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"It's a Deal!" Please Read the Fine Print Next Time. [Part 5]

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗SYNOPSIS: You are stuck between the charming octopus you met as a child and the merman who saved your life. One wants to see the world with you, while the other wants to give it to you.

♡︎ We have finally reached the end of this fic... damm... I hope y'all enjoy the ending. I worked really hard on this entire story!!!

♡︎This can be seen as the last chapter, or if you like Rielle more, you can just ignore this, it's up to you!!

★4,838 Words★

「 ✦ Previous✦ 」

The rain is coming down hard, turning the streets into a total mess of mud and puddles. Azul stands under the shelter of the building, waiting for his carriage to arrive. The past few years had been busy for him, and he’d made sure of it. He had expanded his business way beyond the shore, making the Monstro Lounge the most talked-about spot in the city. He was successful, powerful, and always had a ledger full of new deals to look over. He didn't have much time to think about the past, or at least, that’s what he told himself whenever he caught himself staring at the ocean for too long.

He checks his watch, feeling a bit annoyed. The weather had really taken a toll on the streets, making everything slow and grey. Finally, a carriage pulls up through the mist, the horses splashing through the puddles as they stop in front of him.

Azul steps forward, ready to get out of the cold, but at the same time, another person rushes toward the door. Both of their hands reach for the handle at once.

"Excuse me, I believe I called for-"

Azul stops mid-sentence, his voice trailing off as he looks up. His eyes go wide behind his glasses, and he completely freezes.

Standing there, soaked to the bone and looking like they’ve seen better days, is you.

"____?" he whispers, his breath hitching.

He just stares at you, shocked to find you here, of all places. You look tired, and the happy glow you used to have when you were with Rielle is completely gone. For a second, neither of you says anything, just standing there in the pouring rain while the rest of the world disappears around you.

“Ah… Azul?” You give him a sad smile while taking your hand back. “You can ha-”

“No!” His voice comes out louder than he had wanted, and you jump on the spot as he clears his throat. “I apologize. Please take the carriage, I have no important matters ahead of me.”

But he does, he just wants you to get out of the cold before you catch a fever. He looks at your soaked clothes and the way you’re shivering, and for a moment, he forgets all about his busy schedule and the meetings he had lined up.

"Please," he says, his voice softening as he holds the door open for you. "It’s a long way to wherever you’re going in this weather. I can’t exactly let an old friend stand out here like this."

You nod, entering the carriage as he steps back, closing the door for you. He tries to smile at you, but the carriage has already started to move.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

The second time he saw you, you were at the market looking at some rings. He watched as you picked one up and tried it on, while the vendor tried to offer you a deal that was clearly meant to make you pay way more than it was worth.

Azul watched as you played right back with the vendor. You pointed out that the material wasn't even real and argued that the price for something fake should be a lot lower than what he was asking for.

Azul couldn’t help but chuckle at the way you were handling him. For a second, he thought about stepping in to pay for the ring himself, it would have been the perfect way to swoop in and surprise you, but you had already talked the price down, paid, and started walking away. He watched you go for a moment before turning and heading the other way toward his destination.

The third time he spotted you, you were right there in the Monstro Lounge. He actually had to blink and take off his glasses to clean them, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but you were really sitting at one of the corner tables.

Azul stood on the balcony overlooking the lounge, his heart doing that annoying jump again. He adjusted his coat, thinking about walking down there and finally saying something. He even took a step toward the stairs, rehearsing the way he was going to great you in his head, something about how the ambience suited you, but then he stopped. He looked at the way you were quietly staring at your drink, looking a bit lonely, and he suddenly felt like he’d be intruding. If there was someone who should be there for you, it should be Rielle.

He sighed and stepped back into office, deciding it wasn't the right time.

When you finally finished your meal and signalled for the check, the waiter came over with a polite smile, but he didn't have a bill in his hand.

"Oh, I'm ready to pay." you said, reaching for your bag.

"There’s no need for that." the waiter replied. "The owner mentioned that your meal has already been taken care of. He said it was a welcome back gift." and you couldn’t help but smile.

The fourth time, it was you who spotted Azul.

You were walking past a small park near the edge of the city when you saw him sitting on a bench, looking over some papers. He wasn't wearing his usual suit jacket, just his waistcoat and rolled-up sleeves.

For a second, you considered walking up to him. You wanted to thank him for the meal at the lounge and the carriage ride, but your feet wouldn't move. You weren't sure what you’d even say, everything felt so different now. You didn't want to bring up the past.

Instead of approaching him, you noticed a small flower stall just a few feet away. You bought a single blue flower, the same colour as the ocean, and walked over to his carriage that was waiting nearby.

The driver looked at you, but you just gave him a quiet look and tucked the flower into the handle of the carriage door where Azul would be sure to see it when he left. You didn't leave a note or a name, you just turned around and walked away before he could look up from his papers.

When Azul finally finished his work and headed to the carriage, he stopped dead in his tracks. He reached out, his fingers trembling slightly as he picked up the small blue flower. He looked around the park, his eyes searching the crowds for a familiar face, but you were already gone.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

“Is this seat taken?”

You look up from your drink to see Floyd leaning against the end of your table, a lazy grin stretching across his face. He doesn’t wait for you to answer as he slides into the chair next to you, holding his chin up with his hand.

"Aha~ Little Shrimpy is back again." Floyd hums. "You come here pretty often, don't you? Is it 'cause the food is good, or are you just hopin' to see a familiar face?"

You open your mouth to respond, but Floyd leans in closer, invading your personal space with a chuckle. "You look kinda lonely all by yourself. Maybe I should keep you company instead? I'm way more fun than Jade, and definitely more interesting than that grumpy, stressed-out Azul~"

He starts playing with a stray lock of your hair, his voice dropping into a teasing tone, and you catch the side-eye he gives toward the VIP room.

Sure enough, it only takes a few seconds before the sound of footsteps echoes across the floor.

"Floyd. Don't you have a kitchen that needs supervising?"

Azul appears at the side of the table, his arms crossed. He looks absolutely irritated, his gaze darting between Floyd’s hand and your face.

"Ehh? But Azul, Shrimpy was lookin' so bored!" Floyd whined, stretching his arms over his head. "I was just being a good host."

"Leave. Now. Before I dock your pay for the next three months." Azul snapped, gesturing toward the back of the lounge.

Floyd let out a loud laugh, giving you one last wink before sliding out of the table. "Fine, fine~ Don't get your ink in a twist. See ya later, Shrimpy!"

As Floyd walks off, Azul lets out a loud sigh. He stands there for a moment, hesitating, before he pulls out the chair Floyd had just vacated and sits down across from you.

"I apologise for him…" Azul says, his voice much softer now as he avoids your eyes, adjusting his glasses. "He has no sense of boundaries. I hope he didn't... well, I hope he didn't make you uncomfortable."

He finally looks at you, and the annoyance from a moment ago fades into something more nervous. "I've noticed you've been coming here more often lately. I... I wasn't sure if you wanted me to approach you, so I've been keeping my distance. But I couldn't let him continue that ridiculous display."

You take a sip of your drink, the silence making Azul gulp nervously, but you are quick to answer him.

“I was curious about my old friend’s business.” You throw that name out, and it’s his turn to find out how the name stings. “You did it.”

He did it.

You remember when the two of you were young, that you had asked each other what you wanted for the future. You had told Azul that you wished to explore the world, and he had told you that he wanted to be someone who mattered. He had told you, while sitting in the sand of the deserted island, that he wanted to build a place where he called the shots, where he wouldn't be the small, crying octopus anymore.

"I suppose I did. It’s exactly what I said I’d build, isn't it? Though I admit, it feels a bit duller than what I had expected."

He clears his throat, finally finding the courage to ask the question that’s clearly been eating at him since the night of the carriage ride. "And what about your dream? Are you still exploring? I assumed you and Rielle would be halfway across the ocean by now."

"No. We aren't." You swirl the ice in your glass. "Rielle and I broke up some months ago, Azul. He went back to the sea."

Azul freezes, his eyes widening slightly. He looks like he wants to say he's sorry, or perhaps he wants to ask why, but he just stays silent for a moment, letting the news sink in.

"I see. So the prince returned to his kingdom, and you were left all alone."

“I’m not really alone, I just went back to travelling in the Asim’s boats as I used to.”

The two of you fall into a comfortable rhythm of small talk, something you haven't had in years. Azul tells you about the ridiculous demands of some of his wealthier clients, omitting the names, of course, ever the professional, and you tell him about the strange island markets you've visited since you've been back on the move.

Eventually, you notice the lounge starting to quiet down as the night gets later. You finish the last of your drink and set the glass down, pushing your chair back.

"I should probably head back to the docks." you say, standing up. "The boat leaves early tomorrow for a short supply run."

Azul stands up with you. "Of course. It wouldn't do for the traveller to miss their departure." He looks like he wants to say something else, his hand hovering near his glasses as he walks you toward the exit.

You stop at the doors, turning back to look at him.

"Azul?"

"Yes?" He asks, tilting his head slightly.

"You're always working in this place," you say, gesturing to the elegant room behind him. "But even the most successful businessman needs a break, right? I'll be back in town in two days, would you want to go out? Somewhere that isn't the Monstro Lounge?"

Azul blinks, completely caught off guard. His usual composure slips for a second, and he actually stammers. "I- out? With you? To a..." He clears his throat, quickly fixing his tie and regaining his composure, though a faint blush creeps up his neck. "I suppose my schedule could be rearranged. For an old friend, it would be acceptable."

"Good." you smile, reaching out to give his arm a quick squeeze. "I'll see you in two days, Azul."

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Yet, you never returned.

Azul had waited for you near the docks, his carriage ready to take you on a ride just like he promised. He’d even cleared his whole schedule so it would just be the two of you. But as the sun went down and the stars came out, your boat never arrived.

At first, he tried to stay calm. He told himself that the wind was just bad or that they had made a last-minute stop. But by the next morning, he was starting to panic.

He spent the whole day running around the city, talking to every business person and merchant he knew. He asked everyone if they had seen the Asim flags or heard anything about the supply run, but everyone told him the same thing.

No one had seen the ship.

He returns to the monstro lounge, he walked through the it with his head held high. As he moved past the tables, a regular customer waved and called out a greeting.

"Good evening, Mr. Ashengrotto! The tea service is excellent today!" the man said with a smile.

"I’m very glad to hear that. Enjoy your evening." Azul replied as smoothly as possible. He even gave a polite nod.

He kept that smile fixed on his face until he reached the VIP room. He stepped inside, and the second the heavy door clicked shut, he ripped his hat off and threw it across the room with a frustrated snarl, watching it hit the far wall and tumble to the floor. His hands flew to his face, his fingers digging into his hair as he leaned his back against the door.

"Why?! Why does this always happen?!"

He stares down at the floor, trying to find any reason why you hadn’t returned. He wants to believe the wind was bad or the ship was just slow, but something else crosses his mind.

You were never supposed to come back. You lied to him. You stood there in his lounge, looked him in the eyes, and told him you’d see him in two days, but you probably just wanted to get away. You’re probably far away by now, laughing on some boat, maybe even back in Rielle’s arms.

"You did it again…" he whispers. "You left me again…"

His eyes fill with angry tears. "Was it a game to you? Did you just want to see if I’d wait for you like a fool again?"

He grabs a stack of papers from his desk and rips them in half, throwing the pieces into the air. He feels like that lonely, crying child all over again. He has all this money and all this power, but none of it matters if you just walked away without a second thought. None of this matters.

By the Seven, he was starting to lose it, but a knock at his door wakes him from the spiraling. He quickly adjusts his coat, grabs his hat from the floor, and sits down in his chair right behind the desk. He takes a deep breath, forcing his face to look calm.

“Please, come in.”

The door opens slowly, and Jade walks in. He doesn't have his usual smirk, looking unusually serious. He stops in front of the desk, noticing the mess on the floor, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"Azul…" Jade starts. "I just received word from the harbor master."

Azul grips the armrests of his chair so hard his knuckles turn white. "Tell me. Did they find the boat? Did they see where they went?"

Jade hesitates for a second, then shakes his head. "They found something, but it isn't good. A merchant ship coming from the south spotted a wreckage. Apparently, a sudden storm hit that area last night. They found a hull with the Asim family crest on it..."

Azul feels the air leave his lungs. All that anger he felt a moment ago, the thoughts that you had lied to him or run back to Rielle, vanishes instantly.

"Wreckage?" Azul repeats, his voice barely a whisper. "What about the survivors? What about them?"

Jade shakes his head.

“No survivors where spotted.”

Azul’s hand goes to his face, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one finger, but his hand is shaking so much the frames barely sit straight. He doesn't say a word. He just stares at the wall behind Jade with empty eyes.

Jade waits for a moment, but when he realizes Azul isn't going to speak, he bows slightly and leaves the room, closing the door softly behind him.

The second the door clicks, Azul snaps.

He bolts upright, knocking the chair over, and runs out of the VIP room. He bursts back into the main lounge. As he nears the exit, a wealthy client steps in his way, smiling.

"Oh, Mr. Ashengrotto! I was just hoping to discuss a-"

"Excuse me." He doesn't even look at the man as he brushes past him, leaving the client standing there in shock. He pushes through the front doors of the Lounge and keeps running until he reaches the edge of the cliffs.

He dives, and he swims.

He shearchs for the ship, around the bottom of the sea, he looks everywhere it should have fallen, and when he does he spots the its broken wooden ribs sticking out of the sand. Azul goes into a frenzy. He tears through the wreckage, his huge tentacles lifting heavy beams and searching every corner.

He’s looking for you.

He’s looking for a body, a hand, anything! Anything at all.

"Where are you?" he screams underwater, the bubbles rising around him.

He searches for hours until his muscles ache, but he finds nothing. No one.

Were you eaten by some sharks? The though makes him shiver.

Then, his eye catches something small tucked into the sand. He reaches out a trembling tentacle and picks it up. It’s the small shell he gave you all those years ago when you were both just children. You had kept it this whole time.

Azul pulls the shell close to his chest, curling his massive form around it as he sinks into the sand.

You didn't leave him because you wanted to.

You didn't lie.

You were coming back, and the sea took you away from him.

He stays there for what feels like hours, feeling the soft waves underneath the sea.

“Get yourself together, Azul!” He almost slaps himself with a tentacle as he floats up away from the sand. He looks around the sunken ship one more time, his eyes darting everywhere. “They couldn’t have died! There are no bodies down here. They must have escaped!”

The panic starts to turn into a desperate kind of hope. If there are no bodies, then there is a chance. You were a sailor, you knew how to survive. He gets himself together as he swims up, his tentacles pushing him through the water.

Then, something comes to his mind.

He recognizes these reefs, and he realizes he’s seen this spot before. It isn't far away from the deserted island where the two of you used to meet when you were kids.

But that place was gone. The last time he checked, the poor small island had sunk completely underwater due to the rising tides. There shouldn't be anything left.

Even so, why does the island cross his mind? Why is it that he feels the sea calling for him in its direction?

He turns his body toward the location. It couldn’t hurt to check. It couldn’t hurt to hope that you were there, waiting for him with a smile, so the two of you could just go back to those simple times when you were just kids.

He swims as fast as he can and a small patch of sand finally comes into view yet his heart drops.

You aren’t there.

He slows down, floating just beneath the surface as he stares at the empty sandbar. You aren’t there now, and you weren’t there all those years ago when he came to see you. When he came back to talk with you as you two used to do weekly.

He feels like a fool again. He feels like his child self as he waits for you to come back, thinking that you were just busy that day, but then one day turned into months and he never saw you again, yet he would always come back.

He’s about to turn back, when a strange shape on the surface catches his eye.

It’s a small rowboat, drifting aimlessly a few yards away from the sand. It looks half-broken, likely a piece of the wreckage that managed to stay afloat. Azul doesn't even think as he swims towards it. His tentacles reaching for the small boat, making it rock around.

Inside, you bolt upright, gasping as you wake up. You look over the side and see him with his eyes wide open, his mouth slight agape as if he had been the one aboarded by a strange sea creatures capable of tearing his boat apart.

Instead of screaming in terror, your face lights up.

"Azul!" you scream, your voice hoarse from spending so long in the sun. You reach out, trying to touch one of the tentacles holding the boat. You point frantically at the tiny patches of sand nearby, tears of relief streaming down your face.

"I found it, Azul! Look! I found our spot!"

You’re shivering, soaked to the bone and covered in scrapes from the storm, but you’re grinning like a kid again. "The ship went down, but the waves pushed me right here. I knew you'd come looking. I knew you'd remember where to find me! I didn’t know what to do! I lost the oars and-"

"I thought you had died!" He interrupts you, his voice sounding annoyed, but you can see the look of horror on his face. "What if I never checked this spot? What if I never went to look for you? What if I stayed at Mon-"

"But you didn’t! You went to look for me, Azul!"

"You're a fool." he mutters, though the annoyance is gone now. "To trust that I would remember... to stay in a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean just waiting for me."

You roll your eyes at him as you rest your chin at the edge of the boat right next to where he had placed one of his tentacles.

“This all feels so nostalgic." you tease. "You’re even being all rude again.”

Azul’s head tilts in the water. "I am not being rude! Most people would have tried to swim for it, not sat around in a piece of driftwood hoping for a miracle!"

"I wasn't hoping for a miracle, I was waiting for you." you fire back, reaching out to poke the suckers on his tentacle. "There’s a difference. Besides, I knew you’d be too dramatic to just let me go without a lecture."

"Dramatic? I am the most composed person in the Coral Sea!" he rumbles, splashing a bit of water toward the boat in protest. "I’ll have you know I had a very organised search plan."

"Yes... Of course you did, Azul."

"I am a successful businessman who just happens to be currently agitated." he huffs, though he doesn't move away.

You watch him for a second, the salt air and the quiet of the sea making everything feel like it did years ago.

"Hey, Azul?"

"What now? If you're going to complain about-"

"Remember when we kissed?"

The water around the boat goes completely still. Azul’s eyes go wide, and his skin suddenly flushes pink.

It felt like a lifetime ago. You had run away from another annoying ball, as you were venting to Azul about your parents. You were complaining about how they kept trying to set you up with some noble, and Azul was just floating there, listening with an annoyed look on his face.

This had been the first time he had ever though about brewing a potion to get legs, just so he could go to the surface and show your parents that he was a better option. But even if he did, would there be anything that he could show your parents that would catch their interests? He wasn’t a noble or rich. He had nothing to his name.

You had aproached him, your hand holding onto his, one of his tentacles on your leg as you looked everywhere but at his eyes.

“I wanted to tell them about us… but what if they don’t agree with… us?” He knew what you meant. He knew the problem was that he was just a seacreature.

"I'll be someone!" he had promised. "When I grow up, I'll have a name. I'll own things, I'll have so much power and money that they won't be able to say no to me. I'll make sure I'm the only choice they have."

But you just shook your head, squeezing his hand tighter.

"I don't want any of that, Azul," you whispered, finally meeting his eyes. "I don't care about such things. I love you exactly the way you are right now. I just need you."

Azul froze. He didn't understand how someone like you could want someone like him, but the way you looked at him made him feel so happy. He didn't know how to handle all that emotion, so he just lunged forward, and he pulled you into a kiss.

Returning to the present, Azul sighs. He looks at the horizon, keeping his face away from being seen. His skin is still a flustered pink, and he shifts his weight in the water, making the boat bob gently.

"Why are you even talking about that now?" he mumbles.

"Because I thought about it a lot." you say softly, leaning your head against your hand. "When I left back then, I thought about you every single day. I used to look at the ocean and wonder if you were still waiting at our spot."

Azul goes very still, his tentacles going limp in the water.

"But then time kept passing…" You continue, as you look at what is left of the deserted island. "And when I couldn’t find this place anymore... I just assumed you had moved on. I thought you probably grew up and realised that a childhood crush wasn't worth holding onto.”

There is silence between the two of you.

You aren’t sure why you are bringing this conversation up. Maybe the break-up with Rielle made you realise that you still had feelings for Azul, or it was the fact you had almost drowned again that was making you say random things.

Azul, on the other hand, wants to ask about Rielle. He wants to know if you’re only saying these things because you’re lonely or scared. But the words get stuck in his throat because he is scared to know the answer.

So none of you talk.

But your hand moves slightly to touch his. Azul flinches at first, but he doesn't pull away.

Only after a long time of listening to the waves in the distance and of watching the clouds in the sky, do you hear his voice.

“I… I never moved on…” You try to question what he is talking about, but he is quick to interrupt. “I never moved on from us. Maybe you did, and I don’t blame you. I’m sure life on the surface, with princes and parties, was much more appealing.” He slowly turns his head to look at you. "But if there is still that person that I met when I was a kid, the one who never made fun of me, who always kept me company even when I had nothing to offer... I would like for them to be by my side again.”

He goes quiet for a second, the boat rocking gently in his grip.

"I won't lie to you and say I've changed for the better, but I want you back in my life. So could you please give me another chance? I will try my best to become a better person, and in exchange, you will be here by my side.”

He waits, the silence of the ocean hanging between you as he looks so terrified that you might say no.

You reach out, your fingers curling around his skin, and give him a small, tearful smile.

“It’s a deal!”

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