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9 years ago, you made the most life-changing decision ever made by a human:
Staying.
Even as the headmaster of Night Raven College extended his gloved hand towards you with the tempting dark mirror behind him anticipating your call for home, you shook your head and simply said, “I've changed my mind.”
Nobody expected you to come out of his office door that day. Everyone had thought you would surely choose to return, even with no guarantee that they would be able to see you again.
Including him, that man.
With his ever so poised and composed self that he carried so flawlessly, it all seemed like light work.
Azul Ashengrotto, that man.
Your man.
When you knocked at his office door in Mostro Longue, he shed more tears than he had ever touched back at the Coral Sea.
And now, he was kneeling before you as you cried the same way.
How did this come to pass?
You shuffled awake beneath the soft covers of cotton and linen, lashes fluttering open as your senses reconnected with your conscious. You felt a heaviness atop your stomach, as well as the warm air that tickled your neck even as the air conditioner blasted.
The soft sun rays fell upon your blanketed figure as you look around, scanning the clock hung up high on the wall before gaining sight of the man that peacefully slept beside you.
You turn to face his bare self, struggling to move due to his tight embrace. He shifts a bit, but doesn't wake up just yet. The man must've been working all night again, and you couldn't blame him like when you were still young.
Azul Ashengrotto grew more successful in life, just as everyone expected. A thriving businessman that owned a high-class restaurant, with multiple branches running all over the infinite corners of Twisted Wonderland.
From the Coral Sea to the Scalding Sands, the Briar Valley to the Isle of Sages. You name it, and surely Mostro Lounge would be located there.
You smile proudly as you gently caress his face, tracing the contour of his lips before pressing a light kiss onto the mole rested beneath his mouth, earning a soft groan from Azul.
He, too, started to wake up when your fingers found his disheveled bed hair, brushing and running through the silver strands of his pride and dignity. He slowly blinked awake, his heart filling with warmth at the sight of your sweet smile first thing in the morning.
“Hello, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”
You ask as you push yourself closer to him, your arms enveloping around his neck while your faces pressed, leaving barely any distance. His strong arms reciprocated the gesture, holding you close by the waist while he pressed a small kiss onto your cheek.
“Never been more well than ever, my love.”
You giggle, and a pleasant chill runs down his spine.
Oh, he just couldn't get enough of you.
“So beautiful... I still cannot believe that I get to wake up at the sight of such masterpiece that is you, my love.”
“Oh no... What should we do? How can I make you believe?”
“Maybe a few kisses might satiate this craving man.”
You giggle again, and he smiles more tenderly than he ever believed he could.
“Okay.” You whisper before taking his lips with your own.
_____________
“Just right over there, please.”
You instructed the twins as they carried paper bags of your groceries, with Jade nodding politely and Floyd saying a strangely elongated 'okay' in that playful tone of his.
“There you goooo~”
“Might there be anything else we could help with as you cook?”
You hum in thought as you tie the apron behind your back.
“None for me now, Thank you. You both can go ahead and help Azul.”
They follow as you tell, and go to Azul just right outside the door. You weren't able to see what they were told or where they went as you immersed yourself in preparing lunch instead.
You were chopping some mushrooms that Jade insistently bought while the broth boiled with the meat on the pot when you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist, your nape being peppered with soft little kisses.
“Hey! That tickles... I'm chopping something here, y'know.”
“Sorry, dear. You are just so beautiful today.”
You chuckle. “What's with you? You've been all over me since this morning.”
“Do you hate it?”
How could you ever? One look he gives you and you're all silly and fuzzy.
“Well... no, I don't. It's just a bit unusual.”
“There is no particular reason. Don't you worry about it now and let me help you.”
He cooed you as he took the knife from your grasp, overtaking your chopping duties. And, well, let's just say he didn't really let you help after that.
Your gloved hands intertwined with each other's as you treaded through the thickening snow together, your connected fingers tucked into his coat's pocket as you yapped away about a story you heard from an old friend back in college.
Azul would occasionally smile whenever he stole a glance, or express his opinion about something that you said.
The sun was starting to fall, tinges of orange, pink, and blue swirling in the sky with the fluffy whites of the clouds that accompanied the sun. Azul had taken you wherever you wished today. The nearby park, the city center fountain, shopping, and now, his favourite place.
You've been asking for quite a long time. Well, 9 years now. You've always wondered where his favourite place would be, and why. Azul was a very patient man, to your disadvantage, and kept that information to himself for as long as the two of you have been together.
“Time will tell, love.” He always says.
And now is the time, isn't it?
He stopped in his tracks, which caused you to follow. You looked around and took your surroundings in.
“A museum...?”
“A gallery.” He corrected, letting go of your hand as he walked towards the doors.
“But it's locked?” You pointed out, noticing the padlock that sealed the chains of the doors.
He responded with a smirk, causing you to raise a brow. But that confusion melted away when he held out a golden key and opened the padlock.
“Come now. Won't you like to see what I love about this place so much?”
“...Are there other people in there?”
You asked as he took your hand in a chuckle, bare this time.
“Today, we're the only ones allowed in here.”
Azul guided you inside, gently pulling you right behind him as you entered through doors and doors of paintings.
The first few ones were more focused on the ocean. The fishes, the corals, the magic, and its wonders. You thought that maybe they reminded him of home, and that he may be experiencing some sort of homesickness from time to time.
The next ones were unfamiliar places, with no particular theme. You were going to ask about it, but he was already explaining before you even opened your mouth.
“They're places that I particularly liked as a child. I painted them from memory.”
A fuzzy feeling in your chest started to grow, a fondness that you couldn't quite name. Maybe it was because he was letting you further inside a more vulnerable part of himself, in which was rarely the case.
When you both crossed another door, it was filled with more paintings of places, except you've seen them all before. You gave him a questioning look, and he smiles at you in return.
“Our favourite places that we went to together. You see? I do listen to you and not just make myself look like it.”
He jests, and you roll your eyes before laughing. Azul wore that strange smile again as he kissed the base of your ring finger, pulling you through another pair of doors.
You were stunned at the sight.
The ceiling glimmered with purple roses, wilting petals slowly falling down to the cemented surface. Azul let your hand go, telling you to look around with the way his other arm extended further into the room.
You walk through the long hallway, looking at the paintings. They were all depicting one specific person. Awe filled your expression as you reached the end of the hallway, a giant painting of a person with a floral wreath on their head, wearing a uniform too big to seem like it was made for them, a tint of pink painting their cheeks as they stood stiffly under the moon's heavy gaze.
If you weren't mistaken, this was you, too. That night you had made another life changing decision—professing your love for Azul Ashengrotto.
“How long have you—”
You couldn't finish your sentence as you turned, your own pair of hands immediately coming up to cover your mouth as your watering eyes widened.
“I know I have come with many shortcomings,” Azul said as he pulled a small black box from his coat's inner pocket. “and that I may not be the most perfect partner for you,”
The tears came down as he presented the box upon you with one hand as he knelt, small sobs leaving your lungs. “but you are for myself. So, I beg of you to allow me to be selfish one last time,”
Azul opened the box with his free hand, flashing that strange smile that he wore the whole day at you once more. “and become the one to stand by me for the rest of eternity.”
A hand of yours drifted down to your chest, feeling your own wild heartbeat, while you wiped your tears and snot with the sleeve of your other arm like a child.
“In short... will you marry me?”