Vile Attraction (Floyd Leech/Yuu, Jade Leech/Yuu)

6 ~ Hot Cocoa

Yuu's eyes shot open and she sat up in her bed, looking around in panic.

"MRAH! What was that for!?" Grim whined, her rapid movements waking him from his slumber.

She stared at him for a few moments before shifting her attention to the door. "...Nothing. Sorry about that." She rubbed the space between his ears and smiled at him. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

Grim turned over in the bed and let out a grunt in response before falling back to sleep. Yuu rose and headed to the door. She slowly opened it and walked out, taking slow steps toward the lounge.

If last night wasn't a dream, a certain eel would be sleeping on the striped couch.

Yuu took in a deep breath before turning the corner, worried that what she would see would be confirmation of last night. And yet...

No eel graced her couch.

She let out a sigh, though her relief was short-lived when she noticed the mug on the counter with a note. She ran down the stairs, no longer caring to be quiet, and picked up the note.

'Sorry I had to leave before you woke up, Little Shrimpy... Azul yelled at me for staying out for so long >:( but I can't wait to see you today! I made you some hot cocoa to wake up to <3 hope you like it!'

Yuu felt a sense of dread well up within her. What was she thinking last night? She didn't like him. Sure, he was attractive, but it was not as though she had feelings for him... Yeah, he did things that made her blush sometimes, but she definitely didn't like him on a romantic level yet...

Her hand flew up to her mouth, her cheeks turning beet red, the realization once again striking her. "We kissed... and we..." she whispered as she squatted to the ground, burying her face in her knees. "Why did I let that happen..?"

After a few moments of wallowing in shame, she picked up the hot cocoa. It was a kind gesture, disregarding everything else. As she took a sip, she thought about how she would break it to him that she didn't actually like him. It would make her look like a terrible person, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she started dating someone she didn't have feelings for.

But... her thoughts started to shift. She did have feelings for Floyd. He was so sweet to make this cocoa for her. What was all that nonsense she was thinking about seconds ago about not liking him?

A smile rose to her face, her thoughts going back to last night. They were no longer thoughts of confusion and shame but of love and excitement. How many people's crushes actually liked them back? She sure was lucky, wasn't she?

Over in Octavinelle was where Floyd was, though he was not experiencing feelings of love and excitement. He was experiencing the feeling of being yelled at by Azul. Not an unusual experience for him, but certainly not less annoying than any other time.

"—Floyd! Are you even listening!?"

Floyd rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Azul let out a breath of exasperation, pushing up his glasses. "What were you even doing while you were gone?"

"I don't gotta tell you anything. Screw off."

"Jade, talk some sense into your brother!" Azul huffed, clenching his teeth and attempting to remain rational while faced with Floyd in one of his signature moody snits. "You cannot just leave for a whole night and not tell anyone!"

Jade raised his eyebrows as he tried to hide his amusement, though a smile still worked its way onto his face. It was much too amusing watching Azul get riled up by Floyd. "Floyd, for Azul's peace of mind, won't you just tell him where you were?"

Azul's attention snapped over to Jade. "Don't tell me you know where he went and I've simply been left out of the loop."

"I have an inkling."

A frustrated groan escaped Azul. "Between the two of you, I swear—!" He turned around and took a deep breath before turning back to face them with a strained smile. "As long as whatever you are doing does not affect your performance working in the Mostro Lounge, then it's alright, although I would very much prefer it if you told me."

"I'm skipping work today."

"Floyd!"  Azul snapped, putting his hands on his hips. "No, you're not! If you don't come in today, I'm going to start making you work past 7!"

That got Floyd's attention. "Fine," he growled, standing up and forcefully shoving Azul to the side as he walked past and slammed the door shut. Nothing would cut into his time with his Little Shrimpy.

Jade looked to Azul, then to the door. His grin only widened as he brought a hand to his chest. "My, he's grown quite fond of the prefect, hasn't he?"

"The prefect..." Azul mused, bringing his hand to cover his mouth as he sat in thought. "...I can't believe it took me this long to connect the dots. He was at Ramshackle, wasn't he?"

"I'm still quite surprised by it myself," Jade chuckled, confirming Azul's suspicions. "He's quite taken with her. More than he usually is when he fancies someone." He brought a knuckle to his lips. "I can't say I quite understand the appeal, but I am curious..."

Azul let out a resigned sigh. "Why can't you two ever make things easy for me?"

"Where would be the fun in that, Azul?"