#jade... can you let floyd spend quality time with reader for just a few minutes? >_<

[merakiui]

floyd in the mostro lounge scene i'm writing for tmdg because jade is getting between him and shrimpy like the annoying eel he is:

[nrc-research-club]

hiii!! i just recently discovered ur blog and absolutely love your writing style :D can i request octatrio unexpectedly breaking out of their usual public image to be an extra soft and loving bf + reactions of people around them cause they don't see them being that type of bf <3333 gn reader !!

is everything alright? ↬ Summary: Maintaining a certain image of oneself in public requires sacrificing some things, including the comfort of love.

↬ Tags: hurt/comfort (except for floyd’s part), fluff

↬ Characters: Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech

↬ Note: i’m so sorry it took so long, and i’m so sorry it ended up being kind of angsty. *pained smile* i’ll start writing shorter stuff based on how many characters there are instead! the jade favoritism is strong in this one, though.

Azul Ashengrotto

↬ Azul likes to keep his image impeccable. He's meticulous and thorough to a fault, and that apparently affects the way he treats you as well. In private, you can expect to be lavished with high-quality food, or multiple praises. The most valuable of all would be his time, attention, and trust. He would agree to a cuddling session if you asked for it despite being flustered for the first few minutes or so. He would humor your attempts at conversation despite having to split his focus between you and paperwork.

↬ All in all, he's attentive, loving, and respectful. Except he's not like this in public, where every move he makes is calculated. The feeling of being scrutinized has stuck with him throughout childhood until now, and you're one of the people who have to pay the price. You're understanding, of course. You can only dream of returning the love he's shown you a hundredfold, but you still find yourself craving for his touch every now and then. Given his importance to you, it's only natural.

↬ When you bring it up with him, he apologizes and says it's… unbecoming of him to participate in such acts where others can see. He follows it up with reassurances of spending more time with you to make up for it, and you understand. Reading between the lines tells you of his discomfort just as much. Still, you can't help but feel a little hollow after his explanation, but you don't act on it. You could never bring yourself to put your needs above his.

↬ There are other, more pressing matters to attend to as well, like the pop quiz in Alchemy, the homework deadline that you apparently forgot about, and the difficult exercises Coach Vargas made your class do. They pile up on you as your mood sours further into the day. At this point, not even Azul can help you while you pointedly ignore him. You just want a hug, damn it! You can't force him into one, though, and all you can do is give him a tense smile before getting ready for your next class.

↬ It continues until the next day, and that's when you feel a hand on your arm just as you're about to leave. You can see the worry on Azul's face through the cracks in his composure, but he stays quiet until he finally clears his throat. You’ve always known him as smooth, but his cheeks redden as he moves close to you.

↬ “Good afternoon, my dear,” he murmurs the last part low enough only for you to hear, but your eyes widen nonetheless. He pauses for another while before asking, “Is there anything you may need? Or have I done something to offend you?”

↬ “Oh, Azul,” you sigh immediately when you hear his concern. In your attempt to take care of your tasks, you’ve forgotten to give him some attention, too. Maybe this could be your chance at letting him hug you? “A hug would sound nice right now… but that could wait until later, when we’re in private.”

↬ You don’t tease him for too long, quickly following your request with reassurance, but what you don’t expect is for him to comply. The hug is awkward and stiff, and people are starting to whisper, but he lets it last for as long as you want. It’s a far cry from how comfortable and clingy he is with you when you’re alone. Still, you hug him back, giggling from how fuzzy you feel. 

↬ You have some mercy on him, though, and you let go of him when you’re sure you have the energy to get through the day. The other students look at you with their mouths agape, but Azul only has his eyes trained on you. He looks so cute and you want to kiss him so bad, but you know he’s not ready for that yet. Instead, you take his hands in yours and squeeze them.

↬ “Thank you for that,” you whisper, and everything’s okay.

Jade Leech

↬ Everyone knows of the Leech twins. Jade is the more rational one of the two, as most would say, and is generally more pleasant yet still more unnerving than his brother. If you play your cards right, then you would never have to deal with him. The general consensus is that he’s intimidating, and you should avoid Jade as much as possible.

↬ But you’ve gotten over all of that, and now you’re one of the people who have earned beyond his tolerance. You’re clingy like Floyd when you’re in private together—hugging and surprising him from behind like a koala, or staying close to him when he’s busy. He never quite reciprocates, but his quiet chuckles and watchful, protective eyes are more than enough for you.

↬ It has never been a problem, or at least, you think it hasn’t. All it takes for you is to see a couple holding hands, happily walking side by side while on an obvious date. Yet here you are, on a supply run for Mostro Lounge that Jade sent you on. When he issued you the task, he hadn’t even offered to come with you! It plants the seeds of doubt in your heart, and you turn your head away from the couple before you start to feel bitter.

↬ Your mind wanders back to what everyone has said about Jade. It’s no secret that he harbors a dangerous side to him, one that toys with people’s emotions until he gets what they need from him. It’s a slippery slope, but you can’t help wondering if you’ve fallen prey to his whims. Are you there to entertain him, or just as an extra hand around the Lounge? Is he going to discard you when he thinks you’ve exhausted your worth?

↬ The downward spiral consumes you faster than you’d like to admit, and you find yourself straying away from him for the time being. Maintaining your composure around him is hard when you’re still unsure of what your relationship means to him, what you mean to him. What has made you giddy before is starting to feel hazy and suffocating and cold now, as though you’re submerged underwater without any chance to breathe.

↬ Your behavior doesn’t escape Jade’s attention. Nothing ever does, but you think that he doesn’t care enough to do anything to remedy it. After all, your constant avoidance must have started to bore him. You think that this is the end, and though the very thought of breaking up with him twists your heart with pain, you will yourself to concede. That’s what you get for ignoring everyone’s words, for staying blind to the warning signs when—

↬ “There you are, my dear,” Jade’s voice breaks you out of your trance. You turn your head so fast that it might’ve given you whiplash, but nothing else seems to matter as he cradles your cheek in his palm. “I thought that maybe you'd forgotten about your promise to create a new blend of tea for the Lounge with me.”

↬  At this moment, you truly lose your composure. Tears bead at the corners of your eyes instead of any anger. Loud, shameful sobs wrack your body, drawing the other students’ attention to the two of you. Some are starting to murmur, and a few of them shake their heads in pity, but the rest are unsurprised. Nothing good can ever come from a Leech twin looking for someone.

↬ Jade, however, is completely taken by surprise. Yes, he has suspected you of avoiding him due to an unseen yet sudden reason, but this? He schools his features into something more placid before approaching you, gently as if you’re a wounded animal. It fails, but when you try to squirm away from him, you find yourself cornered between him and a wall.

↬ “My dear,” he reiterates. When you don’t respond, he takes it upon himself to shelter you from the uninvited audience. Though he looks calm on the outside, he’s already trying to find answers. He wants to send the others a glare, but his focus is solely on you for now. With a tentative hand hovering above your waist, he speaks again. “Oh my, has someone made the mistake of hurting you?”

↬ You choose to concede, muffling your cries into his clothes as he presses his hand against the small of your back. The two of you are hidden from everyone else, but it doesn’t take too much to know what you’re doing. You wrap your arms around him, blinking away your tears as he whispers reassuring words to you. There’s still a lot to unpack between the two of you, but for now, you’re content with this.

Floyd Leech

↬ Floyd, whether you’re close to him or not, will get physical with you. It only makes sense for his behavior to amplify tenfold whenever he’s around you, but his touches are laced with something else. You accept them wholeheartedly, returning his hugs and squeezes whenever you can. 

↬ It’s a common sight to see the two of you attached at the hip around the campus. No matter who’s around, or what’s happening, you always gravitate towards each other. Sometimes, you make the first move and surprise him with a hug, and he’d always accept. Your receptiveness to him matches his energy, and it only makes him want to hug you tighter and never let you go.

↬ His brother tells you about the tenderness Floyd displays only scarcely, seen in the way he visits you or him in your classrooms to chat. Or in the way he shields you from the sharp edges of doors and tables with his hand. Or in the way he pulls you closer to him when the hallways get a little crowded (not that he needs it; the students always give you a wide berth whenever he’s passing by). 

↬ They’re all the subtle things, the ones no one would really notice unless they were looking for them. But you do, and you love them all. It’d be selfish to ask for more, especially when you know how fickle your boyfriend can get. You make sure to respect his boundaries and mood swings when they do happen, but he always goes back to you in the end. However, another side of you wants to tease his loyalty to you for a bit.

↬ At first, you ask him to accompany you to places. Sam’s shop, the cafeteria, the botanical garden—everywhere. He calls it an adventure with you, but you know the gears are already turning in his head with each place you go to. Though all of his remarks are playful and teasing, you can hear the suspicion in them. You try to assuage them with words of affirmation, but you know he still thinks something is up.

↬ The next thing you make him do is show him things you want to do, whether it be through private messages on Magicam or hinting at him in person. You send him pictures of cute cafes on the app, telling him “how wonderful it would be to have a date here.” You’re also starting to feel bad for him at this point, and though you want to tell him the truth behind your actions, you don’t need to.

↬ The charade doesn’t last too long, with him pouting when you arrive at the Octavinelle dorm. The dorm’s lounge isn’t too full with people, but the others scamper to somewhere else when you and Floyd arrive. The only ones left are the ones who don’t care enough to run, making brief eye contact with you before looking away. Your boyfriend drags you to one of the couches and effectively pins you down to them.

↬ “Angelfish, I’m starting to wonder if you’re trying to tell me something,” Floyd says with a dangerous glint to his eyes. You’re certain that he could never hurt you, but you still throw your hands up in defeat and sigh. 

↬ “I just wanted to tease you for a bit, Floyd,” you tell him. Your hands itch to hug him, but you peer at the couches behind him and see some students glaring at your brazen position. Instead, you keep your arms to yourself and attempt to gently guide him off you. As expected, he doesn’t budge until you explain better. “... or maybe I just wanted you to be more, uh, lovey-dovey with me.”

↬ You quickly mutter the last part, but your boyfriend hears you loud and clear. The doubt on his face clears up, replaced by enthusiasm, as he tackles you onto the couch. Instead of moving back to his room, you seem to have exacerbated the situation. Azul would surely scold the two of you later for being so bold in a public space, but you can’t defend yourself against the onslaught of kisses Floyd peppers on you. 

↬ “You should have just told me, Angelfish!” he says, cradling your cheek in his palm before slotting his lips against yours. A student from the lounge makes a choked sound, reminding you once again that you aren’t the only people here, but Floyd continues with his ministrations. “Were my squeezes not enough? Did you want me to mark you up for all the world to see, too?”

↬ “W-Wait, Floyd, not here!”