Real Relationships get Real Endings

by arivergrowsintheeast

Summary:

“Call it what you want, but I need you to act out the role of my…partner.”

“Partner for what? Alchemy? Nah we’re not even the same grade. Business stuff?”

“Idia. I meant it as…boyfriend.”

6 days of Idia going to the Mostro Lounge to hang out with his totally real, definitely not fake boyfriend.

“Say Idia, how much would you rate yourself out of on a scale of one to ten?”

Idia looked up from his cards, eyes wide with incredulity. Across from him, Azul held his own fanned out cards with both hands. He was staring back at Idia with an expectant expression.

“Uh? Maybe negative one LOL?”

“Hm, I think you’d at least be a 7.”

“Wh!?” 

Idia was torn between laughing or letting his jaw drop as Azul reaches over to pick out a card from his hand. He frowns after looking at it and puts it into his deck. Idia sits frozen, still reeling over the higher than average number Azul had given him. 

“It’s your turn Idia.”

“You want me to rate you!?”

Azul raises an eyebrow, a more familiar look of irritation passing across his face.

“You…I mean pick a card.”

“O-Oh yeah, mb.”

He plucks a card from Azul’s hand and grins once he finds a pair to make with it. He hopes to see Azul look even more irritated but the housewarden had put his cards face down on the table now. He was staring at Idia scrutinizingly, his hands brought together to rest his chin on.

“Yes…you aren’t half bad.”

“Eh?”

“Your complexion is rather good compared to most of those with similar habits to you.”

“What!?”

“Your hair is rather charming too, not to mention your height if you ever bothered to correct your posture.”

“Azul!?!?!”

“And you’re one of the more intelligent ones too, although your speech habits are-”

“Dude pause!” Idia puts his cards down with a sound bang that was enough to cause the few other club members to glance over at them. He sinks into his hood before hissing at Azul. “What are you narrating rn?”

Azul doesn’t reply, but an array of emotions ranges across his face within seconds before settling on grudging acceptance.

“I need a favor.”

“...a favor.”

“Worry not! I will make sure you are rewarded for it well, I never go against my word after all.”

Idia cackles, suddenly invested in the conversation, “then it’s not a favor, it’s a quest.”

“Call it what you want, but hear me out…I need you to act out the role of my…partner.”

“Oh?” He leans in while taking note of how embarrassed Azul looked. The other has always hated asking people for help, so to be requesting Idia for something like partnering up must be out of desperation. “Partner for what? Alchemy? Nah we’re not even the same grade. Business stuff?”

“Idia. I meant it as…boyfriend.”

What.

“WHAT?”

More people looks over and Idia can’t even be bothered to shy away anymore. He stared at a now very embarrassed Azul in shock.

“What!? Me? Wh-What kind of cliche trope is this Azul?”

Azul raises his hand, “let me explain. There seems to be a…certain group of students who seem to admire me-”

“Bragging much?”

“I am not! Anyway, they have been coming to the Mostro lounge everyday recently-”

“Isn’t that like, good?”

“Can you stop interrupting!? And yes, I thought it to be quite advantageous too at first but…they have turned to harassing customers and students when they can’t get to me. I cannot spend every waking hour entertaining them and,” Azul fidgeted, looking uncomfortable, “nor do I want to.”

“Okay and then?”

“And because it is happening in my restaurant I have requested Floyd not to take any drastic action…our sales have already declined noticeably after our last act of destruction so we cannot risk taking such measures.” Azul sighs wearily. His shoulders sags and he slouches onto the table a little. For the first time, Idia sensed how tired the boy was. “And then one day while they were trying to interrogate a student who had seen me, Jade let it slip that I had…a partner.”

“A bf?”

“Yes Idia, a bf. But I do not actually have one and the excuse had been quite effective at first as they had backed down in utter shock…except now they want proof it’s true.”

Idia gulps, pointing at himself. “And you want…me.”

He couldn't believe his own words, which flustered him enough to make him feel warmer than usual. Thankfully it wasn't just him, seeing how embarrassed Azul looked as well.

“Make no mistake, I went through many, many options before settling on you. It’s- it’s not a nonsense decision at all.” 

Azul turns his head away, not looking at Idia whose mind was turning at an inconceivable speed. Azul seriously wanted to fake date him!? What would they even do together? He closes his eyes and images rushed past his eyes of different situations. Feeding Azul a strawberry, piggybacking him to the infirmary, brushing his hair out of his- OH GOD IT WAS TOO MUCH.

“I- I don’t even have enough strength to piggyback you!”

“...what situation could possibly call for that?” Azul raises an eyebrow in confusion before they shoot up and a hopeful smile breaks out, “does this imply you agree?”

“I…uh, um...”

“Listen Idia, I understand this is a huge step out of your comfort zone for you. I will do my very best to make sure things aren’t too hard for you but do consider it…please.”

They descend into silence as Azul picks his cards back up. Idia does the same and lets the silver-haired boy take out a card from his hand. He knew what having to be Azul’s fake date implied. He’s going to be hounded by that fanclub, he's going to have to talk to people and people will have their eyes on him. It sounded like his own personal hell.

But has he ever seen Azul look so…vulnerable? His shoulders were tense, his smile looked faker than ever, and he had the lightest hint of eyebags under his eyes. If Azul wasn’t noticing or bothering to hide them then the situation must be bad bad.
Idia recalls his current mission of being a little braver, and remembers Ortho’s excitement when he first heard about the mission. He has been asking about it frequently ever since, and though Idia has only been answering by doing little things that was probably the norm to others, this would actually be a recognizable and huge feat. Ortho would definitely be proud of him.

So Idia takes a deep breath and gives Azul his reply.

“Ok.” 

Azul’s head snaps up, looking as though he hadn’t expected Idia to agree.

“Truly?”

Idia nods, swallowing down the lump of paranoia in his throat. Azul was grinning at him now, relief so evident in his eyes. At once he puts his cards to a side and pulls out a notebook from an inner pocket of his jacket. Idia doesn’t think his uniform jacket has one of those. 

“Wonderful! Shall we prepare the contract at once?”

“I thought you weren’t-”

“It’s not a magically induced one, but we must set up some ground rules to have a basic idea on what to do and not to do right?”

“Ohhh, like don’t fall in love fr lol?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Nothing, nvm,” Idia shakes his head in disappointment, “clearly you have no experience in the fake dating trope.”

Azul raises an eyebrow at him, “you have fake dated people before?”

“Wh- no!? Don’t make fun of a virgin loser like me UGH.”

Idia slouches into his seat as Azul gives him an exaggerated eyeroll and starts writing. The pen flies across the paper as he writes a short summary of what they were about to do. Idia watches the other's brow furrow in concentration and pays attention carefully as Azul reads aloud their rules.

“This will go on for only a week.”

“K.”

“And in that week you will need to come to the Mostro lounge once everyday.”

“...K, I guess.”

Azul smiles at him gratefully. It’s a soft, genuine smile that makes Idia feel strange. He squirms a little and pushes his hands into his hoodie pockets.

“Can Ortho know?”

“Alright, from my side I will be letting Jade and Floyd know as well. And, what is your opinion on affection?”

“LMAO Cringe.’

“Idia…”

“Sry sry uh, like there is a limit right?” Idia has never been a touchy person but since he already agreed to this, he had to commit now. His eyes dropped down to Azul’s gloved hands, small and dainty and secretly thought that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to hold them. He banished the thought away, heartbeat spiking up, “I-I mean well…hand holding is like basic normie stuff I can totally do that.”

Azul puts the pen down and hums thoughtfully.

“Yes, mild displays of affection will be more than enough. They would have to be wondrously audacious to expect more in public. I’ll write it down as such and perhaps we can include a code word for if it’s out of our comfort zone?”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, the word can be watermelon.” 

Idia stays silent as Azul writes it down. They go back and forth a few more times before Azul is finally satisfied. By the time they're done, club is lon over and it's just the two of them sitting around the room. Azul rereads the contract to himself and hands it to Idia who simply glances over it. It was all feeling too real now, and once he signed it he was going to be fake dating Azul Ashengrotto and people were going to know. 

He takes the pen and shakily signs it. Azul does the same, although his signature is firmer and prettier. He rolls up the piece of paper and stuffs it into his jacket’s inner pocket, along with the notebook and finally stands up. He is grinning again, though it is one of his more confident smirks. One he gives when he gets a successful deal or when he wins against Idia in Go Fish. Idia misses the previous smile.

“Well then Idia,” he straightens his jacket and moves to leave, giving Idia a small, unromantic nod. “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

Idia watches the housewarden leave and rushes back to his dorm right after. That night he drags an overly eager Ortho into a gaming marathon with him, going through every single otome game he owns in order to practice for the big day.

He was so ready for the big day.

 

Idia has never been less ready in his life. 

He stood in front of the Mostro lounge, hood over his head and bunched up in his hands. It had taken a very enthusiastic push from Ortho to even enter the mirror to Octavinelle and now that he’s standing in front of the restaurant...Seven help him his knees were about to give up on him before he did.

The door to the restaurant opens as two students walk out and Idia can see the bustling amount of students and hears light jazz music from the inside. The two students walking out actually takes the time to stop and gasp when they see him before rushing off. Idia is mortified by the implications. How was he already hated by people who he didn’t even know?

He seriously considers turning back but Azul’s smile flutters across his mind and he forces his legs to move forward. With a deep, trembling inhale, he pushes the door open. 

It was his first time seeing the Mostro lounge. Well, no, he has seen pictures that Azul showed off during their themed events but it’s his first time experiencing the restaurant in real time.

It had the same underwater cavernous feel that Idia remembered commenting on when he first saw it. With its dark purples and blues, most of the seats were couches with a few single or double seated chairs. The rug he would be stepping on once he entered seemed to have a plush quality to it and the best part of all, there was an entire wall that was just a gigantic aquarium. Idia had freaked out about it when Azul first showed him the picture back then, but had shot down the offer to come see it for himself. He never thought the day would come where he actually saw the aquarium with his own eyes.

His excitement and wonder is dashed when the door is pulled open completely and the Mostro uniform enters his line of sight. His eyes travel up and when they spot a flash of teal hair they fall back down.

“Ohohoho? Firefly squid actually came!? I was sure Azul was lying to us.”

The grating, deep voice of Floyd Leech sends shivers down Idia’s spine and all of his cells begin to beg him to go back to his room again. He tries to ignore them, thinking of something to say but Floyd just grabs his wrist and pulls him inside.

Idia stumbles forward with a yelp but thankfully does not fall as the momentum of Floyd dragging him continues. They reach a table, one with a large couch where Floyd finally lets him go. Idia is sure his wrist has turned red but he’s too scared to check.

“Azul said to seat you when you get here.”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

He slowly sits down and shuffles towards the middle of the couch. As soon as he settles a large book is placed in front of him.

“What do ya want?”

“I-I have to order something?”

“Duh,” Floyd rolls his eyes, “you ain’t allowed here otherwise.”

Idia feels a little scammed by the whole thing but looks through the menu anyway. There is nothing simple included like muffins or soda and everything had unnecessarily fancy names that made his head spin. He ends up choosing the sweetest looking thing on the menu; waffles covered in melted chocolate and decorated with ice cream and gummies.

Floyd walks off with the menu and Idia finally feels comfortable enough to shoot a glare at his distancing back. He makes sure that his hoodie is covering most of his head and glances around the place again. 

His eyes finally land on one person who has a gigantic drink bubbling with different colors. It is not anyone that Idia recognizes (he barely recognizes anyone here), but seeing the drink made him wish he had chosen that instead. It seemed like it consisted of the perfect amount of fizz and sugar that would give his veins the adrenaline they need. He then noticed that the owner of that drink was looking around the room in awful suspicion, a frown on their face as they sipped on what Idia bets tasted like heaven. 

Idia is busy watching the drink and weighing his bravery to change his order when he feels a presence nearing him.

He turns around, alert again when he sees the familiar figure of Azul rushing over. 

Relief washes over him at once and he is making space on the already spacious couch. Azul sits a bit too close to Idia for such a large couch. He sees the light pink on Azul’s cheek and only then does he remember why he’s here in the first place. 

He feels himself get warmer and shuffles a little bit closer to the silver-haired boy as well. If Azul notices he doesn’t say anything, crossing his legs as he starts to speak.

“I am glad you came.”

“I mean I said I would. Might be a loser but I’m not a lying loser.”

Azul huffs a laugh and Idia can’t help but smile as well. 

“So,” he leans in closer, “where’s the fanclub?”

Azul tilts his head nearer as well, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “not all of them are here today, only one is present to do an overall look-around. I’d say the main event will begin tomorrow.”

“Oh, who’s that?”

“The one drinking the Candy Storm Sprite.”

“Uh, what?”

“The very colorful drink to your left.”

Idia shifts and his gaze lands on the deliciously large drink from before, now halfway done. He’s more or less thrilled to learn its name and is again thinking about changing his order when his eyes lift a little and makes contact with the dark haired boy glaring at him murderously.

He turns back around and grabs Azul’s sleeve in terror.

“He was staring at me!”

Azul who is pointedly not looking over nods slowly and Idia fumbles around with fear and for some reason, the urge to turn around again. The need to see if he’s still being stared at, to know whether the pinpricks he’s feeling on his back is because of that person.

He’s about to give in and turn around when Azul grabs his hand and shakes his head no. Idia freezes, slowly turning back to face front. His eyes drop to Azul’s hand resting on top of his. It is smaller than his own, and maybe because the room is cool, the touch burns hot even through the thin glove. Idia wants to pull away, he wants to run but he remembers the agreement and takes a deep breath instead.

“Is this okay?” He hears Azul ask him, the gentle tone is more reassuring and grounding than the hand and Idia nods.

“Yeah, only a little psychic damage was done. Still got a high health bar.”

“That’s good.”

As soon as he says so, Floyd pops out of nowhere and Azul takes his hand away and puts it in his own lap, letting the chill of the room encroach Idia’s skin again. Except this time it felt emptier. Idia stares at Azul’s hand until he hears a plate being placed down.

The waffles are huge and drowning in syrup. Idia eyes the gummy fishes littered around and drowning beneath a generous dollop of ice cream. Mostro lounge may have a knack for milking their customer's money but they definitely made sure it was well worth it. He mumbles out a small ‘thanks’ before digging into it. It’s as heavenly as it looks and Idia falls back to the couch with a delighted groan.

“Out of this world shit damn!”

He’s back in the real world when he hears two people chuckling. Floyd looks at him proudly, as though there was a correct answer and Idia had given it. 

“I guess you do have good taste eh? Have funnnnn.” 

He singsongs before walking off. Idia flushes so hard that he has to duck down and shove another piece into his mouth. He doesn’t even bother looking over at Azul. Not that he has to, Azul was speaking anyway.

“I am glad the food is to your liking. Although that is more a dessert than a meal.”

“It can be anything I want, bet you’ve never had breakfast for dinner either.”

“It’s literally called breakfast? Why would I-” 

They dissolve into their usual banter and arguments, grins surfacing easily. Idia finally finds himself relaxing, shoulders dropping down as he focuses on Azul and only Azul. It’s exactly what he does during club as well whenever he felt like others were stared at him weirdly. Azul has looked at him through many kinds of eyes and sure, many were insulting, but none made Idia want to curl up into himself and die. 

They talk until Idia is done with his food. He pays (because apparently a boyfriend discount doesn’t exist) and lets Azul walk him all the way out. They’re standing at a side of the door now and truthfully speaking, Idia has had so much fun talking to Azul in a non-clubroom setting that he almost doesn’t want it to end. 

Yet the laughter fades and Azul replaces it with a more serious atmosphere.

“You did well today Idia. I admit I had little faith but it truly feels like we can do this and we can do this well.”

Idia warms up at the praise and tries to play it off with a scoff. He averts his gaze, looking at the lounge when he sees the boy from before peering at them through the glass window. 

“I-It’s no prob, I told you didn’t I? My expertise in otome games is 10/10. I liked your waffles too.”

Azul chuckles again, “I’ll have to give my compliments to the chef then…I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yup, GG?”

Idia glances over and his heart nearly drops when he sees the person still watching them. He can see the suspicion in the gaze from where he stood and wonders whether they looked like two friends parting ways instead of lovers.

Unsure, he takes both of Azul’s hands and frantically side eyes to his right when he receives a questioning look. Thankfully Azul is not a fool and squeezes Idia's hands back in mutual understanding. They share a smile that is enough for Idia to calm down. A part of him questions how romantic they looked but he doesn't want to look away from Azul to check.

Until Azul lets go of Idia's hands and tugs at the front of his jacket, causing him to lean down. 

“I apologize for the suddenness, but this is quite a suggestive angle from where they sit, don’t you think?”

Idia can’t think at all. He feels Azul’s breath on his cheek and ear, he can smell the boy’s perfume, a soft ocean-y scent that makes Idia want to give another sniff, and his mind is reverberating with the low tinny of Azul’s voice.

He gulps and just nods, staying frozen until Azul gives him permission to pull back. Idia knows his hair is flushed pink as he was and is thankful that most of it is covered by his hood. No need for the pink to suddenly reflect throughout the whole restaurant and make everyone pay attention to them.

Azul smiles at him softly and gives him a short wave, signaling the end of today. And in a robotic manner Idia walks off. He is back in his dorm before he knows it and if he spends the rest of the night screaming facedown into a pillow, that’s only his and Ortho’s business.

 

Idia goes back at the same time the next day and orders the Candy Storm Sprite. He fidgets less as he clicks away on his tablet that he convinced Ortho to not hide. He’s loading up a game when he gets a text message on it from Azul and moves to answer it.

 

Azul: Clever of you to bring your tablet, I had wondered why you hadn’t yesterday.

 

Idia looks around the wide ceiling of the lounge, trying to spot where Azul was watching him from when his tablet lights up again.

 

Azul: No need to bother finding the camera, they have been covertly meshed with the decor.

Idia: Is it the seashell placed near the speaker?

Azul: …Nonetheless, it is not important and on that note don’t you dare attempt hacking into our security. 

Idia: I won’t LOL. Why are you stalking me rn?

Azul: I was just ensuring you’re comfortable. It’s what proper partners do.

Idia: Oh yeah, Good Boyfriending 101. Rule 1: Watch your bf through a hidden camera without revealing yourself. 

Idia: Rule 2: send anon gifts and letters to your bf’s doorstep.

Azul: You are not funny.

Idia: sry sry 

Idia: When will you be coming?

Azul: Give me 30 minutes, perhaps even less. I will finish up my current work and join you.

Idia: kk. see ya.

 

His drink arrives faster this time and seeing the bubbling colors, Idia is so excited that he goes as far as to grin at Floyd. He regrets it when the eel places his drink in front of him and sits down. He isn’t as close as Azul was, but the fact that Floyd Leech is sitting near him is enough to leave Idia sweating.

“Um…don’t-don’t you have work?”

“Nah, not in the mood.”

“O-Oh. Okay.”

Idia stirs his drink using the straw, nerves fraying as second after agonizing second passed by and Floyd doesn’t bother to leave. He was half slouching on the couch now, clearly having made his bed there. 

Idia takes a few deep breaths. It’s fine. He's dating Azul now so they won’t do anything to him. Not yet at least. In fact, he should learn to be normal around them since they’re Azul’s best friends…probably. He could never guess what was up between the three of them, but Azul clearly depended on the two and that alone made the tweels very important people.

He takes a sip of his drink and immediately forgets about Floyd. The bubbles burst and tingles on his tongue, covering it with sweetness and a hint of tart? Citrus? It didn’t matter. Idia takes a gulp and wonders how acceptable it would be to order a second one. With the way his veins were filling up with sugar, he won't even need his usual energy drinks tonight.

“Oh there’s more of Azul’s stalkers today.”

Idia chokes on his drink and even spills some from the way he flinches. He nearly coughs both his lungs out while Floyd just sits there watching him. He’s not sure what he expected but he finds this a valuable lesson in never letting his guard down around Octavinelle psycho #1.

After a minute of calming down and another minute of heaving deep breaths, he finally lifts his head. 

“Wh-Where are they?”

“You good bro?”

“...Y-Yeah. Azul’s uh, stalkers-”

“Over thereeee.” 

Floyd raises a hand and directly points at a table of three people staring at them with wide eyes. Idia stares back with the same wide eyes, engaging in minor competition.

He loses, obviously.

He takes another, more careful sip of his drink when finally, finally Azul comes rushing over. He looks slightly frazzled, jacket wrinkled, and eyes filled with shock and panic. 

“Are you okay!?”

He hands a napkin to Idia who is flushing at a pace so quickly that his hair which had been carelessly let loose was beginning to mirror the tabletop pink. He had forgotten Azul was sort of watching through a camera. Good Lord of the Underworld, how could he be losing boyfriend points while being a fake boyfriend!?

But Azul was turned away from him, now scolding Floyd for just sitting there and just watching. Floyd just grinned at him lazily, head lolling to a side. 

“I knew he wouldn’t die.” Saying so the eel jumps up, grabs Azul and throws him into the seat, making his housewarden slam against Idia. He goes as far as to wave at them before walking off. “Seeeee ya Azul, Firefly squid.”

Azul sputters before realizing he was still stuck to Idia's side and quickly moving away. He turns to Idia, apologies falling from his lips.

“I apologize for- are you okay!?”

Idia, who is unable to straighten himself, does his best to grin while clutching at his sides.

“I-I’m good. Just some health bar damage. Your elbows are pretty OP Azul, as expected of you.”

They spend a few more minutes with Azul fretting as Idia gets over his pain. The embarrassment is stronger than the pain and he desperately wishes to leave. He doesn’t even dare to think of what Azul’s fan club must think of him now after having witnessed that whole mess. His charisma stats were so low that they could just come over here and one shot him eight feet under. 

He lets his own thoughts get to him and sighs deeply. "I'm sorry. This was all so…so mega lame of me. Your fan club over there must be LOL-ing at you for dating me and like, you’re getting the bad ending Azul. You chose the wrong route.”

He averts his gaze to his unfinished drink, not wanting to see Azul’s disappointed face when he inevitably agrees.

The words don’t come. Instead, he feels a soft pair of hands cover his own and his gaze snaps back to see Azul leaning towards him, eyebrows raised and eyes glistening with disapproval.

“Don’t make such comments about the man I chose Idia, I’ll have you know the decision was made after countless thought. It…It was not a whim decision and it pains me to hear you say such things.”

“B-But-”

“I do not care about what my f- those people think of you. Must I remind you that our scheme is to show them how happy I am with you? Not how great you are.”

Idia could barely register the words of comfort being told to him. Warning signs popped up one after the other as he stared at the boy who had moved even closer. It should have made him uncomfortable. He should be pulling or at the very least, he should say the safe word aloud to let Azul know that he was getting too close. But Idia didn't want to do any of those.

He could see the way Azul’s glasses caught the overheard lights just right, framing his eyes to look softer than its usual sharp glint. His hair was glossy and perfectly styled in a way that made Idia’s fingers twitch with the want to run through it. And his smile…in a curve so gentle was directed at Idia and Idia only.

Idia swallows, heat creeping up his neck. Azul’s face was turning a faint pink and it takes Idia a second too long to realize that the color was being reflected by his own, cursed hair. He tries to lean away from Azul in the process of trying to reach his hood but stops when he feels the same soft hand being placed on his thigh.

Azul’s gentle look from before was now replaced by a mischievous one as he leaned in even nearer. Idia could smell the faint scent of the sea from the boy and it takes all of his self control to not lean in as well. He's so busy trying to distract himself from his thoughts that he almost doesn't realize that Azul has started speaking again.

“Plus, if you’re afraid of what they might think then worry not. Only a fool would not be convinced and only a genius could see past our ruse.” 

He glances at Idia through thick silver lashes, playfulness radiating from every pore. Idia is momentarily reminded of the twins Azul spends all of his time with. His eyes dropped to pink lips that were far too close. He’s read enough manga to know what’s coming and squeezes his eyes shut in preparation for it.

It doesn’t come. 

What does come is a pair of hands that brushes against his neck and the weight of something being pulled over his head. Only then does Idia realize Azul has put his hood on for him. There’s a few more seconds of nothing and Idia opens one eye to see Azul pulling back. 

The pressure on his lap disappears as the silver-haired boy coughs into his fist. His cheeks still seem to be reflecting the pink of Idia’s hair, even though most of it was now covered. Idia sits frozen, his mind screeching and mocking insults. Just what was he expecting!? Why did he not move away? What was hoping for when he sat there waiting for Azul to-

The murmur of their uncaring surroundings continues to grow louder and Azul gives him a sheepish smile.

“I had half-expected you to freak out…but I’m glad we got to give our tiresome voyeurs a show.”

Idia doesn’t remember much after that, but later that night when he’s rereading all his romance manga he is mortified to find that he’s unable to get a certain face out of his mind.

 

“Perhaps they're not as proactive as I imagined them to be,” Azul mutters, sitting next to Idia who is attempting to replace his blood with sugar again. Upon his fake boyfriend's insistence there was also a sandwich sitting next to him this time, though Idia wasn’t sure if it was out of care for him or the lounge 

“I mean the party increased tho.”

He eyes the group of five. He surprised himself by how unfazed he had become by the stares. Humans really were adaptable creatures after all, even unsociable, bottom-of-the-hierarchy ones like him. 

“That's what makes it more ridiculous, why just take a picture if you must, no need to bring more and more people to watch us.”

Idia giggles at Azul's huffing and gives another small glance at the table across the room. All five students are watching them like hawks and he hurriedly looks away. He may have adapted like an average human was able to, but he was by no means a genius at it. 

“Well, no need to bother ourselves over it,” Azul sighs. He places his hands on the table to match Idia’s height. “I'm glad you're enjoying our drink.”

“It's MAX-level booster dude! Like, last night I couldn't even sleep because of the buzz, better than any other food item in my inventory.”

“That's…good?”

Idia nods and takes another sip. “You never tried it?”

“Indeed, I don't usually taste test the drinks we make. Plus, the calories in that one must be drastically high I- I abhor the very thought.”

“Calories eh? Wait, why do you care about calories?”

Azul narrows his eyes, looking more envious than unhappy. 

“Not everyone can naturally maintain a skinny figure like yours while being the unhealthiest person in college Idia.”

Ignoring the way he had clearly gotten insulted, Idia lets his gaze drop to look at Azul.

Without his usual grey coat and dark blazer, Azul looked smaller. Less imposing. The crisp white dress shirt he wore underneath was tailored and did its job a bit too well. The way the fabric clung to the planes of his chest and shoulders, giving off a sharper, taller look. He’s sure that Azul’s posture has never faltered, not even when sitting. 

His waist was lean and tapered, probably small enough that Idia could wrap his hands around at least more than half of it. And the way the dark fabric of his trousers -perfectly matched in color with his blazer, clung to his thighs it was…

“That was not an invitation for you to stare at me so blatantly.”

Idia is glad he had the foresight to pull his hood up before entering this time. A full body blush sweeps over him, from the roots of his blue hair to the tip of his fingers as he sputters out a series of apologies. 

“S-Sorry! That was a major creep alert right? You can- you can kick me out idk I-I'll just go and self destruct somewhere else.”

“No need for the dramatics.” 

Azul stares at the table, his cheeks tinged with a light pink as well. Beyond the embarrassment, there was a flicker in insecurity in his expression. An emotion Idia was too well versed with to not recognize. 

The idea of Azul being insecure made his heart clench. He squirms in his seat for a few seconds, before deciding to open his mouth again.

“You'd be a premium hit box design.”

“...Pardon?”

“I-I’m just saying! Y-Your character model is like a fan favorite like, um, your lines are all o-optimal? It's a thing! Top tier character asset and uh, you look soft- which is not a dump stat BTW it's the OP character design. And…you look like you'd have a high dexterity stat!” 

He needed something that would convince Azul he meant what he said. He stared into Azul’s eyes, as directly as the other housewarden did when he was trying to make feel better. He hoped that Azul would see the ingenuity in them, although Idia did not know how to show it as well as Azul did. 

“B-Bet you worked hard for that so you,  you're…even…better?”

By the time he’s done he feels a little out of breath. He could barely remember what he said but it didn’t even matter anymore. His ability to mess up and make a fool of himself twice in a row was clearly number one. At this point he is praying that Azul just kicks him out of there. This had to be some form of harassment. Maybe if Idia got on his knees and bowed down he might be given some mercy.

More self-deprectiating comments run through Idia’s mind when he sees Azul just sitting motionlessly, head bowed down low enough that Idia couldn't see his expression. He is about to start apologizing again when he hears a whisper.

“A dexterity stat you say?”

“I-It's a compliment!”

Azul’s shoulder begins to shake and when he finally lifts his head up Idia is left breathless again. His cheeks are brilliantly flushed as he laughs to himself. Idia watches, mesmerized by the way the boy holds his stomach, eyes crinkle shut and his laugh echoes with a melodic timbre. He is unable to look away and in that moment a dangerous thought arises in his mind; Azul was really pretty.

“Thank you Idia, really.” Azul says before Idia can process the thought any further. He brushes away a stray tear near the corner of his eye, “I did work hard for this. Perhaps a bit too hard even, but…well, it matters not.”

“Um, do you want a bite of my sandwich?”

Azul looks at him with surprise before it morphs into a playful and familiar grin. 

“I think I'll have a sip of your drink instead.”

Idia doesn't even think twice as he pushes the drink over, the smile rendering his thoughts blank. He dazedly watches as Azul’s slim fingers hold the straw steady. Just as the boy bends down and takes a sip an unfamiliar voice snaps them both out of the little bubble they had created for themselves. 

Two students Idia does not recognize are standing before them, awkwardly rubbing their arms and toeing the carpet. Idia notices that they are both staring at Azul, barely a glance being given to him. He connects the dots at once and a chill runs through his bones.

Azul's fanclub. They've come to speak to them before he was prepared. 

Azul gives them a polite tightlipped smile, nodding in greeting.

“Welcome to the Mostro lounge gentlemen, for any requests I'd suggest you wait for one of our hosts to stop by your table”

“Uh, no we don't, it's not a request.”

“Is this your boyfriend?”

The question is so direct that Idia nearly sinks into the couch from fear. He shifts closer to Azul who continues to smile at the two students. He doesn't look back, but Idia feels a hand atop his own and it is enough for him to relax.

“Indeed. Although rarely seen, I'm sure you recognize Ignihyde's housewarden Idia Shroud?”

From the way their eyes widened it is obvious that they did not recognize him. The less bolder one gapes at Idia while the direct one alternates his glances back and forth before nodding at him in greeting.

Idia gives him his best grin and is looked away from immediately. 

They engage in some more suffocating, polite small talk with Azul before rushing back to their table, where the rest were eagerly waiting. Idia doesn't bother turning to them but Azul is heavily invested and strains his neck to watch them from over Idia’s shoulder with a description that could barely be credited. Idia hears him click his tongue, sounding annoyed.

“I understand you're a rare public sight, but to have absolutely no idea regarding your looks…they must be more uncaring than I thought.”

Idia chuckles at the complaint, letting Azul grab onto his shoulder and watch them as much as he pleased.

“Not all fan clubs embody their idol.”

“I insist that you stop referring to them as such.”

Azul falls back and the fan club is quickly forgotten as they continue their usual conversations. Topics switch around at a dizzying pace as they talk about everything and anything they could think of. Idia speaks about a new game he had started, taking bites of his sandwich in between and Azul engages him with some campus gossip, finishing up Idia's drink like it was his own. 

Time passes by in a blur and before Idia knows it, he's getting a call from Ortho asking about his whereabouts. 

He gives Azul a quick bye and misses the way the octomer's shoulders sag a little as he rushes out the door and picks up the call. 

“Hey Ortho, just coming back now. Everything's fine.”

He hears a gasp coming through his phone and laughs to himself, thinking that Ortho has learned a bit too much from Vil's drama club.

“Were you with Ashengrotto all this time?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I'm sorry for interrupting your time together! You should go back!”

“Not how it works, plus I've been there for way too long. I gotta finish up the gameplay for <> and give an update on it. The grind never stops.”

“...if you say so! Should I prepare the usual snacks before you come?”

“Nah, I ate at the lounge actually.” Idia grins at Ortho's sound of surprise again, “oh wait grab the sodas tho, Azul…”

He trails off, halting just before the mirror to Ignihyde. He feels his knees going soft from a realization that dawns on him far too late and he has to grip his phone tighter to ground himself. From it he could hear Ortho calling out to him.

“Brother? Are you still here? What did Ashengrotto do?”

Idia gulps loudly and he knows his face was a mess yet again. How could he even taint Ortho with the answer? He could barely process the information himself.

He just shared a straw with Azul. 

 

It is on the fourth day that Idia at last has a proper interaction with Azul’s fanclub. 

He had seated himself at his usual table after Floyd left with his order when there was a sudden blur. It took him a while for his eyes to adjust and he saw that 6 figures had swooped in and surrounded him. Idia has never been more scared in his life. 

“So,” one of them speaks up, pointedly glaring at Idia, “you're dating Azul.”

Idia nods as someone else launches the second question.

“Why?”

“Wh-What?”

“Why are you dating Azul?”

They never discussed anything in relation to a backstory. When Azul had tried to come up with a backstory Idia had just waved him off, saying the trick was in being as vague as possible, something that should be easy for Azul to do. He was an idiot.

“Uh, Azul asked me out.” It wasn’t a lie.

Their eyes widen and they begin to exchange glances with each other. They discussed something under their breaths that Idia couldn’t hear before turning back to him simultaneously, letting their questions free fall without mercy.

“When did you first meet him?”

“We're in the same club.” Ortho introduced them though.

“Have you been on dates with him?”

“...Yes.” If he counted all their boardgame sessions.

“How does he take his tea?”

“How- It’s a secret!” How was he supposed to know!?

“How did you fall in love with him?”

Idia pauses. That was an unexpected curveball, but he found himself not too taken aback by it. After all, this was a classic question in almost every romance story. The male lead would then give a totally heartfelt, honest answer and everyone would think ‘wow, they really love that person’.  

A hundred answers rush to his mind as he contemplates which one to go with. Azul's smile? The not business-like, genuine one. The way he spoke, confidence and assurance radiating in every word. His competitive nature. His soft hands. The way he never used Idia's insecurities as leverage. His ambitions. His confidence.

“It's Azul bro, more like, how could I not fall in love with him?”

The murmuring starts up again and the one who asked the question turns a bright red, clearly not having expected such an answer. It’s obvious that this round was Idia’s victory. Idia hasn't even received his drink yet, but his veins thrummed with adrenaline as he waited for the next question, the next quip he was going to win against. 

Instead there is a clap and all heads turn towards the person sitting right across from Idia. A young boy with a benign smile, his posture elegant and demeanor calm but sharp. It reminded Idia of Azul ever so slightly. 

“Well housewarden Idia, it certainly sounds as though you and Azul are quite infatuated with each other.”

“Uh…yeah, we're totally locked in.”

“As Azul’s devoted admirers we wish for nothing but happiness for him. I'm sure you're aware?”

“First time hearing actually.”

“...Right, well, I'm sure you can relate however. And on that same note, we're more than willing to accept you into our group. In exchange-”

“Uhhh, no, hard pass.”

“Pardon?”

Idia leans across the table, a lopsided smirk on his face.

“Look, y'all are super hyped up but like, joining your cult while I'm literally your god's boyfriend is kinda cringe y'know? I'm not stanning him, I'm dating him.”

“B-But we admire him as much as you do!” Another, shyer voice cries out.

“Buddy, you admire him.” Idia snorted and leaned back against the couch, “I got the exclusive lore man, I've cleared content you noobs will never unlock.”

Most of their faces had turned green by now, polite smiles replaced with envious and rude glares. The unspoken leader of the group glowered the hardest, head bowed down and annoyance painting his tone as he spoke.

“So what? Are you implying that you're better than us?”

“Yes.”

Idia replies without hesitation, grinning victoriously as he watches them grind their teeth. If all social interactions were this entertaining then he might even go outside more. He's wondering what to say as a final blow when a shadow covers most of the table and they all look up to see Octavinelle psycho #2 standing over them.

“Idia,” Jade refers to him loud and clear, “I'm afraid Azul is a bit too swamped by work to make it today.”

“Oh, uh, that's no prob-”

“So he has asked me to escort you to his office instead.”

There's a glint in the eel’s eye, a clear message that Idia was not to pass up this opportunity. Not that Idia had any plans on doing so.

“Get rekt,” he mutters before jumping out of his seat and following behind Jade.

Jade walks half a step ahead. His dress shoes are soundless against the marble floor and his posture is equivalent, if not straighter than Azul’s. Idìa skitters behind him, the thrill from before waning a little. Only a little though, every time he imagines himself telling Azul about it he couldn't help the smile that forms on his face.

“I didn't expect you to come so diligently for all four days.”

He snaps out of his inner fantasies of Azul cheering for him when Jade speaks up, head slightly turned to the side. Idia can see amusement in his eyes and gulps, suddenly remembering who he was stuck in an empty corridor with.

“I-I mean, I told Azul I will y'know? A loser but not a lying loser.”

Hears a low hum in response, “even so, I had made a bet with Floyd on whether you would come or not.”

“...And you bet against me?”

“Don't be offended. You're not the most known for showing your presence in public,” Jade ignores Idia's very offended stare as he laughs to himself, “to be more specific I bet that you would send your tablet instead.”

“I mean yeah I did consider it I guess,” Idia pouts, “and I do hate NPC-filled places, so much social aggro.”

“Exactly, but you came.”

“I told Azul I will.”

“That is an admirable quality housewarden.”

Idia quiets down. That didn't sound like sarcasm, not that he knew what Jade sounded when he was being sarcastic. But still.

“That…That wasn't- you're not making fun of me right?”

“Not at all,” Jade glances over his shoulder once more. His eyes still carried the same amusement, but his smile was milder. “I'm being quite sincere.”

“Oh…thnx.”

They fall into silence as they walk through the unusually long hallway until Idia finds the courage to speak up again.

“Azul told me the aquarium was your idea, just wanted to say it's the coolest thing ever.”

To his horror Jade stops walking. Idia stops as well, a short distance away from him. He hunches over a little more, ready to turn and run at any given minute. 

Jade whirls around and Idia nearly does the very same in order to sprint off, but he's never been the most athletic and Jade’s hand was already on his shoulder before he could even move an inch. The hands dig into his muscles, gripping onto him tightly.

“What do you like about it?”

Idia blinks at the vice housewarden standing before him before blurting out his answer, “I-I mean, other than the fact it's a gigantic aquarium? It's kinda soothing. Like a screensaver lol, 10/10 would dissociate while watching it.”

Turns out that all things which made Jade Leech dangerous gets stripped away from him when he is delighted. He bared his teeth while smiling but it didn't look menacing and his eyes sparkled in a way that let Idia know he has chosen the correct dialogue option. 

“I wasn't aware that you were so passionate about observing such ecosystems.”

Idia grins back, trying desperately to keep up his good work. His shoulder was beginning to hurt. 

“Uh, not as much as you clearly.”

“Indeed,” Jade let go but continued to talk, “it is a hobby of mine. Terrariums, aquariums, although I've had my good fill of those. I've been hiking the mountains surrounding NRC for now, the views and nature are absolutely delightful. I am more than willing to extend my invitation to a fellow enthusiast.”

“H-Hiking!? Sry I'd rather fight the ultimate boss at level one instead.” 

Idia winces at his rushed answer, hoping he didn't just nosedive into Jade’s bad side. To his thankful surprise, Jade simply continues to smile and nod.

“I expected no less from you, though I hope you know the offer still stands.”

He presumes walking again and Idia follows behind him, nodding rapidly.

“Uh, thnx. I'm cool with seeing pics too.”

“I would be delighted.”

They finally reach a door at the end of the corridor and Jade places a hand on the door handle before turning to Idia.

“We're already here. Your drink has been sent to the study so you won't have to wonder where that went. And Idia,” his usual unsettling smile creeps back on to his face and Idia forces himself to suppress a shudder, “Azul cares for you deeply, I'm rooting for you, as is Floyd.”

“Uh…you know this is all not real right?”

Jade just laughs in his face and pushes the door open. “I said what I said.”

Idia doesn't respond as he rushes in, not wanting to dwell on what the eel had said. Inside, Azul stands up from his desk when he sees Idia and nods at Jade who closes the door.

“It sure took you a while,” Azul gestures to the couch in front of his desk for Idia to sit. He leaves his desk as well, moving to sit nearer to him. Idia shrugs in response, a sheepish grin on his face. 

“Had a whole cutscene with him man, he's sorta cool.”

Azul frowns, his lips pursing as he gives Idia an uneasy look “it unsettles me that you two are getting along.”

Idia laughs at the admittance, eyes landing on the drink on the table. The same drink as yesterday which Idia had very much NOT ordered. 

He's staring at the drink in a daze until Azul’s cough forces his eyes away from it. He coughs as well, more theatrically while looking everywhere but Azul. 

“Well?” Azul raises an eyebrow, “I saw you being surrounded by the group. After all their caution I didn't expect them to take action so suddenly. I apologize for not meddling, I was afraid my presence might have only escalated the situation.”

Idia instantly turns to the Octavinelle housewarden, the giddiness from before returning at full force. He dissolves into explanation, acting out the full story with vigor to Azul who listens intently. The Octavinelle housewarden reacts at certain parts and adds in commentary of his own until Idia finally reaches the part where Jade came to fetch him where the story ends. Once finished, he falls back on to the couch, breathing heavily. He grins proudly at Azul who is deep in thought.

“Badass yeah?”

“Hmmm, yes you did exceptionally well. But why were they trying to recruit you into their club?”

Idia shrugged, slouching into the plush couch, “prolly wanted deets on you? Who cares.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

Azul smiles at him again, the soft, gentle smile that leaves Idia reeling. He sinks into his hoodie, mumbling nonsense as Azul hides his chuckles by taking a sip of his own drink. Idia wishes he didn't, but he has used up all his courage in the past two interactions and could only watch as grinning, pink lips wrap around the straw. 

“Do you think they will back down after this?”

Idia freezes at the question. Everything they had done so far was to fend off that fan club, so if they actually backed down after this…will all this end? 

His chest tightens and there is a hollow feeling of something slipping away. He doesn't know what to name it. 

“I…guess yeah?”

Azul places his glass down with a sound thud. His smile is tight and his eyes are on Idia, watching him carefully. Idia feels the stare burn into and through him and doesn't meet it, all of a sudden too scared to know what the other was trying to gauge out of him. 

They sit in tense, stretching silence and let it stretch thinner and thinner until it snaps loudly in the form of Azul's voice.

“Let's not be hasty. There's no guarantee they won't come tomorrow is there? I suggest we keep the ruse up and you come back tomorrow as well.”

Idia feels the relief in his bones and it confuses him more than anything else. Still, he lets his shoulders sag and lips curl up. 

“Yeah, gotta confirm if we got the good ending or the bad ending!”

Azul nods as well and picks up the drink once more. Idia follows and they raise their drink in solidarity.

“To the full success of our scheme!”

“Ditto.”

Idia takes a sip and tries to fill up the hollowness in his stomach with the mellow taste of sweet fruit and syrup.

 

“It's bad Ortho. It's game over for your brother.”

Ortho hovers by Idia's bed, concerned but unsure as to what he could do for his moping sibling. Idia has been out of it since he came back from the Mostro lounge yesterday. So out of it that he didn’t even boot up a game and had gone straight to bed. Ortho was over himself with worry trying to comfort his brother after being unable to figure out the reason for it by himself.

Idia groans again, waving off Ortho's questions regarding whether he needed anything. He didn't, not when he didn’t know himself what he wanted.

“I think you should talk to someone about it!...It's okay if that someone isn't me-”

“Pls,” Idia turns over onto his back to look at his little brother, a rare fondness in his chest despite everything. “It’ll always be you.”

Ortho’s eyes curve up and Idia doesn't need to be a genius to notice the other's joy.

“And now, Azul Ashengrotto!”

He groans and flops back onto his stomach, letting out a small scream.

“What happened yesterday? You've been like this ever since you came back after meeting Azul.”

“...He said we might end our dating simulation early.”

“Isn't that good? You’re always so nervous before leaving. Now your heart rate will go back to normal and you can get back to the games you’ve been behind on!”

Idia groans again. Ortho was right, he has been a mess every single time he needed to leave. Ortho had to push him all the way to the mirrors and he would always come back too exhausted to do anything else for the rest of the day. Meeting with Azul was taking up all of his social battery. It was even taking up his excess battery. His reserves were being run dry because of this whole fake dating scheme!

Yet he didn't want it to stop. 

“But why?” Ortho had asked when he mumbles that, “it's not as though you'd stop hanging out with him forever, you'll still meet each other at club. Like always!”

Ortho was right again. They would still keep meeting, only once a week, for an hour and half.

Waiting for 24 hours to pass was already excruciating, it felt as though seconds were slowing down on purpose. Not willing to let them meet. How vengeful would time become if he had to wait a whole week!?

“But…But…”

“It’s almost time for you to go again! Or are you skipping since it’s almost over?”

“...no I’m going.”

With a loud, drawn out groan, Idia pushes himself out of bed and staggers his way over to his work desk. Slumping down into his chair, he pulls open a drawer and begins to rummage through it. He feels Ortho hovering behind him, curiously waiting to see what he was about to do. It was only a matter of seconds before he was asked about it.

“What are you doing?”

“Well Ortho,” he smirks, putting on his work goggles with a slightly painful snap, “your brother is about to do his first act as a good fake boyfriend.”

 

Azul is waiting for him this time when he arrives at the Mostro lounge. He’s sitting at what has become their usual table, his legs crossed and seriously scrolling though his phone.

There isn’t anyone to greet or escort him as he makes his way over, feeling more and more jittery with every step closer. Azul doesn’t notice Idia until he’s shuffling into the seat, startling badly.

“Idia! When did you- you’re late!”

“Heh,” Idia falls back and gives the other a sheepish grin, “mb bro. I was working on something.”

“What is-”

“Housewarden Azul.” 

They’re interrupted by a figure approaching them. Idia recognizes him as the leader from yesterday. His usual benign smile was in place, but Idia noticed the slight sparkles in his eyes as he looked at Azul. They dimmed when he turned to Idia.

“Housewarden Idia.”

“...Yo.”

The leader turns back to Azul and puts his palm on the table as though he planned to stay. And true to Idia’s fears, he did.

He spoke about various dorm issues, studies and upcoming assignments. And in between every two sentences would insert a compliment towards the Octavinelle housewarden.

Idia zoned out for most of it, realizing that he could not relate to almost any of the topics at hand. He peeked at Azul and saw what Idia had dubbed as the “customer service smile” stuck on his face. The forced patience and strained grin was enough to make idia silently wince and wonder whether a good boyfriend was supposed to interrupt them.

What should he even say? The leader was talking about things Idia could obviously never understand. He was from a different dorm, a different grade, hell the only thing he and Azul had in common was their club. 

An ugly feeling reared its head for a second as Idia has a fleeting thought that maybe Azul would prefer someone closer to his age and ideologies.

But…he didn't, right?

He chose Idia over all those guys. He literally said so himself!

He swallows as Azul's grin turned more and more strained underneath the waterfall of conversations. Surely if Idia was a good boyfriend he would swoop in and save him from this horrible ordeal. 

But how?

Overhead, a lightbulb flashes bright enough to blind the whole room and Idia fumbles around his deep hoodie pockets. After a few minutes rummaging he finally finds exactly what he's searching for. 

The gift! 

“A gift?”

Idia startles out of his excitement to two pairs of eyes staring at him. One confused and one annoyed. He looks between the both, stumbling over his words and thoughts until the confused one gently places a hand over his.

“Would you mind repeating yourself?”

Looking into Azul’s calm eyes, Idia takes a deep breath and speaks again in a steadier voice.

“It’s-It’s nothing Azul, heh. I just…I got you a gift.” 

The last part of his words are barely audible but Azul seemed to catch it with ease. His voice sounds delighted as he repeats the words louder for the leader of the Azul cult to hear. Idia can’t help but glance over to check whether he was being glared at only to see the leader also looking at him with curious eyes. 

“May I have it now?”

“Ah, yeah sure. Um, here.”

Reaching out into his pocket and feeling the thin cylindrical figure of his gift, Idia winces a little. He should have at least put it in a box or wrapped it up. It was too late now. He sighs to himself as he hands the object to Azul with slight regret.

“A pen?”

“Not just any pen,” Idia hurries to speak up when he sees the smirk on the leader’s face. He might have fumbled the gifting bit but the item itself cannot be put down by anyone. “It’s a custom modded, self-calibrating pen with ultra smooth ink flow. Not like pens the other normies use, I mean- those pens run out of ink and betray you mid-sentence, but this one? The ink flow is attached to zero latency and has a near to infinite ink refill loop. I coded it myself after all-”

“Wait. You made this!?” 

Azul looks up from the pen, expression filled with incredulity. Seeing Idia nod, he goes back to examining the item with newfound wonder, bringing it closer to himself as he inspected every detail of it. Idia enjoyed seeing Azul’s attention on it and grins to himself as he continues to speak.

“Uh, ofc? Who else could make something like this?”

“This…it’s amazing Idia!”

If the sincerity in Azul’s voice took him off guard, Idia was wholly unprepared for the way the housewarden’s eyes shone. Or the way he looked at Idia as though Idia was something amazing. His heart clenches almost painfully and he has to force out a cough to calm himself. 

“May I see-”

“Um pls don’t, your aura might lower its quality.”

The cult leader’s outstretched hand froze midway when Idia blocked him, covering Azul with his arm. Idia wait for the annoyed glare, the twitching eye and snarky remark but instead he watches in mild surprise as a flush crept on the leader’s face. Idia doesn’t get to say anything else, not that he has something to say, before the leader stumbles up to his usual posture and speedwalks away. 

Another victory for Idia. 

He cheers himself, the thrill of winning rushing back in. The thrill almost consumed him whole when Azul grabs his hand again, thumb rubbing the back of the hand. It was a firmer hold than usual and Idia pays attention to him again.
He was looking at Idia with such softness? Tenderness? Idia couldn’t put a name to it but he feels himself melt under the gaze and has to avert his eyes in order to not lose himself in them.

“Thank you Idia, it’s a wonderful gift.”

Azul’s voice is as soft as a whisper, as though it was meant for Idia’s ears and no one else’s. His throat drier than a desert and he can only nod in acknowledgement.

“Truly, I almost wish I had thought of it. Of course they would back off if you blatantly give me a gift filled with so much affection. Why I suspect they will never come back again!”

Oh. 

A part of his mind urges him to explain why he had made a gift and brought it for Azul. But he cannot bring himself to do it. Azul’s eyes are sparkling and the mood is too perfect for Idia to ruin with his own selfish wishes. So he chooses to bask in the moment instead, enjoying Azul’s fawning over the gift and answering every question directed at him with just as much enthusiasm.

He is going to be fine even after they part ways. Because at least he got to experience dating Azul. He got to sit next to Azul, share food and interests with, reassure him and receive assurance in return. Idia got to experience something he will never get a chance of experiencing again. Not that he would want to, not with anyone else. But he’ll be fine. Idia was going to be fine.

Because he at least got to hold Azul’s hand.

 

 

Idia went to the Mostro Lounge with a light heart and a spring in his step. He doesn’t remember a time in his life where he had walked with such confidence.

A week was basically up by now, and Azul was going to break up with him for sure. Two days later they’ll be back in club again, back to just acquainted gaming buddies who compete against each other weekly. They’ll be back to seeing each other only weekly, both of them getting back to their own personal projects and whatnot.

Idia was fine with that. In fact, he was somewhat excited to get his free time back again. In his room, in the solace of loneliness and his games. He has so much to catch up on. Even MuscleRed asked him whether he got a girlfriend or something, to which Idia did not give a straight answer except saying he’ll get back on the grind by tomorrow. 

MuscleRed had made a break up joke that Idia pointedly did not LOL at. 

But regardless, he made his way over to Mostro Lounge, mentally ready for their break up when someone grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him away from the entrance. 

His eyes blur for a bit as he feels the hand let go and he tries to straighten himself up again. Looking around with a clearer vision, he quickly realizes he’s been dragged to a side of the dorm building, right where the lounge’s windows wouldn’t catch anyone. Standing in front of him is the cult leader from yesterday, smoothing his slightly wrinkled shirt as though he hadn’t just manhandled Idia to a suspicious area.

“Housewarden Idia,” he says as though he hadn’t just whisked Idia away to a suspicious area.

“What?” Idia replied as though he wasn’t just whisked away to a suspicious area.

Instead of an answer, the boy leans forward and smiles at Idia. It’s a sly smile that seems practiced. Idia manages to maintain eye contact for a full second before he looks away and takes a small step back. He is punished with the other taking a step forward.

“I have been wanting to talk to you.”

“Is-Is this about the pen yesterday? I- That was an og so-”

“Not at all,” the boy laughs lightly, “it’s just that, I’ve seen you around a lot lately in the past week and…”

“It’s because I’m dating Azul? You forgot?”

“No I haven’t.” Idia is sure the boy said those words through gritted teeth but the calm look is back before he can blink a second time. “I was just saying, you can’t control your feelings regardless of who you date or don’t date? Am I right?”

“Uhhh idk?”

“Well, take it from me that I am right. After all, I can prove that fact to you right now.”

Idia squirms with discomfort at the purposefully lowered voice, eyeing the building he is supposed to be in now. The boy was bending forward again and almost subconsciously Idia leaned back. 

“Um, can you skip to the point? I’m kinda in a hurry so-”

“Would you like to go out with me?”

Idia’s mouth snaps shut, eyes bulging out at the firmly stated question. His mind nearly shuts down as he stares down at the boy with what he is sure is obvious shock.

“G…Go where?”

It’s the most intelligent reply he could come up with in the limited time he is given to process his shock. He prays he is misunderstanding the situation but Idia has never considered himself foolish. Even a social failure like him could read the lines crystal clear. But the boy patiently clarifies anyway.

“I mean would you go out with me instead of Azul?”

“N-No!!” 

Idia finally snaps out of his daze after healing Azul’s name. He takes a few steps back in a hurry, cautiously keeping a stance akin to a prey ready to run in case the boy tries to take a few steps towards him again. The boy doesn’t, keeping an amicable smile as he smooths down his shirt.

“It hurts that you aren’t even willing to hear me out.”

“Were you hit with an amnesia potion? I just said I’m dating-”

“Azul. I’m aware,” he cuts Idia off and smoothly continues, “and make no mistake, I still find Azul amazing and a level above everyone. Including you.”

“H-Huh?”

“Really housewarden Idia, don’t you think the situation is far too unrealistic?”

Idia clenches his fists, blunt nails digging into his skin from the strength he was exerting. The cult leader took no notice of this, moving along in his little speech.

“Azul is akin to someone worth being worshipped, wouldn’t you agree? Intelligent, meticulous, talented in anything he dabbles in, charming. He is undoubtedly the cream of the crop, almost untouchable.”

Idia finds himself nodding along with the boy before he forces himself to stop. It wasn’t that anything wrong was said. Azul was indeed those things and so much more. Hell, Idia could probably go on for longer.

“Don’t you think Azul deserves…well, let me put it this way. Don’t you think you deserve someone in your league?”

It hurt of course, being told that so blatantly but Idia couldn’t deny that he hadn’t thought about it. In fact, he’s thought about it so much that hearing it being said out loud somehow hurts less.

Still, despite all these truths…Azul had chosen him hadn’t he?

“You don’t agree?”

“I- I mean I do but-”

“Exactly! And I understand that someone like Azul is your type. You just need to go for someone…less than Azul.”

“...Huh?”

“Who isn’t Azul!” Idia hadn’t realized how close the boy had gotten during his talk. He is now inches away from Idia who was forced to lean back again. “Although I undoubtedly shine less brighter than Azul, I am confident in my own abilities!”

“Wait-”

The boy pushes himself even closer, a hand on his own chest and stars in his eyes. 

“I’m ranked quite high in terms of studies, I’m cautious and thorough with most things, my looks aren’t too bad and-”

“Wait wait wait-”

“Although I’m not Azul’s level, you must admit I am at least yours!”

“You-”

“So instead of Azul you should just-”

“Date you?”

The voice jolts the both of them and they simultaneously turn their heads to see Azul standing in the distance, his arms crossed and a smile adorning his face. It’s a smile Idia has never seen for as long as he knew the other and he feels a chill run down his spine. And that was with the look not even being directed at him. He chances a glance at the cult leader who seems to have lost all the blood in his face, turning pale with fright. It was as though the Octavinelle housewarden had summoned a calm before the storm with his presence alone.

“You think Idia should date you?” Azul repeats himself and Idia could hear an audible gulp coming from the boy. Or it might be from him, he wasn’t really sure anymore.

Receiving no response, Azul’s gaze moves from the perpetrator to the victim. His brows relaxes ever so slightly as he meets Idia’s eyes.

“Idia.” 

Even though it was the same stern voice, there was an unmistakable gentleness to it that Idia sought refuge in. With his arms still crossed, he brings up an index finger and makes a beckoning gesture.

“Come here.”

Idia does not need to be told twice. He dashes over to Azul’s side and goes as far as to take an extra step to try and hide behind him. His back was going sore from continuously leaning away.

Now with Idia safely behind him Azul brings forth his previous rage in full force. The cult leader, now standing ramrod straight, begins to sweat as though they were in Scarabia. His lips quiver and his knees shake as Azul begins to speak.

“I’m afraid I didn’t manage to overhear your conversation from the beginning, hence I can only insinuate that you are suggesting that Idia is more deserving of you than myself.”

“No! No housewarden Azul that’s not-”

“Although some parts may be true, I do aim to better myself everyday so I can confidently stand next to my partner with pride.”

“Azul, you’re sorta misunder-”

Idia’s words freeze at the tip of his tongue when he feels a hand on the small of his back. It rounds itself all the way to his waist and before he could make sense of anything further than the cold touch, he is pressed against Azul’s side. His brain is a broken track of physical contact. Physical contact. Physical contact!!! But Azul carries on speaking as though there was nothing out of the ordinary with his actions. 

“I understand and will hold no grudge towards you as it isn’t your fault you would fall in love with someone as brilliant as Idia…however,” his tone takes an icy cold plunge and Idia feels the hand on his waist curling into a fist, “I abhor those who take away what’s mine. I will say this once and only once. Stay away from both Idia and myself in the future.”

There is a moment of silence and finally a meek “okay” comes from the cult leader who then turns and runs away without a moment of hesitation. 

They watch him turn a corner and disappear. Idia feels slight pity for the boy but it is forgotten quickly when he hears a weary sigh. He couldn’t see Azul’s face from their angle but when Azul looks up at him again he no longer has the expression of someone who can let out a sigh filled with such exhaustion. He had his usual business-like smile in place, eyes calm, and the slightest out of place furrow in his brow.

They stare at each other in momentary silence before Azul blinks in surprise and pulls his arm away from Idia’s waist.

“Ah, I hadn’t noticed. I apologize.”

Ignoring the way his waist felt numb from the lost contact, Idia just barks out an awkward laugh. “N-No problem. I hadn’t lost that many HP from that uh…”

“Is that so? Then forgive me as I am about to cause you to lose even more HP.”

“Huh- oh- um okay.” 

Azul wraps a gloved hand around his wrist and gently pulls him into the Mostro Lounge. They ignore the gossipy looks (Idia tries his best) as they walk to the back of the lounge and down the long corridor of Octavinelle’s dorm. 

The walk is quiet save for their footsteps and Idia’s thundering heartbeat. He stares at Azul’s straight back and lets his eyes fall to the hand around his wrist. He only thinks for a split second before he cautiously speaks up.

“H-How did you…”

“Floyd spotted you getting dragged away and came to inform me about it. Unfortunately he took his sweet time doing so or I would have been able to make it far sooner.”

“No you…you made it in time but,” Idia hesitated but pushed forward, “you kinda misunderstood the guy’s point from back then.”

“Oh? How so?”

“He doesn’t think he’s better than you or anything. He thinks you’re better than him.”

That causes falter in Azul’s step and he turns to look at Idia for a second before facing forward again. Hearing no response, Idia panics a little and hastily tries to overexplain himself. 

“He- He was saying that you’re basically a 6 star chara amongst all us 4 stars dude, which btw I agree with. So…uh, he wasn’t saying you don’t deserve me or anything but more like, I don’t deserve you and should go for someone more playable like…well according to him, him. So he wasn’t roasting you or anything-”

“And do you agree?”

“I- what?”

They had finally reached Azul’s study at the very end of the corridor. Azul leads Idia inside and shuts the door behind him before asking the same question once more.

“Do you agree that you don’t deserve me?”

Azul’s pointed stare made Idia want to hunch over on himself and hide away. Was this the look the poor cult leader was facing moments ago? Was it worse?

“A little…”

Azul softens at the admission, but there is a weariness present in the look.

“Oh Idia.”

It’s enough to make Idia wish that the ground swallowed him whole. He looks at his feet, clenched fists trembling once more. He was supposed to make this an epic ending but here he was, making things even worse. He feels his vision blur, shoes turning into blobs of black when he feels Azul grabbing his hand once more.

“I know the concept is difficult for you to grasp, but I hope that you will come to realize that you are one of the most brilliant minds I have had the honor of meeting. Both in land and sea. You are merely internalizing the words of someone who looks up to me, but you must realize that there are also people that look up to you quite a bit-”

“Not true…”

“It is, I am one of them after all.” Idia startles at the confession, staring down at Azul whose cheeks had turned a bashful pink. He does not return the stare but continues to speak- “Which is why, please never put yourself down in comparison to me. I will admit that my feats are nothing short of great, but yours most certainly equal in measure. You’re amazing Idia. Undoubtedly someone worth being on the same pedestal as me.”

It was a shock to Idia that he wasn’t sobbing by the end of Azul’s little speech. Azul’s voice sounded so soft. So genuine. Like he meant every single word that he said. For once, Idia wanted to believe everything he was hearing instead of immediately pushing it away.

They stand in silence, holding hands before Azul breaks the peace with an awkward cough. He pulls his hand away and takes a few steps back before putting them behind his back. The distance was excruciating but Idia straightens up as well, blinking away his tears.

“Well Idia,” he hears Azul start again, back to his business-like voice again. Though this time it sounded rather strained, “I believe we’ve reached our mutually agreed endpoint to this little…facade. Our, or rather my objectives have been met and, you’re finally free from all this socializing.”

Idia’s throat seized and all he could manage was a jerky nod. Azul smiles at him, a small polite curve as he rests against his desk behind him.

“I’ve prepared a brief excuse we can use if anyone asks about us. I made sure to not villainize anyone and emphasized mutual respect along with a decision to focus on our own things. We will have to act quite sad about it though, I suggest you stay in your room for a good while to increase the accuracy of it all.”

“Wait,” Idia interrupts him, “what are you talking about?”

“Our…break up.”

The word screeches in Idia’s mind. He knew he was coming here to ‘end’ things but the idea of ‘breaking up’ with Azul felt like a cold knife had pierced through his heart. They were breaking up. Even though it was fake. Because they had been fake dating. 

Even though none of it was real, Idia realizes only now that he has been enjoying himself. All those treats he’s had. The whispered conversations he had shared with Azul. The jokes and banter made out of the clubroom. Their proximity, the feeling of Azul touching him, the feeling of Azul’s hand when it held his own. He has been having so much fun and now he is going to lose everything.

I don’t want to break up.

A part of him finally cries it and echoes through his soul. He didn’t want to leave Azul at all. If anything, he wanted to date Azul for real. 

Far too late, Idia realizes that he is in love with Azul Ashengrotto.

As he grapples with his own feelings, Azul continues to speak across from him, expression set in stone and voice unwaveringly firm. 

“I’ll draft the statement and send it to you by tomorrow? You can modify it as you see fit and send it back to me and we can go from there.”

Say something! His inner monologue continued to scream, now having received free reign. Don’t be a coward Idia Shroud! Say you want to renegotiate. Just scream out something idk idk!

“After that I suppose our public interactions will return to seeing each other in the club again. It will be limited enough that no one gets too suspicious, or do you think we should stay away from going to club for some further dramatic effect?”

Idia you are going to DIE here. Your heart is achieving a one hit K.O. from just standing there. Don’t be a loser. This once, Azul said…he already said…

“Well we can discuss such things tomorrow I suppose,” Azul paused, and in a quieter voice he continued, “It was…a productive partnership. I appreciate your cooperation for the past week Idia-”

“Azul.” The words clawed their way up before his throat before he could stop it, coming out as a choked whisper.

Azul stopped, the hands fixing his glasses pausing as well.

“Yes?”

“I…I don’t…” He couldn’t breathe, his hand crumpling the arm of his hoodie from the force of his hold, “I don’t think I want to- to issue the statement.”

Azul lifted an eyebrow, looking concerned. “You have an issue with the plan? We can refine it.”

“No! No it’s not- it’s not the wording! It’s the…the whole…it’s the breaking up!”

Azul watched his outburst, staying utterly still. 

“Idia,” he spoke in a measured tone, “the arrangement has been concluded. This is the logical next step-”

“Yeah uh, eff the logic! I don’t- my systems…the quest I had accepted has been overrun! By you!”

“By…me.”

“Yes! It’s not- It’s not just some otome game script anymore it’s…it’s all real! You can’t just- you can’t take back this quest. I can’t end this game. We can’t…we-”

“Idia what are you talking about?”

“I don’t want to break up!” His voice cracks in the middle, making him sound as desperate as he felt. “I don’t want to stop the…the fake dating bc it’s not, it’s not fake to me anymore. Not totally. And that’s…I achieved a critical failure and I can’t…I don’t wanna go back to the beginning again.”

He was trembling. The adrenaline running through him from the admission buzzed his veins. He couldn’t look at Azul and was back to staring at his shoes again as he waited for the cold, rational rebuttal. A part of him hoped Azul won’t be so harsh on him. He has unlocked Azul’s nicer side so maybe he’ll get that instead. A gentle, pitying rejection.

Azul did not speak immediately and Idia could not see what kind of expression he was making. The silence between them, now back at full force, has transformed into an impending, doomed waiting. Like the air before a lightning strike.

“Idia,” he finally hears Azul speak in a low tone, “that sounds like a breach of the contract.”

Idia’s heart sinks like a stone. So he was getting the cold and rational ending after all. He says nothing, listening to the footsteps closing in when a gloved hand reaches out to his chin and pushes it upwards. 

Azul was right in front of him, his eyes sharp and intensely focused as he stared into Idia’s shakier ones. Idia could see the faint lines of concentration at the corners of Azul’s eyes as he squinted a little. There was a noticeable flush along his cheekbones that had not been there moments ago. The sight of Azul so close to him was dizzying, even amongst his panic.

“But from what I remember, we never put in a clause regarding our feelings for each other in there.”

“H-Huh?”

“I’m saying, we never said we had to break up after a week?”

“We didn’t?”

“We didn’t. Only that we stopped fake dating after that. And we most certainly never included a requirement over not falling for each other.”

“I…I guess.”

“Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

He had to force himself to look away from the pinked cheeks, back to Azul’s intense stare. He thinks back on what the housewarden had said and meekly shakes his head no.

Azul’s lips parted, and the calculated smile was replaced by something far hungrier and utterly real.

“For the past week, I too have been tortured to have you constantly by my side, acting out a lie that I wanted to convince myself was real. To have you so near me with the knowledge that I will be losing you again did not feel like a logical conclusion to me either. But I had wanted to respect your decisions…”

The revelation that hit Idia was the strike of lightning he had been waiting for. He could feel his own face heating up, his hair along with it. 

“You…don’t want to break up either?” He whispered, the hope in his voice so vivid yet so fragile.

“No,” Azul said, the word simple and absolute. “I do not want to break up with you. In fact, I had found the idea quite intolerable.”

“Then you should have said something.”

“Ah but, like I said, I did not want to scare you away.”

He sounded a bit sheepish with his excuse, his pinked cheeks turning even deeper at the prospect of his embarrassment. He lets go of Idia’s chin and leans away but this time Idia doesn’t let the distance between them lengthen. 

He moved in a clumsy and urgent manner, hands grabbing Azul by the shoulder as he dove down. Azul only had a split second to come to a decision and in a decisive capturing motion he put his hand back on Idia’s cheek and accepted what was to come.

It wasn’t a gentle, exploratory kiss. They’ve had a whole week of being gentle and unsure around each other. What rushed in to fill the void of their tension was a raw, gravitational pull. Azul’s lips were warm and insistent, parting Idia’s with an authority that continued to flame Idia’s nerves. Idia may have taken the initiative but Azul had lost no time in gaining it back. Idia gasped when he felt the pressure and did his best to kiss back, fingers curling into Azul’s pressed suit like it was grounding him. 

Azul’s tongue slid against his, a deliberate tasting stroke that made Idia’s knees weaken. He moaned into the kiss quietly before trying to reciprocate the feeling. His hands traveled from Azul’s shoulders down to his waist and he pulled him closer, letting their bodies align together. He could feel Azul’s solid form against his, the scent of him everywhere now. 

Azul responded with an approving hum that vibrated through Idia’s bones, thrilling him with the knowledge that Azul had enjoyed what he did. He pulls away for a quarter of a second to catch his breath before he is immediately pulled back in. He kisses Azul again, and again, each kiss varying from deep and consuming, before becoming lighter as he Azul teased the corner of his mouth before Idia forces him to return to the center with renewed hunger. 

They had moved all the way to Azul’s desk now where Azul slightly leaned back against, an anchor to their dizzying actions. They learned each other’s rhythms and matched it. Time, logic, fear, everything had become null in the moment they were sharing. There was only this. The pressure of Azul’s mouth, the grip of Idia’s hands, each other, each other, and each other.

Finally, Azul broke the kiss and put a hand over Idia’s mouth when he tried following him for another. He chuckled at the small action, his purple eyes so dark and dilated it almost looked back. He removed his hand and ran it across Idia’s swollen and sensitive lips, taking in the shudder.

They wait for a moment, catching their breaths before Idia, like he was born for, ruined the moment by speaking.

“So…you can say that I unlocked a hidden ending, right chat?”

Instead of a sigh or eyeroll, Azul just smiles at him. A mischievous, teasing smile that was becoming Idia’s favorite look on the boy. He grabs Idia’s shirt and pulls him back in again, but not before leaving a murmur between their lips.

“I’d rather you call it the real ending.”

 

Notes:

Cult leader has a sleepover with the rest of the fanclub to cry and get over his heartbreak

I sat down to write this at 21:00 and now it's 4:51...I'll re-edit the last bits later I just know I wrote nonsense.

But omg I missed this. I haven't been able to write bc I haven't been studying lately (yeah it's directly proportional idk y) but I sat down and finished the whole ecology syllabus so far tonight idk idk idk ecology is so great guys did you know that trout can only survive in lakes and rivers with absolutely no salinity or toxicity? They're super sensitive but nowadays bc of losing saline levels (climate change) and increased pollution a lot of its species are trying to adapt to low levels of salinity and toxicity it's a shame but if there's an apocalypse or something that forces Earth back to it's natural wildlife state and you're left alone to wander through a giant forest and you come across a body of water with trout swimming around happily then you're at least temporarily saved from starvation and dehydration. You're welcome.