Archive of Our Own

It’s hard to pinpoint this feeling, so starkly different from Jade’s usual demeanor.
He is all but used to plenty of toothy smiles, to reserved speech, to holding back whatever mannerisms his brother failed to conceal; he is used to donning a facade to drop the second no one of importance was around. What Jade found unusual, however, is how pleasant said facade may feel to maintain around certain people.

With Floyd and Azul, of course, his politeness remained, albeit with the occasional true color shining through, - this was no news. But the way he found himself eyeing a particular second-year from Heartslabyul creeped out not only his two closest people but, to be frank, it made him feel odd about himself. 

Maybe it was the moment the second-year was suddenly crowned vice-dorm leader by Jade and Floyd’s classmate, or, maybe, it was the moment Jade saw him mutter an honestly ridiculous song to himself in the shared Night Raven kitchenette as he cooked; maybe that was when he found himself transfixed on that clover-mark upperclassman of his.
The song he muttered that day still rang in his ears, going, “Darling, darling, please love me; since that day, we’ve been partners in crime…”

And sometimes, a few months after they’ve adjusted to walking on two legs, he’d sneak a peek just to see that upperclassman laugh breathlessly at the new dorm leader and his ginger-haired friend. He’d wonder, idly, of what it was that made him chuckle so wholeheartedly, so genuinely; he’d wonder, idly, if any of this pleasantness was as much of a barefaced lie as Jade’s was.

(“Jaaade,” his brother would poke his side, munching on whatever snack he had threatened seniors into giving him, “Jade. Coral sea to Jade. You alright?”
“Of course,” he would smile at Floyd, “just lost in thoughts, I guess. It’s still a little strange, being up here, compared with the class we went to for land prep.”

Floyd would nod, a spark of suspicion bursting in his knit eyebrows and the stare he would shoot at him, “Right. Still weird.”

“Fufu.”)

The moment Jade knew, however, what that feeling he could not put a finger on entailed, was when he had sneaked out of Mostro Lounge to the lab. Having only discovered mushrooms back then, he had gone out of his way to research their properties: from borrowing heavy tomes on their essence from the library to reading through second-year alchemy textbooks, he felt as though a world he had never fathomed of was presented right in front of him, for him to devour whole. 

“Hm? Isn’t it club time?” when Jade lifted his eyes up, he was met with a smirk and the familiar clover-shaped paint on the cheek of the intruder; he had seated himself across the younger twin, skimming the various passages Jade had laid out on the table. “What’re you doing here? Studying up, I see?”
“Yes,” he smiled as courteously as he could, careful not to squeeze any pent-up anxiety out of his face so as not to threaten or scare the second-year, “I’m simply fascinated with mushrooms is all. Having only come to the surface some half a year ago, I find the land flora quite peculiar.”

The second-year nodded, mouth agape in a silent understanding; Jade could only fixate on his features, the way his eyebrows lifted slightly, giving way to a slight wrinkle on his forehead. He wondered if there was a particular reason for it, if any of his past setbacks had him stress over every other thing. The thoughts, flashing candid and bright in the front of Jade’s mind, were truthfully a great source of shame for him up until this very moment - up until he’d seen this boy up close, approachable as ever. 

“You’re from…” he trailed off, eyes darting to the armband around Jade’s uniform, “...Octavinelle, right?”
He snickered. “Indeed. Jade Leech, class 1-E. What an honor to meet you…”

“Trey,” he announced, face brightening up, “Trey Clover. I’m from Heartslabyul.”

“What an honor to meet you, Trey Clover.” the very name rang like a clear silver bell from his tongue, rolling off in a sound so gentle - not as couthy as Trey seemed, however, - it felt unfamiliar. “I believe I’ve heard of you before. Ah, was it you who became Vice-Housewarden?”

A smile, somewhat remorseful from the downward tug on his lips, bloomed across his features; Jade likened it to a spider-lily he had seen in a textbook, with its dry and ambiguous flush. “That’d be me, yeah. My childhood friend had kind of roped me into it.”

“Oya,” he exclaimed, thoughtful, before giving Trey a sharp grin, “a childhood friend. It seems we both have one that leads us around.”

“Oh?”

Jade could only laugh at his initial caution about approaching this second-year; it felt like they were not so different, after all, mannerisms aside. “Yes. Have you seen this grey-haired student from my dorm?”
“Forgot his name, but I think Riddle actually views him as a competit- forget it,” Trey widened his eyes suddenly, exhaling intensely. Jade was honestly at odds with himself for allowing another quiet chuckle to emit and ripple through the room and from his mouth. 

“Azul Ashengrotto. I see your Housewarden would like to compete with him?”
Trey fixed his glasses, his gaze distant, as though staring through a looking-glass in Jade’s stead. “Not really. He just thinks of your friend as someone of his level, I’d say.”
“What interesting information,” Jade smiled, some innate warmth flooding through his insides, “say, Trey. Are you free to continue our little chat?”

He'd wondered, idly, what is it that Trey had to shy away from, so nonchalant about his thoughts.