Long overdue drabble for @moraygrotto
Based on this as a prompt from forever ago 😭
Short fic of Jade drinking probably too much soda, burping, and being very cute while doing so
(don't like don't read folks, k?)
-brrrrhhhrrpphh-
Jade, having finished off his most recent glass of soda, gave a long, airy burp. Playfully, he let the carbonation out, slow and steady, through pursed lips.
This time, he was trying to see how long he could draw a burp out, while also making it as quiet as possible, muffled with a fist.
Jade enjoyed the feeling of his stomach slowly deflating under his other hand. Carefully, he squeezed his abdominal muscles just the right amount to wring out the majority of the bubbles, until it was just the volume of all of the soda he'd imbibed filling up his belly.
He enjoyed the way it sloshed around inside him, when he walked, or bent over.
Jade, who'd lived most of his life as a merman in the deep ocean, was used to having a large volume of air inside his body. Like most fish, he had an air bladder in his true form, which he could fill or deflate to control the depth at which he swam.
Now that he walked on land, he found the feeling of having a belly full of soda humorous. It was almost like a reverse air bladder, he thought, fanciful. The extra weight of all those drinks kept him well-anchored to the ground.
Liquids were surprisingly heavy.
Jade had volunteered to work late at the Lounge tonight. And, since doing inventory for Azul wasn't the most exciting of tasks, Jade had elected to entertain himself by trying each of the new soda flavors that had come in with the latest order.
Because Jade was such a good employee, he even took notes on his findings for Azul in between counting the items and stocking the shelves.
The most recent glass had been a sour grape flavor, which Jade hadn't expected to like overly much, but he'd been pleasantly surprised.
Tart, but not bitter, he scribbled down on his notepad. The sourness helps tone down a drink that would otherwise be excessively sweet. The result is unexpectedly mature for a 'grape soda'--dry and smooth. Perhaps we could offer it as a 'mocktail', or even a non-alcoholic alternative to sparkling wine.
Jade paused, tapping his pen against his lips, thinking. He smiled, when a small but very rumbly closed-mouthed burp came up, unbidden. He exhaled the vapor through his nose, enjoying the mild burn of the carbonation and the sourness. How kind of his stomach, to send him a reminder even after the drink was finished, the aftertaste now lingering inside his mouth.
He added, as a final note, The syrup would no doubt make a lovely martini as well. I expect it would pair nicely with gin, and perhaps a lavender or violet liqueur, to enhance the purple hue and bring out the floral notes of the gin. For a garnish, I recommend a sweet and sour sugar rim, plus a sprig of lavender, or perhaps a candied violet.
Jade took a moment to daydream about preparing such a martini for Vil. Sophisticated, yet with a playful edge. Suitable. Of course, the bold purple would go nicely with his dorm uniform...
Or perhaps Trey, who loved candied violets, would find such a drink a refreshing delight after a long day of baking.
Praise from either student would go a long way towards marketing the drink via word of mouth. Why, it could practically sell itself! Azul would be ever so pleased.
Azul, himself, would likely enjoy the aesthetic of a rich, purple martini as well. Though Jade thought he would preferentially serve him the lavender version, as the herb's soothing properties would be good for his nerves.
When he was satisfied that his description had captured the experience of the sour grape soda, (and that all the lingering bubbles had been cleared out), Jade returned to the fountain, rinsed his empty cup, and looked over the flavors he had yet to try out.
It was a difficult decision. Since the weather had been getting warmer, Azul had decided to order a sampler pack of the more fruity, tropical syrups that the vendor offered.
Jade struggled to choose between mango, pineapple, or dragonfruit for his next cup. In the end, he went with dragonfruit. Jade wasn't too fond of drinks that were overly sweet.
He was a fan of novelty, however, and dragonfruit sounded like the most interesting choice.
When Jade poured a generous helping of the syrup into his glass, he was tickled to see that it was bright pink. The two flavors he'd tried before the grape, coconut and banana, had been very tasty, but sadly colorless. Between the purple of the grape, the pink of the dragonfruit, and the orange and yellow pineapple and mango, their summer drink offerings would be both delicious and colorful. Jade was now sure he could talk Floyd into designing some posters to hang around campus.
It was sometimes difficult getting Floyd to do more than the bare minimum amount of work. But Jade knew his brother wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of getting to crank the color saturation in their design software up to the highest, most eye-searing setting.
Jade added some crushed ice to his glass, then filled it to the brim with soda water. He turned up the carbonation. This was in part to ensure he got a good whiff of the fragrance, and also to ensure he could easily burp, so he didn't end up with too many bubbles trapped inside him.
He wanted to keep enough room to try all of the new sodas, and the best way to do that was to expel all the air before it could take up too much internal real estate, and possibly even give Jade a stomachache.
Not that that was too big a concern. Jade, as a moray merman, had an enormous stomach capacity, and he liked to play with it, given the opportunity.
Jades eyebrows went up as he took a taste of the dragonfruit soda. This... well, he hadn't tried the pineapple or mango yet, but he could already tell this one was going to be his favorite. It was simple: not too sweet, just a bit tangy. Refreshing, and pleasing to the tongue.
And yet, it had a subtle edge of something thoroughly unfamiliar... exotic, even. Jade wasn't even sure how to describe the flavor--"like dragonfruit" certainly wouldn't suffice, given how few people knew what dragonfruit tasted like.
Jade had never had the opportunity to try this delicacy of the land himself, either, but now he was sure he needed to get his hands on an actual dragonfruit.
He'd seen photos of them--they were bright red or pink, and covered in a spiky outer peel reminiscent of a dragon's scales.
Based on the fruit's name and appearance, he'd expected it to be spicy or smokey, or at least strongly flavored, not subtle and delicate and irresistible (at least to Jade).
He couldn't stop guzzling it.
Since he was alone, with no one to see him break his gentlemanly persona, he even allowed himself to release a soft, nasal moan while he drank.
Jade really loved flavors, he loved it when they were unexpected, and most of all, he loved the hedonistic pleasure of filling himself unrestrainedly.
It was so good.
Before he knew it, he'd downed the entire glass. Jade's face felt flushed from the experience, like he'd been infected by the pinkness of the dragonfruit. His stomach gurgled with the pleasure of being filled up with such lovely goodness, and Jade tilted his head back, obliging, releasing an enormous belch of dragonfruit-flavored air that'd built up right at the top of his stomach, primed and ready to be released the moment he'd taken his final gulp of soda.
His stomach was so pressurized, Jade hadn't even needed to push, just to open his mouth to let it all come up, almost explosive in its intensity.
Jade thought he could hear the glasses and silverware rattling in the dining room, but it was probably just his imagination being fanciful again.
"Goodness," Jade spoke into the silence that followed, to no one in particular. "Excuse me."
He smiled serenely, basking in the deliciousness of the drink, and the relief of the resulting burp.
Benefits of working after hours meant there was, of course, no one around who he needed to apologize to, but it was good to stay in the habit, even if he'd normally never let himself burp like that in front of anyone besides Floyd or Azul.
Jade patted his chest and chuckled at the thought of what Azul's face would look like, if he'd happened to walk in and hear him being so rude. That had been an impressive burp even for Jade, it was almost a shame that his closest companions hadn't been around to hear it. Floyd would've laughed, and Azul would've screamed.
Ah well, he'd be able to reproduce it easily enough if he was still in a silly mood later. Jade was highly skilled at burping, and he always tended to have excess air in his stomach.
He felt another one coming up, and waited, patient, content to bask in the feeling of pseudo -fullness. He left his hand on his chest, a pose he usually struck to appear attentive and servile, but in this case it was simply to feel the rumbling of air bubbles under his fingers, rising up his esophagus to the back of his throat.
He kept his pharyngeal jaw tightly closed, curious how much air his throat could hold before it became uncomfortable.
The answer was, apparently, a great deal. When the feeling of needing to belch grew to the point of being nearly overwhelming, Jade opened both sets of jaws at the same time, and astonished himself when the sound that came out was even louder and longer than the first one had been.
It was good to know that the carbonation settings really did make a difference.
He felt mildly dazed after it was done. There was a ringing in his ears... and there was still more inside of him, he could feel it.
Jade slid his hand down from his chest to his liquid-and-air-swollen belly, and belched again. Then again. Then, he needed to take a second to catch his breath, before letting out a third and final belch. To his amazement, they had barely decreased in size from the first one.
"My word," Jade murmured to the empty room. "Please forgive me, it seems I've drunk so much soda that I've taken leave of my manners."
Contrary to his polite words, the smile curling the corners of his lips was anything but.
