Archive of Our Own

hi ! i wanted to give a quick rundown of how this is supposed to look. Here’s where the main story will be!

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^{i’d definitely recommend using the workskin, but it all should work without it too!}

These days you felt weak.

It started with just a petal, then another. It hurt as they tore their way through your throat with every painful cough, delicate green-ish petals stained with dark red blood. Slowly it was more, and more, and the small buds turned into full flowers, with thorns tearing at the walls of your throat, almost every breath now causing spikes of pain to go through you. 

You brought yourself to attend classes as much as you could to keep your attendance in class, but the exhaustion was definitely taking a toll on you. After school you barely had the energy to do anything other than flop into your bed, even as little as get food, and even less go to your shift at Mostro Lounge.

You've been working there for a few months now, and did okay. Azul, even though appearing greedy and cold on the outside, was a fine boss, never late with the paycheck, making sure the kitchen was clean and that the workers werent harassed. But he still was strict enough, and you know you should show up. You haven't last time, sending him a weak excuse of a text, and you once more contemplated doing just that. You doubt they bought the nth excuse in a row, as Jade and Floyd also seemed to look at you weird through the breaks between classes. Were they reporting back to Azul? Would you be in trouble if you took another day off? You groan, and the low sound causes you to have another coughing fit, your chest aching as another flower bud forces its way through your sore throat, dropping onto the pillow beneath your head and staining the light fabric deep red.

Your head heavy against the pillow, you decide to stay. The lounge will do perfectly fine without you for another day anyway! 

You raise your hand to pick your phone up from your nightstand and once more text Ashengrotto that you won't make it; but the device doesnt answer, the battery dead. With a heavy groan you plop your head back on the pillow, not caring for the light scent of blood lingering on the soft fabric.

Some time passes in silence and pleasant peace, almost letting you drift off to sleep. When passed out is pretty much the only time you truly could rest from the hurt deep inside your chest, so you let your eyelids droop heavy, the distant, quiet hum of aquarium filters lulling you to sleep.

Until you're torn out from the blissful state with a soft knock on the door.

You lift your head immediately, frowning, suddenly reminded of where you were and in what a terrible state you were in. You glare at the door, and for a moment thought the universe was paying a heartless joke on you and nobody was actually there. But then the knock repeated. ‘‘May I come in?’’

Oh. It's Jade leech. You're totally fucked now. You look at your phone again, and curse yourself for not charging it. You really shouldn't have played with the fire called The Leech Twins!!! You sit up straight and swallow what could've been puke as much as just more blood coming from your lungs. ‘‘Yes, yes, sure.’’

The door handle dipped, and in peeked a familiar head of the shorter twin. Surprisingly he was alone, and you weren't sure if that were good news, or if it was even worse. You swallow. Were your friends about to find your body somewhere in a ditch!?

‘‘I- We've heard you're sick. Is that why you didn't show up?’’ He questioned ever so calmly, a polite smile curled on his lips. You gave a nod, watching as he kicked the door further opened and stepped inside...with a tray with tea in his hands.

You look down at the steaming cup in his arms, then meet his gaze again, and you could almost swear he looks soft. 

‘‘What's that..?’’ You question hesitantly, and his smile spreads slightly, showing just a glimpse of the sharp row of teeth he usually hid. 

‘‘Tea, of course,’’ His voice has a singy-songy tone to it, amusement? Softness? You slap yourself mentally at the idea. A thorn catches in the back of your throat and you fold forward, coughing painfully into your palm, trying desperatly to get rid of the flower from your lungs.

You barely notice quiet footsteps walking over to you, and only when you managed to clear your esphoragus you felt the dip in your mattress next to you. When you lift your gaze up you see Jade suddenly way too close to you, face unreadable. You see him look down at your hand, where a torn up petal lies on your open palm, before you close it and he meets his eyes once more.

‘‘You...’’ His voice falters, before he nudges the steaming cup towards you. ‘‘Does your throat hurt? Drink.’’

“Ah.” Jade pulled the cup back, his grip tightening slightly on the ceramic. His eyes narrowed and you could’ve sworn you saw disappointment in his eyes for a moment. He turned his face away.

“I see.” A pause. Did you do something wrong? Should you have taken the drink? You swallow.

“Oh, uh, i mean, sure-” you stumble quickly, but are silenced as he looks back at you with that cold, calculated smile.

“Oh, don’t force yourself. I understand you’d rather rest.” 

Your mattress shifted again as Jade stood up and set the cup down at the small nightstand table by your bed. You watched him as he did it, before meeting his gaze again. Jade stepped away.

“Rest,” he spoke shortly. The tall merman turned away and in quick steps left the room; left you to yourself. 

And so you did. Your room felt colder than usual that night.

You brought your covers up to your chin, the cold air making you shiver slightly. 

You didn’t fall asleep. Everytime you did you’d start choking nearly immediately, thorns pulling at the walls of your throat, coughing up more and more blood, causing you more and more pain.

It felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air, the lack of it slowly getting to your brain, making your head swim and the pain slowly dull into a simple ache in the back of your mind. With every too shallow breath it felt like you were slowly leaving your body, and finally as you took in the last one all the pain finally stopped; and you were left in a blissful state, with no more sensations getting to you.

You hesitate a second, before carefully taking the warm cup from his hands. He makes sure you don’t spill, noticing the way your grip faltered. You thank him, but say you’ll manage- he backs his hands away and folds them neatly on his lap.

You bring the cup to your lips and drink carefully, as to not burn your tongue—but the drink is perfect temperature for consumption, and you take a bigger sip. The warmth spreads on your tongue, tasting of some herbs you weren’t able to identify and a bit of honey. You swallow, and the pleasant, warm sensation travels down your throat, then spreads in your chest, easing the ever present ache deep inside.

“It’s…good.” You mutter under your breath, keeping the cup against your lips, taking in the herbal and sweet scent coming up from the liquid with the gentle steam.

“I’m glad you think so,” Jade tilted his head again, his eyes locked on you intently. In any other scenario you’d probably feel small under the watchful eyes, you know the vice-housewarden keeps an eye on everything as much as Azul does, if not even more. But this time it feels different, the gaze attentive, not sizing you up like another prey. “I’ve read that tea with honey helps when one is sick. Although we don’t have it underwater, this is a mix of…herbs…from where i’m from.”

Jade’s smile flashed just a bit of teeth again, his eyes sparkling with something…else for a second. You glance down at the calm surface of the tea with slight suspicion, but in the end can’t help but take another sip. “I’m pleased to hear it tastes good.”

You choke on the liquid, setting the cup down as to not spill. “You— You didn’t try it yourself? You just used me as some…lab r—” You accuse half-jokingly, but the words are caught by the familiar scratching in the back of your throat, and you go into another fit of coughs. Oh Sevens, not right now.

“Well, I wouldn’t call you…that,” Jade shrugged, amusement obvious in his tone. But as he watches you struggle to breathe, the smile seems to disappear off of his face, which would be even more terrifying than his amusement—if you could pay attention to anything else than the putrid taste on the back of your tongue.

A soft hand laid on your back. Rubbing soft circles on your chest. Dear Sevens, was he—? 

But it did help. Your coughs die down , only with a small torn up petal making its way out onto your palm. Jade doesn’t even try hiding that he noticed this time, brows furrowed yet expression still unreadable.

When you straighten your back he removes his hand from your back and you almost mourn it, before the pleasant coolness of his skin through his gloves presses against your shoulder, checking your temperature.

“You really are burning.” he muttered under his breath, and that might’ve been the most unfiltered you ever heard him. No fake pleasantries, no amusement; just quiet concern. You look up at him with wide eyes, suddenly your cheeks burning with something else than fever.

“Who is it?”

You blink. “Who…what?”

He nods towards your clenched palm. Your fingers twitch, suddenly feeling very exposed and very put on the spot.

“W-weeell,” you start, before trailing off and looking away. Saying it to his face sounded terrifying quite frankly. Would he laugh at you? Make fun of you? Leave you here to die? The idea makes your breath catch in your throat. “It’s…”

He gives you a moment to answer, but when you don’t follow up his smile spreads into his usual amused expression. Oh sevens, he knows, doesn’t he? He knew all this time— how long, exactly? Is he here to mock you? Kill you himse?—

“I didn’t know it was killing you,” he started slowly, his hand coming back to your forehead, this time to push some of your bangs up and out of your eyes. “It was…exquisite watching you squirm and panic whenever i’d get too close, but…”

You watched with horror as his face dropped into a contemplating one, studying every one of your expression like under a microscope. So he did know all this time. Great. 

“…i didn’t mean for it to go so far.”

And…a small peck on your forehead.

His lips are cold, soft, and before you can even comprehend what’s happening he’s already pulled away. You stare at him wide-eyed, bottom lip quivering as you didn’t even notice your mouth gaping in a silent ‘o’.

He grinned and once more pet your head, as if nothing happened. You shake your head to get your mind in order, but your chest does feel lighter.

“So you— so you knew this whole time!” 

“That i did.”

You bury your face in your hands, sighing with defeat. “Ooohhh, i made such a fool of myself…”

He chuckles, and you once more feel the now familiar, soft circles rubbed into your back. “It’s fine. You looked cute all flustered.”

“Y-you’re not helping—!”

And for the first time in a long time you could breathe freely.

With a heavy sigh you lift yourself up from your bed and on shaky legs walk over to your closet. Your uniform was crumpled, not folded quite as neatly as it should, but you don’t have the energy to pay attention to that. You put the clothes on, frowning as it rubs against your burning skin in all the wrong ways, the collar choking you, sleeves not reaching down the way you’d want to. But you still peek into your mirror one last time, before leaving your room.

The chill air outside your room hits your feverish skin with a shiver. The octavinelle dorm was always kept colder than warmer, with the many merfolk in mind. You thanked for the dimmed lights, knowing that if there were any brighter you’d probably get a headache. 

Just a few minutes later you were at the door to the lounge, and you step inside.

‘‘You’re late.’’

Jade’s voice turned your attention towards him, meeting his eyes with a weak, apologetic smile. 

“Just a minute,” you banter softly, looking at the clock on the wall. You watch as his smile spreads a little more, his eyes narrowing with amusement. 

“That it is.” He nods, tilting his head. “Please go to the back room and clock in.”

You bow your head just a little, feeling half apologetic and half relieved that it ended with only banter, and not a real scolding. You hope it’ll go as smooth with Floyd and Azul as well. You really don’t want to upset them.

As you step behind the kitchen you notice you didn’t even bring your phone with you, and sigh. You still check at your locker, but having nothing to really leave there, you move to wash your hands, before finally making your way behind the counter, where you’re supposed to accompany Floyd in the kitchen. The tall boy is already there, leaning lazily against the counter. When he spotted you, he grinned lazily.

“Ssseeea bunny~” he greeted you, rising himself from his slouched position and stepping up, just to press himself into you. You let out a soft laugh, but it falters into another harsh cough. Floyd looks almost concerned for a moment, but you brush it off. A few drops of blood landed on your hand, and you wash them again.

“Is sea bunny sick?” Floyd pouts, watching you wipe your hands on a clean towel. 

“That won’t do,” Floyd frowned, tilting his head, eyes intently locked onto you. You could see his mood switch in real time, and it was kind of terrifying. Bad mood Floyd is never someone you want to be stuck in a small room with.

“O-oh, i’m sorry,” you apologize quickly, trying to smooth the situation. “It’s not like it’s anything contagious, nothing severe, just a little cough-!”

But Floyd didn’t seem any more chill, the pout on his bottom lip growing even more. His brows furrowed and for a moment he looked like a spoiled kid that didn’t get what he wanted. You almost laugh at the mental image; almost.

“Floyd, really, you don’t have to— l-let me go-!?”

The next thing you knew, suddenly the merman had you in his hands, ground escaping from under your feet as he threw you over his shoulder. While it did feel nice to feel his cold hand on your waist, the humiliating and quite frankly uncomfortable position still made you kick your feet, somehow trying to free yourself out of the grip. Although you would imagine that fall from almost 2 meters would probably hurt.

“Shush,” Floyd stopped another one of your pleas to be let down with a flick to your hip, amused giggle back in his voice. You shivered. 

Floyd started walking, and suddenly a whole new realm of worries opened to you. Was he bringing you to Azul? Were you about to lose the job? A lump grew in your throat.

But as he stepped outside the kitchen, Floyd didn’t seem to turn towards the office, instead to the exit. You were thankful nobody besides staff were in the lounge yet to witness this.

You did pass Jade, though.

”Floyd,” he started, making his twin stop mid step, turn towards him. You cursed the position you were in, facing away from Jade—you still hoped he’d stop his brother from…whatever he was about to do.

“You know that’s no way to treat sick people.”

Floyd didn’t answer for a second, before his shoulders slumped with a pouty “Yeah…”. Feeling his shoulder shift, you felt as if you were about to fall; and couldn’t help but instinctively grip onto Floyd’s waist, nails digging slightly into the fabric of his uniform.

The boy seemed to barely notice anyway besides the small giggle that came from him. Next thing you knew you could feel both his hands hold securely onto your hips, before lifting you up from his shoulder.

You looked towards Jade and was about to thank him for saving you from the embarrassing…whatever Floyd was planning, but the words died on your tongue as the boy now held you bridal style instead.

Your eyes widen and you look towards Jade, as if he could give you any answers for what did you just find yourself in, but are met with nothing but a pleased smile, before the shorter twin turned away back to preparing the lounge for the opening.

So you look up, at the last person you expected answers from—Floyd, now closer than you ever expected him to be. He resumed walking, leaving the lounge and taking a turn into the hallway towards where the dorm rooms are. He was looking down at you with a lazy grin, looking extremely pleased with himself. 

You were pressed against his chest in what could only be described as a comfortable yet embarrassing position. You couldn’t deny how nice it felt to have the merman’s cooler skin against your own feverish one, his grip surprisingly strong and secure. You let your aching muscles relax just a bit in his arms, but you did avert your gaze from him.

Finally, you arrived…at your room. Without asking he pushed it open and stepped inside. You mentally cringed at the sight of the unmade bed and a crumpled flower laying on the nightstand.

“Thanks, Floyd,” you smile shakily, doing your best for your voice to not fail you. The close proximity was causing a weird mixture of warmth and cold to cool in your chest. “You can…put me down now.”

“Sea bunny sssso cringe,” Floyd interrupted you out of nowhere, the words making you blink, the lump that was slowly growing in the back of your throat through your whole journey from the lounge to your room. “Coughing up flowers, thinking we wouldn’t notice.”

Floyd walked over to your bed, where he dropped you unceremoniously onto the bed, making you yelp quietly. The mattress was soft but the suddenness of it all made you unprepared for the contact anyway.

After the initial shock subsides tho, you look up at him with a horrifying expression, just to catch Floyd staring above the bed and looking at you with a weirdly unreadable expression. “You…knew?”

Floyd giggled, throwing his head back with amusement, before looking back down at you. He doesn’t give you a moment to think before you feel a weight on the bed, on top of yourself, as Floyd flopped down across the bed, his weight crashing against your stomach, making you yelp again.

“Nee, of course we knew~” He beamed, lazily shifting himself to lay against you, now face-to-face. “You’re ssssoooo obvious, you know. It was sooo fun to watch,” he laughed again, causing your face to flush from something else than just the fever.

Suddenly his face dropped again, and he turned around to lay on his stomach, his legs kicking lazily behind him. “But now Bunny’s sick. Azul told me to spaaare you, eheh.”

The nickname, followed by a frankly terrifying thought thrown out together in one breath make you shiver slightly, before looking away. Floyd lazily draped himself over your side, and he looked content to go to sleep like this. In all honesty, you wouldn’t mind that one bit.

And it was your first peaceful night in a long time.

Floyd looked at you, obviously not believing you, but surprisingly he didn’t pry. You held in a small cough and only cleared your throat, putting on as calm of an expression as you could

Soon enough Floyd seemed to get bored, as he turned around on his heel and stepped out the kitchen.

You had half a mind to shout after him, that you were supposed to work the shift together, but on the other hand you didn’t want any more unwanted attention. Maybe him getting bored was the best possible outcome.

So you worked the kitchen alone. Although an additional pair of hands could’ve been of use you managed pretty well, considering the lounge has only opened and there weren’t that many people here yet. You made whatever orders came from Jade or another staff members that were working as servers with no issue, and after about an hour Floyd joined you back.

You raised your brows as the eel merman stepped back into the kitchen. “You’re back?”

“Yyyyeah,” he shrugged. He wasn’t in the quite best mood, but also didn’t seem to be too pissed off. “Azul would toootally kick my ass if i didn’t,” he laughed. You chuckled softly again at that, before turning back to the order you were working on.

The issue was that you were still coughing, and Floyd absolutely noticed.

At first you were mostly managing to keep them in, but at some point the scratching in your throat became unbearable, and when you finally had a free moment when Floyd took care of the next order, you stepped to the side to cough.

Slouched forward, your chest contracted painfully with each sharp exhale, you could taste blood on your tongue and a lump in your throat. At some point it was looking like you were retching more than having a simple cough, and any hope that Floyd wouldn’t notice was long gone. You could barely breathe; oh, you didn’t have much time left.

“You should go see Azul.” You heard, when the worst wave was over. Looking over your shoulder, Floyd once more abandoned his task at hand, focusing on you.

“It’s no problem, re-” you try to deny, but as if on cue, your coughs pick up again. Meeting Floyd’s annoyed face you realise you probably really should do what he was telling you to.

Knocking on the door to the office felt terrifying quite frankly. Were you about to lose your job? Oh, maybe you should go back. Maybe you really shouldn’t have come here.

But before you can either decide to knock or to flee, the door open under your hand, and suddenly you’re face to face with Jade Leech himself. You yelp and take a small step back.

“Oh?” he tilted his head, neutral face twisting into a pleased smile, sharp teeth showing. “It’s you..Please, do come in. Azul is free to…talk.” 

He stepped around you, hand brushing against your shoulder accidentally, maybe. You swallow.

“Jade, why would you not close the door, you know—” Came an annoyed sigh from inside the office, and what followed was Azul’s figure stepping into frame. When he noticed you he stopped in his tracks, and his angry expression shifted into a neutral one, before his lips softened into the smallest smile. “Well, that explains a lot. Come in and close the door, won’t you.” he turned on his heel, walking back over to his desk.

You followed in, closing the heavy door with a dull ‘thud’, watching as he took a seat behind his desk and standing at the opposite side.

“So, what brings you here?” Azul leaned back, magical pen twirling in his fingers.

What did bring you here? You ponder the question for a second.

“Floyd told me to…come here,” you start hesitantly, not meeting his eyes. Your voice comes out a little flustered. “But, really, it’s just a little cough…”

“Is it really?” he questions intently, head tilted back, eyes locked on you. 

“…yes.”

A pause.

“I don’t think a simple cough makes people throw up flowers.”

You freeze where you’re standing, something growing cold in your chest, and you couldn’t tell if it was another flower or your heart skipping a beat.

Azul doesn’t take his eyes off of you, his gaze feeling almost sympathetic. You slap yourself mentally for that.

“If i may ask,” he picked up after the silence stretched on too long. “…who is it?”

The silence stretched on for a few minutes, before Azul cleared his throat.

“Of course, i won’t force you to answer,” he said, his face taking on that business smile, the one saying he felt a deal. If you maybe listened in a bit closer, you could hear a hint of disappointment in his voice; or maybe you couldn’t. Who knows. “but i believe i could help you with…this.” He gestured vaguely towards you. 

“For a price, of course.”

You stare at him with narrowed eyes for a moment, raising your brow. “I don’t…think i have anything to give you.”

“I’m not asking for much,” Azul shook his head, resting his elbows on the desk and leaning his chin on his folded hands. “Only your signature spell.”

A beat. You stare at him, frozen as if moving would cause some chain reaction that would lead to something bad. He continued.

“We both know healing hanahaki leads to washing one out of their emotions, which messes with the quality of a mage’s magic. I believe,” he straightened and puffed out his chest proudly. “with me it wouldn’t go to waste.”

Azul smiled, giving you a moment to think everything he just lied out in front of you. He leaned forward again. “We both also know you don’t have much time left if you don’t do anything about it.”

Although hesitating for a moment, you finally sit down at the chair across from Azul. It was comfortable enough, although you still felt tense from the weight of the situation you found yourself in.

His eyes sparkled as he saw you give in.

The choice was between losing the ability to love, hate, feel- or to die, when? Tomorrow?

Azul flicked his wrist and a golden contract appeared in his hand. He placed it on the desk, facing you.

You looked at the small letters scattered on the page in neat, dark ink, contrasting with the light paper. 

“Is there…any catch?”

“Oh, no, how could i use a poor, unfortunate soul in such a dire state to my own convenience?” Azul shook his head, his voice taking in a faux worried tone. You smiled softly at the act.

“‘Course you wouldn’t…” You mutter, shaking your head.

In the end you signed the contract. Was it stupid? Maybe. But a dying person holds onto any saving grace. 

You didn’t feel the change. Whatever potion Azul gave you worked as you woke up the next day rested and breathing easily, but you didn’t feel relief per se. You didn’t feel anything, quite frankly. And maybe that loss was what saved you from mourning what a big part of yourself you lost.

When you left for classes you passed by Azul. He smiled when he saw you. “I hope the deal brought satisfaction.

You look at him blankly, and nod. “Yes.”

You turn on your heel and leave to class.

Azul heard your answer and gave a small nod. He did wait another few moments to hear whether you’d change your mind, but as you didn’t he sighed quietly.

“Although losing the opportunity for such an amazing deal pains me, i suppose it would out of place to press any further with your life on the line.”

He spread his arms out with helplessness, before looking back at you. He sized you up for a second, before his smile softened.

“…take care. You’re free to go for the day.”

And so you did. Your room felt colder than usual that night.

You brought your covers up to your chin, the cold air making you shiver slightly. 

You didn’t fall asleep. Everytime you did you’d start choking nearly immediately, thorns pulling at the walls of your throat, coughing up more and more blood, causing you more and more pain.

It felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air, the lack of it slowly getting to your brain, making your head swim and the pain slowly dull into a simple ache in the back of your mind. With every too shallow breath it felt like you were slowly leaving your body, and finally as you took in the last one all the pain finally stopped; and you were left in a blissful state, with no more sensations getting to you.

Silence once more stretched on in the office, thick enough to be cut with a knife, probably.

You swallowed. Did you just make the worst mistake? Maybe. A sharp inhale, before you were coughing again, this time through panic that suddenly set in your chest.

“So i did think correctly,” you could hear him mutter above your coughs, although barely, and you were grateful that now you at least have the excuse to not look at him. “It’s silly, you know- Oh, sevens, you’re choking—”

Few quick footsteps from behind the desk and Azul was by your side, patting your back to help you ease the retching. As much as you hated to admit it, it did help, and soon enough you were breathing more or less easily, catching your breath. A few drops of blood fell onto the clean carpet below you, and another few lingered at the corner of your mouth. 

“We’ll have to clean that…No matter,” Azul looked down at the stained carpet, before meeting your gaze once more. As you straightened yourself, he backed his hand away from your back, but instead moved it to your face, where he gently cup your cheek in his hand and wiped the blood from your lips. “You love me.”

Hearing him say that out loud with such a serious expression felt silly, but at the same time so heavy and important. He was trying to get a confirmation…for what? To ruin your life with it? To gather dirt on you? You part your lips to say something, but no words come out to break the stunned silence.

So, as Azul noticed he wasn’t going to get a confirmation, he instead tugged at your collar, before bringing you in and crashing his lips against yours.

You froze, again. His lips felt smooth against yours, with a hint of something herbal. Azul never did anything unplanned or uncoordinated, yet now his grip felt so desperate and the kiss felt so sudden; it felt like someone completely else. Someone Azul would let slip only for his closest friends or family, and he let you in on that.

You opened your eyes for a second, just to see Azul’s own eyes closed tightly. He looked inexperienced, but oh so pretty up close. You let your eyes slip closed again, and finally kissed him back, muscles relaxing.

When you parted, you both gasped for air shortly, catching your breaths. Your own chest felt lighter than in a long time, finally able to breathe again. His hands stayed on your cheeks, oh so gently, as he leaned in again.

fin eheh…