Work Text:
“Alright…..that’s enough.”
………
“You’re clearly coming down with something, and I cannot have you spreading that to our paying customers. Go rest, Floyd.”
A flurry of hands moving, a young face half covered by a mask, scrunching in frustration.
‘Resting boring. No.’
Azul sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses. Jade merely raises an eyebrow.
“Well I can’t imagine it’s particularly pleasant to work with a cold, right? Look at you, you can’t even speak.”
A pan clatters as it’s roughly shoved to the side. ‘ Not closed now. Feel like working. Busy.’ Floyd signs, grimacing when he turns just a little too quickly. He really is rather pale…. ‘ Dancing hurts. Everything fun hurts. Sitting is boring. Want to work.’
Jade brushes his twin’s hand aside when he goes to pick up the frying pan again. “If you feel like working, perhaps you can work on your studies?” he suggests, effectively standing between Floyd and more cooking.
Being sick was an absolute “no” for working with food, but when Floyd put his mind to something, it was hard to redirect him.
Thankfully Jade has a whole lifetime of practice.
“There’s a paper due in a week, on a topic I know interests you. Why don’t you grab a snack and go start doing some research for it?” he suggests casually, and he sees Azul tilt his head in thought.
“Yes, that’s an excellent use of time I think. Low energy usage, and you stop spreading germs all over the food.” he concludes, nodding. Floyd lowers his mask to stick his tongue out at Azul. Their housewarden frowns back, and Jade suppresses a snicker behind his hand.
Azul clears his throat after a beat. “Yes yes, that will work nicely. Floyd, you’re relieved of your shift for the day.” He makes brief eye contact with Jade, and it’s likely they share the same sentiment. At best they’ll relieve Floyd from work for a while, so he can have time to recover properly. Surface ailments tended to knock them down thoroughly for several days at a time.
They’ll be understaffed, but it’s not like they don’t have resources. They’ll find a way. Maybe they’ll call in Ruggie again…
Floyd is clearly pouting beneath the mask, his eyes narrowing. Jade readies more arguments when his brother raises his hands again-
Fine. I’m not hungry, but I’ll go to the library or something. He signs. They both note his hands are flopping with the movements, his energy clearly flagging.
A break of any kind will do him a world of good. Azul smiles, pushing his glasses up.
“Very well. We will see you at the dorm tonight then.” he says, stepping forward to hand Floyd a little spiral notebook. He then sweeps out of the kitchen without another word, a plan now set. Floyd just grunts noncommittally, tucking the book in his pocket and stifling a cough. Jade smiles sympathetically.
“Nothing to be done here; we have it covered, alright?” he says, taking hold of Floyd’s shoulders and gently ushering him out of the kitchen, and then out of the lounge. He can feel a bit too much heat through his brother’s uniform. It would be ideal to have him go sleep off the illness at the dorm, but asking Floyd to sit still and rest when he got like this….never went well. This would have to do for now.
He’ll check on him later.
—----------
Floyd wanders into the library around the afternoon, posture slumped, arms hanging as he walks.
Today was just. So gross. He’d already gotten into the zone when cooking….the headspace where he didn’t really notice how his bones ached, how his legs screamed for rest (and wasn’t that funny? His own legs he worked so hard for, betraying him like this…), how it hurt to just breathe sometimes….and then he got kicked out of the kitchen.
And with that the grossness just….settled in. He hates it.
Floyd’s not stupid, he knows he’s sick. But the idea of just….sitting and waiting to get better just made everything feel so much worse. He shakes his head, walking up to the nearest book case. At least the library was quiet, which helped with the growing headache.
He’ll read up on that paper. Jade seemed to think it was a good idea, so he’ll do it.
….If he could remember what the actual topic was.
Jade said it was interesting. He does remember that, but the specifics were escaping him…floating out of memory like some particularly flighty krill.
He smiles imagining that exact thing. It would be fun to chase something maybe- if his own body didn’t protest at every movement.
…..This sucks.
Floyd huffs, wincing when the air irritates his throat. He eventually grabs a book with the most colorful cover and goes to sit at a table with it. Cracking it open, he skims over the pictures mainly. Looks like he picked something on magical creatures. Cool. The baby animal paintings were pretty cute too…
He shifts, the wooden chair proving to be rather uncomfortable. On a normal day he’d be able to ignore it, but today it kinda hurt actually-
He sighs, getting up and moving to a couch instead. He settles back on the lumpy cushions and it’s….better. He reads some more, smiling at the cute little cats with tentacles on their backs. They remind him of Azul, in a way, but more cat. Phase kittens? Neat.
Floyd shifts around as he reads without even thinking about it. He ends up laying down on the couch, his legs up on the back cushions. It’s rather comfortable actually.
The thing about comfortable seating is that he falls asleep about five minutes later.
—---------------
“Floyd.”
Slowly, groggily, he wakes up to someone….shaking his shoulder.
“Floyd. Wake up.”
And ordering him around? He groans, sniffling loudly. Feels like all the gunk he’s been dealing with just….pooled into his throat. Ew.
“You are in a public space. One should not be sleeping in a public space.” the voice says, and Floyd huffs, raising his hands in the air.
‘ Mind your business.’ he signs tiredly, letting his arms flop back onto the cushions when done.
“I….have no idea what that means.” says the voice, and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that they’re not leaving. Anyway, he thinks he knows who it is. Floyd cracks open an eye, spotting the blurred, small figure with short red hair leaning over him. Ah….
‘ Goldfishie….. ’
“I don’t know what that means either. Is that sign? Why are you not speaking, Floyd?” Goldfish asks, his voice changing from pure irritation to confusion….maybe concern? He’d tease Goldie about it but he doesn’t have it in him right now. He hums, closing his eyes again- the light hurts.
Goldie keeps asking questions he can’t understand the answers to.
Floyd fumbles for the notebook in his coat pocket, the one Azul gave him earlier. They all can speak sign language (sometimes it was easier to communicate that way under the sea), but Azul had (rightly) guessed that most people do not, and gave him this notebook with a few common answers in it. He holds it out, and rolls over onto his side when Goldfishie takes it. He curls up, listening to the papers rustle.
“You’re sick?” his visitor asks, and Floyd just hums softly in response. A small hand brushes his bangs aside, cool fingers coming to rest on his temple. It feels nice actually…. “Why aren’t you in your dorm resting? You risk spreading this in a public space like the library…” the little fish says, his voice noticeably softer. He appreciated that, really.
Still, he gives a half hearted shrug, reaching up to sign, ‘Boring .’ He gets a small huff for his troubles.
“I still don’t understand, but I have a guess.” Goldie mutters. Floyd grunts in response, which was….maybe not a great idea, since it irritates his throat, sending him into a coughing fit.
Dimly, he registers some rustling nearby, and something slips from his grasp. He’s keeping his eyes firmly closed, so it’s hard to figure out what’s going on. But when he settles down, it’s significantly dimmer beyond his eyelids. Taking a quick glimpse around, he finds the curtains nearby are all drawn closed. He sighs, sinking into the cushions.
“Were you reading this? ‘ Baby Bestiary ….’” Goldfish asks from somewhere above his head. He opens his eyes dully, looking down. Oh yeah….the book….he nods. He listens to pages turning, his eyes drifting closed again. A baby creature book for a little goldfishie….he’d like it. He can read it too if he wants….
“Oh, I didn’t know there were more traditional horses in the ocean. Fascinating…” he hears Goldie say, voice lower like he’s speaking to himself. Floyd hums in agreement. There’s lots of great things in the ocean to learn about, for sure.
“The hippocampus is a rare breed of sea creature, with the upper body of a horse and lower body of a fish. They have two legs and two back fins, and females have a set of wings similar to that of a pegasus, but more akin to fins in structure…” Goldfish starts reading out loud. It’s not the most interesting stuff, but it was nice to have something to focus on. And the quiet volume didn’t hurt his head…
He listens as his friend reads in a soft voice, catching some notes of wonder even as he reads from something that’s technically a textbook. Floyd smiles sleepily, relaxing fully on the couch cushions.
There are many great things on the surface too.
—-------------------
Jade enters the library like a ghost, quiet and careful. He didn’t want to incur any wrath for being too loud. He also knew his brother, so if he did end up here, he’s likely to have fallen asleep.
Business had picked up when Floyd left, unfortunately. So he’s only just now coming to check on his twin when the Monstro Lounge had closed for the night. He wasn’t in their room or the dorm, so this was his next guess….
And as predicted, he finds Floyd fast asleep on the couch in the back of the library.
What he didn’t expect was the company he had.
Riddle Rosehearts sat on the arm of the couch, back straight and proper. He holds a book in one hand, seemingly engrossed in its contents. He doesn’t notice Jade at all. His other hand is making…odd movements. Slow, precise, and repetitive, it almost looked like….oh.
Jade smiles warmly, putting the pieces together rather quickly.
Floyd’s little goldfish friend was trying to teach himself sign language…
And if that wasn’t sweet enough, he watches when it looks like Riddle runs out of words to practice for the moment, as his little hand drops softly onto Floyd’s head, fingers smoothing over his hair absently. Jade’s smile only widens.
It does his heart good to see Floyd making some friends. Now Riddle was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.
At the very least he knows Azul would jump at the chance to use it somehow. He bites down a chuckle, because he knows Riddle Rosehearts is too smart for that.
He also gets the feeling Floyd wouldn’t allow it, either.
He watches for a moment longer, before he figures it’s time they all head home. He clears his throat, stepping from the shadows.
“Good evening, Riddle.” he says quietly, keeping his smile carefully pleasant and not letting on how much he enjoys the way Riddle lurches in surprise, snatching his hand back and snapping the book closed.
“Ah. Jade. Good evening.” the house-warden of Heartslabyul responds, clearing his throat and recovering his composure in an impressive amount of time. Jade nods in acknowledgement, and looks down at the couch.
Floyd hasn’t even twitched, deeply asleep. A slight dusting of pink had settled over his cheeks, which had not been there when Jade last saw him. Riddle looks down at him as well.
“I imagine you’re here to retrieve him?”
“Yes. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, he’s coming down with an awful cold. Now that work is done, we need to make sure he gets plenty of rest and care.” he says, kneeling by the couch and placing a gentle hand on his twin’s shoulder. Riddle nods, accepting this answer. He stands from his perch, straightening his jacket.
“Good. He needs it.” His nose crinkles just slightly. “He’s been rather….quiet.”
Jade gives an understanding nod, slowly nudging his brother to at least partial wakefulness. Floyd being quiet was always….worrying, to say the least.
“Thank you for looking after him.” Jade says, giving his most genuine smile. “I had meant to check on him earlier, but circumstances kept getting in the way….”
Riddle’s eyes widen, and Jade watches in some amusement as the boy’s face goes slightly red; not unlike the little goldfish Floyd affectionately named him after.
“We just happened to be…studying in the same area. It’s nothing.” he mutters. With that, he gives a small respectful bow and a quick goodbye, and he’s gone. Jade chuckles quietly to himself.
“Your little friend was worried about you, Floyd, isn’t that sweet?” he says, nudging his twin yet again. Floyd grumbles intelligibly, opening his eyes slightly. He tilts his head at Jade in confusion, brow furrowed. “Never-mind that.” He smiles, smoothing his brother’s bangs back. Jade had never been too fond of physical affection, but he knew Floyd loved it. And that was quite a decent fever he had going…
As expected, Floyd’s eyes close, and he leans into the hand on his head. A beat passes, and he raises his arms, making a miserable noise. Jade bites back a laugh.
“What? Don’t want to use your legs?” he teases lightly, earning a tired glare from his twin. He sniffs in amusement, shaking his head. “Alright, alright.”
It takes some work, but eventually he gets Floyd situated on his back. He feels arms snake around his neck and squeeze, a forehead landing on his shoulder with a dull thump. He really was too warm, but not alarmingly so…
He knows Azul had already been hard at work trying to concoct a cure for this ailment. In fact it was part of why they’d gotten a little behind on orders at the lounge…Still. If anyone could come up with a cure for the common cold/flu/ whatever this was, it’d be him.
He’d just better get back to the dorm to stop their housewarden from losing sleep over it, possibly getting himself sick as well. They couldn’t have that. In the end, they could go to Cruwel for something to treat the symptoms....
Jade sighs and adjusts his hold on his brother.
“Alright. Back we go.”