Chapter Text
I dragged Azul to the food stand. It was a mixed sweet and savory stand, selling various deep fried seafood and poultry on sticks as well as different flavors of grilled mochi.
“Take your time deciding,” The vendor said sweetly.
Azul and I looked over the delicious options. Luckily there was no fried octopus, as that may have been awkward.
I nudged Azul. “I’m gonna get the grilled strawberry mochis. Do you want tempura or something?”
He eyed the fried shrimp. “I do like tempura…But it probably isn’t very wise to have snacks at this time instead of a proper meal.”
“Sure…But that’s what festivals are for, right? Having fun and doing things we wouldn’t usually do?”
He chuckled softly. “I’m not sure where you got that idea, but alright, I’ll get them.”
Azul and I found a bench near the outskirts of the main festival to eat our snacks. I tried a tempura then let Azul dig into the rest. I think he liked them more than he let on.
I got the stick of four grilled mochis and took a bite out of the top one.
“Mmmm, this is so good! Azul, you gotta try one!”
I shoved the stick of mochis into his face. He jumped in surprise then hesitantly bit into the next mochi. I giggled a bit. Compared to our first meeting, who would’ve guessed I’d one day be feeding Azul Ashengrotto out of my hand.
He nodded appreciatively. “That is good. It’s been a while since I’ve had mochi, or tempura for that matter. I probably shouldn't have any more, though.”
I chewed on another mochi. “You always work so hard, you should let yourself indulge a bit more often!”
He laughed, though it sounded a little heavy. “Well, that hasn’t exactly worked out for me in the past…”
“Screw that.” I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them, grinning at him. “I like a little more Azul.”
He stared at me with the same expression he had when I explained why I helped people, like I was a fascinating puzzle that, when put together, made absolutely no sense.
I chewed my lip nervously. “Sorry– Was that weird? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable– I think I got a little wrapped up in the festival air—”
Azul shook his head, laughing softly. “No, no, you’re alright. I was just thinking…” his smile faded from his face a bit. “Why did you ask me to see the festival with you tonight?”
I shifted on the bench, unprepared for this line of questioning. “Huh? Oh– I don’t know. I guess I thought it’d be sad if you missed the festival because you were working the whole time.”
He tilted his head thoughtfully. “So, was it pity?” His voice was fairly light, not accusatory, not simply teasing, either. He was trying to understand something. Understand me.
I shook my head frantically but he continued before I could say anything. “I was surprised when you asked me. I was even more surprised when you still wanted to go even after the conversation with the Dark Mirror. I thought maybe you wanted the chance to talk through the investigation more, but now it seems that isn’t the case?”
“I just wanted to spend time with you!” I said breathlessly. “I mean I know we’ve been spending time together– but I wanted to see if we could do it without needing some other reason…” I glanced at him, his sharp, blue eyes locking with mine. We were sitting so close together on the bench, but to me the distance couldn’t feel more vast. I found myself laughing nervously. “Honestly, I was wondering why you said yes! I was worried you might have some hidden goal!”
Azul frowned and sighed, “I suppose that is fair. I said yes for similar reasons, actually. I enjoyed the time we spent together, but I knew it was just work. I thought it’d be nice to simply spend our night together for the sake of it, but…I’ve never really done something like that before. Not for a while, anyway.” He smiled at me sheepishly. “I had trouble believing that would be the case. And even if it was, I thought you’d be too, rightfully, worried about me to fully enjoy yourself.”
I squinted at him, trying to follow the convoluted feelings he was expressing. My cheeks were burning and he didn’t look much better, occasionally looking away or tugging nervously at his sleeves, but his eyes would always come back to me.
“So, what I’m hearing is…” I said hesitantly, “We were both worried about the other not taking this seriously, and were therefore trying to not take it too seriously, which we also worried about the other person doing because they’d be worried about us not taking this seriously?”
Azul pursed his lips. “That sounds about right? How foolish of us…” He tried for a smile but I could still see the wariness in him. “I’m still not sure how to go about this, though. You’re clever and you’re kind–two things I struggled to believe could coexist. I know you want to find your way out of this world, though you also want to be with me. I just have to wonder; am I really capable of being anything for you?”
I stared at him for a moment. The tension in his body. The shakiness in his voice. Then I stuffed the last mochi in my mouth and stood. He looked up at me in surprise and a bit of distress. Maybe he thought I was about to storm off, but that wasn’t it.
“Alright,” I said abruptly, “I think we need to clear our heads a bit. Start over.” I took him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “Come with me.” He looked startled but obediently followed.
For the second time that night I dragged Azul through the festival, but this time I wasn’t taking him to grab a bite. I weaved through the crowd of people and made my way to the other end of the festival, Azul in tow.
We broke out of the main festival crowd and I spotted what I was looking for. Away from the mass of people, I lead Azul over to a small, cobblestone bridge. It rose only a meter or two above the canal that ran under it. The river was as dark as ink in the night, with stars of light reflecting the lanterns hanging off the side of the bridge.
We stopped in the middle of the bridge and I let go of Azul. Before he could ask any questions, I climbed onto the stone ledge of the bridge.
“What- Yuu!” Azul scrambled into the ledge next to me. “What are you doing?”
We both stood on the edge of the bridge now. I turned to him.
“I know neither of us expected to start caring for one another,” I began, “And neither of us really know what the hell we’re doing,” I took a deep breath, “But I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that our time is fleeting, and…That I didn’t choose to be here, but I can at least choose what I want to hold dear to me. And…”
I sighed and looked at Azul. He was watching me closely, listening to my words, and making sure I wasn’t going to fall. I reached out and gently pulled his glasses off his face. He didn’t stop me.
“We’re spending way too much of our time overthinking things, too afraid of letting our walls down to see what could be on the other side.” I smiled at him. “We need to just let go.”
Then I shoved him over the bridge and into the canal. I only had a second to see the shock registering on his face before he hit the water underneath us with a splash.
I quickly placed Azuls glasses on the side of the bridge and pulled off my shoes before jumping down into the water after him.
I hit the water and was immediately enveloped in cold. I fought the instinct to gasp and started pushing myself up to the surface. My head broke above the water and I sucked in a sharp breath. If I wasn’t freezing before, I definitely was now. I treaded water and looked around, but there was no sign of Azul. I wasn’t worried about him drowning, of course, but maybe he had been so offended by my admittedly crazy behavior he’d just swam away.
Those thoughts had just a few seconds to run through my brain before I felt something wrap around my waist and legs and pull me up and out of the water.
Azul emerged from the water—the top half of him, at least. His arms were wrapped around my waist, supporting my weight against his chest, but the other things holding onto me were ink black tentacles. Some were holding onto my legs underwater to keep me from floating away while others stretched out of the water and grabbed onto the stones and fences around the canal to keep us both afloat.
Azul was staring at me in bewilderment, which was understandable. It was hard to tell in the low light, but his skin seemed grayer, with bands of black circling his arms. Our faces were mere inches apart and I took the opportunity to study every inch of his face.
“What were you thinking???” He exclaimed.
I gazed at him in awe. I had only gotten a glimpse of his octopus from when he overblotted, but that had been a lot more dramatic. Even when we’d been in the water since then he’d been reluctant to show his natural form. I couldn’t help but be curious. I never imagined I’d get to see him so closely.
“Sorry…” I murmured distractedly. “I thought, I don’t know…we could shock ourselves out of our preconceived ideas and worries that were holding us back?” I smiled nervously at him. “Are you mad?”
He shook his head in astonishment, still staring at me. “No…Maybe I should be, but again I am only amazed.” A smile started tugging at the corner of his mouth and I sighed in relief. “You are one strange human, Prefect.”
I laughed in a mix of relief and nervousness. “‘Guess so.” I grinned, letting my eyes roam over him. “You even changed to your octopus form.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I admit you startled me. I reacted on instinct when I fell into the water.” He frowned at my amused expression. “There’s really no need to stare.”
“Oh, really?” I ran my hand ever-so-softly over his chest. “I disagree.”
I couldn’t see if he was blushing in the darkness, but I was guessing he was by his quietness. He let out a breathy laugh and reached up a hand to brush my dripping hair out of my face. “Yep, definitely strange.” We were so close I could feel his hot breath against my face. “But you’ve meant everything you’ve said, right?”
I leaned closer to him, letting his hand cup my cheek. Our noses brushed against each other and I felt him take a shuddering breath.
“Everything,” I whispered. Quiet words, only for him to hear.
Our unsteady breathes mixed in the cool night air, our hearts beating in a musical rhythm. I swore I could feel him smile even before he closed the gap and pressed his lips to mine.
The kiss was as light as air, as if he were afraid to scare me away, but I kissed him back without hesitation. I felt all the tension around my heart release with a poof as I took his head in my hands and kissed him again and again. He was grinning and kissing me back with less hesitation each time, his arms and tentacles pulling me even closer to him like he’d never let me go. I kissed his lips, I kissed his nose, I kissed his beauty mark on his chin like I’d dreamed about. The salty taste from the water we were still floating in was the only thing that assured me this wasn’t a dream. I was dizzy from giddiness as his soft lips brushed over me, leaving trails of heat I was desperate to chase in this frigid water.
I sucked in a breath. We were both smiling too much now to even keep kissing, so I wrapped my arms around him and nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. He pulled me even closer, wrapping both arms and tentacles securely around me, and pressed his face into my wet hair. We stayed like that for a while, just holding each other and laughing. I wanted to stay there forever. Even with the chill from the water seeping into my bones, I had never felt warmer.
Epilogue
We were back in the library. Coursework and textbooks spread out before us on the long table. Spring had officially started and the cherry blossom trees were blooming into stunning pops of pink outside the window. But my focus wasn’t on the homework or the beautiful flowers. My gaze was stuck squarely on the boy in front of me. He was moving his silver curls out of his face, his glasses slipping to the bridge of his nose as he peered down at his notes. He had to update his study guide after last semester’s exams, of course. His sea-blue eyes were mesmerizing as always, but at the moment my attention was trained on his mouth as he worried his lip with his teeth.
“Yuu, did you finish your history research?” Asked Azul, noticing my lack of working.
I stared pointedly at him, resting my chin on my hands. “Not even close.”
He smirked and put his pencil down. “You know, if you insist on slacking off, Grim will probably get very upset with you,” He said teasingly.
I hummed thoughtfully and reached my hand out towards him. “‘Guess I’ll have to start working for your tutoring tips.”
He laughed and took my hand in his. There was no one else in the library, though it wasn’t like our relationship was secret. It was just new, and we were figuring out together how to be good to each other. Despite our worries, we tried to crawl out of our shells, if only for a moment, to stand by each other’s side.
“I think that’d just make it worse.” He winked at me. “But I’d be willing to negotiate a discount.”
He brought my hand up to his lips and gently kissed my knuckles. A smile spread across my face as heat filled my cheeks.
When I’d first been pulled into this strange world against my will, I’d had no idea what I’d be able to find, if I’d ever have anything I could call my own again. But now, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Maybe I’d had another home, one I’d still like to learn about and see, but I felt satisfied that I could call this place home with confidence. With this much love to share, I’d be happy to stay forever.