Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 45: Reunion

Eight was practically skipping down the halls as she left the hospital.
Of course, she really didn't want to leave Three alone. And, although he did his best to hide it, he didn't want her to leave him, either.
     Unfortunately, this was how it had to be.
     Eight walked back to the apartment, humming the Inkantation. She was suddenly in no hurry at all. Her body was visibly more relaxed, her eyes brighter, the worry and anxiety lifted off her shoulders. She felt lighter than air.
     She arrived at the apartment, grabbed the keys out of her pocket, and inserted them into the lock, but the door creaked open as she did.
     Oh, Eight thought. That's right. Aaron's still here.
     Eight pulled the keys out of the hole and walked in, closing the door behind her. Aaron was laying on the couch, watching TV, munching on popcorn. He looked up as she walked in, and his face instantly lit up.
     "So?" He asked. "Did he wake up?"
     "Yeah, he did!" Eight said, letting a bit of excitement spill into her voice.
     "How's he doing?" Aaron questioned. "When can we visit? Are we even allowed to visit? But how would we disguise Callie and Marie? Would we even disguise them?"
     "Aaron." She said. "You're rambling again."
     "Ah. Sorry. But when can we visit?"
     "I was told I could come right in. I don't know when the visiting hours start, but I know they end at 7:00 P.M."
     "Wow. That's an early end time."
"Is it though? I mean, given that these patients are probably tired, 7:00 must feel really late for them."
     "Enough about random people," Aaron said, a smile creasing his face. "How's Three doing?"
     "He seemed fine to me," Eight chatted. "He was eating when I got there, and talked with me for a while. Three said he didn't feel any different, except a bit tired and weak. Oddly enough, he actually asked me to stay. Normally, he would have been indifferent about it, so I don't know what brought it on."
     "The guy just woke up a few hours ago, he's bound to be kinda nervous or anxious." Aaron said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. He glanced up at her. "You seem a lot happier all of a sudden."
     "Yeah..." She said slowly. "You're right. You're completely right. I guess I just thought... I thought he was going to die. That I shouldn't bother trying to hold out and wait for him, because in the end, it wouldn't have mattered anyway."
     "But now," She continued. "Three's alive. He's awake." Eight turned to look Aaron in the eyes. "And I'm so sorry for causing you all the trouble I did." She sat down on the couch and hugged him. "I truly am."
     "Don't sweat it," He said with his usual charming grin. "But please don't ever scare me like that again. Deal?"
     She smiled back. "Deal."
Aaron magically produced a Nintendo Switch from in between the couch cushions and placed it in her hands. "I've been meaning to play a game with you for a while. Care to join me?"
     "Of course," Eight smiled.
     He stood up and started moving all the pillows and checking underneath the couches. "Where did I leave it-? Oh, here it is!" He reached under the TV stand and, to her enormous surprise, literally pulled out the console for the Switch, along with its charger. He held it up with a triumphant smile and started plugging it in to the TV.
     "Where on Earth did you get that from!?" Eight exclaimed, stunned. "Do gamers have the ability to pull out videogames from everywhere?"
     Aaron laughed. "No, I just make sure to bring one of mine everywhere I go. I have... quite a few. Y'know, just in case I got bored."
     "Whenever I got bored in the Metro, I just tried to fall asleep, or I read the Inkopolis magazine I found laying around." Eight commented.
     "Oh, yeah? And how did that go?"
     "The magazine was great, but I got tired of it eventually."
     The TV screen lit up, showing the home screen for the game Aaron had currently been playing. This time, replacing of the game she'd played the night before Splatoween, it showed the title "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" instead.
     Aaron explained the game to her, and it sounded quite fairly easy to her ears. The two played the night away, until the moon started to rise and the stars started to twinkle faintly overhead. After several thousand matches, they started doing online play. Eight enjoyed these matches, simply because you never knew what or who was coming. It was always something new.
     After at least four hours of playing, Aaron finally suggested that he go back to his place and get some rest. He'd turned to leave, opened the door, and saw massive drops of water pouring down outside. Loud rumbling noises echoed overhead, and Eight slammed the door before he'd even touched the knob, she was so startled.
     Aaron grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "On second thought... mind if I crash here for the night?"
     "Duh, of course you can!" Eight said. "But, um... what was that?"
     "Oh, you've never seen rain before, have you?" He asked, more of a statement than a question. "It's basically when water droplets start to fall from the sky. And that rumbling noise you hear is called thunder, or lightning in some cases. They're these huge bolts of pure electricity that flash through the sky when there's a storm."
     "Interesting." She mused. "But also terrifying. You're definitely not going out in that weather."
     Eight glanced around the apartment. "I can go find an extra blanket or two. Make yourself at home, I'll be right back."
     "Thanks, Eight," Aaron said gratefully. The Inkling dumped himself on the couch as she went into the bedroom to find pillows and blankets.
     She knew she'd gotten a few blankets from the store a while ago, but she'd forgotten where she placed them. Eight opened every drawer and cabinet, stuck her head inside the closet, checked behind the mirror, and looked under the bed.
     "Aha," She whispered triumphantly, reaching her arm under the bed the grab the blanket. Eight pulled it out and shook it off, then walked back into the living room. She balled up the blanket and threw it at Aaron's face, but he caught it before it could hit him.
     "I have quick reflexes, you know." Aaron said in a very matter-of-factly tone. "I think the other Agents forget I defeated Octavio and stopped the Octarian menace, because everyone seems to underestimate me. Except Gabriel."
     "How's your friendship doing?" Eight asked curiously. "Last time I saw, it was going great." Her mind flashed back to that one fateful night at the Octarian domes. "You guys looked really happy with one another."
     "We were both drunk last time you saw," He reminded with a wry smile. "We were bound to do some stupid things." Aaron trailed off. "But it's been going fine. He leaves a lot though and I don't know why."
     "My brother has always been..." Eight thought for a moment. "Stubborn. He wants to find everything out for himself. I have one memory of him in my childhood, and it was Gabriel sneaking out of the house. I remember catching him and asking where he was going, but he just ran outside and met with a really shady looking guy." She shook for head. "He was always getting into situations he regretted later."
     "Odd," He said, checking the time on his phone. "Oof. It's one in the morning, we should probably get some sleep."
     Eight laughed. "Agreed. G'night."
     "Night." Aaron called as she walked into the bedroom. She turned off the main light, and both the living room and kitchen went dark. Eight closed the door, turned on the bedroom lights, and got changed into some pajamas.
     She turned off the lights and got in bed, swaddling herself under the blankets, and with a sigh, she closed her eyes and waited to drift off to sleep.