#it's sloppy but like. it's free. don't try to deconstruct it

[some-creep]

Tumblr doesn't let me @ you because it's the website ever. However.

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She closed her eyes, head resting on her hand as she let the smell of coffee do its best to try and wake her up. Her laptop sat open in front of her, the screen long since dimmed from lack of activity. Ten in the morning was just too early for Marie's brain to start working. Though, by now, it was closer to 10:30. She whined to herself, rubbing at her face to try and rouse herself before she dozed off at the kitchen table. She told herself if she did that, the coffee Callie had made for her would be cold, or worse, room temperature. She willed herself to take a drink before shivering at the overly sugary liquid. Callie insisted the sugar would help wake her up, but Marie was pretty sure she just wanted to steal a drink or two from her cup.

If Callie was here, Marie might have a better chance of staying awake. No such luck today. Callie had an early appointment with a photographer for a makeup advertisement she was in. This left Marie alone to try and get something done. By herself. So early. With no one to nudge her awake.

Marie figured she'd dozed off for real when she heard the front door opening. Callie was back early. Probably. She opened her eyes and tapped on her laptop's spacebar to turn the screen back on. It wasn't even eleven, meaning she hadn't slept for long. Maybe Callie had forgotten something? Marie yawned, listening to footsteps shuffling into the kitchen.

"Hey, you're home early, did something…happen-" it wasn't Callie, though it wasn't anyone she felt the need to straighten up for either.

She leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Hey, Four."

Agent 4 stood a few steps from the kitchen table, holding a folder in her hand. Her posture was straight and her expression unusually serious.

"Is Callie here?" She asked, glancing around the room.

"Uh. No? She's at a job. Why?" Marie paused. "How did you get in here anyway. Wasn't the door locked?"

"You gave me a spare key, remember?"

"Not really." She shrugged. Marie wasn't that concerned. She'd probably given it to her when Callie was missing and forgotten about it. It wasn't as if she was thinking clearly at the time.

Marie took a drink before speaking again, "so what did you need Callie for?"

Agent 4 shifted, looking at her feet before back in Marie's general direction but ultimately avoiding eye contact. "I didn't really want to talk business with just you."

"Business?" Marie repeated, grinning. "Since when do you talk 'business'?" She leaned forward, watching Four avert her gaze once again.

"Since now. Can I sit?"

Marie gestured at one of the empty kitchen chairs, leaning back. She tried to imagine what business Four wanted to discuss. Maybe she wanted free promotion on music she was working on. Did she even do that? Marie didn't really know, though most Inklings seemed to have some interest in music. Maybe she wanted to do work for them? Or just Callie? It made sense she'd want to look for work and connections as a student. Or had she graduated by now? Either way.

She placed her hands on her keyboard, looking at Four, amused by her nervousness still. "Alright. I'm ready for business time."

"This is serious, Marie."

"Serious business." She nodded.

"I mean it."

"Okay, okay, fine. What's up?"

Agent 4 placed the folder on the table, pressing her hands against it to keep Marie from grabbing it. Of course, this only piqued her interest. Four bit her lip, staring at the back of Marie's laptop. "I want you to pay me." She said, voice trembling.

Marie raised an eyebrow. "Pay you for?"

"For the work I did for you. For *Callie*."

"Huh? What work?"

"The work I did for Squidbeak. It's not cheap living in Inkopolis, y'know? I think my roommate has someone to help support her, but I don't, and it's hard to find work that actually pays enough to cover rent, let alone everything else and-"

"Nah. Agents don't get paid." She said, not giving it even a moment's thought. Four's rant was depressing, but it really wasn't her problem.

Four pressed her fingertips into the folder, still not looking at Marie. "I saved the Great Zapfish. I saved *Callie*. I risked my life for you guys. Isn't that worth anything to you?"

"You volunteered."

Four was silent for a while, hands balled into fists. Marie had told her already there were no parades for secret agents. She wasn't really sure what the point of all of this was. Four hadn't been this insistent after Callie came home, so why now?

"Was that all your serious business, Four?"

"I've got a real name, you know. Do you even know what my real name is?"

"Where's all this coming from?"

"You don't, do you. You act like you know everything about me but you don't actually know anything about me as a person! Was I just someone for you to take advantage of because it was convenient for you? Because you thought I didn't know any better?"

"I didn't 'take advantage of you', you volunteered, like I said."

Marie was sat straight up now, a stony expression on her face. She wasn't going to let Four sit there and accuse her of things that weren't true. She never made Four do anything. Not once.

"You really think this is the best way to beg for money?" She laughed humorlessly. "You thought you'd just come in here and yell at me because you're, what, late on rent? Car broke down?"

"I saw something I don't think I was supposed to." Four said, looking up at her. Marie backed down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dunno what that could be."

"Yes you do."

Marie couldn't be sure, but she thought that, ever so briefly, Agent 4 was looking at her in disgust. She was probably just imagining things. Four hadn't said anything concrete, and Marie wasn't going to give anything away.

"It's pretty sick if you ask me. I don't think I would have 'volunteered' like you keep saying if I knew."

"I don't know what you're even talking about anymore."

"I thought you guys were my friends. Callie at least. But after this? No. Still, I really didn't want to have to do this. I don't *want* to hate you guys but I can't even look at you after all of this. I gave you a chance to do things the easy way."

"Still don't know what this is about." She could feel herself trembling and held her breath to try and stop it. She did know. But she didn't know to what extent.

Four held up the folder keeping it pinched closed. "You. And Callie."

Marie felt her body go cold. She said nothing.

"After you used me it's the least you could do to help support me. Otherwise…" Four fanned the folder back and forth, as if taunting Marie.

"You're bluffing."

"Is that really what you think?"

Marie froze before she tried to speak, mouthing words with no sound and no meaning. She couldn't force a coherent thought, let alone a sentence.

"Are you gonna listen to me now?"

"What d… what's in…there."

"Are you going to listen to me?"

Marie nodded weakly, feeling distinctly as if her life was officially over.

Four opened the folder, pulling out a printed copy of an all too clear image of her and Callie at Tentakeel Outpost, hiding, or so they thought, next to the shack. Marie had her back pressed against it and Callie stood in front of her, kissing her. She felt herself crying, though she still didn't move.

"I have the -rest- of it, too."

"You can't…"

"Give me a reason I shouldn't."

"I… Four–"

"That *isn't* my name."

If she ever did know Agent 4's name, she had no chance of remembering it now. "I'm sorry."

Four pulled out another picture, seemingly just to torment her now, of Callie kneeling down in front of Marie to…

She couldn't look. She felt sick. She felt violated. "Please don't tell Callie about this."

"You're using her too, aren't you."

Marie's head shot up at the accusation. It was one she'd often grappled with herself. Sometimes she did feel like she was just using Callie, despite Callie insisting otherwise. But Callie depended on her so much that it wasn't hard to consider the idea that she only went along with Marie's perversions in order to be taken care of.

"Please don't say that. I'm… I'm not. I wouldn't do that."

"So you're above using people?"

"No– yes– I don't know. What do you want!"

"However much you think this little secret is worth."

Marie blurted out the first response she could think of, body in survival mode. "Ten. Ten percent. Of everything. From today on. Bank accounts. Sales. Appearance fees. All of it."

"Ten percent! Maybe ten percent can be what you keep. Unless, you really don't think this secret is life ruining and you're just being dramatic~." Four was enjoying her first taste of real power over someone a little too much. She seemed as if she'd already forgotten her original intentions for coming here. Things were getting out of hand.

"I - fine, fine fifty. That's my half of everything. The whole. The. The whole brand. The-"

"Aren't you retired? Can't imagine your brand carries much weight anymore. Especially not after this."

"After what? You didn't tell anyone did you? You won't tell if you get what you want, right? That's the deal. Four. This is serious. This is my life we're talking about, it's not just my brand. What do you want, just tell me."

She liked to hear Marie beg, that much was clear by her expression. But Marie was beginning to realize her begging was only spurring her on and making things worse.

"I want you to start by calling me my name."

"I don't know your name!" She said, slamming her hand down on the table, "I never knew your name because you didn't tell me and I. I didn't really see a reason to ask because I thought you were fine with Four. I thought it was. I thought it was just a nickname between us or. Or something I don't know. I thought you liked the agent thing. Three likes the agent thing."

"Bet you don't know Three's name either."

Marie shut up. She didn't know Three's name.

"You're really selfish, y'know that?"

She nodded.

"Everything has always gone right for you, hasn't it? Miss Superstar."

Marie nodded again. The accusation wasn't true, but now wasn't the time to argue or try and correct her.

"Maybe it's time something doesn't go your way. Money's only good for so long, and you have so much of it I'm not sure it'll even matter if you lost some to me."

"Please–" she begged. Maybe she'd wake up from this bad dream soon. "Do you really want to hurt Callie this way too?"

Four shrugged. "Can't be helped."

"Didn't you just say you thought of Callie as your friend? I know I'm not your friend but. But. There's gotta be something. You don't understand what'll happen if you tell people about us."

"Okay, okay, fine. Transfer me…say. 5,000g to start."

Marie only just fought back the urge to say, "that's it? all of this for that little money?" Instead, she fumbled to unlock her phone to give in to Four's demands. She considered doubling it but she feared offending her further by giving off the impression that money really didn't matter to her at such small amounts.

"It's done. Do you promise to stop now?"

Four set the folder down, taking her hands off of it. Marie grabbed it, clutching it to her chest like a stuffed toy, rocking gently with it in her arms to try and calm down.

Agent 4 stood up from the kitchen table, looking down at her with disgust. "Hey, Marie."

Marie didn't answer, seeming to no longer process what was going on around her. Four continued anyway.

"Should have bought the camera from me instead."