#baby Azul | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thesunshineriptide · 2 years

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Adventures in babysitting

Overblot club

A Heart’s a Heavy Burden

Characters: Azul, Jade, Floyd, Lilia

cw// Azul Ashengrotto Typical Angst (self hatred, eating disorders, body hate, childhood trauma, past bullying) body horror (mild), fighting a fish, fish violence(?), Azul loses it part 23686482, Floyd leech typical behavior, jade leech typical behavior, Azul Ashengrotto typical behavior, bullying a child (self bullying), Cannibalism jokes

The potion swirls, delicate shimmers of pearl dust floating near the surface. Light emanates from it, blue and gold and white, sending shadows dancing around the ceiling.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I’m positive. These kids need it.”

It’s no accident that Azul found himself in the clutches of this spell. It was stupidity, and his own at that.

He had heard of the mystery potion that Sam was selling and it’s vastly wild effects it was having on others. He had even heard what happened with Riddle, and it did genuinely seem like it was helping.

And he wanted it.

He was so sure of himself, after shoving everything down for ten years, that he was already the best he could be. Yes, there was always room for better, but he didn’t need anything, not like those other poor souls.

As he sits on the floor of the VIP room, disoriented, he comes to terms with the fact he was very, very wrong.

He was dissecting the components of the potion, trying to reverse engineer the aspects, to figure out what was making it tick. Attempt after attempt to break it down, to essentially undo time and emulsification, and it was clear now that the potion had a mind of its own.

Heating and cooling and heating and cooling and stirring and un-stirring and inspecting and-

Poof.

Azul felt himself be knocked back, coughing as a mist hung in the air and clung to his every pore. He groaned, floundering to try and sit up.

When he looked down, he noticed that his pants looked…lumpy. His shoes had sipped off, and out the bottom of his pants appeared wriggling tentacles, attempting to grab onto something.

He stilled them, rubbing at his eyes. He still had his glasses on, and they still appeared to be working, so it seemed…

Half transformed. Below the waist were his tentacles, but above it he was human. He frowned, squirming. He attempted to shift back into his human form as he had done several times now, only to find he was stuck.

He grumbled, wiggling out of his pants, freeing himself from the cloth prison he was trapped in, wrinkling his nose at the feeling of the office’s carpet against his suckers.

He let out a sigh, scrubbing down his face with a free hand. This was certainly not what he was expecting to happen today, and he was not having a good time with it.

He paused when he felt something touch one of his legs, and nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned, slowly, to see what might be there.

He stared at the tiny octomer that stared back with his matching shade of silver hair and bright blue eyes, staring at him in confusion, with tears pricking at the corners of them.

“H-hello?” The tiny boy asked, hands clasping Azul’s desk.

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. Absolutely not.

This thing…this child, it can’t be here. Azul frowns, staring blankly at the child. He didn’t want to respond, he didn’t want to acknowledge it’s existence, he didn’t want it to be here at all.

He inspected the child, though, finding that he was in much the same condition that he himself was in. Half human, half octopus, three hearts pumping warm blood rather than the blue normal. Gills missing, skin warm and pink, but tentacles still present and moving around, feeling at everything within reach. Ah, right, he hadn’t developed such conscious skill over them for quite a while, had he?

Little Azul stared at him, reaching out to grab his hand. “You’re an octopus, like me!” He said, trying to open a conversation again, “My name’s Azul. I…I think I’m lost.”

Azul stared at him still, trying to think of a response. What he should have said was something comforting to the lost child, but what came out was, “Man. I was truly a stupid child.”

In a second, his younger self looked like he’d been slapped, and moved away from him. It was clear he wanted to ask questions, that there was a lot on his mind, that he wanted so badly for this other mysterious octomer to like him, and…

“That’s really mean.” The kid said, tears finally slipping from his eyes, “What did I ever do to you?” He rubbed at his eyes, his gaze turning hard and cold against the older version of him. “I just wanted some help.”

Azul spluttered, surprised at his boldness. The slightest guilt tugged at him, and he glared back at the child.

“Fine. Since I’m ever so benevolent,” he gritted out, “I’ll tell you. You’re a younger, weaker version of me. We’re at night Raven college, in my office, where I run a business. People look up to me for help, because I worked hard and began an excellent mage. You,” he poked at the little boy, “Aren’t supposed to be here. So, we’re going on a trip.” He grinned maliciously, actually glaring at this child, “Nobody can see you. So we’ll need to get you covered in something.”

The elder looked around, desperately trying to find something to cover the child with in order to sneak him to the Octavinelle salt pools, just a floor away. He settled on the pants that he was previously wearing, then realized the slight issue with his plan.

Azul’s luck seemed to break even further, because when he finally looked up, he realized that the VIP room door was open.

And the child was gone.

Panic set in and he dropped the task at hand, rushing over to the door to look for the kid. It took him a little bit, since he had to work with eight legs and no water to help with movement, but he moved surprisingly fast for being on land.

He rounded the corner, only to immediately be met with Floyd’s surprised eyes. He was holding the bundle of octopus as the kid clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder.

Floyd’s expression was something Azul hadn’t ever seen before. It was equal parts angry, pity, sympathy, and surprise. He gently nudged the kid with one hand, hushing him for a moment, “Hey, baby tako, you wanna go for a swim? It’s been a while since any of us have done that. I can tell you all sorts of fun stories~” he baited, tickling Azul’s side with a soft grin.

Little Azul looked up, sniffling and wiping his eyes (and mouth, Azul noted. Floyd’s scarf was covered in ink now, which made his stomach twist with a rage he couldn’t explain) The kid finally gave him a smile, one that made his eyes crinkle and his chubby cheeks bulge and turn a little pink. “You wanna swim with me?” He asked, looking at Floyd with adoration, “A-are you sure? I’m not very fast…” He said, beginning to deflate.

“That’s alright,” Floyd said, “If you wanna go faster, you can just grab my fin. I can take us really fast.” He gave him a little mischievous wink, then adjusted his grip, sitting the tiny octopus on his waist.

The commotion around the VIP room caught the attention of Jade, who had previously been in the kitchen teaching Lilia some cooking techniques since Mostro wasn’t open. He dismissed himself for a quick moment, making his way over to his brother. When his eyes settled on the bundle of joy settled into Floyd’s arms, he was equally surprised and somewhat delighted. Now, that’s a sight he hasn’t seen since they were children.

“Oya? Is that a young Azul I spy?” He asked playfully, knowing full well of the answer, “I wasn’t expecting such a delightful visitor today, but it is surely worth shuffling around my schedule for.”

“Nee~ Nee~ we’re gonna go swimming in the pool!” Floyd cheered, leaning in to nibble gently on one of Azul’s squirming tentacles. He didn’t bite down hard, but it still made Azul yelp in surprise and retract it. “You’ll come too, right? Oh, and Big Azul has to come!” He said, turning to look at the merman sitting on the floor.

Jade leaned over just a bit to peer at him, looking even more surprised an amused than before. “I suppose he will. Azul, why are you transformed in your office?”

Azul frowned and crossed his arms, letting out a fussy huff, “I can’t turn back. I’m stuck like this. It happened when the…that,” he pointed at his younger self, “showed up.”

“He has a name, y’know.” Floyd said, sounding slightly irritated, “he’s Azul.”

“I’m Azul.” The 17 year old defended, glaring at the child, “That is a mistake.”

Little Azul looked ready to cry, but settled for glaring at his older self and spitting ink at him.

Four things happened at once. The twins burst out laughing, while Little Azul looked mildly terrified. Older Azul began crawling across the floor on all limbs at Floyd, looking utterly terrifying for once. Little Azul, in response, began to shriek in fear. And the cries of a child in distress alerted Lilia, who rushed out of the kitchen holding a pot and a kitchen knife, poised to attack the threat at hand. This did not help, and Little Azul began to cry on top of screaming, resulting in a lot of very uncomfortable eardrums and a whole lot of ink being spewed.

Lilia threw the knife to the side and made arms for little Azul, holding the blubbering mess close and trying to soothe him. Older Azul, on the other hand, was currently being lifted by Floyd in a nelson hold, arms trapped firmly due to having pesky bones, and tentacles dangling underfoot. It wasn’t easy for Floyd to do this, since Azul could still control his legs and was also larger than the eel by quite a lot, but he managed through the power of sheer Will and a little bit of non-gentle biting.

Jade had left to turn off whatever was going on in the kitchen, and returned with a giant cardboard box normally used for ingredients. Floyd proceeded to shove Azul’s bottom half into it, much to the octopus’s dismay.

With the elder Azul thinking clearly, he could see that, yknow, maybe he shouldn’t have picked a fight with a child. Even if he felt that since that child was him it was fair, it was still a bad call on his part, especially when missing the Appropriate Body To Fight. Now, missing part of one of his legs, he was tired and miffed and ready to give up because this couldn’t get any worse.

“Oh, look at you! You’re so soft and squishy, I could just gobble you up! Are you hungry, little guy? I can make you something and bring it to you.” Lilia cooed at little Azul.

Nope, no, nope, he can’t do it. This is officially the worst day of his life and he wants to stop existing right now, especially when the kid giggles and nods along, looking excited.

He shrieked further into his new cardboard octopus box, sulking and seething. His tentacles writhe in anger, and Floyd smacks one away from Lilia’s cape.

“Dude, what’s your problem?” Floyd asks, clearly annoyed and extremely bluntly, “Why are you bein’ mean to little Octy?”

Azul scoffed, “You haven’t called me that in forever.”

“You haven’t been that in forever.” Floyd says, “‘n you avoided the question. Why are you pickin’ on a kid?”

Jade took that moment to crouch beside him, “Didn’t you say after your overblot that you would stop trying to erase your past?”

Azul glared, watching Lilia play with his young self, “I’m not attempting to erase my past. I simply don’t wish to be reminded of it.”

Floyd groaned, reaching down and flicking Azul’s head, “you’re bein’ a buzzkill. Nobody’s here to see it but us-“

“And the Diasomnia Vice Housewarden!” Azul protested.

“And Flapjack octopus.” Floyd corrected, “But he’s harmless. C’mon, stop being so grumpy and just have fun.”

“This is a rare opportunity.” Jade added, eyes twinkling, “It’s not every day you get to see yourself like this.”

Azul frowned, then turned to where he could see Lilia and the younger Azul.

“Wow, they’re so cool!” Lilia was saying, bent over to his little tentacles, “and you can feel with all of them?”

“Yeah!” He cheered, face warm with all the praise he was receiving, “I learned how to write with them too! I can write grimoires super fast now!”

Lilia smiled, “That’s so clever! I’m not surprised at all you grew up to be so clever.” He said, reaching up to pinch Azul’s cheek playfully.

The little merman giggled, shooing away Lilia’s hand half heartedly, “You think so? The other kids say I’m clumsy and slow.”

Lilia shook his head, “Everyone has different strengths. If there’s something they can do that you can’t, there’s probably a lot that you can do that they can’t. Speed has nothing to do with it.”

Azul tilted his head, then slowly shook it, “No, I mean…well, yeah, physically slow, but like…mentally.”

Lilia’s eyebrows shot up, “They call you stupid?”

Azul nodded, eyes downcast, “You probably think that too now, right?”

The fae laughed, “No, of course not. That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been around quite some time.” He smiled easily at the kid, “You know octopuses are considered one of the smartest animals on earth, right?”

Azul shifted, tentacles splaying in what may have been an attempt to stand, the suckers popping softly against the surface of the table he was currently perched on. “Really?”

“Really.” Lilia confirmed, patting his head, “They’re known as great escape artists, and they have a lot of brainpower. It doesn’t surprise me that you’re so smart.”

The child beamed at him, squirming a little in happiness. His tentacles began to move too, in their own little rhythmic dance, and he made little popping sounds with his mouth.

The faerie observed this with wonder and amusement, taking it in for a moment before joyfully joining him. He floated into the air and began to wiggle his legs around, kicking them back and forth while he made popping sounds with his mouth as well.

This seemed to please little Azul, who added in a lilting trilling sounds and began to flap his wrists excitedly.

The elder Azul simply stared on in wonderment. “Did I always do that?” He asked the twins idly.

“All the time.” Floyd grinned, “sometimes you still do some of it. The popping, mostly.”

“And the wrist flapping, when you’re stressed.” Jade agreed, “It’s rather…endearing.”

“Can we go swimming?” The kid called, “I feel all dry, I don’t like it.”

This brought everyone back to the task at hand, and immediately the twins jumped to action.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s get going!” Floyd cheered, scooping up the octopus box.

Jade came over to take little Azul, only to find that the octopus was rather attached to Lilia now.

“Mister Lilia, will you come swimming with us?” He asked with big, pleading eyes.

Lilia couldn’t say no to a face like that, he would be heartless. Azul, on the other hand, was completely capable and willing to decline for him.

“Lilia’s very busy, now let Jade carry you.”

Lilia rolled his eyes with no real heat and said, “I’d love to go swimming. Shall I carry you?”

Little Azul lit up, immediately clinging with all of his limbs to Lilia, giggling at the movement of walking. Jade followed behind, grabbing a few things like towels along the way, but nobody paid much mind. Floyd was too busy trying to shove Azul back in the box while Lilia tickled the little octomer with a serene smile.

Azul was unceremoniously dumped into the salt pool (which was more so just an opening to the rest of the ocean, since octavinelle is underwater). He spluttered and pushed hair from his face, only to see Floyd frowning down at him. “Stop being such an asshole about the kid. He’s just you.” He said before promptly jumping into the pool.

The other Azul is set down gently into the water by Lilia, who then went off to the side to begin undoing his 50,000 goth chains and belts so he could wear just a tshirt and pants in the pool. He could have used magic, like a normal person, but the little Azul seemed entranced by the sound of chains and buckles clacking against each other.

Actually, so did big Azul, who ended up unconsciously floating closer and closer to the edge of the pool next to his younger self until they were right beside each other, both staring at Lilia and trilling softly.

It was until Lilia stopped that Azul had realized what he had been doing, and practically sprung away from his younger self, face warm a soft purple.

Oh, look at that, now that they’re in the water he’s gone back to his full form. So has the child, come to think of it. The potion must change with triggers, he thinks idly.

He sinks under the water, blinking as his eyes adjust to the dark. He lets out a sigh, bubbles escaping his mouth.

He hates to admit it, but it feels nice being able to breathe for once. This spell…this curse, as he’s beginning to call it, is messing with him. Surely it’s a punishment of some kind. This is no blessing, it’s exactly as shady and twisted as the deals he makes, and he’s on the receiving end!

He lets himself float for a while, tentacles just barely touching the surface of the sand below him. He can hear water splashing above, and the muffled sounds of joy and laughter, and he simply can’t bring himself to be mad anymore.

The twins are right. That…. His younger self, he acknowledges. He hasn’t done anything, and even if he harbors that inner hate…he really is just a child. He doesn’t know what’s happened, or even what’s going on now. So why? Why does he hate that child so much?

His heart sinks as he hears the deep, rumbling sound of a predator nearby. A long, slim silhouette crosses above him, blocking out the sun for a moment. When he looks up, he sees the shimmery body of a large, hungry barracuda.

Headed for the little octomer he wants to be rid of.

The little octomer that has done nothing but try and be friends, he reminds himself. The little octomer who was pleased to see him. The little octomer that was also, literally his younger self. His past made manifest.

He grit his teeth, propelling himself toward the barracuda, fists clenched. No, he wouldn’t be feasting on anything today. And besides, maybe beating the shit out of a fish would make him feel a little better. Release some pressure, or something.

He wastes no time in grappling the barracuda, managing to latch onto it with his whole body. He’s got his fingers in it’s gills, which he knows is uncomfortable as shit, and is trying to shove its head in a different direction. He’s squeezing it intensely, making it wriggle and writhe in his grip, as he forces its mouth shut with one hand, the other still grappling its gills.

Unable to make it change course, he resorts to just smacking the shit out of its snout and screaming incoherently with the rage of two years of nonstop paperwork and ten years of pent up self hatred coming to light.

All the tussling catches Floyd’s attention. He slips down under water, leaving Jade in charge of playing with Azul for a few moments (not that either of them min) as he slinks down to where Azul is still smacking the 6 foot fish that’s literally 1/6th of his size.

“Ya need any help?” He drawls casually, a wicked smile playing on his lips, “Sharing is caring, you know.”

“I’m good!” Azul chirps, a slightly crazed look in his eye as he balls himself up before flinging the barracuda harshly against a rock, “Thanks though.”

Floyd pouts dramatically, “C’mon, I wanna play too! I left little Takoyaki to check on you.”

Azul sighs and gestures to the fish swimming away, “I suppose I’ve had my fun. If you wanna chase after it, be my guest.”

Floyd grins, planting a wet kiss mockingly on Azul’s cheek before darting after the fish, overtaking it in no time.

Azul lets out a little humph before turning and beginning to meander back toward the surface of the pool. He gets closer, then sighs again before coming above the surface to tread beside his younger self, looking entirely too awkward for someone that’s literally just near his own self.

Jade had the Azul on his ‘lap’, tail flicking over them to splash the kid with water. He looked more like a sea otter than an eel, Azul thinks, watching the two play. It’s odd to see the twins so soft, especially with someone who as literally just him but younger, but he supposes they’re softer with children regardless.

Jade leans in and whispers something to the kid that he can’t hear, glancing over his way. When little Azul turns to look at him, he realizes that something he isn’t going to like is about to happen.

Suddenly, the two mermen disappear under the water, going further and further down. When they don’t resurface for a bit, Azul can’t help but feel a little rejected. Yes, he knows that he rejected them first, he even recognizes that he’s being an asshole, but still. It’s just reopening some old wounds.

This spiraling thought process is broken by Lilia, who’s sitting at the edge of the pool with his feet dangling in.

“You know, Ashengrotto, it seems like you were a delightful child.” He has calmly, watching as Azul blushes.

“I appreciate your kind comment.” He says, scrambling for the upper hand, “I appreciate you taking time out of your day to attend to this matter, as well. If you’d like, I believe it’s under control at the moment, if you have other business.”

Lilia raised an eyebrow and let out a hearty laugh, leaning back, “You sound so serious. It’s really no big issue. I miss having children around, they’re always such a joy.”

“Oh.” Azul says, swimming a little closer, though he kept most of his body under the surface, “do you have lots of younger siblings then?”

Lilia laughs again, smiling down at him, “Something like that. For a long time, my home had younger kids in them. Childhood is such a gift. To see young people experience things for the first time, and develop themselves? It’s lovely to see who they grow up to be and where they came from.” He said nostalgically, gaze distant. His eyes train down on Azul quickly though, and he gives him a sympathetic smile, “I suppose, though, it might be upsetting to some. You, in particular, seem to harbor a lot of anger. Especially toward him.”

Azul contemplated this for a moment, tracing the black skin around his wrists. He thought hard before quietly admitting, “I wasn’t good enough.”

“Huh?” Lilia asked, seemingly surprised by his answer, “What makes you say that?”

“Too fat. Too slow. Too stupid. Too lazy.” He said, each with a pause longer than the last, “Just…not enough. Or too much, maybe?” He followed a crack between the edge of the pool and the concrete beside it with his finger, eyes trained with it, “I want to be better.”

They sat in silence for a while. Azul found himself relaxing into it, like a weight was lifted from his chest, while Lilia seemed to just be thinking hard on what to say.

“I think,” Lilia finally began, speaking just loud enough for him to hear, “perhaps, the issue wasn’t you. It was others expectations of you. You were simply doing what you needed to in order to survive as a child, right?”

The silence returned, and Azul felt that his silver tongue had turned to lead. “But..” he tried. He couldn’t find anything to refute that, no logical argument could be made. Everything left was stuck in his feelings, and, well…

It was quiet. Lilia gave him the grace and space to think as he splashed around in the water, sending little droplets across the top.

Azul lifted his head from his arms when he felt the gentle tap of a hand on his shoulder, and the intertwining of tentacles around his own. He turned to look, and was met with his younger self, as well as both twins. Jade was holding a collection of…something, while Floyd was swimming back and forth in circles just a few feet away.

Little Azul was right next to him, hopefully holding out something. It was a coin. Unpolished, and certainly not rare, but it still glittered against the light.

“Here.” The little merman said, “it’s for you.”

Azul stared, eyes flicking between the coin and his younger self. He gingerly took the coin from his outstretched hands, then clenched it tightly. He placed it against the lip of the pool, then smiled at the child, “Thank you.” He said softly, offering the child his hand, “Would you like to go find more with me? I’m sure your coin hunting skills are on par with my own.”

Both octomers finally smiled, together, and slipped under the surface.

The elder took little Azul’s hand, guiding him carefully. He could swim faster, since he was bigger, but decided to let himself move slower.

The slowly sink to the seabed below, tentacles splaying with the soft impact. The younger Azul immediately began to search for coins again, tugging on the elder, “I found the last one this way!”

He lets himself be tugged along by the child, hovering not far behind. The water is murky, and he can’t tell if it’s from being so far down or from feelings being let out.

His hand finds Little Azul’s, clasping it with a desperation he didn’t know he had.

“I’m sorry.” He says, settling down, “I’m so sorry.”

He feels little hands wiping at his cheeks, and looks up to see big blue worried eyes.

“It’s okay,” the kid says, “You did what you thought was best.”

Azul stares at his younger self, completely silent and at a loss for words.

“Can we be friends now?” The kid asks, looking hopeful, “Nobody else gets me.”

“They can’t.” Azul says softly, “They don’t have the brainpower.”

It earns a giggle from little Azul, and a wide smile. “Let’s find more coins!” He grins, beginning to swim off. His eyes are trained down into the sand, hands sifting through greedily.

Azul follows suit, using all of his tentacles to aid in the mission. He ends up disturbing a crab, who pinches one of his tendrils and scuttles off. He pouts for a moment when his younger self laughs a little, but it turns into surprise when he chases it and brings it back.

“I’m sorry Mister Crab.” He coos to the creature perched in his tiny hands, “We didn’t mean to disturb you. We were looking for coins!” The crab, as expected, has no reaction, but little Azul laughs anyway before swimming off with him. He perched him on a rock, carefully. “I won’t move you too far, but this way we don’t bother you again. Goodbye, Mister crab!”

The young merman returns to his elder self, smiling widely. “He said he’s sorry for pinching you.” He says seriously, “are you okay?”

Azul smiles, patting his head, “I’m quite alright. Shall we return to our hunt?”

The two spend hours at the bottom of the sea, sifting through sand. They find various things, several of which little Azul keeps, that are not coins. Shells, sea glass, various shiny pieces of what’s, quite honestly, trash, bottle caps, pieces of kelp, bleached coral, and even a few pearls and gemstones.

Azul is surprised at just how much they find, but more so what his younger self deems valuable.

“This shell is pink inside!” He chirps happily, showing his elder self, “It looks soft! I like it!” He then proceeds to hold it in one of his tentacles as he continues to search.

“This is so shiny!” He holds up a piece of foil from a pop tart, discarded carelessly into the sea, “I could look at it for hours!”

“Why did you choose that?” He asks, pointing at the stones in his hands

Little Azul looks up and beams at him, “They’re chlora…clo…chlololora…”

“Chlorastrolite.” He supplies gently.

“Chlorastrolbites!” He says, smiling, “yeah, those! They’re green, like Jade and Floyd. I wanna give it to them.”

He holds out the pieces out to show Azul. They look as though it’s been split in half, giving two even, matching pieces.

Azul gives a watery smile, scooping up his little self, “I’m sure they’ll appreciate them greatly.”

Little Azul smiles even wider than before, all of his pearly white teeth on full display. He wiggled around, tentacles thumping gently in time with him before he stopped, “I found something for you too!” Little Azul squirms around a little before one of his tendrils comes up to plop something in his hand.

He turns to the elder Azul, proudly holding out his treasure.

In his hand is a small chunk of lavender aragonite, slightly smooth due to probably tumbling around in the sand for quite some time. The little octomer looks proud of himself, and he should be.

Azul takes it from him, settling down in the sand to be at his level. He cradles it gently with both hands, looking between it and him. “This is beautiful,” he says softly, “thank you.”

The young Azul smiles, looking wiser than his years. He looks up to find Jade and Floyd swimming their way. Floyd wraps himself around the little Azul, scooping him up with his tail. He turns to Jade with a grin, saying, “I win!”

Jade merely laughs a little and nods, “That you did.”

Little Azul pats at Floyd, saying, “I think it’s time I leave soon.”

The three mermen look confused. Jade raises an eyebrow as he asks, “What do you mean, ‘go’?”

Little Azul laughs a bit, “I can’t stay forever. I have to go back soon. Azul’s almost better.”

“Huh?” Azul asks, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay,” the child says, snuggling himself closer to Floyd, “You will.”

It’s evident that they won’t be getting any answers from him about his cryptic words, and Floyd simply shrugs. He squeezes little Azul against himself, pressing his face into the kid’s shoulder, “You’re so soft. ‘Zul isn’t nearly as fun to snuggle.” He mumbles, “You’re so soft and cute.”

“Don’t bite me.” Azul says seriously, “I don’t like that.”

Floyd pouts and groans dramatically, “Fiiiine, I guess.”

Jade comes over to join and scoops little Azul from his twin’s arms, “I’ve barely had any time to spend with you, have I? I’d like to state for the record that I have missed you as much as Floyd has.”

Azul stares, wide eyed at the twins being so gentle. He couldn’t remember a time in his life that they were ever so soft with him, even when they were children themselves.

Jade and Floyd grin at each other before swimming in opposite directions, Jade still gripping onto the kid as they swim, which makes him giggle in delight.

Then, in a few moments, the twins are tossing Azul back and forth gently, using their tales to fling him and catch him in turn. They’re swimming fast, probably faster than Azul had ever gone in his life, and it looked like the kid was having a ton of fun.

It made him jealous for a moment, actually. It had been so long since he’d played. He was only seventeen, but he felt much older in that moment. When was the last time he had fun like that, he wondered? It had been years…

He reached out with one tentacle, snatching his younger self. Everyone turned to look at him as he grinned wickedly, then took his turn tossing the kid to Floyd.

Time seemed to no longer exist for them, the three friends and their younger companion. It felt like a summer day spent at the pool, warm and bright and cool all at once.

But like a summer day, things would have to come to an end.

Little Azul swam sleepily over to his elder self, pushing himself into his arms. “It’s time I go now.” He said softly, letting out a little yawn.

Azul frowned, petting his hair absently, “What do you mean?”

Little Azul looked up and smiled at him sympathetically, “It’s time I go home.”

Azul was at a loss for words. He tried to think, how could he explain this? They weren’t close to home, they were at college, he couldn’t just leave, especially not on his own! He’s just a little kid.

Little Azul settled himself completely in his arms, and he barely noticed. He felt the warmth at his chest, and the stares of the twins trained on him.

He looked down, to find the tiny octopus merman seemingly asleep. His eyelids fluttered with movement, but the tiny snores he let out told him that it was just REM.

He pulled him closer, murmuring a soft, “Sleep well, little guy. I’ll protect you.”

And with that, the child began to glow faintly, shimmering and shining like the potion had earlier. He leaned further into Azul, and he felt something odd. Then, with a soft pop, little Azul was gone.

Azul spluttered, as in the same moment, his legs returned. He yelped in surprise and confusion, but luckily Jade and Floyd were there. Floyd grabbed him and began to swim him right back to the surface, where Azul began to splutter, coughing out a little water and taking in fresh air.

Jade surfaced next to him, hopping out of the water. He transformed back to human, paying no mind that Lilia was still sitting near the pool, and walked to his clothes. With a wave of his pen, he was dry and fully clothed. He then returned to Azul, helping him out of the pool and doing much the same for him.

Azul shook, still reeling from what transpired.

Lilia came to stand beside him. He reached out, grabbing his forearm gently.

Azul jumped and looked up, frantic eyes locked on Lilia’s.

Lilia gave him a knowing look, and gently said, “Are you quite alright, Ashengrotto?”

It took him a moment to collect himself and find his words. He was leaning heavily into Jade’s grip, and could feel his questioning eyes watching him again.

“Azul!” Floyd yelled.

He turned, eyebrow raised, “Huh?”

Floyd smiled, crossing his arms on the lip of the pool and resting his head on them, “Can we have Takoyaki for dinner tonight?”

Azul flushed and stuttered out, “Wha- I- h-“

Floyd laughed, tail lapping at the waves behind him, “We were good, weren’t we Jade? I didn’t even bite the little octopus!”

“If I recall correctly, you did actually do that.”

“But not hard!” He pouted, “‘n I’m hungry. All that swimming worked up an appetite.”

Azul laughed softly, somewhat in amusement and somewhat in disbelief. He sighed, “Yeah, you guys can have Takoyaki tonight.”

“On the house?”

“Well now, that’s a little much don’t you think?” Azul said deadpan, though all three knew he was joking.

He turned back to Lilia, brain finally having caught up to his question, “I…I think I’m okay. I feel a little…weird. I’m not sure how to describe it. Heavier, somehow? Denser?”

Lilia laughed a little, patting his arm, “Yes, I suppose a heart is a heavy burden, isn’t it?”

Azul gawked and flushed, crossing his arms. “Are you trying to say you thought me heartless?”

“Well, I mean no offense by it, but I don’t believe you were in touch with it much, were you?”

He glared half heartedly, then blinked. “I…one moment. I forgot something.”

Jade lifted an eyebrow in confusion as Azul took off his blazer, then promptly dove into the water.

Floyd exchanged a confused look with Jade before diving down to follow the dorm leader, tail spraying Jade and Lilia with water ‘accidentally’ as he turned.

Azul had puffed cheeks as he was frantically looking around, grabbing at the sand below.

Mister Crab seemed to take pity on him, and brought him exactly what he was looking for when he saw that he was running out of air.

When Azul turned to look, Floyd was hovering beside him, watching in confusion.

“You get it?” He asked when he saw his full hands.

Azul nodded, letting out a bubble of air. He was beginning to panic, and his lungs were beginning to burn. Curse his forgetfulness, both in regards to his pen and to forgetting the treasures.

Floyd swam him back to the surface (again) and Azul spat out some water, dumping the contents of his hands on the edge of the pool before brushing his wet hair from his face.

“Thank you, Floyd.” He said softly to him.

Floyd hummed, wrapping himself around Azul, “Yeah, I know. You owe me double that Takoyaki though.” He teased, before resting his head on his shoulder, “What’d you get?”

Azul flushed, squirming in Floyd grip a moment before sighing a little, “Little me had something for you. And me, actually.”

Jade approached the edge of the pool, crouching down beside the two still inside. “Oya? And what’s this?”

Azul’s hands shook as he held up the twin pieces of chlorastrolite, “He said, ‘they remind me of Jade and Floyd, and I want to give it to them’.”

Floyd chirped as he took the gemstone, admiring it. He squeezed around Azul a little tighter, humming, “Aww, I knew you loved us.”

“Wha- no!” He protested, face bright pink, “I simply appreciate you a lot!”

“Mhm, sure.” Floyd said. He looked behind Jade, checking to see if Lilia was still around. Evidently, he had left while they were underwater. He bit his lip before saying, very casually and somewhat teasing, “Love you too, ‘Zul.”

Jade took his piece with the upmost care, resting it in the palm of his gloved hand. He admired each part of it, before muttering,“I second that, Floyd.”

Azul looked away, staring toward the doorway. He felt that if he blushed any harder he might actually catch on fire, “Good, good. We all love each other. Now, I, uh….I think I have…work.” He coughed into his hand, finally getting out of the water, his clothes completely soaked. “This was pleasant. I appreciate the time we had together today. I think it’s time to, uh…yeah.” He picked up his gem from where it laid beside the pool and shoved it into his pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

“Takoyaki!” Floyd called out after him, “I mean it!”

Azul laughed and waved a hand to let him know he heard him as he left the room, feeling a lot better than he had when the day started.