Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“This has nothing to do with me,” Riddle said angrily. “You’re not in my dorm. This is Azul’s problem!”

Floyd was sitting on the edge of his bed in the infirmary, his long legs sprawled untidily and his heels resting on the ground in front of him. It was a ridiculously offhand posture for someone who was supposed to be terribly sick, and Riddle wasn’t having any of it.

“Tonight’s that Sword Academy thingy, remember?” said Floyd, sniffling and beaming at Riddle’s sour look. “Lotsa teachers comin’ from other schools. They’re hostin’ it in Mostro Lounge, the principal said Azul had to be there.”

Floyd scrunched his nose on the inside of his sleeve as Riddle’s glare only darkened. Yes, Riddle did recall an inter-school meeting was scheduled for the evening, though he hadn’t realised Azul had managed to wrangle his way into hosting the damn thing. Great Seven knows what kind of professional secrets might come out of it.

“Ah, what a shame,” said Riddle, his smile scathing and cross. “If only Octavinelle had a vice dorm leader who could take charge of this situation in Azul’s stead. Someone closely related to you, perhaps. Who the responsibility would fall to, in this exact circumstance.”

Floyd pulled his school blazer over his face as he coughed, then peeked up at Riddle, hoping for the non-existent chance that Riddle might find it cute.

“Jade’s comin’ back tomorrow,” Floyd hummed, then rubbed his throat like it was sore. He looked like he wanted to cough again, but Riddle’s furious stare was enough to make Floyd shuffle backward on the mattress, tucking his knees up to his chest to try and make Riddle less mad. “He’s on an overnight hike, mountain club stuff, y’know? He got special permission for it and everything.”

Riddle made a frustrated sound. Even someone as infuriating as Floyd would have a hard time planning to get sick on the exact evening Azul and Jade were unavailable, but that still didn’t make it convenient. And more to the point, it still didn’t explain why Riddle had apparently been listed as the emergency contact on Floyd’s school forms since their entrance ceremony!

“So is Goldfishie takin’ me?” asked Floyd, grinning in a way that made Riddle think he’d already assumed the answer. “‘Cause sickbay gets locked up at night.”

“No,” Riddle said immediately, and Floyd’s face fell, replaced with a rather sorry looking expression instead. “You should have considered my response before you put my name down. There are no spare rooms in Heartslabyul, so it’s not an ideal situation. And I have my own duties I need to attend to, I cannot simply gallivant off to another dorm.”

“Ehh. It’s not that hard..” Floyd looked more feverish now that his bounciness had left him, and he grabbed the infirmary pillow and squashed it to his chest. “Goldfishie doesn’t have to transfer dorms or somethin’. Didn’t they just say walk me back?”

“According to the call I received,” Riddle said pointedly. “You were told to leave the infirmary by yourself, at which point you insisted that you were so weak and unsteady that you required someone to help carry you for the entire journey back to your dorm! And now that I get here, I can see it’s nothing more than a bad cold!”

“Aha~” Floyd hummed, then gave a small, uncanny smile, making no effort to deny it in the slightest. When Riddle hardly seemed amused, Floyd’s posture sank a little.

“Not everyone has time for games and nonsense,” Riddle huffed, suddenly more irked by Floyd being so quiet than being dragged away from his study routine in the first place. “If you can’t stand the thought of being alone for a single evening, you should consider taking up hobbies other than intimidating and threatening people! Then you’d have more than enough peers in Octavinelle to keep you company!”

“Don’t want some other person,” Floyd muttered under his breath, sulking. “And I never threatened Goldfishie.”

“Furthermore-” Riddle continued, not at all liking the way Floyd’s tone implied Riddle wasn’t someone he would ever threaten, regardless. That wasn’t the point, and nor was Riddle foolish enough to trust it. “If I were to formally sign you out of sickbay in place of your dorm leader, that would make me temporarily accountable for you and all the trouble you would surely create as a result! And that is an obligation to which I simply cannot commit!”

There was a long silence while Floyd stared moodily toward his lap, hugging the pillow fairly unforgivingly. Riddle could see he was shivering.

“...yeah,” Floyd said croakily, looking defeated. “Goldfishie has a lotta reasons. But I get it.”

Riddle crossed his arms, determined not to be cornered into this feeling of irresponsibility by Floyd. Night Raven College had a long enough list of rules and procedures, and there’d most certainly be a backup person to call, in the event that a student’s emergency contacts were all predisposed.

Riddle winced ever so slightly as he thought about it. 

He just truly had no idea who that person would be.

“We have four tests next week,” Riddle heard himself say. “So if I let you rest in my room for an hour or so, I do not want you giving me your cold, or flu, or whatever it is you have.”

Floyd slowly peeked up at him, his large eyes soft and watery.

“And don’t look at me like that!” Riddle snapped, his volume rising. “I’m only considering this because the nurse called me, and it would reflect poorly on Heartslabyul if I were to formally refuse. But if I agree, you are henceforth and forever to remove my name from all of your school documentation, understood?”

Floyd was happily tugging the infirmary blanket free from the bed, so he could still huddle beneath it on the way.

“Floyd.”

“Promiiiise,” Floyd sang, not deflated at all by the weight of Riddle’s icy glare. Floyd held out his little finger in case Riddle wished to pinky-swear it too.

“Aha~” Floyd bubbled, as Riddle ignored the gesture and stormed ahead of him down the hall. “Now I’m Goldfishie’s problem~”

-

Chapter Text

“Are we havin’ a walking competition, lil’ Goldfish?” Floyd asked innocently, after Riddle had barreled through almost every door and hallway between the infirmary and Heartslabyul. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna try and chase you. And I don’t mind letting Goldfishie win~”

Riddle refused to let Floyd see the way his scowl deepened, he was convinced this was supposed to be some slight against his stature. Instead, Riddle kept his stare fixed resolutely forward, letting Floyd trail along after him.

“Or is Goldfishie worried someone might see?” Floyd cooed, his tone full of knowing, lilting warmth. “And I might do something to embarrass him~”

“Are you planning such a thing?” Riddle snapped, his ears flushing bright red as he realised Floyd wasn’t too far off the mark. Then, Riddle’s mouth pressed together in regret. The only thing Floyd was guilty of so far was trying to chit-chat.

“Aw, Goldfishie isn’t that wrong,” Floyd hummed. “I think Goldfishie’s gonna be embarrassed if I tell your underlings they’re missin’ out on a sleepover. But I still wanna. I wanna see the shocked looks on their faces.”

At that Riddle stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, then whirled around so abruptly that Floyd had to pull up just as quick.

“Absolutely not,” Riddle thundered. “There are so many issues with every single thing you’ve just said. For the hundredth time, this isn’t a sleepover! And Heartslabyul residents are not my underlings, what on earth has Azul been teaching you! In fact, don’t even answer that.”

“Not Azul,” Floyd shook his head through a yawn, getting distracted in the middle of Riddle’s outburst and peering around the unfamiliar dormitory. They were fairly close to the Heartslabyul first years common room, which, Riddle now realised, may have been an unwise place to stop.

“What do you mean, not Azul?” Riddle huffed accusingly, trying to rein in his temper. Floyd was poking around some of the more whimsical Heartslabyul signs that pointed to different locations in the dorm, all of which were opposite and would lead unwary travellers astray. Riddle made a mental note to remind Floyd not to go exploring on his own.

Riddle raised an eyebrow when Floyd didn’t offer a response. For someone who usually did his utmost to coax any sort of reaction out of Riddle, Floyd now seemed uncharacteristically hushed.

“Ahhhhh, it isn’t Azul who says underlings,” Floyd whined, then hesitated, seeming to regret this line of conversation entirely. “Anyway, can we go see Goldfishie’s room already? I’m bored. And all these signs are wrong.”

It took Riddle a second, but he couldn’t help a far deeper blush when he put two and two together. It was his own residents who must’ve referred to themselves as Riddle the tyrant’s underlings, while their dorm leader wasn’t around. As much as Riddle had been trying to make a change, that change wasn’t easy, and forgiveness was something he was still trying to earn.

“I see,” Riddle muttered stiffly, struggling to refrain from asking exactly who said what. His residents had been hurt. The fact they were still hurting only made Riddle want to work harder.

“I’m impressed you noticed the directions are wrong,” Riddle mumbled. While he was keen to steer away from the more troublesome topic, Riddle did mean it. Floyd recognised the sincerity in Riddle’s tone too, however reluctant.

“Aha~ maybe I can transfer dorms instead then~” Floyd bubbled, his nefarious grin only widening.

“Even as a joke, it’s too much,” Riddle said darkly, abruptly forgetting that when it came to Floyd, one should never take the bait.

“Too late~” Floyd hummed, and, whether to distract Riddle from his lingering upset or on impulse alone, he suddenly yanked his Octavinelle crest free from his armband and pitched it through the nearest open doorway.

Which in this case, happened to be the Heartslabyul first years’ common room. 

And happened to be followed by a rather loud crash, the sound of a chair being knocked over, and several startled yells.

“See! Now we can show everyone how fun and not-scary Goldfishie really is!” Floyd announced, his smile positively lighting up the hall. Riddle looked more like he was about to set the hall aflame if his face became any hotter.

“No- we- cannot-” Riddle managed, so enraged that he could barely choke the words out. Throwing things across the dorm?? And within sight of a portrait of the Queen of Hearts, too! Riddle has his magic pen in his hand before he could even hope to quell the impulse. “Floyd Leech, how dare-”

But Riddle didn’t have a chance to finish, before Floyd’s expression changed. They could both hear several students heading to see who propelled a surprise missile into the common room, and Riddle really didn’t seem to be taking to the fun and spontaneous vibe like a duck to water.

“Is Goldfishie gonna cast a spell right now??” Floyd asked, watching for the approaching students and completely oblivious to the fact that Riddle was a split-second away from launching a spell at him. Oddly, rather than looking pleased at the oncoming chaos, Floyd suddenly looked rather worried.

“Hey, hey, Goldfishie, ahhhh. Maybe we should just run,” Floyd decided, and with a grip that left Riddle’s wrist smarting, he abruptly seized Riddle’s spell-casting arm and pulled him around the nearest corner. Behind them, Riddle could hear the confused voices of his first years, and… oh void no, was that Trey? Floyd had been in their dormitory less than five minutes, and the number of cups of tea Riddle was going to need to calm down was already through the roof! Riddle hissed with every step as Floyd kept dragging him down the hall, while Floyd looked awfully pleased with himself, as if he was being very well-behaved indeed for not simply picking Riddle up and carrying him.

Riddle had worn himself out with promises of infernal spells and curses by the time they made it to his bedroom door, while Floyd also looked overly warm, grinning and trying not to cough near Riddle.

“You can act as sick as you want… I’m not going easy on you!” Riddle panted, rubbing his wrist as Floyd released him. “Throwing things… completely… unacceptable! And after you made such a fuss about having me look after you!”

“Lookin’ after? I thought Goldfishie invited me to a slumber party?” Floyd immediately complained. Then he brimmed to a slow, indulgent smile. “...kidd-ing.”

Riddle gave a quiet, scoff of a laugh before he could help it.

“And someone’s going to notice that’s an Octavinelle crest…” Riddle muttered in despair, wondering to whom he’d end up explaining this to first. Riddle shook his head, unlocking his bedroom door and ushering Floyd inside.

“Spooky happenings. Friends in low places,” Floyd mused wickedly, against all odds managing to wheedle another smile from Riddle’s attempt at a frown.

-

Chapter Text

“Can I snuggle in your blanket? It looks squishy.”

“You may certainly not,” Riddle answered sharply, heading-off Floyd’s attempt to fall face-first on Riddle’s bed. Floyd pouted, but his attention was quickly caught by the colourful assortment of spellbooks on Riddle’s bedside table. Floyd immediately grabbed the texts and began inspecting the titles, dropping each book in the wrong order on the floor.

Riddle felt himself clutching his pen too firmly, his other hand flat on his desk. No, his attempt at evening class revision was not going well at all.

“Huh? All of these are for school? Goldfishie’s bedtime reading is Case Studies in World Law?” 

“Did you expect poems? Fantasy novels?” Riddle glowered, pointing meaningfully at the coffee table where he had told Floyd he could study. “The Queen of Hearts may have had whimsical tastes, but order wasn’t brought to her land without a thorough study of justice. You would do well to learn from her example.”

“But where’s Goldfishie’s hobby?” Floyd said dejectedly, poking around Riddle’s ornamental grandfather clock and arrangements of flowers instead. “I wanna know something interesting… I want Goldfishie to tell me a secret!”

At this, Floyd’s expression changed to one of delight, and he grabbed a velvet footstool to sit next to Riddle at his desk. Despite the footstool’s significantly lower height, Floyd was still gazing at Riddle eye to eye.

“Well, you’re thoroughly out of luck then,” Riddle shot back, nearly falling out of his own seat in the process. Why did Floyd have to peer at him with such uninhibited interest, just as Riddle was about to get angry. “I don’t have any secrets. Not everyone is so underhanded, outside your own dorm!”

“How ‘bout an embarrassing moment then? They’re always fun~”

“You must be joking,” Riddle snorted. Oh, he had enough embarrassing moments to sink a life raft, but he wasn’t about to humour Floyd with ammunition.

“I’ll go first,” Floyd decided, sniffling and crumpling his nose like it tickled. He glanced up at Riddle’s ceiling, thinking. “Aha~ when me n’ Jade were small, I wanted to see if we could tie ourselves in a knot. We could.. kinda. But then when we had to untangle, I cried.”

Riddle raised his eyebrows as Floyd laughed.

“Is that even a real story?” Riddle muttered, scornful.

“Hah… yeah,” Floyd admitted, grinning curiously at Riddle when Riddle refused to let any kindness show plainly on his face. “Goldfishie’s turn~”

“I never agreed to play!” said Riddle, exasperated. Though when Floyd just kept peering at him in suspense, Riddle tried to wrack his memory for something harmless and mildly sufficient. Maybe then he’d be able to get back to studying.

“Ah, hold up-” Floyd said worriedly, and before Riddle had a chance to do anything, Floyd pinched his nose and tried to hold-in a sneeze, ducking as far as he could into his front when this wasn’t all too successful.

“Floyd-!” Riddle shouted, jumping up from his desk. Floyd still had his hand pinched over his face, and was looking at Riddle slightly guiltily.

“What did I say earlier?! I don’t want your germs!” Riddle bellowed, thoroughly vexed. He was quite certain that Floyd could have hurt his ears as well, doing something like that. And there was a box of tissues on the table right in front of him!

“Ahhhhh, Goldfishie, I’m tryin’...” Floyd said miserably, folding his arms on Riddle’s abandoned desk and flopping his head sulkily into his sleeve. “I don’t want them either, y’know…” Floyd buried his head even further into his arms, put out. “I thought Goldfishie was gonna say bless you.”

“If that’s supposed to make me feel sorry for you, it’s not working,” Riddle snapped, though in truth he doubted Floyd needed it, he already looked sorry enough for himself.

Riddle glared at Floyd’s hunched frame in silence, while Floyd had peeked open a single eye and was staring back at him from beneath his hair.

“...do you want a cup of tea?” Riddle muttered.

The eye that was watching Riddle creased a little, and Riddle couldn’t tell if Floyd was hopeful or amused.

Riddle turned around in a huff, deciding he was putting the teapot on regardless, and Floyd could suit himself. From the corner of his eye, he could see Floyd fish his magic pen out of his pocket, then gently tap Riddle’s desk. He guessed it was one of Azul’s handy cleaning spells, which was sort of sweet of him, Riddle supposed.

“Do you prefer milk, lemon or sugar?” Riddle asked, wondering how on earth he managed to make that sound like he was giving an order. Floyd was attempting to gather a few tissues from the box on Riddle’s desk, looking at them uncertainly like he’d never seen such a thing. He paused and gave Riddle a blurry look when Riddle waited for his response.

“Surprise~” Floyd hummed, then coughed into his handful of tissues, sounding ill.

Riddle frowned. Surprises weren’t his strong suit, even at his best. He settled for making Floyd the same tea he made himself, with lots of honey and milk.

“When I was young, I once stayed up all night studying for a test,” Riddle said stiffly, as he stirred Floyd’s teacup with a spoon. “I already knew the material, but I wanted to give it my all, so I didn’t get a wink of sleep. The next day, I was so tired that I misread one of the questions. And as a result… I ended up getting that question incorrect.”

Riddle held out the cup and saucer toward Floyd, his cheeks feeling rather hot as Floyd blinked at him, holding out both hands to receive the drink.

“And then?” Floyd coaxed, sniffling happily as he tried to sit cross-legged on the footstool instead. “Was Goldfishie told to swim through an abandoned wreck? Didcha have to win some kinda fight?”

“Pardon? No,” said Riddle, slightly baffled. “That was it. I got the question wrong.”

There was a small silence, while Floyd very gently tried to place his full cup of tea down on the desk, before starting to shake with silent giggles.

“Are you making fun of me? I knew this was a bad idea,” Riddle said long-sufferingly, bracing himself and taking a determinedly dignified sip of tea while Floyd seemed ready to fall right off his seat.

“No, no, Goldfishie, that was a good one,” Floyd insisted, cackling with tears in his eyes. “You told that story to cheer me up, right? It’s cute what Goldfishie finds embarrassing. It was funny, I promise.”

“Huh,” Riddle crossed his arms, not convinced that Floyd wasn’t giggling for his own reasons. But there didn’t seem to be any malice behind it, and even Riddle found it hard to stay grumpy when Floyd seemed to be feeling a bit better.

“Is the tea alright?” Riddle asked, partly concealing his face behind his own cup. Floyd had laughed himself into a coughing fit, and was now quickly draining his cup to try and suppress it.

“It’s interesting~” Floyd cooed, rubbing his chest and looking pleased that he wasn’t going to splutter and get himself in trouble again.

Riddle closed his eyes.

“You hate it, don’t you?” Riddle said after a moment, and Floyd snorted so abruptly that he had to clamp a hand over his mouth, then untangle himself from his chair, making it halfway across the room before he collapsed in another fit of laughing and coughing.

“Goldfishie~” Floyd managed, looking infinitely amused.

“Do you need a pat on the back?” Riddle said worriedly, rather embarrassed that his comment had resulted in such chaos. Floyd was nodding and wiping his eyes, so Riddle got to his feet and awkwardly patted Floyd behind his shoulders, hardly confident the gesture was doing much to help.

“Thank youuu,” Floyd hummed encouragingly, looking at Riddle with an affection that Riddle felt he somewhat didn’t deserve. Riddle swallowed, then sighed. A mess of odd emotions seemed to be getting the better of him tonight.

“I’m not really used to anyone laughing at my jokes,” Riddle muttered, not even sure he had been trying to make any jokes in the first place. “It seems a little dangerous.”

Floyd coughed and peeked up from behind his jacket, giving a watery smile. He nearly looked like he was about to say something, before he shuffled closer to Riddle for more back-pats, sleepily ducking his chin and smiling again.

-

Chapter Text

“I see, I see,” Azul said pleasantly, while Riddle could hear the bustle of the inter-school function through the phone behind him. Floyd was meanwhile taking a warm shower in Riddle’s washroom. “Well, I must offer my sincerest thanks to my fellow dorm leader, for taking up the torch of responsibility during Floyd’s moment of dire need. Riddle-san’s dedication and sense of duty is surely second to none.”

“I was simply calling to inform you of your resident’s whereabouts, as our rules dictate. But it appears you already knew Floyd put me down on his emergency contact list, didn’t you? And that he was here,” Riddle said curtly. If Azul had wanted to feign innocence, Riddle was well aware that he could do a much more subtle job of it. That, and Azul’s light, decorous laughter certainly wasn’t doing much to convince him otherwise.

“Dear, dear me. It seems I must be getting back to attending our esteemed guests,” Azul said warmly. “But my troubled heart can rest at ease, knowing Floyd is truly in the best of care. It seems the bonds between Octavinelle and Heartslabyul will only continue to be strengthened by the fickle hands of fate.”

Riddle gritted his teeth through an obligatory farewell as he hung up. So Azul and the twins were still thick as thieves after all, and if there was any deeper inspiration for Floyd wanting to spend the evening at Riddle’s, Azul certainly wouldn’t be letting it slip.

“Hey Goldfishie! You know there’s a huge spa bath in here right?” Floyd sang out from the washroom. “Wanna see what I look like back home?”

Riddle frowned, attempting to recount all the odd things Floyd had randomly announced to him over the last two years. Try as he might, Riddle found he had little clue as to what Floyd was referring to.

“No. I see enough of what you look like as it is,” Riddle said briskly, not really wanting to step into any of Floyd’s nonsensical traps. Floyd poked his head around the doorway.

“Wait. Goldfishie really doesn’t know?” Floyd’s eyes sparkled a bit too curiously for Riddle’s liking. “I was kidding, but next time I’m gonna give Goldfishie a big surprise, promise!”

Riddle narrowed his eyes, liking the sound of that about as much as a cold cup of tea. His response was abruptly cut-off, however, as Floyd cheerfully made his way back into the bedroom, not even bothering to explain why he was now wearing one of Riddle’s sweaters.

“Did you take that from my closet?!” Riddle demanded, while Floyd wrapped his arms around himself, snuggling into the jumper like it was cozy. It was a soft, oversized sweater Riddle had been gifted one birthday, but Riddle wasn’t fond of the deliberately loose fit, which he felt only swamped him and made him look small. 

“Eh? I was cold,” Floyd sniffled, crestfallen at this rather unencouraging reaction. Floyd looked slightly drowned with his wet hair and runny nose, but he reached an arm over his back to gloomily pull it off.

“Ah. Wait...” said Riddle, feeling clumsy as he realised that had come out all wrong. He wished he’d done a better job of offering Floyd something warmer in the first place. “You… you can have it.”

“Huh? Really?” Floyd said, his voice muffled as the jumper was already halfway over his head. 

“...if you want,” Riddle mumbled.

Floyd either seemed to be stuck in the clothing or still taking this in, so Riddle reached out and tugged the jumper back down. Riddle swallowed as he saw Floyd’s face, which was almost absurdly touched.

“Well. As long as you don’t mind it having ‘Rosehearts’ embroidered inside the collar,” Riddle muttered, embarrassed at Floyd’s brimming smile. “Unnecessary names on clothes is an argument I lost with my family long ago.”

“Aha~ Goldfishie’s really giving me a present, the deal is the deal!” Floyd cackled, wrapping his arms around the smaller dorm head and lifting him in a tight cuddle before he could change his mind.

“Ugh, put me down!” Riddle hissed. Already forgetting his earlier mistake, Floyd was overcome by a helpless sneeze that nearly made him fall over, before he tried to gently set Riddle back on his feet.

“Whoa. Heh, that one sounded so funny~” Floyd mused, beaming. Riddle meanwhile seemed to be simmering ready to burst. “Ahh. Sorry if I scared you. I’ll never drop you, Goldfishie, I promis-”

“Hugging me out of nowhere, and still giving me your cold!!” Riddle said heatedly, his temper immediately getting the better of him even if Floyd hadn’t done it on purpose. “Your dorm leader would never behave so improperly!”

“Aww, sure he would. You’ve just never seen Azu sick,” Floyd sniffled, still too happy about his gift and rather fond of Riddle’s shouting. “He’s super whiny. And he yells, like ‘agh!’ and ‘guhh!’ and stuff, in between all his sneezes. It’s super annoyin’”.

Floyd plopped down on the rug in front of Riddle, affectionately bumping Riddle’s ankle with his foot.

“Wanna know Jade, too?” Floyd continued. “He tries his best not to act sick in front of anyone, usually just me. So even worse than Azul, right? ‘Cause that's just boring.”

Floyd threw Riddle a conspiratorial grin, though Riddle could tell well enough from the affection in his tone that Jade wouldn’t have minded this being shared. Now that Riddle thought about it, if Azul was aware of any ulterior motives Floyd had for naming Riddle on his school forms, Jade would doubtlessly be in on it too.

Riddle sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then, he lowered his head in regret.

“Well. I don’t know how this turned into you cheering me up,” Riddle murmured. “But... thank you. I’m sorry I yelled. It's something… that I’m trying to do less.”

Riddle fidgeted uncomfortably when Floyd just kept gazing at him.

“Aww. Goldfishie’s making me wanna hug, but you just said I can’t,” said Floyd, gently teasing and looking like he was even less familiar with receiving apologies than Riddle was at giving them. “No fair.”

Still planted with his legs sprawled across the floor, Floyd took a dramatic deep breath and held it, holding his arms out wide for a cuddle in case Riddle changed his mind. Riddle suddenly didn’t know if he was about to laugh or cry. 

“If we were underwater, I could hold my breath a lot longer,” Floyd admitted, gasping before taking another gulp of air for round two. “Or if these coughs would stop.”

“S-stop that. You’re allowed to breathe,” Riddle gave a shaky laugh, his throat feeling tight. Floyd was still playfully waiting for him to cuddle, and it almost hurt how much Riddle wanted to be held and told that it was that easy, for everything to be alright.

“You okay, Goldfishie?” Floyd said softly. When Riddle tried to nod, the floppy smile on Floyd’s face fell immediately, replaced by something startled and sorry. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No! No,” Riddle shook his head forcefully, sincere. “I… I’ve just been… struggling a bit, lately. Since… ah.”

Since I realised tests aren’t the only place mistakes can be made, Riddle wanted to say. And I’ve been trying so hard not to keep repeating the same ones.

“Floyd… I shouldn’t have gotten so worked-up earlier, about being your emergency contact,” Riddle said quietly. “I really am sorry. I tend to react very poorly if something isn’t done by the book.”

“...really, really makin’ me wanna hug…” Floyd mumbled, shuffling forward enough to gently rest his cheek on Riddle’s sleeve.

Riddle swallowed, then carefully lowered himself to his knees, gathering Floyd in an embrace while Floyd sat there stunned, suddenly looking like he’d never been held. A second later and Floyd’s expression crumpled, and he wrapped his arms around Riddle like he’d never let go.

“Ri… Riddle?…” Floyd tried to say, the word sounding odd and unfamiliar, wavering on his voice.

“I know, I know, I’m bad at this. I’m being embarrassing,” Riddle whispered. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been asked for a hug in his life, let alone initiated one. That, and hearing Floyd trip over his given name was making him tear-up all over again. Riddle let his arms drop, quickly smudging the heels of both hands over his eyes.

“Being in an upset mood isn’t embarrassing,” Floyd said softly. When Riddle seemed not to know what to do with himself, Floyd reached out and rubbed the back of Riddle’s hand with his knuckle. It was such a small gesture, Riddle thought, Floyd’s long fingers curved toward his palm, not grabbing and splayed relentlessly like usual. When Riddle unclenched his fist, Floyd gently wrapped one of his fingers in his own.

“Riddle… I put Riddle’s name down because… I thought it might be funny,” Floyd murmured, then looked unsure. “Thought I’d show you at the end of our third year,” Floyd continued, nudging his face against Riddle’s shoulder as if to say he didn’t mean any harm. “That Riddle’s name had been there the whole time… and you’d be super mad, but maybe find it funny.”

Riddle couldn’t help a watery smile. Somehow he did find that a little amusing, though he knew without doubt that super mad probably wouldn’t have even covered it. Floyd gave a tentative sort of grin too, and Riddle found himself struck by the familiarity of the expression. Riddle wondered why he remembered so many of those times now, when Floyd used to trip over his feet while he was dancing, or unbalance on his broom before they’d even left the ground. The way Floyd would just laugh and didn’t care who saw, or how many times he’d have to get up and try again.

“Also… ‘cause I always wanna hang out with Riddle. The forms were goin’ on and on, and Riddle’s name just popped into my head. Kept wondering what Riddle was doin’.”

While Floyd found it easy to hold his stare, even when saying something so honest, Riddle found himself lowering his gaze as his cheeks felt warm.

“But also…” Floyd stumbled, as if this was the only part that was hard to say. “Riddle prob’ly doesn’t know this. But Riddle is someone I trust. Your dorm might be mad at you right now, but for real, Goldfishie, you’re still someone they trust. If people say they need help, Goldfishie might get real strict and proper, but everyone knows you would always be there.”

Floyd’s finger was still twined with Riddle’s, and he gave a small, helpless little squeeze when Riddle looked up at him.

“Even if Goldfishie knows it’s just a dumb cold,” Floyd hummed, slowly brimming to a smile as Riddle nearly managed to smile at himself too.

“...already back to that nickname… after so many Riddle’s,” Riddle hiccuped, trying to joke as an unfamiliar ache tugged in his chest. How had Floyd even known what was wrong, without Riddle needing to say? Riddle found himself thinking back on every frustrating, infuriating moment he had had with Floyd since they started at this school, all the times Floyd had tried to cheer him up in his own haphazard way, all the times Riddle couldn’t help asking about Floyd’s whereabouts when he knew Floyd was sad.

Floyd nestled as far as he could toward Riddle without outright squishing him, clearly wanting Riddle to cuddle him again. Riddle lifted his arms, still struggling with how to pull Floyd against his chest without seeming terribly stiff and awkward. If he did, Floyd didn’t seem to mind, and Riddle suddenly found that he was just as capable of hugging awfully tight.

“Aha~ yeah,” Floyd sniffled, then gently leaned his cheek against Riddle’s hair. “Gotta make Goldfishie listen… when I’m sayin’ I’m here too.”

-

“And so,” Azul lamented, pacing around Riddle’s room like he had been deeply wounded. “Imagine my surprise, Floyd, when I arrived to benevolently send you my well wishes, only to be asked if I had at some point this evening taken off my Octavinelle crest and thrown it at someone. And by Heartslabyul’s vice dorm leader, no less!”

Cornered by Azul’s show of indignation, Floyd made a cheerful sound, grinning through the glass thermometer that Riddle was trying to check his temperature with.

“Azul found out about that, huh,” Floyd cackled rather happily, while Azul closed his eyes and sighed in despair.

“More tea, Azul?” Riddle asked lightly, trying to introduce some much-needed diplomacy into the situation, and not at all being reminiscent of Azul’s breezy, smug manner with him earlier. Azul narrowed his eyes, then raised a withering eyebrow at his fellow dorm-head.

“Please. Since Riddle-san ever so kindly offered,” Azul said dryly, then huffed as his mouth twitched at the corners. It was an odd, gently amused sort of smile, and so different from Azul’s usual effervescent expression, Riddle realised.

“Here-” Floyd hummed, affectionately ducking his head and nudging the thermometer forward in his mouth. Riddle was tactful enough to remove it before Floyd could try to bite the glass again, the knot in his chest loosening when he realised Floyd’s temperature had actually gone down quite a bit. Floyd smiled when he saw the worry ease from Riddle’s face, his expression helplessly soft while he kept his mouth closed.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook,” Riddle mumbled, his cheeks warming as he turned away to fuss and wash his hands. “You should get back under the blankets momentarily. I- I’m still Heartslabyul’s senior first aid officer, you know. I don’t want this turning into a chill, either.”

Floyd nodded, still sniffling through a hopelessly unguarded smile. Azul blinked.

Riddle poured another cup of unsweetened black tea for Azul, then paused as he considered what sort of tea might receive a better reception with Floyd. It was a daunting task with nothing but ‘a surprise’ to go on, but as a dorm leader and acting representative for the Queen of Hearts, Riddle felt it imperative that-

“Goldfishie~” Floyd hummed gently, leaning down and resting his chin on Riddle’s shoulder. “I don’t mind if I don’t like it. And Goldfishie can always try again next time~”

Riddle could feel the comforting warmth of Floyd’s chest at his back as Floyd loosely folded his arms around him. There was a small silence, before Riddle took a breath and spooned a collection of random, mismatched tea leaves and dried fruits into the teapot, leaning ever so slightly into the gentle weight of Floyd’s hug. Floyd hummed, giving him another reassuring squeeze.

Azul, who had been watching all this with growing confusion, suddenly gave a quiet cough as he started mildly choking on his tea.

“-P-pardon me-” Azul firmly patted his chest, clearly fighting the urge to leap to his feet and stare at Riddle and Floyd in disbelief. “But if there’s something anyone should tell me, I’m going to need far more warning!”

Riddle could feel his face going just as red as Azul’s. The butterflies in his stomach were still a little too new to Riddle, and he felt like he was either going to start yelling or pass out. In fact, it was probably only Floyd’s careful embrace that was keeping him steady, and Riddle suddenly felt he needed to say at least one more embarrassingly heartfelt thing this evening, while Floyd was holding him so close.

“Thank you for looking after me too,” Riddle whispered, clumsily tangling his fingers in Floyd’s and considering whether he should just bury himself and this absurd blush in Floyd’s shoulder forever.

Floyd let his face squish against Riddle’s as he leaned in, cuddling Riddle again.

-