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When he and Jade were little, it was a rare occasion for the two to swim up to the surface. Their gills were barely responsive to their natural habitat of water, let alone to the dry open air of the world above it; the pranksters they were, when they swam upwards, they'd use some other fish's scales they'd taken as prize after winning a fight, fixing them onto their backs and circling random fishermen whose poor souls wandered way too far outward into the ocean. To this day, Floyd would snicker at their screams or horrified faces as they rowed away, the twins hot on their tail.
Good times, unlike now.
He'd always wanted to see the surface for himself, and even though it took him a while to learn how human feet worked, he didn't regret going to Night Raven in the slightest. Except, maybe, his stupid professors and stupid classmates, he thought as another student's limp body stopped writhing against the chokehold he had them in.
For one, it was their fault for pissing off not only Azul, but Floyd himself. Talking shit about the staff at Mostro Lounge while dining was an obnoxious, yet stupidly brave idea. Secondly, Floyd was already in quite a bad mood after another clash with Crewel. Maybe this student is just collateral damage. He loosened his grip on them enough not to strangle but restrict them as they came back to, gasping for air.
He heard the clicking of heels behind his back, shoulders slumping. He'd recognize that sound anywhere and anytime.
(When he and Jade were little, on the rare occasion of the two swimming up to the surface, he stumbled upon a boy with hair colored like the surface flowers he'd seen in picture-books his father's associates would gift him and his brother. It was a flower that looked weak, maybe like the sea-lilies, and fragile; but in the books, the red flower never fleed from any pursuit, instead sharpening its thorns to strike the attacker back. Was the boy like that, too? His eyes burnt bright with tears on the brim of falling, becoming one with the saltwater beneath him and his parents' little rowboat; for the first time, Floyd found himself wide-eyed, a pang tugging at his heartstrings uncharacteristically. Before the family could sail away, he unstrapped the makeshift shark fin, showing his face to the boy. His expression shifted from fear to anger, then to worry, in the span of a second, but when Floyd showed him his bright toothy grin, the little human boy smiled back at him, waving his little hand.)
"Floyd," Riddle spoke behind him, donning his dorm uniform, the crown weighing on his head, "such behavior cannot be tolerated on land. Did we not talk about this?"
"Boring," he yawned, not bothering to turn Riddle's way. If anything, he was more than sure he could picture the other boy right now: standing with hands on his hips, leaning over a little and giving him a scolding, judgmental look.
When he did, however, peek behind his back, that was untrue. Riddle stood no longer poised, and instead, he recognized the weakness in those eyes as the boy from years ago; like the sea-lily, he seemed powerless. And yet, time and time again, Floyd has seen Goldfish to be more of a rose - the bespoken flower of rage and passion, leaving blood on any attacker's hand. "What's up, Goldfish?"
"You can't just go attacking students all of a sudden. Not only does this go against the common human laws, but against the school regulations, as well."
His eyes gleamed over the student's body like passing shadows; they were still panting heavily, mouth agape. "Azul's orders," Floyd shrugged.
"Using such extreme measures against the members of his own dorm," Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Azul is the last person I want to deal with right now. You, do you need help getting to the infirmary?"
The student, realizing they were being addressed, shook their head no sporadically; however, when they scrambled to their feet in order to get up, Riddle noticed the telltale shaking of their feet, hurrying over to help them. Once the student has regained their balance, the Heartslabyul housewarden scoffed, turning his attention back to Floyd. He was obviously grimacing by now, even moreso than before; to Riddle, he was an open, yet unpredictable, book.
"Don't tell me you got jealous of me helping an injured student up."
"You were too kind to them."
"That's because they were injured," he sighed out, thinking of ways to appease to Floyd's mood swings. Honestly, being as busy as he is, he didn't have the time or energy to deal with this; and yet he decided to, out of his own volition. "Did you fight with Professor Crewel again?"
Floyd bit the inside of his cheek. "No." Just conjuring up words felt like a heavy burden; the reason he got pissed at the student even more was... "They kept blaming you for some trivial things. I get that you and Azul aren't on best terms, but, it's annoying to hear some small fry spread rumors about my boyfriend and I."
Riddle stopped in his tracks. Was he flustered over Floyd's usual straightforwardness, over his infuriating jealousy, or the fact that he was so upset with the student gossiping about them? His mouth went dry at the sudden jolt of dizziness this information sent through him.
"That's still no excuse for exerting physical violence on another student." He looked away, feeling a traitorous flush spread across his face. "I will behead you for this later."
"Goldfish, the way you look now really reminds me of when you were little."
"Huh?"
"You know, on that boat."
His eyes twinkled with something akin to recognition, something that the sea-lilies illuminated on the ocean floor years ago. "That... Was you, wasn't it? Who smiled at me?"
"That was the first time another child smiled at me." His expression shifted from a fragile fluster to that of anger, however. "My parents thought you guys were sharks, you know! After that accident, I was banned from ever going near the ocean again!"
"It's a good thing we have it right in front of us, then, right?"
The pallid blue of the sea shone through the glass panels of Mostro Lounge, the corals and the lights passing over Riddle's face. Oh, how Floyd wanted to play around the ocean floor with Riddle, chasing the stray crabs and basking in the faint, dim sunlight the translucent waves carried over to the sandy pit of the water. He wondered if Riddle really would be a goldfish, too.
Definitely not a sea lily.
"Floyd, what did the student-" he took a look out the glass panel, the azure waves lulling his posture into relaxation, "-nevermind. I guess I don't want to know."
"Just stupid rumors," he clutched his fists, the tip of his fedora not enough to hide his facial expressions from the bright sea illumination. "First he kept making up stories of Azul a cheat, and then said something about you being forced to date me."
The merman scoffed. Riddle sighed, a sound soft and sweet, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm used to gossip going around. You shouldn't pay them any mind."
(Yeah, he shouldn't.)
"I wonder what sea creature would Goldfish be?"
Floyd wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, giggling into his soft hair and taking the crown off of the tip of his head. "Definitely not a sea-lily. Goldfish is way too strong!"
Riddle couldn't stuff a giggle from escaping his throat. "Have you ever thought of what your nickname is for me, Floyd?"
"Goldfish?"
Wait. Wait.
Riddle threw his head back in laughter, unable to contain it; his magic pen fell to the floor, and Floyd idly thanks his absentminded emotionality from sparing him from that collar.
Even now, he was grateful for seeing that little rose-haired boy smile years ago.