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“Thanks for letting me crash for the night, Zu!”
“Of course, but you understand that you owe me for this?”
“You’re really going to make your girlfriend owe you a favor for wanting to sleep in your dorm?” you scoffed.
Azul shrugged as a smirk crept onto his face. You threw one of the pillows on the bed at his face in retaliation.
“Seriously?” he sighed.
“Your face is the perfect target,” you giggled. “Plus, I’m being charged for sleeping here; I need to at least have some fun.”
It was a late night; everything was so quiet, yet the sound of your heartbeat made it seem so loud. You and Azul had been dating for almost a year, but this was the first time you two were sleeping over at each other's place. Ramshackle was currently being fixed after another Grim disaster. Deciding to do some alchemy practice in the dorm was not the right move, though the real question was who gave him the ingredients in the first place.
However, this gave you an excuse to crash in Azul’s room. Grim was trying to sneak in on this deal, but thankfully, Ace caught on that you didn’t want any third parties and offered Grim a space to sleep in his room with Deuce, which he took.
You were nervous; it was going to be the first time spending the night, and the comments from the tweels earlier weren’t helping.
“Well, have fun by yourself. I need to get ready for bed; I’m pretty tired.”
“Poo, I’m not tired.” you sighed . “I thought we could do something before bed,”
“It’s already 12:30; I don’t need to stay up, so I’m not going to. If you’re still antsy, I’m sure Jade and Floyd are up,” he yawned.
“Nah, I’m good; they would just tease me more about tonight.”
A bit of color appeared on Azul’s face, but it faded as soon as it came. He grabbed his PJs from the wardrobe and headed into the bathroom*. Before he left, though, he turned, saying, “If you're going to snoop around, try not to create too much of a mess, okay?” and shut the door.
You were all by yourself. After that statement, you just had to snoop around his room, no? Taking off your shoes and socks, your feet hit the cold floor, making you shiver. You looked for a place to put your shoes, but there was no space for them in the rack in front of the bed, so you just placed them right beside it.
The floor tiles caught your attention as you did, and the spiral effect with the different colors was pretty. Looking around the room made you realize how nice it was.
“These guys have it nice; I get to live in a busted house,” you grumbled.
There was a seashell chandelier hanging from the ceiling, lighting up the room. The coins from his collection shone from their frames on the wall. You walk over to his desk and shuffle through the papers on it. There was nothing special besides his answers to the history homework. His bookshelf was also lackluster, with just books about entrepreneurship and some autobiographies.
The most interesting thing to you, however, was the vault-turned-nightstand. You sat on the ground, fiddling with it, before giving up and inspecting the little terrariums on the wall. They contained various things, from sea plants to butterflies.
“Be careful with those; I polished them earlier today; they’re slippery.”
You looked over to see Azul in light blue stripped PJs, his hair pushed back using a headband, and his face quite shiny.
“You look like you just dipped your face in polish; how many serums did you put on?”
“Just one, but you know how my skin is—just so glowy and beautiful,” he says, batting his eyelashes.
“I hate you,” you sigh.
“I hate you too; now go change so we can sleep,” he says as he starts to hang up his uniform.
“Whatever, Zu,”
You grab your PJs and head into the bathroom. The same elegant vibes in the bedroom were in the bathroom, with lavish towels and decor. Saving yourself another envy-induced headache, you change quickly into your warm PJs. You stole Azul’s face wash and a couple of drops of his serum too; what’s the point of being in a relationship if you couldn’t borrow some stuff ?
As you get ready to brush your teeth, you notice another toothbrush in the holder.
“Zu,” you call out, “whose toothbrush is this?”
He opens the door and chuckles at your confused expression.
“It’s for you; I didn’t know if you would have forgotten yours or not.”
“Out of all things, why would I forget my own toothbrush!?” you shout. “Do you think I’m that dumb?”
“Of course not,” he says, smiling.
You give him the stink face and push him out of the bathroom so you can finish up in peace. The gesture was sweet, though, despite the thought behind it.
Walking out of the bathroom, you’re greeted by a darker room. It wasn’t pitch black, with lighting from both the desk and nightstand lamp giving the place a purple hue. Azul takes off his glasses and starts to clean them as you walk over and plop yourself onto the bed. A big yawn escapes your lips as you roll around on the sheets.
“I thought you weren’t tired,” he mocks.
“Well, your ultra-fancy bed changes things when I’ve been sleeping on a dingy mattress all this time.”
You pat the bed on the empty spot, urging Azul to hurry up and join you. He smiles and climbs under the covers. Your heart starts beating a bit faster as he comes closer to you. The room is filled with a soft, comforting silence, broken only by the sound of your two saying goodnight and turning over to face away from one another.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Your eyes open up to the view of a dark ceiling. All you can feel is the heat on you; it’s unbearable. You fling the cover off of you and try to fall back asleep, but it’s no use. Normally, you would just rip the PJs off like you usually do, but you’re not alone.
Looking over at Azul, all you can see is his back as it rises and falls gently with each breath. You creep closer to him, remembering how cold he was. Not in the sense that he didn’t feel warm, but his skin was always so cool. He says it’s from him living in the Coral Sea for the majority of his life and just from the simple fact that he’s a mermaid.
As you reach out, your hand hovers uncertainly over his back, hesitant to disturb his sleep but longing for the comfort of his coolness. You slide your hands under his shirt, feeling his cool touch on your fingertips. He stirs slightly.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,”
A moment of silence fills that air.
“Are you hot?” he mumbles.
“I am,” you whisper, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over you, “sorry for bothering you.”
Azul turns around to face you; his face shows how he’s still half asleep. You couldn’t help but smile at his sleepy expression; it was too cute.
“You’re not bothering me,” he yawns.
He pulls up his sleeves and comes closer to you. He wraps his arms around you, under your shirt. His body against yours, sending a shiver down your spine. The contrast between your heated skin and his cooler touch brings a soothing balance, gradually easing the discomfort of the stifling night.
You can see a sleepy smile on his face, paired with rosy cheeks. Though that doesn’t last too long as he closes his eyes, his breathing hitching for a moment before he relaxes again, seemingly falling back asleep. Staring at his face reminds you of how beautiful he is. His smooth skin, long eyelashes, and beauty mark by his lips; it makes you blush. He was pretty cute when he wasn’t being a little shit. You kiss him lightly, not wanting to wake him up.
“I’ll take that as payment,” he murmurs.
As you chuckle softly at his comment, a smile plays on your lips, your heart fluttering with contentment. You close your eyes to savor the moment. The quiet night envelops you both in its gentle embrace as you two fall asleep.