Azure: 19

Penne: 17

Navy: 18

Tweed: 18

"EEEEWWW what IS this!!!??" Azure asked, gagging and clutching at his throat, sliding his cup towards Navy who was staring intently at the pink-colored liquid sloshing around in his own. "WHAT ARE THESE!?!? THEY TASTE LIKE SLUGS!!!"

Penne just shrugged. "Should'a gotten a milkshake. I promise they taste better." Tweed squeezed her shoulder, slurping from his own giant straw, happily watching the two boys on the other side of the table make faces of disagreement.

"I s'pose you just don't like tapioca, then," he said, poking at the layer of black balls coating the bottoms of their cups.

"Ugh, it makes my head hurt..." Navy groaned, sliding Azure's back over to the groaning boy next to him. Then, thinking better of it, he grabbed both and slid them over the table to Tweed. "Y'know what? Take 'em, Tweed. Enjoy." Then he grabbed the sleeve of Azure's t-shirt, dragged him out of the chair, and pulled him towards the door.

"Bye you two~" Penne waved, happily slurping her milkshake and leaning against Tweed. "I'll see y'all later~"

Once they were out the door, Azure looked over at Navy with a cocky grin on his face. "Well, you really wanted to get out of there, huh? Did you just really not like the boba or s'mthin'? Hmmmm!?"

Taken aback, Azure just stared at him before grinning and dragging him off. "I know what we should do! C'mon!!"

As Navy was getting tugged along, he wrapped his arms around Azure's shoulder, whispering into his ear, "Do you actually know where we're going this time?"

Shoving him away and grunting, Azure said, "Yes, in fact I do." Retracing their steps back to the companies and grasping tightly to each other as soon as their feet hit company soil, Azure pulled Navy through his wing to the pool room where they had found Penne the first time they returned to the company. As soon as they were inside, Navy glancing at the water nervously and wondering if they were going swimming, his thoughts were interrupted by the quick, fluid motion of Azure taking off his shirt.

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Blushing and averting his gaze, Navy cried out, "W-what are you doing!?"

Looking down at himself and seemingly realizing for the first time that he didn't have a shirt on, Azure said, "Oh. I wanted to go swimming." Looking back up and eyeing Navy quizzically, he said, "Is that a problem? Do you need trunks or s'mthin'?"

Navy looked over and immediately regretted it, because Azure was sliding his belt out of the loops and unzipping his jeans to reveal swim trunks underneath. Why he had them on was a good question, but all Navy could do was stare at the belt clutched in his fist, a cold sweat bubbling along his skin as he completely forgot about the question. Looking down to see what Navy was staring to intensly at, Azure started swinging the belt around, and Navy flinched each and every time it flipped through the air. Not seeming to notice, Azure flashed him a cocky grin, bringing the belt back down to his side and saying, "Be carefuly, or I just might whip you with it~"

It was harmless. It meant nothing, It was playful banter. It was...

It was...

...what...?

Everything was dull. The light was blurred, the sound was blocked out, and gravity was crushing down on him like the weight of a school bus. And all Navy could do was stare at that... thing hanging limply by Azure's side.

Azure wouldn't.

He...

He wouldn't...?

Azure was saying something...was it...important...? But then everything suddenly became taller and Azure was running towards him, and that awful thing was getting so much closer.. it felt like it was squeezing around his neck, whipping against his back, but Azure would never do that, he would never, he would never, he would never, he would never...

It brushed his leg and Navy screamed. Azure was going to hurt him, he was going to beat him, he was going to do everything Moon had. Navy had to get away, get away, run while he could, run before it clamped around his neck, closed around his legs, kept him from running away, kept him in the confines of the room...

He didn't even know he had stood up, didn't know that he had started running, only knew that Azure was going to hurt him and he had to get away... faces streamed by, shouts called out, but Azure was going to hurt him, he was going to beat him, he had to get away...!

And so Navy ran to the only place he had ever called home.