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Cater walked towards Azul’s office, making sure to amplify the click of his shoes against the tile floor. As he passed Jade, he nodded a polite hello, which Jade returned. He was there often enough that he assumed Jade knew why he was there-the tweels seemed extremely protective of Azul, and he’d been visiting Azul for years-but Jade pointed in the direction of the office anyhow.
Cater knocked on the door and heard a faint “come in” from the other side. He grinned as he saw Azul startle as he entered the room.
Azul sighed. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. You shouldn’t need another potion for at least another two weeks.” He waved a hand towards the array of papers on his desk. “If you can’t tell, I’m very busy.”
Cater laughed. “I must be getting a resistance to it, because my reflection was slightly transparent.” He crossed the room quickly and sat on the chair across from the desk, resting his chin on his hands and raising an eyebrow. “Or our resident underwater genius got his math wrong.”
Azul huffed in indignation. “I would never. I’ve just been…a bit tired lately.” His hand circled his wrist and he scowled. “No thanks to you.”
“D’awww, what, do you want me to kiss it better?” Cater giggled as Azul frowned even harder.
Cater had first heard of Azul’s talents while on a trip to the Coral Sea when he was 10. Azul had just started making contracts, and he ran into kids that were practically buzzing talking about the impressive miracles that had happened. He spent the next couple of months hunting for the person responsible, making excuses for why they should extend their trip all the while. This led him to Azul.
Once he found him, he offered him conditional immortality for the ability to be seen in mirrors and on camera. Azul took the deal (obviously) and within a couple of weeks had whipped up a potion that would do the job.
Eight years later, he sat across from him, looking thoroughly unamused. Before he could answer, Cater laughed again. “Jk, jk. But I do still need that potion. I have a vlog I need to upload tomorrow.”
Azul sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. How soon do you need it?”
“Today, if possible?” Azul banged his head into his desk and Cater laughed.
“You’re lucky I keep extras on hand,” he mumbled. He kept his head on his desk for a minute and let out a sigh before standing. As he started walking towards a locked closet, he motioned for Cater to follow him.
Cater stood. “But I thought you said the potions were perishable?”
Azul shook his head. “I said the activated potions were perishable. I said nothing about the inactivated potions.” He rooted around in the closet before pulling out a box with a couple of medicinal vials. He squinted at the vial and pulled out a needle. “I can’t believe you’re older than me,” he mumbled. “You usually start remembering things you’re told by the time you get past being a toddler.”
“Aw, don’t be like that ’Zul! You’re gonna hurt poor Cay-Cay’s feelings.” Cater snickered as Azul rolled his eyes. Having done this often, he held out his hand. Azul started a chant as he poked the needle into his finger and drew out a drop of blood. He proceeded to stab the needle into the vial, watching it turn from blue to purple.
Azul finished the chant and swirled the vial around three times. Cater gaped at it as it turned a beautiful seafoam green. He saw this every other month for the past eight years, but it never got old. The colors changed so smoothly, and as the potion swished in the vial, it made such a musical sound. It was impossible not to be entranced.
Azul chuckled and handed him the vial. “This should last for a couple of weeks. It would last longer, but it’s been stored in a closet for a while, and I’m a bit tired.” He plastered on his signature smile. “Any questions?”
Cater swallowed the potion and sighed. He pocketed the empty vial and turned to Azul. “Yeah, actually. Why’re you tired?”
Azul’s smile fell. “You should know, you’re the one taking my blood, not to mention how often you're unnecessarily in my office.” he muttered.
Cater sighed, choosing to ignore the last part of the sentence to focus on the first. “Azul. You know that the poison is supposed to make you more energized. You’re supposed to be able to run on less of the basic needs for a bit.” He laughed quietly. “You do know you’re still supposed to do self-care right?”
Azul grumbled and slid his hands down his face. Cater giggled. “Dude, have you even eaten today?” Azul glared at him through his fingers.
Cater sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “M’kay, so here’s what’s gonna happen now: You’re gonna eat a meal, drink some water, and get some sleep.” Cater paused for a second and then grinned. “And I’mma go out, film a vlog, and have a meal or two.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully.
Azul’s hand circled his wrist again. He was silent for a beat or two.
“…I have papers to fill out. I need to write a couple of contracts, and I need to check out the Lounge and I-” He started pacing in circles, making a checklist in his head that was entirely too long.
“Stop.” Cater could barely resist the urge to reach out and try to literally shake some sense into him. For some reason, Azul couldn’t seem to understand that he couldn’t live on productivity alone, even with conditional immortality. “You will. Please?” He put on his best puppy dog eyes and blinked slightly down at Azul.
“Damn you and your tall shoes. Fine! Fine.” He shook his head. “I’ll do it. Just-cut that out. It’s unnerving.” Cater giggled as Azul shook his head and scrunched his nose. “Never do that again, actually. I’ll do anything.”
“Good. I actually hafta go now, so I’ll catch ya later! Bye bye!” Cater spun on his heel with a wink and exited the office, heels clacking on the tile floor.
Azul sighed and counted to three. Cater appeared in the doorway again, said a quick “Thanks for the potion BTW!” and left again, leaving him alone in his office.