Chapter Text
As soon as classes are over, Jade musters as much grace as he can as he aggressively speed walks to the Octavinelle dorms, slamming the door to his room behind him as he proceeds to hack into the trash bin by his desk, blood tinged violet petals bursting forth.
It’s been the same routine for the past two weeks. He knows exactly what’s wrong with him, but he knows he’s not ready to address it, so he has been diligent in hiding it from Floyd and Azul, who would certainly force him to make a choice to solve the problem.
Jade’s been lucky so far that he’s been able to hold it all in until the end of the day, and he’s already decided to keep pushing his luck for as long as he can.
Confident that he’s gotten as many petals as he can manage out of his system, Jade wipes his mouth and pulls out his pen, preparing to incinerate the evidence before he’s caught.
However, this time he hesitates. Both Floyd and Azul were both to be at their respective clubs at this moment, and as the sole member of the Mountain Lover Club, he could decide if meetings were to take place. There was no need to act immediately, at least this time.
Sifting through the petals, he finds twenty or so fully formed flowers. He purses his lips in a line. This did not bode well. It really was only a matter of time until he wouldn’t be able to hide this from the others.
Twirling one of the flowers between his fingers, he sighs as he tries to figure out how’ll he’ll keep hiding his condition as it progresses.
So far, no good plans come to mind.
Looking down at the violet, something else does come to mind. Grassy green hair that he yearns to run his fingers through, golden eyes that sparkled when he spoke about his latest creation, and a smile that shone brighter than the sun on the waves.
He feels his chest tighten as he lets out another cough, a few petals escaping his lips. He was far too cowardly to tell Trey how he felt, and far too in love to be able to let go of his precious memories of him. Floyd and Azul would be distressed, he’s sure, if they found out that he had decided to die alongside his feelings. But there was no other option. Jade wasn’t ashamed of who he was - he knew he was a cruel, malicious schemer. And while proud of that, he also understood that this also certainly made him one of the least qualified people to stand by Trey’s side.
Trey may claim that he’s not nearly as kind or righteous as people see him to be, but that made him all the more appealing to Jade as it added modesty to his charm as well. He was so adept at calming Riddle when others could not, he was a model vice housewarden, and was an exemplary and reliable senior to his underclassmen to boot - hell, he signed up for the Culinary Crucible despite already being so skilled just to learn how to better teach other people how to cook.
There was more than enough reason to eat multiple meals in succession for the sake of judging if it meant seeing Trey looking just oh so handsome in that chef’s outfit.
For someone so wonderful to even be kind to someone like him - how could he not fall for Trey?
Rook would call Trey “Rose Chevalier”, and Jade felt it was incredibly fitting. A knight indeed…Trey was gallant, capable, and Jade could never take his eyes off of him. A lowly eel like him was not suitable to be his partner at all. They were worlds apart in so many ways - with the gap between them seemingly increasing more and more as Jade fell further and further for him.
That didn’t mean that he couldn’t make as many opportunities as he could to see him, though. He may not be worthy to be with Trey, but Jade could at least spend as much time with him as he could. Every moment he could get where Trey’s attention was on him was more valuable than any treasure of the sea.
Looking down at the flower in his hand once more, inspiration struck. He gathers all of the fully formed flowers and sets them on his table before pulling out his pen again and burning the remaining petals.
If life gives you violets, you might as well use them as a reason to get closer to your crush.
Humming to himself, Jade sets down his violets in a strainer in the sink, gently washing off all traces of blood. They must be in perfect condition for Trey-san.
Once he was satisfied with the condition of the violets, he sets them on a paper towel to dry before gathering the rest of the ingredients. Jade had looked up the recipe for candied violets a while back when Trey had mentioned they were his favorite food, and while the recipe was incredibly easy, he hadn’t had the chance until now to make them.
Separating the egg yolk from the white, he proceeded to beat the white until it was frothy but not yet stiff, and then set it aside as he poured the confectioner’s sugar into a sifter.
Taking a violet, he gently dips it into the egg white, twirling it around to coat the entire flower before shaking off the excess. Next he takes the sifter and gently twirls the violet around to ensure it’s evenly coated with sugar on all sides, and then places it onto a paper towel.
He then repeats this until all the flowers have been coated with egg and sugar, his mind thinking about Trey the entire time. Would he like them? Would he realize there’s something different about these violets? Would he even accept them in the first place?
Jade remembers distinctly the first time he had ever seen Trey eat candied violets. It had been an incredibly ordinary day, with the two of them talking in the greenhouse as they took care of their respective plants. Trey had decided to take a break, and pulled out a jar of candied violets. The image of Trey popping the violet in his mouth and the smile that followed was distinctly seared into Jade’s brain. He had innocently inquired about the flowers, since clearly he enjoyed them so much, and after learning that they were Trey’s favorite food, Jade searched up a recipe immediately after the two had parted ways.
After rearranging the fridge, Jade gently places the violets in the furthest corner. He then moves everything around, ensuring that they are shielded by his mushrooms to avoid them from being disturbed or for anyone finding them and asking questions.
The hardest part about the recipe was the waiting. The next day, Jade rushes over to the fridge to take out his violets, thrilled to see that they were coming along perfectly. Now would be the harder part - they would have to last another 24 hours where they could sit somewhere warm and still undisturbed.
Jade decided the safest place would be on his desk, and as he places them down, he then rearranges his books as a little fence around them to hide them from prying eyes.
The following day was uneventful. After rushing to his room for the routine expulsion of petals and incineration, he moves the books to reveal the perfect looking violets. Smiling in anticipation of sharing these with Trey, he snips off the stems with a pair of scissors and places them all in a small jar.
Tucking the jar away into his jacket, he beelines to the greenhouse, where Trey greets him with a smile and wave. “Jade! I almost thought you weren’t going to be here for your mushrooms today.”
Jade feels his heart flutter and he smiles back, stifling a cough. “I would never skip the care for my mushrooms in the same way you would never neglect your strawberries. I simply had to stop by my room first.”
“Of course, my apologies. You’re diligent as always, Jade.” Trey’s gaze is so gentle and his smile so warm that it takes all his willpower to tear his gaze away and start to care for his mushrooms.
He does his best to put quality care into the tending of his mushrooms, but his eyes keep straying over to Trey, hoping he’d take a break soon.
Luckily for him, he doesn’t have to wait too long, as he watches Trey set aside his gloves and grab a bottle of water.
“Taking a break?” Jade does his best to keep his voice steady, as if this wasn’t the moment he’d been so anxiously waiting for.
Trey smiles at him, nodding. “Would you like to join me?”
Jade nods in response, unconfident that he’d be able to hide his excitement if he had spoken in response. He walks over to Trey’s side, fidgeting with the jar in his pocket and steadying his breathing before he speaks up. “Trey-san, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
His golden eyes widen in surprise before he smiles and nods. “Depends on the favor - what is it, Jade?”
Taking out the jar, he offers it to Trey. “I’ve been working on things to use in order to prevent Mostro’s menu from becoming stagnant. I decided to try out candied violets in order to garnish some of our desserts. Since you mentioned before that you enjoyed them, I felt that you were the perfect person to taste test them. Would you please try some and give me your feedback?” The lie flows easily once he starts, having rehearsed it mentally over the course of the two days it took to make the candied violets.
Trey’s eyes are practically sparkling and the same enchanting smile from the first time he ate the candied violets in front of Jade is on his face again, forcing him to use an incredible amount of willpower in order not to swoon as the man manages to become even more handsome than he already was. “It would be an honor to try these.” He opens the jar and picks one out, holding it up to marvel at it. “These look perfect, Jade, have you tried them yourself?”
“I’ve already tasted so many violets that I fear that my judgment is no longer credible at this time.” This wasn’t exactly a lie. While Jade hadn’t eaten any of the candied violets he had made, at this point he had coughed up so many violet petals that his mouth was probably violet flavored by now.
Taking another moment to twirl the violet around in his fingers, Trey then pops it into his mouth, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of content. This too, will be a moment seared into Jade’s brain forever. “Where did you get these violets? Different kinds of violets can taste differently - and while these look like common blue violets, they’re sweeter than any I’ve ever had before. They’re divine. They’re much sweeter than others, but the floral taste of the violets ensures that it’s not overwhelming. I’ve never had candied violets as good as these before.”
Jade’s elation at the praise is quickly mitigated by the panic that sets in as he devises a lie over the source of the flowers. “I grew them myself. They were from violet seeds that I infused my magic into in order to get them to bloom.”
“That explains it. It was your special touch that made them unique.” Trey happily eats another. “If you use these for your desserts at Mostro, I’m sure they’d be a hit. Some people say they can taste like bath salts, but if you’re the one making them, Jade, I know that everyone would love them.”
He nods, transfixed by the image of Trey eating the violets. His violets. The ones born from his love. The ones that burst from his heart and kept blooming with every smile and kind word of praise. He wants to ask for forgiveness for tricking him, but he can’t. His selfishness desiring to keep seeing Trey smile as he eats flower after flower, to watch him take in his love for even a little bit.
As if I could give these flowers to anyone but you.