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Slipping through an opening made at the back of the office’s built-in bookcase, Yuu cleared their throat in a bid for attention. After a candid lack of reaction from the room's primary occupant, they escalated to a loud ‘ahem’.
“Oh?” The scratching of parchment ceased, though the writer made no move to face the prefect. “Has someone decided to stop sulking like a child and have a civil conversation?”
Yuu bit their tongue, they weren't here to argue. After all, they did want something from him. They had considered waiting a few more days after the argument, imagining they might placate him for a while before asking for a favor. Except, they weren't asking for a favor, not exactly, they wanted a deal. That was something he did all the time, so this shouldn't be any different. The tepid silence didn't go unnoticed.
“Nothing to say? That's certainly new, not unwelcome, might I add.”
“Oh, would you just-” Yuu cut themself off, still deciding against giving into his probing given the circumstances of their visit. “I didn't come here to talk about any of that or apologize– if that's what you're thinking.” The prefect shifted, nervously rocking back and forth on their heels. “I'd actually like to make a deal.”
“Is that so?” Azul's chair rolled away from the desk, turning to meet Yuu at the bookshelf.
Against their convictions, they stumbled back slightly at the approach. They hoped to give off a more serious aura as they righted themself and stood up a bit straighter.
“I can only imagine what it is you desire.” His bright eyes bore into them.
“Well,” Yuu swallowed. “I've heard that you have some skill in making potions and that sort of thing.”
“I could be called proficient, yes.”
“And I was at Heartslabyul a bit ago-”
“Honestly, I can't fathom why you choose to spend so much time there,” Azul interjected.
“And, Deuce messed up on this potion and it made him smaller, like my size. So, I was thinking, if a potion can make someone that much smaller, then one could make me, y'know– bigger, right?”
“If you are inquiring as to whether I can make such a thing, the answer is yes.” Yuu perked up at the words, stifling the excited bounce of their heels. “However, if that's what you plan to bargain for, I'm afraid I'll have to decline.” The prefect deflated.
“Why?” Yuu asked, only slightly embarrassed at how whiny the remark had sounded.
“It's simply not feasible, Angelfish.” Azul sighed, snaking a gloved hand behind Yuu.
They shuddered at the nickname, another tremor running through them at the contact. They couldn't say they appreciated his recent efforts to establish more casual physical contact. If it was an attempt to console, it was falling terribly flat.
The prefect gripped the fabric of the glove below them tightly as they were swept off of their feet without warning. Azul swiveled back over to his desk, holding Yuu at eye level.
“You see, there isn't much benefit in making a person larger, practically I mean. They use up more energy, need more food, ultimately it creates more problems than solutions. As a result there are far less options for growing than there are for shrinking things.” Azul waved the hand not carrying Yuu. “Yes, there may be a few used on produce and the like, but not to the degree you seem to be wanting.”
“But I heard there were some traditionally baked into pastries and bread.” The prefect squinted. “Like in the-”
“Yes, yes, in the legend of the Queen of Hearts, there is a pastry that provides such an effect. Though, modern renditions only last for about a minute, give or take.”
Yuu paused to consider, legs dangling off of the palm where they sat.
“Then, if I got a lot of them-” The prefect was jostled as Azul doubled over, a raised hand poorly concealing his laughter.
“Are you truly that desperate?” He lowered Yuu to meet his position, fangs glinting at the stretched edges of his lips. “It's a novelty food, something made for holidays in some places on land. You really plan to eat, what, sixty each hour?”
Heat rose to their cheeks. Of course they were desperate. Their experience in Twisted Wonderland so far had been one nightmare after another. Why wouldn't they want a solution for their misery, especially in a world where magic was apparently so commonplace. But of course it couldn't be that easy.
“Whatever, I don't even care.” Yuu turned to storm off, stopping as they remembered that Azul hadn't actually put them down. They thought about jumping down to spite him, though the thought of twisting their ankle and getting stuck here ceased such musings. The prefect settled for crossing their arms and facing away from their tormentor.
“Come now,” Azul broke out of his laughing fit long enough to flip them around, pinning them in place with a thumb. “I'm not laughing at you, just at your… thought process.”
The smile he presented to clients returned, though any semblance of professionalism had left the room ages ago.
“Yeah, hahaha. It's so funny that I want a semblance of control in my life. Aren't I so silly?” Yuu turned their head away emphatically, though their body didn't budge.
“Oh, please.” Azul all but scoffed, “I'd say you have plenty of agency in your case. You wouldn't come and go so freely if you didn't.”
Yuu ignored the subtle threat in his words.
“Are you joking!?” Incensed, Yuu tried and failed to sit up further. “I can hardly do anything, I have to retool or scavenge for anything I want to use, and I could get hurt or worse, like, so easily at any time!”
“You are always in danger because you put yourself in those positions,” He sighed, condescending in a way that made Yuu grit their teeth. “I've warned you that such a tender and vulnerable disposition will only be taken advantage of, and yet you continue to persist. Surely, you can't claim to be entirely blameless for these troubles, no?”
“Wh- I don't even- I didn't ask to-” An unfortunate combination of confusion and anger staggered their thoughts. He couldn't possibly be blaming them for their situation, acting as if they had chosen to be whisked away to another world and left in such a condition. But he was, wasn't he? If this was how he was choosing to act, he wasn't going to be any help at all, they concluded. Why did they think he would be in the first place? Yuu huffed, they just needed to get out of here. Now. “I cant even- urgh- can you just put me down already?”
“I'm afraid it would detract from your point if I did.” Azul smiled tightly.
Yuu muttered a few choice words under their breath, low enough that they were sure Azul wouldn't hear.
“Don't be like that. You wanted to make a deal, didn't you? It may not be what you were expecting, but I'm sure we could work something out.”
“No. If it's not the potion I wanted, then I don't want anything,” Yuu said, “You'll probably just try to rope me into some scam anyway.”
Despite themself, they had had high hopes for this visit, hopes that they should have expected would be dashed.
“I don't even know why I bothered coming here.” Yuu grumbled, audibly this time.
“So dramatic,” Azul sighed, “Tell you what, since it uneases me to leave a customer so awfully dissatisfied, I'll give you a boon for your troubles, provided I am allowed a small token of re-compensation, of course.”
Yuu hesitated, this was most definitely a trick they thought. Though, they couldn't help but wonder-
“What is it you have in mind?” They feigned disinterest, glancing at the clock ticking away, high on the adjacent wall.
“You described wanting a sense of control, no? While I can't make the concoction you were hoping for, I can certainly give you what it is you really desire.”
“Are you going to tell me what your grand plan is or will we be going around in circles all day?”
“How rude, and when I was only trying to help as well.” He placed them back on the floor, giving them a slight nudge with his index finger to hurry them along. “Nevermind, off you go then. I'm sure you have so many important things to get back to.”
Yuu stumbled forward, pausing. They wouldn't make a deal, not now at least, they weren't so naive as to think it would actually turn out in their favor. Though, surely it wouldn't hurt to hear him out.
“...wait.”
“Yes?”
As sparks of interest flitted about their mind, much to Yuu's annoyance, they knew he knew they were hooked.
“What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Why, I thought you'd never ask.” They were lifted once again just as quickly as they had been set down. “I would be delighted to offer you a lovely little business opportunity I've devised.”
“W-wait!” Yuu's head spun, “Give me some warning the next time you-”
“Now, now, we've no time for nit-picking.” A golden contract appeared in front of Yuu in a flash, perfectly scaled to their size. “If you want agency so terribly, I can provide you with a sense of direction. A sense of purpose, if you will.”
“You want to give me a job?” Yuu squinted at the bright lettering.
“In a sense, yes. Has it not been simply awful wandering so aimlessly? Looking for some way ‘home’-” His smile turned to a grimace at the word, “-that always fails to make an appearance?”
“I am going to find a way home,” Yuu stated confidently, “Crowley's been researching and-”
“Has he? That comes as a surprise to me.” Leaning his head upon his free hand, Azul continued. “The way I see it, and don't refrain from correcting me if I'm wrong, is that the headmage seems less than interested in returning his star prefect to their supposed ‘home’ and, rather unfortunately, our darling prefect themself is incapable of even opening a book to do their own research on the matter.”
“You are wrong.” He wasn't though, not really, Yuu thought.
Azul tsked, gently setting them atop a thick tome.
“I simply want to help, if you'll let me. Allow me to act as a sort of guide in your research. I can do all the odds and ends of searching for leads and handling materials that are… out of your depth.”
“And what do you get from all this?” Yuu questioned, pointedly placing their hands on their hips.
“Eyes, among other things.”
“I'm not going to-”
“Yes, yes, no spying– as you've insisted time and time again,” Azul lamented, “I would simply have you watch over the lounge on some instances, all in secret, of course. Perhaps acting as an assistant for some duties as well. It will all be very routine, I can assure you.”
It seemed far too good to be true in all honesty. Yuu looked over the contract, squinting at the looping lettering. There didn't seem to be anything untoward about it. That's what everyone thinks, they quickly reminded themself. But, they weren't sure placing all of their “going home” eggs in Crowley's basket was much of a good idea. The more hands on deck, the better. No, no. They shouldn't. There had to be a trick in here somewhere, why else would Azul offer in the first place? Though, they were friends, well, kind of. He got annoyed with them a lot, but that may be all the more reason for him to want them to find a way home. If they lost a chance to leave Twisted Wonderland once and for all over some petty grievances…
Yuu sighed, eyeing Azul warily as they dipped their hand into the vial of obsidian ink. He hadn't provided a suitable pen, so they would have to make due. The prefect's signature was messy, in part because they were forced to write with a finger and partially because the contract glowed brighter and brighter upon contact. Yuu turned their head to the side to avoid the image of a blazing contract from being burned into their retinas.
“A pleasure doing business with you!” Azul practically vibrated with excitement.
Oh no. Signing had definitely been a mistake, Yuu thought. They purged the thought from their mind as Azul held out a handkerchief for Yuu to clean their sullied hand with. There wasn't much they could do about it now, they reasoned. Besides, there hadn't been anything too bad in it, they were sure. They would just have to be smarter about their actions from here on out.
“Um, yeah.” Yuu shifted nervously. “Well, I should probably get going now.” They slipped off of the heavy tome beneath them and directly onto a gloved hand.
“Whatever do you mean?” Azul smiled, a long lock of silver hair brushing the side of his face as his head tilted to the side.
“I need to go back?” Yuu gestured vaguely to the walls. “You know, people expecting me and all that.” They lied about the last part, feeling a bit safer with the idea of someone waiting for them.
“And skip your on-boarding process? Oh dear, I would have to consider that a breach of your contract. And so soon after signing.” Azul feigned distress.
“That has to be right now?”
“The position commences immediately, so yes, this will have to be conducted now.”
Yuu wanted to ask to look over the contract one more time, but they already knew how that line of questioning would end. Thinking back on it, they failed to recall when the assistant position was meant to start. Or end, for that matter.
“Fine.” Yuu groaned, knuckles white. He could be so annoying sometimes, always focused on his perfect, nary a hair out of place, image. Well, Yuu focused, not exactly perfect right now– his stupid bow-tie was crooked.
“Ugh, come here.”
Azul leaned down, a perplexed look on his face. Yuu climbed further up his hand, gaining the height needed to grip the satiny material.
“There.” Straightening the tie. “You almost embarrassed yourself out there before my introduction even started. You're welcome.”
They looked up to see that his eyes weren't on them, rather, he was watching the scene unfold in the adjacent mirror. A small, genuine smile spread across his lips as they caught each other's eye through the reflective surface.
“Ah, yes.” The hand on which they sat began to curl around them possessively. “Whatever would I do without you?”
He meant that, he really did. Where else would he be able to find someone so adorably paranoid yet painfully naive. They had read the contract over thrice in an attempt to find any tricks or loopholes, somehow managing to miss the most deceptive of phrases. Clauses that would allow Azul to… lessen his contributions in the event that no leads come forward, which, of course they wouldn't. He had spent enough time looking into theories of parallel universes to know that there would be no major break-through in his research, not if he had any say in the matter. And, even better, they hadn't questioned the vague job description assigned to them as a “lounge assistant”.
It was all so perfect. Azul would count himself lucky if he believed in such a thing. No, this had been the work of careful planning, gentle bread crumbs leading the poor little mouse closer and closer. And now the trap had sprung and they were still none the wiser. Honestly, what he was doing would be considered a mercy. If they were this easy to lure in, it would only be a matter of time before someone else decided to do something similar. Worry not, he would take so much better care of them than those common, delusional, fools.