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It was a warm and sunny day out, and Silver and Floyd were both sat on a stone bench out in one of the school courtyards—the Jellyfish had been asleep against Floyd's shoulder for an hour now, and did not seem close to waking up. Sleeping spells were just a part of the Jellyfish's life, but Jellyfishie said that it happened less and less these days. Still, he was not a fan when he did sleep, and once insisted to Floyd that he would prefer it if Floyd woke him up, especially if they were in the middle of conversation. If they were talking, Silver wanted to keep talking.
Sure. Floyd tried, and even smacked Silver around some, but it didn't work today. Oh well. Floyd still talked to the sleeping Jellyfish anyway, veering his chatter over to how Silver should consider dragging the Croc over to Octavinelle more. It would be extremely funny—maybe even enrichment for that uptight brat. Just a thought.
The Jellyfish just huffed quietly and kept snoozin'.
Floyd really did not get their whole schtick to be honest. They were always going on about being the perfect partners, and knowing each other the best, yadda yadda yadda. He had not even seen them mess around with each other, and at this point he was not even sure they did so privately. They just danced around each other with flouncy words, and no follow through. Once, he and Jade stalked the both of them after a particularly boisterous training session—
Their sparring ended with some kind of draw, with the two Diasomnia students sunkist and glistening in the afternoon light—they had no eyes for anything but each other, gaze intense and piercing. Some time during their session, they had forgone their P.E. uniform's overshirt, but their tees were soaked all the way through. The two of them were breathing heavily, and their spar had almost devolved to wrestling on the ground. So much for 'gentlemanly duel'. These two certainly did their best to push each other like they pushed nobody else. Floyd could snicker, but he and Jade kept silent from the copse they had been fooling around in.
It was a while before Sebek and Silver untangled themselves, then longer yet before they had recovered enough to start fixing up their training grounds.
Then the two of them started bickering over the validity of a move Sebek used in that day's training.
"I'm not sure if doing that kind of leap is all that practical." Said Silver, throwing off his soiled shirt in favor of a clean one. Bare skin was enticing to see, and Jellyfishie held no shyness around Croc. He also wore a tight black cropped undershirt, which seemed quite handsome on him. They could see that Sebek would look for a beat longer than anyone disinterested would look. Floyd and Jade certainly lingered on Jellyfishie's shirtlessness.
"You're just jealous, Silver!" Sebek snapped, turning away, and roughly cleaning up their practice swords. His cheeks were red and rosy—from embarrassment or from exercise, who could say? "I could have won this time! I had expertly detected an opening, and drove my sword into it."
And plowed into it he did. The Croc charged on relentlessly during their spar, fast, and exacting, always aiming for specific spots he judged as weak points in the Jellyfish's position. Meanwhile, Jellyfishie seemed to anticipate Croc's moves just as quickly, and deflected, dodged, or pushed back against the incoming blows. And when Silver swung, it was forceful and decisive, knocking the Croc around in ways he struggled to recover from.
"It was not enough." Said Silver. He extended an arm, which Sebek took automatically, and the Croc was pulled to a stand. "You wasted energy when you had not put your whole body into it."
"Wh-! Don't insult me!" Sebek glared at his partner, his brows deeply furrowed, and his silly snaggle tooth peeking out from his frown. "I put everything into our training together! I dedicate 100% of my effort into bettering myself for our Liege, foolish Silver!"
Silver huffed, amused. They would keep fighting just like that, but still they shook hands, finished their cleanup, and walked off together. Still acting proper in the end. That was the funny thing about them.
When they were ways away, the twins followed, curious.
The retainers would walk in tandem—other students making way for the two muscle boys—just continuing their ridiculous conversation. The eels would watch them lean in, faces close, Silver deadpan and Sebek flustered at being told he needed to train more. Then Silver would look dissatisfied, and Sebek smug, when the Jellyfish reflected on his own shortcomings. The two students had ended up in an empty corridor, their conversation had meandered on to Sebek loudly complaining about Silver spending time with 'unscrupulous fellows'. Silver scoffed, and said that Sebek did not need to join him, Malleus, and Lilia for dinner at Mostro Lounge that night. Sebek slammed a palm against the wall, partially blocking Silver's way, and declared that he 'would not cower!' and that he 'would judge the food rigorously' and that 'Silver should know that he would not be left to deal with things himself!' He pointed emphatically at Silver.
Jade and Floyd held their breath.
"Ok," said Silver. "Then let's order all your favorites. I know of some things on the menu you might enjoy."
And the retainers moved on.
At the end of their walk, Sebek was at least smiling good naturedly, beaming at the Jellyfish, his little fangs prominent. Silver squeezed his partner's arm fondly, and told him that he would see him later. Sebek clapped a hand on Silver's back, and the two of them parted ways to do whatever else they needed to do.
"That was-" Floyd huffed, leaning an arm against his brother's shoulder.
"Disappointing?" Jade offered. He was smiling, brows furrowed.
"They're cracked."
"Have hope for them yet, Floyd."
—
They were kind of lame, but after learning more and more about them, Floyd had gotten invested. These two had something going on, and Floyd wanted to see it. Who would make the first move? What would get either of them to take the chance?
And if the Diasomnia boys needed to be pushed along, well, far be it for Floyd to skip an exciting opportunity.
Silver continued his quiet snoring, although he would occasionally readjust himself. Case in point—currently, he shifted, and tucked his face against Floyd's neck. He gave Silver a squeeze, since the Jellyfish seemed all comfortable.
Really, Floyd just didn't want to go to work today. He was hoping Jellyfishie would wake up already so maybe they can go ditch the campus and head down to Foothill Town—go check out the incoming festival bazaar preparations. Azul was getting worked up, as he had secured a stall months prior, and was personally reviewing what the Mostro Lounge would be setting up the whole week before the next weekend rolled around. Azul had been fussing about it for months, his nagging getting worse as the date neared, and it was pretty annoying. They've done this countless of times. It was easy shit—Azul knew what he was doing, so why fuss?
Eh, Floyd could even look around their own stall, see if there was anything they missed. From the millions of times they had been down there last week, maybe there was something else he could take a look at. That could get Azul off of his case. Silver would be even glad to help if that's what Floyd told him they would do.
Jellyfishie, overall, was easy enough to pull into things, and so Floyd pulled him into things, why not? It was wild seeing him make the strange justifications he had for mischief Floyd could convince him to do.
And better yet, Silver put his whole effort into the little shenanigans they did together—climbing up trees to look at birds nests (Floyd did not know how to climb trees, but Jellyfishie taught him easily); leading Silver through random alleyways until they reached a funny hobby store that Firefly Squid mentioned; or visiting the beach so that Floyd could have a real good swim that could not be had at a pool (he beat Jellyfishie easily, though they were not racing). Floyd often liked to do things alone, but it was enjoyable when someone was able to get with the program and understand his flow. And perhaps Silver did not understand, necessarily—sometimes Floyd was not sure if the Jellyfish was having fun or not. But the guy was such a goody goody, that he spoke up, or held back if there was something he truly opposed. And that was fine, Floyd did not need anyone's approval to do whatever it was he wanted to do. But playing around with someone else was surprisingly great.
He absently scritched Silver's scalp. His hair was really soft and shiny— the Jellyfish told him that he used the same soap for it as he used for his body. Weird. Floyd really would like to mess it all up, have it splayed out every which way, damp and stuck to skin.
Eugh. Floyd pinched Silver's cheek. Nothing. He pulled Silver's hair. Peaceful snoring. OK. He wanted to go now. There was no point in sitting around doing fuck all. He ruffled the Jellyfish's hair, and moved to stand up.
"Floyd." He heard the familiar smooth and careful voice of his brother. "I am quite glad to catch the both of you!"
"Yeah yeah," Said Floyd, waving away the hedonic interest that oozed out of Jade. If his brother expected to hear something exciting, there wasn't anything to report. "I was already gonna head back to Octavinelle."
"Of course," said Jade, clasping his hands loosely. "There is much to do, after all. Azul had already texted me asking where we were. I told him we would be there in a few minutes, but I don't think he was all that satisfied with that response." Jade stood there, eyeing up the Jellyfish, then leered at the both of them. Jade being pleased to see them together was an understatement, and that smug look made Floyd want to drag his brother off somewhere and suck him off.
"Mmm," he responded, instead resettling back into his seat. Jade didn't seem to be in a rush to leave. That meant he wanted something. "So, what is it?"
"Not even allowing me buildup," Jade shrugged, mock wistful. His brother really loved to play around in his gimmicks. It all seemed like such a roundabout way to do things, but that was how Jade had his fun. Sometimes Floyd indulged him—Jade could be cute about it—but right now he just wanted to get on with it. "Silver, he is in a deeper sleep today, then?"
"Yeagh. Jellyfishie was tellin' me about his horse competition from yesterday. He beat the Croc in something, eheh, so he's kind of being a sore loser. Jellyfishie also mentioned Goldfishy being in good spirits, so it's just Croc walkin' around pissed off." It was funny to imagine, and truly, not all that difficult. The Croc was easy to set off, in a million different ways. He was all bluster, and restrained bite. Floyd was itchin' for the opportunity to fight him. "They had an argument during their little training, according to Jellyfishie. I guess all that caught up to him, cause he just suddenly slumped over in the middle of our conversation. Womp womp." Silver wasn't a great story teller, but he was excited to talk about it. That earnestness could be cute, Floyd supposed.
"Ah, I did want to ask him about that," Jade smiled, and reached over to push a lock of Silver's hair out of his face, fingertips lingering on the Jellyfish's skin. Hungry. "I had dropped in on a training of theirs after Equestrian Club the other day. Sebek declared that he was quite prepared for the event, and excitedly explained everything he had planned. It was adorable. I wished he and Silver luck, of course." Jade waved a hand gleefully. "Then he accused me of wrestling information out of him! The silly boy was all red, heheh. Silver chastised him for being rude, and the two of them bickered over it all the way back to the Hall of Mirrors."
"Croc's always snappin' away over nothin'." Said Floyd. He patted Silver's arm good naturedly. "He'll probably be extra worked up for a bit. Maybe I should go drop in on their sword sessions too. Watch him stomp around."
"You should," said Jade, deciding to sit opposite of the sleeping Silver. Floyd used the hand he had around Silver to tug at a lock of Jade's hair. His twin smacked it with the back of his hand. Floyd let go. "They would both be very happy to see you. I too, would be glad."
"Right," snickered Floyd, kicking his legs. "Can't have you hogging them, and getting distracted again. That was very annoying, you know."
"Come now Floyd," said Jade, "be nice to your brother. I wanted you there alongside me. You just needed a good hook to reel you in." He batted his long pretty lashes at Floyd, and pouted. Ridiculous. Jade does not make those faces.
"Cut the crap," he groused, and Jade just laughed at him. His twin then reached around and quickly tugged on a lock of his hair, and let go before Floyd could swat him.
His brother liked to play the long game, weaving in suggestions and opportunities—stacking things in his favor. It was not so curated as Azul's strategizing—Jade loved interesting surprises, and tried to find a way to make them serve his own interests. It had been like that ever since they were fry. Floyd liked the direct approach, so at times, their methods and interests would clash. They tested each other, played nasty pranks, got into fights—the whole shebang. So really, they sometimes just needed to do their own thing separate from one other. That did not mean they did not love a good shared scheme. Working in tandem gave funny results.
Anyway. Floyd got what Jade was doing with the Diasomnia boys, and now he was in on the shenanigans. No harm no foul.
—
Jade had been chasin' after the Jellyfish for months, and Floyd had been sick of it. His twin would be out all the time, stinkin' of leaves and dirt and mushrooms after having gone into the forest with Jellyfishie. Floyd couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, let alone the same bed. Pestering Jade gave nothing except sly looks and vague non-answers—which was expected, but no less moronic. Whatever. No sex for Jade!
When Floyd cornered Silver, he didn't seem any different. Just the regular straight laced boring sleepy guy with subdued reactions. What did Jade see in this guy? Where was the challenge? The meat inside the mussel?
And so Floyd watched him. Silver noticed. At times he asked if Floyd wanted to join him for studying, or training (not really). Or if Floyd wanted to come to his and Sebek's 'survival excursion' in the forest. (Yech!)
The Jellyfish grew more visibly confused, but also determined. He would make it a point to ask how Floyd's day was, if he wanted to sit with them, if he wanted to borrow his library research. Sometimes Floyd would just be doing something else, and Jellyfishie would be the one to approach him to talk. Floyd, in turn, grew more and more flummoxed. This guy was just… nothing. Just so wearyingly average. Wasn't this guy some kind of body guard or something? He just seemed like a regular kid.
One day Floyd blurted out, "Augh, this is stupid! Could ya just fight me, Jellyfishie!"
Silver paused from putting away his potions work—they had a joint class, and were the only students left in the room. He blinked up at Floyd, gave it some thought, and-
"Ok. Could you wait for me at mine and Sebek's training grounds outside-?"
But Floyd had already stomped out. Silver appeared not long after, things put away, and stood confidently opposite Floyd. He did not question; he was not uncertain. He waited for Floyd to make the first move.
They wrestled there, and to the ground, kicking up dust and grass. Floyd would try and squeeze him, but Silver would force open Floyd's hold with his big arms and large mass. Jellyfishie tried subdue Floyd in turn, but he thrashed his whole body, and elbowed Silver hard on the nose. He reeled back, and Floyd used that moment to get on top of him and slam a palm against Silver's face, pushing him down and down. Blood splattered everywhere, and Silver grunted, disoriented. Floyd was so focused on pushing Jellyfishie's face that he did not notice when Silver grabbed at his loosely buttoned shirt and pulled. The Jellyfish shifted out from under Floyd's hand, then headbutted him, hard. Floyd saw stars—the world revolving around them. Silver launched himself on top of Floyd, forced Floyd to twist his torso, and kneed the eel on the back. He pinned Floyd's arms and held him down.
It lasted just a few minutes.
Floyd laid there and wheezed. He was dizzy, and felt a little sick. A little riled up too, and horny. He knew that the Jellyfish was pretty physically fit, but Floyd never had any reason to think that that strength meant anything tangible. Silver's fighting prowess had never been relevant to any of Floyd's interests before.
When Silver was sure that Floyd was no longer fighting back, he released him, and pulled him up by the shoulders.
"Floyd, are you alright?"
"Mmmyeagh. Just peachy."
"Ok."
Silver let him go, but offered some first aid, and it seemed like he felt bad. A bit amusing, since Floyd was the one who challenged him and soundly lost. He gently wiped down Floyd's face, and applied iodine to a busted lip that must have ripped on Floyd's own teeth. He fussed, and was mumbling to himself about going a bit overboard.
He slowed his worrying, eyes flitting closed. Floyd smacked his shoulder, and roused the Jellyfish right up.
Silver then looked him straight in the eye and said, "Floyd. Thank you for the fight. I hope I was able to give you what you wanted."
Floyd just stared at him, then barked out a laugh. He clapped Silver's shoulder, and said, "Man! You're alright, Jellyfishie."
Silver was nonplussed, but he gave Floyd a subtle smile, and they walked back to clean up and tend to their injuries in private. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with the school, after all.
…
When Jade saw him later, he doubled over, wheezing, screeching over the story. Floyd rolled his eyes, and dragged him to bed.
—
"Do we really have to do all this nonsense," Floyd redirected, vaguely gesturing over to the direction of Foothill Town. "I don't see what the big deal is about one measly festival. Azul already goes out talkin' with whomever they are in whatever places for his business junk. Eugh. I've seen his schedule n' everythin'."
"You know Azul," said Jade. He lay his head on Silver's shoulder, atop Floyd's hand. Floyd wiggled his fingers at him. "He still wants to appeal to the people of the island. It's a good sized customer base with more limited options, given that we are on an island. Perhaps in a few months, the Mostro Lounge will be able to open a branch outside of the campus. We still have until our third year to better establish ourselves. He explained this quite emphatically last night."
"I wasn't listening." Floyd rolled his eyes. Azul already dreamed bigger than this. "Sounds like a waste of time. Azul can go open a different restaurant somewhere off of Sage's island." The Jellyfish snored a little louder that moment. "Even Jellyfishie agrees."
"Let him have his fun, Floyd," said Jade, tittering—he tilted his head back, fingertips touching his lips. It was an intentional pose in replication of their mother. Jade sometimes practiced how he moved himself when he thought Floyd was asleep, redefining his expressions, his poses, the way he carried himself. Floyd liked to watch his brother. He never brought it up, even when he was annoyed and wanted to piss Jade off. If Jade changed his habits, then he would lose this private entertainment. "Our Azul can sometimes get distracted by the minutiae of his schemes."
"Eh." Sometimes what Azul wanted was slightly more lame than they cared for, but there was no stopping him. That was a good thing about Azul, at least. He planned shit out meticulously and followed through. Lame or not, Azul was persistent. "At least there's gonna be lots to see next week." Floyd shook the Jellyfish just to see if he would wake up. He did not. "We should drag Croc and Jellyfishie down there. See if they can be pushed to do actual fun stuff and not lame stuff like exercising."
"Wouldn't that be delightful," said Jade, turning to him, grin sharp and excited. He reached across Silver and took Floyd's other hand. "It can be a date. What do you think?" Jade squeezed it, tilted his head ever so slightly, and leaned toward Floyd.
Floyd was just throwing out ideas, but a date sounded like a riot. Honestly, the two Diasomnia students never really did anything fun for themselves. Just boring training or studying. Floyd played with Jade's fingers and pretended to think about it.
Jade leaned closer and closer, giving Floyd a false pitiful expression, until Silver was quite squashed between them. Floyd clicked his tongue, feinted turning away, before swooping in to kiss his twin. Jade laughed into his lips and returned it, nipping at Floyd, before they were interrupted by Silver. He was shifting rather uncomfortably, squarshed as he was, but was still dead to the world. Man, Jellyfishie missed out.
"Mmm. We really should head back to the dorm," said Jade, recovering his poise. He tenderly swept a hand across Jellyfishie's shoulder. "A shame I could not speak to Silver today." His brother did really like the guy.
"Let's bring him with us," said Floyd, already wrapping his arms around Silver's torso. "Grab his legs."
And so both of them managed to lug Silver's heavy body over to Octavinelle. It was mostly Floyd who did the lifting, but when he sensed Jade slacking, he made to nearly drop Silver to the ground. And he would have. Jade stuck to his efforts and carried his side of Silver; they made it all the way to Mostro Lounge without much incident. Most students wanted to stay out of the Leech twin's way, which was always convenient for them. Other Octavinelle students did watch them carry Silver to Azul's office and correctly stayed in their lane. Floyd kicked the door continuously, shouting, "AZUL, OPEN UP," until Azul unlocked it with magic, and the two eels walked in with their prize.
Azul peered up at them from his stack of paperwork and laptop. His Octopus clock ticked loudly on his wall. Azul pursed his lips.
"Do I even want to know what's happening here?"
"We've kidnapped Jellyfishie," exclaimed Floyd. They managed to plop him in the seat across Azul's desk. Silver was still asleep.
"Alright. I did not want to know. Whatever this is, return him to Diasomnia within the day, lest I have to deal with Lilia OR Malleus. AND as you both know, I'm in the middle of festival planning?! Jade! Floyd! Were your brains cooked by the sun?!"
"Worry not, Azul," said Jade, making sure Silver was leaned back comfortably, hair out of his face. "This is related to the festival."
"Even worse," grumbled Azul, but he returned to his paperwork. Floyd could see that Azul was curious, but ultimately regarded the matter as unimportant. He was definitely too in his head right now.
Jade put his hands on his slight hips. "We should also tie Silver up," he said cheerfully. "That would make his kidnapping seem more believable. Floyd, get the rope."
"I got it, I got it," said Floyd, opening up Azul's desk drawer and reached for Azul's stash of rope.
"Must you two use the rope for non business reasons?" Azul glared at them from above his paperwork.
"Azuuuul, we gottaaaa use the business rope," whined Floyd, tossing one end of the rope to Jade. They expertly tied it so that Silver was nice and secure—it looked tight, and hot. The Jellyfish's expression was one of mild concern, and he sighed in his sleep. "Aw, doesn't he look cute?" And he ruffled Silver's hair.
"He looks very sweet," Jade agreed. He had already brought out his phone.
"If you so much as fray that rope-"
"Adjust him so he's more in shadow," Jade instructed, ignoring Azul altogether. He was having Floyd drag the chair around the room, Silver's heavy muscles making it squeal loudly against the wooden flooring. Azul winced at that. The twins both argued about how to rearrange Silver, moving him this way and that. Once Jade was satisfied with how Silver looked, he snapped the photo. The twins admired their handiwork, with Floyd peering at Jade's phone, an arm thrown around his waist.
"Azul, look," Jade said, proudly showing the Octavinelle housewarden the result of their messing about. Silver was slumped over, hair covering half of his face. He looked forlorn and sad, his good sized figure constrained within Azul's expensive rope.
Azul raised a brow at Jade, and muttered, "hm. Save that effort for next time. It does look bold."
Jade tittered, pleased.
They returned Silver to be by Azul's desk, and leaned against it, shoulder to shoulder. Jade picked up his phone to text Sebek.
"How'll ya know if Croc will even see his messages. Isn't he some kind of tech illiterate."
"He's no Malleus," corrected Jade. "He does keep an eye on his phone, mostly for messages from his family, Diasomnia's Vice, or Silver. A message from me, however… hm. I'll need to give it some thought."
While Jade was tapping away, Floyd noticed Silver stirring ever so subtly. The Jellyfish's breathing changed, but he remained slack, eyes still closed. Someone could almost be fooled by it. Floyd recalled that the Jellyfish sometimes did not know where he was when he woke. Had he recognized them by their voices yet? Did Silver know what the ambient colored lighting of Octavinelle was?
Silver frowned imperceptibly, and Floyd saw him test out his bonds by flexing his arms. It was tight like a sausage, his body strained against the bondage. Silver's arms shifted, trying to find slack in the rope.
Alright. While this was fun, now wasn't the time to watch Jellyfishie try and dislocate his shoulder.
"Jellyfishie~" Sang Floyd as he knelt down and grabbed Silver's face. Immediately Silver's eyes shot open. When he saw Floyd, he smiled.
"Hi Floyd, I'm glad to see you."
Floyd stroked Silver's cheek, and observed his expression. The man did not emote much, and while Silver might have been confused, he did not seem alarmed to be where he was. He could feel the Jellyfish lean in slightly to his touch. Floyd reached behind the chair to find the hidden knot, and pulled it to release Silver from his restraints. Jellyfishie sighed in relief.
"Thank you," he said, and he stood, stretched his arms out, and rolled his head. His arm muscles tensed, and his joints cracked. All three Octavinelle students watched as Silver settled back into himself. Silver was never one to have big reactions, but it was a a curiosity to find out what he would say. He was, after all, somewhere unexpected.
"Why am I here…?"
"To help you!" Said Jade, making one final tap at his phone.
"For business reasons," snickered Floyd, holding up the business rope.
"NOT for business reasons," Azul shot back. Floyd waved the rope in Azul's face, which he pushed aside. He put his papers down and sighed. Then put up his silly work facade, and made his way toward the Diasomnia student. "Silver. Apologies for the confusion! Jade and Floyd had seen you sleeping in a rather precarious place, so they brought you here to keep you safe! Nothing to worry about."
"I was not worried," said Silver, as if he had not carefully tried to escape his earlier predicament. But, he did not seem worried now, in any case. "Thank you, Jade, Floyd. It is unfortunate I fell asleep somewhere inappropriate."
"Glad that you are now conscious, Silver." Jade cheered, lightly touching Silver's shoulder. Silver looked up at him intently. Floyd could not fathom why, but Silver trusted Jade whole heartedly. "We tried to wake you—however, nothing could rouse you!"
"That is troublesome." Silver said, folding his arms. "I am sorry to burden you."
"Shut up," said Floyd, tapping Silver's forehead with his pointer finger. "Let's just have fun here at Octavinelle before Croc comes and get you."
"What? You two should get to work, not play around." Azul huffed, smacking a hand at his desk. "We have to reconfirm our preorders, and make sure everything is in stock! There is also the matter of setting up our booth banners, our menu, all our containers-"
"Oh, Sebek?" Said Silver, surprised. "He is coming here?"
"Yes! We asked a favor of him, and he should be arriving in a few minutes." Jade said, wiggling his phone. "I think you will find the favor to be an interesting one, Silver."
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Azul looked put out. Floyd snickered to himself, and Azul glared at him sharply. He stuck his tongue out at his guy. They would get to it when they would get to it, Azul was just being a hard ass right now. If he weren't too in his head, he would be more excited by Silver being in his office.
"I do not wish to impose…" Silver said, looking toward Azul. Azul looked appreciative and nodded assertively.
"Not at all! As mentioned, Sebek will be here soon, so you are completely welcome to stay. You are, after all, our guest."
"Yeah, so shut up, Azul!" Said Floyd, and he grabbed Azul and gave him a noogie. Jade snickered. Silver remained stone faced as ever, but tilted his head ever so slightly.
"Augh, Floyd! What did I say!"
"Floyd, I love it when you do this, I hope you do it way more, every day if you have to!"
"Let go, let go of me-" screeched Azul, so Floyd let go, and Azul sprang up, and nearly toppled over. Floyd caught him by the elbow, and steadied him back to his feet. Silver had taken a step forward, but relaxed when he saw that Azul was fine.
Azul coughed into his fist, swept his hair back, and resettled into himself. He was quite flushed, and looked like he would start swinging his staff at them. He wouldn't, though. Not with Silver there, anyway, eheheh.
"Right. As soon as Sebek is done with this errand you've sent him on, you two should get back to work."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Of course."
—
Floyd saw the Croc one day while he was coming out of basketball practice. He had his personal ball with him, and on a whim, he shouted, "Croc!" Before throwing it.
Sebek had only just noticed that Floyd called out to him, and caught the basketball before it hit him square in the face. So close!!! Floyd giggled, and watched as the Croc gripped the ball with one big hand, shoulder pass it, and stomped his way toward Floyd. When Floyd caught it, it stung his skin. Nice.
"FLOYD LEECH WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"
"Nice catch, Croc! Maybe you should learn to play basketball. You're tall and fast and good with your hands, right?"
"H-huh?" Sebek blustered, not expecting that response. His confusion and snaggle toothed frown was always great to see, especially since this was because of Floyd. "Well, obviously! I have excellent athletic skills, and if I cared to learn, I would definitely flourish at basketball!"
Floyd had never really paid much attention to him the same way he ignored the Jellyfish. Sure, this one was louder, and more volatile, and made an embarrassment of himself quite easily—but there were so many chumps like that at Night Raven.
After the whole Malleus dream thing though, Floyd could see the merit of these retainers as a duo. The way their emotions ramped up when they got together, the way Jellyfishie got harsher, and the Croc got more tender and soft-hearted—they made each other more obvious.
And Sebek was no slouch on his own. The guy was a raging hypocrite, and also electrocuted himself accidentally with his own magic. He could fall on his ass and blame someone else for it, and still look quite flustered and shy—lots of potential there, thought Floyd. If he could net both him, and Jellyfishie together, then what a catch they would be.
Floyd shoved the ball into his arms. "Why don't we try playing right now!"
Sebek shoved the back back, roughly. "I will not!"
Floyd shoved it back. "Why nottt."
Sebek returned it. "I am busy!"
"So when you're not busy, you'll play basketball with me?"
"Don't make up what I did not say, human!"
Sebek scrunched up his crooked nose as he regarded Floyd. The Croc was just shy a few CMs off of Floyd, and carried himself quite confidently. Floyd liked that Croc was tall. He leaned in 'til their noses brushed against each other, and Croc refused to shy away.
"We could have so much fun together, though," Floyd teased, leering at the Croc. "Doncha think? I'm pretty great at it, and can teach ya a thing or two. You want to flourish at it right?" And Floyd gave him a wink.
Sebek flushed, his brows knit together, and his frown became more pronounced. His eyes searched Floyd's, perplexed.
"I REFUSE!" He threw out, stepped aside, and roughly walked past Floyd. Floyd could feel Croc's large body just shove his own out of the way. Great! Floyd wanted more!
Ace trudged ahead of him, awkwardly looking back at the rampaging Croc. Ace had changed to clean outfit, and had only just come out of the gym.
"Jeez. Did you insult Malleus to his face or something?"
"Eheh nah, maybe I should do that next time! Thanks, Crabby."
"Yikes," said Ace, and kept walking. "Leave me out of it."
—
Croc burst through the door, shouting, "SILVER!" And stumbled in on Jade giving Silver an artistic rope tying demonstration.
Floyd just felt like watching today, so he sat on Azul's desk, resting his feet on Silver's lap and on Silver's chair. The Jellyfish was seated comfortably as he listened to Jade explain overlaying the rope this way and that. He seemed a bit lost, but no less attentive as the rope was being wrapped around his body. Azul had stopped working, and threw in snide commentary here and there, which Jade rebuked just as sharply. Silver would say when it felt uncomfortable, then Jade would readjust.
Everyone turned to look at Sebek, who was baffled by the scene before him.
"S-Silver! You're alright!" He had big sad eyes, and a concerned expression. It was a delightful on him.
"Of course I'm alright," said Silver, his muscles and chest accentuated by the rope, and his arms were tied behind his back. Technically, Croc should have been expecting this. Even if did look different to the sent image. "Would I not be? I'm just with my friends."
"But, but-" Sebek blustered, growing flushed. His eyes avoided looking at Silver for too long. "You're not being held against here your will???"
"I just said I was alright?"
"Sebek," said Jade, pulling out a knot and releasing Silver. Silver muttered a 'thank you', and Jade patted his shoulder. "I am glad you came so quickly. As you can see, Silver is fine and dandy. So, please hand over the tickets to complete our agreement!" He folded his hands, and gave the Croc a wide grin.
Sebek looked sourly at Jade. He made his way toward Silver, who raised a brow at Croc. Sebek's mouth flattened; when he reached out, Silver took his hand briefly, and they shared a look. After whatever it was they picked up from that, Sebek thrust the tickets at Jade, which he snatched with gusto. It was special admission tickets to the Foothill Town festival. Jade and Floyd could go in and out as pleased, since they were booth staff, but where was the fun in that? This way, they can poke around at any booth, get some raffle entries, shit like that—and of course hang out with the Diasomnia duo after their shift.
"What's that," asked Silver, who craned up to look at what Sebek had delivered. Jade let Silver handle the tickets, and the Jellyfish read the ticket details as he turned it around in his hands.
"Croc, Jellyfishie, come with us to the festival this weekend!" Floyd sprang up from his seat, and threw an arm around Sebek's waist. The Croc was warm, and a little sweaty from the run he had to get these tickets to Octavinelle ASAP. Floyd hooked his chin on Sebek's shoulder, and pressed their cheeks together. The Croc wiggled reflexively.
"Huh?!" Sebek tried to pull away, but Floyd squeezed and clung to him. "The Foothill town event? With you???"
"Duh, what other thing would it be?"
"That's right. Sebek, thank you for so graciously purchased these tickets for us. I would personally be overjoyed if the both of you joined Floyd and I." Jade said, looking down at Silver. He had on a hopeful expression as he touched Silver's forearm lightly; his other hand was placed over his chest.
"Oh, that sounds nice," said Silver. "I had been hearing about this for a while now." He stood up, and handed the tickets back to Jade. "We would be glad to go with you, Jade and Floyd."
"Silver, don't speak for me!" Sebek whined, still fruitlessly trying to pry Floyd off of him.
"Jellyfishie, keep speaking for Croc! He's too embarrassed to tell his true feelings!" Said Floyd, pinching Sebek's open cheek aggressively.
"I AM NOT EMBARRASSED!"
"Did you not want to see the traveling antique book store, Sebek? I was not sure of our plans this weekend, but it would be an enriching time for all of us, surely."
"NO!" Sebek had a hand on his hip, cheeks puffed up. Floyd could feel him shake in frustration. This one was really so easy to pester.
Silver crossed his arms at him, and gave him a pointed stare. Sebek huffed. "Ok, maybe I had wanted to visit the stall, but we don't need to see it with these hooligans, Silver!"
"But we already have the tickets," Jade countered. He stepped close to Sebek, and fanned the tickets at the Croc's face. "Would that not be a waste?"
"I bought those, those should be ours," Sebek grumbled, finally giving up on escaping his predicament. Floyd squeezed him harder, and he could feel Sebek ripple with irritation.
"I would love it if you came with us, Sebek," said Silver, reaching out to take Sebek's hand. Both were callused, rough, and now delicately intertwined. "I think we will have a good time together. You should think about it, we have a few days."
"Hrm," grumbled Sebek, but he was gently caressing Silver's hand with his thumb. They both did not say anything for a long beat, until- "I will think about it," tumbled out of the Croc.
"Ok," said Silver. Then, "we should get going."
Azul coughed very loudly, and fakely. He had been waiting impatiently for the exchange to be over with, and now seemed like his best 'polite' opportunity.
"Yes, you both should be off then. I'm sure there are things that need doing. There are tasks that certainly need attending to here at Octavinelle, hm?" And he made a vague shooing gesture.
Floyd let go of the Croc (sad!), and Silver gave his goodbyes to the trio. Sebek begrudgingly nodded at them, and they both left.
"Hm." Jade huffed, with that tight smile of his.
"Don't be so disappointed, Jade," Floyd teased, giving his twin a wet smack on the cheek.
Azul shook his head. "You two will have to work double time if you don't want me to double your shifts on Saturday for the trouble you dragged into my office."
"If you do that Azul, I just won't work on Saturday," Floyd shrugged, dragging Jade back to sit on Azul's desk with him. Jade clicked his tongue, and lay his head on Floyd's shoulder.
Azul sighed. "Look. You two already have Silver on your side. I'm sure it won't take much convincing for Sebek to agree to the invite. Later, Silver will text either one of you with a confirmation of their attendance."
"It's the principle of the thing, Azul," Jade said, and wiped away at a nonexistent tear. "Oh, woe is me, I was so sure that those boys would be all too excited to come and date us. Had I misread the signs? Perhaps we are losing our touch."
"You're so full of shit," said Floyd, ever so fondly. He pulled at Jade's ear, and Jade captured his hand and kissed each of Floyd's knuckles.
"Alright." Said Azul, throwing a river pebble at each of their heads.
"Owwww!"
"Oouf!"
"Get out of here you goons."
Both eels leaned across Azul's desk, pulled him forward by his shirt, and kissed him wetly on the mouth. Then they scrambled off, with Floyd pulling Jade by the arm, and ran giggling out of Azul's office.