorknob?
"You know what's behind here, don't you?" Four let her eyes return to Marie. It was hard to remember. It was hard to care that much, when Marie was still using her like she was. "Wait, you don't have a clue, do you?" Marie was giving her an incredulous look, but she was continuing to fuck her, so it was fine, really. Four blinked hard, letting out a weak moan under her breath. "Really? Like, really really?"
One of the rhythmic pulses of pleasure centered on her girldick shot up through her form, making her whole body tense up and shiver. Her beak chattered involuntarily.
The look of confidence returned to Marie's face. "Oh, good, you do know." Four couldn't use her expression to communicate her confusion - it didn't feel possible to force down the look of open-mouthed desperation she was sure she was giving Marie - but she could at least tilt her head and hope that was clear enough. It gave Marie a second of pause, and then she broke out in a smile. "Oh, nevermind. I don't know why I expected my pretty little pet to remember anything while I'm fucking her senseless. You need me to tell you, huh? It's the Anarchy Splatcast studio."
... Anarchy Splatcast studio? The one with the big-
"The one with the big window, Four."
Oh. Fuck. Her eyes blew wide.
Marie laughed. "Mm, you get it now." She drummed her fingers against the doorknob, hard enough that Four could hear each tap. "What do you think would happen if I opened this?" Four squirmed, arching her back with a gasp. "Does my pretty girl want that? Gasp again for me if you want that, Four."
The thought felt like it was filling her whole body with magma. A boiling pressure was forming under her girldick, only rising in magnitude as she was brought in and out of Marie, entirely under Marie's power. Each breath in came as a gasp, she couldn't help it.
Marie let out another laugh, breathier. "I knew you did. Everyone would see what I'm doing to you now, wouldn't they? Wouldn't you just love that, if everyone got to see who you belong to? Squeeze your legs some more if you'd love that."
Every instinct encoded into every cell of Four's body was telling her to bury herself as deep inside Marie as she could go. Her knees curled, her toes clenched, her legs squeezed. Marie moaned out loud, melodic, smooth, flawless. Four copied the sound in her own pitchy tone.
"Cod. Picture it with me, pretty girl. Just one flick of my wrist, and the door swings open, showing everyone. All those people getting to see what - Mm-! - what I'm doing to you right now..." She rolled her shoulder a few times, faking out like she was actually going to do it - each time, Four cried out, more and more desperate, prompting more moans from Marie. Her eyes were filled with something thick and dark and heavy, and Four couldn't look away if she tried. "You're close, huh? Cum for me if you want that. Fuck, make your owner gravid if you want that. Miss Marie Cuttlefish, breeding her own pet in front of the whole fucking Square."
The pressure became too much. Four trembled from head to toe, losing all her strength, head thumping back against the door. She couldn't pull herself in, helpless to do anything but take it, spilling out inside of Marie even as Marie kept making her thrust, sliding her in and out.
Barely a second after it started, though, Marie was suddenly doing what Four's every nerve burned for - she pulled Four up, hard, locking their bodies together as close as they could get. Buried as deep as possible. "Good girl, Four, that's my beautiful little pet. Let it all out inside me, I've got you." Her voice shook, and her hand flew off the doorknob in Four's peripheral vision, finding her clit and working it almost aggressively. It was hard to even keep track of the motion; Four's eyes unfocused, then started to water as she finished her orgasm as far inside Marie as she could reach.
Marie drained her for everything she was worth, and then some. Even after Four had let out everything she had, when she could feel herself twitching emptily inside her, Marie's walls kept contracting in a quick, steady beat. She was only barely, hazily aware that Marie was cumming too. With what little strength she could manage, she gave Marie's shoulder a squeeze, struggling to find her eyes through fuzzy, teary vision. "M...'rie..." It was hard to talk, but she could do it. "I'm yours... Just yours. Can't forget it. I..."
"I know, Four." Marie's voice came out strained, but affectionate. "You're so sweet, I'm so glad you're mine. Such a good pet. My good pet. Fuck..." Her hand started moving slower, and the pulses around Four's girldick started to become less frequent, more subtle. Eventually, they stopped. Marie took her out, and Four let her legs fall from around Marie's hips. The sound of something dripping onto the floor echoed quietly through the hallway, barely audible over the din of the city behind the door. "You did so well for me, Four. Hang on, I gotta sit down for a sec..."
She hooked one of her hands under Four's armpit, pulling her forward off the door until their bodies were flush, resting Four's cheek against her breast. The material of her romper covering it wasn't perfectly soft, but it was alright, and with the knowledge that the body underneath was Marie's she couldn't complain. Four clung on weakly, and Marie slowly shifted her in her arms, lowering down to sit with Four on her lap. As close as they were, Four still found herself trembling hard. "I'm cold."
"I know you are, sweet girl." Something warm was draped over her back. "Think you can help me get your arms through this?" She cooperated, taking one arm at a time from its position wrapped around Marie and cooperating as she helped her into a coat. Marie's coat. "Good girl. That should warm you up much faster."
If it was Marie's, it would be a little big on her. Four used her free hand, the one she hadn't yet put back around Marie, to draw the coat tighter around herself, bringing the collar of it in front of her face. She could smell it, over the strong scent of sweat and other bodily fluids that dominated the hall. On the exhale, she went progressively more and more limp against Marie.
"How are you feeling?"
Four nuzzled her face against Marie's chest, shutting her eyes. She could hear Marie's hearts beating, but it was difficult; there was still noise coming through the door, pushing into her ears and nagging at her exhausted brain. "I'm alright. Maybe a little overwhelmed, I... It's kinda loud. Just wanna hear you right now..."
A kiss was pressed to the top of her head. "I understand, that was all pretty intense. I wish I could make the city quieter for you, but I can't. How about you try and focus on my voice for now, instead?" She gave a slow nod. "That's my good girl. Feeling thirsty, hungry at all?"
Right on cue, Four's stomach growled. She turned her head and mumbled into Marie's chest. "I guess so."
"Yeah, figured you would. Probably not gonna want to stop by a cafe on the way home, huh? I'm pretty sure there's a vending machine somewhere around here, though. We'll track it down and get you something from it in a bit." Four couldn't suppress a soft whine, squeezing tighter. "Not yet, I know. Just give me a cue when you feel ready to move."
"Thanks..."
"Don't thank me for taking care of you, I want to."
"I wanna thank you. Love you..."
At first, Marie only responded with an affectionate sigh, stroking her head. "Fine. I guess you're welcome. Love you too." A second passed in silence, during which Four nuzzled against Marie again. "I asked them why they get so much takeout if there's a vending machine, you know."
"Mm?"
"Deep Cut. Anyways, they told me it's because they can get the guy to bring the food right to their backstage room. I bet you if they could get him to bring it to the studio, we'd have had to clean up in there too."
"Mm."
Marie rubbed behind her ear. "... Cod, I can't even be mad about that right now. I told you not to get me into too good a mood, didn't I?"
Four mumbled something that was intended to be an apology, but it didn't come out as words.
"Don't be sorry, I'm only teasing you. You've made me so happy, I could practically sing." Four's ears perked up, tapping against Marie's hand and earning her a soft laugh. "Hm? Would that help you relax a little more, Four?"
"Please...?"
"Alright, alright. To think you didn't even recognize me at first, and now here you are, begging for a private concert..."
"Mneh," Four said, sticking her tongue out, very maturely. She tasted sequins. Probably should've pulled her face away before doing that.
Marie snorted. "I know you wanted to be treated like a pet, but that doesn't mean you have to lick me. I guess I can stop teasing you now, though. What should I sing for you?" Four remained silent, at a loss. "Something calm, I guess, I bet that's what you need right about now. No worries, I can do calm. How about-"
There was a ding, and an elevator door sliding open. A single soft footstep onto a hard floor. Marie stiffened up hard; Four could feel her craning her head around. A handful of feet away, Frye's nervous laugh. "Whoa! Hey, Boss Marie, I didn't know you were... Am I interrupting something? I'll just- I left my phone- uh, I'll tell Shiver and Big Man it wasn't here, BYE!"
