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“If you’re going to insist on being my lab partner,” Jamil grumbled as he lightly bumped his elbow into Azul’s side, “Then at the very least, could you pay attention to our assignment?”
Azul jolted in surprise, scrambling to pick up the nearest vial of liquid and held it up to eye-level in order to look busy. “I-I’m as focused as ever, I’ll have you know! I would never let down my favorite lab partner, after all.”
“Ugh,” Jamil rolled his eyes. “And yet, you can’t seem to keep your eyes off Riddle instead of our cauldron. Again, might I add.” He reached over to pluck the vial out of Azul’s hand and promptly replaced it with the proper ingredient required for the next step. “I don’t see why you can’t simply pair up with him instead when we have these joint lessons. Save us all some trouble.”
“Now, what kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you and our little routine like that?” Azul smirked. “I wouldn’t dream of it, so don’t you worry.”
“I don’t remember signing up for your friendship,” Jamil huffed, “but if you’re going to subject me to it either way, then the least you can do is give me some transparency.”
“Says the one who is probably the most secretive out of everyone in our entire grade,” Azul retorted. “But, I suppose if there were someone I had to choose to confide in, you would be my best choice of confidant, wouldn’t you? It’s not like I’m dying to open up to either of the twins about more… Sensitive matters.” He scrunched his nose up, be it from the sheer thought of speaking vulnerably to Jade and Floyd, or from the fumes emitted from the vial he’d finally unscrewed. “And I can’t even BEGIN to imagine going to Idia to try and talk about relationships with other, real-world humans.”
Jamil picked up the long wooden spoon and began stirring the contents of their potion as Azul poured in the next ingredient. “I know you love hearing the sound of your own voice, but please get to the point before the end of class.”
“Are you saying you don’t enjoy our leisurely chats on the walk back to the dorm mirrors together?” Azul placed a hand on his chest in mock offense. “Why, Jamil, you wound me.”
“For the love of - fine, forget I asked.” Jamil shuffled to the other side of the cauldron, away from Azul. “I get the picture pretty clear just from that pitiful look you always have on your face, anyway.”
“P-Pitiful?!” Azul sputtered, following Jamil’s retreat along the side of the cauldron. “I’ll have you know that I am locked in a battle of wits with Riddle Rosehearts, and while partnering up with him for a lab exercise may give me insight as to how he approaches his assignments, doing well in conjunction with him will NOT give me an advantage if we share the same final score!”
“So, you refuse to pair up with your crush because you want to get a better grade than him?”
“Erm…” Azul looked as though he was considering lying, but one stern glance from Jamil had him folding in an instant. “...Perhaps. Yes.”
“You’re utterly hopeless, Azul.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence.”
“I’d tell you to be yourself,” Jamil continued, a small smirk appearing on his lips, “but you actually want a chance at him liking you back, don’t you? Perhaps we’d better think of a different approach for you to follow.”
Azul sighed. “Really, I don’t know what I expected.”
Jamil snickered and picked up the ladle as Azul held out the vial for him to spoon their finished potion into. “Maybe if you tried talking to him without all your mind games, you’d have better luck.”
“Please, Jamil, asking an NRC student to hold a conversation without at least three layers of mind games is like asking a man not to breathe.”
Jamil’s only response was another, aggravated eye-roll. “Whatever. Not my problem if you insist on creating obstacles for yourself.”
Azul decided he did not need anymore of Jamil’s sass, and would be perfectly fine with figuring things out BY HIMSELF! …Not that it would stop him from continuing his lamenting and complaining to Jamil in the future, of course.
The S.T.Y.X. trek was a long and arduous one, and though they’d already had their fair share of bickering spats, Azul and Riddle were ultimately glad to have each other by their side as they descended the tower. For all their faults, they kept up with each other well on the battlefield.
Riddle proved time and time again to Azul that he was an endless supply of surprises that Azul wouldn’t have even dreamed up to begin with. It was truly infuriating at times, but there was something about that specific flavor of brazen absurdity that Riddle brought to the table that Azul couldn’t help but find absolutely and utterly fascinating.
And now, here they were, side-by-side, misunderstandings mostly cleared away, venturing forth and sharing their life’s aspirations together.
“So, an interest in law, you said?”
Riddle glanced at Azul as he walked beside him, and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“I must say, even though you haven’t been to law school, I’d imagine you could give any lawyer a run for their money, given just 20 minutes and a law book.”
“Please, Azul. I would never cut corners like that,” Riddle huffed. “If I were to go against a lawyer in court, I would need to go through the proper schooling and certification process, first.”
“…That’s… Not what I meant,” Azul sighed and shook his head. “You managed to memorize all 810 laws of your dorm and never forget a single one, from what I’ve heard. Did you not?”
“That’s hardly anything beyond the bare minimum. As the housewarden of Heartslabyul, it is expected that I would know every rule in order to keep my dormmates in line!”
“This is exactly what I mean!” Azul exclaimed. “You’d have no trouble at all studying meticulous laws and the fine print of any contract. I’d say you’d be right at home in a courthouse. My stepfather is a lawyer too, you know. Perhaps I could help you gain some early contacts in the field and introduce you two, sometime.”
Riddle narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the smile Azul offered him. “I find it hard to believe that you would make an offer without intending to hold it over my head for something in return.”
“Please, Riddle, you wound me,” Azul sighed yet again. “But it’s as I said before: Having a friend like you with many skills and who is well-versed in the law would be ever so reassuring as we go through life together, no?”
Azul thought again of his stepfather, who was the one who taught Azul much of what he knew about reading and understanding the ins and outs of contracts. It really was fortunate that his mother managed to meet him during the divorce process to Azul’s birth father, as he was a positive addition to both Azul’s life, and his mother’s.
To think that his mother would find love and happiness from her own divorce lawyer, during such a turbulent and uncertain time in one’s life.
Azul looked over at Riddle, who looked back at him with that same, scrutinizing expression he wore for the past several minutes.
“…I wouldn’t mind having you as my divorce lawyer, one day.”
There was a beat of silence, and Riddle’s face contorted into what could only be described as a blend of emotion from someone who felt like they should be offended, but was too confused by the statement to even understand how to process it.
“Your what? Divorce lawy- Are you planning on getting divorced, Azul?!”
Azul froze, realizing not only that he’d spoken his thoughts aloud, but just how absurd those words sounded out of context. But, there was no way Azul was going to elaborate on the truth, so instead, he nodded.
“Y… Yes. In my research of business people on land, I’ve learned that quite a few of the ones that have really made a name for themselves have also gone through several divorces. It doesn’t hurt to be… Prepared.”
“…Unbelievable,” Riddle scoffed, and marched ahead once more. “What’s even the point of getting married if you don’t foresee it working out? You’ll just be wasting everyone’s time.”
Azul couldn’t help but notice just how personally offended Riddle sounded… Well, to be fair, he kind of ALWAYS sounded personally offended. But there was something about the particular tone of his voice and way he stormed off just now…
“Riddle, please stop running ahead!”
The rest of their conversation was just going to have to wait. They had a universe to save, after all.
Riddle’s cheeks flushed red. A different shade of red than his usual, about-to-cut-your-head-off shade of red. Sure, to the naked eye of an average observer, one may say there was no difference at all. Red was red, and Riddle was an angry boy.
But, Azul Ashengrotto was not an average observer, and especially not when the object of observation was Riddle Rosehearts’ face. It was a rare sight to see Riddle laugh, let alone so hard that his cheeks flushed so vibrantly. Azul could not help but feel a smug sense of pride that he not only got to bear witness to such a special occurrence, but was also the one who got to make Riddle laugh.
Their bond had seen rapid growth as of late - Stopping the total destruction and subsequent reset of a universe together tends to have that effect on people, after all - And Azul felt closer to Riddle than ever before. Perhaps now, in this relaxed and jovial moment shared between the two, was the time to finally make a move…
“Ah, um, Riddle…” Azul cleared his throat as his and Riddle’s snickering finally quieted down. “We’ve really been enjoying each other’s company quite a bit more these past few months, wouldn’t you say?”
“...W-well! We, um…” Riddle straightened his posture, but averted his gaze pointedly downward and off to the side. “I suppose I can’t exactly deny that statement.”
Azul’s heart hammered in his chest. It was now or never.
“What would you say to perhaps taking things a step further, then?” Azul asked, praying that he did not look nor sound as uncharacteristically nervous as he felt. “We could try dinner together? At the lounge?”
If Riddle with his flushed cheeks was cute before, he was downright adorable now. The red hue spread from his cheeks across his nose and filled up his entire face as his eyes went wide. “I- U-um! Well…”
Azul wanted so badly to reach out and pull Riddle into a tight embrace, but he remained steadfast in his willpower. He absolutely could NOT afford to jump the gun when they were taking such a crucial and sensitive transitional step in their relationship.
“I think,” Riddle continued, setting Azul’s heart aflutter, “that sounds…”
The suspense was killing him, and was only prolonged as two long shadows suddenly cast their way over both Azul and Riddle.
“Heeeey, it’s lil Goldfishie!” Floyd stepped to Azul’s left as he emerged from behind, grinning down at Riddle with a mischievous stare.
“My, I do hope we aren’t interrupting anything,” Jade said, taking his place to Azul’s right. Despite his words, he did not look concerned in the slightest .
“ Actually ,” Azul grumbled, “Riddle and I were in the middle of a rather important conversation.”
“By all means, continue,” Jade smiled, him and Floyd remaining firmly in place.
Riddle looked up at the twins, brows furrowed with irritation… Eyes widening in realization… A look of horror forming on his face…
Wherever Azul went, those twins were always nearby.
Always.
“Sooo, what’cha talkin’ ‘bout?” Floyd took a step closer towards Riddle. “C’mon, fill us in!”
“I…” Riddle looked at Azul, who stared back at him with silent desperation. “...I’ve got to go. Right now. Good bye !”
“Wait - Riddle!” Azul cried out, stepping forward.
But Riddle wasted no time scampering off and FAR away from the trio.
Azul put his head in his hands and let out a weary sigh. “... Boys ,” he muttered. “Next time you hear me making a delicate maneuver with Riddle - and I KNOW you heard us talking - I need you both to stay far, far away. In fact, make use of those long legs of yours and take a run in the opposite direction, while you’re at it.”
The twins exchanged a look, and turned to flash matching grins at Azul. “No promises.”
The front doors to Heartslabyul swung open with such forceful intensity that every nearby student straightened their spine and stopped what they were doing. Tension filled the room as Riddle marched his way across the floor, raising one hand with his wand and instantly changing his outfit from the standard uniform and into his dorm uniform, as was expected. He moved, wordlessly, a stern scowl plastered across his face, and no one dared approach the housewarden when he was in such a bad mood.
“Hi, hi, Riddle!”
Well, almost no one.
Riddle halted in his tracks, a startled look replacing the scowl on his face as Cater skipped over and stopped directly in front of him. “Oh, Cater. I almost didn’t see you there.”
“No kidding!” Cater slid over to Riddle’s side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him out of the room and away from the prying eyes of lingering students. “I could see that scowl a mile away! Why don’t we come into the kitchen and get you some tea and a snack so you can relax and tell Cay-Cay what happened? Frowning like that for too long will ruin your cute face, y’know.”
Riddle relented, allowing Cater to forward, towards the safe haven of leftover sweets that Trey had baked the night before. Thankfully, there just so happened to be a leftover strawberry tart in the fridge, waiting for Riddle’s stomach. Somehow, Trey always ended up making just enough to serve a full party and still have a few leftovers stored away for the next day or so.
A slice of tart cut, two cups of tea poured, Riddle relaxed, Cater took a seat across from his friend and offered him a warm, inviting smile.
“So, you said that the boys in Octavinelle are giving you trouble again, huh?” He asked, picking up his tea cup and taking a sip. “What did they do this time?”
“It was mostly those twins ,” Riddle sighed. “You know how they are. They hardly have to say a word, and yet they somehow know the most efficient way to drive me nuts in under 30 seconds! Azul and I have finally been getting along these days, and those two just have to come in and spoil everything!”
Cater picked up the teapot and filled Riddle’s cup as he ranted and raved about the fish boys. “Aw, c’mon, you can’t let those goofs throw you off your game! You really like Azul, don’t you?”
“I…!” Riddle froze, teacup mid lift. “I… Yes,” he sighed. There was no hiding it from Cater at this point. He’d already known for a while, by the look on his face. “I rather think that I do, but I simply cannot subject myself to a lifetime of hanging around those two just because they come alongside Azul as some sort of package!”
“Okay, sure, you probs will have to see those two more than you wanna if you get with Azul,” Cater said, offering Riddle a sympathetic smile. “But you’re not gonna let that stop you, right? I mean, the Riddle I know wouldn’t hold back just because some boys were being silly! Floyd Leech doesn’t dictate your life, does he?”
“A-Absolutely not!” Riddle huffed, standing from his chair. “Neither Floyd nor Jade get to have a say in how I do ANYTHING.”
Cater smiled. “Yeah? That’s great! So why don’t you call Azul and tell him that?”
“Yes… You’re absolutely right, Cater. I think I’ll do just that!”
Quietly watched as Riddle pulled out his phone and wasted no time doing just that. There would be no room left for hesitation, as Azul picked up within the first ring.
“Riddle?”
“Azul!” Riddle shouted into the receiver. “I’m going to go on a date with you!”
“WH-”
Cater could hear Azul’s sputtering and coughing even from where he remained seated at the table. “Riddle, hon, be gentle with him!”
“Ah, r-right.” Riddle took a deep breath, and then spoke more gently into the phone. “...I want to go out with you. I don’t want to let… Anyone… Hold me back from how I choose to live my life. And I’m choosing you! …If your offer still stands.”
“It does!” Azul answered all too quickly. “I-I mean, um… Yes. That is a reasonable decision, on your part, I'd say. We could, uh, work out the details tomorrow in the cafeteria?”
“Yes…” Riddle let out of a sigh of relief, making eye contact with Cater, who smiled and flashed him a thumbs up. “I’d like that very much.”