Did you know you're my hero?

Surprise and idolize

After the text convo she'd had last night, Eight could swear she'd never slept better. And the late start from the hour-ish of lost sleep was balanced out by the heart she saw in her messages when she'd woken up.

She would've woken up her older housemates with the squeal she let out if they hadn't already been awake.

Marina did eventually come in to see what the fuss was, only to be met with a gushing agent Eight who would not shut her beak about how awesome agent Three was. Lucky for her, Marina had the patience of a saint and love for hearing the smaller one talk about things she liked.

In fact, the only point at which Marina felt like stopping her was when the topic of her nightmare came into the endless stream of words.

"Wait, did you say you had a nightmare last night?"

"Uh...yes?"

Marina had a sad look in her eyes. "Why didn't you wake us? We would've been glad to help."

The other Octoling looked away. "I...I didn't want to wake you guys. It was like 4:00 in the morning."

A hand found its way atop Eight's, and Marina smiled down at her. "Hey now, me and Pearlie would've been glad to deliver a little post-nightmare cuddle. You wouldn't believe how cuddly she is when she's sleepy."

Pearl leaned her head into the room. "Rina are you slandering my awesome reputation in there?"

Marina put her free hand to her chest. "Come on, Pearlie. You know I only make fun of you when we're on air." She chuckled back.

Eight looked down, a bit flustered. "I-I mean, as tempting as that sounds, I p-probably would've been more eager, eager if..." Her blush only grew. "...if Three was the one offering."

"Ooooohhhhhhh!" Pearl cheered.

The Octoling covered her face with her hands. "Oh gosh did I really say that out loud?? Y-you can't tell her I said that!"

Marina giggled. "Ok then, it's your business, we won't make it any awkwarder."

Pearl looked like she wanted to protest, but Marina shot her a look and she shut her mouth.

"Aside from that...are you sure you're ok? Not still upset after your nightmare? Because we'd be happy to help."

Eight took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She smiled. "I'm more than fine. Three talked me calm. That's...that's how you say that right?"

"Close enough, dear."

"Well in any case, I definitely feel better now. She's...she's really good at making me feel better." Her smile only grew, as did the blueish blush on her cheeks.

Pearl snickered in the background. "Eight, I love you, but you're hopeless."

She frowned a little. "What do you-"

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Pearl straightened up and went to get it. The Octoling pair couldn't see the front door from where they were, so only when they heard Pearl's greeting did they know who it was.

"Ohhhhhh, agent Three! What a pleasant surprise!"

One could almost hear the smirk in her tone.

Eight's ears perked up, and she strained to listen to Three's reply.

"Hey, I'm here to see Eight. Is she up?"

"Oh yeah, totally, just gimme a second and I'll be right back. Well, don't just stand there, come inside!"

Marina and Eight heard the door close, and then saw Pearl rush around the corner. She was grinning a mischievous grin.