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It was late in the evening, and Azul was simply sitting at the bar in the Mostro Lounge. It had been a profitable day, at least given the consideration that the twins were both off today, conscripted by a teacher to help out with some school event or other that Azul didn’t know about.
But now he was alone, in that dim purple-blue lighting, a mixed drink in his hand. No staff, no twins, nobody else. Just the faint jazzy soundtrack he piped in, the mixed concoction he had personally made, and nothing else. He’d more or less cleared his mind, and was existing in a zone of zen where nothing really mattered.
At least until he thought he heard a loud noise coming from somewhere.
As he looked around, Azul saw nothing. For a moment, he thought it had been a strange daydream. Then another heavy noise, an identical thumping, came from the front door of the lounge.
“Hey, if you don’t open this door, I’m gonna have to break it down!” The familiar voice of Ruggie shouted. “This stuff is heavy!”
“Ah!” Azul was startled. “Coming!” He got up from his seat and gave a light jog across the room to the front door. With a turn of the lock, Azul opened the door and let Ruggie in. He even took the back side of the box and started helping Ruggie carry it inside. Soon the large cardboard box was placed gently on the floor in front of the bar.
Azul walked into the VIP lounge, came back with a small knife and cut open the tape. With a delicate hand he opened the box and revealed the treasures inside: Various props from The Oasis of Diasolan, the movie that Cater and Yuu had directed, and that Ruggie got second billing in.
“Good, good. I already have the display cases set up.” Azul motioned around the room, pointing to the podiums. “The trident is going to the VIP Lounge, but everything else we can put on whatever podium we want and I can switch the cards around later.”
“Alright, seems easier than carrying the box.” Ruggie scoffed. “We can probably knock this out in… What, fifteen minutes?” Ruggie asked as he pulled out a journal from the box.
“Give or take, yes.” Azul nodded. “Now, let’s not waste any more time.”
And so the two set about their task. They walked across the main lounge, placing various props and artifacts in display cases. With their job finally done, Ruggie plopped down on a stool at the bar and let out a sigh.
“There, that went faster than I thought it would…” Ruggie said. Azul nodded in agreement and stood before him.
“Would you like a drink to celebrate a job well done?” He asked. “On the house.”
“On the house?” Ruggie asked. “You are grateful. Sure, I’ll take one.” He let out a chuckle and spun around to the bar. Azul walked around and started mixing a drink. He was shockingly skilled as a mixologist as he made a drink and poured it into a glass for Ruggie.
“Thanks.” Ruggie took the glass. Azul took his half finished drink and raised it. The two clinked glasses and took sips happily.
“Sometimes I forget you actually know how to do this job instead of bein’ a pencil pusher.” Ruggie said as he took another sip.
“A restaurateur doesn’t need to be a cook, but it does help.” Azul explained. The two sat in silence for a moment, both enjoying their drinks before Ruggie spoke up.
“You know… I really don’t get why you got all these props. It’s not like this is a movie themed restaurant. Might actually ruin the mood.” Ruggie said as he turned around in his seat to look at the lounge.
“It’s not garish at all.” Azul said. “Plus, why wouldn’t I want to celebrate a movie in which my boyfriend got second billing.” Azul reached across and put a hand on Ruggie’s shoulder.
Ruggie shrugged it off and sighed.
“You don’t gotta act like you really care about me… We’re both in this for Jack, we know this…” Ruggie said. Azul gasped behind him and retracted his hand.
“… Ruggie, where is this coming from…?” Azul asked, though he didn’t move from his spot.
“I just… Jack and you make more sense romantically. You actually tried to win his heart… I just—“ Ruggie spun back around.
“Jack may be an athlete like the rest of the Savanaclaw types, but he’s… Quieter. He’s empathetic. He just… I pressed his buttons until we made out and then we ended up dating…” He explained.
“And I wanted Jack.” Ruggie said. “I want Jack. But it doesn’t change that part of why I went so hard was because I was still a little hurt because Leona fell for Cater… I did it out of spite, and you actually liked him and Jack likes both of us back and you… You don’t have to pretend you like me…”
Azul frowned a bit. He gently reached out his gloved hand to Ruggie’s frowning face and touched it. This time Ruggie didn’t retreat, and nuzzled into it.
“...Why are you really like this?” Azul asked. “You seemed fine until recently… Was it the movie?”
“...Do you remember when I… I just needed to cry. I went right to you and…” Ruggie sighed. “...It felt weird. That I went to you. That we could ever really have anything that wasn’t, you know… Business partners.”
“Ruggie…” Azul said. He reached out with his other hand and cupped both of Ruggie’s cheeks. “I know… We both walked into this with our love of Jack, but… I did care about you as a business partner. But you’re my boyfriend now. I care about you…”
Ruggie started to tear up and put his hands on top of Azul’s.
“Azul… I-I’m sorry…” Ruggie said and nuzzled. Azul wiped Ruggie's tears away, and the hyena started to laugh sadly.
“It’s alright… You don’t have to love me back…” Azul smiled at him.
“No, I… You do mean a lot to me.” Ruggie said. He sniffed as he finally recovered. Azul held onto him a few moments more, before finally…
“Ruggie, can I kiss you?” Azul asked. Ruggie looked shocked.
“...You never kiss me…” Ruggie said. “You barely kiss Jack…”
“And I want to kiss you now.” Azul said. Ruggie simply nodded. Azul leaned in and pulled Ruggie’s face closer with his hands. It was a gentle kiss on the lips. They nuzzled each other's faces briefly.
“...Want to make us another drink?” Ruggie asked as they kept close to each other. “All this sappy shit is making me thirsty…”
“Ha… I’ll make us another set of drinks.” Azul said. “This time I’ll put it on your tab.”
“No boyfriend discount?” Ruggie asked, then laughed. “I guess I’ll have to pay you back soon.”