All For Love [Reth x OC x Jel]

Obvious

The sound of footsteps running into his shop was almost becoming Jel's way of telling when Azu was around. He almost always heard her coming, rushing up the steps and into his foyer to see him; but when he glanced up to look at her today, she seemed in even more of a hurry than usual. He furrowed his brow, tilting his head at her. "Why, hello there Azu.. You seem to be in a rush of sorts. Is something the matter?"

Azu let out a slow, controlled breath to get her heart rate down from the sprint over, sighing as she put her hands on her hips, raising a brow at him. "You changed the ball gown design."

"Ah-" Jel frowned at the disappointed look on her face, wincing as he tried to think of what he could say after they had both been so excited by the finished project...one that she had helped him with, from start to finish. He finally sighed, letting his hands fall to his pockets as he avoided her eyes. "...I shrunk under pressure. I just kept imagining what my mother would say after she spoke to Eshe. Sadly now, Kenyatta refuses to even wear the replacement. She told me she's going to wear something....off the rack, instead!" he groaned, reaching up to rest his face against one of his palms and shutting his eyes tightly. "I'm going to be ruined either way! No one who's anyone will ever hire me again after they hear of this mortifying scandal. I'd better go to Bahari and turn in my needle and thread right now. Oh, what should I do with my life? No one will speak to me after Ive abandoned my Path. I suppose I shall have no choice but to become a vagabond, wandering from village to village in search of a hot meal." he practically burst, wracked with not only shame and guilt, but worry and fear on top of it.

Azu's gaze softened about halfway through his ramblings, and by the time he'd finished she could only sigh empathetically. If she knew anything about Eshe, Jel was right; she cared more about saving face than making Kenyatta happy. So, it wouldn't hurt her to pull a few more strings to help him out; it seemed to just be a theme in her life now, solving everyone's problems. She walked across the room to rest a hand on Jel's shoulder, waiting for him to lift his head and meet her eyes to speak, giving him the most reassuring smile she could. "It's okay. I'll help you."

Jel felt his heart race in his chest at their closeness, and faster at her words. He furrowed his brow at her, letting his hand fall from his face and down to shyly curl his fingers around hers against his shoulder. "Really? You would do that for me..?" he murmured, blushing a bit when she immediately nodded. "I'm simply too lucky to have you in my life, Azuriela." he sighed, letting himself relax a little. "If you could talk to Kenyatta and convince her to wear the dress, I'd be forever in your debt."

"I dont know about forever," Azu chuckled, letting her thumb brush the side of his hand gently as she spoke, "But you do owe me~" she hummed, waiting until he had calmed down to move away from him. "I'll figure something out with Kenyatta; but for now, promise me that you'll show her our version, sometime? Even if she doesnt get to wear it to the Ball, I know she would love it; and even if she didn't she'd probably buy it anyway just to piss her mom off." she giggled, watching the way his eyes sparkled at her, that shy little grin coming back to his face.

He couldnt help it; he could swear he'd melted a little, hearing her call the original dress their version...he supposed it was, but hearing her say it.. "Alright. Do let her know that after the Ball is over, I'd be more than happy to give her the original as well." he chuckled dreamily, watching her lips curl into a grin as she nodded and headed off again. He wondered if she could tell how she made him feel; she must be able to, right..? He wasnt particularly good at hiding it..

He blushed a deeper shade of purple, remembering the night she'd first come to see it. It was nearly two weeks ago now, and he still could not shake the memory of the way she smiled at him, leaned back against the edge of his bed waiting for him to come in..

He'd be ashamed if he had to admit how many times he had found himself wondering what her lips tasted like, that night; and, almost every night since. How many fantasies had come to exist in his mind, spurred on from that moment. How many times he'd had to stop himself from wandering too far, before he made himself...uncomfortable.

Jel groaned under his breath as he returned to his desk, getting to work on a couple of sketches for the next seasons line up to distract himself. He was lucky enough to call her his friend...but he did wonder, if perhaps they could be more..

He wasnt the only one wondering, either; Reth was wondering the same thing when he watched Azu come swaying in, an exasperated sigh falling from her soft pink lips.

"I need soup- That was exhausting." Azu groaned as she sat down at the bar, plopping her head down in front of Reth as she let herself unwind.

"Say no more, Sweet Tooth~" Reth laughed, happily serving her up a bowl of his lettuce soup and setting it on the counter next to her. He rose a brow when she didnt lift her head, leaning down to murmur to her. "Wanna talk about it?"

Azu lifted her head just enough to meet his eyes over the edge of her arm, just admiring his cute little grin for a moment before she sighed and sat up, taking her soup and pulling out the money to pay for it, sliding it over to him as she spoke. "Ive been running around all day, for practically everyone, fixing everyone's stupid simple problems-" she sighed heavily, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. "Call me Captain Save a Hoe, because these bitches need me-"

Reth couldnt help but laugh at her comment, shaking his head at her. "What a Gracious Human~" he teased her, calling back to one of their many inside jokes at this point.

Azu giggled and rolled her eyes, starting to eat some of her soup and humming at the warmth of the broth. "Good soup." she snickered, watching Reth grin cheekily back at her. Their friendship seemed to be stronger than ever, after Reth had finally told her the truth about being the Cartel's delivery boy, about a week ago now. "Do you need anything for the recipes you're working on right now, by the way?"

Reth rose a brow at her question; but by now, he was getting used to Azu dropping off random spices and produce for him to use. "Actually...I dont know if you're growing any yet, but I could use some blueberries. Tish has been asking for something sweet, and blueberry pie's always been her favorite.."

Azu's face broke into a grin, chuckling a bit as she took another bite of her soup, playfully squinting at him as she swallowed before she spoke. "You're lucky you're cute. I just planted some, so when they're grown in I'll bring you some from my first crop."

Reth bit back a blush, laughing it off and trying to act like his heart wasnt trying to pound out of his chest, hearing her say that again. Whenever she said stuff like that he couldnt stop himself from wondering if she meant for it to make him feel as special as he did. If she really did think he was attractive, too..

"You know, Im going to assume you're spending all this time with me just because you enjoy my company. Not because you're angling for anything else.." Reth started, glancing away from her as he finished his thought before he could lose his nerve. "Making the other assumption has gotten me in trouble in the past...but, yknow, if you wanted to flirt with me or give me a heartdrop lily, I'd be open to it. Just sayin'.."

Azu's brows shot up, her smile turning into a coy little smirk. She could tell he was blushing even if he tried to turn his head, because the tips of his ears had turned a deep berry color. She'd already had her suspicions about how he felt; but that pretty much spelled it out for her, didnt it? She finished up her soup and stood up, turning to walk away with a cheekily little grin; calling back to him over her shoulder as she did so. "Maybe you should assume~" she giggled, turning at the door to look back and send him a wink, and then heading out, back toward her farm..

Reth's face must have been red enough to compare to an apple at that point. He could feel his skin burning as he tried to calm himself down, but it was damn near impossible after that..