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Azul hadn't eaten yet.
The finals had just ended this morning. He had been busy with all the preparations for the entire month. From researching the potential exam questions, to formatting the study guides in an easy-to-digest manner for the average students, it had been a busy month.
On top of that, Mostro Lounge had also been busy since a lot of students love studying there for hours. It was definitely good for business, Azul couldn’t deny that. Especially since they opened earlier during exam seasons. Mostro Lounge had seen an increase in profit thanks to the finals season. But it also made him really, really swamped with work. Ever since his overblot, there had been a heavy decrease in the amount of employees. No anemones to rely on, after all. It had been exhausting.
With his busy schedule, how was he supposed to fit eating into all that? He could rely on energy potions for the time being. No meals necessary. Plus, it also worked in his favor. No need to watch for his weight!
Azul took off his uniform, changing into his dorm shirt and trousers. As he put on his suspender, his gaze swept across the room. My, it was a huge mess! There were study notes scattered everywhere on each visible surface. This mess was unbecoming, but with how busy he was, it couldn't be helped, really. He’d need to clean them up later.
Somehow, the mess made him slightly dizzy. He brushed away some of the papers on his bed, and he flopped down. There was still time before the lounge is set to open, so he’d just rest for a bit. Surely five minutes wouldn't hurt, right?
“...Zu?”
A muffled voice broke through Azul's consciousness. His brows furrowed, fighting past the grogginess.
“Azul?”
The voice repeated the inquiry.
He blinked and opened his eyes. All he saw was a blurry figure, so he reached out to his bedside table to grab his glasses. Weird, he didn't remember taking them off earlier. His hand finally found the glasses and slid them onto his face.
Ah, it was Jamil. His long hair was gorgeous as always. Azul loved it whenever Jamil let his hair down. He only got to see it when Jamil was done for the day and getting ready for bed, like now.
Wait.
What?
“Jamil?” Azul croaked, voice hoarse. He watched Jamil grab the bottle on the bedside table, then promptly handing it to Azul. Wow, his throat was parched. He propped himself up and accepted the bottle. After taking a gulp of the water, he put the bottle down. “Thanks. Anyway, why are you already in your sleepwear?”
“Why—” Jamil's eyes widened, brows furrowing. “Azul. What time is it?”
“Around one in the afternoon, right?”
Jamil raised an eyebrow.
“Wait. Don't tell me…”
“Yes,” Jamil sighed. “You overslept. Again.”
Azul straightened up abruptly. He tried to sit up properly, but then was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. Jamil rushed to force him down again.
“Calm down, Azul. Don't get up immediately.”
“But,” Azul pushed back, “I have to go open the lounge—”
“It's closed for the day,” Jamil stated, pushing on Azul's shoulders to get him to lie down properly. “Jade took over handling the lounge for the day and asked Floyd to bring me here after basketball practice was over.”
“Ah,” Azul smiled sheepishly. “You're meaning to say that basketball practice is already over, then.”
“Yep. Sure is.” Jamil reached out to the bedside table, grabbing a meal box that was on top of the table. “Here, I grabbed some curry from the dinner I cooked for Scarabia. You haven't eaten, right?”
Azul gulped.
“Apologies, but I actually have.” He smoothed his face into a smile. “I’m thankful that you went through all the trouble of bringing a meal for me, I really am. But I'm… full already. I already got dinner earlier and got sleepy afterwards, that's all.”
“Oh, really?” Jamil leveled him a look. “Well, what did you eat?”
“I, uh…” Azul trailed off, then averted his eyes. “I had squid ink pasta. It was leftovers from my lunch today.”
“Azul.”
Silence.
“You know today's menu doesn't have that, right?”
“What?”
“What, you say— Wait,” Jamil’s eyes widened. “Don't tell me, you genuinely didn't know? I'm pretty sure Jade told me you were the one who determined the schedule.”
“I… did, yeah. I thought today was Saturday.”
Jamil's brows furrowed with concern. “My dear, we just had our alchemy exam this morning. It's still Friday.” He reached out to brush Azul's hair behind his ears. Azul flushed at the attention, grabbing a nearby pillow. He hugged the pillow, hiding his face.
“I know. I was lucky I didn't fuck up and blow up the entire lab.”
“Okay, now you're making me worry. C’mere,” Jamil scooted closer, gently pulling away the pillow and then pulling Azul into an embrace. He absentmindedly caressed Azul's hair, up and down, up and down. “I found today’s alchemy exam relatively easy. Why did you, out of all people, find it hard?”
Azul sank further in Jamil’s neck, arms grabbing Jamil's waist even tighter. It's warm and comfortable, reminds him of the time he would be smothered in his mother's arms after school. Warm embraces always had a way of comforting him after a bad day. He was still vaguely seeing stars, with slight nausea accompanying how dizzy he felt, but he did feel a bit better.
“I was… a bit dizzy.” He mumbled into the crook of Jamil’s neck. “I hadn't been sleeping properly thanks to the finals, so it must have caught up on me.”
“Is that so?” Jamil continued his caress, now moving to Azul's back. “Floyd told me you were already asleep when he tried to drag you out for dinner last night, though.”
Ugh. Damn Floyd and his big mouth. Azul pouted, already scheming for ways to get back at him later.
“Jamiii, do you really have to know?”
“I will never pass on an opportunity to beat my dear Azu on his best subject,” Jamil smirked.
“Wow,” Azul laughed humorlessly. “Rude.”
Jamil laughed, his chest sending off a wave of rumble that made Azul smile, too. He continued with his caressing. Sevens, how was he so good at this? Azul could have fallen asleep with all the gentle caress if not for his traitorous stomach being so—alright, he’ll admit it—hungry.
As if on cue, his stomach decided to choose that time to scream a loud growl. Azul felt his cheeks flushing. His gaze drifted to the meal box still sitting on the table. With a sigh, he reluctantly parted from Jamil.
“Alright, I will eat.” Azul huffed, fixing his glasses. “But with one condition: spoon-feed me.”
“What?” Jamil’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. “Are you serious?”
Azul chuckled. “Of course not.” He reached for the meal box and settled it in his lap. He was about to also grab the spoon located next to the tissue box when Jamil’s hand grabbed the meal box.
“Actually,” Jamil smirked, “I will spoon-feed you.”
“Huh?!”
“Don’t huh me,” Jamil huffed, opening the lid to the meal box. “You were the one who asked. Now, open up.”
Azul gulped, staring at the spoon Jamil aimed at his mouth. He slowly opened his mouth to let the spoon in. Chewing slowly, he savoured the curry coating the chicken, warm spices blooming across his tongue. Finally, he swallowed the bite and bashfully opened his mouth for the next bite.
“There, good boy,” Jamil flashed him with a gentle smile. “You worked hard. I'm proud of you for taking the bite.”
Azul did his best to keep the corners of his mouth from turning upwards. Sevens, it was embarrassing how giddy he felt just from that. Once again, it felt like how his mother would cheer him up after school. Ah, how he missed her. He would have arranged to come home if he wasn't worried she would get worried over his figure and lack of appetite.
They continued, Azul slowly chewing each spoonful Jamil fed him. After the last of the curry was eaten, Jamil set the meal box away, then cupped Azul's cheek. He leaned in to plant a kiss on Azul's forehead, earning a muffled sound and furious blush.
“Warn me before you do that,” Azul whined. He snatched up the pillow and hugged it to his chest, eyes fixed stubbornly on the bedsheets.
Jamil chuckled. “But then your reactions wouldn't be as fun to watch.” His hand lingered for a moment, ruffling Azul's hair before standing promptly. He crossed the room and opened Azul's closet. After a brief search, he pulled out a neatly folded set of sleepwear and returned to the bed.
“Here, go take a bath. I’ll be waiting.”
Azul nodded, dropping the pillow and grabbing the sleepwear. He made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower. The shower washed away the stickiness on his skin, albeit it did little to lift the heaviness of his limbs.
After he finished, he went back to his room to see Jamil lying down on his bed, scrolling his phone. The room was already dark, only the table lamp illuminating the room.
Wait.
His bed was now free from all the scattered paper. He looked around the room and sure enough, the entire room was now neat and tidy, no mess to be seen.
“Oh, you're back?” Jamil raised his head, then put down his phone. He rose from the bed and pointed to the stack of papers on the desk. “There, I sorted them based on the dates. Let me know if you had another sorting system in mind.”
Azul made his way to the table and stared in awe.
The scattered notes that had been littering every available surface were now stacked into neat piles. Study guides sat together with study guides. Drafts were grouped with drafts. Loose sheets that had once threatened to slide onto the floor had been gathered into orderly stacks.
“You didn't have to do that, you know.” He murmured, checking the pile of study guides. Sure enough, they were all sorted by the class dates. “The curry was enough.”
“Oh, I know,” Jamil whispered in Azul's ear, making him jump. When did he get so close? A familiar arm slipped around his waist, drawing him gently back against a warm chest. “But I wanted to.”
Something warm settled in Azul's chest. He sighed wistfully, taking his attention away from the papers on the table and towards Jamil. He leaned in for an embrace, playing with that soft hair flowing on Jamil’s back. They lingered in the embrace, content to simply exist in the quiet.
With slight reluctance, Azul parted from their hug and grabbed Jamil's hand, guiding him to the bed. The mattress dipped under their combined weight. Azul grabbed the blanket, covering their bodies beneath the warmth.
Jamil chuckled, bringing Azul to his embrace and caressing his hair. The soft motion of his hand made Azul's eyelids feel heavier and heavier.
“Now, sleep, my dear.”
And sleep he did.