Work Text:
On a particularly sunny day in Inkopolis, Marina found herself in the last place she’d expected herself to be. Apparently, it was something of an Inkling tradition to host a carnival at the end of spring, and Pearl insisted that she just had to be there.
Back in the domes, such a frivolous waste of energy and resources would have never been considered. But here on the surface, in a land of such abundance, things of this nature were commonplace.
And the Octoling found herself having fun, despite the crowds and the heat. Partially from the marvel of the rides– such amazing feats of engineering– but mostly because Pearl was with her, and it was hard not to have fun when she was with the most wonderful Inkling in all of Inkopolis.
After yet another stop at the fried bread stand, a new game caught the Octolings attention.
“Aw, look how cute she is!” Marina exclaimed, pointing at the top prize of the balloon shot game.
Pearl followed her friend's gaze, locking on the giant fluffy octopus plush. “Huh? Oh, yeah, she’s pretty cute. You a big Octopus fan?”
Marina rubbed the back of her neck. “They’re, uh, yeah, they’re my favorite animal.” So many things here seemed to be built with Inklings in mind (Cod, even the trash cans were shaped like arrows) so it brought a little bubble of excitement to see something that resembled herself in this place.
Pearl smiled. “Well then, we’ve gotta win her for you.”
The Octoling shook her head. “Oh, I’m not very good at darts.” Marina admitted. “We didn’t have a lot of carnivals where I’m from.”
Pearl grabbed her hand, eagerly pulling Marina over towards the booth. “Then I’ll play for you! One of my cousins used to own a carnival booth like this, I know all the secrets.” She paused. “What’s my reward if I win it for you?”
If logic was playing any role in Marina’s brain in that moment, she’d have realized Pearl was probably expecting her to offer to buy her a soda, or some cotton candy. But, Pearl was still holding Marina’s hand, and that fact alone must have fried something vital in her brain, because without thinking, she answered, “If you win her for me on your first try, I’ll kiss you on the mouth.”
A wave of fresh embarrassment hit Marina the moment those words left her lips as Pearl just stared at her for what might as well have been an eternity. Before Marina could gather herself enough to backtrack that offer, Pearl opened her mouth.
“Alright then. You’re on.” Pearl said, letting go of Marina’s hand and running up to the booth.
Marina blinked. Had she– did Pearl– did she actually just agree to that?
“How many balloons do I have to hit to win the Octopus?” Pearl asked once she’d reached the counter, bouncing on the heels of her feet.
The owner, an older Inkling who looked to be in his early 50s, handed Pearl three darts. “For a top shelf prize, you gotta hit all three darts.”
“Bet.” Pearl answered, sliding a ticket across the counter. She picked up the first dart, taking in a deep breath as she aimed.
The first dart connected, hitting a bright purple balloon dead center with a satisfying ‘pop’.
Pearl turned back to face Marina, a giant smile spread ear-to-ear, her yellow eyes lit up in such a way the Marina just couldn’t help but smile back. Pearl always had a contagious kind of joy, enough to fill Marina’s chest and wash away any kind of worry. “You see that! Told ya I was good!”
The Inkling picked up the second dart, taking another moment to calibrate before hitting her second shot straight on.
Marina clapped her clawed hands as the orange balloon was reduced to ribbons. “Nice hit, Pearlie!” She cheered. She's so cool…
Pearl flipped her front tentacles dramatically before shaking out her hand. Marina held her breath as Pearl picked up the last dart, feeling her tentacles curl up slightly with anticipation.
The Inkling let the dart fly, and for one felting moment, Marina didn’t think it wouldn’t connect… until it arched downward, piercing the top of the final baby pink balloon.
Pearl punched the air as the third dart met its target. “Yeah! Yah see that? That’s what I’m talkin’ about, gimme that Octopus!”
“Nice work, and on your first try, too.” The owner commented, pulling a stool over to cut her prize free.
She’s so cool… Marina found herself fawning. Hitting all of them on the first try, and she didn’t even look nervous! She’s so confident– Marina was pulled from her daydreams as Pearl turned her attention towards the taller woman.
“Now,” Pearl began, smirking. “Time to pay up.”
Marina felt her hearts stop. “Oh, uh, yes, I guess you did win–” It wasn’t that Marina didn’t want to–in fact, she’d been daydreaming of doing something like this for months now–she was just terrified of what it might do to her poor hearts once she had to pull away.
Pearl’s face changed, seeming to pick up on Marina’s deminor. “Hey, I mean, you don’t actually have to if you don’t want to, I won’t hold it against you. You can just buy me a corndog and we’ll call it even.”
This might be your only chance to do this. Marina thought to herself. Go for it, Marina, or forever live in regret! Marina wrinkled her nose. “I couldn’t live with myself knowing you ate one of those because of me.”
And before Marina could find a reason to hesitate, she closed her eyes, leaned forward, and pressed her lips against Pearls.
The moment her kiss landed, it was all over for her. Pearl’s lips were soft, and warm, and Marina could taste the cherry chapstick on her mouth. It was too much– as much as the logical part of her brain was screaming at her that she absolutely should pull away right now to make this seem at all platonic, just a friendly kiss in public as a joke, Pearl just felt too good against her lips to comply.
Pearl let out a soft, adorably surprised noise, but didn’t pull away. Pearl pressed in closer, and Marina felt soft hands against the sides of her face, the cold metal of Pearl's rings contrasting with the flush of her skin.
Marina could have stayed like that forever, and she had just begun to part her lips and fully commit to this when she was pulled from heaven of Pearl’s touch by the sound of the owner clearing his throat.
Pearl let go, and Marina was left in a daze as Pearl awkwardly took her prize from the older Inklings hands.
“Er, thank you.” Pearl said, wiping her mouth as she took the purple and blue octopus from the man's hands.
The owner just sighed. “You ladies enjoy the rest of your day.”
Pearl grabbed Marina’s hand, laughing as she towed the flustered Octoling behind her as they both ran from the booth.
“Did you see his face? We made him so uncomfortable, I almost feel bad–” Pearl laughed, wiping her eyes. She held out the Octopus. “Here, you earned her.”
Marina took her prize. If holding Pearl’s hand had fried her brain earlier, Marina’s conscience had been burnt to a crisp after that kiss. She swallowed hard. “T-thanks, Pearlie. That was really cool.”
Pearl squinted. “The kiss?”
Marina’s hearts stopped. “N-no! No, the darts! You were really good at the darts!” She paused, realizing she might have just insulted Pearl unintentionally. “I mean, the kiss was good, too! Really good! You were– I mean, it was nice.” Smooth, Marina.
Pearl chuckled. Marina might have just been imagining things, but she could have sworn she noticed her friends' cheeks grow pink. “Thanks, you weren’t bad, either.” Pearl glanced to her left, eyes lighting up as some new attraction caught her interest. “Cmon, there's a guy over there making balloon animals! Maybe we can get your octopus a friend!”