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“Aww, c’mon Sea Snakey, stop by the Lounge before headin’ back,” Floyd insisted, throwing an arm over Jamil’s shoulders. They’d just finished basketball practice for the evening and were approaching the mirror chamber, where Jamil figured they would part ways as usual. “We’ll give ya a free dessert or something.”
Jamil sighed, glancing toward the Scarabia mirror. “I can’t,” he said. “I have to go make food for the surprise party tomorrow that Kalim thinks I don’t know about.”
Floyd snorted, his grip on Jamil tightening as Jamil subtly attempted to move away. “That can wait ten more minutes, right?” he insisted, and the sharpness in his grin suggested that he really wasn’t giving Jamil a choice.
“…Fine,” Jamil gave in flatly. “Five minutes.”
“I’ll come too,” Ace said, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder. “I could use some grub. You’ll treat me, right Senpais?”
“Are you seriously asking Sea Snake to buy you food on his birthday?” Floyd drawled as they headed into the mirror and through Octavinelle. “Just for that, I’m chargin’ you extra. Call it asshole tax.”
“C-chill, I was just kidding…”
Jamil couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly as they approached the Lounge. “It isn’t my birthday yet,” he pointed out.
“Well, nothin’ wrong with celebrating a little early,” Floyd said with a grin, pushing the doors open.
“Surprise!”
Jamil froze, his eyes wide in genuine shock as he was greeted by the sight of a tastefully-decorated Mostro Lounge packed with pretty much everyone he knew at NRC. He pressed a hand to his chest, his heart racing wildly.
“Woah, you’re seriously surprised!” Kalim said excitedly, suddenly materializing in front of Jamil. “I finally got you!”
Jamil was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor. “You…” he started in disbelief, but he was unable to finish his sentence. What reality was he living in where Kalim actually managed to catch him off guard? And had gone as far as to plant a red herring by making sure it was leaked to Jamil that the party was going to be a day later in Scarabia? It was just incomprehensible.
“Well… I asked the Octavinelle guys for help,” Kalim admitted sheepishly. “You’re so hard to trick, so I figured I’d ask the trickiest guys I know!”
Jamil narrowed his eyes, immediately suspicious. “You didn’t make a deal with Azul, did you?” he asked, dreading the answer.
“You wound me, Jamil-san. Do you truly think I would use your birthday as an opportunity to exploit poor Kalim-san?” a voice that made Jamil’s eye twitch appeared suddenly. “I only asked that he remember this if I were ever to find myself in a bind in the future, I think that’s perfectly fair…”
Jamil turned to Azul flatly, a number of choice words running through his mind as he considered his reply. But then he caught sight of the decor and the buffet, and considered all of the work that went into them that he hadn’t had to do for once, and felt all of the fight leave him. “…Thanks,” he said, despite himself.
Azul blinked slowly. He seemed to be too shocked by Jamil’s gratitude to respond, which was fine, because at that moment Floyd reappeared and thrust a bag into Jamil’s hands. “Hurry and go get changed,” Floyd said, spinning Jamil around and pushing him back out the door and toward the restrooms. Jamil glanced down at himself, suddenly self-consciously aware that he was still wearing his basketball sweats. Luckily he’d showered in the locker room. “The party will be waitin’ for ya!”
Jamil opened the bag curiously once he’d entered the restroom, pulling out a nice cream turtleneck sweater and brown sport coat combo. He recognized them as his own clothes he’d brought along to school for special occasions; Kalim had probably raided his closet for them, but Jamil was surprised he had the fashion sense to assemble such a cohesive outfit. Unless he’d enlisted the Octavinelle guys for help with that, too. Jamil grimaced at the thought of Azul in his room without his knowledge, but pushed the thought aside in favor of preserving his good mood.
He stepped in front of the mirror once he’d finished changing and waved his magic pen over his hair, watching as it transformed from the loose braid he’d thrown it into after club and into a neat, braided high ponytail. Satisfied with his appearance, he made his way back out to the party.
Overall, Jamil found that he was happy with the turn of events; he’d never been able to deny that he enjoyed his birthday and the attention that came with it. It was nice to be surprised with a party for possibly the first time ever, and to be able to enjoy it without worrying about anything.
A few hours passed, and Jamil found himself in good spirits as he sat at the bar, taking a break from dancing and being showered with birthday greetings. Someone slid into the seat beside him, and Jamil turned to be greeted with the smug demeanor of Ruggie Bucchi. He was smirking at Jamil like he knew a secret about him. As usual, Jamil pretended not to know why.
“Hey, Jamil-san,” Ruggie said. “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks Ruggie,” Jamil replied. They fell into silence; Jamil felt a strange sense of anticipation, as if he’d been expecting Ruggie to say more. As if he thought maybe he had a message to deliver.
A beat passed. “…Have you heard from Leona-senpai lately?” Jamil caved, unable to bear it any longer. “How is his internship going?”
Ruggie’s smirk widened into a shit-eating grin, as if he’d been waiting for the conversation to go in this direction. He looked over Jamil’s shoulder and nodded somewhere behind him.
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” he suggested.
Jamil quickly turned on his barstool, his heart skipping a beat. Sure enough, his eyes locked with a pair of bright green ones across the room.
Jamil cleared his throat, attempting to maintain his composure as he turned back to Ruggie. “I’m, uh,” he said. “It was nice talking to you, but I’m gonna…”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ruggie interrupted him amusedly. “Get out of here.”
Jamil was out of his seat before Ruggie had even finished speaking, quickly pushing his way through the crowd. He came to a stop in front of the tall form of Leona Kingscholar, his heart pounding in his chest.
“Hey,” Jamil greeted casually, as if he hadn’t just crossed the room in record time.
Leona grinned at him. “Hey,” he replied. “Heard it was your birthday.”
“Did you?” Jamil replied with a shy smile. “Shouldn’t you be in Sunset Savanna?”
Leona hummed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall. “Sure, but there’s this magical innovation called a mirror. Been around for a hundred years or so now,” he said. “It takes me about five minutes to get back to NRC, if you can believe it.”
Jamil deadpanned at him. “Alright, smartass,” he said flatly, and Leona barked a laugh. Jamil couldn’t help but grin at the sound. “…I’m glad you came.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Leona replied, giving Jamil a quick, fond pat on the head. He gestured toward the exit. “Take a walk with me.”
Jamil nodded in agreement unhesitantly, leaving the crowd of people celebrating him behind and following Leona out of the Lounge and out of Octavinelle.
There wasn’t anything going on between them, technically. Jamil hadn’t even heard from Leona since the closing ceremony a few months before, and even before then they hadn’t really talked much. They were acquaintances at best from an outsider perspective.
Despite that, though, there was something there, and they both knew it. They were collectively way too analytical and observant to miss it. Ever since they’d been kidnapped by S.T.Y.X. last year and traversed hell together, there had been an obvious tension between them. Jamil knew that Leona liked him, and he was reasonably certain that Leona knew it was mutual.
It was exciting, and nerve-wracking.
He followed Leona through campus, until they came to a stop in the external hallway overlooking the courtyard. Leona leaned against one of the pillars, and Jamil stood beside him, shifting on his feet in anticipation.
“How’re classes?” Leona asked after a beat, the moonlight reflecting softly over his features.
Jamil shrugged. “Fine,” he said. “I don’t care about underperforming next to Kalim anymore, so I might actually give Azul a run for his money in the class rankings.”
Leona looked particularly pleased by this information. “Yeah? You’d better,” he said. “Let me know if you get stumped by any of the classwork, I’ll give you some pointers. Seven knows I’ve learned it enough times.”
Jamil smirked. “Are you offering to tutor me, Senpai? Wow. You must really like me,” Leona huffed a laugh but otherwise let the comment slide. Jamil continued, “You’ll have to come back to campus more, then.”
“Guess I will.”
A breeze passed through the hall, and Jamil shivered, moving himself a bit closer to Leona. Leona glanced down at him. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the weather here,” Jamil muttered. Even after three years at NRC, he still found himself dreading the bitter wind that started around his birthday and only worsened in the following months.
Leona made a noise of affirmation. “Can’t say I’m too torn up about getting to be in Sunset Savanna during the winter this year,” he agreed. He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers against his crossed arms. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, poorly-wrapped package. “This might help.”
Jamil blinked in surprise, feeling a giddiness well up inside of him as he accepted the present. “You got me a gift?” he asked brightly.
“Just open it.”
Jamil did so swiftly, tearing into the paper and pulling out a soft, knitted fabric. He unrolled it a bit and determined he was holding a deep red cable-knit scarf.
Before he could properly react, Leona held out a hand, and Jamil wordlessly handed him the garment. Jamil held his breath as Leona stepped close to him and wrapped the scarf around his neck.
“Oh,” Jamil said as it settled across his shoulders. “It’s warm.”
There was an unnatural heat radiating from the fabric, which quickly spread warmth throughout his entire body. Leona smirked. “I put a heating charm on it,” he said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t have survived without mine the past four years.”
Jamil buried his face further into the scarf to hide his pleased grin. “That’s really thoughtful. Thank you,” he said happily. He rubbed the soft fabric between his fingers. “Don’t tell me you knitted it yourself.”
“You’re hilarious,” Leona replied flatly. “…I had my sister-in-law make it over summer break.”
Jamil felt something flutter in his chest. “You’ll have to thank her for me,” he said. And then, smugly, “You must have been thinking about me a lot over the summer.”
Leona gave him a fondly exasperated look, but once again didn’t otherwise respond, instead turning his gaze back out toward the courtyard. Jamil slowly exhaled through his nose, feeling himself start to grow exasperated.
He’d been fishing for the last several minutes now, but Leona wasn’t biting. Jamil was running out of patience. He wasn’t just going to let Leona leave tonight and abandon Jamil to the torturous waiting and pining he’d endured for the past several months.
“Leona-senpai,” Jamil said, casting away all of his doubts. “If you’re not going to make a move, I will.”
Leona’s expression darkened slightly, and before Jamil could react, he was being manhandled and pressed back-first against the pillar Leona had been leaning on. And then, finally, he felt Leona’s lips against his.
Jamil enthusiastically wrapped his arms around Leona’s neck, pulling him closer as their mouths slid together. His head spun and his heart raced; it was everything he’d been waiting for.
“Thought about you every day,” Leona muttered against his mouth.
Jamil chuckled into the kiss. “Now was that so hard to admit?” he asked slyly. Leona captured his lips again to shut him up.
“Don’t do this with anyone else while I’m away,” Leona said, voice low and demanding, when they once again came up for air.
Jamil smirked and tilted his head to the side, pretending to consider it. “You’re worried about that?” he teased.
“‘Course,” Leona grumbled. “I see how the guys around here look at you.”
Jamil hummed thoughtfully. He felt a rare surge of gratitude toward Azul, and whoever else Leona was referring to, for bringing out this jealous side. It was fun.
“Ask me properly, then,” Jamil said, highly enjoying himself.
Leona gave him an unenthused look, and sighed. “Go out with me,” he said. Jamil tapped his chin in exaggerated consideration, and Leona rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna beg.”
Jamil laughed loudly, pressing one more short kiss to Leona’s lips. “You had nothing to worry about, Leona-senpai,” he said. “I was already yours.”
The look Leona gave him in reply was almost reverent, and left no doubt that this man was down as bad as Jamil was. What a relief.
“It’s getting cold,” Leona pointed out after a few more long moments of intimately sharing each other’s space. “Wanna head back in?”
Jamil made a noise of protest. He partially unwrapped the scarf around his neck and wrapped it around Leona’s as well. “Just a bit longer,” he said. Leona smiled softly, and made no move to leave.
A bell tolled in the distance. Leona glanced down at his watch.
“It’s midnight,” he said. “Happy birthday, Jamil.”
Jamil smiled, laying his head against Leona’s chest. Despite the seasonably cool wind, he was warm.