Accidentally Courting An Eel

Accidentally Courting an Eel Ⅱ

author note: part 2 part 2!! You guys seemed to really love this and that makes me so happy! I’ll admit, I really, really enjoyed writing part 2, and that’s probably why it turned out longer than the first part x-x less cameos this time, but lots of Jade and this time its Azul being the only voice of reason. Hope you enjoy!!

characters: Floyd Leech x F!Reader

“Ne… Do you think Y/N likes me?”

The VIP room was quiet apart from the scratching of Azul’s pen and the soft clinking of teacups as Jade prepared a pot of black tea. Floyd laid back on one of the plush VIP room couches, his legs hanging over the arm as he dangled his earring in front of his face, gazing at it as it swayed gently. Azul’s pen didn’t stop, continuing to scrawl across the documents in front of him, whilst a ghost of a smile played on Jade’s lips as he brewed the tea leaves to perfection.

“You two had a fight not even a week ago, why would you think she likes you?” Azul queried, a small frown marring his features, but he did not take his eyes off the documents he was labouring over. Floyd’s hand closed around his earring, and he rolled over, his chin resting against the couch arm as he looked over at Azul, a pout beginning to form on his lips.

“But she bit me.” Floyd pointed out and Azul raised an eyebrow, finally looking up from his documents. “But she isn’t a merfolk, Floyd. She wouldn’t have any idea what that might mean.” Azul countered, sighing at the ridiculousness of this conversation. Floyd’s face fell, his lips turning downward slightly at the corner at Azul’s words. Jade noticed this, elegantly making his way over to Azul’s desk and setting a teacup down with a flourish. “But she still bit him. Such actions carry connotations, bold ones at that. Of course Floyd would feel a certain… Way.” Jade stated, folding his hands in front of him as he stood beside Azul’s desk. Azul’s pen dropped onto the desk with a clatter, and he looked up at Jade incredulously, “are you serious?!”

“And she so kindly repaired Floyd’s earring, without us having to persuade her to do so or claim fair compensation. She looked so pleased with herself too. And I need not remind you just how important gifting jewellery is to merfolk?” Jade smiled serenely, ever happy to be stirring the pot whilst Azul shot him a dirty look.

Floyd’s legs kicked restlessly behind him, his face blank for a few moments before a wide grin spread across his face, sharp teeth glinting as he jumped up off of the couch, a short wild laugh leaving his lips before he dashed out of the VIP room with a spring in his step. Azul sighed as the VIP room door slammed shut, convinced that he was going to have to replace it one of these days due to Floyd’s recklessness, and Jade let out a muffled chuckle that he hid behind his hand.

“Why did you do that?” Azul huffed, picking up his pen and getting back to work, the sound of pen on paper once again filling the room.

“Whatever do you mean?” Jade responded innocently, his composed smile never budging despite the sly glint in his eyes.

“If it ends in tears, I don’t want to hear a peep about it. And this better not disturb business at the Lounge, otherwise you will be the one picking up the overtime.” Azul warned, and Jade’s smile lifted, his teeth starting to peek through.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Life had mostly gone back to normal after your fight with Floyd.

You were finally free of what seemed like the never-ending punishment from Crewel. As expected, Floyd was nowhere to be seen during your three-day stint in the botanical garden, tending to the regrowth of the ingredients that had gotten caught in the crossfire of your and Floyd’s dispute. It wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be, with you mostly watering the plants, your biggest obstacle having to move housewarden Kingscholar from his napping spot so you could water the plants there (nothing a discreet threat with the watering hose couldn’t fix).

You had also finally submitted your potionology assignment, your partner generously distilling another vial of ginger root so that you could brew the energy boosting potion and not suffer any more of Crewel’s wrath for submitting a late assignment. Considering how insistent that your lab partner was about replacing the ginger root, you can only imagine it was a result of him seeing you taking on Floyd Leech without even batting an eyelid.

Either way, things had all sorted themselves out and your day-to-day school life fell back into place like normal. Well, apart from one difference. Floyd Leech.

He was bothering you. Every day. Without. Fail.

At first, he began randomly attacking you. But there was none of the vicious aggression that usually accompanied a fight, it was more like… Excitable and rough play fighting. And he bites too, incessantly, your arms and hands often littered in his very distinct teeth marks. He’d pop out of nowhere and some days, it was just about all you could do to fend him off, being how you were trying to lay low in order to keep your head, lest housewarden Riddle finally get sick of you and cut you down to size. Floyd seemed to delight in when he managed to make you jump, or when you smacked him with your textbooks in an attempt to ward him away. To make things more odd, after you’d got into a small altercation with another student, Floyd had sought you out that same afternoon. You don’t even know how he had even heard about the incident, having not been a physical one which was diffused rather quickly. With a surprisingly pouty expression, he’d gripped you by the shoulders, not budging an inch even as you tried your best to detach him.

“Ne, don’t go bitin’ other guys, okay?”  

Floyd’s random offensives lasted every day for about a week before he began to change tact.

Soon, you’d notice things going missing. Not anything important, but enough to be small, irritating inconveniences. For example, you’d reach into your stationery case for a pencil to find it missing, only to find it tucked behind Floyd’s ear casually as he strolled down the corridor. On one particularly troublesome occasion, Floyd brazenly slipped his hand into your pocket and took your phone, pouting on discovery that it was locked via face ID and yet still managing to somehow line up your phone screen perfectly to get it to unlock. He cackled as he held it out of reach, not reacting no matter how much you stomped on his shoes and tugged at his arms. You were one step away from climbing him like the bean pole he resembles when he finally gave it back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. You didn’t find out until later when a message from a “Moryay!” popped up with the most ridiculous meme and string of emojis did you realise that Floyd had added his number to your phone and made you follow him on all his social media accounts.

After that, you changed your phone lock to passcode only.

But perhaps the most bizarre moment that came out of Floyd’s sudden obsession with you was the nickname he had dubbed you.

“P-pea?!” You spluttered, looking at Floyd with a mix of shock and disbelief.

Floyd gave you his typical toothy grin, leaning forward with his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, pea puffer,” Floyd drawled, looking absolutely delighted with himself, “Y’know, pea puffers are real tiny. They look all cute and unassuming, but they are real aggressive and fight other fish all the time, just like you.” You gaped at this comparison, and that only seemed to please him more, remarking how you really looked like a fish now.

“I’d rather you went back to calling me guppy. Please.” You complained, a hand resting on your hip as you looked upon Floyd, unimpressed.

“No way, pea puffer. You’re much more special than the rest of these lil guppies.”

It had been weeks, but Floyd was still seeking you out non-stop. Your friends, whilst sympathetic, had begun to avoid you by proxy, trying not to get caught in the crossfire. You were at a loss about why he was so obsessed with you lately, or about what you could do to get him off your back.

“Well, that’s just Floyd Leech,” your friend responded with a shrug as you vented to her on your walk between classes, “if someone interests him, he’ll be all over them. But as soon as he finds them boring, he drops them as quick as he picked them up. That’s just how he is. Although I’ve never seen him bite people like that before.” Your friend commented, eyes briefly glancing down at your bare wrist. You grumbled and quickly rolled down your blazer sleeves, concealing the unique pinprick bite marks. Your friend shrugged again, as if that was the be all and end all of the situation. “What? So I’m just supposed to wait until he finds someone else on campus interesting enough for him to bother?” You huffed in exasperation, and your friend shot you a sympathetic side eye. “Well, I think the best thing you can do if lay low for a little while. Well…” A small smile curved your friends lips up, “as low as you can manage, I guess.” You shot her a half-hearted glare and she laughed, “the point is, if Floyd doesn’t see you for a while, maybe he’ll move on and start terrorising someone else.” The two of you entered the history of magic classroom and took your seats, and there was nothing like an incredibly slow, boring history class to ponder what your friend said and what you should do next, and if it was even possible for you to lay low enough to avoid Floyd for that long.

Having carefully formulated your plan under professor Trein’s nose, you sprung Operation Avoid The Leech into action. In the mornings, you would hurry to your classes, keeping your head down and under the cover of the bustling student body. At lunch, you’d rush to the cafeteria, pick up whatever sandwich was closest you could grab and then you’d dash out of there, eating your lunch in a discreet spot. After afternoon classes, you went straight back to your dorm with no detours, holing yourself up in your room. You managed to tell your club president a convincing enough excuse as to why you would not be attending club activities for the foreseeable future, internally thanking your scrappy reputation for making whatever punishment your club president thought you had gotten yourself into now so much more believable.

Your new routine had some unexpected benefits, with housewarden Riddle often praising your new behaviour, believing that you had turned over a new leaf and you were starting out on your journey to become one of Heartslabyul’s model students. But there was a very specific downside to your new no frills routine.

You were so, so bored.

The irony wasn’t lost on you that whilst you were waiting for Floyd to get bored of you, you were the one who was hopelessly bored, moping around in your room most of the time. There was only so far studying could take you, and looking through your social media only made you feel worse, seeing all of your friend’s stories and posts of how they were spending their precious freedom just making you feel more miserable. You huffed a huge sigh as you threw yourself down on your bed, hugging one of your pillows as you stared aimlessly at the ceiling. Hopefully, just a few more weeks to go…

Floyd huffed a sigh, slumped across the Mostro Lounge bar, head in his arms as he stared aimlessly gleaming, polished surface of the counter. Jade stood behind the bar, diligently polished glasses as he stared at his twin with a knowing smile. Service at the Mostro Lounge had ended an hour ago, with Azul holing himself up in the VIP room to pour over the day’s sales figures, giving Floyd the perfect opportunity to mope.

“Is something the matter, Floyd? You’re rather sullen today.” Jade commented, knowing full well what the problem was but decided to prod his brother regardless, curious as to what reaction it would elicit. Floyd remained silent, his finger tracing mindless shapes against the countertop. The lounge was silent apart from the occasional clink as Jade set back a perfectly polished glass and began work on the next. Finally, Floyd spoke up.

“Pea puffer is avoiding me…” Floyd mumbled, not raising his eyes up from the counter. Jade’s head tilted slightly in interest, yet he still didn’t stop polishing the glass in his hand. “Pea puffer?” Jade questioned, his curiosity even further piqued, “You mean the small, combative— Ahh.” An amused smile lifted up Jade’s lips at this new piece of information. So Floyd had upgraded you from the sea of guppies to a personal nickname, quite the honour.

“What makes you believe Y/N is avoiding you?” Jade asked, placing the glass he was polishing on the counter and folding his hands neatly on the counter, focusing his full attention on Floyd now. Slowly, Floyd sat up from the counter, resting his chin on his fist as he continued to sulk. “I haven’t seen her in weeks. She’s never in the cafeteria at lunch, I even went to her club but she wasn’t there either. The club prez said she told him she couldn’t attend for a while…”

“I see...” Jade hummed as he mulled this information over, “have you been to the Heartslabyul dorm to check on her?” Floyd’s pout turned into a frown, his mood starting to turn. “Goldfishie banned me from stepping foot in Heartslabyul after the last time.” Jade’s lips turned upwards as he remembered the last time, but he soon turned his mind back to the problem at hand. “I see. This is quite the mystery.”

Floyd didn’t respond, instead staring dejectedly at the glass in front of him. “… I thought she liked me,” Floyd finally broke the silence, “she was the one who started courting me… She bit me, and she fixed my earring!” Frustration began to seep into Floyd’s voice, his eyes narrowing on the glass, “y’know, she was even opening her mouth a lot recently, real wide. Sure, she sometimes covered it with her hand, but…” Floyd’s voice trailed off and he fell back into gazing dejectedly at the glass, until a slender hand reached out and plucked it from the table, back to being polished in Jade’s careful hands.

“Hmm… Perhaps it is time that you let Y/N know that you are courting her back?” Jade mused, and Floyd huffed, his hand falling down onto the counter with a dull thud. “I have! I bit her back! I leave ‘em all up her arms, so she knows how into her I am. And I take her stuff and wear it, so all the other guppies know, y’know?” Floyd reasoned, and Jade nodded slowly, the glass clinking as he slides it back into its place, beautifully gleaming. “I know, but I fear Azul may have been right. Perhaps she does not know.” Jade countered, and Floyd looked up at his twin then, waiting for him to continue. “It seems that land dwellers have more… Fragile courting customs than us merfolk do. It may help to be more direct.” Jade concluded, carefully watching his twin to gauge his reaction to this idea. Floyd stared blankly at Jade, and Jade knew his twin enough to know a dark cloud was starting to form over Floyd’s mood again. On cue, Floyd slumped against the counter again, a whine of annoyance slipping past his lips. “Human customs are annoying,” Floyd continued to whine, burying his face into his arm, “how am I supposed to tell her if she keeps avoiding me?”

Jade looked down at his brother, finding himself a little amused by his uncharacteristically lovesick behaviour. In all the years they had been together, he had never seen Floyd act this way over someone before. How curious. “It’s quite simple, Floyd. You simply need to lure her out.” A cunning smile spread across Jade’s lips, and Floyd perked up slightly, once again turning his attention back to his brother. “I have a plan…” Jade affirmed, leaning forwards and beginning to conspire with his dispirited twin…

It had been two weeks since you had begun Operation Avoid The Leech and to put it bluntly, it was the most boring two weeks of your life. But things were finally starting to look up. Your friends had begun to report to you that Floyd seemed to have calmed down a lot this past week, no longer constantly peppering them with questions about your whereabouts or attempting to hunt you down during breaks or after class. And yesterday, to add the final cherry on top, you received news that a random Scarabia student had caught Floyd’s interest, and he had apparently been chasing them around instead. You were still feeling a little cautious, wondering if you should leave it a few more days before deciding it was safe enough to venture out again. You were on the fence about what to do, but then a friend sent you a message, asking if you wanted to go to a trendy new café that had opened in town. With her assurance that she hadn’t seen Floyd at all that day, and it was very doubtful that you’d run into him in town. Persuaded that everything was fine, and you were finally off the hook, you eagerly agreed to meet her by the clocktower after class.

Classes flew by, and before you knew it you were waiting at the clocktower for your friend to arrive. Your mood was sky high and it was a beautiful day, you couldn’t think of a better day to go into town and celebrate your new freedom. You leaned against one of the pillars, scrolling aimlessly through your social media as you waited for your friend to show. You found yourself getting distracted, doom scrolling through videos on Magicam, and when you finally noticed the time, it was ten minutes after your friend was supposed to meet you. You frowned down at your phone, seeing no messages to say that she was running late. You looked up from your phone, confusion etched on your face as you looked around the courtyard that enclosed the clocktower, wondering if she had somehow missed you. In fact, you were about to message her to check that everything was alright, when you saw a flash of teal walking down the path towards main street. You felt a surge of dread when the figure turned to lock eyes with you and offer his signature insincere smile.

Jade Leech.

Suddenly it all clicked into place.

“Oh fuck.” You muttered to yourself, and you swear you could see Jade’s sharp teeth poking out from under his lips. At that moment, your phone pinged in your hand and a message from your friend popped up, and your feeling of dread only intensified as you read the pop-up notification.

‘I’m so sorry’ was what your friend had sent to you, but you hardly had a chance to dwell on it when you heard the familiar laugh that sent a chill down your spine. Without a second thought, you bolted.

You could hear Floyd Leech’s maniacal laughter behind you as ran around the clocktower, ducking for cover as you internally spat every curse word you knew, trying to figure out what your next move would be. Floyd’s laughter died down into silence, but you weren’t stupid enough to believe that he’d left, pressing yourself against the clocktower and peeking around the corner. The coast seemed to be clear, but now you had to weigh up whether you could outrun Floyd. The outlook was looking dismal. A small body of water cut off one side, but you wondered if you could maybe duck through the trees near Sam’s shop and make a run for the hall of mirrors. The hall of mirrors wasn’t that far from the clocktower, but that all relied on Floyd not chasing after you. You peaked around the corner again, still not seeing Floyd, and you were about to make a break for it when, out of the corner of your eye, you saw a shadow loom over you. Before you could react, Floyd slammed his hand down just above your head, surprising you enough for you to let out a yelp of surprise as he boxed you in against the clocktower with a wide toothed smile and an excited glow in his eyes.

“Found you.”

Floyd leaned his arm against the clocktower, leaning over you as he continued to grin down at you, looking incredibly proud of himself. You looked up at him in disbelief, not much room for you to move with your back pressed against the clocktower and Floyd looming in front of you, effectively crowding you in between his arms. It was rare that you found yourself speechless, your mind spinning as you tried to figure out exactly what you could do in this situation, if at all anything. So instead of overthinking it, you did what you do best.

You attacked.

“Floyd Leech! What did you do to my friend?!” You hissed at him, puncturing every word with a swing of your bag into his stomach. Floyd grunted as the first swing hit him, but then he laughed, letting you hit him a couple of times before he grabbed your bag mid swing, stopping your assault. “I didn’t do anything to your little friend, pea puffer.” Floyd drawled, looking amused when you shot him an indignant look back at him.

“Then why isn’t she here? Are you bullying my friends?” You retorted, trying to tug your bag out of his grip so you could whack him again, but his hand didn’t even budge, like his grip was made of iron. Annoying. Instead, he decided to yank your bag himself, catching you by surprise and making you tumble into his chest. “I ain’t bullyin’ your friends, little pea puffer,” Floyd whispered into your ear, “ain’t it obvious? Your friend sold you out.”

You let out a disgruntled sound as you pushed Floyd, taking a step back and glaring at him. Floyd retained your bag, looping it over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. “Ya see, your friend owed Azul a favour, an’ me and Jade decided we could help her out… If she helped us out.” His tongue poked out of his mouth as he grinned down at you, “you’re too trustin’, pea puffer, it’s cute.” You folded your arms over your chest, glaring at him. You were about to open your mouth to retaliate, but before you could, Floyd suddenly lunged forward and lifted you into his arms, marching off with you without a word, if you didn’t count his trademark giggle.

“Floyd! Put me down!” You shouted, pushing at his shoulders, your legs flailing in protest. Floyd didn’t respond as he walked around the clocktower, and you twisted, trying to get out of his grip. “Stop squirming, pea puffer. You’ll make me drop you.” Floyd complained, even if his grip around your waist didn’t budge an inch as he held you. “Alley-oop!” Floyd cried joyfully as he launched his long leg out, kicking open the door leading into the clocktower with a deafening slam. “Floyd! The clocktower is off limits, are you trying to get us another detention?” You snapped, your eyes wide with alarm. “Relax, pea puffer. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Floyd drawled casually, and you huffed. “Easy for you to say, you didn’t even turn up to our last detention!”

Floyd turned his head and grinned at you, and you had to lean back, not realising how close together your faces were. “Then I’ll come to the next one. Now hold on tight!” Floyd grinned, all sharp teeth and mischief, and you barely had a chance to process his words and why you’d need to hold on before he started dashing up the clocktower stairs. You were unable to fight the undignified squeak that ripped past your lips as you clung onto Floyd like your life depended on it, his laughter echoing off of the high walls of the clocktower as he bounded up the stairs. You thought it would never end, but finally a room opened up and Floyd ducked into it, finally setting you back on your feet. “Ta-da~!” Floyd announced, swinging his arms out. The room was small, small enough that Floyd couldn’t even stand at his full height, lest he bump his head on the low ceiling. The true centrepiece of the room was the curved window that looked out onto main street, and you could see all the way to the sports field. A ledge sat below the window, and Floyd took no time to make himself comfortable on it, waving you over.

“Isn’t it cool, pea puffer? I like to come here sometimes, when I just wanna chill without anyone harshin’ my vibe.” Floyd grinned, setting your bag on the ledge and to your surprise, he opened it up and started rifling through it. “Hey!” You scolded, rushing over to stop him as he began to rifle up through your stationery case. “Ne, don’t you have anything fun I can have?” Floyd asked as he pulled one of your pens out, not seeming at all phased when you slapped at his hands, trying to get him out of your things. “If you want something fun, get your own!” You huffed, pulling your stationery case and bag out of his hand and shoving it behind you, out of his reach. You tried to reach for the pen, but he held it out of your reach, his previous sunny expression falling into a pout. “That’s not the point, pea puffer. It has to be something of yours.” Floyd complained and you raised an eyebrow at him, completely lost as to his reasoning behind this.

Floyd’s expression went blank as he stared at you, and if felt like the two of you were locked in a staring contest for hours before he finally decided to speak again. “Ne, you just don’t get it, do you pea puffer?” Floyd asked, his eyebrows drawing down slightly as he continued to stare at you. You suddenly felt like you were under a microscope, shifting uncomfortably on the ledge. “What’s there to get?” You remarked, although you had the odd feeling that you should tread carefully, considering how uncharacteristically serious his face looked, “aren’t you just messing with me because you’re bored?”

Floyd pulled a face at your words. “Jade was right. You really don’t know.” Floyd huffed, before leaning forward and grabbing hold of your wrist, rolling your blazer sleeve up to your elbow with unexpected gentleness, revealing your bare arm. The bite marks Floyd had made had mostly faded by now, and he pulled another face, unhappy with this but pushing on with the conversation anyway. “You bit me, so I bit you.” Floyd stated, looking at your face and seeming to study it for your reaction. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t baffled. “Yeah… So?” You responded, and Floyd’s brow downturned just a little bit more at that.

“And you fixed my earring.”

“Yes…?”

You could see Floyd’s teeth clench together, an annoyed breath huffing out of his nose as he dropped your wrist, raising that hand to grip at his shoulder. He stared at you, brow furrowed and you were truly at a loss for what you had done wrong. You could only stare back at him, eyebrows raised as you waited for him to divulge what exactly you didn’t get.

“Those are all merfolk mating customs.” Floyd finally said flatly, and you felt yourself freeze.

“… Excuse me?” You managed to squeak out, not even feeling embarrassed about how your voice sounded as you stared at Floyd in disbelief. Floyd continued to study your expression; his lips pressed together in a firm line.

“Listen up, pea puffer. You bit me in the potions lab, and that made me think you liked me. Merfolk bite each other when they’re interested, y’know? And when I was mullin’ it over, you came runnin’ after me, holdin’ out my earring that you’d fixed with that pretty smile on your face. You were very persistent in letting me know you were interested.” Floyd explained, looking at you pointedly.

“Wait, wait, wait!” You spluttered, “what does giving your earring back prove? And I bit you when we were fighting!” Floyd just shook his head, letting his hand drop into his lap. “Giving jewellery is like, the top merfolk courting custom,” Floyd said with a shrug, “fixin’ someone’s broken jewellery is just as close. It doesn’t matter how it happened. Plus, merfolk fight all the time. Especially when they like each other, its just natural.”

You stared open mouthed at Floyd as you processed his words. Floyd thought you had a crush on him, because you bit him and fixed his earring?! You were stunned silent, feeling your cheeks heat up slightly at the implication. If Floyd noticed, he didn’t mention it, continuing with his explanation.

“So that’s why I started bitin’ you back. It shows that I like you back and it lets all those guppies know it too,” Floyd’s gaze fell back to your arm again, and now it really made sense why he had pulled a face earlier when he saw his bite marks all but gone, “it’s also why I started borrowin’ your things and keepin’ them on me, so that all the guppies would see that I’m unavailable.” Floyd finished, looking at you expectantly. You simply stared back at him, rendered speechless by Floyd Leech for the umpteenth time that day. Floyd began to frown again at your bewildered expression, and he leaned towards you as he spoke next.

“D’ya get it, pea puffer? I like you.”

Floyd’s rather straightforward, unabashed confession is what snapped you out of daze, and you felt your cheeks grow hot, a red hue painting them. You’d look at home with the roses in the Heartslabyul gardens. You fumbled for some words, your lips moving but nothing coming out as you found yourself awkwardly flustered. A smile started to curve up Floyd’s lips as he saw just how flustered you were becoming, and he leaned closer still, his nose almost close enough to touch yours.

“Ne, pea puffer, d’ya like me back?”

If your cheeks could have grown any redder, they would have. At this point, someone might as well have dug a hole in the Heartslabyul gardens and planted you there, your face putting the roses to shame. “Y-you haven’t even taken me on a date!” You stuttered out, cringing at your own weak defence, only for Floyd to lean back and gesture at the room you were both in.

“Whad’dya mean? We’re on a date right now.” Floyd shot back nonchalantly, and you almost choked on your own tongue.

“This was entrapment! Some would even dare to call it kidnapping!” You retorted, finally starting to shake the daze that his explanation and confession had put you in, “usually, when you like someone, you ask them out on a date.”

Floyd’s grin became toothy, and that’s when you knew you’d really put your foot in it. “D’ya want me to ask you on a date, pea puffer?” There was a shine in his eyes, and he seemed excited about the idea, but also sincere. You felt your cheeks heat up again and you looked away, suddenly finding the spelldrive players on the sports field very interesting. “T-that’s not what I said.”

Regardless of your complete obliviousness to merfolk mating customs and what you had apparently started, Floyd seemed very satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. He scooted closer to you, his knee brushing against yours as he leaned in very close, his lips hovering above yours for a painfully long moment before he decided to detour and press a surprisingly soft kiss to your forehead, his wild toothy grin as he pulled away a complete contradiction to this gentle gesture. “Buckle up, pea puffer, ‘cause now I’m courting you. Aha~!”

Just what had you gotten yourself into?!

Taglist:

@musclefanatica @lanxianschoenheit @red-viewe @d1gital-data @susvale @pzlqpibz @saturnsapothecary @the-unhinged-raccoon @mochiclouds @nooneknows8976 @01paige01 @honeyhivess

🤣🤣🤣

Translation from Twst the 2nd novel: Cater, Grim, Riddle, Ace, Deuce, Grim and the prefect split up into pairs to ask about the accidents befalling Spelldrive players:

"‘Yuu will come with me.’

‘Eh? 'Yuu will come with me?’’ Yuuya echoes Riddle’s words back at him with a puzzled look. ‘The two of us will be doing the investigation together?’

‘Yes. I believe that this is the best arrangement.’

‘Eh, but, no, uh…I can’t use magic, so I think I will only be a burden for you.’

‘That is precisely why I am pairing you with myself. The best possible solution is us working together so that you will have my support, as the person with the strongest magic and the deepest understanding of the school.’

‘I was thinking that I might do all right with one of the others, though.’

Riddle points a finger at each member of the group, in turn, as he explains: ‘Cater is to pair with Grim. Cater can get along with anyone, and he will cover for Grim’s erratic behavior. Ace and Deuce are to investigate while seeing to their various tasks around the dorm. The first-years are busy with dormitory work this time of year, as the upperclassmen must prepare for the Spelldrive tournament.’

Riddle’s plan makes perfect sense. But there is no allowance to be made for Yuuya, who can already feel himself becoming overwhelmed.

Yuuya and Riddle have hardly ever held a conversation. And those rare times that they have interacted have not been on particularly friendly terms. And now they are to be alone together, and Yuuya cannot tell how he is even supposed to interact.

He is uncomfortable about approaching Riddle casually, like Ace and Deuce, and he cannot imagine Riddle initiating a friendly conversation, as if he is no different from Trey and Cater.

‘Do you object?’ Riddle asks with a curious look, in response to Yuuya’s stuttering. Despite Yuuya’s frankness, Riddle seems oblivious to the possibility that he may be disliked.

Yuuya is, honestly, somewhat afraid of Riddle. Possibly even more so than he had been back when Riddle was called the tyrant. Because, now, he has seen Riddle’s overblot form.

How can a human possibly harbor such forceful rage, such crippling sadness?

As someone who avoids all conflict in favor of going about his life as peacefully as possible, Yuuya has difficulty understanding this ruthlessness. Does Riddle feel nothing towards these people with whom he clashed barely a month prior? Is Yuuya the only one uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with him?

Yuuya glances to Ace and Deuce for help, but they both shrug. While nothing is said aloud, Yuuya manages to deduce what they mean through the movement of their lips: ‘Sorry, Yuu.’ ‘We can’t stop him.’

Flustered, Yuuya looks to Grim, who is quite happily focused on his tea and cookies. Blissfully oblivious to Yuuya’s situation, Grim is most content.

While looking a bit uncomfortable where he sits at Riddle’s side, Cater manages a smile. ‘Well, not much we can do. If you insist, Riddle-kun, then…’

Riddle gives a firm nod in response.

‘Our hands are tied,’ Cater says, with a wink and a wry smile for Yuuya. ‘It’s true that, for efficiency and to keep Yuu-chan safe, this might be the best option. Leave Gri-chan to me.’

‘Good. No objections?’

‘Can’t be helped. I’ll look out for Cater for ya.’

‘Got it! Understood!’ Ace’s reply is enthusiastic, and he spares a side glance to the flustered Yuuya. Ace has been grinning all the while, likely entertained by the combination of Yuuya and Riddle.

‘In that case, let us go our separate ways. Everyone get an appropriate amount of rest in order to be prepared for tomorrow.’

The three groups set their rendezvous locations, and the strategy meeting ends.

While they are, admittedly, making progress, Yuuya leaves Heartslabyul with a heavy heart.”

“god, i trusted you, gojo.” you spat out, and he feels his heart break once he realizes that you referred to him by his last name.

not baby, toru, or love.

his last name.

the action alone shows that you’ve lost all your trust in him, and satoru stammers, trying to think of something to say, a way to explain everything. “how could you do such a thing to me?!”

your voice gets angrier and angrier with each word. you’re losing your composure with each passing second, and you feel utterly helpless. “a-and with suguru too? of all people?!”

you shoot a glare at satoru’s bestfriend, who has a look of pure guilt on his face. if looks could kill, suguru would be a dead man by now.

“please y/n if you’d just let me explain-“

“explain?! there is NOTHING to explain, gojo. everything is pretty fuckin’ crystal clear already.” your shoulders shake, and you begin to lose your composure. “y-you and suguru betrayed me.”

and with that, you take eight cards from the uno deck with a look of pure hatred on your face, glaring at the two +4 cards that were just laid out in succession by your stupid boyfriend and his stupid bestfriend. suguru’s trying so hard not to laugh that his eyes are starting to water, and satoru looks nothing short of terrified.

“i’m sorry y/n, it was my only choice-“

“i don’t want to hear it!!”

𝐇𝐄𝐘 , 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 ❢

character(s) ♡ tsukasa tenma , rui kamishiro , toya aoyagi , akito shinonome

type ♡ mini imagines ( ? )

warning(s) ♡ none !

a/n ♡ thank you for requesting ✰ this post is quite long because of the individual sections , i hope thats okay ! i did also add a little bit of the thoughts you had on each character ^^ , your childhood friend is referred to as 'X'

requester ♡ @6-zao-xing-9

tenma tsukasa . . . 天馬司

X and you used to be very close when you were younger , but growing distant when you grew older . While you and Tsukasa had gotten closer recently , X had pulled you aside and demanded you stay away from him . But when he invited you to a sleepover , you just couldnt refuse him .

After a sunday full of laughter and playful banter , sweets and play - fighting , you had to go to school the next day , and you had forgotten some of your belongings at the Tenma household .

Finding you in the hallways at lunch , Tsukasa smiled at you , holding out your bag to you .

" Hey, you forgot your stuff at my place. I was thinking of dropping it off at your house, but a world future star just cannot miss practice. "

He smiled again as you giggled , taking your bag from his hands . As you walk back in the lunchroom , X's table was staring at you , with X glaring daggers into you as you simply waved and walked off to your own table .

kamishiro rui . . . 神代類

Rui knew about X's existence , since he had noticed how they would glare at you when you're with him .

The morning after you had stayed at his house , you had forgotten the shirt you had worn to sleep .

So at school , but before morning classes , you were eating a small snack and on your phone before Rui had walked in , making eye contact with X to make sure they were watching before turning his attention back to you .

" Hm? Why am I here? You forgot your shirt at my house, and I'm simply here to return it. "

He watched as your flushed a slight red due to classmates glancing at you two with curious eyes , and X fuming with anger .

Before leaving , Rui bent down to whisper in your ear .

" This.. friend of yours. Needs to stop being so negative about us. "

He gave you and X one last sly smile before leaving .

shinonome akito . . . 東雲彰人

You had originally visited at the Shinonome household because you were partners with Akito , building a 3D project for [ your choice ] .

But because the project had taken so much longer than you both had hoped for , Akito suggested you just stay over . Once your parents had agreed , your ' project time ' turned into a sleepover .

In a rush because you had a lot to do that school morning , you had forgotten one of your bags at Akito's house .

After school , Akito had to go see a teacher and couldnt walk home with you , so he gave you your bag at the school exit once the bell had rang .

" Over here! Here, you left this in my room last night. "

You flushed lightly at the gesture , taking the bag and thanking him before you turned around to a lot of stares thrown your way , specifically X's stare .

You decided to wave him goodbye and rush out of the school before anyone could question you .

aoyagi toya . . . 青柳冬弥

You and Toya were close friends , visiting WEEKEND GARAGE every friday , and hanging out over the weekend .

You and the rest of Vivid Bad Squad decided to have a sleepover at Toya's house , playing Uno and watching An and Akito fight .

Amidst all the fun , you had forgotten an item or two at his house . And as the good friend he is , made sure to return it to you as soon as he could .

During passing period inbetween classes , Toya had come up to you at your locker and tapped your shoulder, stretching out the hand holding your bag .

" You forgot this at my house yesterday. Hm? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? "

He noticed your reddened and embarrassed cheeks , but wasnt able to pinpoint why before he realized people were looking over at the both of you before letting out a whispered " oh . "

X was furious , not only because they had told you to stay away from Toya , but to be at his house had just left them stunned .

this might just be me , but i think X finally got the memo .

in which you aren't allowed 5 ft away from wanderer

a/n: it's probably bc of his mom sorry, he's like an clingy cat

there isn't much noise that permeates the air within the cottage. a soft glow of the sunlight penetrates through the stained windows, a fresh scent of newly brewed tea wafts through the air, and some windows lay slightly ajar to let in a fresh breeze of air.

periodically, what does quietly sound through the living room is the rustle of pages, flipped ever so often when your eyes have finished looking over the enthralling words that lie on the paper. you're perched on the slightly rustic sofa, soaking up the serene moments in the morning before it was time to complete set tasks that you had planned.

there is a light tickle that touches the side of your thigh, which reminds you of the presence that rests beside you, the top of his head lightly pressed against your leg. a confirmation that you’re there, with him. he certainly looks the part of a doll when he’s asleep, his porcelain skin milky smooth and his face finally relieved of the annoyed expression he always carried when conscious.

it was a miracle he was able to even close his eyes for a period of time, or even rest for a moment. he’s always been alert, never free from the torment of nightmares when he closes his eyes for a moment. you’re pleased that he’s seemed to make some progress staying in sumeru. after all, it's difficult to fall asleep with piercing lavender eyes aimed straight at your figure laid in bed at night (he brushes off your complaints that it's creepy, and refuses to leave the room when you tell him to do something better with his time if he can't sleep).

the light bustling noises of the streets of sumeru signal that it was time for the market to open up for the day, and your sign to get ready to start your day.

you gently move slightly and place a pillow in the spot that you had occupied just a moment ago, hoping to mimic the presence that you were still by the wanderers' side. usually, he would accompany you throughout the day, but a look at his peaceful expression urged you to let him rest for once. you’ll be back soon anyways. you check the kitchen one last time, ensuring the mental list you had made was correct, before tugging on an outer coat and shoes at the door.

your hand doesn't reach the handle before you hear a disgruntled voice behind you, the fabric of your clothes stretched between lithe fingers.

“where are you going?”

he’s displeased, you figured by his tone, and by the irritated scrunch of his eyebrows. his eyes zone in on yours, still rapidly blinking away the sleep that clouds his eyes. he looks arguably endearing in the moment. you reach to brush the few strands of hair away from his face.

“just to the market for some ingredients.” you tug his kimono back to its proper place. “i'll be back soon, so you can rest some more.” his body doesn't budge when you attempt to push him away from the front door, and instead moves towards his own pair of shoes.

“what are you doing?”

“i'm coming with you.”

“i just said you should-”

“i'm coming with you.” his words are absolute. you sigh, not willing to try and argue this out; he's equally stubborn as he is strong. there's no way you could force him back onto the sofa unless you were physically there as well. the door swings open and your hand reaches behind you.

“fine, let's go together.” you know your words satiate the confining feeling in his chest, affirmed by the way he takes your hand despite the huff that leaves his mouth.

-

“thank you for coming,” the goddess of wisdom greets you at the sanctuary of surasthana. you politely introduce yourself, dutifully ignoring the hostile gaze you feel stinging at the right side of your face.

“the acting grand sage has spoken highly of you!” nahida beams, “i hope you can assist me with something.” you sincerely doubt alhaitham truly had bestowed you the honor of such high praise out of the goodness of his heart, judging by the presence of a glare that is still targeted towards you. he must be the one that had caused the whole havoc in sumeru, not someone you would willingly be around. still, the archon of your homeland has something to request of you, so you reluctantly agree to hear her out.

the task was simple - lead the man, wanderer is what he called himself, around sumeru and show him the sights to see, and accompany him during the day to ease him into his new life. in other words, become his companion for a while. you could hear his internal thoughts of distaste towards the idea while the archon explained your job (not that you didn't have your reserves as well). however, it certainly sounded better than working with the insufferable scholars of the akademiya, so you agreed.

“i'll be in your care, wanderer. i hope we get along.”

all things considered, he wasn’t completely terrible all the time. you took him around the whole city of sumeru, pulling him to interact with countless adults and children alike, and assisting many who were in need of help. you took him to the akademiya, letting him read the endless amounts of books that reside in the building. you took him to the forests, where you learn that he wasn't entirely an asshole, having been saved from slipping off a high branch and potentially falling into a circle of fungi (you do smack him lightly for not telling you that he was able to fly around, saying that this trip would've been much quicker). you take him to the deserts, where you finally start to learn of glimpses of his past.

“kunikuzushi? certainly sounds much better than wanderer.”

“your tastes are truly abhorrent.”

those moments would slowly came to an end, when nahida informed you that there were others that were also to guide him around, just as you had done. you figured it would be good for him to hang around various different people, so you didn’t mind the change, and returned to work in the akademiya.

though, your peaceful life didn’t last long as a certain man decided that he would be uncooperative at your disappearance.

a knock on your door was unexpected, and being dragged by the arms by the traveler was even more so. “should i be worried where you are taking me?” aether does pray to whoever is willing to listen that you would forgive him for (quite literally) throwing you to the wolves (wanderer). paimon sputter’s words of reassurance, which lead you to conclude it had to do with a certain dark haired man that you had accompanied before.

nahida is outside the sanctuary when you arrive. she doesn’t seem too disheveled, to your relief; he didn’t get physically violent at the least.

“is he angry?”

“mm… not at you, at least.” she tilts her head. “i think?” you’ll take those chances, you suppose. an irritated man trudges out of the doors, clearly exhausted to the core. apologies spill out of his lips towards the archon of wisdom before he scuffles away. four pairs of eyes watch as his figure disappears.

“that’s the sixteenth one? or was it the seventeenth?” paimon questions out loud, eyeing your expression as subtly as she can (how the hell did you manage to subdue the ex-fatui harbinger, is the biggest question that was on her mind, and most definitely showed on her face).

you grin. "i’ve truly been honored to be chosen by such a demanding man, right?” you don’t stay much longer to see their expressions of disagreement (and concern by a certain two).

the moment you stepped through the doors, his gaze snapped onto your figure in an instant. he was by your side within a blink of an eye, his hands reaching to pull your wrists toward him.

“where the hell were you.”

“i thought buer told you everything. it’s good to interact with different people aside from myself.”

“i don’t need to be surrounded by unsightly insects.” you hold back a teasing smile at the implications of his words. there's one thing that you come to understand about the wanderer after being beside him for a while - his words betray his thoughts if you just look a little deeper into them. you know the reasons why he reacted the way that he did; come to understand the reasons why he was so infuriated at your disappearance.

“right, i’m your one and only companion hmm?”

–

from that moment on, you have never been rid of wanderer. you're not sure when your job as his part time companion turned to spending 24 hours with him by your side. his presence slowly seeped into your daily life, your cottage where you reside, there was not a time where you two would be seen alone. after all, being beside you was where he decided he belongs in this new life.

extra:

“where are you going?”

“to the akademiya.”

“where are you going?”

“to the kitchen.”

“where are you going?”

“the bathroom."

...

"do not follow me.”