Work Text:
"Happy birthday, Floyd."
Floyd Leech was dealing with one of his worse mood swings that day, when M/n came up to him. Floyd sat up from his spot on the bench, seeing the wrapped gift in M/n's outstretched hands. His eyes sparkled, grabbing the present and ripping off the wrapping paper with renewed vigor.
"... Are these those "plushies" that have become reaaal popular recently?" Floyd asked, glancing over at M/n with surprise. M/n had a small smile on his face, gesturing towards the plushies with his hands.
"I got the eel and the shark ones because you remind me of both, and I like to call you "Sharky", and you and Jade "The Tweels", and I got you the shrimp one so that it reminds you of me, everytime you look at it. I hope you like them."
"... That's real thoughtful of you, Shrimpy," Floyd's expression turned soft, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over the shrimp plushie. Unbeknownst to Floyd, M/n's heart was racing at the gentle sight, and it took everything within him not to blush visibly.
"I-I thought that, maybe you'd like to also go get food? It's on me, don't worry about the expenses."
Floyd's head snapped back in M/n's direction, his eyes wide. "Wait, really? Where are you going to get the money from?"
"Well, I sort of made a deal with Azul... he'll pay for everything, and in turn I'll work at the Lounge to pay it off," M/n confessed. Azul had technically already paid for the plushies, so M/n knew that he would probably be working for the rest of the school year either way.
"Hm... alright. Afterwards, let's make sure that our shifts are all the same," Floyd agreed, and M/n felt his heart skip a few beats at the insinuation that Floyd wanted to spend time with him at work.
"Okay," M/n mumbled, grinning up at Floyd in an effort to hide his true feelings. After returning the grin, Floyd jumped up. He grabbed a hold of M/n's hands, pulling the surprised boy up with him.
"Let's go get some ice cream! And then we'll stop by the dorm to drop off the plushies in my room!"
Floyd's mood had changed for the better, and M/n couldn't help the caring expression that spread on his face at seeing Floyd's excitement. M/n had heard that it was the Tweels' birthdays today, but after wishing Jade a happy birthday, Jade had quietly confessed that Floyd had been in a sour mood all morning.
M/n decided to skip class that afternoon, in order to quickly buy a gift, wrap it up, and then find Floyd. He was only able to get the gifts with Azul's help, and Azul had given him a card that M/n could use to spend money on. He found him under the shade of a tree, and then decided to wing his words from there. He felt delight at having been the reason why Floyd felt better, and he did not regret missing his Alchemy class.
Even though Crewel might chew him out later, it was worth it to be able to see the excited expression on the merman's face.
Floyd continued to chatter about random nonsense, as they left the college campus. M/n assured Floyd that they had permission to leave from Crowley, as long as they came back before the sun set. Floyd pouted sourly at those conditions, but nevertheless, they were on their way to eat ice cream.
Floyd explained that the ice cream shop was one that he usually went to by himself, over winter break. He was their most loyal customer during those cold, snowy weeks, as he usually went every single day. M/n felt his heart flutter at the thought of being let into Floyd's safe space, an intimate part of his life that Floyd didn't let anyone else in.
Inside, Floyd greeted the workers loudly. A lot of them seemed to recognize Floyd, and M/n watched as they chatted amicably with each other. Floyd introduced M/n, beaming brightly in his direction. Floyd wrapped his arm around M/n's shoulder, oblivious to the light blush on his cheeks as he was facing the workers. Some of them squealed and called them a cute pair, and M/n found that he was stuttering a lot due to his nervousness.
Floyd decided to get vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone, with strawberry syrup and gummy bears on top. M/n got his favorite flavor, choosing the toppings that he liked the most, and asking for a much smaller cone than Floyd's. Floyd was friendly as they left, and as they walked down the street, they were silent. Apart from Floyd's munches on his ice cream. It baffled M/n, the way Floyd just, bit into his ice cream. M/n could never- his front teeth was much too sensitive for that.
"How's your birthday going so far?" M/n asked. He mentally crossed his fingers as he watched Floyd's brain pause, taking in the question and thinking about the answer.
"Well, this morning was shitty. I just felt shitty a few hours ago, but you made the afternoon much better, Shrimpy," Floyd smiled, once again, directing his gaze towards M/n's face. Floyd felt strangely hot as M/n returned that smile, briefly wondering if he was coming down with a cold.
"B-by the way..." M/n's stutter returned as his fingers fidgeted, looking away from Floyd as he worked up the courage for the gift he had been planning on giving to Floyd, long before his birthday had arrived. "I have one more gift, in one of the rooms at Ramshackle... would you mind coming with me to see it?"
Floyd blinked. "Sure. I wouldn't mind getting another birthday present! Hehe," Floyd agreed easily, following M/n as they headed off in the direction of M/n's dorm.
When they arrived, M/n pulled Floyd into an unoccupied room. There was a box on the ground, and when Floyd opened it, his eyes widened at the sight of two collars. One was red, and the other one was M/n's favorite color; down to the individual shade.
"I have been meaning to ask you this for a while, but... would you like to be my boyfriend? If not, fuck buddies work too, or we could just stay as friends. Wh-whatever you prefer," Y/n slurred his words, looking at anywhere but Floyd. He was surprised when Floyd put one of the collars around M/n's neck, careful not to make it too tight.
"I wouldn't mind being your boyfriend. In fact, I think I'll just fuck you right now, Shrimpy," Floyd had a predatory expression on his face, making M/n feel pleasantly light-headed. "If you wouldn't mind, that is~"
"... Please, fuck me."
His back hit the wall, and M/n felt Floyd spread his legs as far as he allowed. Their breaths intermingled for the remainder of his birthday, and Floyd had the satisfaction of being connected with Shrimpy, in more ways than one.