🌤️ Phorums 🎃

Azul stood up straighter, recovering as the topic switched to something he was much more comfortable with. “I have to actually start planning the birthday gala, especially now that the board will be even more insistent on holding meetings with me after last night. You’ll be getting your things from your apartment, right? I can ask Floyd to help you. He and Jade would be coming over today, anyway, to help with the planning. Jade and I can plan while you and Floyd go to your apartment. When you get back, we’ll get your input and finalize the plans. No doubt they would expect you to be there at the gala, and you should be part of deciding how it goes.”

Jamil smiled in amusement. “30 seconds into waking up and you're already rattling off work plans even on a Sunday?”

Azul raised an eyebrow. “And you spend all your weekends relaxing?” he asked skeptically.

“Fair,” Jamil chuckled. “So I'll take Floyd with me to my old apartment to get my things. Don't trust having him around for the brainstorming?” he quipped, making his way to the kitchen.

“It’s not that,” Azul followed him. “I just think it’s better if you take him with you in case any other thugs are waiting at your apartment. The two thieves have been caught, but it can’t hurt to be careful.” He approached the shelves and took the kettle. “Would you like some tea?”

"Sure, some green tea would be nice," Jamil answered, opening up the shelves to look at the ingredients. "I'm gonna make us some breakfast squares... Care to eat with me?" He pointedly glanced at Azul on that statement, almost like a silent pressure to get him to say yes.

Azul hesitated, but he didn't want there to be a long conversation about it. "Alright," he relented. He put the kettle on and didn't say anything else. With Jamil now living in his house, he had to be even more mindful about keeping his distance.

"...You don't have to force yourself," Jamil said as he grabbed a bowl of eggs and milk and a baking pan. "I know what the twins said about making sure you eat, but you and I don't have to treat it like an obligation. I'd like to invite you to eat with me, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Sorry, no, it's just…" Azul sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's a lot on my mind," he muttered as he prepared the teapot and two cups. "But that can wait until after breakfast." He offered Jamil a smile that would have convinced anyone else, but Jamil had always been more perceptive than others. "Do you often cook for yourself when you travel?"

"Of course," Jamil nodded, choosing to go along with the topic. On the counter, he began to prepare the scrambled eggs. "Though I also indulge myself with the local restaurants here and there. I'm curious, are there any inspirations behind Mostro Lounge when you first made it? Like, what got you aiming for a classy dining lounge? Is that just the style of architecture the Coral Sea has?"

"Not at all," Azul said, leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed as he waited for the kettle to boil. "I did a lot of research before coming to NRC; I learned that people have a positive association with that type of atmosphere, and they're expected to pay a lot for it. It was just as well that Octavinelle’s uniform matched the type of establishment I wanted to build. My mother owns a restaurant, so I already had significant knowledge on how to run a food business.”

"Oh,” Jamil perked up in interest. "Did you help out at her restaurant when you were younger?"

Azul nodded. "I did. She was always patient with me, and I learned a lot from her.”

“That's kind of adorable, taking after your mom in the catering business,” Jamil said as he poured the scrambled eggs into the frying pan.

Azul's face heated up in embarrassment. "Adorable? Since when did you say such things about me?"

"Is it wrong to call an adorable thing adorable?" Jamil shrugged innocently. "It's just nice to hear that you and her sound really close. I bet she's really proud of you."

Azul fell silent. His mother had told him that very sentiment in no uncertain terms, which was why he felt dread in the pit of his stomach about lying to her soon about his fake engagement.

The kettle whistled and took his attention. He turned off the stove and began transferring the hot water into the teapot where the teabags were.

"How about your relationship with your parents?" he asked Jamil. “I hope it has improved since graduation.”

Jamil momentarily paused, but continued frying the eggs before moving to the baking pan. He sighed. "Could be better, but not as bad as it was when they first found out about my resignation as Kalim's attendant. Even with Kalim and his dad's blessing, my parents didn't take the disruption to the Viper legacy well. We hadn't been on speaking terms for a while, but… Around my birthday last year, they sent me a text to greet me. We do small chats now, here and there, asking about how the other's doing, so yeah. It's sort of like reconnecting with old coworkers, in a way."

Azul was silent for a moment, then he nodded. “I’m glad to know that they’re not adamantly against your choice.” He arranged the teapot and cups on a tray along with the sugar bowl. “Have they asked you about… Have they heard the news about us from last night?”

Jamil shook his head. "So far, Najma and Kalim are the only people back home freaking out about it." He added the eggs then layers of ham, cheese, chives, and an additional covering of dough before the spices, then he glanced up at Azul. “Wait. Has your mom heard about it?"

“No. News from land travels slower underwater, and I’ve asked Jade to further slow down news about me. She might know some time this week or the next, though. And she would certainly want to hear from me before my birthday.” Azul went back to leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “We can expect her to want to meet us together by the end of the month. Are you sure you’re okay with that? Have you ever traveled underwater?”

"Underwater? No." Jamil shook his head and put the baking pan in the oven. "But I think I'll be fine. I can only hope she'd be okay with me. Even if this is fake, I'd rather avoid having another set of parents disapprove of me."

"You have nothing to worry about, Jamil," Azul reassured him, then something occurred to him. "Have you ever seen a cecaelia before? In their true form?"

"Sure, the Great Sea Witch's Statue on Main Street back at Night Raven. Why?"

"Well, the real thing looks a bit different from the statue. I… look different." Azul fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves. "My mother will expect me to be in my merform when we visit… But anyway, that's weeks away from now. We have other things to focus on first." He turned around to pick up the tray and walked over to the dining table. There will be time later to worry about Jamil seeing him in his merform.

Jamil followed him. "What sort of plans do you have for the coming weeks?"

"Preparing for the birthday gala, mostly." Azul answered as he placed the tea set on the table. "There isn't any…" he trailed off and suddenly straightened up as a mortifying realization dawned on him. "It's Valentine's Day in two days.”

"Ah, yeah." Jamil was placing cutlery and plates on the table, and he frowned when he saw Azul's face. “What're you worried for?"

"They'll be expecting us to do something, like a date or…" Azul looked at Jamil and blinked. "You don't look worried at all."

Jamil was silent for a moment before answering. “If Valentine's Day scares you, then what's stopping you from dipping out entirely? Does the press really matter that much?"

Azul furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. "You might be right. We don't have to do anything, we can just stay here. If anyone asks, we can say we wanted a private day to ourselves."

"Exactly. You're not required to make appearances for every special occasion; you're allowed to have a private life.” The oven dinged, and Jamil glanced at it before turning back to Azul. “Now then... shall we eat?" He took the breakfast squares out of the oven.

Azul nodded and took a seat. "Thank you for cooking. I'll do dinner tonight."

"Well now, a front-row seat to the culinary skills of Mostro Lounge's very own founder? I'd be honored,” Jamil said as he carefully placed the baking pan onto the table and took a seat across from Azul.

Azul raised an eyebrow. "You've dined in Mostro Lounge even back at NRC, right? My 'skills' are nothing new to you."

"Some of those dishes had been yours?" Jamil blinked. "I always assumed it was your employees' creations."

"Everything in the main course was my recipe," Azul said as he poured tea for both of them. "In the evenings I usually helped cook them, particularly when it's a busy night."

"Shame, then. If only I had known. I'll consider tonight as my first time sampling your works knowing full well who was behind them."

Azul huffed out a chuckle and shook his head. "You really have changed," he said quietly.

Jamil paused momentarily from transferring some food onto his plate. "...Can I ask what you mean by that?"

Azul followed suit in getting some food as he pondered how to answer; he hadn't expected Jamil to ask for an explanation. "I just meant… Back then you wouldn't have cared whether or not I was the one who made those dishes.” Jamil seemed to care more about things in general now, and it still caught Azul off-guard at times.

At that, Jamil let his gaze drop. "I suppose that's true. Is it too late for me to make up for it?"

Azul felt his shoulders tense up. "Why would you want to do that? There's nothing to make up for,” he managed to keep his tone casual.

"I did a lot of stupid things as a kid, that's all... And I can push past my ego to say that I was paranoid, too paranoid, and it got in the way of any meaningful connections I could've made back then. Granted, NRC didn't make that any easier, but..." He glanced up at Azul. "Running into familiar faces throughout my travels and seeing them past my own assumptions made me realize how little I knew about anyone. Even though the sketchy reputation you had back then was justified, I was pretty unfair with you and... hanging out with you these days made me remember that I did wish we could've been... friends, like you wanted."

Azul looked at him in surprise. “You… wished we had been friends? Why?” Even to his own ears his voice sounded guarded, bordering on suspicious. But could Jamil blame him? Even when they had become marginally closer in their Third Year compared to the year before, Jamil had never indicated wanting to be friends with anyone, least of all him.

Embarrassment flickered in Jamil's eyes but he continued speaking. "Just as you were intrigued by me, I felt the same way about you. You were smart and unapologetic about it, you were resourceful and always had contingencies upon contingencies and even in the middle of a disaster, you always remained steadfast to what mattered to you. I would never admit it back then, but I always respected you, Azul. I just didn't know how to trust you—or trust anyone, for that matter. It's something I like to think I got better at, but..." he shrugged. "I dunno."

Azul picked at his food with a fork and remained quiet for a few moments. Jamil had never spoken to him that way before, and now Jamil was suddenly saying all those sentiments out of nowhere. How was he supposed to react to that? This was not a Jamil that he knew how to talk to.

"How can you trust me now?" Azul finally met Jamil's eyes. "Especially with the ruse we're playing? What had I done now that I didn't back then?"

"Well... Firstly, you wouldn't be doing this ruse if it wasn't for me," Jamil replied. "So I can't fault you for that. Most importantly, you've been pulling strings to help me out, even when you had no reason to considering how much of an ass I was. Do you think it's a mistake for me to trust you now? Or... if you don't trust me, then I don't blame you. You don't have to. I just wanted to say how I feel about everything now, ‘cause younger me never had the guts."

Azul sighed and leaned back in his chair. The day had barely started and already it was threatening to overwhelm him. "I do trust you, Jamil. Do you think I'd live under the same roof as you if I didn't? I just… never expected to hear those things from you." He allowed the corners of his mouth to lift in a smile, his gaze softening. "It's an honor to have your trust, Jamil Viper," he said playfully.

"And it's a surprise and an honor to have yours," Jamil replied, his shoulders relaxing. He then took a bite of his food. "Mm. Trust point: No poison in our breakfast today. Go, us."

"You don't know that, you haven't tried your tea yet," Azul said with a smirk.

"Wow. Consider me terrified." Jamil picked up his cup and maintained eye contact as he brought it to his lips and took a sip.

Azul chuckled and shook his head, looking down at his food and beginning to eat

—

A classic love song was playing on the radio in Floyd’s car as they drove to Jamil’s apartment. Outside, stores and restaurants were advertising all sorts of Valentine's Day gimmicks, from discounts to new products to dance nights. Decorative hearts were everywhere.

Normally, Jamil would have rolled his eyes at all of it, but today... well, his mind was set on other things. Potential. Opportunities.

Would it be too forward for him to try anything romantic with Azul while they were behind closed doors?

Perhaps. Not to mention that even though things between them had seemingly improved, he could tell that Azul was on guard about something, and he was afraid of driving him away.

"What's the matter, Sea Snake?" Floyd’s voice broke through his thoughts. "Ya got a frown there. You worried there'll be thugs waiting for us?"

Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten about that.

"You know as well as I do that the most dangerous thug in this city is the guy driving this car," Jamil replied. "No, I can handle thugs. I've been trained to be able to handle them since I learned how to write."

But his engagement to Azul? Nothing in his life had prepared him for any of that.

"... Just nervous about pulling off the whole partner ploy, I suppose,” Jamil continued. “I have no idea how to act like a lovestruck buffoon."

"You'll be fiiiine," Floyd drawled out. "Besides, everyone back at NRC already thought that you and Azul were lovestruck buffoons. So we know it already comes naturally to ya," he snickered.

"That's funny, you're not the first person to tell me something like that," Jamil frowned, recalling Ruggie's words before this all went down. "What do you mean? Why did everyone think we were 'lovestruck'?"

They stopped at a traffic light and Floyd raised an eyebrow at him like the answer was obvious.

"Azul was always talkin' to ya to get you to Octavinelle or even Mostro Lounge, and you let 'im. If it's anyone else pesterin' you like that, you walk out or hiss at them until they leave, especially after you Overblotted and tried to kill us in Scarabia," Floyd said casually. "But if it's Azul, you always let him prattle on. He's the one who always sat next to you in the cafeteria when basically everyone else was terrified of you. And then there's Bean's Day when y'all teamed up while I was chasin' ya," the eel laughed heartily at the memory. "And then who can forget yer dance at the masquerade in Fleur City? I didn't see it but everyone was talkin' about it even more than the deadly flowers. And then y'all were practically joined at the hip in our Third Year, working together in Alchemy and Flight Class and stuff. And some dudes who wanted to court Azul said you always glared at them whenever they tried."

"They were being rude, asking him out like I wasn't in the same room working on a project with him," Jamil protested, huffing defensively. "I guess we acted close for a couple of guys who never called each other friends, but I wouldn't call that being lovestruck. 'Lovestruck' would be…” he gestured vaguely with his hands. “Longing gazes, holding hands, saying sweet embarrassing words. There was no love to be had," his voice latched onto a wistful tone at the last part, so he cleared his throat. "So I gotta learn to act as if there had been."

"Oh there was definitely longing gazes, Snakey, from the both of ya," Floyd said without hesitation as the traffic began to move again. "And I'd heard enough of y'all complimenting each other in Alchemy and felt embarrassed myself," he shivered. "And if you want hand-holding, there are some pics of y'all dancing at the masquerade with your hands on each other. I still got 'em on my phone. Want me to post them on MagiCam to help convince the press? I can even make some hashtags."

"Why the insistence on these past incidents?" Jamil glanced at the merman. "What are you trying to say?"

"Y'all had it bad for each other," Floyd said casually. "Why do you think no one was surprised in our old groupchat when they heard you were getting married? And the googly heart-eyes are definitely still happening now. Jade just told me not to mention it during our meetings," he pouted.

Jamil fell silent, replaying in his mind the long list of moments with Azul that Floyd just told him.

He knew that Floyd was accusing him of sporting a crush on Azul all this time, and perhaps he didn't have the heart to deny it.

But more importantly...

"These heart-eyes… is Azul making them, too?"

Floyd snorted. "Yeah, Snakey. I'm surprised you didn't notice. You really watched over Sea Otter for years with that kinda blindness?"

Jamil could feel a steady beat under his ribcage. Floyd was many things but he wouldn't lie about that, and he certainly would never make stuff up about Azul.

He stared at the road ahead, his thoughts racing. "So... you don't think I need to change anything with the way I'm acting? What I'm doing is already convincing enough?"

"You convinced everyone at the party last night, right?" Floyd pointed out. "But if you wanna snog Azul from time to time I bet that'd be hella convincing."

Heat rushed to Jamil's face, and he was about to glare daggers at the eel, but he saw more posters promoting the impending holiday.

"... Do you think I should do something special on Valentine's?" Jamil mumbled.

Floyd looked at him curiously as they stopped at an intersection. "Like for the press? You plannin' a public date or somethin'?"

Jamil recalled Azul's expression that morning when he realized Valentine's Day was coming up.

He scowled and shook his head. "Never mind. I get the feeling he wouldn't like it."

"And… yer upset?" Floyd asked as the car moved again. “That he won't like going on a date with you?"

"No. Maybe?" Jamil combed a hand through his hair and exhaled. "I'm more worried about scaring him away."

"Scare him away? Why, you got somethin' spooky planned for Valentine's? How'll it be different from all the times you hung out back then?"

Jamil shrugged. "I dunno, he just seemed uncomfortable as soon as he realized Valentine's was in two days. Started going into work mode at the very thought of it." He fidgeted with the strings of his hoodie.

Floyd was uncharacteristically quiet for several seconds. "I think you should go for it, Sea Snake. Plan something special for Valentine's. Y'all obviously like hanging out with each other, so I don't think you can really go wrong with that."

"Won't he get bothered? It would look like I'm suddenly coming onto him after we just established a fake relationship." Jamil didn't want Azul to think that he was taking advantage of their situation.

"Are you thinking of jumpin' him or something? What's so bothersome about yer plan?" Floyd said irritably.

Jamil turned his gaze downward. "Maybe dinner. Just a private one in his house. I'll cook some food for us. Maybe watch something on the TV."

"And ya think that's gonna bother him?" Floyd raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe. I mentioned wanting to be his friend and making up for lost time, but…” Jamil still remembered how tense Azul had become in that conversation. “Suffice to say he didn't look pleased."

Floyd was so surprised that he turned to look at Jamil in the middle of driving, swerving just in time to avoid hitting a mailbox. Car horns sounded from behind them.

"You told him that?" Floyd sounded baffled, his eyes wide. "Like, using words? From your mouth?"

Jamil glared at him. "I'm capable of expressing such sentiments from time to time, you know."

"Holy shit," Floyd said with amazement. "Are you sure he looked displeased and he didn't just, y'know, have a stroke from the shock?" he laughed. "Anyway, if you wanna cook him dinner, then cook him dinner, man. Y'all live together, what's wrong with that? And you share a TV, too. And make sure he does eat dinner, mmkay?" he added pointedly.

Jamil huffed out a sigh. "Fine. It's nothing weird, right? Yeah, I'm just a guy preparing dinner and a movie for a friend. Who I'm in a pretend engagement with. For Valentine's Day." He groaned and lightly thudded his head against the headrest. "What if I prepare it casually? I don't have to announce it as anything special, do I?"

"Yeahhh. Just a normal night between bros. Who've been pining for each other for a decade and now live together."

This had Jamil jolting nearly out of his seat and staring at Floyd. "Pining?! Wh— How'd you—er— you don't know that!"

"I just told you everyone in our batch knows it, Sea Snake!" Floyd said impatiently.

Right, but that doesn't make their observations correct, Jamil thought, but he knew not to argue with Floyd about it any longer.

"Which movie are ya gonna watch?" Floyd’s tone suddenly switched to casual again.

"Not sure yet,” Jamil shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the thought of asking Azul to watch a movie with him. “Do you know if he's got any favorites?"

Floyd thought for a moment. "Oh! There's this new film called 'Red HQ'. It's a spy slash heist film. I saw it last week and it's pretty cool. I betcha y'all would like it. It's kinda like Scarabia's talent for forethought combined with Octavinelle’s resourcefulness. People get swindled, the swindlers get thwarted, stuff like that. It's available online."

"A heist movie? Azul likes that type of genre?" Jamil mused, unsure how much to trust Floyd's suggestion. "Has he seen it already?"

"Nah he hasn't seen it yet. Lately he's either been busy with work or hiding in his house to avoid the board. Jade and I saw similar movies with him back then, though. We like it because we see all the clever plans and stuff, and sometimes we roast the characters since we've come up with better ones when we were in NRC."

"Hah. Sounds like something you guys would do to relax," Jamil fondly shook his head. "And you're okay with me watching this movie with Azul without you and Jade around, if it ever comes to it?"

"Of course, man," Floyd said. "I'd already seen it, anyway. And there's lots of other heist films we can all watch together. Lemme know what you think of it!"

Jamil fell silent, staring ahead at the road. Was he really gonna attempt a romantic gesture towards Azul now? He hadn't planned it, but with everything Floyd said about Azul possibly feeling the same way…

He took a breath to calm himself, leaning back against the seat. “I really hope you're right about this one.”

———

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