Chapter Text
“Sign here.” Azul tapped the shimmering gold contract he’d set on the table.
Jamil sighed. “Give it,” he said, dragging the contract closer to himself to review it. It wouldn’t do to get screwed over by some fine print, after all.
“Dear me, do you really have that little faith in me, Jamil?”
Jamil didn’t answer. He regretted having to be here in the first place, but Kalim wanted to throw a party in Mostro Lounge and Azul wasn’t about to hand out his restaurant space for free.
The contract listed all his demands— two days with the Lounge’s space, help with decoration and refreshments from Azul’s workers, and a restraining order on the Leech twins for the duration of the party (Jamil didn’t want to deal with their antics any more than he had to). It all looked fine, but Azul would drive a hard bargain even for something so inconsequential. Maybe his unique magic, although Jamil was confident he could barter for him to take something else. He needed to keep his magic a secret for winter break.
“My terms are on the back. Make sure you sign once you’re done!” Azul leaned back in his huge CEO chair, looking all too pleased with himself. Jamil wanted to smack him.
Flipping to the back, Jamil was shocked at how little was written. Under the section for Azul’s demands, only one thing was listed—but that didn’t make any sense either.
“You want…a date?” He checked the margins, just to be sure Azul wasn’t sneaking anything else on the page. “Just to be clear, you mean the act of courtship, not… the dried fruit, right?”
“That’s all there is to it,” Azul said. “Only one term! Quite benevolent of me, don’t you think?”
“Right,” Jamil responded sarcastically. “How am I supposed to get a date for you?”
Azul paused and blinked at him, as if he were genuinely confused. It wasn’t always easy to tell when he was acting. “Jamil, you’re the date.”
It was Jamil’s turn with the expression of utter confusion. Azul chuckled, returning to his unusual smug composure. Jamil wanted to hit him again, but didn’t really know why.
“This Thursday after class, I want you to meet me in the mirror hall. I’ll take you on a date,” Azul said, smiling. “I’m only demanding a few hours of your time. I’ll even pay for everything! It’s a generous deal, isn’t it?”
Jamil scowled. This was raising all sorts of alarm bells in his head. It couldn’t be possible that Azul just wanted his company for a few hours; there had to be some kind of catch. What was his angle? Was he going to try to use that time to coerce him into another contract?
Why on earth did Azul want a date with him?
He reread the entire thing again.
“Of course, failure to comply will result in— ”
“Forced labor for the remainder of the school year, I get it.” More than a few Scarabia students got into trouble with Azul’s contracts during midterms and had all complained to Jamil about it, as if it was his problem they chose to do something so stupid.
“That’s exactly right, Jamil! That’s the only catch, I assure you.”
There was no way that was true, but Jamil at least knew from his several read-throughs and re-read-throughs of the contract that those really were the only terms. And it wasn’t like he had any other choice, right?
With a heavy sigh, he held out his hand for a pen. Azul obliged, giving him a weird gold fishbone to write with. As lethargically as possible, he signed his name at the bottom.
Jamil Viper
Azul smiled at him and manifested a fishbone pen of his own to sign his name as well, right below Jamil’s.
Azul Ashengrotto
The contract glowed and snapped itself shut into a scroll. Both pens evaporated.
“I’ll see you in three days, Jamil,” Azul said. “You’ll meet me after school in the mirror hall. Make sure you’re free then.”
“Whatever.”
When he left, Jamil made sure to slam the door behind him.