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On the day of the Forever Float, Jade rouses Riddle early and makes one, simple request;
“If you’ll follow me, please. I would like to talk to you for a moment.”
Riddle, still groggy and in his sleepwear, obediently follows Jade out of the hotel, assuming it was related to the Forever Float. They walk until they reach the beach, and Riddle begins to wonder if Jade is playing another trick on him when they turn the corner into a small cliffside.
The morning rays bleed into every nook and cranny of rock, glinting against the pale sand, dying the already orange rocks a vivid, fiery hue. Not far off in the water, there are sharp, orange-toned rocks and the remains of a sailboat, its white cloth sail stretching out of the water as if to make one last push towards shore.
The waves are rhythmic, soft enough to calm one’s racing heart. It’s almost… serene. So is Jade’s placid expression as he dusts off the sand on a flat rock jutting out of the sand.
Jade sits on the rock with his hands folded in his lap. Pats it twice, an assuming smile hiding the points of his teeth.
“Come. Sit with me.” He invites.
Riddle slowly makes his way towards Jade’s side, trepidation in his steps. Without shoes, his feet leave prints on the damp sand.
He slides into the empty space beside him. The rock hasn’t had the chance to soak up the sun’s rays yet, but it isn't wet, just cold. The wind slips through the material of his dress shirt, helping him sober up from sleep. Jade doesn’t say a thing all the while, turning his head towards the sea and still-rising sun.
The sea breeze is surprisingly refreshing, he notes, inhaling through his nose. Riddle wonders if Jade was being genuine, and perhaps simply wished to share the last moments of sunset on this lonely shore with a companion, for whatever reason. A seagull distantly calls from far away.
“I know you’re dating Azul.”
Riddle jumps out of his seat.
It’s not accusatory– the tone of his voice, that is. In fact, it’s more of a statement. One that happens to be…
“That’s right. Did Azul tell you?”
“No.”
Riddle waits for something more. Jade doesn’t elaborate, slowly turning his head to meet Riddle’s eyes. He’s still smiling..?
Though, with Jade, one could never know.
“...Does that information upset you?”
“Upset? Me?” Jade says, eyes widening in surprise. “Dear me, is that the impression I gave?”
Jade stands up from the rock, directly on the opposite side of Riddle, his back against the sun and casting his face in partial shadow. The latter backs up slightly.
“In fact, you could say I’m beside myself with joy.”
“You don’t appear beside yourself in anything!”
The crashing of the waves doesn’t feel as calm anymore.
“I simply wanted to talk to you regarding your relationship.”
The lack of people milling about doesn’t feel as peaceful anymore.
“As two close… associates of Azul, you understand that he hasn’t the most particularly thick skin of the bunch, yes?”
The wrecked sailboat now feels like an example.
“I understand that emotional intelligence is not your strong suit. In fact, I could argue that it is one of your critical weaknesses– however, that is not up for me to judge.”
Jade takes a step to the left, and Riddle to the right.
“Couples have their spats, of course. Life isn’t a fairy tale– though, I must warn you–”
Sun glints off of the points of the moray’s teeth. His lips are peeled back for the most terrifying of smiles. Slowly, the pair begin to circle the rock. The breeze is quick to wipe away the rapidly forming sweat on Riddle’s forehead.
“If you’ve engaged this relationship with the intent of psychologically, physically, or emotionally harming Azul, you will die.”
Riddle flinches at the word die, said so plainly in the light of day. The heat of the sun fails to reach him, where a ball of ice has formed in his stomach.
He realizes he’s forgotten his magic pen on his nightstand, so he closes his dominant hand into a fist. Could this all just be an overly elaborate prank? Jade continues as if he were simply listing things on a grocery list, but the tone of his voice is harder than usual. It’s different from the grave sincerity when he was performing as their rowing instructor.
“If you’ve engaged this relationship with the intent to make a mockery of Azul and the feelings he harbors for you, you will die.”
They circle the rock again. A bark echoes in the distance.
“If you’ve engaged this relationship with the goal of separating Azul from his pre-existing relationships, then you will die.”
“Are we clear, Riddle?”
Through his panic, Riddle could see that he’d fallen right into Jade’s trap; the cliffside and rocks blocked one side, the water the other, leaving Riddle with only the beach as an escape route. He was without shoes, and without his magical pen. Even with his magic, he’d have little chance to escape– so the only thing in between them, literally, was the rock.
And well, agreeing with the merman.
“That was never my intention in the first place!” Riddle hisses defensively, part in fear, and part in the late-surging offence that Jade thought him underhanded enough to think he had ulterior motives. “I don’t know where this relationship will take us, but I do know I don’t want to harm Azul! Who do you take me for!?”
Jade stops in his tracks. He relaxes, returning to that placid state they had begun in.
“Good. That is all I wanted to speak to you about.” He hums, placing a hand to his chest. “Shall we return to the hotel? The others should be waking up soon.”
…
What?
“But–” Riddle sputters, nearly falling backwards from sheer disbelief. “You just–”
Jade puts up a finger to shush him, eyes screwed thin. “I never said I would. If something were to happen to Azul and it were your fault, however, then you would be in trouble.”
He steps towards the path that led them there, one hand sweeping in a ‘you first’ motion.
“But we’ve already clarified that you have no ill intentions towards Azul, haven’t we?”
Riddle shuddered. He swore, sometimes Jade could be as unpredictable as Floyd, in some cases. He hurries to catch up with Jade, red hair whipping with his furious, still cautious steps.