Adjust (Agent 3 x Agent 8)

Woomy #36: Revelry

Her father spoke.

"Nagi, a word with you please?"

~

Despite how late it was already, almost nearing midnight, Nagi's family was kind enough to prepare them something to eat.

"You should've called me earlier," 3 stared at her bowl, picking at the soup lightly with her spoon. "I would've helped, Mom."

Nova, a still a bit nervous in the presence of her father, sat stiff. It was only until Nagi gave the octoling a light nudge with her elbow that let him know to relax.

"You always do," Her yellow eyes sparkled alongside her cheery demeanor. "But I couldn't have asked for your help so soon when you're trying to settle down."

The couple sat next to each other, and across from them, is where her parents would settle down too. Nagi still felt a bit nervous, considering that neither of them had brought up the fact that Nova was different compared to the rest of them.  You could hear Nova's nervous slurps on the spoon. At least the food was good.

Everyone else's eyes were locked onto the warm vegetable soup in front of them, Nagi's mother's hums filling the silence in the house. It was only her father that carefully observed the two.

"He keeps staring," 8 thought to himself. "Is it because of me? Because of us? What could he be thinking about?"

"So," His spoon clinked, setting it down. "How long have you two been dating?"

Nagi's ears burned up, her eyes darting between her mom's intrigued expression and her dad's indifferent look.

What exactly should she say? That, yeah, it's only been a few days and I'm already introducing Nova to you guys? It's so soon, barely a week.

"I-It's only been a couple of days," Nagi managed to squeeze between her teeth, worried about their response. The inkling girl couldn't bring herself to lie about her answer.

"S-Since the 24th of this month, sir..."

"Aw! Well isn't that adorable!" Her mother chirped, gently nudging Nagi's dad. "Right on Squidmas Eve!"

"Mm," He nodded, taking another spoonful of soup. "And just on the whim like that?"

8, a little perplexed by the question's meaning, glanced over at Nagi.

"We've been close friends for a couple months prior," 3 explained. "We met through work."

The conversation progressed from there. What led to them being roommates? What do they do for work?  (They lied on the whim, not wanting to reveal THAT secret regarding their occupation.) Nagi's mom seemed to be fond of their relationship, her cheery smile backing up the claim. Nagi's father, on the other hand, seemed to be developing a skeptical look as they spoke.

Eventually, dinner concluded, and Nova excused himself to shower and change. After briefly pointing Nova in the right direction and washing the dishes quickly (Nova had offered to do so, but was quickly shut down by 3 and Mama 3), Nagi's eyes widened.

"Nagi, a word with you please?"

Her father's voice seemed to freeze everything in time. Very rarely does he say something like that, and when he did, which was usually during her youth whenever she caused trouble, it most likely was not a good thing. It's been awhile since Nagi had heard that.

Without responding, she set the last plate on the drying rack, dried her hands and headed back to the table. Standing at a distance with her arms crossed, her orange eyes stared into his.