Summary: Azul tries once more to get Jamil to consider transferring to Octavinelle. Jamil has a different suggestion.
For Ashenviper Week 2026, Day 1: Dorm
Wordcount: 831
[Posted on Ao3] [see ao3 for extra notes]
“I just think you should take some time to consider it.”
Azul smiled across the table at Jamil, hands folded neatly in front of him. An icy glare stared back at him in response, something Azul had grown very used to and quite fond of with every passing day the two spent together.
Jamil tapped his pen against the papers in front of them — schoolwork for their group project. He wasn’t sure how he’d let Azul convince him to work together on a project that would require seeing more of each other outside of the required class time, but, there they were. “So you’ve said several times now,” he grumbled. “You can’t honestly expect me to leave my position of Vice Housewarden just to come to Octavinelle and be a regular, run-of-the-mill student?”
Azul chuckled. “Oh, you and I both know, titles aside, you're anything but run-of-the-mill, Jamil. Besides, who's to say I’m not in the market for a new vice housewarden, myself? Jade can be oh so troubling, you know.”
Jamil crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah? You’d just toss out everything you’ve worked together to build with the twins without a second thought?”
“I’ll have you know I give all my choices several thoughts. You clearly already have a stellar resume in that regard, after all.”
“…No way. You’re bluffing, for sure.”
Azul’s smile only widened. “Think so?”
“Definitely. You of all people wouldn’t dare crossing the twins so carelessly to make an enemy of them. Either you’re bluffing, or the three of you have some slimy, over-complicated scheme going on behind the scenes.”
“Well, well, how very cautious of you,” Azul said, idly flipping through the pages of the textbook in front of him. “I suppose you are in Scarabia for a reason. Still, you can’t blame me for toying with hypotheticals. Even if I couldn’t risk putting you in the vice housewarden’s seat, I could guarantee you’d be in high ranks. Octavinelle’s students would look to you in the same way they look to Floyd—“
“I don’t want that.”
“—the power may be unofficial, but that doesn’t make it ineffective.”
Jamil rolled his eyes. “…nothing would stop me from challenging you to a housewarden’s duel, you know,” he said, a grin forming on his face. “Maybe I’ll come in and take it all for myself.”
Azul remained undeterred. “Oh? Well, you’re certainly welcome to try. I promise I won’t hold it against you when you lose.”
He winked, and Jamil pretended to be too focused on sipping from his glass of water to notice.
“...At any rate,” Jamil set his glass down and met Azul’s eyes. “I’m not transferring, and I never will. You don’t need to waste your time with your incessant asking. You and I both know it’ll never happen.”
“I can’t help that I’m an ambitious man,” Azul sighed. “But I suppose, for now, I will settle for cherishing our time together as classmates.”
“Ugh…” Jamil leaned on the table and rubbed his temples. “...Can’t you just ask me to dinner or something? Like a normal person?”
Azul, for once, was silent. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his cheeks flushed. He stared at Jamil, who, once again, locked his own stare back down at his glass of water.
“...I… Ahem, uh…” Azul fidgeted with his bowtie, which suddenly felt all too tight. “Is… Is that something you would… Be interested in?”
“Who’s to say?” Jamil asked, a tiny smirk playing on his lips as Azul squirmed. “Maybe I’m just toying with hypotheticals.”
Azul cleared his throat again. “Well. It… Doesn’t have to stay hypothetical, does it? I would say that, ah, dinner plans are far less of an outlandish commitment than transferring dorms, no?”
Jamil shrugged. “Perhaps. I wouldn’t know, seeing as I haven’t been invited.”
Azul frowned as he watched Jamil’s smirk grow wider, realizing that Jamil was in fact relishing in the moment of making Azul spell it out for him… But, some things were worth the temporary moments of humiliation. “How about tonight, then? Stay a while longer, after we finish our work for the evening, and I’ll treat you…?”
Jamil rested his chin in his hand and relished at Azul’s increasingly flustered face. “How generous. I suppose it would be nice not to have to cook for myself tonight. But… I’ll still have to–”
“We’ll put together something extra for you to take home to feed Kalim.”
Jamil closed his eyes and sighed. His shoulders relaxed, and a more genuine smile spread across his face as looked over at Azul again. “You really do prepare for everything, hm?” He reached across the table and gave Azul’s hand a squeeze. “Alright, fine,” he said, as if this whole setup wasn’t literally his own suggestion mere moments ago. “It’s a date.”
Azul let out a sigh of relief. Maybe embarrassing himself for the sake of a genuine request here and there was worth it, sometimes.
Summary: After binge-watching a really solid new anime that Idia recommended to him, Cater fills the post-binge void by delving into the wonderful world of fanfiction.
Word count: 5,521
[Ao3 Link] [See ao3 post for more tags/additional author notes!]
Cater sat atop his bed, eyes glued to his laptop screen as the finale of his most recent anime binge played its way out. The credits rolled as the last few scenes flashed on screen, the ending theme song playing one final time. He pulled his knees to his chest and sighed. What was he supposed to do now? The entire anime was only one season of 12 episodes. 12! One Saturday afternoon turned evening was all that it took to start and finish the anime in its entirety. Cater was lucky that Idia was present and in class that Friday, so he could snag a rec to occupy himself with, but it was hardly enough to carry him through the rest of the weekend. He’d have to wait until Monday to tell Idia – No, no… This was Idia he was talking about. It would be at LEAST a week or so before he’d make another random appearance in the flesh for class.
So who was Cater supposed to talk to in order to unleash all the #FEELINGS that this anime left him with? Maybe he should’ve grabbed Trey and made it a Boy’s Night so he could have SOMEONE to share in the emotional aftermath, but half the reason Cater chose to binge the whole thing in the first place was because all his friends were BUSY!
Well, there was only one thing left to do: Search the hashtags. Maybe some others out there that went through the same stages of just-finished-anime-and-have-no-one-to-talk-to grief made some posts about it that he could fill the void with. After all, it was only… 11pm? Yeah, he could spare just a few more minutes scrolling….
A few minutes, of course, was all it took to send Cater Diamond down the rabbit hole of this cool skateboarding anime’s fanbase. It started with a few reaction videos to some of the harder-hitting, emotionally explosive scenes. Then came cosplay videos – Cater wondered if he should try something like that sometime, with how well these videos seemed to perform. He could definitely put his makeup skills to the test! The cosplay videos then led to meme and favorite scenes compilation videos, and Cater found himself especially drawn to the ones centering around a pair of characters that, in his opinion, had QUITE a hefty dose of subtextual chemistry. A childhood friendship-slash-rivalry lasting into adulthood where the two characters in question acted annoyed as hell with each other, but when the moments mattered most, showed clear devotion, concern, and care for the other? Cater couldn’t deny that he was HOOKED on whatever they had going on, and he was absolutely delighted to scroll through fanmade animations and the like by some VERY passionate and similar-minded fans.
At some point, the algorithm brought him to the recommendations. People in videos and comments sections were posting their “Top 5 Must Read Fanfics”, and Cater was too absorbed at this point to even try resisting his curiosity. To think that there was such a community of fans that loved these characters SO MUCH that they spent so much of their spare time digging so deep into endless scenarios and character studies with them. The lack of a season 2 void was remedied instantly, and Cater was eternally grateful for such a dedicated community.
Through the rest of the weekend, Cater found himself absolutely absorbed by the beautiful world of fanfiction. Any spare moment he had, he was glued to his phone, powering through the next fic on the list of suggestions he’d compiled together in one place. He’d only expected to read a few oneshots, just to see what all the fuss was about, but Cater soon found himself reading more in a few days than he’d typically read over several months. Oneshots, completed multichapter fics, in progress fics – Cater ate it UP.
There was one fanfic in particular, however, that REALLY caught his eye. A fic centered around his two faves and the potential progression of their relationship that Cater was oh-so-obsessed with. It was a LONG fic, and at first, Cater hadn’t thought he wanted to get invested just yet. It was already 15 chapters and several thousands of words long, and still marked as in progress! But, it was one of the fics that kept popping up on just about every rec list that Cater ran into regarding his beloved ship, and Cater knew he was not immune to the hottest trends. If this was THE fic to read, Cater would have to dive in with the rest of the fans. Besides, he was looking for something a little saucier to read up on before bed, and if the tags and overall rating were anything to go off of, this was the fic for him. A promise of equal parts emotional impact and steamy situationships? Sign him up!
And ooohhhhh boy. Oh. Boy. The tags weren’t kidding. This author knew what they were doing and left no stone unturned when it came to exploring the depths of these characters and their bond with each other. Cater didn’t know a single work of fiction could be so emotionally packed AND really hot, but he was learning a lot about himself and fan culture this weekend, wasn’t he?
Cater, of course, also knew the benefits of #engagement. For every fic he’d read so far, he’d made sure to leave a comment. Multi chapter fics such as this were no exception, of course, and as he read through each chapter, he’d leave his thoughts before going onto the next. Something short as to not wear on his already depleting energy tank for the night, but just enough for the author to relish in that sweet, sweet engagement.
Omg, i’m soooo hyped to finally sit and read this legendary fic I’ve heard so much about!! Ch1 is already soooo promising✨ can’t wait to see the rest!
Lmao these two are soooo silly but I can’t get over the #TENSION!!! Ugh you write them SO WELL. i feel like i’m watching an extended cut of the show lmao <3
Oooohhhh,. 😳😳😳 I think I’ll see vivid scenes from this chap in my dreams tonight lol 😍 🔥
Ahhh!!! AHHH!!!! How dare you play w/my heart like this 😭 the DRAMA!!! THE ANGST!!!! I can’t get enough. Please keep playing w/my heart like this. The catharsis is so good.
Omg no WAYYYY I can’t already be caught up 💔💔💔 plz don’t tell on me but i totes stayed up laaaate binging this all in one sitting even tho i have classes in the morning lol. I’m OBSESSED and I have email notifs ON. I WILL be seated the moment i see an update from you in my inbox 😙
Shortly after typing out the comment to the latest chapter of said fic, Cater finally set his phone aside and fell asleep.
–
Idia Shroud waking up to ten billion emails (okay, maybe that number was a SLIGHT exaggeration) from his fanfiction hosting website of choice that morning was not how he intended to start the day. Sure, getting comments on the fics he published wasn’t unusual, but he hardly ever experienced such large bursts of comments in short succession of each other. It seemed that a user by the name of L8NightLurker went through and binged his latest in-progress fic, and decided to leave their thoughts along the way, enthusiasm growing with each comment.
Idia snickered to himself as he began typing away at a reply on his tablet. It was nice to be appreciated. He had, of course, made sure to write these fics under a pseudonym separate from his gamer tag or any other online usernames he used. Despite his lack of relationship experience IRL, some of his fics could get a bit… Spicy. He decided it was best to keep this hobby under lock and key, and entrust only the most worthy with said hypothetical key! …So, no one. No one other than the equally anonymous reader base he’d accumulated over the years.
thx for reading. Ur secret’s safe with me, considering the sunrise was my signal to go to bed the last few times I worked on my wips LOL. And if u liked chapter 5 that much, just wait for the one that’s coming next…
In the time it took for Idia to set his tablet down, go to the bathroom, come back, and power his computer on, he’d already had another comment reply from the new reader.
Omgggg. You’re such a tease~♥️please tell me the next ch is coming soon 🙏🙏🙏
Idia gasped. Since when were his fellow nerds so bold?! He was glad he had a room to himself, so no one would bear witness to his rapidly flushing face. As he logged remotely into class for the first day, he side eyed the folder housing his active wip for the next chapter. It was almost done, and he was planning on getting through it the following weekend, but….
Consider myself enabled… check back tonight and there might be an update waiting just for you ;)
The replay, once again, arrived nearly instantly.
😍😍😍 my life is in your hands 😘
THREE heart eyes emojis? AND a kissy face?! The pressure was certainly on now, but Idia had to have faith in himself as a writer. After all, the average fan did not spend nearly as much time analyzing and thinking about the characters as often as he did. He’d have to really lock in after classes today to grind out that next chapter. His reputation with a random stranger on the internet was at stake!
-
That night, Cater leapt off the kitchen counter he was previously sitting upon with a gasp. “OH my god…! Sexy SenchaBloom fic update email!”
Riddle turned around and shot Cater a puzzled look. “W… What?”
Trey laughed, remaining unfazed where he stood by the stove, keeping his eyes focused on the pot of chocolate he was stirring. “Cater’s gotten really into some online stories about a show Idia recommended to him. He’s been waiting for an email to come through about it all day.”
“I see…”
“Sorry boys, no time to explain!” Cater called over his shoulder, already halfway out the door. “I gotta get reading right NOW! I can totes introduce you to the show later, though. Let’s plan a dorm watch party!”
Party planning would have to wait, though; Cater had a fic update to read ASAP. The author really did come through on their promise to update that same day, so the least Cater could do was prioritize his new favorite author just as much! And if the rest of their promise was anything to go off of, this was the type of chapter that Cater would want to read in the complete and total privacy of his own room.
And, wouldn’t you know? The author really did make good on that promise, too. Cater’s cheeks grew warmer with every word he read, gasping in shock at every other line. It was hard to believe that he could be reading something SO quality, and for FREE?!
UUUGHHH OH MY GODDDD this is like soooo much better than I could’ve EVERRRRRR imagined 💕😍🤤 Your mind is so huge. I’m glad my school has private rooms bc omggg i’m blushing soooo hard rn 😳🥰
The author must have still been at their computer from when they published and seen Cater’s quick comment, because mere minutes later, he received a reply.
Hehe. a true warrior never disappoints his most loyal of readers!!! I mean… you just got here lol. But you commented on every chap so in my book that puts you in the high ranks.
Cater giggled to himself. Being praised by such an incredible author felt almost as exciting as reading the story itself. If only the fanfic site had a DM feature… The two of them could probably chat forever about their endless headcanons of this ship, and maybe Cater could luck into some sneak peaks of the next chapter!
But, for now, Cater would have to resign himself to the occasional comment threads that the two of them kept up with on every chapter update through the next few weeks.
-
“Oh my god, I NEED to talk to you, Idia!” Cater chirped, practically skipping over and clinging to Idia’s side, causing Idia to let out a startled squeak.
“WH– HUH– C-Cater?!” Idia’s shoulders tensed up. This normie jumpscare was happening far too early in the morning for his liking. He hadn’t been to an in-person class for several weeks, and the very moment he had to come in for mandatory attendance, the world’s most intense party boy locked onto him instantly. Just his luck! It didn't exactly help that he was extra tired from staying up late the night before to finish writing the next chapter of his fic…“Wh- What do you want!?”
“I’ve been DYING to chat with you about the anime you suggested to me! You have some explaining to do, you know!”
Oh, no. Idia’s palms grew sweaty, and his throat tightened. Cater was coming at him SO intensely. Did he seriously hate Idia’s suggestion that much?! Was he here to fight with Idia because he was offended that Idia thought he’d like something just because it had skateboards in it? Ugh, he was SO cooked. Cater seemed like a friendly guy on the surface, but Idia had been around plenty to see how lowkey scary he could be when someone crossed him! But… Well, wasn’t it really CATER’S fault if his taste was so basic and bland that he couldn’t see the sheer genius of the works of art that Idia took the time to recommend to him?! Cater was the one that got in his space and practically DEMANDED Idia give him a suggestion to keep him busy that weekend, so who was he to–
“I’m, like, SO obsessed with it!” Cater said, beaming his perfect and blinding smile up at Idia. “Seriously, you couldn’t have picked a better show. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I’ve had no one to get hyped with for WEEKS! How could you just drop this stellar bomb on me and then dip out for so long, leaving me hanging like that?!”
…Oh. Right. Well, of course Cater would like Idia’s suggestion. Idia did not waste time on sub-par anime, after all.
“...H-have you heard the bonus drama CD story…?”
Cater gasped. “Oh my god, you don’t happen to have a copy, do you?! One of the fanfics I wanted to read said it was referencing that AU or whatever, but I couldn’t find an upload ANYWHERE, and it looked so pricey.”
It was Idia’s turn to gasp. “F-f-fanfics?!” Where could a normie like Cater have heard a word like that?!
“Oh, a fanfic is where the fans write their own fiction stories about–”
“No, no, no,” Idia rapidly shook his head, “you don’t need to– I know what fanfiction is!” He’d been writing fanfic since he was, like, six, but Cater didn’t need to know that. He’d no doubt start asking invasive questions like ‘Omg, what did you write about?’ and ‘That’s so cute, do you still have any? Can I see?!’ And Idia absolutely did NOT want to deal with that right now.
“Oh, great, because I absolutely NEED to share some recs with you!” Cater continued, pulling out his phone and opening a checklist of fic titles. “Hey, are you into the SenchaBloom ship? I think, like, 80% of my rec list is about them…” He grinned, bumping his elbow against Idia’s shoulder. “Surely Idia’s got good taste, right?”
Idia sputtered. “Pfft- Wh-Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course I like SenchaBloom. I have eyes.”
Cater laughed, looking absolutely delighted in both Idia’s confirmation and the fact that he was responding so enthusiastically to Cater – responding to him at all, really. “I knew it! Oh, then you’ve absolutely GOT to read this one. It’s still a fic-in-progress, but I promise that every chapter’s sooo worth the wait.”
Idia’s jaw practically DROPPED when Cater turned his phone around, and he saw his own work (in progress) of art staring back at him.
“It’s literally my favorite!” Cater rambled on, blissfully ignorant of the utter inner turmoil going through Idia’s head at the current moment. “The author has SUCH a way with words, both in the story and the comments section. They’re lowkey a bit of a flirt, and if that’s a marketing tactic, it’s TOTALLY working on me.”
Idia gasped, and then started immediately coughing from said dramatic gasp drying out his throat.
“Woah!” Cater pat Idia a few times on the back, attempting to soothe the coughing fit. “You’re excited too, right?! I understand. It’s SO good. Let me know what you think when you get around to reading it!”
Idia took a breath, finding himself silently, awkwardly nodding in response. What else was he supposed to do!? He already didn’t like the idea of his regular schmegular classmates knowing anything about his fanfiction writing hobby in general, and now Cater was standing in front of him, asking about one of his not-quite-safe-for-work secret fics. Sure, he considered it one of his highest quality works, in terms of the fanfiction realm, but he and Cater were NOT anywhere NEAR that friendship level of trust yet! They probably NEVER would be! Cater wouldn’t ever understand. He’d probably think Idia was a cringe-ass weirdo loser for spending time hunched in front of his laptop, shrouded in darkness, typing away alone in his room about silly fictional characters kissing each other and crying about their feelings or whatever.
…Then again… Wasn’t Cater LITERALLY standing in front of him and GUSHING about how much he liked READING the story? And… Wait, what was that thing Cater said moments ago? About the author being a flirt?
“...Um… So,” Idia mumbled, staring down at his feet. “W-When did you say you started reading that fic?”
“Like, a day or two after you told me about the show! I went on a total craze with finding fics that weekend. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and you KNOW I turned email notifs on for any and all future updates.”
No… No way… The timing synced up too perfectly for Idia to deny that Cater Diamond from IRL was more than likely his new, VERY enthusiastic reader… L8NightLurker himself!
His face turned red as he remembered all the comments that probably sounded cool and mysterious when said by an anonymous stranger writing the sexy fic of your dreams, but utterly cringeworthy when they came from your total shut in freak of a classmate, Idia Shroud!
No, no, no. Cater couldn’t know. Not now. Not like this. Not face to face!
“I… I’ve gotta go!” Idia squeaked, turning to escape.
“Huh? oh, right! We’ve gotta get to class,” Cater smiled, scooting right back over to Idia’s side, dead-set on walking with him the whole way.
Right… For a moment, Idia forgot this wasn’t a random chance encounter with Cater, but they were in fact in a scripted event, called “we are classmates and are in fact going to the same scheduled location right now.”
“Besides,” Cater continued, clearly not getting the hint that Idia was trying to escape moments ago, “fanfic aside, I’m still waiting to hear your thoughts on the actual show! C’mon, I NEED to talk to someone about the absolute GUT PUNCH that was that last scene in episode seven! Like, HELLO!?”
“PFFFT.” Anxiety cancelled. Idia had anime related thoughts to say. “You think you were in agony? Try having watched every episode AS IT AIRED. We had to wait a whole WEEK after that cliffhanger.”
Cater gasped in horror at the very idea of lacking the option to binge watch an entire show with each episode readily on-demand. “No…!”
Idia grinned at Cater’s reaction. “Oh, yeah. Us diehard, early days fans were in the TRENCHES.”
Cater giggled, and before they knew it, the two of them were deep in a conversation about their favorite scenes and characters from the show. They walked side by side to the rest of their classes together, and by the end of the day, Idia nearly forgot he’d been talking to the normie to end all normies.
“Ugh, I just wish I could find that drama CD you mentioned earlier!” Cater sighed. “The guy that wrote my fave fanfic I was telling you about ALSO wrote a oneshot based on the plot from the CD, and as tempted as I am to just read it on its own and figure it out as I go, I really REALLY wanna have that extra context. Plus, more content to binge is always fun, right?”
Idia flushed, once again reminded that Cater was in fact unknowingly talking about a story HE wrote. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of Cater reading MORE of his work, now that Idia was AWARE of the fact, but… Well, it was pretty nice having someone he could talk to about one of his current favorite shows…
“...Y’know, i-if you wanted to, uh…” Idia mumbled, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and averting his gaze. The tips of his fiery hair glinted pink, but Idia pretended not to notice. “We could, uh… I ha–”
“Oh, what’s this?” The obnoxiously smooth voice of Azul Ashengrotto jumpscared both Idia and Cater, as the boy himself practically materialized out of nowhere – probably lurking behind a tree and listening like an nosey WEIRDO, Idia thought. “Cater and Idia, talking together in the courtyard, WITHOUT Idia completely cowering in fear? What an odd sight to behold!”
Any anxiety Idia had about offering to lend Cater his CD was completely overwritten with annoyance as he turned to glare at the INTRUDER approaching them. “Ugh… Club doesn’t meet for another three hours, Azul. Are you that eager for me to come kick your ass at our next game?”
“Oh, please,” Azul rolled his eyes, though the smirk never left his lips. “I’m a plenty patient man. I’ll deliver your defeat on time, thank you. I actually wanted to talk to Cater…”
“Who, me?” Cater looked up from his phone, having gotten distracted scrolling on Magicam in the mere seconds it took Azul to derail his and Idia’s conversation. “What’s up? Is this about Riddle?”
“No, no, nothing of the sort,” Azul said, smiling in that obnoxious, clearly up-to-something way that made Idia’s and half the student body’s skin crawl. “I just couldn’t help but overhear your conversation just now. You said you were in search of something rather hard to find… a ‘drama CD’, was it?”
Idia gasped, and the mischievous grin that Azul shot him for a split second did NOT go unnoticed.
“Oh, yeah!” Cater nodded, pulling up the CD on a quick search to show Azul. “This one– It’s like, sold out EVERYWHERE, and the only places I’ve been able to find it are upcharge to a CRAZY amount by resellers. Super not in Cay-Cay’s budget, that’s for sure. A total bummer!”
“Well, don’t you worry,” Azul continued, patting Cater’s arm sympathetically. “My associates and I would love to lend you our assistance. Jade happens to be particularly adept at acquiring items that are less than easy to come by, you know.”
“Oh, yeah!” Cater nodded. “I think I remember Vil mentioning he helped him find a super fancy pair of shoes once that were, like, nearly impossible to get your hands on, normally! You guys got a secret plug or something over at Octavinelle?!”
Azul chuckled, and Idia felt his seething rage hitting its boiling point. “Don’t you worry about the details. We’d be happy to work something out with you.” He slid his hand to Cater’s back, and turned to guide him away from where Idia stood. “Why don’t you come back with me to my office, and we’ll–”
“NO!” Idia shrieked, surprising both Azul and Cater – as well as himself, a little. “Ugh, Azul, go bother someone else with your slimy salesman pitches!” Idia marched in front of the pair and grasped Cater by the hand, pointing across the courtyard with the other. “Lookit, Jamil and Riddle are standing over there, minding their own business. Take your smug face and go ruin their day, instead!”
“Wh– Excuse me!?” Azul huffed, offended by Idia’s suggestion, but glancing off to the side like he hadn’t entirely ruled out the idea of going to bother Riddle and Jamil next. “And what about our dear friend Cater’s dilemma? I only want to help–!”
“Got it COVERED,” Idia shouted, beginning to walk away, Cater in tow. “He can watch it FOR FREE in MY ROOM, thank you VERY MUCH!”
Idia and Cater skedaddled away from Azul before he could protest any further, and before Idia could lose his resolve.
“Oh, wow, Idia,” Cater chirped, happily following alongside Idia. “I didn’t know you could be so assertive! Hehe, you saved me the hassle of having to talk my way out of a classic Azul scheme, didn’t you?”
“Pshh, i-if I know anything about Azul, it’s that he’s way easier to handle if you either piss him off, or get away from him before he gets too deep in his slimy schemes.”
“Aww, my hero~”
Idia’s breath caught in his throat at Cater’s clearly teasing tone, and doubly so at the gentle squeeze Cater gave his hand – Oh, fuck, were they still holding hands?! Should he let go… Or would that make things worse? Were people staring at them on the way to the mirrors, hand in hand like that? Did Cater squeeze Idia’s hand because he was actually trying to subtly say LET ME GO YOU GROSS WEIRDO?!
Well, it was too late to worry about any of that, because they were already at Ignihyde’s mirror.
“...A-After you….?” Idia mumbled, letting Cater’s hand slide out of his own and gesturing for Cater to step through the mirror first.
“Aww, such a gentleman,” Cater winked, hopping into the portal without hesitation. Idia let out an anxious breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in, and then followed him through.
It wasn’t until they got into Idia’s room that Idia realized he’d made several mistakes. First being that he’d just invited a super hot normie party boy into his GAMER CAVE – his bedroom – without a second thought. He hadn’t cleaned. Sure, Ortho still lectured him when he let too much clutter pile up, but now that his brother lived in a different dorm room with other first years, the reminders were less frequent, and so was the cleaning. There was a RAMEN WRAPPER on the FLOOR!
“Oh, I love that brand!” Cater said, pointing to said offending wrapper on the floor. “Nice and spicy, right?”
“H– Wh– Um…!” Idia quickly ducked down and scooped the wrapper off the floor. “Y… Yeah…”
It was seconds later that Idia realized his other, potentially way more fatal, mistake. He tossed the wrapper in the nearest, overflowing trash can, and went to retrieve the CD. “Uh, you can… S-sit anywhere, um… I’ll pop this into my PC and we can–”
He turned around, finding Cater standing in front of the computer, eyes glued to the monitor. Cater gasped, pointing at the screen.
“That’s the fic! The one I told you about! You DO know it!”
Idia’s eyes flew wide open in absolute horror. Oh, no. Oh NOOOO. See, normally, Idia was pretty good about powering down his PC before he left for the day – the rare times he left at all – but he’d set his PC to stay on and run some game updates through the day. No biggie, normally, considering he had a room to himself. But now? Right now?! He’d not only decided on a whim to be uncharacteristically bold and invite his cute classmate over – this was all AZUL’S fault, by the way – but he’d ALSO, so very inconveniently, just so happened to leave open the fanfic work-in-progress that he was writing that very morning! One monitor, displaying the already published, latest chapter, out and in the open for anyone in the room to see. His account name displayed proudly at the top, the large EDIT CHAPTER button accompanying it a few lines down, practically serving as a red arrow pointing straight at Idia himself, as if to say “Here he is! This guy, right here! IDIA SHROUD WROTE THIS FANFICTION!!!”
And on the other monitor, nail-in-the-coffin, was his draft document, the next chapter, still in its baby stages. Not approved to be seen by human eyes other than Idia’s himself.
And yet, Cater’s human eyes were LOCKED ON. Unless Idia could get Cater to the Lethe River and rewrite his memory RIGHT NOW, there was nothing that could be done to undo this horrible blunder. No, Idia was COOKED. It was SO over.
“Idia… Oh my god… the legendary fic writer was you? Like, for real!?” Cater covered his mouth, CLEARLY an act of horror and disgust, of course. “OMG– Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“Aahh… AHHHH….!!!” Idia shrieked, fumbling with the CD and hurriedly placing it on the desk before it could become collateral damage in his unavoidable freak-out moment. He grabbed his jacket hood and tugged it over his eyes, turning his back to Cater and hunching his shoulders. “I-I-I’m sorry!” Idia sputtered, face heading up and hair flowing wildly around him. “Y-You totally sprung it on me unexpectedly this morning! Like, what was I supposed to say?! ‘Uh, yeah, that guy that wrote about our fave characters sucking face and lowkey flirting with you over the comments section every update? That’s me, babe.’ HELL NO! Ugh, just leave me to shrivel up in the corner and die now, plz…”
Thankfully, Cater had a PHD in keeping cool and defusing meltdown situations such as these. And, perhaps, the lock of shock from moments ago was not as laced with horror or disgust as previously assumed by Idia, as instead of running and screaming out of Idia’s room, Cater slowly walked up beside him, and gave his hood a gentle tap.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Idia!” He said, offering a smile. “C’mon, pull that hood down and lemme see your face.”
“N… No…”
Cater sighed, choosing instead to reach for Idia’s hands. He laced their fingers together, and slowly guided Idia across the room and pulled him down to sit on the edge of the bed together. “...Y’know, Idia,” Cater continued, idly twirling a lock of his hair, “I didn’t know you could chat like how you did in our comment threads. You’re secretly pretty bold, huh~?”
Idia squeaked, feeling Cater move closer to push the hood off his eyes. “I–!”
“And don’t get me started on the writing of the fic itself! You really have such a way with words… Just how many hidden talents do you have?”
Idia’s brain was on fire, unable to compute half the things Cater was saying, what with how half his processing power was still churning over the utter humiliation of mere moments ago. Was he making fun of him?! …Well, he DID say how much he liked the fic BEFORE he knew the author was Idia…
“Hey,” Cater smiled up at Idia, batting his eyelashes up at him so-very-sweetly. “You wanna give your fave new reader a sneak peek of the next chapter?”
“WHA?! Y-You can’t just come in here and flirt your way into getting early access content!”
Cater giggled, linking his arms with Idia’s and dropping his head onto his shoulder. “Aw, can’t I? What If I ask sooo nicely and am really cute about it, huh? You posted a chapter early for me, didn’t you? So what’s a quick little lookie gonna hurt? Pleeeaaase~?”
Idia feared if this conversation continued in this direction any longer, then he would pass out right then and there onto the floor, which would both be embarrassing on its own AND give Cater full, free access to his PC to read any and all of his unpublished WIPs. For the sake of his dignity, that could not happen.
He stood up, using all of his willpower to pull out of his hot classmate’s clutches. “W-We came here to listen to the drama CD, didn’t we?! I-if you can stay on task like a TRUE FAN, then… Um…” Idia glanced at Cater’s expectant, smiling face, and then turned away to fumble with the CD once more. “M-Maybe I’ll… r-reward you b-by letting you… Be my b-beta reader…?”
Cater, who only recently learned what those words meant through context clues during his fanfic expeditions, threw his hands in the air and cheered. “WOO, yay! Oh my god, you’ve got a DEAL!”
Idia breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the CD made its way into his PC, and the story began. Idia shuffled his way back to the bed, where Cater pulled him close, resting his head on his shoulder once more as the two settled in to relax and indulge in their latest favorite fixation together.
Summary: Azul and the twins are attending their elementary school's class reunion, and Azul has, unexpectedly, gotten Jamil to agree to come with him as his date.
[this fic takes place some vague time after book 4, and there is a small reference made to the coral sea eternity float event]
Word count: 2,933
[Read on Ao3 for more tags/notes]
Azul did not ever, in a million years, expect to be where he was right now.
When he first brought his dilemma up to Jamil, Azul expected at most that his classmate would simply laugh in his face, hurl a few insults at him, and then walk away. Their usual procedure, of course.
He told Jamil of the school reunion party to be hosted back down at the Coral Sea, and that he, Floyd, and Jade were planning to attend. If Azul showed up with an impressive date by his side and a slew of successful business stories, he really could stick it to those former classmates and show them just how well he was doing for himself these days.
…A pipe dream, really. At least, the impressive date part was far-fetched, but Azul had plenty of successful business stories to share, of course!
“So, all I’d ask is for you to pretend for an evening with me,” Azul said, bracing himself for the inevitable bite from Jamil’s incoming scorn. “I would supply you with a potion to allow you to breathe underwater, of course, and you’d be compensated for your time.”
There was absolutely no way in hell Jamil would agree to such a ridiculous request, obviously, but Azul would be lying if he said he didn't get a little thrill from making the attempts. After all, he–
“How much?”
“…What?” Azul stared blankly at Jamil, wondering if he misheard.
“How much?” Jamil repeated. “You mentioned compensation. “What would I get out of it?”
“Um. Well…” Azul blinked a few times, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Jamil to play along before the part where he rejected him. “Your next five meals at Mostro Lounge would be free…?”
“Hm.” Jamil crossed his arms and tilted his head. “…Make it ten.”
“Ten?”
“Ten free meals, and I’ll do it.”
And so, that was how Azul found himself at his school reunion under the sea, with Jamil Viper snuggled up at his side. The Leech twins, of course, made knowing, annoying faces at Azul in the distance the entire time.
Azul did his best to ignore them.
Jamil was, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, doing a really good job at playing the part of Boyfriend™. He had gotten rather skilled at the art of pretending at just about anything for most of his life. Sure, Azul may have been suspicious of his facade early on, long before the whole overblot incident occurred, but he was used to observing people and searching for cracks in their outer presentation. Jamil fascinated him, so of course he was going to notice when any little thing he did wasn’t adding up as expected.
To the common merman in this present moment, however, Jamil’s performance seemed as convincing and natural as ever. They didn’t know or understand Jamil to the depths that Azul did, after all.
Still, the act was still surprising to Azul, who was used to nothing but Jamil’s apathetic, sarcastic comments and eye rolls. Experiencing a more affectionate side of Jamil was… Bizarre. It was nice, of course… But bizarre nonetheless. Like something was missing.
That being said, it certainly didn’t feel bad to have Jamil’s arms draped around his shoulders, or to hear the little compliments he’d aim at Azul when making small talk with Azul’s old classmates.
“Damn, Azul,” one of said classmates approached the two of them and eyed Jamil. “So it is true! You really showed up with a hot boyfriend from the surface?”
Azul coughed a few times, startled by such a blunt comment, but nodded. “Ah, y-yes, I’m rather lucky, aren’t I?” The tips of his tentacles swished and fidgeted as he spoke, but thankfully, people were too focused on the new and pretty guy on the scene to notice.
“Hey, tell us how you met!” Another classmate interjected. “I wanna hear all about how someone like you managed to score a guy like that!”
Azul stiffened. He didn’t exactly like the many implications of that statement, and he thought he felt Jamil tense up against him as well…
But if he did, Jamil didn’t show it in his expression, nor his voice as he spoke. “We met as first years,” he smiled. “Azul left quite an unforgettable impression on us all rather quickly, I’d say.”
“Mm, yes,” Azul felt himself relax slightly with how well Jamil retained his poise and control. “I remember the first time I laid eyes on Jamil… I thought he was the most beautiful boy I’d ever seen, both on land and in the sea. I couldn't take my eyes off him, and I so badly wanted him to look my way. I’ve quite literally craved his attention ever since.”
Azul elected to ignore the stifled laughter of the twins, and allowed their sounds to be drowned out by the chorus of Awws from their nearby classmates.
Jamil hesitated before speaking, his hold on Azul tightening a little and his gaze averting downward. “…It… may have taken me some time to warm up to Azul.” Jamil’s words were quiet, yet firm. He really did an excellent job at finding a balance of playing coy, yet self-assured. “But, one thing about him that always stood out to me was just as he said: He looked at me.”
Jamil slid one of his hands up along the side of Azul’s face and tangled his fingers in the strands of hair that floated through the water around Azul’s head. “He paid attention to me, when I’d spent years of my life blending into the background, keeping my head down. He noticed me for who I was and saw through the walls I’d built up, whenever I thought I wanted him to or not.”
His hand moved back down to cup Azul’s cheek, tilting his face towards Jamil and locking their eyes together, as if they were having a private conversation amongst this room of dozens of merfolk watching them. “He’s seen me at my absolute worst – my complete and total rock bottom – and even then, he still stubbornly insisted he wanted to be around me any chance that he got. I don’t think anyone could blame me for falling for him the way that I did.”
Azul had never wanted to lean forward and kiss Jamil more than he did right now. It was hard not to do just that, right then and there, but he had to remind himself Jamil was only acting.
Still… the intense way Jamil looked into his eyes while he spoke such things was doing a number on Azul’s heart.
“...I… Um…” Azul mumbled, forgetting for a moment that they were surrounded by an audience, instead getting lost in the pair of clear and beautiful eyes staring back at him.
“Wow, just like the stories of the princess and the prince, huh?” A classmate cooed. “Hey, do you think you’ll do the Eternity Float together someday, too!?”
“Oho?” Jade took this as his cue to reappear beside the pair, snapping their gazes apart from each other as he grinned at them. “Why, of course they will. After all, they are so lucky to be close friends with two tenderhearted moray eels such as Floyd and myself, who would love nothing more than to help out with their trial of love… Wouldn’t you agree, Floyd?”
“Ehehe, sure thing, Jade,” Floyd glided through the water onto the other side of Jamil and Azul. “Jade ‘n I’ll be sure to give your boat a lucky capsizing, so look forward to it, okay?”
Jamil’s eyebrows twitched for a fraction of a second, resisting the urge to scowl at the familiar sound of tweel tomfoolery.
Azul swatted at the two of them with his nearest tentacles. “Oh, you two… Aren’t you sweet…” He cleared his throat, offering a dazzling smile to the crowd. “Well, we have quite a bit of time before we would have to start thinking of such a thing. No need to rush when we have all the time in the world together, don’t you agree?”
“Hm…” Jamil rested his head against Azul’s shoulder. “Yeah. Plenty of time.”
Finally, after a few more rounds of questions, the crowd around Azul and his “date” began to thin. The merfolk spread back out to go mingle with their old friends, and the twins kept themselves entertained doing god knows what. Perhaps Azul and Jamil could ease up on the ruse now that less eyes were on them, but… Well, Azul wanted his money’s worth. A nice chat over some of the snacks wouldn't be such a tall ask, right?
“Why don’t we go over to the–“
“Let’s get out of here.”
Azul’s request was cut short, interrupted by Jami’s sudden suggestion. “Wh– Excuse me?” Azul furrowed his brows in confusion. “I do believe you agreed to be my date for the entire duration of the evening, no?”
Jamil’s gaze avoided Azul, but he hadn’t let up on his grip once. “…I didn’t say the date was over. It’s just… crowded. Let’s go somewhere more private. Just for a bit.”
“Private…?” Azul repeated.
“AUGH- Floyd, stop squeezing us!”
The sound of disgruntled classmates and the unleashed rowdy eel behavior was the final cue both Azul and Jamil needed to get the hell out of there before the mischief became their problem.
“Come on, this way,” Azul whispered, a tentacle slithering around Jamil’s waist to help guild him along through the ocean, just far enough out of the way, out of view…
“In here, I saw it on our way over.”
An old octopus pot sat nestled in the sand among the sand and sea plants along the ocean floor. The opening was just big enough for Jamil to slip inside, and Azul’s boneless lower half easily squeezed inside behind them. It was a dark, tight, close fit…
And that’s how Azul found himself, against all odds, hidden away in close quarters with his school crush squeezed up against him.
“Ah, um… Please excuse my… Tentacles…” Azul mumbled, very conscious of how little room there was and just how much of his tentacles were bumping against Jamil.
“It’s fine…” Jamil said, accepting his fate to be nestled in amongst Azul and his tangle of tentacles. “So… Is all this what it takes just to get a moment alone with you?”
“The reunion did get a bit livelier than I expected,” Azul admitted, “but if you needed a breather, I'm sure we could have stepped away sooner.”
“...That’s not what I meant,” Jamil sighed. “Surely, I don’t have to spell it out for you? Not after all that?”
Azul’s heartbeats rapidly increased. Was Jamil messing with him? Of course he was. There was no way in hell he’d ever return Azul’s affections, and no amount of playing house with him was going to delude Azul into thinking otherwise!
“...Are you going to say anything?” Jamil pressed further. “Or am I just making a fool of myself tonight?”
“Well, if it comes down to me or you, I’m not about to let you have the upper hand with your little jokes,” Azul mumbled, “but, I suppose I can still admit that you put on quite a convincing show out there. Your details were… Rather convincing. You are quite skilled at coming up with things like that on the spot–”
“You’re a fucking idiot, Azul.”
An involuntary gasp of complete and utter shock exited Azul’s lips. “What?! Just where in the world did that come from?”
“What do you think?” The ever familiar snark that Azul had come to be so familiar with was back in Jamil’s voice with full swing. “Are you seriously so dense that you think I was doing and saying all that just so your classmates would be impressed?”
“Well… Yes!” Azul huffed. “We had a deal!”
“Oh, for the love of…” Jamil pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an annoyed sigh. “You and your damn deals. Do you honestly think that ten free meals is all it would take for me to come all this way and hang off your arm in front of a bunch of people so you can show off?!”
Azul’s tentacles squirmed within the confines of the pot. “…Well, yes. It would certainly save you a lot of time and energy for each meal. Are you saying you intended on trying to squeeze out more than we agreed upon—?”
“NO!” Jamil hissed. “Jeeze, why is it you of all people? If this stupid exchange isn’t enough to make me change my mind, then I really am doomed.”
At this rate, Azul felt he might win a gold medal for the Denial Olympics. Still, he sure as hell wasn’t about to risk suggesting what he thought Jamil was trying to imply — if Azul was wrong, he’d never live it down. Ever.
That was, until he realized Jamil had now turned away from him — as much as he could in the small space, anyway — and curled up into himself, leaning against the dark wall of the pot, framed only by the faint shadows of tentacles floating in the water around him.
“…Whatever,” Jamil muttered. “This was stupid. We should just go back home.”
Carefully, hesitantly, Azul moved the tip of one of his tentacles to the side of Jamil’s face. “Jamil, wait… Let’s discuss this like adults, shall we?”
Jamil attempted to swat away the tentacle cupping his face, only to give up when he found that the underwater resistance made such an act too difficult. “Shut the hell up. If you think I’m being childish, then just–”
“No, no,” Azul hurriedly added. “What I mean is… It’s not like you to be so indirect. Not when you’re talking to me, at the very least. Usually you have no problem giving me a rather blunt piece of your mind, should the situation call for it.”
“So what?”
“So, let’s hear it.” The faint light from the octopus pot’s entryway just barely illuminated the grin on Azul’s face. It was just enough to be visible, but not enough for Jamil to be able to tell if the nature of such a smile leaned more sincere, or mocking.
Still, the touch of a second tentacle coming up to cup the other side of his face urged him to consider the former. Azul cradled his face so delicately, so gently. Sure, he could just be lulling Jamil into a false sense of security before utterly ripping his heart out, but…
Fuck it. At least if Azul chose to humiliate him here and now, there would be no other witnesses, and Jamil would finally have the cursed secret out of his system.
“...You heard what I said before,” Jamil mumbled, his voice much quieter now. He sounded like he was pouting. “But if you’re so insistent, then fine. I like you, Azul. I like you a lot, and I meant everything I said to your old classmates about how I feel about you.”
Azul’s breath caught in his throat. Sure, he did just ask Jamil to be direct and honest with him, but hearing the words spoken out loud and in the real world – unlike the dreams that Azul may or may not have heard them in once or twice before – was a unique and surreal experience. He had to wonder if perhaps he was, in fact, dreaming. Maybe he’d nodded off after sneaking into the pot with Jamil, and he was about to be slapped awake at any moment.
“...If you don’t say anything in the next five seconds, I will kill you.” Jamil whispered, his voice sounding a perfect mix of irritated and anxious. He gripped one of the tentacles that cupped his face and gave it a squeeze – Out of anger or fear, Azul wasn’t sure.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t dreaming.
“Jamil… Oh, Jamil…” The two tentacles on either side of Jamil’s face gently pulled him closer towards Azul – not that there was much space between them to begin with. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed about – I mean, how long I’ve hoped you would one day say such a thing to me…”
No more words. Their foreheads touched, then their noses, then their lips. Jamil once again wrapped his arms around Azul’s shoulders and allowed their bodies to rest flush against each other as they lost themselves in their first kiss. The remainder of Azul’s tentacles that could reach wasted no time in wrapping themselves around Jamil and holding him close, as if Jamil might float away from Azul forever if he did not hold on for dear life.
Still, Jamil showed absolutely no sign of leaving his rightful spot in Azul’s arms any time soon. In fact, the only reason they pulled back from their kiss at all was when they heard Floyd Leech’s voice cut through the silence of the night.
“Sea Snakey… Azul… Where ya hidin’, huh? Jade ‘n I are gettin’ boooored~”
…
“Ah…” Azul whispered, “I suppose we ought to get out there…?”
“Mm… No.”
“No?”
“No,” Jamil repeated. “We had a deal, didn’t we? I’m to act as your perfect date until the night is over.” He pressed a kiss to Azul’s cheek. “It’s not over just yet, is it?”
“You make a valid point…” Azul said, leaning in once more. “I don’t suppose you would be open to negotiations on extending your contract beyond tonight?”
Jamil snorted. “I’ll think about it.”
Such an answer was good enough for Azul, and the two fell back into another kiss, grateful to be tucked privately away in their own little pocket of the night.
He Is Not the Ideal Prince Charming [Riddle/Deuce]
Summary: Riddle contemplates his new relationship with Deuce, and wonders what his mother might think when the day finally comes for him to tell her about it.
Wordcount: 1,726
[Ao3 Link] [See Ao3 for additional tags and notes!]
Riddle’s boyfriend is nothing like he ever imagined.
Well, perhaps that was not a hard feat to achieve, actually. Riddle did not often take time to sit and fantasize about what his future partner might be like. He generally had more practical and productive things to think about, after all. A fleeting thought here and there were all he allowed himself regarding the very idea of someone he might have to share his life with, someday.
Even so, that did not stop Riddle from being surprised at just how hard he fell for Deuce Spade, of all people. He was even more surprised when Deuce himself was the one to confess his own feelings to Riddle, leading them to start their relationship together — a major first for them both.
What would Riddle’s mother think, he wondered? He had not exactly rushed to call and tell her the good news once he and Deuce became official – unlike Deuce, who had done just that with his own mother mere days after he and Riddle had their first date.
In fact, Riddle hadn’t told his mother at all. Not yet. She was a busy woman, of course, so it was best not to take up her time unless absolutely necessary. Riddle would find the time to tell her later, once he and Deuce were a bit further along in their relationship and were absolutely sure this was going to work out long term. He would let her know when the time was right.
Eventually.
Someday.
When Riddle was young, his mother always told him to accept nothing less than the absolute best in every regard to life, relationships included. Choose your partner carefully, lest you come to regret your foolish choices in your later years. Riddle was to focus on his studies during his youth, of course, so it was not like a topic such as this came up often in his household, but Riddle always retained even the briefest of lessons given by his mother. An ideal partner was meant to be refined and proper. Well educated. Confident. Loyal. Someone who had a good future ahead of them, and would not dare drag Riddle down to anything beneath the perfect legacy she had set him on track for.
And, Deuce?
There was so much that Riddle could say about Deuce Spade.
He absolutely did NOT check all of the boxes laid out by Riddle’s mother, that was for sure. Deuce Spade, the ex-delinquent. A boy who was constantly getting in trouble alongside his rowdy peers. He struggled with basic academic concepts, as a result of the foundational days where he didn’t take school seriously. He stayed up too late playing games with his friends. He was honest to a fault, often blurting out things he shouldn’t without any awareness of the situation or the consequences his words might bring. He shouted too loud when he got excited. He hardly ever remembered any of the Queen of Hearts’ rules.
He was not even close to a picture-perfect partner, and there was no question that Riddle’s mother’s scrutinizing eye would catch on very fast to each and every one of Deuce’s flaws. Perhaps she would uncover ones that even Riddle himself had managed to miss. It was anyone’s guess what she would say, exactly, but the likelihood of full approval was rather slim.
…And, even so…
Riddle had thought himself to have high standards, until Deuce entered his life.
Deuce, whose face lit up every time he and Riddle crossed paths. Who shouted his excited greetings at top volume, regardless of the setting, because he just couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. Picked fights with other students that he caught disrespecting his beloved housewarden.
It was often rowdy behavior that one might find unbecoming on the surface — behavior that Riddle often had to remind Deuce to correct when out of line. But, if there was one trait that Riddle’s mother would approve of that Deuce Spade had, it was definitely his loyalty.
“Of course, Housewarden Rosehearts!”
“Hey, you all heard the boss. Let’s get going!”
“Yes, sir! Anything for you!”
Riddle blushed at the memories flashing through his mind as he walked through the dorm hallways, having only just realized the direction his feet subconsciously took him. He stood in front of Deuce’s doorway and knocked quietly, yet firmly, as to not disturb the other Heartslabyul residents.
“Coming!” Deuce called from inside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps stomping towards the door. Moments later, Deuce’s face - as always - lit up with delight upon seeing who decided to pay him a visit. “O-Oh! Housewarden!” he beamed, stepping aside to usher Riddle inside. “I was just finishing up the workbook pages you marked for me, if you, um, wanted to check them over…?”
Riddle smiled, warmth blooming in his chest just looking at Deuce’s eager, hopeful face. “Alright, let me take a look.”
Now, efficiency wasn’t exactly Deuce’s strong suit. Riddle had given him that workbook early in the morning, and it appeared to have taken him until nearly sundown to get through it. Riddle had offered to help him, but Deuce insisted that this time, he wanted to see how much he could get through on his own.
“I’ll make you proud, Housewarden!”
Riddle quickly picked up Deuce’s workbook and examined it closely, hoping also to use it to obscure any more growing flush across his cheeks. He focused his attention on marking the work, pulling a pen out and taking a seat on the edge of Deuce’s bed. There were, unsurprisingly, many corrections to be made. As hard as Deuce tried, it was clear he still had a long way to go to reach the coveted honor student status… But, even so, he’d shown significant improvement from where he started. Riddle found himself marking less corrections to go over than last time, and a warm feeling of pride ballooned in his chest at just how hardworking his dear dorm member was.
His dorm member… And his boyfriend. The term still felt new and foreign to Riddle.
He looked up at Deuce, who had been standing anxiously and staring down at Riddle the entire time he scribbled away at the workbook. Riddle let out a small sigh, scooting over and patting the space on the bed beside him. “Sit next to me. I’m going to go over the questions you missed, and we’ll work through them together until you understand.”
“Y-Yes, sir!” Deuce shouted, obediently taking a seat next to Riddle as instructed. “Thank you for your time, as always!”
Riddle couldn’t help the tiny smile that crept onto his face. “I can see you worked hard, today, just as you promised. You’ve improved since last time. I’m proud of you.”
Deuce’s eyes grew wide and his cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink. “Really…?!” He couldn’t hold his composure, giving into the feeling of elation and leaning forward to envelop Riddle into his arms. “Thank you, Housewarden! I couldn’t have improved this much without your patient guidance, sir!”
Riddle felt his own body practically melt against Deuce. His hug was firm, warm, loving… The familiar smell of rose scented cologne did not get lost on Riddle either. It was the exact scent from a bottle he had gifted Deuce on their first official date, and Deuce had enthusiastically worn it every day since. He hadn’t quite found the right amount to apply just yet, but at least now he wasn’t fully doused like the first few days he tried it out. Ace and their other roommates had complained about the lingering smell it left in their room for several days.
Riddle took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing himself just a few more seconds to get lost in his boyfriend’s embrace.
“…Deuce…” Riddle mumbled against his chest, voice sounding more like a wistful sigh than he intended. He cleared his throat, attempting to regain his composure, and gently, reluctantly, pulled back from Deuce. “W-we should really stay focused.”
“Ah!” Deuce quickly sat up and pulled his shoulders back. “R-right, of course, sir!”
“You… I’ve told you that you needn’t call me sir and Housewarden so much,” Riddle mumbled. “At the very least, not when we’re… Alone…” He absolutely paid no mind to the increasing temperature across his face as he spoke such vulnerable words out loud. “While it is important to continue addressing me properly in context, I, ah… I believe addressing one’s partner comes with its own set of rules.”
“Oh! You’re right. Sorry, Housewa— I mean, um… Riddle…” Deuce looked just as flustered as Riddle felt, if not more. Still, even in his attempt to keep to a focused mood, Deuce kept smiling. “I’m just… so happy. I used to think I’d never be the type of guy to even think of settling down in a relationship, and now I’m dating someone as amazing as you!”
And Riddle never dreamed of being with someone like Deuce Spade.
“I…” He looked up into Deuce’s big, bright, blue eyes that stared back at him. “I can’t say I ever expected something like this, either, but…”
Riddle’s mind flashed back to another time he remembered Deuce looking at him like that. When they first had the conversation where they decided to become a couple, Deuce took Riddle by the hands and stared into his eyes ever so earnestly.
“I promise I’ll try not to— No, I mean… I promise I won’t hold you back! I’ll be someone you can feel proud to call your boyfriend!”
Riddle smiled at the memory, but his cheeks grew warmer by the second. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I, um… I am quite satisfied with our relationship progress, as well.”
Thankfully, this seemed to be enough to satisfy Deuce, who beamed in response, and then quickly focused his attention back on the workbook in Riddle’s hands.
Riddle could wait a little longer to tell his mother about Deuce. Not forever, of course. She would have to know about him one day. She’d have to meet him one day…
Riddle took a deep breath and returned to reviewing the marked questions with Deuce. If he himself could see Deuce's shining qualities — no matter how hidden they may be, at first — then surely, some day, his mother would be able to see them, too.
Summary: "…If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was.” - Rook Hunt, probably. [Or, Richard Bach. Same difference.]
Shortly after graduation, and with his newly granted freedom, Jamil wants to take a year to travel. Azul, on the other hand, needs to take this year to begin establishing his first, post-NRC, independent restaurant. Some hard choices must be made in order to move forward.
Maybe this wasn’t the best time for a love confession.
For Day 3 of Ashenviper Week: Distance/Promise
Wordcount: 949
[Ao3 Link] [See Ao3 for more tags/notes]
The silence between Azul and Jamil was palpable. Azul’s confession hung in the air, neither speaking. The confession itself was not truly a surprise, not if either of them were being honest with themselves. They had come a long way since their second year of NRC, growing closer with every day-no matter how much Jamil initially tried to deny it.
But, at this point, here and now, there was no more denying what was between the two of them. They sat, side by side, knee touching knee, hand-in-hand, on a lonely bench cascaded in moonlight, the night before graduation.
“...I can’t be with you, Azul.” Jamil spoke first, his voice quiet, his grip on Azul’s hand tightening. “Not right now.”
Azul ran his thumb in small circles across the back of Jamil’s hand. He didn’t speak, and Jamil found himself missing the familiar annoyance of Azul’s incessant monologues he was subjected to during the majority of their school days.
It was funny how life worked, sometimes. Jamil was finally free of obligation- no school, no Kalim, and could go anywhere, do anything!
But, of course, the guy he wanted to be with more than anything couldn’t go with him on this journey.
“I want to travel,” Jamil continued, “and you can’t come with me if you’re starting your new restaurant. I don’t want to start a new relationship long distance with that much strain from the start.”
They wanted different things. Fate was often cruel like that.
Neither dared suggest anything less from the other, either. Jamil could postpone travelling, but now before he established himself in a career to tie him down, he was at his most free point in life, and he had to take advantage of it. Azul could defer the start of his restaurant and go with Jamil, but they both knew that waiting to chase his dreams wasn’t in Azul’s nature. Jamil was not going to risk the resentment that could come of asking something like that, if Azul did agree. And Azul wouldn’t dream of asking Jamil to hold himself back.
When Azul pulled his hand from Jamil’s grasp, Jamil felt an instant, stabbing surge of panic and regret plunge through his chest. For a moment – the briefest of seconds – he really did consider offering to throw everything away just for the chance to keep Azul by his side a little longer. He’d essentially rejected the relationship proposal, but not the feelings. He couldn’t be with Azul, but he didn’t want to let him go, either.
Thankfully, such rapid catastrophizing lasted all of two seconds, as Azul only moved his hand so he could wrap his arm around Jamil’s shoulders.
“You said you can’t be with me right now,” he finally said, “so am I correct in assessing that you aren’t outright shooting me down?”
“…I…” Jamil sighed, leaning his head against Azul’s shoulder. He couldn’t deny his selfish desires. “…I like you too, Azul. But—“
“Do you intend to travel forever?”
Jamil shook his head. “Not necessarily. But who can say, for sure? Perhaps my job in the future would require traveling long-term. At the very least, I’m not exactly ready to put a definitive time limit on myself.”
Azul nodded thoughtfully, though his arm remained firm and undeterred where it lay on Jamil’s shoulders. “Not a time limit, then, but rather… A check-in.”
“…What?”
“One year,” Azul continued. “If our feelings still remain after all that time apart, we’ll meet back up in one year, and pick this conversation up then. Does that sound like a fair deal to you?”
“…Hmph,” Jamil closed his eyes and sighed. “You expect me to put my travel plans on pause just for me to come back with the chance you might still be waiting around for me? What am I supposed to do if I take all the time and money to come back and you’ve moved on with someone else?”
Azul scoffed. “Ha! This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to winning you over, and you think I’d let all those years of patient work go to waste so easily? You wound me, Jamil.”
“Ugh, you’re still so dramatic,” Jamil mumbled. He reached an arm across Azul’s lap and found Azul’s free hand, clutching it firmly.
“I haven’t heard you reject the idea.”
Jamil bit his lip, opened his eyes, and looked up at Azul.
Azul smiled back down at him. “You’re worth waiting for, Jamil.”
“Oh, god, ew,” Jamil let go of Azul’s hand to give his face a shove. “S-Stop it. Dont look at me like that.” He buried his face against Azul’s neck in embarrassment and threw his arms around his shoulders. “Shut up. God. I can’t believe how corny you are.”
Azul only chuckled and wrapped his arms around Jamil’s waist, holding him close. “I still haven’t heard an answer from you… You really know how to make a man nervous, don’t you?”
“…Are you going to make me sign a contract about it?”
Azul did not immediately reply.
“Azul.”
“Fine, fine…” Azul sighed. “I will make a special exception and accept a verbal agreement, just this once. For you.”
Jamil pulled back and faced Azul, their arms still wrapped around each other, neither willing to be the first to let go. “…One year, then?”
“One year. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Jamil brought his hands to cup the sides of Azul’s face, and leaned closer. “Don’t you dare forget about me.”
“Mmm…” Azul rested his forehead against Jamil’s. “I could say the same to you,” he whispered. “Come back to me, won’t you?”
They signed their promise not with ink on paper, but with a gentle kiss.
Kalim and the Great Relationship Rescue: Chapter 6 [Twst] [Kalisil + Jamiazu]
Chapter: 6/7 [I HOPE!!!] [Start Ch1 here!]
[Ao3 Link]
Chapter Wordcount: 5,773 (😳)
Chapter Summary: The day of the party has arrived! Kalim and Silver have some pre-planning to do, and then it's time to put the plan into action. What could go wrong?
⚠️Trigger Warning: This chapter contains several descriptions of nausea and a very brief mention of vomitting.
The night before the party came quicker than anyone felt prepared for. Silver approached Kalim’s bedroom door — a sight he had grown used to seeing rather frequently, these days — and gave it a gentle knock.
“Silver!” Kalim answered the door almost immediately, as if he were already standing on the other side and just waiting for someone to arrive. “Wow, your pajamas are really cute!”
Silver glanced down at his sweater. Cute? He hadn’t really considered the ‘cuteness factor’ when he got dressed. These were simply his pajamas of choice on most nights. “Thank you. They were a gift from my father.”
“Aw, what a sweet gift! Come in, come in!” Kalim grabbed Silver by the wrist with great enthusiasm and pulled him inside, leading him over to take a seat on the edge of his bed. “Thanks again for agreeing to stay over tonight. I just can’t stop thinking about the party tomorrow; I don’t know what to do with myself!”
“Of course,” Silver said, “I will do my best to aid you however I can. Would it help if we went over the plan’s details, again?”
Kalim nodded his head. “Great idea! Oh, wait, first – Want some snacks?” He reached for a bag sitting on a nearby table and handed it to Silver. “Here! Lilia told me you like mushrooms, so I got a bunch of dried mushrooms in every flavor Sam had at his shop.”
Silver peered into the bag with great interest. “I see… Thank you, Kalim. I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring you anything in return.”
Kalim plopped back down beside Silver, his bright smile unwavering. “Don’t worry about it! I like sharing with my friends. Besides, you’re already doing so much for me by being here…” He picked up one of the many throw pillows sitting atop his bed and gave it a squeeze. “Ahh… I can’t wait to see Jamil and Azul smile at each other again!”
Silver quietly munched on a mushroom and nodded in agreement. He stared at the bag in his hand with a pensive, vacant look on his face, before finally speaking. “Should we serve mushrooms at the party, as well?”
“…Oh! That’s right; the food! …The food…” Kalim sighed, his brow furrowing with worry. “I told Jamil we would make curry…”
“Mushrooms taste very good in curry,” Silver nodded. He glanced over at Kalim and noticed his head was bowed, and he’d gone quiet. “Oh, do you not like mushrooms in your curry?”
Kalim bit his lip and lifted his head to look at Silver, shaking his head. “I don’t eat curry. I don’t ever eat curry.”
Silver tilted his head. “No? Never?”
“Never.”
“I see… You offered to make something for Jamil that you don’t like?”
That was one way to put it.
“Do Jamil and Azul like curry?” Silver continued. “Is that why you want to make it?”
“Jamil does, yeah,” Kalim nodded. “It’s his favorite food.” In spite of everything…
“That’s very kind of you.” Silver’s gaze lingered on Kalim’s uncharacteristically solemn face. Just how much did Kalim dislike curry, he wondered? Either way, he looked extremely troubled, and Silver wanted nothing more than to help find a way to make everyone comfortable. “Perhaps you could find something you and Jamil both like to eat instead, if curry upsets you so much?”
Kalim shook his head again. “No, no! I absolutely have to serve Jamil’s favorite! I need to show him that I can help him when he’s down, too!” There was absolutely no way Kalim would be eating any of that curry, but surely he could get through one night of having it served at the same dinner table…
“Perhaps you would like Azul’s favorite food better, then?” Silver offered. “If we serve both of their favorites, that might help put everyone in a good mood.”
Kalim’s shoulders relaxed. He’d completely forgotten Jamil himself had already warned him not to lock himself into a situation of only serving food he didn’t like. A good party always had variety, after all. “Oh, that’s right! We could make…! Um, actually, what is Azul’s favorite food?”
“Jade was talking about it with us after we met up in the forest. Azul really likes fried chicken, apparently, but he feels very shy about it.”
“He does? That’s great!” Kalim brightened. “All sorts of great food is made with chicken! …I’m… Uh…” He pulled out his phone and typed ‘CHICKEN RECIPES’ into the search engine. “I’m gonna have to take some notes…!”
Silver nodded once more in agreement, adjusting to peer over Kalim’s shoulder at the screen as they strolled through potential ideas together.
The two spent the following few hours looking up assorted recipes, decoration inspiration pictures, party activities, and song playlist organizing. Silver briefly dozed off in the middle of planning, but Kalim just took that as a sign to put on a threeway video call with Cater and Lilia to get some extra party planning advice while he slept. Pop Music Club always knew how to have a good time, of course!
“Oho, is that our dear little Silver slumped over on your lap, Kalim?” Lilia asked after their conversation died down, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Kalim nodded, giving Silver’s head a gentle pat. “Haha, yeah! Gosh, I hope I didn’t wear him out too much with all this party planning. I guess we have been at it for a while.”
Lilia only laughed. “Oh, no, don’t you worry. You know this is par for the course when it comes to Silver.”
“Aww, that’s totes adorbs,” Cater said, his screen flashing as a notification popped up that said he had just taken a screenshot of the phone call. “Hey, you know I love a good planning sesh late into the night, but I’m gonna head off a lil’ early.”
“Oh?” Lilia raised an eyebrow. “You’re not normally an early sleeper, are you, Cater? I suppose Riddle holds a strict lights out policy over at Heartslabyul, hm?”
Cater shook his head. “No– Well, I mean, yeah. But that’s not what I’m worried about right now…” He slid off his bed and started heading for the door. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet, and I do NOT need to risk running into Trey in the hallway before I fill my quota.”
“It’s so sweet of you to want to keep your teeth clean for him!” Kalim beamed. Hang on, hadn’t Cater told him and Silver the other day that he and Trey weren’t together yet? They’d been so caught up with everything else going on that they hadn’t had time to circle back and check in on the situation. Maybe things had changed? “I’m so glad that your relationship is making progress, Cater!”
“Oho?” Lilia snickered, an intrigued, devilish gleam flashing in his eyes. “What’s this about Cater and Trey’s relationship?”
Cater gasped, hastily connecting his earbuds so no one would hear Kalim and Lilia’s commentary as he scampered down the hallway. “OMG– Nothing!” He whisper-shrieked. “There’s totally nothing to talk about! ‘Sides, I’m not the one running my fingers through a cute boy’s hair while he’s asleep on my lap right now!”
“Huh? …Oh!” Kalim glanced back down at Silver, who continued to sleep peacefully through the phone call. He hadn’t even noticed he’d been stroking his hair the whole time… It was just so soft, like petting a bunny!
It was Lilia’s turn to gasp, his snickers growing even louder. “My, my… Silver is quite the cutie pie, isn’t he?”
Kalim continued staring down at Silver as he slept. He really did have a nice looking face. His features somehow seemed both soft and ethereal, yet strong and sharp, at the same time. His skin was nearly as soft as his hair, and his eyelashes practically sparkled when caught in the right angle of light.
“Cater, who are you talking to?” A distant voice on Cater’s end called out as Cater hurried faster towards the bathroom.
“Wh– Nothing! Nobody! Go away, Trey!” Cater nearly dropped his phone as he dashed through the door and over to one of Heartslabyul’s bright and colorful flower-shaped mirrors. “Okay, great! Silver’s pretty, your party’s gonna be awesome, and Cay-Cay’s gotta go! Bye!”
Lilia laughed yet again, and gave Kalim a wave. “Alright, then. I have a boss raid to attend to, so I will let you return to your party planning. Good night, Kalim! Tell Silver I said hello.”
Eventually, after Silver had woken up and apologized profusely for falling asleep, and after the two finalized a bit more of their party planning details, it was finally time to turn in for the night. Kalim carried over a stack of blankets and pillows that previously remained stored away in his closet, just waiting for company to come over. “Here! I made sure you’d have plenty of extra blankets and pillows for tonight.”
“Thank you,” Silver said, picking up a single pillow and exactly one blanket. He turned away from the bed, and began arranging them together on the floor. “I apologize for not thinking to bring my own before coming.”
“Wh– Huh?!” Kalim leapt off the bed and tugged on Silver’s arm. “No, no, why are you setting up to sleep on the floor by yourself? There’s plenty of room on the bed! I just grabbed extra because I thought you’d want more blankets, since my siblings used to complain that I had a habit of hogging ours whenever we had sleepovers,” he said, laughing at the end as he recalled the many times he’d wake in the middle of the night beto one of his younger siblings tugging on the blanket cocoon Kalim unknowingly formed in his sleep.
A sleepover… Silver tried to recall the last time he had a proper sleepover. It had been a few years, at least, as neither he nor Sebek had started at NRC at the time. They’d shared a bed then, too, but…
He looked from the blanket and pillow over to Kalim’s bright, encouraging face, and felt his chest tighten.
“...Thank you.” As soon as Silver’s body came in contact with the bed, his eyelids grew heavy. He’d already nodded off once since arriving, and struggled to keep himself from passing out the rest of the time. Silver welcomed the relief that came with no longer having to fight his drowsiness for the day, and within the minute, he was fast asleep.
Kalim, however, did not find sleep nearly as easily this time. He tossed, he turned, he sighed… How was he supposed to sleep when the most important day EVER was happening TOMORROW? He turned to Silver, relieved to see that his own restlessness hadn’t woken his bedmate. He smiled, gazing at Silver’s peaceful face through the darkness of the night. He really was a dependable friend.
-
Surprisingly, the next morning, Kalim found he was the one awake first. Usually, Kalim slept in LATE, unless otherwise awoken by someone else – That someone being Jamil, typically. But, since today was the day that he was supposed to throw a party FOR Jamil, Kalim insisted that he would be able to wake himself up with the help of an alarm, and that Jamil should take the time to sleep in and chill out until it was time for the event.
The alarm rang out nice and loud, but even then, Kalim found it hard to move. His pillows and blankets felt especially warm and cozy this morning, and they completely enveloped his body so perfectly comfortably.
“Mhh…” Kalim mumbled, nuzzling his cheek against his pillow. Slowly but surely, he opened his eyes… And found that his pillow looked a lot like Silver’s sweater.
It was, in fact, Silver’s shirt, which was also still attached to Silver’s body. Which Kalim was laying on top of.
“Oh!” Kalim jolted in surprise, attempting to both get off of Silver and shut off his alarm, but found he was rooted FIRMLY in place. Within the tangle of blankets, Silver’s arms also sat wrapped snugly around Kalim, preventing him from moving.
“Silver?” Kalim whispered. “Hey, it’s time to wake up! I’m, uh, kinda stuck? Couldja loosen up a bit?”
No reply. Silver remained peacefully snoozing away, despite Kalim’s squirming and the blaring ring of the alarm mere feet away from the both of them. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered, or even aware of the situation. He looked rather calm. Gentle. Pretty.
Kalim wondered if Silver’s eyelashes always looked so long. And his hair – though now it stuck up in odd places from the friction of the pillows through the night – looked even softer than it did when he touched it the night before, like it was practically inviting Kalim to reach his fingers up and give it another brush… He just might have, if his arms weren’t pinned to his side. Just how muscular was Silver? Kalim would have to take a closer look at those biceps once they were both awake. Maybe he could lay here for just a few more minutes… If he ignored the alarm, it wasn’t so bad just sitting and gazing at Silver. They had a few hours before they had to meet up with the others, after all.
Kalim’s bedroom door slammed open moments later, however, causing Kalim to jolt in place once more.
“Kalim?!” Jamil called out, hurrying to shut the alarm off. “What are you doing?! The other boys on this floor said they could hear your alarm going off nonstop from the hallway! What’s the point of setting it to wake you up if you’re just going to–?” He stopped abruptly mid sentence, eyes landing on where Kalim and Silver lay cocooned together in the bed.
Silver yawned, all the commotion apparently finally waking him. “...Huh… Oh. Hello Jamil, Kalim…”
Jamil turned and left the room without another word.
“Aw, man,” Kalim sighed, dropping his head back onto Silver’s chest in defeat. “Jamil had to wake up early after all…”
“...Oh!” Silver released his grip on Kalim, finally waking up enough to realize what was going on. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get in the way of your duties. I didn’t even hear the alarm go off…” He sighed. This was, of course, nothing new for Silver. Perhaps if Kalim had a second, or even third alarm clock…
“No, no!” Kalim rolled off of Silver and shook his head. “It’s not your fault! Come on–” He grabbed Silver by the hand and pulled them both out of bed. “We can still make up for it if we go get ready now!”
After brushing their teeth and splashing water on their faces, Kalim and Silver stood side by side, staring at the mirrors in front of them. Now… What was supposed to come next…?
“Umm,” Kalim patted his cheeks a few times, trying to jog his memory. “I forgot my skincare products in my room… What should I go and grab for us to use, do you think?”
Silver gazed at Kalim and his hair that stuck up in every possible direction. “I think we’ve covered all of the necessary steps to an efficient morning routine.”
“Oh, think so?” Kalim ran a hand through his own hair and hummed curiously. “Usually Jamil has me do a little more with my face and hair, but going with a more natural look could be fun!” He reached one hand out, smoothing down one of Silver’s many cowlicks. “Hehe, your hair is all over the place!”
“Oh, is it?”
“It’s so soft, too!” Kalim locked in on Silver’s hair, both his hands now running through the silky smooth strands. “Has anyone told you that your hair feels like a rabbit’s fur? You must take really good care of it to keep it so soft! Can you give me any tips?”
“I… Um…” Silver’s eyelids grew heavier with every stroke of Kalim’s fingers against his skin. Kalim had thoroughly gotten distracted by the sheer softness of Silver’s hair and was not so much smoothing out the bedhead anymore, and was more so just petting him at this point. The sensation was so soothing and gentle… And Kalim’s voice was so sweet…
When Silver next awoke, he found himself sitting in a chair beside Kalim, still in the bathroom, and surrounded by other Scarabia students who were now working on his and Kalim’s hair.
“Oh, you’re awake, Silver?” The boy behind him, who Silver recognized as his own roommate’s boyfriend, finished brushing the last few strands into place and then stepped to the side. He handed Silver a tub of face wash and a cloth, and shook his head with a sigh. “You really freaked the others out when we walked in and saw you in here fully asleep while still standing up. If Kalim and I weren’t here to calm them down, they probably would’ve gone running for the headmage thinking you were cursed or something!”
“I… I fell asleep again…” Silver said, wetting the washcloth and lathering it with soap. “I’m terribly sorry to have troubled you all with my negligence.”
“Good morning again, Silver!” Kalim smiled from beside him. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone at Scarabia’s always super good with helping each other out, right guys?”
“Sure thing, housewarden,” Silver’s roommate’s boyfriend said, giving Kalim a pat on the head. “Jamil fell back asleep the second he got back to our room, so I figure he’s, uh, a bit too drained to assist today…”
“Your room? Are you Jamil’s roommate?” Silver asked, and the boy nodded.
“Sure am. I’m no vice housewarden, but it wouldn’t hurt to help him out while he’s… Recovering.”
Silver nodded in agreement. His roommate’s boyfriend, who was also Jamil’s roommate, was such a nice guy.
Once Silver and Kalim had been thoroughly and properly groomed with the insistent assistance of assorted Scarabia students, they were out the door and finally ready to begin party prep. The other second years in their little party committee trickled into Scarabia’s kitchen with assorted ingredients, as promised.
“Alright, Kalim picked up the tab on the ingredients,” Ruggie said as they congregated together, “so the rest of us gotta pull our weight and get this all cooked, huh?”
“I can still help!” Kalim insisted, only for Ruggie to immediately shake his head and put a hand up.
“No, no. You and I have been there, done that with the whole ‘cooking with magic to avoid using knives because Jamil said so’ situation.”
“That’s… An oddly specific situation,” Riddle murmured beside Ruggie. “But, anyway! We need to get everything moving on track now if we want to get the party started in time.” He tapped the clipboard in his hands with the tip of his pen, brows furrowed in concentration. “Ruggie, I need you to go with… ugh, Jade and Floyd. You three will be on kitchen duty.”
“Ohh? Y’need our help to make the food, huh?” Floyd grinned down at the group from where he stood beside his brother. “Ehehe, I suppose I’m in the mood to make somethin’ cool. I can show ya a few pointers, Sharksucker.”
“Oho, what a delightful team you’ve assembled for us, Riddle.” Jade said with that classic, unconvincing smile that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
“Ahah… Yeah, you got it, boss…” Ruggie sighed. He stuck his hands in his pocket and grinned at Riddle. “I take it you’ll be leading the charge for team decoration set up?”
“Precicely.” Riddle turned to Kalim and Silver. “You two, grab some boxes and follow me.”
“Thank you for your diligence, Riddle,” Silver said, stacking several boxes of decorations on top of each other and lifting them with ease.
“Yeah, this party’ll go great!” Kalim agreed, trailing after them with a box of his own. “You really thought of everything!”
“Please, just focus on the task at hand,” Riddle muttered.
And everything went smoothly!
Sort of.
For, like, a moment or two.
Silver and Kalim did their best to follow Riddle’s precise instructions, but Silver’s chronic battle against drowsiness and Kalim’s chronic battle of Getting Really Distracted Very Easily were powerful forces to be reckoned with. Silver, in particular, was trying Really Really Hard to FOCUS on STAYING AWAKE by LOCKING IN on the task at hand. The task Riddle had just given him was simple enough: Enchant the balloons to fill them with air, and float them up to their designated hanging spaces. So long as he kept his focus, he wouldn’t fall asleep! Probably. Hopefully.
He was, at the very least, SO very focused that he did not notice the slip of paper tucked away in his back pocket had fallen out and onto the floor.
Thankfully, Riddle had a keen eye for items in locations that they weren’t meant to be. He narrowed his eyes at the unidentified piece of paper, and bent down to pick it up just as Silver disappeared to go to the bathroom. “...Kalim? Is this your paper?”
“Huh?” Kalim scampered over to Riddle, plucking the paper from his hand. It sure did say ‘Kalim’ on the front of it, but…
“I… Guess it’s mine?”
“You guess?”
“I mean, I don’t remember taking a piece of paper with my name on it with me this morning, but it’s probably mine, since… It has my name on it!”
Riddle sighed.
“Oh!” Kalim continued. “Maybe it’s from Jamil’s roommate? He and some of the other guys from the dorm helped Silver and me get ready this morning. Maybe he wanted to talk to me about–”
Whatever Kalim’s hypothesis was would simply have to wait, as Floyd leech suddenly burst out of the kitchen and tossed his apron aside haphazardly. “Ehh, I’m bored of cookin’. What are you doin’ over here, Goldfishie?” He lumbered over to tower over where Riddle stood by Kalim, baring his sharp teeth down at him with a wide grin. “Hehe, you haven’t finished decorating, yet? Bet it would go faster if you had my help. Say please, and I might just consider it.”
Riddle grit his teeth and glared right back up at Floyd, his face turning several shades of red by the second. “Floyd Leech… YOU are supposed to be on KITCHEN DUTY.”
“It got boring. I wanna play with Goldfishie, instead!”
“Floyd!?” Ruggie called from the kitchen. “Where’d you go? You just walked away from the pot!” He stuck his head out from the doorway, a frown on his face. “C’mon, I can’t handle Jade all by myse– Oh, shit.” He quickly abandoned the kitchen to run over and attempt to intervene in the inevitable Floyd-Riddle blow up event.
“Ohh, my…” Jade’s voice called out next. “I’m all alone, am I? How terribly sad. These are far too many pots and pans for one boy to handle. If only two more pairs of hands would appear to help out little old me…”
“Oh!” Kalim started running towards the kitchen, grabbing Silver by the hand as he was returning on the way there. “We’ll be right there, Jade! Uhh…” He glanced over his shoulder at where Riddle looked about to explode amongst the other two. “...You guys have the decorations handled, right? We’ll go help in the kitchen! Taking turns!”
They scurried off across the room, and the moment they passed through the kitchen entryway, the temperature immediately felt significantly hotter, to an almost suffocating degree. Of course, that made sense, when one entered a busy and bustling kitchen. Steam– or was it smoke? – Billowed from the main stockpot sat atop the stove.
“Uh, Jade…?” Kalim asked, coughing a few times to try and clear the scratchy feeling forming in his throat. “Is something wrong with the pot of curry?”
“Oh?” Jade glanced over his shoulder from where he stood at the sink, washing a bowl of mushrooms that Kalim did not remember being there when they first congregated. “I’m not sure. Floyd was the one tending to it, after all. Why don’t you give it a stir, while Silver helps me slice up the rest of these mushrooms?”
Silver nodded dutifully and headed for the cutting board. Kalim slowly turned back towards the pot and bit his lower lip. Had they really agreed to make such a large amount of curry? As the pot gurgled and bubbled, Kalim’s stomach churned with every step he took towards the stove. The smoke grew darker, thicker, and Kalim’s hand shook as he picked up the wooden spoon to give the contents a stir.
Carrots, potatoes, chicken, mushrooms – More mushrooms? Perhaps the ones Jade was preparing were for a side dish – All swam together in a blend of murky, brown goop. Kalim coughed again, his abdominal muscles squeezing tighter and tighter with each hack.
“Kalim?” Silver’s gentle voice called out from a few feet away, though his voice sounded so far from Kalim’s ears. “Are you alright?”
“Y-Yeah!” Kalim choked out. “The smoke’s just, uh, really thick…!”
Silver, who had seen many a burning stovetop in his lifetime, tilted his head in confusion. “Smoke…? No, don’t worry. Your pot isn’t burning. That is just steam.”
“O-Oh, it’s not?” Kalim turned back to face the pot, only to immediately turn away again as he was hit with a wave of nausea. “Are you sure…?”
“Is something the matter, Kalim?” Jade asked. “Why, you look rather pale. I suppose cooking is too much for you, given that Jamil usually handles everything. That’s too bad–”
“No!” Kalim insisted, gripping the wooden spoon tighter in spite of his trembling hand. “I’m fine, I promise!” He once again turned to face the pot of gunk before him, squeezing his burning eyes shut as he took a deep breath to steady himself. A deep breath that only invited in more of the offending scents that overwhelmed his senses, made the contents of his stomach rise up within him and–
“KALIM!”
Jamil’s voice cut through the suffocating kitchen fumes, and his hand grasped the back of Kalim’s cardigan to yank him away from the stove. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, handling a hot stove alone?!”
“J-Jamil!?” Kalim gasped, relieved to be pulled away from the gurgling pot, but a different feeling of dread taking place in his gut. “Wh– You’re early!”
“Actually,” Azul’s voice pulled Kalim and the others’ attention to the kitchen entryway, “we’re right on time. It seems your little party is running a bit behind schedule.” He shot a pointed stare at Jade, who only grinned oh-so-innocently back at him.
“Oho, I suppose our timekeeper has his hands full out there. Everything was going so smoothly, but… Well, you know how it is when Floyd gets bored.”
A familiar fishy cackle from the other room, followed by frustrated shrieking, punctuated Jade’s statement.
Jamil ignored Jade and the distant noises, and just sighed. He pried the wooden spoon from Kalim’s hand and shooed him away. “Move aside, all of you. I’ll finish up.”
“My, how proactively diligent of you, Jamil,” Jade smiled. “So glad we can count on your aid in time of need.”
Azul let out an exasperated sigh, and held out his hand. “Please give me that knife, Silver. I don’t ever intend to sit idly by when there’s work to be done.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” Jamil hissed over his shoulder.
“And we didn’t ask for you to try and take over this operation, now, did we?” Azul retorted, refusing to meet Jamil’s eyes and instead focusing on chopping up the rest of the mushrooms.
Kalim coughed a few more times, and shuffled over to the corner of the room to stand by Silver. He wanted badly to protest, to insist that Jamil and Azul should just relax and wait for them to finish everything, but he was struggling just to keep himself together.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Silver asked. “Maybe we should step outside.”
“No, no,” Kalim whispered back, shaking his head. “I just need a moment to catch my breath!” His eyes were locked onto Jamil and Azul, Jade having also chosen to take a step to the side.
“If you’re sure…” Silver’s hand lightly grazed the back of Kalim’s, but the way Kalim’s fingers twitched at the touch made him think otherwise about taking hold. Perhaps such a gesture was not comforting for him in a time like this? “Please, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”
Kalim felt another lurch in his stomach. Unfortunately, it was kind of hard for him to focus on anything else at the moment, and Silver’s words barely registered in his brain. His senses remained overpowered by the growing pain and nausea swirling in his gut, the heavy smell of curry hanging in the air, and the overlapping voices coming from seemingly every direction.
“Floyd, I have had ENOUGH of your…!”
“Just let me cut them, if you’re going to be so…”
“Ehehe, goldfishie’s getting so red…”
“Must you insist on taking everything yourself?! I am perfectly capable of…!”
“Ugh, Floyd, can you give it a rest with him so we can just…”
“It’s like you’re trying to get in my way!”
“I could say the same for you!”
“My, you two are getting rather noisy…”
“Why won’t you listen to me…!
“I just wish you would…!”
The voices blended together in Kalim’s head, a foggy haze making it hard to discern who was saying what, but two voices grew distinctively louder, and their heated words cut through the growing static in Kalim’s head.
“Just give it to me, Azul! It’ll be faster and less of a headache if I—“
“For the last time, I do not need you hovering over my shoulder, Jamil! I am perfectly capable of working on my own–”
“I never said you couldn’t! Quit being so stubborn and just–”
“Would you stop trying to coddle me?! I’m not Kalim!”
Kalim’s head shot upward at the sound of his name, sending the room spinning around him. Were Jamil and Azul fighting because of him…?
His hands flew to his mouth and a gag lurched in his throat.
“Kalim…?!” Silver’s voice barely registered beside him. There was only so much one person could handle, and Kalim, unfortunately, had hit well past his limit.
Kalim bolted out of the room, wobbling from side to side as he tried to stay on his feet. Voices called after him, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his ears. Everything was a blur as he zoomed out of the kitchen, past the rest of the party room, and out the nearest exit door. He collapsed into his knees, practically sliding to a halt in front of some decorative plants. The smell was gone. The noise was gone. The heat was gone, and…
Moments later, the contents of Kalim’s stomach was also gone, obscured mostly by the plants’ leaves and a few flowers. Thankfully, with it, the overwhelming nausea and pain left him, as well.
Kalim took a few shaky breaths. Though the majority of physical feelings were gone, he could not stop his mind from racing. Jamil and Azul… they were fighting again, the near instant they encountered each other. Not only that…
Azul’s words echoed over and over in Kalim’s head, but it was hard to fully process or make sense of anything in his current state. He’d heard his name, how frustrated Azul and Jamil were, and all of it could've been avoided if he’d been a better party planner… His hands trembled as his fingers grasped at his clothes to try and find something to fidget with. Something to ground his anxious feelings, to distract him. Something…
He felt the familiar crinkle of paper in one of his pockets. Pulling it out, and perhaps crumpling it a little too desperately in his time of need, he found the paper Riddle handed him earlier.
Kalim
He stared at the letters on the front of the page, written so carefully and cleanly. Perhaps reading the mystery note could keep his racing mind occupied and put him at ease. Even if it was just a quick note from one of his dorm members…
He unfolded the letter, and began to read.
Kalim,
After speaking with Sebek, I have decided to write you this letter in hopes I can come to understand my thoughts a bit better. I don’t really know how to say any of this, so I am just going to start writing. I hope you will be patient with me, as you always are.
I have come to enjoy our time together greatly, and I find thoughts of you are often on my mind. So much so that it is causing me to get distracted during training. Sebek is not very happy about this, but I think he is just showing concern in his own, unique, very loud way.
I always want to do anything I can to help out my friends and those in need, and I know you feel the same. It’s one of the many things I admire about you. You are always so kind, friendly, expressive, and seeing you smile briefly makes me forget about whatever else I have on my mind.
These feelings seem to go beyond those I feel about our other friends. I first wondered if perhaps I simply felt a strong admiration for you, in the way that I do for Malleus, or even my father. But, Sebek’s words made me consider that perhaps this isn’t like any feeling I have felt for another before.
I think I like you quite a bit, Kalim. Being with you makes me want to work harder at being a better person.
I suppose the next step here would be to get your thoughts on true matter. I am not very good at expressing myself, so I think I may just hand you this letter when the party is over tonight. I know you have a lot on your mind, and I would not want to put an extra burden for you to think about on top of everything else.
Whatever happens, please do not feel pressured on my account, and l know that I treasure our friendship deeply, regardless of the nature of your feelings towards me.
Silver
Kalim’s mind was hazy, now for an entirely different reason than before. He hardly had the time to process any of the words in the letter, however, as the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps cut through the fog in his mind, and a voice called out to him.
June 5th Prompts: Still here, Improvements, Comfort Zone. [very loosely followed the prompts in a sort of general sense. does it still count? i dont know!]
For rarepair week by @rarepair-twst !!!
Summary: Cater visits Riddle to give him a gift one evening, and doesn't really leave after the fact.
Word count: 1,341
[I finished writing it just before midnight, but posting it pushed me over to the next day teehee oopsie.]
“Riddle!” Cater’s sing-songy voice called from the other side of the door, accompanied by the sound of cheerful knocks. “It’s Cay-Cay! Lemme in, please?”
Riddle looked up from his book towards the sound, confused. It wasn’t curfew yet, but it was still later in the evening. What could Cater of all people possibly need? He set his book to the side and quickly crossed the room to open the door.
Cater stood, already dressed in his fluffy pajamas, and flashed a dazzling, toothy grin down at Riddle. “Omg, you always look totes adorbs in your PJs!”
Riddle’s face immediately flushed with embarrassment. He turned his head to the side and covered his face with the back of his hand. “A-Alright, Cater. You didn’t come here to make small talk about clothing, did you? Out with it.”
“Hehe,” Cater rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands conveniently hidden behind his back. “Can I come in? I have a surprise for you, but I want it to be our little secret.” He winked to punctuate that last statement, causing Riddle to retreat oh-so-casually further back into the bedroom.
“Yes, yes, just- Close the door, would you?”
“Of course, Housewarden,” Cater giggled, closing the door behind him and skipping across the room to sit on the edge of the bed beside Riddle. He revealed what was hidden behind his back and placed it in Riddle’s lap: A small, palm-sized, velvet box.
Riddle picked it up, eyeing it carefully. “...What is this?”
“You have to open it to find out, silly.”
“I-I know that!” Riddle huffed. “Rather, I meant- What is this for? Surely you know my birthday isn’t for quite a while.”
Cater sighed, shaking his head and draping his arm across Riddle’s shoulders. “Of course I know when my cute housewarden’s birthday is,” he teased, “but this is, like… A thank you gift!”
“Thank you? For what?”
“Aw, y’know, um…” Cater fidgeted with a strand of hair as he spoke. “You’re always doing such a solid job keeping the dorm together! And you’ve helped me study a ton lately - Cay-Cay’s grades wouldn’t be the same without you!”
“They could be,” Riddle sighed, “if you limited your screen time on that phone of yours. Which reminds me, have you reviewed the material for the latest study guide I wrote for you for your exam tomorrow?”
“OMG, please,” Cater tapped the tip of his finger atop the box. “We can talk about study habits later - Right now is gift time! Besides, when I saw this little thing out at the shops, I knew I just HAD to get it for you!”
Riddle narrowed his eyes, but Cater’s sweet smile was just a bit too overpowering, and Riddle relented. He did really want to see what was in this mysterious box, after all…
He ran his thumb along the front of the box, and gently pushed the top upward and open, where a tiny, enamel hedgehog pin stared back at him from inside.
“Oh…” Riddle gasped gently, immediately picking the pin up ever-so-delicately to look closer. “It’s so cute- Ah, um… This looks rather well-crafted. Thank you, Cater…” His eyes were wide with awe, and he quickly wiped the back of his hand against his cheek - NOT because he was tearing up from the sheer cuteness of the pin, of course. His face was just itchy.
Cater beamed, looking absolutely overjoyed at Riddle’s reaction. “Oh, I knew you’d like it!” he squealed, throwing both his arms around Riddle now and nuzzling against him in a firm hug. “It’s gonna look sooo cute on you!”
“Ack- Cater!” Riddle quickly placed the pin back in the box for safekeeping, as to not drop it in the midst of Cater’s spontaneous attacks of affection. “Please, give me some warning before you jump on me like that!”
“Ohh?” Cater grinned, pulling Riddle a little closer. “You’re saying you don’t mind cuddling with your favorite senpai?”
Riddle’s face, once again, flushed as red as a strawberry. “S-stop teasing me. I never said I had a favorite.”
“Aww, don’t worry,” Cater released Riddle and leaned back on his hands, “I won’t tell Trey! He’ll just have to find you an even CUTER pin if he wants to win back fave-status.”
Riddle busied himself with placing the velvet box atop his desk. “...Well, um… Thank you, again…” He glanced over his shoulder, watching where Cater idly sat, kicking his feet back and forth, staring off into space. He didn’t exactly look to be in a hurry to leave for the evening…
…And Riddle didn’t quite feel a need to shoo him out, either.
“Would you like some tea?” Riddle found himself asking. “Herbal, of course, in accordance with Rule 153.”
“Ooh, evening tea time with Riddle? Count me in!” Cater smiled.
Riddle found himself smiling, too. “...We can go over your study guide, as well.”
Cater flopped dramatically onto his back across Riddle’s bed. “OMG, SNEAKY!” He whined. “Luring Cay-Cay in with the promise of a cozy drink, only to trick me into a study date? I see how it is!”
“Wh-?!” Riddle sputtered, briefly thrown off by Cater’s terminology. “Ah, w-well. As you know, Heartslabyul does not tolerate failing classes. Under my watch, you will be doing your absolute best.”
Cater sighed, rising back up and onto his feet. “Can I at least pick the flavor of the tea?”
“So long as it's herbal tea,” Riddle reminded him, “then be my guest.”
–
An hour passed. The teacups and teapot were empty, and the studyguide had been thoroughly reviewed. Lights-out time crept nearer, and yet, the two boys remained side-by-side, having moved back to Riddle’s bed for the latter portion of their study session. Riddle had insisted they properly study at the table to begin with, but once the tea was finished, Cater managed to convince him that spreading out the papers across the bed would be more ‘efficient’ - it was just a coincidence that it was also cozier to lay around while studying, of course.
“Mm… My head’s totally mush,” Cater pouted, resting his chin atop Riddles’ head to emphasize just how terribly drained he felt. “You’re a good teacher, y’know?”
“Th-thank you…” Riddle mumbled, his own sleepiness beginning to take over. “I cannot effectively lead Heartslabyul if I cannot help each and every one of my dorm students with their studies, now, can I?”
He didn’t quite have the energy to protest or push Cater off, and his warmth felt so… inviting…
“Hmm… I dunno…” Cater began to lean back onto the pillows, slowly pulling Riddle down with him. “You’re still a pretty reliable leader, even when you’re not breathing down our necks as hard as you used to, hehe…”
Riddle huffed, his cheek coming to rest against Cater’s chest. He could feel the soft pounding of Cater’s heartbeat. A soothing, constant pulse, causing Riddle’s eyelids to grow heavier with each thump. “...Hmph… So you say…”
“Yep, I totally do…”
Their voices grew quieter as the conversation hit a lull, and yet, no one made a move to get up. As if it was their fault Riddle had such soft sheets and fluffy pillows. Truly, they’d only meant to rest their eyes for a moment - A train of thought that hardly ever resulted in falling into a deep slumber shortly after.
But, not everything goes as meticulously planned - not even for Riddle Rosehearts. Sure, the panic and confusion of suddenly awakening to the sensation of your good friend curled around you was a jarring and disorienting feeling when not expecting it, but… It was not an entirely unwelcome feeling to wake up to a familiar face that had remained by your side through the night, either. Not when that familiar face belonged to someone like Cater.
…The specifications regarding curfew and how it applied to students that remained within their dorm but outside their bedroom would have to be re-examined to ensure no rules were being broken, of course, but… Perhaps that could wait just a few minutes longer.
Summary: Azul has been practicing his dance steps for the upcoming trip to Noble Bell College, and decides to show off what he’s learned to Jamil.
For AshenViper Week 2026 Day 5: Dance
[Ao3 Link] [See Ao3 for further notes and tags]
Word Count: 846
“You’re in here rather late.”
Jamil halted mid dance step and sighed, turning towards the source of the voice. “...Azul. If you’re here to use the practice space, wait your turn.”
“By all means, take your time.” To Jamil’s dismay, Azul walked further into the room and took a seat on the sidelines. He smiled politely, gesturing for Jamil to continue. “I’m sure I could learn a lot from observing your technique, especially without any other distractions around.
Jamil rolled his eyes. “Who says I want to put on a show for you?”
“No, no, please; I won’t get in your way. Just act like I'm not here.”
“That’s kind of hard to do when you’re literally the only other person in the room.” Jamil sighed and walked over to his bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out a water bottle. “Forget it. I’m taking a break. Floor’s all yours.”
Azul stood. “Why, if you insist. I’ll have to do some warm up stretches first, but I’d be honored to show off what I’ve learned to a pro dancer such as yourself.”
“Spare me the flattery.”
“Oh, come, now,” Azul pouted in mock offense, “I’m only ever completely honest with my closest friends.”
“All the more reason for me to not expect any honesty from you, then,” Jamil said. “Less talking, more dancing, Azul.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll show you how hard I've practiced.” Once he finished his warm ups, Azul turned on the practice music track and got into position.
Jamil would not admit it out loud, but he was rather surprised at how smoothly Azul moved across the dance floor. Given that he always complained in P.E. about how it was SUCH a difficult feat to even learn to WALK after such a SHORT FEW YEARS on land, Jamil had kind of expected more bitching and stumbling from Azul when it came to something as intricate as dance steps. Granted, he wasn’t performing perfectly just yet, and he certainly stumbled and lingered in a few places, but he overall had a solid routine down. Jamil also wouldn’t admit out loud that he thought some of Azul’s more fluid movements looked kind of graceful, actually. Perhaps he even looked… A little handsome?
…No, no. No.
NO!
After a few more minutes of watching from the side, Jamil rose to his feet and approached Azul.
Azul paused, glancing over at Jamil with a smile. “Oh, my. Is there something wrong with my form?”
Jamil shook his head. “It’s… Not bad, surprisingly. You’re a little stiff in some areas, but all things considered? I expected a lot worse.”
“Excuse m–?” Azul sputtered, a look of bewilderment flashing across his face in response to the backhanded compliment.
Jamil bit his lip to hold back a tiny smile. Riling up Azul was just too easy.
“Ahem…” Azul straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Anyway… Might I ask why you found yourself out here, spending so much time practicing dancing, yourself? I would think this comes naturally to you, what with how much dancing you do in your spare time, and not to mention at such an advanced level.”
“Yeah, yeah… I do a lot of dancing, yes, so obviously I take it seriously. If I’m going to perform, I’m going to do it right. Besides, it’s a style of dance I’m less familiar with.” With that, Jamil extended his hand out to Azul. “So I need to practice, too. Follow my lead on the partnered segment, and maybe I’ll even give you some advice.”
Azul’s flustered look from before reappeared on his face. He instinctively reached for Jamil’s outstretched hand, but then quickly pulled away. “And just what are you expecting in return for such high-value feedback?”
Jamil rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. Can’t we call it mutually beneficial that my teaching will prevent you from making a fool out of yourself, and by extension, the rest of us?”
“I-I will not be making a fool of myself, thank you very much!” Azul huffed. “State your price, Jamil. Surely you know how this works, by now.”
“Ugh, fine, whatever!” Jamil grabbed Azul’s hands and pulled him close against him to get into position, earning him a satisfactory, startled yelp from Azul in the process. “We haven’t finalized the pairs for the performance yet, have we?”
“Um… Not ye–”
“Dance with me, then. And dance with me first, at the very start of the performance. Promise me that, and I’ll give you pointers to improve your form.”
“WHA–?!” Azul turned his head to the side once more and started coughing, and for a moment, Jamil wondered if he was about to pass out in his arms, right then and there. But, Azul made a swift recovery, and faced Jamil once more with a polished – albeit rather flushed – smile. “Y-Yes, of course. I can do that for you.”
“A fair trade, then?”
Azul’s eyes met Jamil’s, and he smiled. “Very much so.”
Jamil returned the smile, his own face flushed with warmth as well. “Alright, then. On my count…”
