Glow in the Dark Girlfriend

Ever since Perch was a little squid, he had only been able to sleep in complete darkness.

His mother used to keep a nightlight in his bedroom when he was a toddler, and the only way to get him to stop screeching from being overtired was to turn the damn thing off and let him actually sleep. It didn’t last long in his bedroom, it went to his brother Archer instead.

As a kid, he would clip his curtains closed so not even the tiniest amount of light could slip through the fabric. He would stuff his laundry under the gap in his door to block the annoying hallway light his brother insisted they keep on from threatening his slumber.

And even now, as a teenager, he made sure to pick an apartment that faced away from the sunrise. When he went to bed it was dark, when he rose it was dark. Perfect slumber in perfect lack of lighting.

Then Mirren moved in.

Mirren herself wasn’t the problem. The Octoling was very considerate of his habits and respected him and their shared space which is something he greatly appreciated. When she left to use the bathroom or go into the kitchen for a late night snack she would make sure to kick some clothes over the bottom of the door, or when her phone would buzz late at night she would answer it under the covers to stifle the blue light emanating from it.

It was what made her such a great roommate.

The problem was Mirren’s girlfriend, Nori.

Ever since Mirren and Nori had started dating, and since Perch had joined their turf team, Nori was over to their apartment quite often. Perch didn’t mind her company, she was very cheerful and extroverted, and she talked his language turf war wise. But that was during the day.

During the night was another story.

Nori was a firefly inkling. She literally glowed in the dark.

Perch didn’t realise it at first, he assumed Nori’s tentacles having smaller spots was a genetic thing, like how his tentacles were striped. It technically was, but it was more of a species thing, that species being the only one that just so happens to light up at night.

Sure, it was useful when they were out on the Nautilus Isle street, especially after the whole inklings-being-kidnapped-by-an-octarian-military-weapon debacle it was much safer to stick by a light source. When they rounded a corner with a faulty streetlight, it made him appreciate her.

But that appreciation disappeared when Nori started to sleep over in Nori’s bed. It wasn’t Nori’s snoring, it was the light shining in Perch’s eyes keeping him from sleeping.

He tried, oh how he tried. But no matter how much he tossed and turned, no matter how many times he pulled his pillow over his head, he was staring at the ceiling and the dim glow that reflected onto it from the other side of the room.

Finally, at 2am, he raised his head and stared out to the bed at the other side of the room.

“Mirren.” he whispered, “Mirren, are you awake?”

There was a beat of silence, before he heard a small response. “Yeah, are you okay?”

“Mirren, can we talk for a second?”

Mirren sat up as carefully as she could against the tangled limbs and tentacles that belonged to her girlfriend. “Here?” She asked in a hushed voice.

“No- no, living room.” He pulled his covers off and swung his legs to the side of his bed. It was weird, being able to see where he stepped as he made his way to the door, but he was so used to it that it didn’t make much of a difference. He heard the soft patter of the Octoling trailing after him, her steps light in an attempt to not disturb the only one out of them who was asleep.

Perch flicked on the light to their living room, the night was cold and he already missed his quilt. He crossed his arms over himself and let out a shaky breath. Mirren was watching him expectantly with her warm, mismatched eyes.

“Are you okay?” She repeated, she was also hugging herself, but at least her nightgown was longer than his short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

“Mirren, why did you have to date a glowstick?” Perch finally burst, letting out a frustrated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose with a free hand. “You know I can’t-”

“Yeah, Perch, I know.” How guilty she sounded immediately turned his annoyance into guilt of his own and he looked away awkwardly.

The silence that followed hung heavy in the cold air. Finally, Mirren spoke.

“I’m just… I’m worried.” She admitted quietly, looking down at her bare feet. “Just- I don’t want her to disappear again.”

Perch reached out, putting a hand on Mirren’s shoulder. “It won’t happen again.” He reassured her, letting his voice be as confident as he felt about it. “Reef is better, we are better.”

Mirren gave a shaky nod and Perch let his hand fall away. There was silence for a moment longer, before a smirk made its way onto the Inkling’s face.

“Besides,” he continued “She’s waaay too in love with you to go missing again. Have you seen the way she looks at you?” Mirren’s face goes as red as her tentacles as he pretends to gag.

“Perch!” She hisses, but the corners of her mouth have already twitched into a smile and he lets out a laugh.

“It’s so mushy, I’m surprised you don’t notice.” He continues to tease, and she huffs at him, lightly punching him in the arm.

As they both calm down, Mirren’s smile doesn’t go away. “Thanks Perch.” she whispers “I promise we’ll sleep at hers from now on, I can go wake her up and we can head over if you want.”

Perch waves a hand to dismiss her “It’s fine for tonight, I’ll sleep on the couch. But that promise better be a pinky swear.” It was a human tradition to symbolize trust in a promise that he had heard about in History class, and something he tended to use because he thought it was cool.

He stuck out his pinky and linked it with Mirren’s. “Pinky swear.” she promised, shooting him another smile. “Thank you Perch, I’ll buy you udon tomorrow. Pinky swear on that too.”

“I’m counting on it!” He called after her as she retreated back down the hallway to their room. He decided not to follow, flicking off the light and approaching the couch instead.

He pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and snuggled into it, and in the darkness of the living room, he was finally able to doze off.