Warnings: Agressive language (swearing), abusive past significant other.
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With a heavy heart, you arrived home and helped Milo make supper for the family. The night went by slowly with Milo's sister on your mind, but recognizing that he didn't seem as heavily affected by it anymore did help soothe you.
That night, you all fell asleep watching a movie; you in Milo's arms while he petted your tentacles. It was difficult not to fall asleep with how gentle he was- he must've had lots of experience.
The following day, Tasha was cleaning her weapon when you noticed a furrow in her brow. She then quietly said that she would be going to stop by Sheldon's today. Ah, she must have noticed a scratch or something. Either way, you figured it would be a good opportunity to spend time with her, so you asked if you could tag along. With a soft nod, she told you when she'd be leaving. Sooner rather than later- she'd rather fix her weapon as quickly as possible. You figured you'd get your weapon checked too while you were there. Seemed convenient.
It didn't take long before the two of you left the house, Tasha making sure not to scratch her weapon further. She held it close on the subway.
Maybe today you'd get to find out why she took such good care of the thing- if a reason at all. You're sure there had to be one, though.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
You gave your weapon to Sheldon when you arrived, and he seemed shocked.
"The ink isn't fully going through! How have you been battling like this?"
... you've been at a disadvantage this whole time? He compared it to missing multiple Ink Saver abilities- it was really confusing.
Finally, Tasha carefully handed Sheldon her E-liter, pointing out the scratch he had to buff out. With a pleasant smile on his face while he analyzed the weapon, he said;
"Pristine as ever, Natasha! I admire your dedication to your weapon! If only others were as diligent as you..."
You noticed how Sheldon was looking at you when he said that, and you looked away out of embarrassment. Well, hey- you're sure Leo was much worse; you once caught him using nail polish to repaint a scratch on his dualies after dropping them.
"...Told you not to call me that." She quietly replied.
The two of you left Ammo Knights shortly, making your way to the lobby. It was a hot day, that blazer of Tasha's was probably way too warm. She was about to take it off when you caught her freeze in place.
She appeared terrified. You followed her gaze- and it was at some octoling boy. His tentacles stood out- a sort of mohawk fashion going backwards. He toyed with his Nautilus 47. He wore a wicked smile on his face. His eyes were closed and his sharp teeth showed. He sat next to what you assumed was his twin; a matching forward mohawk and a big frown. An octobrush sat next to him. The first one- the smiley one had pink tentacles, the second, frowny, had blue. The first laughed like a hyena as some girl he sat with told a joke, his arm around her with a seemingly painfully tight grip.
..he seemed like he was holding her hostage. Damn.
You looked back at Tasha and she seemed to cower even further as she stared at him. She held her weapon with shaky hands- wait, Tasha? With shaky hands? What the hell happened between these two?
The two of you had to walk by them to get to the Subway. You slowly tried to reach for her back, gently rubbing circles as you guided her, placing yourself between her and the twins.
But you were still noticed. You suppose she does stand out a bit with her height.
The pink-tentacled one stood up.
"Hey there sweetheart! S' been a while, love. How ya been?"
He got much too close, breath mixing with hers. She held her weapon even closer. She kept her head down. His hand left her shoulder when she flinched and she quickly tried to walk off, and you heard him mumble under his breath; "Tch. Bitch. Got what you deserved anyways."
Her hand shook as she held it in front of her mask on the subway. She was still frozen and you could see her tearing up.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
You trailed behind her as she rushed to her room. Despite what you may assume, she continued to hold your hand. She needed company. She didn't want to be left alone.
She took her mask off as she shook. She was so vulnerable.
That's right. Her scars.
Wait... is that how she got those?
What the hell did that asshole do?!
Sobs wracked her body as you held her free hand, her other thumb rubbing her weapon, soothing her.
Once you offered her a soft hug, and you got her to breathe properly again, she began to explain. You wiped her tears as she went on.
"My weapon malfunctioned once and only once. The night I ran away from him.
...the night he gave me these scars.
I couldn't defend myself."
You looked at her with sympathy, and rubbed your thumb over the palm of her hand to soothe her. You stood up once again and held her head close to your chest, resting your chin on her head as you pet her tentacles.
Milo heard from Leo that the twins were in the square. Trav n' Marx. Milo put two and two together and raced down to Tasha's room to try to comfort her. He wrapped her in a blanket and quickly let his motherly instincts take over.
According to all you've gathered, she had an abusive boyfriend.
