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“Thought I’d find you up here.”
Bola’s new roommate hummed but didn’t turn to look at them as they clambered onto the roof. Her gaze was fixed somewhere off in the distance. You could just about see the horizon begin to change colour through the buildings.
“Flora was worried when you vanished, you know,” they continued.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I just… I needed some space. Everything is so loud.”
Bola sat down next to her, feet dangling off the edge of the roof, and gave her an appraising look. They’d never met anyone quite like her before.
It had been a strange situation. About a week ago, Flora had come back from his Agent gig with CB (apparently that was her real name) trailing behind. According to him, CB was a new Agent with nowhere to stay, so would there be any chance she could stay with Flora? The answer had obviously been yes.
She was a strange roommate. Her reactions to certain things made sense for someone who hadn’t been to Inkopolis before (she still wasn’t convinced a triple-fried galactic shwaffle was edible), but some reactions were just… perplexing. They’d heard her ask Flora what the moon was the other day. The moon! How could you not know what the moon was?
Bola couldn’t figure her out. They’d ventured to the main square earlier, Flora too, but CB had vanished when the map rotation announcement had started. Now here she was, sat on the roof of their rickety little house, tucked into as small a ball as someone her size could manage.
“You’re fine. Just let us know next time you need some space–”
“Why are you doing that?” CB cut them off, finally looking at them.
“Doing what?”
“Being so…” she made some vague hand gesture, “... so nice? I am not one of you, I do not contribute to getting food or shelter or money, but you are both so– so welcoming .”
She took a shaky breath in, one hand rubbing the scars on her neck. A nervous habit, Bola noted. “I do not understand the motive, is all.”
“When I first came to Inkopolis,” Bola started, startling CB, “I was scared. Terrified, really. I didn’t know anyone, nobody knew me, everything was new and I had no idea what to do with myself. There was support set up for kids my age, but only the ones who can turf, so I was on my own.
“It was pretty shitty. I made a lot of enemies, got a couple scars. Nothing like yours,” they gestured at CB’s face, with a missing cheek exposing half her beak, and the cyan scars that covered her forearms and lower back, “but enough that I would’ve been justified for getting mean, for giving back all the shit I took.
“But then I met Flora. She was in the same sorta situation that I was, alone in the big city with nothing to our names, except she didn’t get mean like I did. She got fucked over by the world and it just made her more determined to find the good in it. So I helped her out, we worked together to carve out this little space for us, and we’re stronger for it. We’re a squad.”
They glanced at CB. Her expression was hard to read but she hadn’t told them to shut up so they took it as permission to continue.
“My point is, you remind us of ourselves when we first got here. Sure, it’s not exactly the same, I don’t know exactly what brought you here or where you came from, but if I have the opportunity to help someone the way I needed help I’m damn well gonna take it. Doesn’t matter if you bring in extra food or money – we’ll manage just fine.”
CB frowned at them. She started to respond but was cut off by a cough behind her.
“I assume you’re telling her about how she can’t get rid of us,” the orange inkling signed as he made his way over. “Open your legs, it’s fucking freezing up here.”
Too stunned to argue, CB obeyed, and found her front pressed up against Flora’s back, who was determinedly arranging the armful of blankets and plushies. Bola wasted no time switching to her octopus form and nestling into Flora’s lap.
“You are one of us now. Whether you like it or not, we’re a squad, and we don’t drop people just ‘cause they’re not “useful” or whatever.” He craned his neck back, locking eyes with CB. “We stick together. If you need to get away, let us know. Us against the world, okay?”
CB could only nod, which luckily seemed to satisfy Flora. He pulled the blankets tighter around them and leaned fully back against her chest. The height difference meant she could rest her chin on the top of his head, which was a weird feeling for her.
After a few minutes, his breathing steadied out. She was amazed how quickly he could fall asleep. Bola had passed out as well, judging by the gurgling snores from under the blanket.
This was weird. The surface, this city, these people , CB struggled to make sense of any of it. But this, she loosely wrapped her arms around the inkling, this could be something worth protecting. Something she could dedicate herself to.
The city stirred to life around her as she watched the sun slowly rise. This was worth fighting for.