Ocean Mist (Azul Ashengrotto/Yuu)

4 ~ Eel Approved

"Hey, Jade~"

"Yes, Floyd?"

"You've noticed it too, right?"

"Noticed what, exactly?"

"Azul's been actin' super spacey lately..."

Jade tore his gaze from his terrariums to look at Floyd. "Especially around Lil' Shrimpy," Floyd said, finishing his thought.

"Well, he's had feelings for her for quite a while now, so this is hardly anything new. Though, he was acting especially strange today..."

Floyd scrunched his eyebrows, lips forming a pout. "I don't remember him tellin' me anything about a crush on Lil' Shrimpy."

"Oh, he never told me. I'm just assuming-it's fairly obvious, isn't it?" Jade chuckled, causing Floyd's expression to relax as he joined his laughter. "Yeah, it is super obvious~ Y'think they started dating or somethin'?"

Jade brought a knuckle to his chin, deep in thought. "Something certainly happened, though I'd be shocked if he didn't mention anything to us if they'd gotten together. Should we ask him?"

"Hm, maybe we do a bit of observation first~" Floyd suggested. "So he doesn't try to act all subtle around us if he knows we're paying attention, yeah?"

"I figured you'd be more interested in getting the information directly out of him. Though a subtle approach is a smarter idea."

Floyd leaned back in his bed, letting out a loud yawn. "You know how Azul is. He'd prolly try to be super secretive about whatever's goin' on, and that'd irritate me. Anyways, I'm going to bed. G'night, Jade."

"Good night, Floyd."

The next morning came and the first thing Jade did was excuse himself from his classes for the day, claiming he was going on an excursion for the Mountain Lovers' club. Meanwhile, Floyd was simply going to skip class. Both of them were planning on stalking Azul and Yuu throughout the day.

"Have you forgotten your invisibility potion, Floyd?" Jade reminded him, grabbing his collar before he plainly waltzed into the classroom. Floyd let out a sheepish chuckle before chugging the potion in his hand, sticking out his tongue at the vile taste.

Both of their heads snapped in the direction of Yuu's voice, smiling and waving at someone behind them. "There's Azul," Floyd commented under his breath, quiet enough so that only Jade could hear.

Azul's expression seemed to light up upon first seeing Yuu, though it quickly shifted to one of embarrassment, his cheeks turning pink as he averted his eyes.

"Aw, what's that expression for?" Yuu teased, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He tensed up at the contact and pursed his lips, unresponsive. She continued to prod him and laugh as they entered the classroom.

"Hey, Azul," she whispered, leaning towards his ear. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is why you're falling behind in class. It's like you're trying to distract me on purpose."

"I'm not even doing that badly! I'm a completely average student!" She whined, crossing her arms and turning away. "I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day, now."

He didn't respond, but as time passed, his glances toward her became more frequent and he couldn't handle the silence anymore. Her constant teasing had become comfortable to him.

Subtly sneaking his hand to her elbow, he tugged at her blazer, garnering her attention. "What?" She said in a cold tone, though amusement danced in her eyes.

"You can stop ignoring me now."

A smile played on her lips. "And why would I do that? I'm a distraction, right?" She leaned closer to him and his heart leaped in his chest.

"I-I..." he stammered, and she watched him expectantly, smirking at the sight of him floundering.

"Remember what I said last night?" he finally surrendered.

Floyd's expression pulled into a cheeky grin, though it was invisible. "Hey, Jade, whaddya reckon happened last night~?"

"No, I don't think I do~ You'll have to remind me," Yuu baited him, only leaning closer to him.

Jade brought an invisible hand to his chin. "I'm curious as well," he quietly chuckled in response to Floyd.

Azul covered his face with his hand bashfully. "You said a lot of things last night~" she goaded, causing him to scrunch his eyebrows. "Why do you have to make it sound suggestive?"

"Like I said, your reactions are cute!" She laughed as his cheeks darkened, smiling affectionately. "You still have to answer my earlier question~"

"You're even worse than Floyd when it comes to bothering me..." Azul grumbled. Floyd stuck out his tongue at Azul and Jade let out a near-silent laugh, perfectly imagining Floyd's reaction to the statement.

She brought a hand to his cheek. "If you don't say anything, I might kiss you," she whispered, a taunting look in her eyes. He quickly pulled away, bringing the back of his hand to his mouth and wishing he could curl up and hide away forever.

"You're so insistent," he spat embarrassedly as she leaned in closer, teasingly puckering her lips. His voice dropped in volume as he finally gave in. "I said I like the sound of your irksome voice."

Floyd elbowed Jade gently. "He's so grown up now~ I might cry!"

"It seems Yuu has started making romantic advances." Jade had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Azul being romanced by someone. It was such a huge contrast to the strictly business persona he'd built for himself, but he was glad he was finally allowing himself to relax, if only a little.

"Lil' Shrimpy's got guts~ But hey, glad it's her and not someone mean." Floyd's tone suddenly turned serious; this was the reason they came to observe her after all.

Jade almost nodded to agree before remembering that he was invisible. "Yes, it seems she passes our test."