Archive of Our Own

          "Gimme 40, and I'll drink the whole thing."

     "What?" Ace sounded surprised. "Why the hell would I give you that much when I don't even know if we made it right?"

     "You and macky wanna make me your guinea pig, I think that's a pretty fair price for that."

     Ace muttered out a string of complaints, and fished another 20 thaumarks out of his pocket. "There, now drink up!"

Floyd pocketed the money first, then chugged the 'love potion' that Ace and Deuce had made without any kind of teacher supervision. He knew it was gonna be easy money; love potions worked off pre-existing emotions, and he didn't like anyone like that. They also usually came in smaller amounts, but Ace had presented him with a whole flask of the stuff with an offer of 20 thaumarks to drink some.

Drinking all of it for a higher amount of money was just good business sense.

It was a good thing Floyd chugged it in one go, too, since it tasted foul.

     He gagged once the he was done draining it, then set the bottle back on the counter. "Ew, crabby that was nasty. What'd you guys throw in that?"

     "Whatever the book said was in it," Ace shrugged. "Give or take some stuff."

     "If this makes me puke, you're givin' me more money."

     Ace was already on the other side of the Lounge. "Didn't agree to that before you drank it! Tell me when it kicks in!"

The underclassman left at a pace that was basically a sprint, passing Jade as the other eel entered the Monstro Lounge.

     "He was in a hurry."

     "Think he's worried I'm gonna squeeze 'im," Floyd burped before continuing, feeling worse after doing so. "Which ain't off the table yet."

     "Oh? Why would you be doing that?"

     "Him and macky made a love potion, and macky bet him he couldn't get me t' drink it."

     Jade came over, and picked up the empty bottle off of the counter. "I hope you got a cut of what he's getting."

     "Obviously, not gonna drink their sludge without gettin' something out of it," He rolled his eyes, laughing when his brother smelled the potion flask and physically recoiled. "Not like it's gonna do anythin' to me, it was easy money."

     "I can only wonder what might happen if it does kick in," Jade said with an amused look on his face.

     "It won't, I don't like anyone like that."

     His brother moved past him toward the VIP room. "I suppose we'll see. Either way, I'll inform Azul of it," He raised the bottle he was still holding. "I'm sure he'll want to be kept up to date on the results of this."

     "Yeah, whatever," Floyd scoffed, getting back to finishing up the prep work he had for before the Lounge opened for the night.

He stopped feeling like he was about to puke about halfway though his shift, and felt completely fine by the time he went to bed. There hadn't been any signs of the potion doing anything to him outside of making him sick for a bit the next morning either, much to Ace's annoyance.

         He'd been waiting by the Octavinelle mirror for the twins, and was walking backwards ahead of them as they made their way to the main school building. "Come on, there's gotta be something it did to you."

     "Nothin' other than makin' me sick," Floyd had an amused grin on his face, seeing how annoyed Ace was. "I told you crabby, I don't like anyone."

     Jade let out an amused chuckle. "Sad to confirm that Floyd was completely normal after drinking it. It's a shame, I was interested to see who he may latch onto," He held his hand to his chin. "I have to wonder how low the quality was, if a bottle that large did nothing."

     "Even if crabby made it right, it ain't gonna do nothin'," Floyd rolled his eyes. "I'm gettin' annoyed sayin' it so much; I don't like anyone. That's all it is."

     "Guess I'm not gonna get Deuce to pay out on the second half of that bet," Ace sighed, sounding disappointed.

     "What was that, Trappola?"

Ace immediately froze, turning to face the correct direction finally, he'd gone up the stairs backwards too it was actually kinda impressive, to see his housewarden.

     Riddle was at the doors of the school, his arms crossed as he glared at Ace. "Surely I misheard you. I'm fairly certain I've already given you a warning about gambling on school grounds."

     "What? I wasn't 'gambling'," He said nervously, starting to sputter out some excuse as the short housewarden grabbed him by the ear and dragged him off.

Floyd wasn't really paying attention to what was being said at that point, anyways, as he watched them go; his attention solely on Riddle as he watched him. He could feel his heart rate pick up as he stared until they were out of sight, and just stood there until he felt Jade bump his arm.

     "Huh? What?"

     His brother had an incredibly amused look on his face. "Just wondering how long you were intending to stand there."

     "What's with that look?" Floyd asked, feeling like Jade knew a joke he wasn't in on.

     "I have no idea what you're talking about." Jade kept walking, and Floyd let out an irritated huff.

     "Hey!"

It became clear Jade wasn't gonna be giving anything away, and he eventually had to give up when it was time to go to class.

The day went by in a boring blur for the most part, and Floyd had to stop himself from skipping his classes to go bother Riddle in his. He held off, if only because he had a single class he shared with the short man near the end of the day and didn't feel like dealing with him chewing him out for skipping his other classes.

Not that it was all that worth it for him to be in that shared class that day anyways, since he was finding it even harder than usual to care about whatever Trein was yapping about. All of his attention had been placed on Riddle the second the short man had entered the classroom, and he couldn't find it in himself to look away as he studied the Heartslabyul housewarden; completely transfixed by the way he'd fidget in his seat, or the cute way he messed with the cap of his pen as he took notes.

Riddle had clearly noticed him staring at some point, but he was still doing his best to pay attention to what the professor was talking about in spite of how obviously unnerved he was. That was something else Floyd thought was cute about Riddle, he was super hard working even if he was very clearly stressed out over something. Floyd paused when he started wondering what Riddle would do if he got up and sat next to him, realizing that this wasn't his normal line of thought when he started seriously considering if he could get away with kissing the short man on the cheek.

Messing with his goldfishie wasn't anything new, even thinking he was kinda cute wasn't out of the ordinary, but just immediately going to wanting to give him a kiss was weird.

That was enough to make him more aware of the rest of his thoughts, and he realized just how intense his stare had been along with that. This wasn't normal, and he had to leave the classroom so he could actually focus and figure it out without getting distracted by Riddle. Trein was used to Floyd doing whatever he felt like by this point, so he just gave some annoyed comment as the eel rushed out of the classroom that Floyd didn't even pay attention to. Floyd skipped the class he had after that one, so he could go back to Octavinelle and figure out what to do about this.

         He wasn't stupid, he knew this was because of the potion he drank. The issue was figuring out why this was the result.

Why hadn't it kicked in when he drank it?

Why was it still in his system when he drank it the night before?

... Why was it Riddle?

He was brought out of his own head by the sound of a sigh.

     "Why am I not surprised you're here already?"

     "Azul," Floyd sat up from the seat he'd been miserably splayed across way too fast, mild panic in his tone as he startled his housewarden. "You know stuff about potions."

     Azul had clearly been startled by the sudden movement, and adjusted his classes as he regained his composure. "I know a fair deal about them, yes. Is it something related to what Jade told me about yesterday?"

     "How long's a potion supposed to last when you drink it?"

     "It generally depends on the intended dosage. You had one meant to be taken in smaller amounts, with an effect range of an hour or two. Given the volume you consumed, it's not a surprise if there's some lingering effects," A sly smile appeared on Azul's lips. "Although you asking me about this implies that you've found someone who made the effects of it activate."

     Floyd scowled at him, then flopped back down on the seat. "If you're gonna tease me, go away."

     "Ah, I'm not teasing. I just want to make sure my I'm able to offer you adequate advice," He had his hand to his chest, face full of obviously false sympathy.

     "Shove it, Azul. How long's it gonna last?"

     "I can't say for sure, since I wasn't able to see the potion myself, but I can't imagine it'd be in your system longer than a day or two."

     Floyd made an irritated noise. "This sucks."

     "Work may take your mind off of it, go change into your dorm uniform and get started on what you've got to get done for the evening."

     "No, I don't wanna," Floyd whined. "I wanna lay here, be miserable, and think about-" He stopped himself, because he knew that Azul would never let it go if he found out just who he was pining for.

     Unfortunately for Floyd, Jade liked to see him suffer. "I see your day is going well," Jade said as he got closer, a wide grin on his face. "My last class was incredibly amusing, especially when Riddle asked why you had been staring at him like you were hunting something in the period prior."

Floyd felt his cheeks heat up when he'd been told Riddle was asking about him, and he stuck his hands over his face with a very loud irritated groan.

     Azul was dumbstruck, seemingly too shocked to join in on the teasing right away. "Riddle? Really?"

     "I had my suspicions this morning when the sight of him caused Floyd to don an absolutely awestruck expression, but being asked directly only confirmed it."

     "I'm at a loss for words, this is... Quite an interesting development."

     "Do you guys wanna get squeezed?" Floyd asked, cheeks still a bright red. "Because you're on track to get squeezed."

     Azul adjusted his glasses, a devious smile forming on his face. "I suppose it makes sense he's the one to catch your eye, given how much you enjoy teasing him."

     "I agree, Azul. I think it's wonderful Floyd has finally found someone he can show genuine affection for."

     "You're havin' too much fun with this."

Both of them had wide, evil smiles, and that just pissed Floyd off. He considered fighting both of them, but decided that he didn't feel like doing that as he got up and walked toward the exit to the Lounge.

     "I'm not workin' tonight, you guys figure it out."

     "Wh- Floyd! Get back here!"

He wasn't sure why Azul was bothering to yell at him, since he know that didn't even work on a good day.

         Floyd spent the rest of the evening in his room, trying to find something he could do that would take his mind off of Riddle. Playing games didn't work, he couldn't get himself to care enough to read anything, he even tried doing his homework- Nothing.

He had to turn his phone off when he caught himself scrolling Magicam looking for pictures from Heartslabyul students with Riddle in them, and just opted to go to bed early at that point in the hopes he could sleep it off. Which also failed, since he was basically up all night thinking about Riddle and excuses he could use to follow the short man around the next day.

     Jade still seemed to find it funny the next morning, a smile on his face as he watched Floyd struggle to get his uniform on. "I don't envy anyone who has to deal with you today."

     "It's gonna be you if you don't shut your trap," Floyd muttered, giving up on one of the buttons on his shirt when he failed to get it after enough tries.

His uniform was even more disheveled than usual, and he was seriously skirting the line of what he could get away with before getting dress-coded. Not that he cared, since he was still mostly stuck thinking about Riddle.

He decided, after nearly tripping over his own feet trying to watch Riddle walk on the way to the main school building, that he was going to try to avoid the redhead as much as he physically could; maybe ignoring him would make it easier to get through the rest of the stupid potion's effects.

Actively trying to avoid Riddle made Floyd realize just how often they crossed paths throughout the day. He already had a general idea of where Riddle was at any given time, so he could go mess with him if he was bored, but trying to completely ignore the short man made him pay even more attention to all the little moments they were near eachother.

Glimpses of red in the hall that made Floyd's brain feel like it was lagging, and had him forcing himself to keep on the path he'd already been walking. Hearing Riddle's voice carry across the cafeteria as he scolded some of the students in his dorm, then the flashes of him carrying out some housewarden duties through the window in the class after lunch period.

Floyd saw Riddle through the doorway to the class they shared, and decided there that he would be skipping when he couldn't get his heart to stop feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest.

It felt like he was going insane, and being able to pick out when his usual thoughts started spiraling was seriously starting to wig him out. It was unnerving just how... not like himself he felt, with everything going on in his head.

Thinking about Riddle alot was normal, thinking about trying to steal him away and wondering how soft his hair was was taking things to another level. The amount of times he caught himself fixating on Riddle's lips was stressing him out.

Floyd attempted to work his shift in the Monstro Lounge that night, but gave up and went back to his dorm room when he nearly lit something on fire for a fifth time getting stuck daydreaming about Riddle. He got more sleep that night than the one before, solely thanks to the exhaustion, but any dream he could remember had had something to do with the short housewarden.

         Jade seemed slightly less enthusiastic about bullying him that morning when he realized Floyd was still struggling. "It may be better for you to stay here today."

     "No, I wanna go so I can see Riddle," Floyd huffed, only half awake as he tried to change.

     Jade was looking at him with a wide eyed, surprised expression, and it took him a minute to speak again. "Maybe you to go to the infirmary instead."

     Floyd gave up on changing out of the pants he slept in, deciding that it was probably ok to just worry about the shirt. "No, I'm fine."

     "I'm starting to question if you are. Repeat what you just said to me."

     "I said I'm fine," He repeated himself with a yawn, feeling irritated that Jade was making him repeat himself.

     "Before that."

     "You're expectin' me to remember what I said that far back?"

     "It was your reply to me telling you you should stay here."

     "I already told you, I wanna see Riddle so I'm goin'."

     "Think on that. Think about what you just said to me."

Floyd was about to start throwing punches, getting irritated until it clicked in his tired brain why Jade was making him do that. He stuck his hands on either side of his head, a blush settling on his cheeks as he let out a frustrated yell.

     "Ahh- Why's it still messin' with me?!" He didn't bother his his actual shoes, just sliding on the slippers he usually wore around the dorm as he stormed out. He had to go all the way to the main school building to find Ace, and he grabbed the underclassmen as soon as he saw him; fist tangled in his shirt as he very roughly shoved him against the wall. "What the hell was in that potion, crabby?" His voice was low, nearly a growl as he made it clear he wasn't playing around.

     The colour drained from Ace's face, and it almost looked like his life flashed before his eyes for a second. "I don't know! Whatever the book said!"

     "Dude, back off," Deuce tried, and Floyd turned to give him a cold glare.

     "Butt out macky, don't think I forgot who told him to give it to me."

Deuce immediately took a step away, hands raised in front of himself.

     "Deuce!"

     "I'm not getting my ass beat because you pissed him off."

     "You helped make it!"

     Floyd's attention went back to Ace, and he tightened his grip on his shirt. "I'm gettin' real tired of dealin' with this, crabby. Three days. Three. An' it ain't out of my system yet."

     "Y-You're the one that wanted to drink the whole thing," Ace stuttered out. "I just said you should drink some of it, the amount's on you."

     "Because I didn't think it'd still be doin' stuff to me this long after I drank it."

     Ace's expression immediately went from scared, to surprised, to amused; a smirk on his face as he laughed. "Oh, so there is someone that it worked for. Wanna tell us who so I can get my payout on the bet?"

     "I'll tell you what a brick going through your teeth is gonna sound like-"

     "I would rather you didn't menace my students, Leech," A smaller hand firmly grabbed his wrist. "If you have a qualm with them that's going to equate to violence, I'd rather it be brought to me. As unenthusiastic as I am about potentially interacting with you." That last part was muttered, then followed by a scoff.

Floyd's cheeks went bright red when he realized it was Riddle there, and he was painfully aware of the feeling of short man's hand around his wrist; the gentle warmth coming from him and how soft the hand was despite how busy Riddle was all the time being a pretty big focal point.

         He immediately let go of Ace, moving away fast enough that he nearly knocked Riddle over with the motion. The short man caught his balance before falling, and Floyd had to stop himself from reaching for him when he let go of his wrist. He got entirely out of arm's reach to be safe, and tried his best to get his heart rate under control with Riddle standing right in front of him like that.

The reaction left the housewarden with a perplexed expression on his face, while Ace meanwhile seemed to clock why Floyd had reacted the way he had and started borderline cackling. He doubled over, and fell onto the floor as he continued laughing.

This was enough to get Floyd to focus on something other than Riddle, and he got closer to Ace again with the full intention to kick him like a football a few times.

     Riddle could probably sense the murderous intent, and stood in the way before he could. "No, stop."

Floyd listened to him without any kind of argument, stopping in his tracks and going back to just looking at him again. Floyd's eyes were gentle as he focused on Riddle, and there was a small smile on his face.

Ace saw that and started laughing even harder, drawing Riddle's attention before he could really process how Floyd was staring at him.

     "What's going on here?"

Floyd couldn't get his mouth to cooperate with him, and Ace was busy laughing his ass off on the floor, so it fell onto Deuce to catch his housewarden up. Deuce, who hadn't figured out what Ace was laughing at yet.

     "We messed around with potions on Tuesday and Ace paid Floyd to drink one. He said it's still in his system, and he's mad about it."

     Riddle let out a long, tired sigh. Floyd thought it sounded adorable. "Of course you would do that. What kind of potion?"

     "A lo-" That was the moment where Deuce put it together, and his expression shifted to one of shock as he looked between Floyd and Riddle.

     "Riddle, 'm gonna kill 'em," Floyd managed to say, his anger helping him keep himself grounded in this situation.

     Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't-" He stopped, expression going blank for a moment before he looked at Floyd. "What did you just call me?"

He didn't repeat it, not trusting his voice to work a second time when Riddle was focusing so intently on him.

     Riddle's expression shifted to one of genuine worry now, and he looked around at the crowd that'd gathered to watch. "All of you, get to class immediately before you lose your heads!"

The students from dorms outside of his own were dragging their feet as they moved, although that sped up when he got his pen out with the clear intention to use it. Floyd let out a lovesick chuckle watching this, loving how easy it was for Riddle to get people to do what they were told.

Deuce attempted to sneak away with the other students, but Riddle put a stop to that.

     "Deuce." The underclassman froze. "What the hell did you two give him? Do not play games with me right now."

     "We tried to make a love potion, he drank the whole bottle, housewarden."

     Riddle's cheeks took on an adorable pink tint and he quietly repeated what he'd been told. "A lo- A love potion?" Deuce nodded. "How large was the volume of what he drank?" Deuce tried to use his hands to mimic the size of the bottle. "Use your words, Spade."

     "Medium flask from Crewel's classroom."

     "And he drank this Tuesday?"

     "Yes, housewarden."

     Ace finally stopped laughing, tears in his eyes as he sat up. "It's Floyd's fault," He said, out of breath. "I just asked him to drink a few mouthfuls, he's the one that wanted to drink it all. Swore it wasn't gonna do anything to him."

Riddle kicked Ace in the ribs, and Floyd laughed again in a way that didn't sound right coming from him. It looked like a shiver went down Riddle's spine at the noise, and he turned to focus on the eel again; finally seeing the way Floyd had been looking at him.

          The gentle blush on the short man's cheeks only got darker, and he looked away. "W-Well, as we can see, that isn't the case," He cleared his throat. "If you gave that amount to him on Tuesday, it should have worn off by now. At the very least, it should have worn off enough to not be having that much of an effect on him. Who did the main work on the potion?"

     "The love potion was Ace."

     "Dude!" Ace looked up at Deuce, betrayal on his face.

     "Then Ace shall be meeting us in the potions classroom during lunch to explain to me how he made it."

     "What?!" Ace jumped to his feet. "Like hell! It's bakery day! And Deuce is the one that suggested giving it to Floyd, I don't know why I'm being persecuted here."

     "He will be facing punishment later, my main concern is making sure Floyd hasn't been poisoned."

     "He doesn't look like he's complaining."

     "If Riddle weren't here, you'd be a meat sack fulla broken bones on the floor, crabby," Floyd said in a happy tone, stuck thinking about the fact that Riddle was worried about him. 

     Ace hadn't heard it earlier, he'd been laughing too hard, but Floyd using Riddle's name seemed to shift his expression from annoyed to concerned. "Ok, I see your point. Wouldn't it be better to bring him to Crewel or something? Maybe one of the nurses?"

     "Consider it a kindness on my part that I'm choosing to attempt to fix it before bringing it to the administration. You realize making potions without supervision is already grounds for discipline, testing them on a classmate could lead to expulsion."

     "What?! How was I supposed to know that?!"

     Riddle gave him a tired look. "It's explained to you in the very first potions class you take, and then every subsequent class where you're allowed to make your own potion."

     "Must get lost in all that talk about dogs..."

     Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is a different matter that we will be discussing later. Both of you, to class immediately. I will be seeing you in the potions classroom come lunch period, Trappola, or expulsion will be the least of your worries. Are we clear?"

Both of the Heartslabyul students gave him a 'yes, housewarden' before scurrying off down the hall, and Riddle let out a tired sigh once they were out of sight. Floyd was barely managing to get his pulse under control when Riddle looked at him and made him crazy all over again.

     "You're at fault here as well, you realize. Drinking a potion made by them? Seriously?"

     "It was pretty stupid, yeah," He was only admitting that because it was Riddle, anyone else he'd tell them to shut up. "I really didn't think it was gonna do anything, though."

     Riddle seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "And it's been having effects on you since Tuesday?"

     "Nah, I drank it Tuesday night, but it didn't do anything 'til I saw you Wednesday. You draggin' crabby away to yell at 'im was really cute." That last part wasn't supposed to be said out loud, but he couldn't stop himself from letting it slip. Riddle looked embarrassed, his back straight and his cheeks a deep shade of red. "I think things've just been getting worse since that."

"Which is the opposite of how the potion's meant to work. A correctly made 'love potion' is only meant to give the person under it's influence a temporary multiplier to their current feelings to make things like confessions easier; it shouldn't last this long, and it certainly shouldn't be getting worse."

     "You're real smart, Riddle. You know what might be wrong?"

     Riddle's blush only seemed to get darker every time Floyd said his name. "I'm not- It- There's a multitude of causes, I won't know until I find out how it was messed up," Riddle cleared his throat, then went to grab Floyd's wrist. "We should stop standing in the hall, before a teacher spots us and questions what we're doing."

     Floyd moved back before Riddle could touch him again. "I'm- I'll follow you, Riddle. I- Don't touch me right now, please. Probably isn't a safe idea for ya."

     Riddle eyes him cautiously. "And why's that?"

     "I might grab back, and I don't wanna upset you."

     Riddle seemed like he was thinking for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I- I appreciate your concern for my comfort, even with the state you're in. I'll be honest, I didn't think you were capable of that level of restraint."

     "I'm always restrainin' myself with you, Riddle. You're fun to play with, I don't wanna mess something up 'n make you hate me."

     "... There is a classroom that's only used for club meetings and tutoring near the potions classroom, we'll be waiting in there until professor Crewel's classroom is available," He started walking. "Follow me, and keep up. I don't trust your sense of direction right now."

Floyd wasn't gonna argue with that, and he also wasn't gonna go against anything Riddle said to him at that point; so he happily followed behind him to the classroom in question.

         It was full of a bunch of junk, along with things like extra chairs and whiteboards and stuff. Looked more like storage than a room anyone used for anything, but Riddle still made sure the door was closed behind them before crossing the room and plopping himself down in a chair with a tired sigh.

     "Find somewhere to sit, we'll be in here for a while." He did as he was told again, and sat on the floor near Riddle; his gaze staying focused on the short man. "I suppose this explains why you've been so odd lately," Riddle sighed again, pointedly looking anywhere other than Floyd. "I was assuming you were planning a prank or something."

     "Don't think I'd have the patience to wait that long t' do something like that with you, Riddle. More fun to do stuff that gets you to react right away."

     Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose. "How wonderful that you find my misery entertaining."

     "I think you're really cute," Floyd gave him a genuine smile. "Gettin' a reaction from you is cute. I didn't realize what it was before, but I like messin' with you because of the cute reactions you give. Makes me happy."

     "I'm not sure what you're seeing in me that's 'cute'," Riddle huffed. "But you should think on it once you've got a clear head."

     "Been thinkin' about you alot this week. Too much, probably; ain't really been able to sleep."

     Riddle let out a single, upset laugh. "Wonderful, so there's delirium mixed in as well."

     "You're mad, Riddle."

     "I'm not- I'm frustrated. I'm stuck in here, with you stuck like that, because two of the students under my charge don't understand the consequences of their actions."

     Riddle was clearly stressed over the situation, and Floyd frowned. "This shouldn't be your thing to deal with, I'm sorry. I shoulda gone to Azul about it when it kept gettin' worse."

     "What was your plan with this?"

     "Ignorin' it. Azul said it wasn't gonna last longer than like a day or two, so I was just gonna wait it out," Floyd pulled his legs close to his chest, and stuck his head between his knees. "Didn't wanna bring it up to him again, since him and Jade were makin' fun of me over it when they found out it was you."

     Riddle seemed tired. "Of course they were. Zero sense of urgency when they know you've consumed something made by two incompetent-" Riddle interrupted himself with another sigh. "No, that's not true of them, they just lack the ability to think things through. Still, though, I'd expect better of Azul when it comes to worrying about your physical wellbeing. At the very least I would hope your brother would be more proactive in making sure you're not going to keel over from drinking something you shouldn't."

     "He's used t' me eatin' stuff I shouldn't, usually he just laughs about it 'til I'm done feelin' sick. It was weird this morning though, he seemed pretty worried for once."

     "Couldn't possibly have anything to do with you leaving your dorm still wearing your sleepwear," Riddle said dryly, and Floyd laughed as he shook his head.

     "Nah, I said your name instead'a callin' you 'goldfishie' and he probably thought I was gonna die or somethin'."

     "... It caught me off guard, but is it that out of the ordinary for you to use someone's name?"

     "Usually just him 'n Azul. I like sayin' your name though, Riddle. It's nice." Riddle didn't say anything to that, and Floyd sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not- This is so stupid. It's like, I can tell my head's messed up, but there's not anythin' I can do about it. And it ain't like when I'm in a mood and it goes away after a while, I can't think of anything but you and I don't wanna."

     "That's the intended effect of the potion you drank, yes. The strength and amount likely resulted in whatever small, inane thoughts you had of tormenting me being latched onto and blown out of proportion."

     "I think about you alot already, but I can usually think about other stuff too. Also don't usually think about kissin' you this much."

     Riddle went bright red. "You will do no such thing!"

     "Tryin' really hard not to, yeah."

     "How- Why is that even a thought you have? The potion wouldn't make you want to do that unless you've already thought of it before."

     "Dunno, maybe I have."

     "You what?"

     "Might've thought about kissin' you, Ri-"

     "Don't. Do not say it again," Riddle stuck a hand over his face, clearly trying to hide his embarassment.

     Floyd moved to sit closer to him, and he didn't notice until Floyd spoke again. "I do like you alot. I liked you before crabby made me drink his stupid potion."

     Riddle jumped some in his seat, then looked down at him. His cheeks were still a fairly dark shade of red. "Ignoring the questionable validity of that statement-"

     "Why would I lie about that?"

     "Whatever thoughts might be going through that waterlogged head of yours are going to be even less coherent than usual at the moment," Riddle said carefully, clearly being cautious with his words. "So I don't trust you telling me that kissing me was even a fleeting consideration before any of this. Especially if you genuinely assumed there would be no effect from the potion."

     Floyd moved so he could rest his arms in Riddle's lap, head going on his arms as he looked up at him. "Think I was in denial about it, 'cause I think now it makes sense that it's you. Not anyone else I'd wanna be crazy over outside 'a you."

     It wasn't clear what Riddle was thinking, the expression on his face not quite readable in that moment. "I... will once again say that you should reconsider these thoughts once you've got a clear head."

     "Feels alot clearer like this."

     "I doubt that."

     "Clearer than it felt when I was runnin' away from ya."

     "I'm glad you're able to find some respite from it, then, until I'm able to create an antidote for what you drank," Riddle hesitated for a moment, then gently stuck his hand on top of Floyd's head. "We can only hope Ace actually remembers how he fumbled the potion, or else this situation will only get worse."

     Floyd practically melted when Riddle set his hand on top of his head, whole body relaxing as he pressed into Riddle's legs. "I don't care if he doesn't, this is perfect like this."

     "You were just complaining about this situation."

He didn't care about that inconsistency, and just let out a hum as he basked in the warmth coming from Riddle. It reminded him of how tired he was, honestly, and he ended up closing his eyes and falling asleep like that.

         He woke up pretty slowly later, disoriented as he laid there feeling a hand lightly scratching at his scalp and messing with his hair. It was nice, and he just sat there half awake and enjoying the contact until Riddle noticed his eyes were open and his hand was immediately retracted. Floyd made an upset nose as soon as it was gone.

     "Are you awake?" Riddle asked quietly, sounding like he was almost hoping there wouldn't be an answer.

     "How long'd I sleep for?"

     "A few hours. I starting to get bored, truthfully."

     "Sorry, Riddle," Floyd yawned, then looked up at him. "Didn't mean t' pass out like that."

     The use of his name still made Riddle's cheeks tinge pink, and he decided to look straight ahead instead of continuing to focus on Floyd. "It's alright, you clearly needed it. We've got twenty minutes or so until we'll be able to use the potions room. Professor Crewel should leave the classroom unattended for roughly an hour and a half, and I've got a key meant for carrying out housewarden duties; as long as Ace shows up when I told him to, we should have plenty of time to sort this out."

     "I can go find him if he ain't there, he's not gonna be able to run away from me."

     "I would rather avoid violence for now, at the very least I would prefer being the one to beat him so the lesson sticks."

     Floyd let out a gentle chuckle. "It's always cool watchin' you yell at your dorm. Kinda hot how terrified they are of you." He could feel Riddle tense at that, but just kept talking. "Kinda wish I was in Heartslabyul sometimes, gettin' ordered around by you all the time seems like a pretty nice deal."

     "... Why have these errant thoughts of your upgraded from referring to me as 'cute' to 'hot'?" Riddle sounded more astonished than anything else.

     "Some stuff's cute, some stuff's hot. You bein' all small and turnin' red when you get angry's cute, you bein' able to take charge of a whole room 'a people and take control of a situation's pretty hot."

     Riddle was sticking a hand over his face again, visible parts a deep red. "Perhaps you should stop talking about this for now."

     "Are you uncomfortable, Riddle?"

     "That- That is a word that is adjacent to what I am feeling, currently." Floyd hesitated for a long moment, literally fighting with himself to move off of Riddle. "Ah, you didn't-"

     He leaned back on the palms of his hands. "I don't wanna make you uncomfortable, me invadin' your personal space like that isn't somethin' that'd make you comfortable."

     "If you- I would have said if you sitting in that way made me uncomfortable, and I wouldn't have let you sleep there for as long as you did."

     "You didn't have t' do that."

     "That is correct, I was under no obligation to allow you to remain there."

     Floyd made a confused sound. "Why are you uncomfortable, then?"

     "It's- I would rather not discuss this with you until you've recovered from the potion."

     "C'mon, we're still stuck here for a bit. Why not talk about it?"

     "Because it would be unfair to you if I discussed this with you when you don't seem to be capable of filtering what you say to me."

     "I don't need a filter when I'm talkin' to you, I don't care what I tell ya."

     Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose. "For something like this, it would cruel of me to take advantage of your lack of discretion."

     "Be cruel to me, then, I wanna know what you mean."

     "Drop this subject for now, please," Riddle said in a quiet tone, cheeks a deep red.

         And Floyd really didn't want to drop it, but Riddle asking him made him feel like he needed to. He made a frustrated sound as he fought with himself about asking again or not, and he stuck his hands on either side of his head as he tried to decide what he wanted to do.

     "... Is it seriously that much of a struggle for you to stop talking?"

     "I wanna know what you meant, but you told me not t' ask and I don't wanna ask since you said not to. This sucks."

     "If things work out, we'll discuss it tomorrow, don't stress yourself out over it," Riddle sighed, sounding almost like he felt bad for causing him that much distress. "We can talk about something else, that may help distract you."

     "You tell me about somethin', I just wanna hear you talk right now."

     "I doubt anything I'd be able to talk about for an extended period would be of interest to you."

     "Anything you say is gonna be interestin' to me right now."

     "Anything? Really?"

     "Anything."

     "So I could list off my duties as housewarden, and you would remain enthralled the entire time?"

     "Every word."

     Riddle frowned. "I think I prefer you finding things like that boring."

     "You complain all the time about me not knowin' how t' listen, I'm listenin' now. I don't wanna miss a single thing you say."

     "I complain, yes, but this isn't- The way you're acting currently is so far off from your usual disposition that it's rather... unsettling. I quite like how you act normally, more-so when you're actually behaving yourself. Even with that, I would prefer you at your worst to this. At least then, you're yourself."

     Floyd's breath caught in his throat at that, and he had to force himself to say something after a long pause. "You like me, Riddle?"

     "We won't be talking about that today," Riddle said quickly as he stood, straightening out his uniform as he turned in the direction of the door. "It's probably been long enough we can head to the potions classroom-"

     "Riddle," Floyd got to his feet in one motion, and grabbed the short man's arm before he could get any closer to the door. "Do you like me?"

     "I will repeat what I just said," He said slowly, refusing to look back at him. "We're not discussing this until the potion is out of your system. Do I make myself clear?"

     "You said you like me, and you said you like how I usually act- I wouldn't let that go normally."

     "Then for this one thing, follow that the potion is inspiring within you and listen to me. Let it drop."

     Floyd pulled Riddle closer to him, and tightly wrapped his arms around him to press him against his chest. "I'm not gonna let go 'til you gimme an answer," He had his face right by Riddle's ear, and his voice was low. "You said you like me, did you mean it like I think you meant it?"

     Riddle's face wasn't visible from that angle, but it was probably bright red; his heart pounding strong enough that Floyd could feel it in his own chest with how tight he was holding him. "I- I will break your arms if you do not remove them from me this instant," He was incredibly flustered, and seemed to be actively trying to keep his composure in this situation.

     "That ain't an answer to the question, Riddle."

     Riddle squirmed in his grip, trying and failing to get away. "As I already said, that isn't an answer you're getting today."

     "Just want a yes or no."

     "And I want to respect your boundaries, it's a shame that feeling doesn't appear to be mutual right now."

     "I ain't got any boundaries right now. Whatever you want, I'll go with it. I'm all yours."

     "I know, that's the problem. You said you didn't wish to make me uncomfortable, right? This is making me uncomfortable. Now let go."

Floyd made a disappointed sound, although he wasn't giving up without one more attempt at a fight. He loosened his arms, then, before Riddle could get very far, he turned him around and gave him a firm, desperate kiss.

     Riddle leaned into it for only a moment before scrambling to move back; this time getting his mage pen out and pointing it at Floyd. "No! No, none of that!" His face was a deeper shade of red than Floyd had ever seen it, and he looked like he was panicking. "You cannot just- I refuse to let you act this way, I will not take advantage of this situation. We will be heading to the potions room, and you will be keeping your hands and your mouth to yourself. Alright? Because I will restrain you and drag you there should you try something like that again."

Floyd nodded at him, knowing that what he'd just done was wrong but not caring because of how good it'd felt. He wordlessly followed Riddle down the hall, hand over the lower half of his face as he mentally replayed the fleeting moments where their lips had connected.

          "Wow, you made me miss bakery day, and you're here after me?" Ace looked annoyed, his arms crossed as he watched them approach. He paused when they reached him, and was looking Riddle over as the housewarden was unlocking the door. Riddle's uniform was still slightly disheveled from what'd happened in the classroom, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why Floyd might be so happy to be touching his lips in the state he was in. "Wait, were you guys ma-"

     "You will stop talking immediately if you wish for your head to remain on your shoulders!" Riddle yelled, bright red again, then cleared his throat. "You'll be grabbing the book you used for the recipe, then you will dictate to me the exact steps you took in making it. There will be no unnecessary commentary, and you will answer any question asked of you without delay. Is that understood? I am not to be trifled with right now." Ace looked genuinely terrified, and nodded. Riddle leveled him with a glare. "Verbal confirmation, Trappola."

     "Got it."

     Floyd let out a lovesick laugh, not able to help himself. "That's a thing that's hot, not cute."

Riddle completely ignored the comment as he opened the door to the classroom, his attention on Floyd as the eel was past him in the room. Probably to make sure Floyd didn't try to grab him again, Riddle was smart like that.

     Ace went right to one of the shelves lined with potions books, pulled out a thick yellow book, dragged it over to one of the tables, then flipped to somewhere near the middle. "That's the one we made."

     Riddle skimmed the recipe, his brow furrowing. "This is meant to make three ounces, Deuce said you made a medium flask of it."

     "We doubled it or something," Ace shrugged. "Didn't wanna make such a small amount if we were gonna do it."

     "'Or something'?" Riddle repeated, anger clear in his voice. "You made a potion, one meant to alter brain chemistry, made someone drink it, and you aren't even sure of the volume you created?"

     "I'm pretty sure we doubled it! I was just throwing in the stuff the book said," Ace threw his hands up in frustration.

     "Sit, because you're going to be walking me through how you made this step by step. Every ingredient you measured, everything you simply guessed on, the temperatures you steeped it at- You'll even be telling me what the solids left in the cauldron looked like."

     "How am I supposed to remember all that?! We made it Tuesday!"

     "You'll remember it, or you'll be answering to the headmage."

     "This is so stu-" He was interrupted by Floyd slamming a hand on the table.

     "Riddle told you to do somethin', you're doin' it crabby."

That made Ace immediately shut up and take a seat.

     "Thank you, Floyd. You should have a seat as well, we'll likely be here a while."

Floyd smiled happily at the acknowledgement, and sat without question. Ace started listing off the stuff Riddle wanted to know, although Floyd wasn't really paying attention to him. He had his head resting on the palm of his hand, and was wistfully watching as Riddle ordered Ace around. He was well past the point of trying to fight against the potion, and was just letting himself be content with being so close to Riddle.

It was a bonus he got to watch the short man be all cute and bossy while he was there.

     The description of when the potion was being mixed together was when Riddle stopped Ace and made him double back on something. "When did you add the milk thistle?"

     Ace's brow furrowed, and he thought on it for a moment. "I think Deuce threw in, I don't remember doing it."

     "Think particularly hard on this one. Was milk thistle added to your monstrosity of a potion?"

     "... I don't think it was."

     Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose. "Only you two would make a potion without including the main ingredient for detoxification," He crossed the room to where Crewel kept the ingredients.

     "Milk thistle's a diarrhea that goes in, right?" Floyd asked, and Ace snorted out a laugh next to him.

     "Diuretic," Riddle corrected. "And yes, to some extent. Potions that include it tend to use it since it binds to the other ingredients in a way that allows your body to filter it out." He laid out some ingredients on a table closer to the shelves, then set up a smaller cauldron on a heating element as he spoke. "Failure to include it can result in the potion lingering longer than it should and causing damage in the body; acting as a toxin as the effects continue to build upon themselves."

     Ace made a frustrated sound. "How was I supposed to know that?!"

     "If you would pay attention in your classes, you would have learned it immediately! It's a vital part of making a potion, unless you're intending to poison someone."

     "Did I poison Floyd?!"

     "Willingly, yes. With the dosage you gave him, it's a wonder he's still even vaguely coherent. Had this been left alone for even a day or two longer, his body would have likely gone into shock."

     "Yay, Riddle think's I'm coherent," Floyd said dreamily, eyes trained on every move the short man was making.

     "... Is he gonna die?"

     "No, thankfully. Your blunder is one I know how to fix. However the severity of it has me wondering if it would be safe for your peers to let this slide without telling the faculty. Your stupidity makes you a genuine danger to those around you."

     "You'd really get me kicked out of school over this?!"

     "If this doesn't work, you'll be lucky if they catch you before I do."

     Floyd snorted out a laugh. "I wanna watch you cut crabby's head off."

     "You won't be in a state where you can watch, if it gets to a point where I'm laying hands on him," Riddle scoffed.

         He started measuring out different ingredients that Floyd wasn't nearly aware enough to identify, and Floyd watched him work like it was the best thing in the world. Everything was added to the mini-cauldron, then the heat was turned up while it was given a good stir.

     Riddle started putting things back on the shelves, and let out a sigh. "It needs to boil for a while, then it'll be ready. You're lucky this was simple to make, or-"

     He was interrupted by the sound of a whip near the classroom door, the sound of it smacking against a hand in time with footsteps as professor Crewel entered the room. "I don't recall inviting you pups into my classroom, especially not unattended."

Ace floundered for some kind of excuse, clearly panicking now that the teacher was there.

     "Apologies, professor," Riddle spoke up before Ace could say anything stupid. "Ace dared Floyd to eat something he shouldn't have in the botanical gardens, and I thought it better to make him the antidote myself rather than wasting their time in the infirmary with their stupidity." His expression had shifted from the concern earlier to one of general annoyance that better fit the lie, and that made Floyd let out a small chuckle that got Crewel's attention back on him and Ace.

     Ace let out a nervous laugh. "Y- Yeah! Yes! Totally my fault," He stuck a hand to the back of his head. "Just lucky the housewarden was around to help with it!"

Floyd just laughed again when he saw Riddle pinch the bridge of his nose.

     Professor Crewel turned back toward Riddle and gave him an approving nod. "Good boy. I know nothing much can be done about Mr.Leech, but I assume you'll be punishing the pup from your own kennel?"

     "Oh, I can assure you he will be facing punishment for his actions, professor," There was anger lacing Riddle's words, and Ace made a scared noise as a shiver visibly went down his spine.

     Crewel seemed to approve of that answer, giving him another nod before going to exit the room again. "My next class is in half an hour, I expect any materials you've used to be cleaned up by then."

     "Of course, professor."

The door was closed behind him, and Riddle let out a tired sigh as he went back to his cauldron.

     Ace had a shocked expression on his face, and it seemed like he was still processing what happened. "Why did you-"

     "Because Riddle's smart 'nd cool 'nd cute 'nd nice 'nd-" Floyd's love filled rambling was cut short by Riddle, the short man bright red again.

     "Stop talking," He had his hand over his face again to try hiding his expression.

     Ace was still astonished. "I don't know, I might start believing some of that too after seeing that."

     "If both of you begin to borderline worship me, I'm ending myself and leaving this mess to you to sort out."

     "I can start worshippin' you if you want, Riddle," Floyd muttered, that input going ignored as Riddle focused on the potion again.

He used a ladle to scoop it into a flask with a cloth filter over the top catching the solids, and didn't bother capping it; just took the filter off and brought the bottle over to Floyd.

     Ace grabbed Riddle's wrist to stop him. "Aren't you gonna let it cool first?"

     "A part of this potion's final reaction is a temperature change," He easily pulled his arm away, barely even disturbing the liquid in the bottle he was holding. "Something else you'd know about if you bothered to pay attention to your courses. Now, Floyd, sit up." He didn't remember resting his chin directly on the table, but he had to push himself back into a normal sitting position when he'd been told to. The flask was gently placed in his hand, and he took it since Riddle was giving him something. "Drink the entirety of it, that should be the right volume for the dosage you received."

     "Ok, yay," He said tiredly, then downed the entire thing in one go.

It tasted even worse than what Ace had initially had him drink, but he didn't complain at all since Riddle had made it for him.

     "That should kick in once you've gotten some sleep, Ace will be cleaning up the cauldron and any wayward ingredients as I escort you back to your dorm," Riddle side eyed the underclassman. "And I expect everything to be back in it's proper place, or I will have no issue telling professor Crewel what really transpired."

     Any argument Ace might have had was silenced with that, and he nodded as he got out of his seat. "Got it, it'll be taken care of."

     "Floyd, follow."

The eel very exhaustedly dragged himself to his feet, and obediently followed Riddle all the way back to Octavinelle.

     "Show me where your room is, please."

     Floyd let out an excited, but tired, cheer as he took the lead. "Wow, Riddle wants to know where my room is."

     "I want to make sure you get back safely, since you seem as though you're on the verge of passing out."

     "I'm not," He muttered, though he immediately felt bad for lying to Riddle and changed his tune. "I'm exhausted, yeah."

     "It's a good thing all you've left is to take a nap then, isn't it?"

     "But I wanna keep hangin' out with you," Floyd whined.

     "I... will loiter until you've fallen asleep, but I'm not letting you wander about in your current condition."

     "Ooo, sleepover?"

     "I will not be sleeping in your room, Floyd. I'll be staying until I'm sure you're asleep, then I'll be informing Azul and Jade of the situation so they know what's occurred."

     "Can I sleep on your lap again?"

     He hesitated to answer, and it was nearly a minute before he said anything. "I suppose, if it will make it easier for you to sleep, you may do so. I will leave immediately should you try anything other than laying your head upon my lap."

Floyd let him into his and Jade's dorm, and Riddle silently crossed the room to sit on Floyd's bed with his legs hanging over the edge. He was sat at the foot of it, but Floyd didn't care as he came over and plopped down; landing on the bed with enough force that it flung Riddle in the air for a moment and made the housewarden let out an adorable noise in surprise.

     He let out a tired laugh, then moved so his head was set comfortably on Riddle's thighs. He looked up at Riddle when he'd been laying there for a while without falling asleep, and made a noise in confusion at his expression. "Why d'ya look sad, Riddle?"

     "I'm not sad, I'm..." He seemed like he was contemplating, then sighed before he spoke again at a volume barely over a whisper. "I feel guilty, I suppose. Selfish."

     "'Selfish'?"

     Riddle opened his mouth like he was about to explain, but closed it and shook his head instead. "I'll keep that to myself for now, I think. Don't worry about it, alright?"

     "... I think it's ok to be selfish sometimes. Ya gotta do some stuff for you."

     "Not for something like this," Riddle sighed again, then moved his hand to gently cradle his fingers through Floyd's hair. "It wouldn't be right. As I said, don't concern yourself with it. Just focus on sleeping so you can heal, the rest is an issue for once you've woken up."

     Floyd felt his whole body relax as Riddle messed with his hair, the small part of him clinging to consciousness letting go as the short man's fingers started to lightly scratch at his scalp. "Promise?" He asked tiredly, already feeling himself start to slip.

     "Promise," Riddle affirmed, a soft smile on his face now as Floyd closed his eyes.

~-~

         "The longer you spend complaining about it, the more I begin to wonder if you still have some of that potion in your system," Azul sighed, adjusting his glasses.

     "You're makin' fun of me."

     "I was at the start, now I'm considering it a real possibility."

Floyd dropped his head back on the seat, and started up at the ceiling in annoyance. The potion antidote had been given to him on Friday, and he ended up sleeping all the way through the weekend and most of Monday. He spent Monday night slowly remembering everything he'd done while under the effects of the love potion, and, now that it was Tuesday and he'd hidden in Octavinelle all day, he could only come to one conclusion.

     "He's gonna hate me."

     "That's seven." Jade sounded way too amused, keeping track of how many times Floyd had repeated the exact same thing.

     Floyd let out a frustrated noise. "The seven are who you're gonna meet if you don't shut up."

     Azul's patience for him was clearly running out, and it certainly wasn't helping that Floyd was in the way as they tried to get the Monstro Lounge ready for the evening. "Figure it out on your own time. It's been a week since you've done the job I pay you for, and I can only tolerate so much whining. Either talk to him like an adult or avoid him and move on, either way stop making it my problem when there's work to be done."

     "Ugh, whatever," Floyd got to his feet, and let out a sigh as he stretched. "This is so stupid. Not like it's a big deal, anyways."

That felt like a lie as it left his mouth, but it was a lie he kept repeating to himself so he could get through his work shift; even as it actively tanked his mood. He got a warning about how much he'd been skipping certain classes the next day, so he had to get creative when it came to avoiding Riddle. His solution came in the form of showing up as late as possible to the class he shared with the short man, and leaving the second he was able to without getting chewed out for it.

It was a good solution, in his opinion, and it worked well enough that he could tell Riddle was getting frustrated over it. Riddle was making it very obvious he wanted to talk, but Floyd wasn't leaving him any space to do so; he was fast enough to get away if he saw Riddle coming up to him around the school, he'd convinced Azul to put him in the kitchen at the Lounge for his shifts so he couldn't talk to him there, etc. Pretty solid plan, all things considered.

It worked well enough that he was able to avoid having to confront the small man for a week, with the new routine getting ruined when he felt someone grab him by the back of the shirt as he exited the Hall of Mirrors Monday morning.

He was pulled backwards, and nearly fell as a small hand was wrapped very tightly in the collar of his shirt.

     "Good morning Riddle," Jade's tone was friendly as he greeted the short housewarden, and Riddle didn't even acknowledge him.

     "A week. You've been avoiding me for an entire week. I am a patient man, but even I have my limits Leech."

     "Sorry goldfishie, guess I just ain't been in the mood to play lately." He tried to keep his nerves out of his voice, also giving a failed attempt at getting out of Riddle's grip; the short man was surprisingly strong.

     Jade kept on walking like his brother wasn't being grabbed like he was about to be killed. "I'll see you both later, then."

     "Hey!"

He didn't even look back at them, and Floyd had to fight to stay on his feet as Riddle used his shirt to start dragging him in the direction of the botanical gardens.

     "Y'know if you're not careful, you're gonna be late for your first class, goldfishie."

     "I don't care about that right now." The lack of hesitation made Floyd shut up, and he let himself be dragged to just past the gardens before digging in his heels and making Riddle stop.

     "I guess I can't really be runnin' from ya if you're that serious about talking to me. Be kinda mean at that point."

     "So you admit you've been running."

     "More like a tactical retreat," He joked, although Riddle didn't really react to that at all. Floyd sighed after a few moments passed with neither of them talking. "I'm sor-"

     "I would like to apologize to you."

     That made him stop. "Eh? What are you apologizing for?"

         Riddle's eyes were trained on the ground, and there was a guilty expression on his face. "I was fully aware of your... altered state of mind, and yet I failed to exercise the proper level of caution to prevent you from acting out of character."

     Floyd gave him a dumbfounded look for long enough that Riddle seemed to be doubting himself, and the eel felt like he needed to dumb down what Riddle had said to make sure he understood it right. "You're apologizing to me, because I forced you to kiss me."

     "That, as well as not stopping you from laying your head on my lap when I should have. Either time it happened," Riddle's cheeks were a deep shade of red. "I should have taken more care to make sure the situation aligned with your previously established boundaries, and made sure those were abided by while you were under the influence of the potion."

     "You're not mad at me?"

     "I- Why would I be mad at you when you're the victim in this scenario? If I'm mad at anyone, it's Ace and Deuce for causing the situation in the first place. I've already thoroughly punished them in alignment with the Queen's rules, so as far as discipline they've already received an adequate amount."

     Floyd blinked at him a few times. "... Am I remembering what happened wrong? Because I swear I grabbed you an' made you kiss me."

     "Y-You did," Riddle's face got even redder, somehow. "But I should have taken more care to avoid letting the situation reach that point when it was clear the potion's effects had been getting worse."

     "Goldfishie, you- I should be apologizin' to you, I made you kiss me."

     "You were-"

     "The potion doesn't matter, me makin' you kiss me when you didn't wanna do it is the problem here."

     "It would have only been acceptable for me to allow that to happen if that were something you would have done without the potion."

     "What if it was? Does that suddenly make it better that I forced you to do something you didn't wanna do?"

     Riddle was quiet for a long moment, then made eye contact with him with a determined expression. "Are you telling me you would have seriously kissed me of all people without being under the influence of a love potion?"

     Floyd was caught off guard by his sudden change in attitude, but still gave him a genuine answer. "I would. I thought over everything again with my head clear like you told me to, and I guess I still feel the same," He stuck a hand on the back of his neck. "Just able to think about other stuff now and not just you."

     "And you're positive all of the potion has left your system?"

     "Wouldn't have been able to avoid you that long if it hadn't, felt like I was dyin' when I was doin' that before."

     "And you were avoiding me specifically because of the kiss?"

     "That was the main thing, yeah-"

He was cut off by Riddle grabbing the front of his shirt this time, and pulling him down to his level so he could kiss Floyd this time. It lasted way longer than Floyd would have expected, and was also way too short for his liking. Both of them were breathless when Riddle finally pulled away, and the short man let go of Floyd's shirt before adjusting his own uniform.

     "There," He cleared his throat, then started walking in the direction of the main school building. "I expect you in Heartslabyul after classes have ended for the day so we can discuss in further detail. For now, I will see you later in class."

Floyd floundered with his words for a moment before chasing after him, and he caught up pretty easy despite how fast the short man had started walking. He was still trying to find his words, and Riddle stopped to give him a chance to get his thought out.

     "... Can I sit with you at lunch?"

     Riddle looked at him for a long moment, then let out a genuine laugh. "Yes, you may."

     "Ok, yayy," Floyd said happily, reaching down so he could grab Riddle's hand. "We cana go to class now, I guess."

Riddle gave him a nod, then continued walking alongside him; his hand gently held in Floyd's as they went.