Work Text
The streets were lively, despite the late hour. A young Octoling sat on the fire escape stairs to her and her girlfriend's apartment. Roughly three sets of stairs up, she sat on the cold metal in nothing but her pajamas. The cold of the night didn’t bother her. After all, her body was already cold, producing no heat whatsoever. Warmth felt nice, but the cold was natural.The Octoling was known as DedF1sh—a rather famous DJ. Although inside she’s nothing but a hollow corpse. A sanitized freak that shouldn’t even be alive at this point. A dead body given a second chance at life. But was it deserved? Her condition was unique, but did that mean she deserved to “live”?The Octoling mind was drifting, as it did oh so often. And suddenly she was back. Back underground. In an empty room with a computer and her DJ equipment. Back performing the same mundane tasks nonstop. Producing song after song. Taking orders from the phone. Never questioning anything. Just another mindless slave in the machine.“Ahato?”The Octoling blinked back into reality at the mention of that name. Right. Ahato. Her name. She’s not just DedF1sh anymore. Whether she deserved it or not, she’s a person again. A person with a name. She turned her head to see a worried-looking Inkling in the window. With yellow eyes and black tentacles that would fade into pink. Round soft cheeks and the most angelic voice.Callie.The one who saved her from the hell of the underground. The one who cared for and loved her when no one else would. The one who made her realize she could feel things again.Her Callie. To think a walking corpse could end up with such an angel. Not a day passed that she didn’t question if she was enough for Callie. The answer was always the same. To Callie, she was. To Ahato herself, she wasn’t.Callie climbed out the window, settling next to her girlfriend and gently squeezing her hand. It was warm. Like always. The warmth of life. Something Ahato would possibly never have herself. At least she got to enjoy the warmth through Callie.“Do you want to talk about it…?”Worried golden eyes looked at the Octoling, making her look down. After a second she shook her head at the question. She’d had this conversation with Callie before. Her doubts were always met with reassurance and support, but it wasn’t quite what she needed right now. She just needed Callie.“Well, do you want to go inside then? We could watch some movies and cuddle under your heated blanket until it feels better.”The Octoling looked at her girlfriend, who smiled kindly. That smile. The genuine smile of love. It made her cold body feel warm, if only for a second. So she nodded, holding the Inkling's hand as she led her inside.Perhaps she’d never be enough. Perhaps she’d never recover from her condition. But at least she wasn’t alone anymore. And maybe that would be enough.
