let's go steady

“Ouch–Floyd, please, I can’t breathe!” You cry out, stabilizing your breath as he lets you go. You second-guess your decision to ask him for help, but it feels like you have no choice…he’s the closest option you’ve got to the real thing, after all.

“Soo~ Watcha need ol’ Floyd for, huh? Get yourself into some trouble? Sounds fun!” the eel walks closer to you, towering you with his height. You’d like to think he has good intentions for agreeing to speak with you, but you can’t help but feel like something’s off…

Letting out a deep breath, you twiddle your fingers as you speak, “Well…it’s about your brother…” Floyd narrows his eyes and breaks out into a big grin, letting you continue, “It’s just that…”

Trailing off, you find yourself unable to finish your sentence, “That what, Lil’ Shrimpy? C’mon, I’m getting boooored…” he slumps his shoulders but his attention is still focused on you.

There’s no going back now, you guess. Going for it, you deeply inhale before saying, “SoIamkindofinlovewithyourbrotherand#needthatbutI’mtooscaredtoactuallytellhimsowillyouhelpmeconfess.” 

Floyd’s face lights up in understanding. You’re not even surprised he caught all that, because now you’re more concerned at the fact that he’s giving you a lopsided grin as if he discovered something he could hold against you…Well…

“Lil’ Shrimpy! Why didn’t ya just say so? I’m the perfect eel for the job! Aside from being a Prefect, you’re tryna be my Shrimpy-in-Law now, aren’t ya?” He violently grabs you to envelop your body in another squeeze, unbeknownst to a certain mer observing you from a distance…

Floyd and the Prefect seem to be getting along swimmingly, it seems. Jade puts his hands to his chin and chuckles, What was it the Prefect needed from my brother, I wonder? 

What was it indeed…

Jade notices a change in your behavior in the following days, and he’s not sure if he’s into that. Suddenly, you spend every bit of your free time with Floyd. And ever so out of place, Floyd’s acting extra gentle with you, too! Gently holding your shoulder to keep you from bumping into a tree, serving you food he cooked himself, carrying you around like a potato sack (but nicely?)

Little does Jade know that Floyd did that because you were so preoccupied thinking about your crush that you almost kissed tree bark, the twin eel was telling you all about Jade’s favorite food, and you asked Floyd to urgently whisk you away from Jade because you thought he could hear you gushing about him. 

What gets him going is that whenever he’s in the vicinity, you and Floyd always seem to be on your way out as if he had invaded your “no-no square.” It’s safe to say that your eel can’t help but feel a little disheartened. Of course, he still acts as his normal suspicious self, grinning away his concerns. What else is he to do? Finders keepers were the rules in the Coral Sea–and it seemed Floyd got to you before he could. 

–

You, on the other hand, have finally prepared to confess to your beloved eel. You had a customized terrarium at hand, and a handful of mushrooms you found growing at Ramshackle that you think Jade might appreciate. All that was left was to tell him your feelings. Before doing that, however, you decide to go on one last test run with Floyd. 

You sit across Floyd at a secluded booth at Mostro Lounge, your gifts lying below the table. From where Jade stands, he notices that you’ve dolled yourself up tonight–your eyes seem like they’re glowing brighter, you smile a little wider, and your cheeks much pinker. It takes all his restraint to not steal you from Floyd right then and there. 

Instead, because Floyd’s also slacking off, he takes your order to your table. 

But that was his mistake. 

“...To be honest, you’ve been on my mind ever since my first day at NRC,” You look up at Floyd, shyly looking away from him. “I love it whenever you come up to me and talk about the things you love, I think it’s adorable.” Giving him a little laugh, Jade wishes so hard to the Sevens that it was directed to him instead. 

You feel immense bloodlust come up behind you…but it somehow feels directed towards the damned eel sitting across the table. 

“I’ll just come out and say it. I really, really like you–” 

Seeing his towering shadow approach your booth, your words falter when your eyes meet Jade’s mismatched ones. 

You are utterly, completely, and wholly screwed. 

Not wanting to deal with this mess, Floyd slithers out of his seat, sensing his brother’s immense energy directed at him–Jade’s so scary when it comes to Lil’ Shrimpy, ugh. 

Jade takes the seat across yours. With his practiced smile and ever-so polite tone, he manages to stay civil, “Prefect, fancy seeing you here.” Placing his long finger on his chin, he furrows his eyebrows and gives you a cute little pout, “I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.” 

He patiently waits for you to respond. Or rather, he watches as your soul comes back to your body after you realize you can’t die without confessing to the eel before you first. 

Regaining life in your body, you open your mouth to speak, but no words come out. After a few tries of gaping and closing your lips, you finally manage to sputter out a response, “J-Jade…Hi.”

Jade gives you a little smile back and leans in a bit closer, placing his arm on the table to lean on his cheek, “Hello, Prefect.” After a few moments of silence, he realizes that the Prefect Was Too Stunned to Speak. So he goes ahead, “If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” 

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed how…distant you were towards me. I couldn’t help but notice the proximity you and my brother have maintained, however. If I may be so bold as to ask, "Prefect…” You just barely bounce your head up and down, giving him confirmation as he continues, “Are you and Floyd in a relationship?” 

Your soul threatens to leave your body yet again, but you manage to keep it intact just enough to let out a very alarming, “WHAT???!!!” 

So many questions were flooding through your mind as to why he would ever conjure that thought, but the eel before you now seems amused–a vast shift from his earlier violent mood. Lives were saved that moment… 

“Hm? Judging from your reaction, he is yet to accept your affections? Fufu, I apologize, he can sometimes be a bit…moody.” 

“Huh…I don’t get what you’re saying at all, Jade! Why would I ever confess to–” 

Ah, a light bulb blinks above your head. 

You can’t help but giggle at his conjecture, “Wait, Jade, you can’t be serious!” If you could only project a rolling laughing emoticon in real life, it’d surround you like an aura. However, right now, Jade’s amusement turns into mild confusion, squinting his eyes and giving you a half smile.

“What’s so amusing, Prefect? Is it so ridiculous to think that you have been courting my brother, considering the amount of time you were spending with one another–alone, I might add.” Pulling out a napkin from his breast pocket, he makes a show of wiping fake tears from his eyes, “I admit that it was quite painful to witness, you see, seeing as how desperately I found myself wanting to be in his position instead.” 

You look around the cafe to see if there were any hidden cameras–were the twins playing an elaborate prank on you and profiting over the footage?! Still, you can’t help but feel a little twinge in your heart as Jade’s eyes seem downcast despite his jests. Even if it’s a little twisted…you found his act oh so adorable. You could just confess to him right then and there. 

Wait…wasn’t that the plan all along? 

“Jade, I have to be honest with you…I really worked hard for this day.” Pulling out your gifts from underneath the table, you extend a hand to softly place them in his gloved hands, ”I’ve been spending all that time with Floyd because I asked him to help me…” 

The eel looks at you intently with a focus that makes you feel flushed. You give it your all to continue, “Agh, I worked so hard on my speech but I can’t think of anything to say!” 

Whatever, you just go for it, “I love you, Jade!” 

For a moment, Jade forgets to control his expression. His mouth forms an ‘o’ shape, and his eyes go a little wide. Then, his face breaks out into a grin–at least he seems happy?

“Fufu, is that so, Prefect?” He gives you a sly grin as if he knew all along.

“Unfortunately so. If you could let me down now, please.”

“Let you down? In what world? Prefect, I must admit–I’ve been dreaming of this day for a while.” 

“Are you sure? Like, you and me?”

“Yes, I am quite sure that there is only one Ramshackle perfect in all of NRC, my dear.”

You find yourself lightheaded at the nickname, but before your head could hit the table, Jade softly cushions it with his palm. 

“Oh, we can’t have that,” with a touch of his magic, you wake back up. However, finding yourself lying on Jade’s palm, you let out a small yelp and lose consciousness once again. 

Leaning down to your level, Jade sets his arm across the table and lies his head down beside yours, “Fufu, there’s always tomorrow, Prefect. But I hope you dream of me~”

Extra: 

In your shock, you faint again realizing that Jade returns your feelings. 

However, you woke up 10 minutes after you blacked out…and you can’t think of a way to get out of this situation. 

In your current position, Jade seems to be lying his head next to yours, softly sifting his cold fingers through your hair–it seems that he removed his gloves in favor of feeling closer to you.

You feel his eyes burning holes to the back of your head, but you can’t get yourself to move. 

Not when he’s being so sweet to you right now. 

“Ah, Prefect, do you find it so difficult to accept my feelings for you, dear?” He quietly laughs to himself, “Fufu, ‘dear’, huh? I hope you accept my choice of endearment for you~.”

“Additionally, I know you’re awake. Won’t you get up and properly convey your feelings to me, Prefect?”

On the first page, the said boyfriend had neatly written, “My 10 Year Plan.” 

Oho…this menu had some special options, that’s for sure. You weren’t sure of the motives the twins had by handing you Azul’s private journal, but you figured that you had to find that out for yourself (by looking through the pages). Jade had even conveniently left you a pack of sticky notes and a pen, prompting you to voice your thoughts on the journal’s pages…

Oh well, you thought. Maybe Azul was too shy to give this to me himself. The ever-so-bold businessman did seem to have his thinking capacity greatly diminished in your presence, turning into a shy schoolboy when you were around him. This was probably his way of asking for your advice, though you knew he was capable of doing so himself…you didn’t want to think too hard about it. Onto page 2 it is. 

The journal is surprisingly organized–he has written a table of contents that included his projected revenue increases for each year; a detailed list of all the contracts he has and intends to sign; and even a little section marked with a heart, which you assume is dedicated for his future plans for the both of you. You were loving this already. 

As much as you wanted to skip over to the heart section, you told yourself you’d look over the business plans he made first out of respect for his efforts. His first note read:

Convince Jade into a 70/30 instead of a partnership.

Okay, you were using your first sticky note on this point. There was no way he’d accept things to go this way…scribbling away, you wrote: 

(I heard from Jade’s girlfriend that he wants a partnership)

(Backup plan: Succumb to the partnership and start another business + monopolize Scarabia textile imports to Coral Sea)

You were proud of yourself for thinking this far ahead. Maybe this was the reason the twins handed over Azul’s journal to you? It seemed like Jade could handle things fine on his own, though. 

Moving on, Azul’s 3rd year point wrote: 

Purchase land on Sage Island. Consult the Prefect on wallpaper choices. 

Aw, how sweet. He was thinking of the home you’d spend your days in together–you did have a discussion of whether you’d want to settle on land or in the sea, but Azul was rather adamant on staying on land with you. You weren’t sure if it was solely for your sake or business opportunities, but you had no complaints. Peeling off another sticky note, you brilliantly write: 

(I want something pretty)

Now, it’s time for the section you’ve been waiting for! You excitedly skip over to the heart section of the journal, eager to know what Azul has in store for your relationship. 

As expected, the page is filled with his handwriting–his plans, his ramblings, small notes, and your eyes land on a particularly flustering point: 

Bound myself to the Prefect on a contract of everlasting love.

In normal circumstances, you would’ve swooned at the mere thought of marrying Azul and happily paste your comments as you did earlier. However, there was one problem…

All the plans he had written were crossed out. 

Propose to my beautiful, gorgeous girlfriend. 

Bound myself to the Prefect on a contract of everlasting love. 

Be a good father to our children. 

Except for one. 

Break up with the Prefect. 

Hands trembling, you shut the notebook closed. You sat still for a good moment, feeling tears threatening to blink out of your eyes. 

Why would he do this? As far as you knew, your relationship was going strong–he showed no signs of being unhappy with you. As a matter of fact, you had just gone out on a date yesterday! 

Before your thoughts could spiral down, the sight of a tray entered your peripheral vision. Looking up, you saw Azul’s expression quickly shift from his usual smug, pleased smirk to one of worry, his eyebrows furrowing and mouth opening to speak, “My pearl, what’s wrong?” 

Seeing you give no response, his eyes pan to you holding his journal, and a deep panic settles into him as well. 

You weren’t supposed to see that, he internally frets.

“Wait–Prefect, I can explain, you are mistaken, I was mistaken, I–” 

“How long have you been feeling this way?” You manage to breathe out, making an effort not to raise your voice and keep a level mind, as impossible as that sounds. 

“I…” he trails off, not knowing whether to start with comforting you or explaining his rationale. 

“Yesterday, you told me you loved me. Was that all a lie?” Facing him now, you gather the courage to look him in the eyes. To Azul, the sight breaks his heart–your beautiful face is soiled with tears, and your eyes are dilated–filled with pain. 

“No–of course it wasn’t. I…assure you that there hasn’t been a moment when I stopped loving you, dear pearl.” He attempts to soothe you by gently holding your hand, but you pull away on instinct. 

“Then why? Why would ever–” your voice breaks, holding back a sob, “Why would you plan on breaking up with me? Did I do something wrong?”

“That couldn't be farther from the truth. I will fully explain myself, if you would allow it,” he sits himself across from you, attempting to take your hand in his yet again. This time, you don’t pull back and simply nod at him. 

“You’ve always known that I’ve had certain…issues with myself,” he cautiously starts, picking his words carefully, “and even though you’ve immensely helped me with them, I found myself revising my plans during a particularly vulnerable moment.” 

Interlocking your fingers with his, he continues, “I found myself undeserving of your love, and to my shame; afraid, even, that you would one day realize that loving me isn’t worth the trouble after all,” Pausing, Azul seems hesitant to speak, but decides to tell you anyway, “I had realized that if you were to choose to leave me, I couldn’t name any good reasons to make you stay.” 

“Despite how unpleasant that sounds, I do want you to know that I’ve somewhat moved past that phase in the course of our relationship. Instead of leaving, you have continuously chosen to love me. I know now that it is a deliberate decision. I still cannot fathom how, but I have also decided to believe in it and move forward doing the same.” And I plan to do so, forever. 

“And with that, I’d like to beg for your forgiveness, for ever believing that you would ever want to abandon me. I am assured that no such thought has dared to cross your pretty mind,” his comment at the end makes you smile a bit, and you squeeze his hand in agreement. 

“I am aware that it may seem too soon…but I’d like to ask something of you, my dear pearl.” You nod, eyes waiting in quiet anticipation. 

“I’d like to permanently revise my foolish plans, and ask you…if you are still willing to enter into a very romantic, everlasting contract with me.” 

His question earns him a small laugh from you, “Well, how romantic would it be?” 

With a little smirk, he brings his hand up to his lips to softly kiss it, “Enough romance to last us a lifetime, how about that, my darling?” 

After resolving the issue with the damned journal, you urge Azul to open it one more time. 

“I do not wish for it to cause you any more pain, my pearl.”

“Don't worry Azul, I just need to make one more comment!”

Skipping over to the heart section, your eyes quickly scan over to the point you’re looking for: 

Break up with the Prefect.

You excitedly write down a quiet note on your sticky pad and make a show of removing and pasting it on his journal for Azul to see. 

(I think you miswrote “Dramatically propose and marry and have kids with my jaw-dropping, beautiful girlfriend. Marry me, Azul?) 

Reading it, he could only stammer and stutter at your comment, gently nodding and covering his face in response.

Deciding to get ahead on your review, you flip open your own study materials. Animal linguistics, potionology, magic history…there was a lot of material to cover. You were just thankful that your boyfriend happened to be a part of one of the smartest dorms on campus. Taking advantage of this fact, you took a peek at the notebook Jade had left open in hopes of seeing some tips for your studies. 

You were expecting to see notes on mice vocabulary, or comments about the Sea Witch’s magic. Instead, your eyes were met with a shocking sight. The first page of the notebook read: Jade Leech’s 10 Year Plan. 

Why would he leave this information laid out on the desk for anyone to see?! Well, you weren’t really just “anyone”, but still. Between respecting Jade’s privacy and your blooming curiosity for what he had written down (especially since the pages were filled to the brim!) you decide that it was his fault for leaving his things out in the open and ultimately distracting you from your studies. So this would be considered…payback? If he didn’t agree with your logic, then you decided to pull out your signature move: girlfriend pout and girlfriend googly eyes to beg for his forgiveness. 

Flipping past the title page, you see the first header of his plan: 

Graduate from Night Raven College, & corner Azul into a business partnership

Hm. Fair enough. It’s inevitable that he’d want to eventually get a bigger share of the business. You snicker at the thought of Azul cowering beneath Jade, though. 

Skipping ahead, you see quite a few pages describing his supposed internship, how much shares he would get from his future company, and even how often he would visit the Coral Sea after graduation. 

After reading through relatively normal Jade stuff, your eyes land on a peculiar point next. 

Procure 10000 transformation potions. 

Okaaaaay, that seems a bit extreme… and also, after all this time, Jade still wants to live on land? You didn’t know he liked it up here so much (what you also didn’t know is that you were mainly the reason why).

Moving on, you read another flustering point. On year 5, he beautifully wrote:

Purchase the ring. 

You choke on the air and immediately put a hand to your mouth in case Jade hears you and rushes to the room. You didn’t (totally did) mean to read that, but now you’re a little disappointed that it was written without your name in sight. To be fair, he could’ve just written it as a general thought for whoever he would be dating during that time (and you desperately hope that it’s still you). 

As if to assure you that he has no other eyes for any other person, fish or not, you feel your face heat up as you flip to the next page. 

Be a good husband to the Prefect.

You feel your heart stop on this one, and restrain yourself from shrieking in joy or exploding into a thousand pieces of Jade-shaped confetti, not wanting to mess up his room. Your efforts are at a loss, however, because the man of the hour comes back knocking at the door, tea tray at hand. 

First, the both of you lock eyes. Your guilty look meeting his amused smirk. Second, both of your eyes trail off to the notebook, then back at each other. 

“I’m studying?” you pathetically say, your hand stuck to the notebook working as incriminating evidence that you’ve just peeked at his life’s goals you. 

Smile still intact, he chuckles behind his glove, "Are you sure you yourself know that?" Jade gracefully sets the tray down at his desk and hands you a cup, taking the seat next to you. 

You clumsily try to close the notebook, but his eyes land on the page you’ve stopped at. 

After a beat, he finally speaks, “My dear?” 

“Y-yes, Jade? I’m really so–” 

“Have you looked through page 67? I wish to fine tune the details of our wedding. While marrying near our anniversary may seem ideal, I fear you might catch a cold during our eternity float, considering that it’s close to the cold season.” 

How is he so composed?! You can’t tell if he’s upset or not. 

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t think I reached that part yet…I stopped reading when you said you would catapult Azul back into the Coral Sea if he refused a partnership with you.” Feigning indifference, you finally close the notebook and push it further to his side of the desk, leaning a hand on your cheek to exaggerate your nonchalance. 

“What is with all this talk of Azul?” He gives you his best attempt at a hurt look with a small pout, “I believe we both saw that you had landed on ‘Be a good husband to the Prefect’ instead of ‘Be a good husband to Azul’.” With a little shudder, you see hear his voice straining a bit, and a fraction of his eyebrows twitch for a second. “Is it safe for me to assume that you are rejecting the idea of our marriage, my dear?” 

Though he jests, you can sense a hint of nervousness in his tone. Even though he appears to be completely composed, you know better than to believe what you see. His microexpressions tell you otherwise, and you’ve spent enough time with him to know that he is uneasy. Your eel was so adorable.

“What?! Of course I do! I mean, I just thought that you’d get upset at me for snooping through your things...it was very tempting, you know,” You ignore the fact that he had strategically opened the notebook near your position and looked at him in the eyes, “I’d want nothing more with you.” 

Jade himself feels his little eel heart skip a beat, and lets out a little huff to ease his nerves. At the sound of your confirmation, he puts his hand to his chest yet again and gives you a small bow, “Then I shall look forward to it, my dear Prefect.” 

With a grin and an amused expression etched onto his handsome features, he looks up at you from his bow, “Are you still in the mood for studying? Or perhaps you’d like to flesh out some of the plans with me?” 

Smiling back at him, you reach out to give him a small pinch to his cheek, “Now first, tell me, how in the world are you going to collect 10000 transformation potions?!” 

Extra:

 A few spaces after the marriage plan, Jade jots down a short and sweet list you completely missed: 

He has compiled a detailed list of baby names. Possible choices if your child were to be a boy or a girl, the meanings behind them, and backup options if you were to have your own twins. 

It seems that he has accounted for and is thrilled to have you in his future more than you anticipated.

He eyes the other ingredients on the counter you’re working on, spotting a bowl of strawberries, shining a healthy red. “Ah, could it be that you’re making…strawberry tarts? What seems to be the occasion, hm?” 

It’s not that he’d forgotten, in fact, he already prepared his present for this month’s 3rd Monday, which was tomorrow. Oops. He figures that you’re making his present and that he spoiled his own gift. Flushing a bright red, Riddle makes haste for the exit, not wanting to ruin your present. 

“I-It seems that you’re preparing something special, Prefect. I apologize for intruding – I’ll be on my way now,” seeing your lack of response, Riddle adds, “Goodbye, I love you.”

Hm. Still nothing, so gathers his courage and tries again, “Prefect, I’ll be on my way, I love you!” 

“♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♬ ~.”

You hum in response yet again, and the housewarden assumes that you’re disappointed he found out about your gift so early – the thing is, you still couldn’t hear a thing! 

With slumped shoulders, Riddle leaves the kitchen a bit heartbroken.

The next day, you excitedly head to Heartslabyul’s courtyard to meet up with Riddle. You see your lovely boyfriend already in his seat despite you coming 10 minutes earlier than your agreed time. How long has he been sitting there?!

“Riddle! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long! Well, are you ready to trade gifts? I worked especially hard on yours this time, hehe,” you flash him a toothy grin and he feels a bit guilty about spoiling the surprise for himself. On the outside, he responds as usual, “Of course, I’m looking forward to your reaction to my present as well, I believe you’ll be quite fond of my present this month.” 

Unwrapping his gift first, you find that he had given you something you mentioned you’d wanted in passing. You look at him with wide eyes before wrapping him in a big hug, “Seven! Riddle, this is exactly what I wanted…I can’t believe you remembered! I love it so much, I love you!” You nudge your head toward his cheek a bit, and he flushes a bright pink. “W-well, I do try to pay attention to the things you desire…ahem, so I take it that you aren’t cross with me anymore?”

“Cross? With you? Why would I be…? You shoot him a confused expression. 

Now it’s Riddle’s turn to act perplexed, but he continues anyway, “Yesterday, when you were making the tarts…you seemed disappointed that I had found out, and…”

“Wait, what? How’d you know I was making you strawberry tarts? You even came into the kitchen??”

“Yes, I’m not sure why you’re so surprised. When I said goodbye, and told you I loved you, you merely ignored me…” In an attempt to seem displeased, Riddle crosses his arms and looks away, but you know that he’s really just trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh Riddle…I really had no idea you came into the kitchen! I was so focused on getting the recipe as perfect as Trey’s, and the music I was listening to was quite loud so I couldn’t hear a thing!” Handing him the box of the baked tart, you put his hand in yours. “Either way, why would I ever be mad at you? In any case, I wish I noticed sooner so we could’ve baked the tart together!” 

“So you aren’t disappointed that I ruined the surprise of your gift?”

“Of course not! Well, now that I know..maybe a little bit. But what matters most is if you enjoy it. Now, if you want to make it up to me…”

Despite your desperate efforts to reject his help, Kalim is determined to get you to confess to Jamil. At least you distracted him enough so that you didn’t have to confess on the spot. However, he’s quite intent on planning your “perfect” confession To Jamil…which has led you to countless practice confessions with Kalim the following week. 

Things were going scarily well, and you’re now just working up the courage to actually say the words to Jamil. With Kalim, however, some things can never go too right without any consequences…

You currently sit in Kalim’s dorm room across from the boy, reciting your confession to him. It’s about noon, and the both of you haven't had lunch. Oh dear…

Gingerly holding a tray of snacks for you and holding Kalim’s lunch in the other, Jamil makes his way up to the dorm rooms to feed you two. What he doesn’t expect is the hushed tones he hears from you and Kalim behind the door, and his heart twinges with a little fit of jealousy–not that he’d admit it to himself.

But what really takes hold of his heart is when he can make out your next words, “I’ve loved you for a long time. Please accept my feelings!” Startled, he almost drops the treats from his hands. 

All this time, you assumed that you were far from Jamil’s league. Though he may seem annoyed, he always takes you through problems you can’t get into your head, no matter how many times it may take. Even if he doesn’t want to stand out, you feel your heart flutter watching him in his games when he’s in the zone. You’ve always kept your feelings to yourself, and you made an effort to never show it. You’d wanted nothing more than to be able to call yourself his, and him yours. 

What you didn’t know was that Jamil had that same longing for you, if not stronger. 

But now it’s all ruined. (Or so he thinks).

Because of course you’d pick Kalim over him. It’s been that way since he was a child–it was quite literally in his blood to put his desires below an Asim. 

And so he blankly knocks on the door, and walks in like nothing happened. Despite how Scarabia’s dorm is usually hot and humid, the room’s atmosphere drops to subzero. 

Even Kalim understands the grave situation, and attempts to gracefully amend it. 

Clawing at Jamil’s pants, he shrieks, “JAMIL! WAIT!! DON’T LEAVE!!! THE PREFECT HAS SOMETHING TO SAY TO Y–”

Despite his gallant efforts, the vice-housewarden simply places down the tray he brought in, peels Kalim off his person, and politely nods to the wide-eyed you before leaving the room. 

How were you going to get over this?

Over the next few days, your attempts at reconciling with Jamil are cute at most. Or rather…you aren’t given the chance to do so in the first place. 

Before class starts, Jamil intentionally enters at the last minute so that he can get the seat farthest away from you. 

Rushing over to the classroom, you promptly set aside your bag to the seat next to you to save it for Jamil. After a few minutes, a string of students come along and take their seats as well–Jamil usually included. But for some reason, he enters unusually late, taking the seat closest to the door despite you waving in his direction. He definitely saw you, by the way. Ace even made fun of you for being ignored, making a few students snicker at the situation. 

When by some miracle that the both of you are paired up for alchemy class, he perfectly takes control of the vibe and conversation so that the two of you strictly converse about the lesson at hand. 

“Jamil, I–”

“Prefect, please continue stirring the pot, we can’t mess up the potion when we’re almost done.”

“Okay, okay. Can I just talk to you about last ti–”

“You can talk to me later, we have to get this potion to Crewel.” 

Later never came, because the minute you finished your work, Jamil blasted off the classroom claiming he needed to tend to Kalim’s lunch (which is a complete lie, of course, because he always prepares it the night before. In the past, he’d make one for you too.)

But you guessed you wouldn't be getting his cooking this time–even eating with Kalim during lunch doesn’t work. He perfectly times his meals so that when you approach the two of them at their table, he’s just about finished eating (can he sense you coming their way or something?!)

Despite your efforts to get closer to Jamil, it only feels like he’s getting farther and farther away from you. Is this his way of letting you down? You suppose it’d be easier for him to straight up ignore the fact that you were practicing your confession to him as a way to quietly reject your feelings…

But that doesn’t feel right either, because you were 99.67% sure that he liked you back. For starters, he’d bring you home cooked lunch every week, walk you back to your dorm, help you study for tests even when it cost him his rare downtime…he even gave you his jersey to wear to his games! You were literally just waiting for a confession at this point! 

Feeling responsible for making you and Jamil grow apart, Kalim resorted to plotting with Grim to get the both of you to talk…

“Hey, Henchman, Ace told me to meet you at the lockers after practice, he said he had something to give to ya.” 

“Ooh Jamil!! Can you teach me basketball? I’ll meet you at the court later, see ya!” 

With a sigh, the both of you head over to the court…Jamil visibly freezing when he sees you. Before he could turn away, you quickly grip his wrist. 

“Prefect, let go.” He tried to wiggle his hand away from your grasp, but he doesn’t have the heart to fully shake it off. 

“Jamil, please, I’ve been trying to talk to you all week! Meeting you here may have been a coincidence, but I think it’s time I finally clear things up…”

“What is there to clear up? This is hardly appropriate, considering how you’re together with Kalim now. Let go of my hand.” Jamil’s icy tone is betrayed by the look of hurt he’s wearing on his face. On the other hand, a hundred question marks are flying around your head. Since when were you dating Kalim??

“What?? What are you on about?” You let go of his hand, but step forward to face him clearly and place them on his shoulders. Consequently, he searches your eyes for any hint of trickery—he knows what he heard the other day, after all. 

Then, you both speak at the same time: 

“Jamil, I like you!!” Scratch that, I love you!

“Prefect, please stay away from me.” For Kalim’s and my family’s sake.

… 

A silence envelops the two of you, processing one another’s words. Slowly, Jamil takes your arms into his and leans his head against your shoulder. His grip on you is heavy, but it doesn’t hurt—it just tells you how much he’s been holding back the past week. 

“Are you sure?” Facing you, he mutters, “Tell me I heard that right.” 

“It’s kind of embarrassing…but Kalim was helping me prepare my confession for you,” you gently held the sleeve of his uniform, avoiding his gaze, “I was really hurt when you avoided me the whole week, I thought you were silently letting me down…” 

Internally, Jamil gave himself a slap to the face. He prided himself on being able to easily read into people’s thoughts and actions, but it seems he turns blindsided when it comes to the girl he loves…

“I can’t believe I almost lost you to a stupid misunderstanding…” he takes your hand in his and lets out a shaky breath, “I’m sorry, Prefect.” 

“That’s right. You didn’t even let me use the confession speech I spent weeks practicing for!” 

Chuckling, he lets out a relieved sigh now that you’re able to joke with him, “Well, you can say it now if you'd like.”

“Hey, you’re just putting me on the spot. Maybe tomorrow…” 

“Hm? So you can practice it with Kalim first?” 

You shoot a look at his smug expression, and instead pull him into a big hug in response, “For the record, I’m still the one who confessed first. Are you planning on leaving me hanging?” 

“Hmph. Fair enough,” he reaches out to cup your face, intense eyes meeting yours, “I like you too, Prefect.” 

Extra: 

Too in love and focused on each other, you and Jamil fail to notice the small crowd that formed outside the court doors. 

“TAKE THAT KALIM!! I TOLD YA THE PREFECT WOULD CONFESS FIRST. PAY UP.” 

The next day goes off without a hitch–it’s like the conversation between the twins never existed, because as soon as your class is over, you see Jade standing by the door, patiently waiting for you to come out and walk you to your next class as usual. 

For some reason, you wince at the sight of him and think, is this all an act? Still, you stand by his side and greet him. He leans in to smoothen your uniform for you, “Fufu, Prefect, I assume you were in a rush this morning? Your collar is askew, but there, I’ve fixed it,” He holds out his arm to you, “Shall we walk to your next class?” 

You stretch out your arm to link it with his, as if by muscle memory, but stop yourself midway, remembering his words from the night before. Instead, you choose to position your hands behind your back, grinning up at Jade. His usual smile doesn’t falter, but you notice the slight twitch of his eyebrows at your decision to withhold physical contact, how unusual, he thinks. Despite the tension in the air, your eel still walks you to history next. Still, he doesn’t stop his attempts at growing closer to you.

“Would you allow me to hold your things for you, my dear? I see you’ve forgotten to hand me your books.”

“Well, I just feel like carrying them myself today. Also, I’ll just see you at Mostro Lounge later, you don’t have to walk me to flight class anymore. I have to grab something from Deuce in between.”

Ouch. Met with another rejection, and plighted with the news of you meeting with another boy (though that boy is a certified goofball), clearly avoiding him. What could you possibly ask from that Heartslabyul boy that he couldn’t provide for you? Besides that, you were always delighted to be by his side. It made no sense to change your routine even if you did need to pick up something. He’d simply accompany you. What caused you behavior to go amiss? He wonders, and catches on that something is wrong, fast.

Not wanting to act without being certain, your wounded eel accepts your words for now. “I see, I’ll be awaiting your presence at the lounge tonight, then.”

Little does he know, you take his lack of objection as further confirmation that you’ve been too clingy, and your chest feels a bit tighter.

As you two part, Jade somehow comes to the conclusion that he must woo you–again. 

But now, you fully believe he’s grown tired of you. 

“Hiya Shrimpy~ are ya lookin’ for Jade? He’s in the kitchen makin’ a special meal for ya, or so he says,” Floyd shoots you a lazy grin and slings his arm over your shoulder, which earns a nasty glare from Jade standing by the counter. Why are you accepting his touch, but not mine? It turns out that your eel is a bit more dramatic that he lets on. 

When you approach him, he lays out a meal he prepared for you, along with your favorite tea. Freeing you from Floyd’s grasp, he places his hand on your shoulder as he guides you to one of the booths at the center of the Lounge. You notice that his grip is a bit firmer than usual, and that his smile towards you seems a bit strained. 

Once you’re seated, you expect Jade to go on with the rest of his shift and serve the other customers pooling in, but he instead takes the seat beside yours, leaving almost no space between the two of you, and grabs a bite of the food and…turns to you? 

“Prefect, I’ve made your favorite today, now if you would just open wide and say, ‘ahh’,” 

You feel Jade’s cold fingers on your chin that move to make you face him. With his eyes meeting yours, you notice that his features seem more relaxed now compared to earlier–the strain in his smile is now replaced with a look of fondness. Why was your eel acting extra sweet today? 

However, you feel the looks you’re getting from the other students dining in at the lounge. You remember that to them, it seems uncanny that the ever so intimidating, cold, and scary Jade Leech is looking at you like you hung the moon–not to mention feeding you a bite of his cooking!

You have no choice but to play along to his whims, and move to taste the food. It’s cooked to perfection–perfectly adjusted to your tastes. You can tell Jade’s spent time trying to cater to the flavors you enjoy, but you can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness gripe at your heart knowing this could be the last time you’ll ever try it. Instead of responding with praise, as you normally do, you silently chew on your food, with a neutral look on your face.

“Hm, is something the matter, Prefect? I believe I’ve cooked the meal to your liking, or perhaps your tastes have changed?” Jade presses his eyebrows together and pouts to give you a look of feigned hurt, which you’re familiar with by now, but for some reason his tone seems to hold genuine concern. All this over food, Jade? At the moment, you can’t tell what he’s thinking anymore. “Is it perhaps the position we’re sitting in that makes you uncomfortable? I did try to reserve the best seats in the lounge for you, I thought you might enjoy a change from where we usually sit.”

What kind of stunt is this eel trying to pull? Is the extra sweetness part of the act?? Does he know that you overheard him and Floyd last night???

You offer Jade a flushed look, half because of how cute his concerned face looks and the other half being that you have no idea what to think anymore. Distracted by your adorable reaction, Jade believes his plan is working.

What really sends you into overdrive, is when he walks you home from Mostro Lounge. Instead of offering his arm to you once again, he silently intertwines his gloved hands with yours as you make your way to Ramshackle dorm–leaving you no room to refuse his touch. 

“Prefect, please send me recipes you’d like to try in the future, I’ll try to recreate them for you if today’s cooking was not to your liking. Perhaps you’d like to have a dish with shrimp in it, fufu,” your eel teases you about your earlier lack of reaction. While he may jest, he secretly worries that his efforts haven’t reached you. After all, his main goal of the night was to please you, and remove the doubt in his mind that you were distancing yourself from him. 

Reaching the gate of Ramshackle dorm, you speak up, “Jade, I can go from here. Thank you for cooking for me, it really was good,” for some reason, it sounded like the last time he’d cook for you, Jade thought. How curious. 

Of course, what kind of gentleman would he be if he allowed that to happen? “My dear, do you think I don’t have the decency to walk you to your door? You wound me, Prefect,” the grip he has on your hand feels tighter as he walks the path leading to your home, “Come, I’ll even make some tea for you inside, if you’d like.” But as he expected, you take the chance to refuse his effort of spending any more time with you. 

So your beloved eel resorts to one last thing as you approach your door, “I shall brew you a drink another time then, Prefect,” he slithers his free hand around your waist to pull you closer, enough for you to pick up on his comforting scent. Then, he brings your hand up to place a kiss inside your palm, looking up at you with his smile, “Have a good night, my dear.” 

You find yourself surprised at his sudden display of affection, he must still be toying with me, huh? Either way, you still feel an overwhelming sense of giddiness being on the receiving end of such love from your eel, whether or not the reason behind it is actually what you think. Not wanting to let your feelings show, however, you simply nod and wave him goodbye.

Jade can’t help but feel the distance between the both of you grow, despite his efforts. However, little does he know that how you watch him leave all the way until his figure disappeared from your sight. His actions confuse you, but it doesn’t stop you from longing the times you could indulge yourself in his sweetness.

The following week was the same–you were under the impression that Jade had grown bored of you, and that he was toying with your feelings at this point before dropping you eventually. You rejected his advances as physical affection, spent more time with Grim and your friends, and rarely dropped by his room to hangout. On the other hand, Jade was working harder than ever to get on your good side again. He was unfamiliar with the feeling of being unsettled by one person, a human at that. However, your boyfriend mistakes the feeling of missing your active presence for being unsettled. 

He had been needlessly sweet to you the past week. He began appearing at your doorstep in the morning with a drink in one hand and offering to carry your books in the other, but not without taking your hand to place a chaste kiss on it first. He also started acting more physically affectionate with you too, which wouldn’t be weird if not for where he’d do it. In the past, Jade preferred to show your affections in private, but now, he’ll bring you close and lay his head on your shoulder in the middle of the courtyard, claiming that he needs to rest! What a sneaky eel you have. 

Deciding you’ve had enough of this confusion, you gather in the big leagues to ask advice. Certainly, you’d consult those seasoned in the area of relationships, with mature minds and words of wisdom. Surely, maybe someone like Vil or Trey, an experienced senio-

In your living room, you sit across Ace and Deuce. 

Not that you had a choice, because they noticed how lovey-dovey you and your boyfriend have been lately and decided to make it their problem because surely something MUST have happened! 

Click clack…Jade opens the gate to Ramshackle, holding a container of sweets you mentioned the other day, hopeful to gain an excited reaction and maybe a little praise coming from you. 

“Okay guys, the truth is, I overheard Jade and Floyd talking about me the other night and….” 

Oho? By now, Jade’s reached your door and is about to knock, a polite smile on his face, but he pauses when he overhears you mentioning his name. The Prefect is chatting about me even in her private time, how adorable. 

“What did that bastard say about you??? Does he need to be taken care of???” Ace exclaims loudly, clearly carried over by emotion. Deuce aggressively shakes his head in agreement.

“Wait! I didn’t even get to that part yet…you see, he said that I’m too tiresome to be with….”

Hm. Jade wasn’t expecting that. In fact, he was a little hurt at the fact that you could even consider he’d think that of you. 

“--and I think the reason he's being so much sweeter towards me these days is because he knows I overheard them. Is it all an act? I can’t tell anymore, but I don’t have the heart to ask, in case I’m right…” 

Jade stands still in front of your door, his smile intact, your sweets still in hand. But to his surprise, he almost drops them. 

Clutching them a little harder now, he takes a step backwards and decides to retreat. He takes big strides over Ramshackle’s lawn. How odd of me, he thinks. He’d usually take the chance to scare first-years and amuse himself with their reactions when they find out he’d been listening in, and of course, he’d like to soothe your doubts right then and there–but a big part of him doesn’t realize how much he actually treasures you. He needs to corner you talk to you privately. It’s all an excuse, because he needed to compose himself lest he breaks down your door. 

Jade hates how you ever thought of those things in the first place. How could you doubt this eel’s sincere heart that only wishes to win your affection once more? With a new resolve, he concludes that he must seek you out directly. 

How direct? Well…how about eel appearing in your kitchen first thing in the morning? 

Waking up to the smell of your favorite food is something you haven’t experienced since coming to Twisted Wonderland. There go the ghosts, messing with the kitchen. But wait, why does it smell…really good? Like the kind only Jade would make you? 

Dragging yourself out of bed and hopping down the stairs, still in your pajamas. You see the tall figure of your boyfriend brewing some tea, and you’re met with his signature smile when he turns around. You can’t decide if you’re ecstatic to see him so early in the morning or afraid because he’s now spreading his antics to your dorm, wondering what’ll happen next.

“Have you slept well, dear Prefect? Come, I’ve prepared you your favorite meal–I especially foraged the ingredients for this dish.” Jade takes hold of your arm and leads you to sit on the dining table, occupying the space next to you. He’s already dressed in his uniform, his black strand of hair straightened, and gloved hand already pouring out tea for you to drink. 

“Jade…this is really sweet and all, but can I ask you one thing? 

Here it comes, “Of course. By the looks of it, I assume it’ll be quite a fun discussion, fufu.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” You don’t mean for it to sound so blunt, but you’ve only just woken up, after all. It’s the one thing that’s been weighing on your mind since that night–is he just acting the part of a “perfect” boyfriend, when in reality, he finds your company to be quite meddlesome? Why does he still keep you around, or rather, actively seek you out more than ever now, if you aren’t amusing to him anymore?

“Ah, is it so unusual of me to want to treat my beloved so well? I must say, I am a bit hurt that you would doubt my actions toward you,” his eyebrows knit together, forming that worried expression of his, “On the contrary, dear, might I ask you why you’ve been acting differently as of late?” 

Now he’s turning this on you, huh? Well, you decide, there’s no other choice but to come off clean, and end your worries once and for all. You take a deep breath, before telling him, “Okay, the truth is…I overheard you and Floyd talking the other night. Remember when I came by to ask help on Potionology?” 

“Of course, I remember that you followed my tutoring so well–it seemed that asking for “help” was just an excuse to seek out my affection that night, though~”

You laugh dryly, wondering why he was acting fond of your physical touch, “Jade, I think it’s time to end this. I heard you tell Floyd that I come to your room too much, that it’s tiresome to always be with me. I’ve known you long enough to expect that you’d eventually grow bored of me.”

“I tried to keep my distance from you and give you a chance to break up the routine of being with me, but why are you acting this way? Why are you suddenly being more…romantic, sweet, than normal?”

On the outside, Jade maintains a neutral expression. But internally, he feels a foreign feeling of disappointment. Not at you–never at you. But at himself, for not relaying his true emotions toward you. Was that truly what you thought of him? 

“Prefect…I believe you have a wrong idea of how the conversation went on. Would you like me to tell you the full details?”

Huh??? 

“While it is true, Floyd did ask me if I had gotten tired of…our time together, my response was referring to the fact that we usually meet at my quarters. I was considering the option that you’d appreciate if we had a change of pace, and go someplace else for a change. I was thinking of other ways to please you. I never thought that you would interpret our conversation in that way.

Extending his hand to place on your cheek, he continues, “On the contrary, I thought I had done something amiss, and my behavior the past weeks has been an attempt to court you once again. To you, I extend my deepest apologies–I find it difficult to imagine that I would ever get tired of you.”

“If you would allow me, I would like to take care of the perpetrator of the issue,” Jade grins, his eyes uneven. The way his eyes glimmered, you knew that a certain twin would be on the receiving end of his wrath. He made a move to stand up, possibly to make his way to Octavinelle and beat up talk to his brother, but you quickly pulled him back down to his seat. You’d rather have your eel intact so he could hear what you had to say. 

“Oh Jade, I’m sorry too–I can’t believe I…” Now you just felt mildly embarrassed, and a bit angry at yourself for letting your thoughts consume you. After a beat, you found yourself in a fit of laughter at how badly you misunderstood the conversation. Jade looks down at you with a fond smile, seemingly content with the outcome of your discussion–how long had it been since he saw you so carefree around him? 

You wrap your arms around his and lean your head on his shoulder, and look up at him, “So…you don’t mind it if I do this, after all?” A sly grin occupies your face, your eyes crinkling at the thought that Jade might love you more than you thought. 

“Not at all, instead, I do wish you would show your affections toward me more freely. Seeing how much you’ve rejected my advances toward you in past weeks, you have a lot to make up for, Prefect, fufu,” Jade gives you a chilling smile, but now you know his words are genuine–your eel simply missed you. 

“Now then, while I admit that you look quite…adorable in your sleeping attire, shall I offer you my assistance in getting ready for the day, my dear?”

Now that you’ve resolved your grave misunderstanding with Jade, you thought that you two would go back to normal–but it seems your eel had other plans. It seems his attempts to woo you haven’t ceased, as you walk down Ramshackle’s rickety stairs to see Jade cooking you breakfast once more. He’s been at it since the first day he came.

You come up from behind to embrace him, but sensing your footsteps, he turns to face you. “Prefect, you’re awake. I’ll be finished in a bit. ” He ruffles your bedhead and leans in to kiss your forehead, “Fufu, or would you rather join me and prepare our meal together?”

You let out a satisfied huff, and ask, “Jade, why do you still come by everyday? Not that I’m complaining, but you don’t have to do all this after, you know…”

“I must admit, Prefect, that I have been wishing to act this way for a while. The situation simply provided me an opportunity to act on my desires and pamper you, fufu,” Jade gives you the smile you know so well, and you can’t help but bury your head on his shoulder, “Ah, Jade…why are you so cute…”

“I don’t know what you mean, Prefect, I’d say you’re quite adorable yourself,” He gently smoothes down your bedhead once more. The both of you stay standing in the kitchen, embracing one another and enjoying each other’s company.

After a while, you look up at your boyfriend. “Jade…I think something’s burning.”

Unfazed, he gently lets go of your arms and turns off the stove. “It seems I lose track of time when I’m you, my beloved. Your touch is too tempting for me to resist, fufu.”

“Just admit you forgot!!”

i eat this trope up everytime i see it and i wanted to write one with jade !! sothis is actually the first thing i've ever fully written before anything else lol please be very kind with me lol (Not that edited either we ball or it'd never see the light of day !!!)

inspired by "an affection anthology" by twstyturny and "jade leech and the three breakups" by schoenpepper (graciously reblogged by twstyturny as well) !!! i <3 the hurt comfort these fics have hihi this has been living in my head rent free since i read it its so so good i love it love it

You knew for a fact that you loved the eel, and that behind his scheming pursuits and chilling smiles, he does hold some affection for you. But you weren’t sure if he liked you the same way you did. When your fingers brushed over his, did he feel the same rush you did? Whenever you spot him in a sea of students after class, does his heart run to the moon and back, the same as you still do despite all the time you’ve spent together? 

Amidst your racing thoughts, Jade calculates his own response. 

But first, a realization. 

“It seems that I have missed something…” His voice comes out as a soft mumble, as if he were talking to himself. 

“Sorry?”

He looks at you with his eyebrows furrowed, concern painting the eel’s face. This kind of expression was common, but it was usually accompanied by a scheme of some sort. The only scheme here would be playing your heart, however. But you see the slight downward twitch of his lips, and for a moment, you believe that his worry is genuine. Then, his mouth moves to turn into a little pout. Adorable, you think. 

“I cannot believe that I have overlooked such a vital part of our relationship.” Jade makes a move to hold you closer, his long limbs slithering along the dip of your waist. Your heart does a flip, maybe 10000 flips in a second. Lethal power: 67%.

“Prefect…” His fingers drag along your hair, tucking it behind your ear. The closer proximity gives you a chance to study his annoyingly handsome features. His mismatched eyes meet your own, and his lips contort into the smile you’ve grown fond of. You feel your knees weaken, and mentally thank Jade for holding you–otherwise you might’ve fallen. Fallen for him, though, you already have. Lethal power: 82%. 

Suddenly, he draws back. Your eel retracts his arms from your shoulder and waist, takes a step to create some space before you, and holds his hands together in the usual, polite manner he does. 

“Will you let me have the honor of marrying you?” 

…

…?

…????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lethal power: MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE

You find yourself unable to move in shock. Was there something you missed? What part of your conversation could have ever led him to Him??? Marrying??? You???

Before he could reach for the box in his pocket and get down on his knees (why does he just have that prepared?); your arms frantically reach the sides of his shoulder and bring him up to your eye level, looking at him as if he had gone insane. Well, you’re not that far off…

“Wait, Jade! I’m sorry, I don’t understand! I thought you didn’t like me back, why are you–”

“You thought that I didn’t return your affections? My dear, are you dense?”

Dense. You don’t know if that was a more fitting description for yourself or the eel standing before you, “On the contrary, I believe my feelings are affirmed to you each and every day we spend together.” For the second time, you’re taken aback. Unlike the first, your mouth is left gaping so much that a fly could take space and start paying rent. However, Jade graciously brings his hand to your chin to close it, and looks into your eyes once more. 

“I believe I haven’t missed a day. I was under the impression that our relationship was going smoothly, and that you were unsatisfied that I haven’t proposed to you yet. Was that not your point, my dear?”

No, far from it! You wanted to shout, but to your favor, you let him continue, “I remember the day you first confessed your feelings for me. I assumed that you were accepting my attempts to court you. I always made sure to intertwine your arm with mine, after all.” 

That day, after his polite response, he reached out to offer his arm for you to hold, and walked you back to Ramshackle. It was no surprise to you, however, because it was common for him to do so. You safely assumed that he was trying to play the part of a gentlemanly, polite eel. But apparently, that meant something entirely different to Jade. He was courting you all this time? And you never noticed??

“Jade, are you serious?” You give him an incredulous look, your brain trying to catch up with this new information. The eel smiles at your current expression, now clearly finding amusement at the situation.

 “Yes, quite serious, my dear. But to calm your worries, I assure you that I sincerely return your affections. I find that our time together has made my days much more pleasant, and that your presence is one that I can never bring myself to tire of. Though you can be a handful at times, it seems that it only causes me to fall more in love with you, fufu.” The lilt in his tone soothes your thoughts, and you begin to fully look at the eel standing before you.

Standing up with perfect posture, his hands are brought together across his stomach, and he still has his signature smile spread across his face. If you squinted a bit, you’d find that his cheeks are even tinted a very faint shade of pink, and that his breathing is a bit uneven. For Jade, such a small reaction is a big sign that he’s worked up. You find that hard to believe, but just hearing you doubt his love for you is enough to throw him off track.

Despite that, his eyes seem filled with amusement crinkling their corners, clearly focusing all his attention on you. At the realization, you feel your face heat up, and your heart runs a mile once more. But you’re happy. Relieved, even. Though your hypothesis was completely off, it’d be the only thing you’d never want to be true. The fact is: your eel is undeniably and utterly in love with you. 

There is one question left unanswered, however. 

“Prefect, I’m glad that I was able to erase your doubts, but I believe you have yet to respond to my previous inquiry.” 

“Huh? What did I miss…I love you too?”

He smiles at your reply, and gently runs his gloved fingers through your hair once more, “I appreciate your words, but I was referring to my marriage proposal.” 

“Wait, you’re really asking me that? Right now?” You were only in your second and third years, after all. You didn’t think your relationship would last either, and that you’d be left to deal with your “unrequited” feelings forever…

The amused look in Jade’s eyes turned into something that resembled mischief instead,  “Hm? I take it that you are rejecting my request? Or is it that…there is a third party?” This time, he puts on his worried face–cute pout intact–hand holding his chin, clearly putting on an act to look pitiful. “I was hoping to wait for the perfect time to ask for your hand, but I thought that waiting had become a hindrance in our relationship, in regard to your previous worries. Though, I am curious as to what your answer will be, my dear~.”

You let out a dry sniffle, but then your eyes warm up, and suddenly tears are streaming down your face. You find that your overwhelming happiness at the realization that Jade is in love with you…is quite difficult to hold back. Through your blurry vision, you manage to make out how Jade’s eyes are slightly widened, and his eyebrows are etched in genuine worry once more. He immediately moves to retrieve the handkerchief from his breast pocket, “Oh dear, Prefect, I apolog–”

“Yes! Jade, please marry me!”

extra:

After your confession, Jade walks back to Octavinelle in high spirits. Even Floyd is weirded out by how happy his brother seems, but immediately assumes that Shrimpy had done something nice to him that day. More than nice, actually.

He gathers his materials and the plants he’s foraged to create a terrarium dedicated to you. One out of many, in fact, but this one is special because it marks your first day as a couple. He sets two budding plants together, hoping to see them bloom with you.

Then comes your new routine–preparing you lunches with mushrooms he’s foraged and recipes he threatened asked for from Ruggie, taking initiative and inviting you on hiking dates or go stargazing with him, and clearly giving you special treatment by handing out discounts whenever you visit him at Mostro Lounge Azul is on his last straw.

The only thing running through his head while doing these things is of course, three simple words: I love you. 

Seeing you waiting by the counter at Mostro Lounge? I love you. When he gifted your couple-terrarium and saw how overjoyed you were, he thought, I wish to observe this reaction forever, interesting…so this is love. Even though hiking wasn’t your strongest suit, you insisted on going with him because you wanted to be part of his hobbies, too. I am in love with the Prefect. 

However, it seems he got a bit carried away, because he never actually uttered these words to you–they remained looping in his mind, leading him to believe he always relayed these feelings to you. 

Hm, and he has the nerve to wonder why you ask him one day, “Jade, will you ever break up with me?”