Adjust (Agent 3 x Agent 8)

Woomy #25: Moonlight

"N-Nagi, please don't cry..."

The inkling sniffled softly, and although she felt embarrassed shedding tears in front of 8, 3 couldn't exactly help it at this point. 3 had apologized already enough, with 8 forgiving her each time that it was okay. Ironically enough, 8 was comforting Nagi more than she was to him, and Nova was the actual victim here. 

On Nova's side, seeing the tear flow down her face with an expression of concern within her orange eyes, made him choke up a little. He didn't know what to do right now, a hand on her shoulder? A hug? No, that would be weird wouldn't it? 8's jaw tightened as his mind scrambled to come up with something to help her. Words alone could work, but he felt as though something different would work better. 

Instead of a hand on her shoulder or embracing the inkling like he initially thought of, his hand nervously held the side of her face, and with his thumb, wiped the underside of her orange eyes gently. To his surprise, Nagi didn't say anything nor did she try to swipe his hand away to avoid physical contact. Her eye winced as he wiped her tears away. A small blush crept onto the inkling. 

"...I'm sorry if I worried you. I didn't mean to upset you like this by telling you that." 8 apologized. 

Nagi's eyes widened as they stared into Nova's, who smiled softly and reassuringly at her. Agent 3 shook her head, adjusting her balance on top of the rather chilly grass. 

"I...I was and I am worried. But I just...I just think if I had gone with you, none of this would have happened, maybe I could've been there to stop those who hurt you." She stopped for a second, as Nova had taken his hand away from her cheek. Her eyes stared at his injury, though Nova tried to subtly block it. Adjusting her tentacle behind her ear, Nagi started once again, "H-How did that whole thing even make you feel..?"

Nova's eyes widened at the sudden question, and his gentle smile slowly disappeared. For Nagi, if she ever had to face something like Nova did, she'd feel frustrated, angry, upset. Nova showed little to no signs of this, so could he be hiding what he felt? Nagi wanted to know. She never understood why inklings always seemed to be staring and talking about 8 behind his back, and had always continued with the mindset that 8 was just like anyone else here in Inkopolis. Did Nova still believe that? Or did that change?

Nova stared into her pupils. His heart raced, but it was clear to the both of them that Nova was hesitant on speaking his mind, even more so about his heart. There were a lot of things on his mind as of now, so much so that he felt as though he'd contradict anything he's thought of in the past or things he had already stated that he felt. 

"Y-Y'know you can tell me anything, right...?" Nagi's face reddened a bit, staring down at the scars on her tentacle, reminiscing about the time Nova had said the same thing when the topic came up. 3 knew that she trusted him, but Nagi wanted him to know that he can do the same too. "Just like how you told me the time we talked about my scars."

Nova's face flushed a bit, hearing his own words repeated back from her lips. 

"..Of course I trust you, it's just...I don't know, it feels like I'm feeling too many things at the same time.." 

Nagi looked back up from her tentacle, and inched a little closer to the octoling. It was obvious to 8 that she really wanted to know what he felt about it all. Taking a deep breath, Nagi attempted to build up confidence within herself. Slowly, her hand rested on top of his, as her ears began to burn up. Nova's would end up doing the same, and would glance rapidly back at their hands and up at 3's eyes. 

"You told me then that you could relate to me," With her free hand, she lifted her other tentacle, the hair clip slightly shifting and putting the scar clearly in moonlight. Nova's throat tightened with every passing moment, remembering what they talked about as clear as day, and everything he had told her then. "..I know my story wasn't as bad as what you had just experienced, but we both experienced that same feeling, no..?"