Beloved

The two of them sit in the waiting area of Doctor Meduso’s clinic.

Freya’s leg bounces anxiously, her left hand curling around Jeanne’s right as they wait. It had been an hour - but would it work this time? 

Nex, the jellyfish doctor, had approached them a month ago about a new procedure she thought would change the world. She had asked Freya and Jeanne for their cooperation, and promised that if it worked, their lives would be vastly improved by it. 

Freya and Jeanne, of course, accepted, because Doctor Nex Meduso could do anything if she just had enough data. It had already been several years since the events of Kamabo Corporation and the cure for sanitization that she created with the help of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and they knew well enough by now that the doctor was more than capable of performing miracles. 

Freya’s free hand brushes over her left tentacle, the end of it cut short. 

“It is, uh… a little weird, having cut my hair,” Jeanne murmurs, the tentacle that frames her face on the right similarly trimmed. “I had assumed it would hurt, but… it did not.” 

“Yeah, I know, right?” Three chuckles, her hand tightening around her girlfriend’s. “It’s definitely weird, but Nex said it would grow back pretty quickly.” 

“Mhm…” 

An anxious silence settles in again, the two of them clinging to each other as they await the news. 

“If this works… We’re going to have to figure out how to tell the rest of the NSS,” Freya mumbles, scratching her chin absentmindedly. 

Jeanne laughs under her breath, the tenseness in her hair relaxing. “Somehow… that is the least worrying thing on my mind right now.” 

“Hah, I know.” Freya leans her head on Jeanne’s shoulder, the Octoling’s hair instinctively reaching to pull itself around the Inkling’s like a hand hold. 

“I think they would have asked why we waited, probably. But it is okay. I would have wanted to get a confirmation before we got their hopes up.” 

“Cod, yeah. If they knew, they’d be texting us nonstop for updates.” Just thinking about it was making Freya’s head spin. 

The two of them quiet again, Three’s eyes trailing down to their joined hands. They haven’t even thought of a name, yet. They weren’t sure if this would even work, but Freya almost felt reluctant to pick a name. 

The double doors to the rest of the clinic open with a pressurized hiss as Doctor Nex Meduso steps out, her blue eyes scanning the waiting area. “Ah. There you two are.” 

“Ah!” Jeanne jumps to her feet, pulling Freya’s hair up with her, nearly causing the both of them to trip. 

“Oh, don’t fall now. It wouldn’t do to have to take care of your injuries on top of everything,” Nex muses. An almost entertained glow shimmers in her cap as the doctor holds open the doors to her office, gesturing for the two of them to follow. 

Freya and Jeanne share a look, their hands joined as they step into the brightly lit room. 

The clinic office is a stark hospital white as usual, the fluorescent lights giving off an almost calming drone. Nex leads the way to a corner of her office with her desk, several test tubes and screens covered with data catching Freya’s eye. 

“The procedure is a little more complex than anticipated,” Nex says as she takes a seat in a worn office chair, gesturing for the two to sit in some comfortable looking chairs next to an odd contraption, “but I do believe I’ve made an incredible discovery. Would you like for me to show you?” 

Oh my Cod. The absolute madwoman. Did she actually do it? 

Jeanne looks Freya in the eyes, the same thought mirrored in her own. Freya nods, squeezing their joined hands comfortably. 

“Yes, please.” 

“As you wish,” Nex murmurs. Her gloved hands reach into the contraption the two agents sit next to, pulling out a peach colored blob swaddled in a warm blanket. “Who… who would like to hold them first?” 

Them. 

She really did do it.

Jeanne lets go of their hands, gently pushing Freya’s towards the doctor. Nex chuckles quietly as she lowers the blanket into Freya’s arms, guiding the Inkling’s hands to support it properly. 

Within the blanket, a little blob - not quite Inkling, not quite Octoling - sits, sleeping quietly. Small Octoling sucker cups dot the top of their peach colored head, trailing down to impossibly tiny tentacles, the ends resembling Inkling ones, all curled in on themself as they sleep. 

Jeanne makes a hushed noise as she leans over, watching carefully. Her hand reaches to support Freya’s own as the two of them watch this new creature with awe, too amazed to make a sound. 

Almost sensing its new parents, two big brown eyes blink open, taking in the surroundings. Freya makes a quiet gasp, her left hand moving carefully to pull back the blanket a little bit more. 

“Woah… Hey there, little one,” Freya murmurs, watching as the brown eyes almost squint in the light of the clinic, blinking around. 

“They… have my eyes,” Jeanne says quietly, a clawed finger gently reaching out to the small, small creature the two of them are enraptured by. 

A tiny tentacle reaches out, instinctively curling around Jeanne’s hand. The action makes the two of them choke up quietly, leaning ever closer together as they watch this new life taking its first actions. 

Do you think they know? Do they know just how beloved they’re going to be in this world, surrounded by so many that will surely love them? 

Does this little creature in my arms know? 

Deep down, Freya says perhaps not, perhaps the small blob in her arms simply wants something to eat and perhaps another nap, but Freya’s certain of one thing. 

Whoever this child of theirs is going to be, they’re absolutely going to be spoiled to death.