Chapter Text
Gaduating the 4th year of college was something Riddle had already prepared for years ago with the intention of learning medicine and become a doctor like his mother. And if he was still the same stubborn boy who only followed his mother's words and believed they were absolute, he would probably still take the same course.
But with the help of Trey, Cater, Ace, Deuce, and other schoolmates whom he still hesitates to call "friends," he had managed to see the truth and bring out the light as to why exactly he was like how he was. He had failed to see how controlling his mother really was, but, as he blossomed into a new person she failed to raise, she won't be hearing from him again. Ever.
He studied law, and of course excelled in it. Although it took a long time, with determination, he thrived, and finally earned what he deserved. He wouldn't have done it without the support of his friends, and giving credits to the one who stayed by him all this time — Floyd Leech. Unexpected, but still welcome. After years and years of dedication, his hard work paid off, causing Riddle great satisfaction.
"Nehh, Goldfishie, what do ya think about a date?" Asked Floyd suddenly as he was lounging on the couch. Riddle raised an eyebrow, looking up from the book he was reading as he was sat next to Floyd, whose eyes were still glued to the TV. Until they moved to catch his gaze.
"A date? Right now?" Riddle enquired, Floyd nodded in confirmation. "I suppose it would be fine." Riddle then looked at Floyd with a suspecting gaze before opening his mouth to ask," Do you have something in mind?"
"Ehh? Do I have to?? I just wanna have a date with my goldfishie, why do I gotta have a plan too?" Floyd grumbled, a frown on his face.
Riddle sighed at his lover's whine, already knowing this would happen. "Because, Floyd, it's so we can actually have something to look forward to. A schedule is important. If you want to have a date purely on impulsive, without a plan, then how are you to know that the other party can enjoy the date too?"
"I still don't wanna.... If I want to go on a date with my goldfishie, then what's better than that? I just wanna spend some time with you, with or without stupid plans!" Floyd retorted, causing Riddles's heart to skip a beat at his words, just a bit.
Floyd wanted to spend some time with him purely because he wanted to? With or without plans? How endearing can this merman get?
With a sigh, Riddle finally gave in, "Fine. We can go on a date. But you at least should have a destination in mind, leat we roam around without anything to do."
"Sure, sure! Just leave that to me~" Floyd 'reliably' said, causing Riddle to throw him a suspecting glance before brushing it off. No matter how Floyd acted, when he was in a good mood, he could actually give Riddle something he knew he'd like. So he left it at that.
Floyd first led Riddle to the park, and with the sun being the perfect temperature and the air being just right, it wasn't actually that bad. Although they did get ice cream on an ice cream stand, they were just walking while talking to each other, making whatever calories Riddle took from that ice cream burn down as he ate. Which he appreciated, of course.
Next, Floyd took him to a nearby restaurant, which, surprisingly didn't belong to Azul. Considering how Mostro Lounge opened branches almost everywhere. But upon entering the premises, he stood still at the sight of his childhood friends, yes, friends, plural form. That counted Trey, Che'nya, and another whom he still keeps contact with (well he still talks to Trey and Che'nya too but let's focus on this unnamed character), went by the name Irence, and never even bothered to tell him he worked there!! In fact, why were all three of them present!?
(So, for context: Irence is my Mad Hatter OC who's childhood friends with the trio, and he's basically just :D)
Now, if there was something that was very noticeable, it was that all waiters and waitresses were in roller skates. And honestly, with how efficient they were being and wasting no time at all, Riddle could only watch in fascination. Plus, they seemed to be having fun with it too.
"Ah! Hey, Artemiy! You don't have your roller skates again!" Irence voiced out as he pointed to Che'nya's shoes.
"Hmm? Maybe I took them off, maybe I didn't~ Who knows? And besides, I could just use my unique magic to be there faster~" Che'nya answered with his signature grin as he watched Irence actually consider his words.
Trey chuckled in the background, but did nothing to stop them as he went back to the kitchen. But just as he was, he spotted Riddle and walked over to him.
"Good morning, Riddle. Pleasant seeing you here." Trey greeted with his usual smile as he waved to Floyd as well, seeming to be already quite used to his companions' behaviors.
"Ah, yes, good morning Trey... What is the meaning of this? Why are you all here?" Riddle asked, clearly puzzled while Floyd waved back. "Hey, Sea Turtle!"
Hearing Riddle's voice, both Irence and Che'nya turned to look at him, then of course rushed over to him.
"Riddle!" They both yelled in unison, filled with enthusiasm at the sight of the other. It's been a while since they last saw each other, after all.
"It's been so long since we met!" "I've been wondering when we'll be hanging out again!" "Hey, is it just me or is your hair longer?" "We've got tons of food in the back!-" They both spoke over each other before Trey eventually put his hands on their shoulders, causing them to stop.
"Come on, you'll overwhelm him.." Trey shared glances as the two, who then sheepishly chuckled before apologizing to Riddle. To which he forgave them, but still demanded answers.
"Oh, we're just here for some side gigs." Irence quickly answered. "We had nothing to do except wait for Trey in the Clover Patisserie, so! Me and Artemiy decided to look around and eventually ended up here! Trey was kind enough to join in! Though now that I see it, you both aren't wearing your skates.. This is unfair, why am I the only one wearing them when it's required?"
"I work in the kitchen, remember? I don't think they need roller skating when cooking food." Trey reminded as Irence hummed in understanding, scratching his head at his own forgetfulness as he chuckled sheepishly.
Already having heard Che'nya's answer earlier, Irence didn't even bother asking him and just looked back at Riddle. "Sooo, what chu here for? Dining in? Come, come! We got vacant tables!" He began to lead them around the restaurant, and since the place was spacious, they had no problem getting through despite being rush hour. Why were they chatting away anyway? Nevermind that.
As Floyd and Riddle finally sat down, Irence and Che'nya were actually doing their job as Trey returned to the kitchen. Irence handed Riddle the menu before quickly being called over by another table. He told them he'd return to take their order before skating away.
At Irence's departure, Riddle skimmed through the menu as Floyd just lounged around, observing their surroundings and the interior of the restaurant before eventually leaning against the table, arms on the table with his head placed on it, staring at Riddle. The latter looked away from the menu, sensing Floyd's eyes on him.
"Is there anything you'd like?" Riddle asked as he then handed Floyd the menu, who just looked over it once before glancing back at Riddle.
"Ehh, looks boring. I'll have what Goldfishie wants." Riddle just hummed, looking back at the menu to think about what both he and Floyd would like. After a few minutes, Irence returned, just in time as Riddle was about to call for him.
"Yo! Your orders, please?" Irence took out a small string notepad and a pencil as he then began to write down the orders Riddle told him. "Gotcha! I'll be back with your orders~" Irence then skated away, leaving Riddle with Floyd once more.
About 20 minutes-ish, Irence returned with a tray of their orders and placed down the plates of food on the table without much trouble. After finishing, Riddle thanked him. And just as Irence was about to head to another table, he stopped and smiled at both of them.
"Have a nice date!" And with that, Irence skated away, just in time when a customer called him over, leaving Riddle red-faced and Floyd laughing.
After all whatever happened, it was still a good place to dine in. And he was genuinely enjoying his time spent with Floyd, his boyfriend of how many years now. He didn't know what else to expect whenever Floyd was involved, but he just knew that things would be more enjoyable when Floyd was with him.
Then, Floyd started leading Riddle to a nearby aquarium. He didn't know how exactly they ended there when they were just walking, but perhaps that's another thing about Floyd, just dragging him around. And protest he may, he still wouldn't leave Floyd all by himself. Not when the man's been patient with him, despite having frequent mood swings.
As Floyd led them inside, hand in hand, and even paid for the entrance, Riddle's heart couldn't help but skip a beat at the small gesture. Even if it's been a while since they had a date, it still felt nice to see Floyd offering to do something without him needing to say so.
"Look, Goldfishie, goldfishes!" Floyd pointed at the fish tank of goldfishes, looking genuinely quite interested despite having already seen them a hundred times. And once Riddle looked at the tank, Floyd glanced at him before smiling, all while the red head was looking at the tank.
"They're so small and red, cute too. Just like you, Goldfishie! But you're cuter than these fishes, stuck in their tank. Because you managed to get out of that mean lady's hold!" Floyd stated, still looking at Riddle, who now turned flustered as he avoided eye contact with Floyd due to embarrassment.
"S-shut up.." Riddle managed to mutter, although despite the embarrassment, he couldn't help but feel relieved that Floyd had said that.
Get out of his mother's grasp, huh? That was something he didn't know he could do, and yet with the help of his friends and Floyd, he managed to do what he thought was impossible. Truly, nothing was impossible if you're with someone you cherish.
They spent the next hours in the aquarium, often bantering or Floyd teasing Riddle. But most of all, they enjoyed each other's company, even if all they did was watching fish swim. Then, in one of corridors of the aquarium, where everything above them was water and fish, they stopped to watch as they saw a shark swim by, the light hitting them as it coloured them in blue.
With the shark catching Riddle's attention, Floyd took that as a chance to watch the other with affection filled in his eyes. And then, reaching out into his pocket, he took hold of Riddle's arm, pulling the other closer.
"Nee, Goldfishie." Floyd called out as Riddle looked at him with a curious expression, which quickly then turned to surprise as Floyd presented to him a ring, a gold band with a red gem. It was beautiful, and it shone brightly, even amongst the blue light shining above them. "Whaddaya say? Marry me?"
When Floyd uttered those words, it felt as if a dam broke down, and tears just kept streaming down Riddle's cheeks, on top of being already red faced. He was happy. Overjoyed, even. That someone actually wanted him. And that someone being Floyd Leech. Yet he couldn't have had it any way.
With a nod of his head, Riddle spoke, "Yes!" As Floyd's smile widened into a grin, showing off his sharp teeth. With a clear gentleness, the eel slid the ring into Riddle's ring finger. And upon closer inspection, the red gem on the ring was shaped into a rose. And that made Riddle's heart skip a beat. Then, the eel cupped his cheeks, softly brushing his thumbs against the other's cheeks, wiping off his tears.
"Goldfishie is being so emotional, I didn't know that humans valued these metal thingies that much." Floyd stated, earning a huff from Riddle. Then quickly, he spoke before the other could. "But I still love my Goldfishie~"
"Floyd..." Riddle's eyes narrowed ever-so slightly, then averted his gaze in an attempt to hide his embarrassment for letting his emotions get in control. "I.. love you too."
And with that, they spent the rest of their day glued to each other. And upon returning home, Floyd prepared to cook dinner, while offering for Riddle to "just sit back where he can see him so he can stare as long as he wanted while he cooked." Although it frustrated Riddle, he knew that with his culinary skills, he would be of no help.
And besides, it was just Floyd who wanted to stare. Seeing the eel in an apron while he cooked was something Riddle had grown used to, and yet, he couldn't deny that each time he saw Floyd wearing an apron, he was attractive like that. And with that, all went well. Although they seemed to have forgotten to inform the others, they'd figure it out sooner or later anyway.