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“Hey, babe, what are we doing again?”
The pair walked, hand in hand. That was not to say that it was a peaceful stroll. At least, not to passersby, who were able to witness Floyd swinging both of their hands and walking at a pace as close to skipping as possible while Jamil walked calmly next to him, observing the greenery. It was safe to say that their relationship had been far more functional than probably either of its participants expected. Three months had gone by in a flash. Which brought them to where they were now. Jamil wanted to visit a new oasis that had been built as part of an expansion of Silk City into some of the surrounding desert. Floyd tagged along because why not? Really, he enjoyed every second with his boyfriend and loved the chance to return to his homeland. They hadn’t had an opportunity to go back since their first date, and he would be lying if he said he hadn’t been waiting for Jamil to ask again.
This was his first time seeing it in full daylight, and it was just as shiny as he had expected. The Scalding Sands seemed to love all things colorful and shiny; a country after his own heart. This oasis was certainly no exception. Being funded by the Asim family, it was nothing short of extravagant. The ground was paved with patterned marble, and the pillars of the covered walkway the pair were in were inlaid with gold in patterns depicting the sun. On top of this, all the plants were imported from all over to add extra color to surround the pool. The pool itself was special too; they actually brought Kalim out to use his magic to fill the pool, since the water his ability made appeared to be clearer in appearance than the water they could get imported.
“I told you earlier… just forget it, it's a surprise now,” Jamil said, pretending to be annoyed, but any hint of fooling the other was wiped away by the smile on his face.
“Yay! I love surprises! You’re the best boyfriend ever, Jamil.”
He sighed, “If that’s all it takes, then it’s not that high a bar.”
“It’s only because it’s you, babe, you know that.” Floyd paused his half-skipping for a second to press a kiss into the other’s hair before resuming.
“Well, aren’t you sweet?”
“Most wouldn’t think so,” He said, smile on his face, “But if you think so, that’s all that matters, right?”
“You are… something else.”
“You betcha! Now, they got fish in the oasis? I’m startin’ to get hungry.”
“We’re not fishing in the oasis. If there’s anything in there, then it’s probably for decoration.”
Floyd visibly deflated, leaning his head on top of the other’s, “You’re probably right, babe. The pretty ones usually end up bein’ poisonous, and that wouldn’t be fun at all.”
“No, it would not.” Jamil agreed, “But, the restaurant should serve seafood? It’s a Scalding Sands specialty.”
“Would they serve it raw again? Like last time?”
“I could ask. I’m sure they wouldn’t reject the personal retainer of Kalim Al-Asim…”
Upon hearing that, several other people in the area quickly bowed to the couple and got out of their way, leaving them to have the entire place to themselves. Floyd, more observant than he looked, realised what was happening and began cackling loudly, “Look at the minnows! They even run away like a school!”
“As long as you don’t eat them…”
“I would never!” He pretended to be offended, gasping with a hand pressed to his forehead, “To think that you would call your beloved boyfriend a murderer.”
“Floyd, love, you’ve killed people before. And eaten them. Several times.”
“Not here, I haven’t!” He retorted, “That is completely normal in the Coral Sea, I’ll have you know! Y’know, how dare you, makin’ assumptions about my behavior because I’ma mer…”
Jamil laughed, “I’m just messing with you!” He turned, and Floyd lowered his head slightly so he could whisper, “Just… if you do change your mind, please don’t do so somewhere so public, I do have a reputation to maintain, you know.”
“As if I would do that to you!” He said before mumbling, “…I’ll remember that. Now, something about lunch?”
“Yes, lunch.” Jamil nodded. “The restaurant should be… that way!” He tugged on the other’s hand, dragging him in the right direction. Floyd followed happily. Of course, he would, where else would he want to be?
The restaurant isn’t nearly as fancy as the one that they went to for their first date, but Floyd wasn’t expecting that. After all, not everything could be the best fine-dining experience in the Scalding Sands. This place still looked pretty good, though. The building was made of white marble, with a curved entryway and a domed roof, which seemed typical of buildings in this country. Floyd couldn’t figure out how everything was balanced, so the roof didn’t collapse on itself, which intrigued him more than most building designs did. They walked in, and immediately Jamil talked to the host, who made a face of surprise before rushing to get them a table. He figured that there were some perks to dating someone kind of important. How cool.
They were led to a private room with a view of the oasis. Similar to the Scarabia dorm, this place had floor seating, designed for comfort over being distinguished or whatever the reason for not eating on the floor. This put the place in Floyd’s good books pretty quickly, but he needed to taste the food before he could really decide if he liked the place. Jamil sat on the floor politely, legs crossed, with a pleased smile on his face. And Floyd? Floyd flopped into the spot right next to him, practically knocking him over. The eel wrapped an arm lazily around Jamil’s shoulders, messing with his necklace. It was two golden chains, connected by two jasper stones that sat around his collarbones, and an ornate golden pendant in the middle. It was a gift from Kalim for his birthday last year, if Floyd was remembering correctly. There was a matching belt.
“You should wear this more often,” He said, twisting one of the gold chains in between his fingers. “It’s fun and pretty. Like you!”
“It doesn’t exactly fit in with the school uniform…”
“Since when has that mattered?”
“I guess sometimes I forget that you don’t care about that kind of stuff, especially with the company you keep.” He shuddered at the thought of the other two Octavinelle students. “You’d think those two were made for Heartslabyul or Pomnefiore with the way that they uphold all those random etiquette rules.”
“Yeah, I guess… I just think they’re worried about fittin’ in up here.”
“Huh. I mean, they’re about 20 years too young for the way they act, but maybe they’ll figure it out by then.”
“Yeah… y’know, the pool sure is beautiful,” Floyd said, looking out at the view. It certainly was a sight to behold.
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to say ‘not as beautiful as you' or are you actually just admiring it?”
“I was actually just admirin’ it.” A smirk crossed his face as he leaned even closer to the other, looking him in the eyes. “But y’know if you do have somethin’ to say you should just say it.”
Jamil sighed, wrapping his hand around Floyd’s waist and kissing him, which certainly shut the eel up. “Of course you’re beautiful.” He smiled, truly taking in the sight of his boyfriend in front of him, before something else caught his attention. “Oh, good, food’s here!”
Floyd’s next response was a babble. “Wait-just a… eh- what…?” He watched as Jamil looked at him, the laugh coming from the other, akin to music in his ears. Then something was placed in his open mouth. “Oh! Food! Wait, this is actually really good.” He mumbled as he chewed.
“Hehe, I’m glad. That’s red snapper, it’s pretty common around here. I think some places actually serve that raw around here without having to order it special.”
“Really?” Floyd said, muffled from even more fish.
The two ate in relative silence. This was mostly because every time Jamil tried to strike up a conversation, Floyd had found more food to eat, and he wasn’t really able to understand when the eel talked. Not that he minded. Floyd was the kind of person whose very presence seemed to fill a room. Most people found that kind of thing suffocating, but Jamil found it refreshing. He was so used to being around Kalim that the thought of having to be the center of attention wherever he went felt wrong. So, Floyd’s general demeanor seemed to soak up all of that, and he got to live peacefully. Though, when it came to Floyd himself, there was nobody more important than Jamil, and everyone knew it.
That was a level of attention that he knew he probably couldn’t live without now that he had it. There were texts good morning, every morning, as soon as the eel woke up; those could range from 2 in the morning until noon. There were home-cooked meals just for him whenever he asked, and even sometimes when he didn’t. Most importantly, there was a constant companion, who tried his best to understand Jamil’s life, despite being from so far away that even understanding basic human life was difficult. And Jamil? Loved every second of it. Everything about the past 3 months, 9 days, and whatever the hours were that he wasn’t specific enough to count, we’re wonderful. He was starting to wonder what his life was like before Floyd. The occasional feeling of ink from his magic pen on his hand tended to remind him. Yet, even in those moments, there Floyd was, ready to be whatever Jamil needed. Today, Jamil just wanted a moment of peace. Admittedly, this wasn’t most people’s idea of peace.
Floyd had eaten so much food that they had needed several staff members to clear his places, and then had promptly fallen asleep. Jamil chuckled, and apologized to the staff for the inconvenience. He tried tapping the other on the forehead, but that didn’t seem to work, even though he thought he saw the other shift in his “sleep”. He let out a fond sigh, before kissing the eel on the lips. Miraculously, this seemed to work perfectly fine as he woke up with an exaggerated yawn and stretched.
“Huh- what?”
“Love, you fell asleep at the restaurant.” Another kiss to his cheek, “Let’s go home. I’m sure Scarabia would be much more comfortable.”
“…If you say so babe, whatever you want…” He said sleepily, blinking one eye after the other, “You’re… like really pretty today. And every other day. You’re just pretty. Imma go sleep again…” He mumbled, already drifting off again. It seemed like he really was that tired.
“Alright. time to go!” He said, scooping the eel up in his arms, before asking the staff where the nearest portal was and paying the bill.
What a wonderful life to have, he thought as he entered the portal, holding the whole world in his hands.