flojami gummies #22 (ao3 link)
♡ “You decided to what now?!” Floyd scoffed, full disgust and offense displayed clearly on his face. Jade shifted beside him, his usual calm smile faltering as he, like Floyd, narrowed his eyes at the papers and sketches on Azul’s desk.
“I said I’m planning to do a maid cafe themed event in the Mostro Lounge.” Azul said calmly, tapping his pen against his desk. He let out a sigh at the twins utterly aghast expressions.
“You’ve gone insane” Floyd gasped, pushing a hand through his hair as he glared down at the sketches of ruffly, cutesy maid dresses done by none other than Idia, of all people.
Jade nodded quickly in agreement, crossing one arm and placing a finger on his chin as he tilted his head. Smile strained, and voice forced. Floyd thought he looked constipated. Jade sighed, helpless, “You want…to dress us up as maids?”
“Yup” Azul answered all too easily, too casually. The twins gaped at him like he had grown a second- no, a third head. Azul flicked his wrist as he explained further, “Idia kept rambling about wanting to visit a maid cafe but most being too far. He said they tend to garner a lot of revenue from both anime and non- anime fans simply because they’re cute and fun. And a staple in otaku culture, apparently. He also mentioned animal themed maids and such, hence the sketches.”
“I am NOT wearing cat ears and a maid dress, Azul, you’re crazy!” Floyd huffed, glaring down at the sketches.
Azul tilted his head, letting out a soft hum of fake acknowledgment, “Then, you can wear dog ears.”
Jade frowned, “…But I want the dog ears.”
Floyd let out an indignant gasp as he turned to face his twin, staring at him with frustration, “You’re going along with it?!”
“I’m just saying…If I were to wear any of them, I like the dog ears best. And the longer style of dress.” Jade spoke matter of factly. Like he had already given into Azul’s ideas.
Floyd scoffed, “You have…no balls.”
While Floyd and Jade started an intense contest of sticking their tongue out at each other, Azul hummed as he looked through the sketches, he raised one up at Floyd, “How about a bunny?”
Floyd stared. Jade and Azul watched with utmost amusement as Floyd’s face reddened and his frown grew. Floyd huffed, “I’m not being a damn bunny!”
“So cat ears?”
“Whatever!”
—————————————————
“A maid cafe?” Jamil stared at the flyer he was just handed, analyzing it carefully to make sure it really was real.
Kalim nodded eagerly beside him, bouncing slightly as he excitedly explained, “Azul and Idia were talking about it during today’s housewarden meeting! It seemed like fun! They even added some cute new menu items, there’s rice shaped as a sea otter!”
Jamil frowned, staring at the flyer still as he considered this. They were in the Scarabia kitchen, Jamil stopped in the midst of cutting vegetables while another Scarabia student stirred a pot in the stove while humming. Jamil lowered the knife as he thought carefully. Why would he want to go? He has no interest in seeing a bunch of guys dressed in random maid dresses. But, well, there was-
“Don’t you want to see Floyd?” Kalim asked, tilting his head all innocently.
Jamil almost launched the knife, knocking a couple cut carrot slices over. The Scarabia student nearby caught them quickly and Jamil mumbled his thanks before begrudgingly turning to face Kalim again.
Jamil scowled, “Why would I care to see Floyd?”
“Don’t you like him?” Kalim asked and before Jamil could react, the Scarabia student expertly took the knife from him and started cutting things on their own. Jamil made a frustrated noise.
Cheeks growing mysteriously warm, Jamil scoffed at Kalim, “What makes you think that?!”
“Well, I mean, I know I'm oblivious sometimes but the way you stare at Floyd during basketball practice is pretty telling, Jamil!” Kalim laughed while Jamil wished he would suddenly disappear.
Jamil huffed, “why were you at our practice?!”
“I don’t go often! I just pass by the gym sometimes and get curious, so I look sometimes. It’s pretty obvious you like Floyd at least a little.” Kalim gave him a bright grin that only served to sour Jamil’s mood further.
Jamil frowned, “It’s not obvious.”
“It’s getting a bit obvious,” supplied the Scarabia student as he added the carrots to the pot. Jamil huffed, frowning.
Kalim laughed, raising the flyer up to Jamil’s face, “cmon, it’ll be fun! We can get dessert!”
—————————————————
“This is the worst decision i’ve ever made.” Floyd grumbled, glaring at the mirror as Ortho carefully tied a big bow at the back of his dress.
Ortho blinked up at him in the mirror, tilting his head as he cheerfully spoke, “But you look great, Floyd Leech!”
Floyd sighed, looking up at the ceiling with a frown, “….thanks, sea angel.”
Ortho hummed happily, going about fixing the small details in Floyd’s dress while Floyd submerged himself in silent frustration. The dress wasn’t bad, not by any means. The one he was given, reached a little below his knees, it was poofy and frilly and had a touch of ‘a princess-y feel’, as Idia had put it.
The tail had a bow with a bell wrapped at the end, matching the loose bow on his collar. The car ears on his head were fluffy, and had added piercings to match his supposed ‘scary aura’ that Idia claimed he had. And to tame said ‘scary aura’ a little, both his cat ears had little bells attached to them. And in between, rested a sparkly tiara.
A cat maid princess. That’s what Floyd was dressed at today. Because Azul could never make normal decisions, no, Azul had to make Floyd suffer.
Floyd watched the rest of the room through the mirror. Jade had warmed up to the idea, and was now quite surprisingly pleased with Azul’s decision. Floyd called him a traitor.
Jade’s dress was much longer, meant to look ‘sweeter’ and less bold than Floyd’s. The dog tail on Jade was decorated with a fluffy bow at the start of it, and his dog ears were decorated with smaller, matching bows. Floyd let out a sigh. What has society come to!
Idia and Azul leaned over Azul’s desk, scanning through designs and sketches, and discussing any last minute changes. Floyd glared at them through the mirror. Azul looked up and met his gaze with a grin, “Floyd…do you know how to make cat puns?”
Mentally, Floyd considered all the ways he could make a meal with an octopus.
—————————————————
“This is the worst decision I've ever made.” Jamil grumbled, from where he stood at the Octavinelle entrance.
Kalim only laughed as he excitedly walked through and Jamil begrudgingly followed. Inside the Mostro Lounge, music played as people excitedly spoke. Everything was decorated with ribbons and hearts and tiny, cutesy doodles of animals.
The “maids” of the Mostro Lounge were its usuals workers but all dressed up with various accessories and added animal ears. Some were on rollerskates, some seemingly were dressed more cutesy or more cool, others simpler and others much more elaborate. It seemed every maid was unique in some way.
Ortho greeted them cheerfully at the entrance, dressed in a modified suit and bow tie, and a clipboard that Jamil assumed was just for aesthetics sake, as it didn’t even have a paper attached to it. “Hello, Kalim and Jamil! Would you like a table?”
Kalim nodded eagerly, excitedly praising Ortho for his new outfit. Jamil tuned them out as he carefully scanned over the restaurant, looking for teal.
They got sat at a table by a corner, and got told to wait for a maid to be assigned to them soon. Kalim grinned eagerly at Jamil, “maybe you’ll see Floyd!”
Jamil sighed, frowning as he leaned forward to rest his head in his hand, “Stop mentioning him to me so eagerly. And stop hanging out with Azul so much.”
Kalim pouted but Jamil continued with a huff, “besides, I’m sure Floyd is on his break already, I doubt he’d be here right now, much less would he have time to come hear our table or-“
“Meow, peasants! The princess is here to serve mew!…Meow!”
Jamil turned his head slowly, staring up in horror at this supposed princess. A cat maid princess. Huh. Floyd’s eye twitched once Jamil met his gaze.
Kalim giggled, “You’re a princess? You look great, Floyd! Doesn’t he, Jamil?”
“Um…” Jamil’s voice faltered. He stared at Floyd. Floyd stared back. Jamil let out a snort, “He does, yeah.”
Floyd let out quite a frustrated sigh, frowning down at his clipboard while Kalim tried to uselessly cheer him up.
After a moment of silence, Floyd perked up, the bells on his ears jingling as he looked up at them with determination. He opened his mouth. Hesitated. Before finally speaking once more. “The princess…”
Floyd met Jamil’s gaze. Jamil gave him an amused smile and Floyd’s voice cracked, causing the eel to squeal and quickly turn around before simply speed walking away.
Jamil and Kalim sat in startled silence.
After a good couple minutes, and a far away yelp from Azul, Floyd came back, seemingly set on not looking at either of them as he once again tried to continue on with his script, “The princess would like to know if meow’d like to order a drink…meow.”
Floyd raised the clipboard up and up to hide most of his face from view. Jamil stared. Maybe he ate something weird and was starting to hallucinate. Because here Floyd Leech was, standing in front of Jamil, with cat ears, a tiara, and a maid dress, cheeks flushed and looking away from Jamil in embarrassment.
Jamil wasn’t sure if he was in hell.
Or maybe heaven.
Kalim perked up, quickly ordering some drink that Jamil paid no mind to, too focused staring at the perhaps demon or maybe angel in front of him. Floyd scribbled Kalim’s order on his clipboard before looking up at Jamil with a pout, cheeks flushed as he grumbled, “and what would mew like to order?….meow.”
“Do you have to end every sentence with meow?”
“Yes…Meow.”
Floyd pouted as he angrily looked away. Jamil blinked, slowly raising a hand over his mouth to cover the new found grin there. He turned back to the menu on the table, quickly skimming it and deciding on some random soda.
Floyd noted it down with a sigh, before staring down at their table rather than either of their faces. “The princess must let meow know we have a pawsome deal available, meow. If mew order a certain total, mew are eligible for special maid rewards…Meow. You- uh. Meow can read for details in the small print out on your- fuck. On mew table, meow.”
Floyd gave out a sigh before stepping back to do quite the begrudging curtsey. He huffed, “I’ll be back with meow drinks soon…Meow.”
And soon the cat maid princess eel was gone. Jamil watched him go with amusement while Kalim excitedly grabbed the print out to read over.
—————————————————
“So?” Kalim asked excitedly after he paid the check, looking up at Floyd with big, bright eyes and a huge grin.
Floyd frowned at him, letting out a sigh as he turned to glare down at Kalim’s total paid amount written on his clipboard. Floyd grit his teeth, “mew are eligible for special maid rewards of meow choice, but they’re not mandatory…meow.”
Jamil bit back a laugh while Kalim read over his options for a reward. Jamil tilted his head, “Azul is really killing you with that speech pattern you have there, huh?”
“The speech meow-ism was firefly squid’s stupid idea! And Azul, the bastard, agreed to it!” Floyd huffed. His eye twitched, and he angrily growled out, “…meow.”
“You’re pretty consistent with it, despite hating it so much” Jamil mused, and before Floyd could grumble at him, Kalim excitedly pointed at one of listed items in the print out.
“I picked one!”
—————————————————
“Sea snake.” Floyd narrowed his eyes, kicking his legs without a care as he grabbed onto Jamil’s cheeks to make him face him. “Stop ignoring me!”
Jamil pressed his eyes closed. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to take Kalim or curse Kalim.
Apparently, one of the more expensive special maid rewards was having a maid sit on your lap. Which is what Kalim chose. For Floyd to sit on Jamil’s lap.
Floyd sulked, making a frustrated whiny noise as he angrily swung his legs, hanging at either side of the chair and continuously bumping into Jamil’s hip. Floyd huffed, “sea snake, you’re no fun!”
Jamil opened one eye very bravely to gaze up at Floyd. Floyd who was frowning down at him, pouty and fairly red. He scoffed and Jamil raised an eyebrow, tiling his head, “don’t you mean, ‘mew’re no fun, meow?’ huh?- Wait, Flo-“
Floyd didn’t even hesitate as he moved down to bite Jamil’s shoulder. It didn’t hurt all that much. Not really. Mysteriously enough, Floyd’s bites have stayed to stop hurting recently. Jamil isn’t sure if it’s because of the illness called love or if Floyd just favored him.
Floyd growled, flicking Jamil’s forehead, “don’t open your eyes just to bully me!”
“Meow eyes,” Jamil corrected.
Floyd frowned.
Jamil laughed, reaching up to tug out one of the bells attached to Floyd’s makeshift cat ears. He hummed, “Can I keep this? As a gift from the princess.”
Floyd rolled his eyes, turning his gaze to glare at some innocent fish in a nearby tank. Floyd sighed, “do whatever you want.”
Jamil waited. Floyd let out a deeper sigh.
“…Meow.”
—————————————————
“We’re never doing this again!” Floyd whined, voice muffled into Azul’s coat. He was sprawled on Azul’s couch in the V.I.P. room, using the coat as a makeshift pillow much to Azul’s annoyance.
“We got quite a lot of revenue, though.” Azul sighed, eyes scanning over papers upon papers, “It wouldn’t hurt to at least try something similar later on.”
“Besides,” Jade spoke up, grinning big and wide like a sharp who just caught a fish. He tilted his head to the side. “It seems a certain princess quite enjoyed it.”
Jade then proudly showed Floyd the picture he took on his phone of a certain maid and Jamil.
Azul let out an amused hum as he watched the twins start to wrestle over Jade’s phone, once trying to desperately save the picture while the other deleted it.
Unknown to them, Azul had plenty of pictures to spare, thanks to his photographer. He looked down at his phone, watching Kalim excitedly claim that Azul’s and his plan had worked yet again.