✦Characters: Deuce Spade, Jack Howl, Floyd Leech, Kalim Al-Asim, Silver
✦You two are walking back from shopping and you ask “Why are you not holding my hand?”
Deuce Spade
Deuce freezes mid step like he just got caught breaking a very important rule. He looks at you. Looks down at the 4 shopping bags in his hands then looks back at you. His face instantly crumples into the most heartbreaking guilty puppy expression. He looks like he personally failed you.
“I can’t right now…” he mumbles, ears turning red. “My hands are full and I don’t wanna drop anything… I’m really sorry…”
You keep pouting for dramatic effect. Deuce panics. He starts shifting his weight from foot to foot like he’s trying to solve an impossible equation. “But… um… you can hold my arm instead! Like this!”
He angles his elbow out toward you. It’s the most earnest, awkward, offer in the world. You finally crack and laugh, looping your arm through his properly and squeeze it. “It was a joke, dummy. You’re cute when you feel guilty.”
Deuce lets out a huge, relieved breath. His whole body relaxes. “Jeez… don’t scare me like that! I thought I was being a bad boyfriend for a second…”
He still keeps his arm angled so you can stay linked the whole way home. And every few steps he glances over to make sure you’re smiling.
Jack Howl
Jack doesn’t even pause walking. He just glances down at his very full hands then at you. “I can’t.” he says simply. “Hands are occupied.”
You stop walking. Cross your arms. Raise an eyebrow. “If you don’t wanna hold my hand, you could just say so.”
Jack stops dead. Tail goes stiff. He turns to face you fully, brows furrowed like you just accused him of something serious. “That’s not…” He exhales through his nose. “That’s not what I meant.”
Then without another word he grabs four bags in one hand, freeing the other completely. The newly free hand immediately reaches for yours, fingers lacing tight. “There!” he grunts, cheeks pink. “Happy now?”
You grin. He huffs, but doesn’t let go even when the bags start cutting into his other palm. He carries everything one handed the rest of the way. Refuses to let you help.
Floyd Leech
Floyd is swinging the grocery bags like they’re toys humming some tune when you ask. He stops swinging. Tilts his head.
“Ehhh~? My hands are full, Shrimpyyy~” He lifts both arms and shakes the bags.
You cross your arms. “That’s not an excuse.”
Floyd blinks once. Then his grin stretches impossibly wider and delighted, like you just gave him permission to cause chaos. Without hesitation he drops one entire bag straight down onto the sidewalk.
Crack.
You both hear the eggs give up on life. Floyd doesn’t even look at the bag. He just reaches out, taking your hand in his now free one, and swings your joined hands like nothing happened.
“Happy now~?” he asks, kicking the ruined bag lightly out of his way.
“Floyd! The eggs!”
He shrugs, completely unbothered. “You’re the one who said it wasn’t an excuse~ So I made an excuse go away. Problem solved.”
You scold him the whole way home. He just laughs, squeezes your hand tighter, and keeps swinging your arms.
The broken eggs become his new favorite inside joke. Every time you buy eggs after that he dramatically pretends to drop the carton.
Kalim Al-Asim
He stops. Looks at the bags. Looks at his hands. Looks at you. Then his face lights up like he just solved the greatest puzzle ever. “Oh! Wait wait wait! I’ve got it!”
He very carefully adjusts the bags so they’re still secure… then stretches his pinky finger out toward you as far as it’ll go.
“Here! Hold my pinky!” He beams, eyes sparkling. “It’s almost like hand holding! See? We’re still connected!”
You stare at the single pinky. Then at his bright, earnest smile. You can’t help it, you burst out laughing and hook your pinky around his.
“This is so cute! We should do this all the time!” He swings your linked pinkies the rest of the way home like it’s the most romantic thing in the world (and it is). Every few steps he giggles and says “Im a genius!”
Silver
Silver blinks at you slowly, head tilted, clearly processing the question like it came from another language.
“…I can’t right now.” he says, calm and honest. He lifts both hands slightly, the shopping bags rustling. “My hands are full.”
You give him your best sad puppy eyes. “But… I feel more comfortable and safe when I’m holding your hand…”
Silver freezes. His eyes widen and a flicker of panic crossing his usually serene face. He looks at the bags again. Thinking very seriously for three full seconds. Then without a word he simply holds one of the lighter bags out toward you.
“Here.” he says softly. “You carry this one. Then we can hold hands.”
You take the bag (it was just some bread in that bag, easy). Silver immediately slides his now free hand into yours, fingers lacing gently but firmly.
“Better?” he asks, voice quiet, a tiny flush on his cheeks.
You nod, squeezing his hand. He gives the smallest, softest smile, like he’s relieved he solved the crisis. He keeps your hand in his the entire walk home. Every so often he glances over to check that you still look happy and safe.
When you two get back he insists on carrying everything else inside himself.
⋮ ⌗ ┆ Content Warning ── sfw/fluff, established relationship, comfort, comforting Floyd, he squeezes you, yuu! reader, implied female reader, hugging, soft kisses, overall just a comfy, cute fic <3 pretty short, not beta-read, just something to make me feel better !
⋮ ⌗ ┆ Author's Note ── i've had such a difficult two days, im so sore and in so much pain ugh floyd save me, your my only comfort in this cruel world. Artist cr: @/tukityou1 on X
YOU CAN TELL FLOYD IS PISSED OFF. at what? you couldn't say, it was a mix of probably azul scolding him for the fifth time today or the fact he lost a bet with ace when playing basketball and is on the verge of squeezing' the living soul out of someone who dares to even breathe near him.
you found him laid face-down on YOUR bed when you entered ramshackle, his arms wrapped around your pillows and his face buried in the cases that were covered in snot and stain tears.
was he, crying ?
well, not at this exact moment―it was a lot of muffled groans and screams when would kick his legs on the mattress to make it bounce, the floor board's creaked.
his fingers grip the pillow at the sound of the old door closing, your knapsack falling to the floor as your clicked heel taps against the floor when you make your way to him.
" floyd ? "
your voice came out more like a whisper, loud enough to get a reaction out of him, which wasn't much. he let out a muffled groan, fast and annoyed―you knew this wasn't going to be easy.
" oh, floyd ... "
you stopped a few steps away from the bed, his school jacket tossed by your feet, messy and fully forgotten. his vest u buttoned and white dress shirt wrinkly.
with your hand on your hips, your tongue pushing against your inner cheek you looked around the room for the one thing you've kept for moments such like these.
your eyes scanned your room until you found it, a happy smile forms on your lips as you excitedly jog to grab a stuffed animal you've owned for a while while living here.
twisted wonderland fairs sure had a ton of options for cute, fluffy animals. but thankfully, being in a relationship with floyd meant a certain shrimp plush meant the entire world to him
he must have been in such a bad mood, he didn't even see it lurking in the corner of your room to cry into.
with the plush in hand, you slowly walked back to floyds figure―a soft and gentle hand reaches to pat the back of his hair, your fingers playing with his teal colored locks as you whispered, " floyd~ look what i have ! " with a small smile on your lips.
the boy mumbles in the pillow, something incoherent, yet he still turns his head to peak over at you―his multi-colored eyes land on the shrimp plush in your hands, gesturing him to take him with a small wiggle.
" take this little guy, squeeze the daylights out of him, not my pillo-OOWAAH― "
with a sudden tug on your arms, you find yourself dragged into floyd's chest and held tightly, your shrimp plush resting on your back with floyd's hands squeezing it every now and then.
he drops his face into the crook of your neck and lets his hair drape over your skin, tickling you gently. you didn't fight back, you just let him hold you for as long as he needed to.
the room fell into a comfortable silence, the only time floyd spoke was when he was telling you how much he loves you and how sorry he is for being such a hassle to deal with, something along those lines.
you just kiss his temple and play with the ends of his hair, fingers curling against the locks as you hummed softly, reminding him how much you love him, no matter how he acts.
A/N: @idiasplayertwo (hope you don't mind me tagging you) come get your burnt and poisoned meeaaallllll!!! I'm sorry this is so buns I'm terrible at writing for Floyd EUUGHHHH
floyd falls in love in the most inconvenient way possible: accidentally. because at first, you are just interesting. fun to mess with, fun to surprise, fun to watch reactions from. you're different from most people at NRC because you don't immediately panic around him the way others do, and honestly? that catches his attention fast. you talk back to him sometimes, tease him right back, roll your eyes when he gets dramatic instead of running away. it's entertaining. naturally floyd starts hanging around you more often because boredom is the enemy and you make things less dull. except eventually, somewhere along the line, your presence stops feeling like entertainment and starts feeling necessary. that's where things get weird.
because floyd is used to getting bored of people quickly. one day someone is interesting, the next day they're not. it happens all the time. but with you, the interest never fades. if anything, it gets worse. he keeps wanting more of your attention, more of your reactions, more time near you just to see what you will do next. and instead of getting tired of you, floyd starts building entire routines around finding you whenever he feels restless. which should probably alarm him more than it does.
"you're looking for the prefect again?" floyd glances over from where he is half-draped across the lounge counter. "hm?" jade smiles pleasantly. "you've checked the front door six times in the past ten minutes, floyd." "...maybe i'm bored." "i see." the knowing look jade gives him afterward is deeply irritating. especially because floyd immediately realizes jade is right.
it gets bad after that. suddenly floyd starts noticing all the little things he does around you automatically. how he gravitates toward you in crowded rooms without thinking. how his mood improves embarrassingly fast whenever you laugh at something he says. how he gets weirdly irritated when other people monopolize your attention for too long. and honestly? the possessiveness sneaks up on him harder than anything else. because floyd likes attention, especially yours.
if you ignore him too long, he sprawls across your lap dramatically until you acknowledge him again. if someone interrupts your conversations, he immediately inserts himself back into them like an oversized eel-shaped problem. if you spend too much time with another student, floyd suddenly appears beside you with his chin hooked over your shoulder acting clingier than usual for the rest of the day. he doesn't even realize he's doing it at first. you do.
"floyd" you laugh while trying unsuccessfully to push his face away from where he is squishing against your cheek, "you've been attached to me all day." "mmhmm?~" "...why?" "you're just so fun to be around, shrimpy!" which is technically true. just not the whole truth.
physical affection becomes an even bigger disaster. floyd already invades personal space naturally, but around you it starts carrying actual weight behind it. like if you hug him unexpectedly, he clings right back and refuses to let go for an unreasonable amount of time. one evening you fall asleep against him in the vip room and floyd stays awake almost the entire time just staring at you with this strange heavy feeling sitting in his chest. that part unsettles him a little (surprisingly) because floyd isn’t used to wanting softness from people, but with you, he starts craving it constantly.
the realization itself takes longer than it probably should because he doesn't spend much time analyzing his emotions unless forced to. he just acts on instinct most of the time. if he wants to see you, he finds you. if he wants attention, he takes it. simple. except eventually even he notices this feeling has become way too big to ignore casually. especially after azul points it out.
"you seem unusually attached to the prefect lately." floyd immediately narrows his eyes and puts on a fake pout. "what's that supposed to mean?" azul adjusts his glasses carefully. "it means you become intolerable whenever they are absent for extended periods of time." "...ruuude." "am i wrong?" floyd opens his mouth. then closes it again. because unfortunately, no.
the truth hits him fully during a completely random moment. the two of you are sitting together in the lounge after closing hours while floyd complains dramatically about something unimportant. you are laughing softly beside him, tired enough that your reactions are slower and more genuine than usual. then, still smiling, you reach over and poke his cheek lightly. "you're cute when you sulk." he freezes completely.
because something in his chest twists so suddenly and sharply that it catches him entirely off guard. and all at once, every weird feeling over the past several months crashes together perfectly. every instinct dragging him toward you constantly, every spike of irritation when someone else stole your attention, every ridiculous urge to keep touching you just because he could.
he likes you. seriously. way more seriously than he realized. and honestly? once the realization settles properly, he starts grinning. because suddenly all his clinginess, all his attention-seeking, all his constant need to stay wrapped around you somehow finally makes sense. meanwhile you are still looking at him in confusion because he has gone weirdly quiet. "...floyd?" he immediately flops sideways onto you like a giant sea snake. "shrimpyyyy~" "that did not answer my question at all." "don't care~"
and while you struggle beneath the weight of an extremely affectionate moray eel, floyd hides his smile against your shoulder and thinks, distantly, that he's probably never letting you go now.
