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Jamil closed his eyes took a deep breath. He slowly rolled his head from one shoulder to the other, stretching out the muscles there, the action earning him a satisfying pop in his neck. It was the final five minutes of what may be NRC’s final basketball game of the season, the winner of this match proceeding to the championships. NRC was down two points, but Jamil was feeling good after this huddle. He gave Ace, Floyd, and his other teammates high fives as he passed them on the way back to the court. He was surprised to see Floyd still motivated enough to stay on the court. The eel usually got bored around halftime.
Just before the referee blew his whistle to start the game back up, Jamil happened to glance toward the stands to see two familiar bodies taking a seat. He felt his already warm and sweaty face heat up more as he watched Azul wave at him. Azul took a seat next to Jade in the bleachers and Jamil cocked an eyebrow, slightly confused. Azul told him that he wouldn’t be able to make it because he was behind on paperwork for the Lounge.
Jamil lifted a hand slightly towards the Octavinelle housewarden in acknowledgement, turning his focus back on the game and hoping to keep the fact that Azul was watching him out of his mind. He couldn’t afford any distractions in such an important game, especially with how close the score was.
Jamil got into position and waited several agonizing seconds for the signal to go. The deafening crowd quieted down into near silence in Jamil’s mind until finally the whistle blared and Jamil wasted no time springing into action.
Everything became a blur as he blocked, dodged, and weaved around his opponents, feeling the adrenaline pumping stronger through his veins with each second that counted down on the clock. When his teammate would pass him the ball, he’d dribble it as far as he could until he either had to pass it to another teammate or try to make a shot. When he or a teammate would miss a shot, the other team would quickly gain possession of it on the rebound until NRC managed to take possession back.
As the back and forth continued, the opposing team managed to get two more points, but then NRC got two right back. Everything stayed like that for what felt like forever, the two point gap NRC needing to surpass not budging. Jamil could see Ace was getting frustrated. He hoped Ace wouldn’t say or do anything that would allow the other team a foul shot.
The five minutes they had left in the game quickly turned into ten seconds and they were still behind two points. A teammate passed the ball to Jamil and as he turned to look at the opposing team’s basketball hoop, time felt like it slowed down.
He had a clear shot from where he stood at the half court line.
With no one around him, he smirked to himself, feeling like he had all the time in the world. He even felt confident enough to spare a glance at Azul, who was leaning forward with his hands gripping the edge of his seat and a tense look on his face. It looked like he was yelling something, but Jamil couldn’t hear him over the muffled roar of the crowd. He didn’t think the ever so calm and composed Azul would get this worked up over a basketball game. Seeing Azul get this worried for his sake made Jamil feel light.
The smirk Jamil wore softened into a warm smile as he gave his boyfriend a wink and pointed out to him. Azul’s mouth pressed closed and his cheeks turned pink as Jamil looked back at the basket, raising the ball up as he jumped, and took the shot. Time seemed to go by even slower as it arched overhead toward the basket, the whole gym seeming to go silent as the ball soared through the air. It fell cleanly through the hoop a second before the buzzer blared to signal the end of the game.
The entire gym erupted in shouts and cheers as the audience and the rest of the team on the bench rushed onto the court in celebration. Jamil recoiled a bit, somehow not expecting this big of a reaction to the win. As the cheers and congratulations continued, he began to stand straighter and smiled as he took it all in.
It had only been a couple months since his overblot and he was still getting used to doing things for himself and not holding himself back from what he wanted and could do. The entirety of his life it was reinforced into him that he wasn’t allowed to indulge in anything that would bring attention to himself and make him shine brighter than Kalim. It was an uphill battle and Jamil was getting better about fighting the habit of putting himself down whenever he did something he’d be praised for. What was a little harder for him to get used to was all the attention that came along with it.
It was going to take more than a couple months to unlearn 17 years of forced modesty and incompetence.
He turned to see Azul standing off to the side on the outskirts of the crowd with his arms crossed, smiling proudly at him. Jamil tilted his head to give him a sideways smirk and was hit with a sudden urge. He quickly began to weave and push his way through the crowd, trying to get to the housewarden. If anyone were to ask why he did what he was about to do, Jamil would blame it on the adrenaline that came from winning the game and everyone celebrating him for it.
It’d be half true at least.
When he was finally close enough to him, Azul opened his mouth to say something. He didn’t get very far before Jamil reached out to grab the lapels on his suit and pulled him in for a kiss. Jamil heard several cheers and wolf whistles throughout the crowd as they kissed, but he didn’t care. He just tightened his grip on Azul and pushed harder against him before pulling away to see his boyfriend staring wide-eyed and red-faced at him. It took a moment for Azul to find his voice.
“Didn’t expect you feed into that cliche,” Azul smirked, slightly breathless as he tried to regain his composure. Jamil easily saw past the facade and bit back a laugh at how completely effortless it was to fluster his boyfriend.
“I didn’t expect you to make it tonight,” Jamil said, forgoing pointing out Azul‘s obvious discomposure. He rested his forehead against Azul’s and loosely linked his hands with the housewarden’s. “You said you were behind on your reports.”
“I finished sooner than I thought,” Azul said, closing his eyes and ignoring the snicker from Jade he knew was coming the second he opened his mouth to say that. Jamil didn’t need to know that he stayed up all night, only taking a short nap in the morning, to finish up with enough time to see Jamil play in one of the most important games of the season.
“I’m glad I managed to make it,” Azul continued, opening his eyes again. “I got here just in time to see the most important part.”
“Your smooth talking isn’t gonna fool me,” Jamil smirked. “I know you barely got any sleep trying to get it all done. You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”
Azul quickly straightened, turning to glare at Jade. “You told me they weren’t noticeable.”
Jade only shrugged, his signature polite and innocent smile that was in no way polite or innocent unwavering. “I guess the dim lighting of the Lounge hid them too well.”
Before Azul could reprimand his vice housewarden, Floyd chose that moment to bounce over to Jade, quickly grabbing him and pulling his brother into the mass celebration that was still playing out on the court. Until just then, Jamil forgot that there was a celebration going on for winning the game. He should be annoyed that Azul distracted him more often than he liked, but he found that he couldn’t bring himself to get upset about it right now.
After Jade and Floyd disappeared into the crowd, Azul continued to glare in the direction they ran off in before huffing and turning his head back to face Jamil, pouting slightly. Jamil snickered at the look on the housewarden’s face, giving him a small peck on the lips.
“Well, I need to prepare for the party that Kalim is definitely going to throw to celebrate once he hears the news.” Jamil stated, rolling his eyes. He then slightly pulled at his basketball uniform. “I also need to get out of these clothes and take a shower asap.”
Azul hummed in acknowledgment. “Let me know if you need any help with anything. We can arrange an escape to either your room or mine when the festivities get to be too much. Spend some time resting away from everyone else, just the two of us… if you’d like.”
Jamil smiled softly at his boyfriend and brought a hand to Azul’s cheek, rubbing his thumb across the housewarden’s cheekbone. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Do you want me to wait for you?” Azul asked, taking the hand Jamil had on his face and angling his head to softly kiss into his palm.
“No, it’s fine. You need to rest. I can meet you there,” Jamil answered, leaning forward to give his boyfriend another quick kiss before pulling away and reentering the still celebrating crowd to grab his things.
He tried to make himself small and unnoticeable, a little overwhelmed by all that was going on around him. He just wanted to get to the showers in the locker room as quickly as he could. However, almost every other person he passed made some sort of interaction with him, whether it be a high five, a celebratory slap or two on the back, or just a simple congrats. It’s to be expected, but it still threw him a bit off balance. It’s what he gets for making a spur of the moment decision instead of planning out the pros and cons like he usually would.
Once he managed to make it to his bag, he quickly grabbed it and made a beeline for the locker room. He hoped everyone remaining in the gym would get the hint and let him continue on his way without interruption. All this attention was already starting to wear him down.
As soon as he entered the back hallway and closed the door behind him, the celebration immediately became just a dull hum. Jamil leaned up against the door and breathed out a long sigh, happy to finally be away from all of it.
Then, he felt this phone vibrate in his gym bag with a text undoubtedly from Kalim congratulating him and excitedly planning a celebration party that Jamil had no hope of talking him out of. He decided to leave it be for now, walking to the locker room. Upon entering, he went to his locker and put the majority of his stuff away. He grabbed his oils out from his bag and headed to one of the stalls, getting undressed and turning the shower on.
After an almost scalding shower, Jamil stepped out and checked his phone as he dried himself off. He opened it to see that Kalim did, in fact, text him exactly what he thought he would. He let out an exasperated sigh, knowing how long of a night tonight was going to be. He needed to get to the dorm quickly before Kalim burned the whole place down.
Jamil began the spell he used to style his hair after getting dressed as he mentally made a list of all the preparations he needed to make to make sure the party would go smoothly. As he made his mental task list, he grabbed what he needed from his locker and stored what he didn’t before leaving. Opening the door to the hallway, he paused while holding the door open and cocked an eyebrow at the complete silence.
Kalim must’ve texted everyone about the party , Jamil thought, sighing as he moved through the hall and stepped into the now empty gym.
Well, almost empty…
“I thought I told you to go get some rest,” Jamil said, squinting his eyes at Azul. The housewarden was sitting at the bottom of the bleachers by the entrance tapping at something on his phone. He had snapped his head up from his phone to Jamil when he opened the door to the gym.
Azul smiled and put his phone away, standing up and watching his boyfriend approach with a fond gleam in his eye. “I figured you’d want company on your way to the Hall of Mirrors. It’s a pretty long walk and it’d feel even longer if you were alone.”
Jamil rolled his eyes and walked past Azul towards the exit, automatically holding his hand out behind him as he did so. Azul chuckled and reached out to grab it, moving quickly to walk side by side with his boyfriend.
With the Hall of Mirrors being almost completely on the other side of campus, Azul wasn’t lying when he said it was a long walk. It was a pleasant walk, though, with the moonlight shining down on them as Azul regaled various stories and happenstances from the Lounge, recent classes, the tweels, basically doing most of the talking between the two of them for the majority of their stroll.
That’s how it usually was whenever they were together like this. Azul would do most of the talking and Jamil would mainly listen. Jamil would contribute from time to time, bringing up something that he’d remember because of the current topic, but he’d always been a quiet person. Azul preferred to talk anyway while Jamil preferred to listen.
They continued their walk, hand-in-hand, as they entered the Hall. Their pace didn’t slow as they stepped through the mirror to the Scarabia dorm and continued on their way to the dorm lounge. Jamil looked across the landscape, his mood falling slightly at the fact that his current bliss was about to be ruined by this godforsaken party.
Jamil felt his phone vibrate shortly after they stepped through the Mirror and pulled it out to see Kalim had messaged him asking about a recipe he wanted to try to make himself for the party. Jamil groaned and quickly sent a text back urging Kalim to stop whatever it was that he was planning on doing and that he was almost there to take care of it.
“We have to hurry before Kalim does something to put either himself or the whole dorm in jeopardy,” Jamil urged, already feeling a headache coming on.
“Don’t worry. I told Jade to keep an eye on him while you were gone,” Azul comforted him, squeezing Jamil’s hand. “I assure you that he and the dorm will still be safe and sound by the time you get there.”
Jamil nodded, but he still wasn’t fully convinced. Jade may find it amusing to let Kalim burn the dorm to the ground.
The closer to the lounge they got, the more they could feel a faint thumping growing louder and louder with each step. Jamil sighed and mentally went back through the list he had made earlier in the locker room, his minor headache slightly getting worse. He had already somewhat made peace years ago with the fact that for every special occasion where Kalim’s involved, even if Jamil was the guest of honor for this one in a sense, Jamil was going to be in the kitchen for most of it. He couldn’t say he minded too much because it did give him some time to himself, away from everyone and everything, and he did enjoy cooking.
He just wanted it to be his choice.
Most of his worries of Kalim possible injuring himself or others vanished when he entered the incredibly loud, earthquake-inducing dorm lounge and was immediately greeted by a loud and shrill shout.
“JAAMIIIL!!!” Kalim yelled excitedly, quickly bounding up to his vice housewarden and throwing his arms around his neck to give him a tight hug. “I heard about the game and how you won! I really wish I could’ve been there!”
Azul leaned in to whisper a quick ‘I’ll be back’ to Jamil before disappearing into the crowd, but Jamil barely heard him over the blaring music as he indulged Kalim.
“I can’t believe that there was a meeting my parents said I had to attend on the night of your game, otherwise I would’ve been able to go and see it,” Kalim exasperated, a tired look on his face for a second before he perked up again. “I’ve been bragging about you to all my new friends! Come on! I’ll introduce you!”
Before Jamil could open his mouth to object, Kalim grabbed his arm and dragged him into the depths of the party. As he was pushed and pulled by Kalim from group to group, Kalim went on and on about how they were such good friends and how amazing Jamil was at everything and if they saw or knew about how he won the basketball game tonight.
Jamil was flustered at first, barely able to get a word between Kalim’s excited rambling and wanting to hide in his hood because of it. That feeling soon turned to awkwardness which then turned to irritation and he wanted to hide in his hood for a different reason. Not only was all this attention starting to grate on him, but the copious amounts of forced socializing was beginning to wear him down, too.
Just as he was about to start getting snappy, Jamil felt gentle arms wrap around his middle and a chin rest on his shoulder from a warm body behind him.
“Sorry to interrupt, but can I steal Jamil away for a moment?”
The ever so perky Kalim somehow perked up even more at this new appearance. “Oh! Azul, there you are! Yes, of course! You two should celebrate together!”
Jamil let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as he closed his eyes and leaned his head over to rest against Azul’s temple. He allowed himself to be pulled away by his boyfriend and then opened his eyes to see he was being lead to the dance floor.
“What are you doing?” Jamil asked.
“You seem tense and stressed,” Azul answered, turning Jamil around so they were standing in front of each other on the dance floor. “So, let’s dance. I know you’re very fond of it.”
Jamil squinted his eyes at him. “And I know you’re not. You don’t dance. Plus, I don’t have the time for it. I haven’t had a chance to go to the kitchen and-”
Just then, an Octavinelle student strode past them with a tray of food and drinks in hand. Now that he didn’t have Kalim dragging him everywhere to talk and show him off to everyone, Jamil actually had a chance to look around. As he did so, he noticed there were several Octavinelle students going around and catering food and drinks to the various students attending the party.
“When did you…” Jamil trailed off, looking back at his boyfriend.
Azul only smiled and grabbed Jamil’s hands, lifting them up to hold them up between them at chest height. He slowly began to push and pull each in opposite directions as he moved his slightly stiff hips from side to side, urging Jamil to start dancing.
His rigid movements made Jamil chuckle lightly as he indulged his boyfriend, pushing and pulling back against Azul’s hands. He closed his eyes and rolled his hips from side to side as he began to feel the music. When he got more and more into it, he decided to have some fun and mess around with Azul for a bit.
Jamil tightened his grip on Azul’s hands and quickly pulled him in and then pushed Azul away as Jamil let go of one hand to spin him. Azul yelped and stumbled in surprise, trying to keep up. He laughed as he fell against Jamil when Jamil pulled him back in from the spin. Jamil adjusted himself to keep Azul upright and then just simply danced with his blushing and slightly embarrassed boyfriend.
After dancing for a handful of songs, Azul’s exhaustion and lack of stamina soon began to catch up with him. He decided to call it quits when he started to get dizzy from all the energy he was using to try to keep up with Jamil. Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes and lowered his head, tapping Jamil’s shoulder.
Jamil scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I told you that you needed to rest before coming here,” he said, poking a finger against Azul’s forehead. Azul felt himself blush and he chuckled, pushing himself away from Jamil.
“You can keep dancing. I’m just going to sit down for a spell,” Azul responded, grabbing one of Jamil’s hands and bowing, lifting the hand up to kiss his boyfriend’s knuckles. He smirked against the skin and looked up at Jamil through his lashes. “Thank you for the dance.”
He turned and left a pink-faced Jamil on the dance floor and moved to a relatively empty areas in the lounge that had a pile of pillows and blankets. He picked a spot on the blanket-padded floor that seemed the comfiest and leaned back against the large pillows there. Azul looked up to see Jamil giving him a smirk before turning away to continue dancing. Azul laughed softly to himself, smiling fondly at the fact that he had a perfect view of his boyfriend.
He loved watching Jamil dance. It was one of the only times Jamil let all his walls down and allowed himself to just… be. Azul watched with a soft smile as Jamil moved his body to the music, his eyes closed and all the tiredness and stress from earlier melting away. Azul could never get enough of seeing him dance, Jamil being damn near hypnotizing with every movement.
He felt like he should be envious of his boyfriend’s slim and graceful form, with how much work and thought Azul put into his own body. But he could only look in admiration, knowing that this extremely attractive person, who he’d been captivated with and had been pining after since their first year, miraculously agreed to be with him.
Azul reflected on the game earlier, remembering how flustered he was during the last second of the game, when Jamil basically dedicated that winning shot to him. Then he felt proud, knowing that the old Jamil would’ve never allowed himself to take that shot, being too concerned about being in any sort of spotlight. When the crowd began to gather tightly around him after the end buzzer sounded, Azul became worried that all the attention would stress Jamil out more than the usual stress of being a vice housewarden and a retainer for Kalim.
Jamil’s lived his whole life keeping to the shadows and diverting any attention away from himself, so with Jamil being the MVP of such an important game, Azul wanted to make sure his boyfriend didn’t get too overwhelmed. He also wanted him to have fun and not have to worry about chores and cooking since this party also was supposed to celebrate him and the win. Which is why he had Jade handle party prep and catering in Jamil’s stead, giving the Scarabian vice housewarden a much needed chance to rest and relax.
With that thought in mind, Azul took out his phone and sent out a text to Jade asking how everything was going in the kitchens. He received a quick reply back saying that everything was going fine and there wasn’t any major issues currently. Azul nodded to himself and tucked his phone back into his pocket, looking up to see Jamil heading to him. Jamil sat down next to Azul and leaned against his side, closing his eyes and laying his head on Azul’s shoulder.
“Are you having fun?” Azul asked, moving his hand to find Jamil’s and intertwining their fingers together.
“Mm,” Jamil hummed as an answer. He nuzzled his face closer to Azul’s neck and took a deep breath in. “I think I’ve reached my limit. Let’s go to my room.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Azul answered. He kissed the top of Jamil’s head and then nudged him lightly with the shoulder he was laying his head on to let him know he was about to get up. Jamil got the hint and sat up, stretching his arms above his head. He then dropped them and stood, reaching a hand down to Azul to help him do the same.
Jamil kept Azul’s hand in his and took the lead, pulling his boyfriend behind him as he moved around the party and left the lounge. A couple people had tried to talk to him, but he never slowed on his way out and only gave out very short replies when needed. The second they left the lounge, Jamil felt like he could breathe again, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Azul waited until Jamil was ready, squeezing his hand when Jamil opened his eyes and together they moved further down the hall, the music from the party fading away and soon, they couldn’t hear it at all.
Jamil was getting better at handling attention, the urge to move the attention away from himself lessening with time and practice. Any attention that could possibly be directed to himself was usually calculated, which he was also trying to get better at trying not to do. He expects it when it’s his birthday or when he speaks up in class, so he’s able to prepare for it beforehand. Making the winning shot in the game tonight was very much a spur of the moment thing. The adrenaline got the better of him and he wasn’t able to think of or plan for the after effects of it. He was surprised he lasted as long as he did and Jamil knew who to thank for that.
When they reached Jamil’s room, Jamil opened the door open for Azul, letting him enter first. Azul began to dress down upon entering as Jamil closed the door behind them. Azul went straight for Jamil’s closet as he undressed to steal some clothes to sleep in. Jamil, used to this from how often they spend the night together, followed in his footsteps and changed his clothes.
Once they were both in comfier attire, they climbed into bed together, Azul wrapping his arms around Jamil to pull him close so Jamil’s back was flush against his chest.
“Did you have fun?” Azul asked, nuzzling his head against the back of his boyfriend’s neck and breathing him in.
Jamil shrugged. “It was okay. More tiring than I thought it’d be. I’m not used to people noticing me, let alone showering me with praise. Especially after that… incident.”
Azul smiled and pressed a soft kiss against the back of Jamil’s neck. “I know. You deserve to be showered with praise, though. You’ve worked hard your entire life and never got any recognition for it. I’m glad to see everyone giving you the praise you deserve. But, if it gets to be too much, let me know. I have no qualms about whisking you away and having you all to myself.”
Azul’s words began to slur towards the end of his last statement and his eyes started to droop closed despite his efforts to keep them open and stay awake. There was just something about holding a warm, loving body that made it hard stay awake.
Jamil snorted. “If your plan is to whisk me away on your broom, then I think I’ll pass. We wouldn’t get very far.”
“Ha ha, you’re so funny,” Azul said unamusedly, but with a smile. He blindly trailed a hand down Jamil’s arm to find his hand, twining their fingers together and raising them up to rest against Jamil’s chest. Jamil used his thumb to rub soft circles against Azul’s fingers.
Azul quickly fell asleep like that, unable to fight the exhaustion any longer. Jamil raised their hands up a little higher to kiss his boyfriend’s knuckles before drifting off into a blissful sleep himself.