Chapter Text
Later, Azul will think about this moment as the one that started it all — a sparkle that blew up into a blazing house fire. A quite nice house fire, if such thing were to exist, but a house fire nonetheless
Another school ceremony, one of the dozen that always happened during the year. Not the most exciting thing in the world. Azul has never missed any and, by now, knew the whole affair by heart. As a housewarden, it was his duty to attend, sitting cross-armed in the first row, even though he could think about a dozen more useful ways he could occupy his time.
Aside from his duties, there was only one thing keeping him here.
On a podium, standing before the student body and holding a neat stack of papers, was Riddle Rosehearts, giving out a speech. Azul was sure Riddle’s speech was all proper and perfectly polished, because everything he did was, but in all honesty, Azul couldn’t hear a word over the static in his ears.
Riddle looked elegant in his ceremonial robes, the black complimenting his pale skin. He brought to mind a porcelain doll, if porcelain dolls had cold, gray stares that could freeze the whole room, expressions serious enough to fit a funeral and magic powers enough to kick everyone’s asses.
He beat Azul again. The person giving the speech was going to be chosen based on the essay they had to hand in. It was a whole week of late-night research and frantic writing and Jade gently knocking on the door to his room to bring him tea and trays of snacks. He knew well that Riddle was doing the same thing
Beating him was the only thing that mattered to Azul. No one else was worth his attention. Everyone could have raw talent, but the drive to channel it into actual power, the way Riddle did, relentlessly and never stopping, that was rarer. Azul could appreciate it.
Of course, it was Riddle who got picked. He took it with grace, almost indifference. Nodded his head, said thank you, gathered his things and left. Like it was nothing. Like it was simply the law of the universe that Riddle Rosehearts scored all the academic achievements.
Seeing this, Azul’s heart picked up speed, heat rising up to his cheeks. He could only hope it was from anger.
After the ceremony had ended, Azul rose from his seat, bid a polite goodbye to his fellow housewardens and pushed through the crowd, straight to where he could see the familiar red-head amongst the sea of fluttering black robes. He could hear Jade’s gentle footsteps as he followed Azul — even without looking back, Azul could perfectly imagine the amused smirk on Jade’s face, the judgmental gleam in his mismatched eyes. Good thing Floyd didn’t even bother to make an appearance. At least the other Leech had the decency to keep his snide comments quiet until they were alone.
By some miracle, he caught Riddle alone, after he had already exchanged necessary niceties with the necessary students. Thank heavens his usual Heartslabyul company wasn't there; Azul wasn’t in the mood to deal with them at the moment.
“My, my, Rosehearts, as always, I am impressed," he said as a way of greeting, matching his steps to Riddle’s.
The boy looked up at him. His gaze didn’t soften, but the corners of his lips quirked upwards, forming a tight-lipped smile. Barely a smile at all, really, just enough to be considered polite. Enough for Azul.
“Congratulations on your speech. You did an excellent job, as expected.”
Riddle raised an eyebrow, as if confused why Azul would even bother to comment on something so obvious. The very best was Riddle’s bare minimum, so why even talk about it? For him, it must have been like commenting on the green of the grass.
Sometimes, Azul couldn’t stand him.
“Thank you,” Riddle said curtly. “It’s nothing, really.”
Azul was going to break something. Nothing ?
“Pardon me, Ashengrotto, but I really ought to be going. Good seeing you.” And with that, he walked away, leaving Azul bristling.
“Oh. That went well,” said Jade, finally appearing at his side. He was probably standing in the shadows the whole time, snickering at Azul’s awkward attempts at making conversation.
He rolled his eyes. Jade poking needles in his wounds was the last thing he needed right now.
One day he’ll make Riddle see.
One day he’ll make Riddle fall from his pedestal. He’ll personally drag him down.
***
The teapot whistled loudly into the empty kitchen, making Riddle wince. He really didn’t need that blasted thing announcing to the entire dorm that he was in the kitchen past the curfew. While he enjoyed the comforts of tradition and so appreciated the traditional aesthetics of Heartslabyul, maybe they really needed to finally get an electric kettle. Surely the Queen of Hearts would’ve appreciated the efficiency they provided. Trey would too. Maybe they should talk about budgeting it?
Well, no matter. Ruddle had his cup and that was all that was important. He liked making a little ritual out of brewing his tea. Setting his teacup, carefully measuring the leaves (Riddle didn’t have much but respected himself enough to only drink loose-leaf tea, thank you very much), taking three deep breaths as he poured the water, putting in three spoons of honey, stirring thrice, tapping the spoon on the edge of the teacup three times. Sometimes it was the only break he allowed himself.
The door to the kitchen slammed open, stopping Riddle mid-stir. Anger at somebody breaking the rules and embarrassment at being caught doing the same mixed in his chest into something hot and uncomfortable. He spun around, face hot.
Cater. Riddle’s shoulders sagged with relief. To his underclassmen he had to be a paragon of unreachable virtue, but well, Cater was a whole different story. Firstly, he was a lost cause. Riddle could bend over backwards, yet he still wouldn’t be able to beat any semblance of decorum into the boy.
He was out of his school uniform, instead wearing some ridiculously tight black jeans and a loose sparkly blouse. His cheeks were sparkly too, smudged with glitter in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was following another nonsense trend or simply fell face-first into a bowl of glitter. To be completely honest, he looked like the world’s messiest disco ball.
“Housewarden!” Cater’s face broke into as smile, as cheerful as it was fake. “You look so cute tonight. Is it a new moisturiser? Your skin is, like, glowing. It does wonders for you. Spill your secrets, babe.”
Riddle narrowed his eyes.
“It’s the middle of the school week. Do you even know what hour it is?”
“Well, in my defense, you’re here too.”
A good point, but not as good as Cater thought. “I am studying and you are…” he dropped his voice, instead giving Cater a pointed glance.
He picked up his cup again, finishing his ritual — it would’ve bothered him all day if he didn’t. The unease in his chest calmed a bit.
“I was having fun,” Cater supplied, jumping on one of the chairs. He evidently realized that Riddle was going to let him off the hook easily. “You could use to have some fun yourself too, y’know? Could do you some good,” he added, because apparently he had even less common sense than Riddle had thought.
“I’m having plenty of fun,” he replied.
“Riiight. Drinking tea in the middle of the night doesn’t count as fun.”
Riddle hugged his cup to his chest, almost offended on its behalf.
“You’re on flamingo feeding duty for the next week”
Cater slumped in his chair. “Yes, housewarden,” he muttered. “I’m serious tho. You could use to make some new friends. Or boyfriends, maybe. Or girlfriends? Dunno what you like. We could set you up with a Fantasy Tinder account.”
“I don’t remember asking you for advice,” Riddle replied, cold as a winter evening. “Goodnight. Don’t oversleep, or it’s two weeks.”
And he walked away, followed by the sounds of Cater’s whining.
How ridiculous! He had friends! He had Trey, Cater on a good day (so not tonight), Silver from the Equestrian Club maybe? They exchanged some polite words between club meetings. That was surely enough. He wasn’t Cater. He never felt the need to surround himself with a circle of people so big, he could barely remember all their names.
And as for the… well, other suggestion Cater made, Riddle wasn’t even going to entertain it. Friendship he could understand. Sometimes having people one could depend on was good. Needed, even. But romance? Just a pile of thought-muddling rubbish. Feelings lead to nothing more but distractions, and school work was too important for him.
(He could practically hear his mother’s voice as he repeated that to himself.)
***
The Queen of Hearts rules dictated that one should always be five minutes early or five minutes late, and Riddle didn’t like waltzing in when everyone else had already gathered. Too much commotion. And so he arrived first at the monthly house wardens meeting. That was good — he had time to gather his notes and prepare for the incoming headache. His fellow housewardens were… interesting people, half of them almost competent, but their personalities clashed too much to hold a productive conversation most of the time.
“Ah, Rosehearts. What a pleasant surprise.”
Riddle slowly looked up, keeping his expression neutral only by sheer willpower. Azul Ashengrotto was standing before him, looking as calm as ever.
“You hoped I wouldn't show up?”
Azul’s simile became even more serene.
“Actually, I was hoping I could speak to you in private.”
“...about?” Riddle was immediately put on edge. Nothing good ever came out of Azul seeking contact with you. It meant that there was something he wanted and he rarely took a simple no for an answer.
If Riddle was to be honest, he trusted Azul about as far as he could throw him and that, considering the sheer, non-magic strength of Riddle’s noodle arms, really wasn’t very far.
Azul calmly took a seat next to Riddle, his ridiculous coat sweeping the floor.
“What impeccable notes,” he commented, peering over Riddle’s shoulder without even an ounce of shame. “Your dedication is admirable. Really, the rest of us should take a leaf out of your book.”
Rolling his eyes would be impolite, so Riddle didn’t, even though it cost him an immense amount of restraint. Empty flattery and nothing more. Riddle had no interest in that.
“To the point,” he cut in, tone freezing.
Somehow, Azul was still smiling, even though it looked as slimy as always. Maybe he was hearing the words and not the tone, or maybe he was just really good at deluding himself. He certainly seemed to share that trait with his more annoying eel sidekick.
“Ah, yes. There’s a potionology project we got tasked with. I seem to have some trouble with it, but I believe your class has already finished it. What do you say? I’d be much in debt”
Riddle blinked. It took him a while to even register the meaning of the boy’s words in his brain. Azul Ashengrotto? Asking for help? Did Riddle accidentally land in another dimension? Did he fall ill?
“Are you… unwell?” he asked, sounding almost worried. He looked at Azul the same way he would at one of his underclassmen when they were coughing suspiciously or their faces got a bit too pale, but there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with Azul. Not at first glance, at least.
“No, why?” the merman raised an eyebrow. “Can’t I ask a classmate for help?”
“I suppose you can, but… Wouldn’t you rather ask Jade?”
“He’s busy,” was apparently all Azul was going to say on the matter. This was precisely why Riddle never tried to get closer to him, even though they were both housewardens in the same year — Azul was simply impossible to deal with. Even when he was being polite, he still managed to make Riddle’s blood boil in a matter of seconds.
“And what makes you think that I’m not?”
With his studies, Equestrian Club meetings and housewarden duties, he hardly had the time to help the students of his own dorm, and they were his priority. Surely Azul has other friends than those dreadful twins? Wasn’t he always swimming around Jamil Viper?
“Wouldn’t hurt to ask. Obviously, if you're truly busy, I won’t bother you. I was just hoping I could get the chance to learn from the best.”
More empty flattery. Riddle suppressed a sigh.
“I’ll think about it,” he gritted through his teeth. It was, obviously, a bold faced lie. He didn’t believe this was just about helping Azul in class and ridiculous deals with him were the last thing Riddle needed, not just right now but possibly ever. As smart and skilled as Azul was, there was nothing Riddle could possibly gain from him.
Thank the Seven, their miserable conversation was cut short by the arrival of Kalim and Vil, discussing something loudly. Well, Kalim was discussing something, way louder than necessary, with Vil nodding and humming at appropriate moments, half-pretending to listen.
Throughout the whole meeting, Riddle could feel Azul’s eyes on him At one point, when he glanced at the other boy, he discovered that Azul was simply staring at him with the softest smile Riddle has ever seen, cheek propped on his hand. What in the actual hell was going on here? Did Azul suddenly get possessed by the spirit of Rook Hunt?
Suddenly, Riddle felt bad for Vil. He sent him a sympathetic glance.
“Rosehearts, would you continue?” Malleus asked gently. Somehow, he managed to make it to the meeting. His cool voice was enough to snap Riddle’s attention back to the present moment, cheeks going hot from being caught in thought.
He cleared his throat. “Right. My apologies.”
Azul’s stare was still hot on his neck, prickling like a swarm of ants.
When the meeting ended, Riddle said his goodbyes and rushed out, hoping the infuriating merman won’t follow him.
***
The courtyard was always busy with students, doing last-minute revising or stuffing their cheeks with food while sprawled on the grass. Land-dwellers apparently enjoyed doing their tasks sitting on the ground, especially outside. Azul couldn’t say he got the appeal. He liked his clothes crisp and clean, and sitting on the grass seemed like the quickest way to ruin that. Besides — chairs were such a beautiful invention! Those leg-havers didn’t even know how good they had it! Deep in the sea, there were only flat rocks and sand.
Among the loud gaggle of teens, Azul managed to spot one of the Heartslabyul students. A freshman he was somewhat familiar with. Perfect. With a self-assured smile, Azul made a beeline towards his target.
In a disgusting display of affection, Deuce Spade laid with his head in the lap of that doe-eyed Pomefiore freshman that Azul remembered mostly as Vil Schoenheit’s pseudo-kid. On a blanket around them was an array of notebooks and textbooks that looked like somebody had just carelessly dumped the contents of their backpack on the ground and then left.
Azul was almost sorry to interrupt the two lovebird’s study session.
Almost. After all, he had his own stud session to look forward to.
“Hello. Deuce, may I take a bit of your time?”
Both of the freshmen looked up at him with the same wide, surprised eyes, almost making Azul laugh.
“Don’t you worry, I won’t bite, ha ha. I just have a few questions, that’s all.”
The boys exchanged a dubious look. Finally, Deuce sat up, coughing awkwardly.
“Uh, sure? I suppose?” he said.
“Great.” Azul took a long, suffering look at the blanket before hesitantly sitting down. Look at him, how self-sacrificing he was! Riddle better appreciate it. “It won’t take long, I promise.”
“Sure…?”
Deuce still looked like he was ready to sprint at any moment, continuously glancing at Epel. The other boy squeezed his hand. Ah, how touching.
“I’ve seen you around your house warden a lot. Would you mind telling me a bit more about him?”
“That’s what you want to talk about?!” Deuce’s voice raised by an octave.
Azul just smiled, serene as a still lake.
“Exactly. So?”
***
Riddle felt like a fish in an aquarium, watched by the onlookers on the other side of the glass, which was really ironic, considering his current situation. First Azul during the housewardens meeting a few days ago, and now Jade, not taking his eyes off of Riddle since the class has started. It was Riddle’s first morning class and while there was never particularly good time for dealing with the Octavinelle fishes, now was about the worst.
Out of the three mermen, Jade Lech was the one Riddle could see himself becoming friends with the most easily, in an alternate reality where Jade was a normal human being. He was smart, did well in classes and usually didn’t cause disturbances. One would never guess that he was as much of a wild card as Floyd and Azul.
And then there was also the time Riddle spotted Jade in the courtyard, standing still before one of the trees. Blissfully unaware, Riddle approached him to say a polite hello, only to spend the next half an hour listening to the boy lecture him about an apparently rare type of moss that grew only on Sage’s Island. He was only saved by Kalim walking by and quickly rushed to join him, muttering half-hearted excuses about having to discuss important housewarden duties (and then Kalim chided him for not being more interested in his classmate’s hobbies — sometimes Riddle hated this school). The scene flashed in his mind every time Jade tried to make a conversation with him.
He felt a gentle tapping on his shoulder and then Jade leaned over from behind, inviting himself into Riddle’s personal space like he belonged there.
“Riddle. Can I talk to you after class?” he whispered. There was something unsettling in his voice, some wispy quality that almost sounded like his vocal cords still tried to make sounds only possible under water. Floyd also talked like this, even more so. Only Azul sounded completely human.
Riddle glanced back.
“Can’t we do it now?” He really didn’t want to sit here for the whole class, wondering what in the world could Jade Leech possibly want from him. Gift him a handful of weird mushrooms?
Jade smiled, wide enough to almost show off the edges of his sharp teeth. “Ah. But talking during class is forbidden.” He looked way too proud of himself.
Well. Alright. Riddle walked into that one.
He nodded, sharp, and turned back, trying to focus back on class. The minutes seemed to pass miserably slow, especially compared to Riddle’s racing thoughts. This was absurd. Maybe Jade just wanted to ask for notes. Maybe this had nothing to do with Azul’s shady dealings. Maybe he wasn’t about to be asked to join the fish mafia.
Riddle was too old for anxiety.
To calm himself down, he rearranged the things on his desk. Everything put in line, symmetrical, even. It was always hard to focus when the spines of his notebooks weren’t perfectly lined up.
He could feel that Jade was looking at him too, though he acted more subtle than Azul. When Riddle looked back, the other boy was sitting all prim and proper, smiling pleasantly like nothing weird was happening. Like he wasn’t tracing Riddle’s movement like a predator circling its prey.
When Riddle looked back at his notes, he realized he wrote the same word three times.
Finally, the class came to an end. Jade led Riddle to an empty part of the hallway, where the long shadows could hide them from anyone passing by and the heavy tapestries hanging on the walls could swallow their whispered words. All the conspiring only made Riddle more annoyed.
“This better be important,” he grumbled, crossing his arms.
“Oh, but of course. I wouldn’t dream of wasting your precious time,” Jade replied. Looking at his smile, it finally clicked for Riddle what exactly it was about the twins that always set him on edge. It was that look they had about them, like they were laughing at some inside joke and looking down on you for not getting it.
Jade reached into his bag, retrieving out of it a little cardboard box. How did it survive in a cramped school bag, Riddle had no idea.
“Here. A gift from Azul.” Jade shoved the box into Riddle’s hands and then walked away without another word, like it was a completely normal thing to do.
It wasn’t.
Nothing about what just happened was even remotely close to normal.
Riddle carefully examined the box. It was pale pink, with delicate floral patterns printed in gold. Suspiciously pretty.
Inside, for some unfathomable reason, was a slice of cake. Soft and pale, stuffed with a heap of white cream and topped with bright pink icing. On the top of everything were sitting little strawberries. Heart-shaped.
Riddle blinked.
What.
Why would Azul give him something like this? And for free?
A thought suddenly struck Riddle. Was Azul trying to bribe him into helping him with his potionology project?
With a bit of reluctance, Riddle left the cupcake on the desk in his room and went back to classes, promptly putting it out of his head. Being the housewarden of Heartslabyul was a bit like trying to put out a fire, only for five other fires to start around you. Adding all his class workload, he really didn’t had the brain space for cakes and octopuses.
Only after coming back to his room did Riddle remember that the cursed box was still sitting on his desk. He shot it a glance fiery enough, it could reduce the thing to ashes.
It did look good though. And since it was already there, it would be a shame to waste it. Riddle never liked wasting food.
A few long seconds passed as Riddle stared at the box, his resolve slowly melting. Finally, he let out a loud sigh. Well, what’s the harm? It’s not like Azul will ever know.
It was good . Sweet but not too sweet, and perfectly soft — it almost melted on Riddle’s tongue. Where did Azul even get it? Did he make it himself? Or worse, was this the work of one of the twins?
Before he knew, the cake was gone. All he could do was to sadly stare at the crumbs at the bottom of the box.
May Azul Ashengrotto never get a wink of peaceful sleep in his life.
***
It was evening; most of the students had already returned to their dorms, leaving the library reading room lit only by a few candles. It looked like, for the first time in a few days, luck had smiled upon Riddle. Azul was sitting in the library all alone, which made the conversation they were about to have just a bit easier. Not much, but Riddle was ready to celebrate small victories.
“Ashengrotto.”
Riddle stood up next to Azul’s desk, arms crossed. With one of them standing and the other one sitting, Riddle could finally look down on Azul — he’d lie if he’d said that it didn’t bring him just a smudge of satisfaction.
Azul looked up, his face immediately splitting in a grin. Ugh .
“I’m assuming you got my gift?” he said, all smug and proud and infuriating.
“I… did. What’s the reason, if I may ask?” Riddle wasn’t about to give out any compliments. Azul’s ego was inflated enough.
“A free sample, you may say. I’m also assuming you have considered my proposition?”
It seemed that the more enraged and exasperated Riddle became, the happier with himself Azul became. That was, maybe, the worst thing in this whole ordeal.
“I did,” he said carefully. “I still don’t understand what is in it for me.”
Azul leaned back in his chair. Half of his face was shrouded in shadows, lit only by a flickering flame of the nearby candle. The light brought Riddle’s attention to the beauty mark under Azul’s lip. It was yet another annoying thing about the merman — entirely unsymmetrical, making Azul look softer than he had any right to be.
“The sense of accomplishment from helping out your classmate? A chance to boast your knowledge?”
Riddle rolled his eyes so hard, it hurt.
“A voucher for our new pastry menu at Mostro Longue?” And he looked up at Riddle like he already knew what the boy was going to say. Riddle held his gaze for a few seconds, just to cling to the last shreds of dignity, before throwing his hands up with an exasperated sigh.
“Fine. Whatever. But just this once.”
“Great! So we have a deal.” Azul stood up, holding out his hand. Riddle ignored it entirely.
“We most certainly do not .”