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For what must’ve been the tenth time this morning, Azul ran his fingers through his hair to try and calm down. Jade was scrolling on his phone at the breakfast table, enjoying the elaborate spread Trey had prepared before leaving for work. It was no big deal, right? It was just Valentine’s Day after all. Just the biggest celebration of love of the year. Just the commercial holiday turned worldwide sensation. Just the perfect day for every loving couple. Just the best mix of snowy wonderland and excuses for sweet treats and sappy confessions.
Just the one time even Idia couldn’t refuse a romantic dinner date.
“Found one,” Jade mumbled over a mouthful of pancakes with artfully arranged fruits and whipped cream. He turned his phone over to Azul to show exactly what he had found. But any excitement the proclamation sparked quickly disappeared when Azul saw what was on the screen. He pulled a face but Jade didn’t seem to care. Well, rather he seemed to care more about the chocolate chip muffins he was currently filling his plate with. Were they the result of another night of stress baking or was Trey just trying to treat him for today? What was the current market rate for-
Azul cut off his train of thought. He had to focus. His date with Idia. He didn’t have time to wonder how he might monetize Jade’s boyfriend’s coping mechanism. But he also really didn’t like what he was seeing. Swatting the phone away, he glared at Jade’s innocent smile. “Must we have this discussion every time I ask you for help regarding a date spot? I am not taking Idia to some greasy roleplay bar.”
“Good luck finding reservations anywhere else then. Even this already took a lot of string-pulling.” The eel had the guts to grin. If he could pull the strings to get that spot, why not try some legitimate location?! Why was he so… Azul glared daggers at Jade who wasted no time before stuffing an entire muffin in his mouth.
“Okay, fine . Suppose I will take Idia to that place after all.” Azul grumbled, plopping down into a chair. “What then? Will they have some romantic game for us to play? Throwing dice with hearts on them? Rolling to collect roses? Come on, Jade, stop messing with me.”
Jade only shrugged as though it didn’t bother him at all that he was ruining Azul’s Valentine’s Day. He had made the perfect plan but it was just his luck that the restaurant he had booked for months in advance had to close down after a fire. Part of him wondered if it was somehow Jade’s fault with how eager he was to help him out as soon as he contacted him about the issue. The whole situation was awful already but now he was expected to replace his picture-perfect date with a gaming bar. Heaving a sigh, he sent a text to Idia as he sank into one of the plush chairs by the wall.
Azul: Be ready at 6 PM. Dress casually.
Idia: …
Idia: you sure?
Azul: Yes, I am sure. I’m taking you out.
Idia: can’t we just stay in? got a marathon to run and we could twistflix and chill or smth
Idia: no? wanna play smth together? coop?
Idia: Azul?
Idia: come ooon, stop being a stubborn baka about this
Azul didn’t respond, bracing himself for the flood of messages that was sure to follow. Idia would likely overthink it all but that worked for him right now. He needed his darling to take him seriously and be ready – tonight of all nights. He spared one last glare to Jade who was now snacking on a tart with fresh and no doubt home-grown strawberries. Some people had it so easy… and other people were like him, having to drag their partner kicking and screaming just to have a nice date out once in a while. Poor him. Idia better make it up to him, especially since the date spot this time should be right up his alley.
He bid his goodbyes to Jade, grabbed his coat, and set to get ready himself. Unlike Jade, he didn’t have the luxury of having a boyfriend who lived close enough to the school to where he could just stay with them. Instead, he had to go all the way back up that dreadful slope to Night Raven. At least Idia was internshipping online so he was allowed to stay in his old room. Close enough to where Azul could easily keep an eye on him and spend plenty of time trying – and mostly failing – to get some PDA. It wasn’t that he needed it of course. He just felt it was appropriate sometimes. And, though he would never admit that to Idia, he liked the idea of showing everyone he was loved.
As the thoughts continued to swirl in his head, he almost ran into Trey at the door, only barely catching himself before the collision. Trey gave him an apologetic smile. “My bad, didn’t know you were leaving already. Are you sure? I brought some food from the restaurant.”
Right, Azul reminded himself with more than a smidge of bitterness, the new magical restaurant that opened up right under his nose, adding yet another competitor to Mostro Lounge. And his right-hand man’s boyfriend working there meant he couldn’t even properly scheme without at least something getting back to them.
“Thank you, Trey, but no need. I was just leaving.” He forced a polite smile and hurried out to the street.
“Enjoy your date tonight!” Trey called out after him but Azul was already a step too far to hear, once again getting lost in his head – though at least this time, it wasn’t related to the evening he would spend in a game bar.
As expected, Idia was ready, though he didn’t look happy about it in the slightest. He kept fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie and even hiding his face in its raised collar. Azul had half a mind to just cancel the whole thing and sulk in peace in his room. He could survive Valentine’s days alone up till now, he could do one more year. But despite his reluctance, Idia squeezed his hand and let Azul lead the way. They talked little on the way, neither quite sure what to say. It was kind of funny. They spent so much time together in club and during their science projects and when they were just hanging out and they never seemed to run out of topics of conversation and yet, as soon as they were going on a proper date, neither could find the right words.
The bar was nothing special from the outside. Sure, it wasn’t in the worst part of town but it was far from fancy too. For some odd reason or another, they had a bouncer at the door, as if anyone would try to sneak into or cause trouble in an establishment for nerds and the socially challenged. Azul cringed at that description, remembering that he himself once belonged to that category but he quickly shook the feeling off and stated his name to the man at the front.
But to his surprise, the man suddenly bowed, then opened the door for them. “Your Highness,” he said and it didn’t feel as sarcastic as Azul would expect such a title to come across as, “come right in. Your court is awaiting you.”
As soon as they entered, a woman dressed in an elegant maid dress brought over a crown on a red pillow. Paper? No, this was genuine – albeit thin – metal. Azul was getting more and more lost in what was happening. The crown sat on his head snuggly as though it was made just for him. The maid took them to a long table also fitting the overall vibe. There were two seats at the head of the table where Azul and Idia were promptly seated. Then, the music started.
Azul glanced at Idia, sure all this attention would make him hide in his hoodie like Jamil when someone complimented him. Instead, he found his partner with a huge grin on his pale face.
“Fuhihi, Azul~” Idia’s voice was teasing, that same mocking tone he had when he was “educating” someone on the proper characterization of his waifus, “I hope you didn’t think I forgot about today! It was such a chore setting this whole thing up too, you know? Had to fabricate that article about the place burning down, edit your contacts and phone records, have your guys call on your behalf and cancel the reservation there, then make sure everything else was already booked out, and then get things set up so that you’d think the one organizing the date would be you, but it was I! Idia! Hihihi!”
Before Azul could even take it all in, someone was putting a cape around him, food was coming out with all smells and colors, making his mouth water already. A board was set up in front of them together with two sets of intricately carved dice bearing the pattern of tentacles ensnaring half the numbers with a projector showing the other half. Miniature figures were placed on the board and Idia’s grin only grew.
“Now, Azul! If you wanna eat any of the super-ultra-mega-delish food right here in front of us, you gotta play! Every figure you take, you pick a dish to eat and if you win, you can even play the rare desert gacha with a chance to snag this place’s signature lucky cake! Ain’t I just so nice to pick a game that has both luck and strategy in it since you don’t like it when you can’t control stuff?”
Azul didn’t respond. He couldn’t. He was finally taking in the whole place. There were roses and banners and hearts everywhere, all in the medieval style of the bar. It was empty of other guests, leaving only them and the staff dressed in costumes and serving them as though they were the royal couple. Idia reached for his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze, just a little too shaky for his earlier confidence. Azul’s eyes finally returned to him, finding a look that didn’t quite match his earlier words.
Ah, Azul realized, Idia wasn’t feeling all that great about all this still. But he did it. He overcame all those hurdles and issues and he was here now, showing Azul almost publicly how much he meant to him. Sure, it wasn’t a high-class restaurant with food the price of a new magiwheel, but it was theirs . Everything from how they got here to the tiny carved dice was just right even if it wasn’t the expected standard.
“Azul-!” Idia suddenly exclaimed, looking horrified. “A-are you alright-?! D-d-did I mess up? You hate it? Aah, I knew it- It was such a stupid idea, of course a worthless weeb like me could never-”
Azul wiped the tears he didn’t know were streaming down his cheeks, only reassuringly squeezing Idia’s hand back. He smiled and for once, it wasn’t his coy and calculating smirk but a genuine expression of joy pouring from the depths of his heart.
“Thank you, Idia. It’s perfect.”