#operation l-o-v-e

"Because it's still true!"

As if summoned by the conversation—

"GOOD MORNING, HUMAN!"

The birds exploded out of the nearby trees.

Yuu winced.

"Morning, Sebek."

Grim flattened his ears.

"See?! WHY'S HE ALWAYS YELLING?!"

"I AM MERELY GREETING MY COMPANION."

"I'M TEN FEET AWAY AND I CAN HEAR YOU!"

---

Grim had many reasons for disliking Sebek.

Reason number one:

"He keeps calling me 'the feline creature!'"

"I HAVE YET TO DETERMINE YOUR SPECIES."

"I'M GRIM!"

"I am aware!"

"THEN USE MY NAME!"

"I shall consider it!"

"JUST CONSIDER IT NOW!"

---

Reason number two:

Sebek had opinions.

Very strong opinions.

"That canned tuna is unsuitable nutrition."

"It's delicious!"

"It contains excessive sodium."

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS!"

"You should."

"I'M A MONSTER!"

"Then you should know better."

Grim gasped dramatically.

"Yuu! He insulted my entire bloodline!"

"I did no such thing!" Sebek looked up at Yuu, offended.

The sight they were seeing was two siblings arguing for equal orange juice in their eyes.

---

Reason number three:

Sebek kept accidentally stealing Yuu's attention.

Grim would be in the middle of telling a dramatic story.

"...And then I was gonna blast that ghost with my amazing magic—"

"Yuu."

"Hm?"

"You had forgot your umbrella." Sebek had held it out to Yuu for the other to take. A blush on his cheeks that he hoped Yuu couldn't notice.

"Oh! Thanks, Sebek."

"..."

Grim pouted.

"...You interrupted my story."

"It will be raining."

"I WAS BUILDING SUSPENSE!"

---

Reason number four.

The head pats.

Sebek did not understand boundaries.

He had watched Yuu scratch Grim behind the ears exactly once.

The next day—

"The feline creature appears...agitated."

"I am not."

"...Perhaps this gesture is calming."

A large hand descended.

Pat.

Grim froze.

"..."

"...Did you just pet me?"

"I did."

"..."

"YUU HE TOUCHED ME!"

Yuu burst into laughter.

Sebek frowned.

"...Was that incorrect?"

"I'M NOT A CAT!"

"You behave similarly."

"I HAVE DIGNITY!"

"You attempted to fit inside a teapot yesterday."

"...THAT'S NOT THE POINT."

---

The rivalry escalated.

Whenever Sebek visited Ramshackle

Grim would sit directly on Yuu's side

"This seat's occupied."

"..."

Sebek stared.

"...Very well."

He simply stood beside them.

For an hour.

Motionless.

Watching.

Grim slowly looked up.

"...You're creepy."

"I am waiting." Sebek stared ahead.

"For what?"

"For you to become uncomfortable." He looked down at the monster with an unamused look.

"I'M ALREADY UNCOMFORTABLE!" Grim yelled.

---

One afternoon, Grim decided enough was enough.

He marched right up to Sebek.

"You."

"Yes?"

"You like Yuu."

Sebek froze.

"..."

"..."

"...Ridiculous."

Sebek was red in the face instantly. He looked away trying to spare himself some dignity.

"You DO!"

"I merely ensure their continued well-being."

"You carry their groceries."

"They overexert themselves."

"You bring them snacks."

"They forget meals."

"You fixed their broken chair."

"It was unstable."

"You walked across campus because they said they liked flowers."

"...The flowers happened to be nearby."

"They were on the OTHER SIDE OF THE SCHOOL!"

"..."

"..."

Grim crossed his arms triumphantly.

"HA! GOTCHA!"

Sebek's face turned impossibly bright red.

"I DO NOT REQUIRE THE OPINION OF A TALKING FELINE."

"I KNEW IT!"

---

Later that evening

Grim found a small bag sitting outside Ramshackle's door.

Inside...

Premium tuna.

The expensive kind.

"..."

There was no note.

Just the food.

Yuu smiled knowingly.

"I wonder who left this."

Grim looked toward Diasomnia.

"..."

"...That loud weirdo."

---

The next morning—

Grim reluctantly approached Sebek.

"...Hey."

"...Hm?"

"..."

"...Thanks...for the tuna."

Sebek nodded once.

"You are welcome."

"..."

"..."

"...I still don't like you."

"I did not expect otherwise."

"But..."

Grim looked away.

"...You take good care of Yuu."

"..."

Sebek's expression softened, just a little.

"I intend to."

"..."

"...If you ever make 'em cry..."

Sebek didn't even let Grim finish.

"I would sooner challenge fate itself than willingly bring Yuu sorrow."

Grim blinked.

"..."

"...That was...actually kinda cool."

Sebek cleared his throat.

"...Do not repeat that."

"Heh."

Grim smirked.

"Still a loud weirdo."

"..."

"...A tolerable gremlin."

"I HEARD THAT!"

"I intended for you to."

From that day on, they never really became friends.

They bickered constantly, argued over whose turn it was to help Yuu carry groceries, and competed for Yuu's attention whenever the three of them were together.

But if anyone else dared to insult Yuu?

Grim and Sebek would be standing shoulder to shoulder before the insult had even finished.

Neither of them would admit they made a pretty good team.

"...And then Grim stole the entire pie!" A familiar light red haired boy cackled at his narration.

"I DID NOT STEAL IT!" Grim retaliated, crossing his tiny paws.

"From what Ace just described it seems you did" Deuce teased further.

"You're gonna need to pay for that, y'know?" Yuu chuckled, patting Grims head.

"I PREPAID THE THEFT!" The feline almost bit Yuu's hand if not his faithful-henchman

Yuu dissolved into laughter. Epel shook his head as he kept drinking his apple cider—Jack didn't even try to pretend he wasn't amused, letting out a huff that sounded like laughter.

Across the courtyard, Sebek stopped mid-step.

Who...was making Yuu laugh?

He looked over.

Ace.

Deuce.

Epel.

Grim.

Yuu was doubled over, holding their stomach, tears in the corners of their eyes from laughing so hard.

Sebek frowned. His chest tightened strangely. "This again...?" He placed his hand over his chest as if trying to stop the ache and slow down how fast his heart was going.

---

Later

Silver noticed that Sebek had unusually been stirring his tea for likely 6 minutes now, without talking to anybody in the table. "You've been quiet."

"Hm..." Sebek simply muttered and sighed, laying his chin on his knuckles.

"What are you moping about now?" Silver added, raising an eyebrow

"I am simply...contemplating." Sebek responded before a quiet second of silence fell.

"About?" Silver tilted his head sleepily, placing his cheek onto the warmth of his palm.

"...Ace Trappola." Sebek sat up straighter at the name that left his mouth as he closed his eyes in dissatisfaction.

Silver blinked, taken aback. He, too sat up straighter. Now awfully alert at what Sebek was going to say next.

"He is..." Sebek searched for the right word. He opened his mouth—then closed it. Before whispering—"...excessively amusing. And Yuu appears to appreciate this."

"Yes?" Silver responded, not quite getting the point of what Sebek had just told him.

"I fail to see why." Sebek huffed, furrowing his eyebrows in contempt. Silver looked at him for a long moment. "Ah, You're jealous."

Sebek whipped his head to look at Silver. A blush now spreading on his face as his eyes widened at what his upperclassman said. "I most certainly am not!"

"You sound jealous." Silver looked away, resting his cheek back against his palm as he took the handle of his coffee.

"I simply fail to understand why his jokes produce such dramatic results." Sebek leaned towards Silver, crossing his arms. Shaking his head as he slumped in his seat.

---

The next day. Sebek arrived at Ramshackle with rose tea, Yuus favourite.

Yuu smiled immediately upon opening the door and was met with Sebek, poised and holding a bag of rose tea and a cup of it already set in his other hand.

"Oh! Thank you, Sebek." Yuu opened the door wider, taking the bag and the cup from Sebeks hands.

That warm feeling again.

Good.

Then Ace appeared beside Sebek and squeezed past him, showing something to Yuu. "Yuu! Look what I found!"

"A frog?" They tilyed their head at the tiny green amphibian.

"It wears a tiny leaf like a hat!

Yuu gasped. "It does! Oh my gosh, that's adorable!"

Sebek looked at the frog.

Looked at Ace.

Looked back at the frog.

And immediately thought :

"...I could locate a larger frog."

---

That afternoon—

Sebek caught himself doing something horrifying.

Competing.

Ace handed Yuu an apple.

Sebek brought an entire basket.

Deuce helped carry one box.

Sebek carried six.

Epel complimented Yuu's outfit.

Sebek spent twenty minutes trying to think of one.

"...Your...buttons are...securely attached." He nodded.

Yuu smiled anyway. "Thanks, Sebek."

Ace wheezed.

---

Lilia found this incredibly entertaining.

"My, my."

Sebek frowned.

"What."

"You've entered the 'trying far too hard' stage." Lilia crossed his arms, sly and smiling at green-haired boy.

"I have no idea what you're referring to." Zebek furrowed his eyebrows.

"You tried to outdo a frog."

"..."

"...It was a very small frog." Zebek closed his eyes, shaking his head.

---

The breaking point came a week later.

Yuu was sitting beneath a tree.

A second-year from another dorm sat beside them.

They were talking.

Laughing.

The student gently brushed a leaf out of Yuu's hair.

Sebek stopped walking.

"..."

"..."

His stomach dropped.

Something unpleasant settled in his chest.

He didn't like it.

Not one bit.

Before he even realized it—

"YUU."

Both of them looked over.

"Oh, hey Sebek!"

The second-year smiled politely.

"Oh, Zigvolt."

Sebek stared.

The student smiled again.

"..."

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon?"

Silence.

Very awkward silence.

Yuu looked between them.

"Everything okay?"

Sebek answered immediately.

"Yes."

The second-year nodded.

"Yes..."

Neither moved.

---

After what felt like an eternity, the other student stood.

"I should get going." The second-year rubbed the back of then head awkwardly. "See you later, Yuu."

"Bye!"

They waved.

Yuu waved back.

Sebek watched them leave.

His shoulders finally relaxed.

Yuu noticed.

"Sebek?"

"Yes?"

"Were you...Jealous?"

His eyes widened.

"What?"

"You looked...kind of upset."

"I was not upset."

"Mhm."

"I was merely..."

He paused.

"...concerned."

"About what?"

"...Their proximity."

Yuu blinked.

"Their...proximity?"

"Yes..."

"...Why?"

Sebek looked away.

“Because they had touched your hair.”

“Because they made you smile.”

“Because you looked comfortable beside someone else.”

Because—

"..."

He couldn't say it.

---

Yuu stood.

Walked over.

Until they were right in front of him.

"...Sebek."

"..."

"You know..."

They smiled softly.

"you can just ask to spend time with me? I like hanging out with you."

"...You do?"

"Mhm."

"You don't have to compete with Ace."

".I was not competing."

"You brought me fourteen oranges."

"You said you liked fruit."

"I said I wanted one orange."

"The others were...precautionary."

Yuu laughed.

Not because of Ace.

Not because of anyone else.

Because of him.

That warm, familiar laugh.

Sebek felt his shoulders finally loosen.

Yuu reached out.

Very gently.

They straightened the slightly crooked collar of his uniform.

"There."

Sebek forgot how to breathe.

"Your collar was crooked."

"I..." Sebek stuttered, red starting in their face.

"You look nice."

Sebek's face immediately turned fully scarlet.

"I...!"

He opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

Nothing came out.

Yuu smiled.

"Cute."

Sebek made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a system error.

Then, with every ounce of dignity he could salvage, he turned on his heel and marched away as fast as he could without technically running.

Yuu watched him go, laughing quietly.

From a nearby window, Lilia grinned.

"I give him...three more months before he accidentally proposes."

Silver glanced toward the rapidly retreating Sebek.

"...You're being generous."

In the distance, Ace could be heard shouting, "DID HE BLUE SCREEN AGAIN?!"