Drama In The Futile - Lemon_Beemon (2024)

Ace may be an idiot, but he wasn’t completely stupid.

He saw how Deuce had started to look at the Prefect. He knew that Sebek always stood straighter (if that was even possible) when he sat at their lunch table. It didn’t miss him that the Prefect was always getting invitations to Scarabia, to Pomefiore, to Octavinelle.

Boy did Floyd never shut up about that.

“Azul invited Shrimpy over to taste test the new menu,” That stupid, toothy, smile was way too knowing when he leaned over in the locker room to whisper his taunts, “Oh, but no plus ones. Sorry Crabby.”

Ugh, what a tool.

It wasn’t like Ace cared who Yuu dated, ew gross he was definitely not thinking about that, but he was beginning to get annoyed. Annoyed about Deuce acting like a lovesick fool. Annoyed about Floyd’s childish need to tease and poke about things he was way, way, off about. Annoyed that he felt invisible the moment it was more than just him, Yuu, and Grim.

Like he was some background character in a show with inconsistent writers. Like he was just some guy and not one of the few people that ran around cleaning up after Overblots.

I mean, he fumbled a few of those, but that wasn’t the point.

Frustration boiled under his skin as he stepped out of the locker room and aimed his annoyance at a stray basketball. He kicked it, not caring about the sharp warning he got from Coach Vargas as the ball flew into the empty bleachers stacked up against the far wall of the gym. Jamil gave him a look he didn’t bother to meet as he shouldered his way through the double doors and headed for the outdoor path that would take him back to the mirror hall.

Ace wanted nothing more than to crash on his bed. Not even tempted to hop online and see that the Prefect had once again set their status to gaming on Vertex Legends with a mutual Ace was 90% sure was that recluse dude in Ignihyde. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d pass out before Deuce got back from Track practice. That goofy smile stuck on his face as if he were waiting for Ace to ask him what was up and confess all his feelings for their friend like a middle-school girl at a sleepover.

Yeah, f*ck that.

It was a rock that got the sharp end of Ace’s sneaker this time. It soared off of the paved path and landed in a bush that bordered the path. Ace paid it no mind, not even as a feathered cap popped out to blink at him in amazement.

He could not, however, ignore the arm that slung around his shoulder moments later to pull him close.

“Ah, monsieur tendresse, how I commend your sharp intuition! It is not often that one of you petit canetons can discern my presence.”

“What the- oh, hey, Rook.” Ace tried not to gag on his arm as it shifted from his shoulder to his neck as his upperclassman steered him left on a fork in the path. “Are you… uh, looking for Epel? I don’t know where he is.”

“A lie, but a lie made with love,” Rook laughed and Ace just raised a brow, “Fear not, petit canard, I am aware of Roi de Reinette’s little flights of fancy with the Spelldrive team. Vil need not be privy to all his ducklings hobbies, no?”

“Right,” Ace agreed, brain half jumbled by Rook’s insistence on frilly words, “So, uh, what’re you here for?”

“Why, for you, my good friend!”

Since when were they friends?

“I’ve come with guidance for your troubles.” Rook smiled, his teeth glaringly perfect in the afternoon sun.

“I don’t have troubles,” Ace frowned, “Or problems, or sorrows, or whatever else you’re about to try and tell me I’ve got.”

“So you say,” Rook had practically marched him down a path he’d never been on before, one that apparently looped around the back of the school, “But I hear how your heart weeps, dear friend. I can stand it no longer, so therefore I shall help you! Wonderful, no?”

“I already said I don’t need help. Ouch! Hey don’t pinch me! Woah-!”

Rook let go of the lobe of his ear and promptly shoved him into a line of bushes. He fell forward into the thicket with a strangled yelp as Rook smiled behind him, unphased.

He landed hard in the midst of the overgrown shrubbery, his fingers sinking into the soil to discover- to his discomfort- that the ground was essentially just mud here in the shade of the thicket. His hands stung with fine scratches from the sharp twigs that had snapped under his weight. He breathed in sharply at the light pain, about to hiss out his frustration when a hand snapped over his mouth from behind.

Rook leaned into sight at his side, his free hand lifted to his mouth in a shush motion. The asshole was still smiling, and Ace was almost tempted to bite the hand over his mouth. He didn’t, on account of a sudden realization that Rook would be the type to find that amusing- or worse- pleasant. Instead, Ace just glared at him. Half-hoping that the numerous swears running through his mind could be telepathically communicated.

“I apologize for the rough treatment, my friend, but I ask that you watch with me this eve.”

“Watch what?” Ace asked, a thankful shiver running through him as Rook removed his hand to rest it against his own knee.

Rook said nothing as he lifted a finger up to his lips once more and turned his gaze forward. Out the side of the bush he hadn’t shoved Ace through. Exasperated, Ace humored his screwy upperclassman and followed his gaze.

He was surprised to find how clear his view was through the many twigs and leaves of the shrubbery. As it turned out, the bushes were actually just a border between the path they had walked and the far end of the flat field they used to fly Spelldrive brooms in P.E. They had a pretty good view of the Spelldrive club, Ace could even see Ruggie up there rolling his shoulder in a warmup as Epel zipped past in a blur of purple.

He could not shrug off the suspicion that Rook did this often, considering that their spot would have had a much worse view a few feet either side of them in the shrubs, but his accusatory glance was not returned as Rook put a hand on his head and swiveled him to face forward again.

Ace rolled his eyes, but relented. They watched for another minute in silence as the Spelldrive team tossed the disc a few more times, their conversations unintelligible from this far down, but it was clear they were in the process of wrapping up their meet for the day. What Ace did not expect to see was the track team down on the ground as they ran laps around the edge of the field. Which was stupid, because Ace knew the track team practiced here. Somehow, it had never clicked in his head that Deuce and Jack spent their afternoon so close to Epel.

For some reason, that grated on him.

The two of them watched, with Ace feeling more and more like a creep, as the track team rounded the far right end of the field and started a straight run that would take them right past where they lurked. Despite himself, Ace held his breath as he spotted Deuce and Jack in the jumble of runners. He did not want to be caught in the middle of some serious stalker behavior. Especially with Rook, since the sneaky bastard would no doubt disappear instantly and leave Ace out to dry. He was so caught up in the fear of being caught, that he barely heard a snippet of Deuce and Jack’s conversation as they passed.

“-Just be honest-” Jack’s voice cut in and out, stern.

“I can’t- what if I ruin our-” Deuce groaned, his steps nothing but dust on the ground moments later.

Ace didn’t need to hear the rest of the conversation to know what it was about. Deuce was still caught up on his feelings for the Prefect. Honestly, poor guy, Yuu didn’t have a lick of interest in him like that. As far as Ace knew anyhow. Really, he just wanted Deuce to get over it already before he made their friend group awkward for everyone.

He picked at the dirt wedged in his fingernails, his annoyance back stronger than before. That idiot what was he thinking risking their whole dynamic for a relationship that would probably never make it out of highschool. Like, come on-

“Monsieur tendresse, you are not paying attention,” Rook chided in a way that reminded Ace that he was the Vice of Pomefiore, “Look further.”

“Oh for the love of-” Ace muttered to himself, eyes back on the field.

The Spelldrive meet was officially over, with the team members flying down at varying speeds to head back to their respective dormitories. Unlike the basketball team, who practiced inside, the Spelldrive and track clubs didn’t have locker rooms. Which meant that Deuce always had to change in their shared dorm. Something Ace could not control and had told Riddle numerous times meant it was not his fault their room smelled like sweaty socks no matter how many times he was forced to clean it.

Right. He was getting off track again.

It wasn’t exactly difficult to spot Epel’s light hair in the swarm descending students. So Ace had an easy time following the Pomefiore first-year as he split off from his clubmates to hover down beside the lingering members of the track team. Unsurprisingly, he was talking to Jack and Deuce. Who, if Ace squinted, was wearing that doofy smile again. One that didn’t leave his face, even as Epel dismounted from his broom and left him and Jack behind.

It must have read on his face, because Rook let out a smooth chuckle beside him.

“You see, my friend, there is no need to fear conflict with monsieur piques in
un jeu d'amour.”

“Shut it.” Ace grumbled, his mind in the middle of a double take as it made room for this discovery.

Maybe he was stupid.

It wasn’t as though Ace minded the fact that his best friend apparently liked a guy. Even if that guy was Epel which, like, questionable tastes for sure. He did, however, feel rather dimwitted for not putting things together sooner. Like the fact that Deuce always had that lovesick look on his face after practice, or the fact that Epel always sat next to Yuu at lunch because Grim would gladly eat all the random items on his meal plan from Vil that he couldn’t trade for better snacks. Which would explain why Ace thought Deuce was looking at them, since he always sat directly across from the both of them.

“Man…” Ace groaned, he felt like such an ass now.

Deuce probably had been waiting for him to ask about his behavior, if only to see if his best friend wouldn’t hate him over a silly crush.

Would he have hated him? If it had been Yuu instead of Epel? He told himself the answer was no, even as he scowled all the way back to Heartslabyul.

“I’m back.” Ace announced in a dead voice as he passed the Heartslabyul dorm kitchen.

“Oh, Ace-y before you get too far- WOAH!” Cater came out of the kitchen in time to spot Ace, mud-covered and scratched to hell on the stairs, “O.M.G major disaster alert!”

“Cater,” Trey’s voice sounded out from behind Cater’s back as he left the kitchen with a tray of cookies in his hands, “You really shouldn’t be so harsh when you don’t participate in a sport- WOAH!”

Trey blinked, owlish, behind his glasses as he and Cater gaped at the freshman on the stairs. It was a moment before either recovered, and Ace realized too late that he’d missed his chance to make a break for his room.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Trey yanked him back off the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Are you getting bullied? Like, for real?” Cater asked and almost put a hand on his shoulder, before he wrinkled his nose at the dirt and picked a leaf out of his hair instead.

“Knock it off, what are you- my moms?” Ace attempted to dodge the fussing to no avail as Trey produced a first-aid kit from under the kitchen island. “I’m fine.”

Trey gave him a disbelieving look and plonked him down onto a chair, “Sure you are, that’s why you look like you were mauled by a pack of moles. Now stay still, this antiseptic stings.”

“Maybe we should hose him off first,” Cater suggested, still picking leaves out of Ace’s hair to pile in a little stack on the counter, “Because FYI, Riddle is high-key going to lose it when he sees Ace is a mud-strosity.”

Trey thought about it for a moment, eyes narrowing as he fought to catch Ace’s gaze, “Hmm. Fine, but in exchange for us covering your tracks- literally- I want to take a look at those scratches after you’ve showered.”

“Done!” Ace knew a good deal when he saw one, “Thanks a bunch, see ya!”

Cater just sighed as he looked at Trey, their underclassman long gone already, “I’ll get my doubles if you get the mops.”

“Deal.”

Ace didn’t hear a single screech of Riddle-rage while he was in the shower, which he took as a sign that Trey had upheld his end of the bargain.

He groaned into his hands as he ran a towel across his face, hair still dripping but mercifully clean as he got dressed. Sure enough, when he left the bathroom adjacent to his dorm room, Trey was sitting on his bed. Med-kit in hand and face serious as he surveyed whether or not Ace was planning to run again.

He just sighed.

“Alright, alright, you win.” Ace mumbled as he flopped down at the foot of his bed beside Trey. “You are such a housewife.”

“Thank you,” Trey said, so sincerely Ace couldn’t even laugh, “Now sit still, I need to see the damage.”

“It’s just scratches.” Ace groused as Trey dabbed antiseptic onto the scratches across his arms and hands. “I was at practice, that’s all.”

“And Floyd just bites, or are you going to try and tell me that Coach Vargas let Grim on the team?” Trey wasn’t having it as he continued to dab and scrub at the thin red lines that covered his arms, legs, and face. He looked like he fell in a pit of rabid kittens, which would have been funny to Ace if it wasn’t him that had to feel the sting as Trey cleaned them of potential infection.

Ace remained stubbornly silent as Trey wiped his arms clean and moved to do the ones on his face. He waved him off, glad when Trey relented and passed him the rag and antiseptic instead. He lifted the cold cloth to his face and winced at the sting under his eye. He managed to get most of his face before the weight of Trey’s patient gaze grew unbearable.

“It wasn’t Floyd, if that’s what you’re assuming.” He told him and winced as he discovered a new, particularly deep, scratch along his chin.

“I wasn’t assuming anything,” Trey responded kindly, “But if you’re having problems-”

Why did everyone keep assuming he was having problems?

“What? No- it’s not like that,” Ace tried to bite down the irritation in his tone with moderate success, “I, uh, ran into Rook on my way back from practice.”

“Rook?”

“Yeah, he just wanted to talk about Epel. No big deal.” Ace lied, something he was quite good at.

It really wasn’t Trey’s business to know about Deuce’s crush. Hell, at the very least it was definitely not Ace’s place to say anything. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure why Rook had been so eager to show him. It’s not like he cared who Deuce was interested in. Whether it was Epel or anyone else.

Yeah. There wasn’t a single person Deuce could date that would upset him.

Not a single one.

Totally.

“Hmm,” Trey hummed, “Okay, well if you’re fine then I guess I won’t inform Riddle. I know Rook can be a little… intense with the things he deems important. Just make sure he’s not asking you to tag along for anything you’re not comfortable with.

Well, too late for that.

“Righty-O, Vice Housewarden,” Ace gave him a mock salute, “I’ll be sure to remain a model student.”

“If you’re model behavior, Riddle is this school’s worst delinquent.” Trey shook his head with a laugh, before he stood and tapped Ace’s head once, “Remember I’m here if you need me.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say mom.” Ace teased, and Trey was gone from the room a moment later with a final bark of laughter.

Ace, all things considered, slept well that night.

Most of his scratches were thin scabs the next morning and, thankfully, not very visible. Deuce had given him a weird look when he had, finally, made it back to their shared dorm room. He seemed too absorbed in his own troubles, however, to mention the state of Ace as he simply crawled into bed. Deep in sleep a moment later.

Ace wasn’t a light sleeper, by no means, but he didn’t exactly have Deuce’s talent for passing out on command. Instead, he stared up at the canopy of his bed. Willing sleep to come and, all the while, unable to ignore the fact that he felt no better than he had before Rook showed up.

The next morning was uneventful, all things considered. Deuce woke him up with the usual lecture about them being late for class. Riddle was downstairs scolding members of their dorm into action, though only one was collared. The poor idiot, how could he forget it was Wednesday the nineteenth? No one was allowed to use the front door on Wednesday the nineteenth.

Ace and Deuce were out the kitchen window and through their dorm mirror in time to make it to Professor Trein’s morning lecture before the bell. Something rare for the both of them, as Professor Trein so kindly pointed out. Yuu sat at the end of the bottom row, Grim half-asleep on their notebook as they gently attempted to slide him off.

“Yo, Prefect.” Ace raised a hand and dropped it just as fast as he felt the urge to scratch the back of his neck.

“Good morning, Yuu,” Deuce smiled and took the seat next to Yuu, before he lowered his voice, “Did you get my text?”

“Yup, Sam’s after classes are done?” Yuu confirmed and smiled when Deuce nodded.

“Sam’s?” Ace broke in as he leaned around Deuce, who turned red as Yuu offered a non-committal hand wave.

“Alright, settle down. All of you.” Professor Trein called the class's attention to the front of the room as the final bell rang out in the hall, and Ace was forced to drop the subject or risk his ire.

That morning’s lecture covered the middle histories of the Briar Valley. A long jumble of dates, names, and places that slide through Ace’s ears like water as he tapped his pencil impatiently against his textbook. Shooting sidelong glances at Deuce and Yuu, before he grew irritated by the lack of response from either and gave up with five minutes to spare before the final bell of the period. He didn’t so much as glance at either as the bell rang, ignoring Grim’s grated call about waiting up as he ducked through the crowd spilling out into the hall.

Botany was next, and Ace had started to seriously consider whether or not he should even bother heading to that class as he descended down one of NRC’s many stairwells. He had pretty good grades in that subject, so one day off shouldn’t hurt. Except for the fact that Deuce and Yuu also shared his second period. Then Riddle would find out he ditched and that would definitely hurt.

That is, if they even noticed.

Ace had quickly grown a knack for pissing himself off and, on a whim, stopped before he reached the bottom floor of the stairwell to split off down a second story hall. With half a mind to wander into the infirmary and make up some excuse that would get him out of his classes for the rest of the day.

He never made it down to the double doors that marked the west-wing infirmary, however, as he barreled headlong into another person.

“sh*t, sorry.” Ace hisses and grabbed his face where he’d knocked into someone roughly chin high.

“Ah, whoops!” A bundle of white cloth bounced back with a carefree giggle, “Oh! Hi Ace!”

“Hey, Kalim.” Ace’s voice was muffled where he covered his mouth, using the collision as a chance to mask his frown as he recognized the Scarabia housewarden.

Kalim was none the wiser to Ace’s foul mood as he looked around the hall with ruby-clear eyes, “I never see you down here this time of day. Oh! Did you switch a class? I can help you find it if so!”

He was decidedly not going to let Kalim in on his plan to ditch class at the infirmary. Knowing Kalim, he’d take his fake-illness at face value and start fussing worse than Trey during hay season.

“I- uh, I’m actually on a free period right now.” He felt a little bit bad about lying, but only a little.

Kalim seemed like a nice guy, but Ace just couldn’t get over the nagging distrust in his gut.

“Really! Wow, this is some luck!” Kalim beamed like he’d been told he’d won the lottery, not that he needed the money, and grabbed him by the wrist, “I was looking for Jamil, but you’ll do great I’m sure!”

“Do what now? Hey, wait a sec-”

It was too late for questions as Kalim dragged him down the hallway by his wrist. Away from the infirmary and into a classroom he’d never been inside of before. It didn’t look to be in use, with boxes stacked high on desks shoved against the walls and spare chairs squared away underneath the windows on the far side of the room. The center of the room was bare save for a small table, on which sat two boxes like the ones against the wall, and a single chair.

Kalim let go of his wrist to close the door behind them, before bounding forward to gesture at the room like it was made of gold.

“Tada!”

“Cool,” Ace put his hands in his pockets before Kalim could grab him again, “Um, what am I looking at?”

“The Headmage asked me to help him sort through some old documents for the school,” Kalim said brightly, “It's a lot of old work orders, contracts, charitable donation receipts, that sort of thing. I’m having tons of fun, but…”

He looked suddenly pensive, before the expression was washed away with another sunny smile, “Well, it's a lot more than I thought it would be. I wanted to ask Jamil if he would help, but since you’re free maybe you’d like to? Professor Crewel told me he’d count any time in here as extra credit after he found out what the Headmage was having me do!”

It was not at all surprising to know the Headmage had once again pushed his work off onto a student, but Ace did wonder how Yuu had managed to avoid getting stuck with the paperwork.

He turned over the offer in his mind for a minute, trying to avoid Kalim’s hopeful stare as he scrunched his face up in thought. Kalim was a Housewarden, therefore he’d be granted some immunity from his professor’s in helping him. Plus, Riddle wouldn’t have a real reason to collar him. Not if he was doing “extra credit”.

“Alright, deal,” Ace agreed and Kalim immediately clapped with glee, “Where do you need me?”

“Well I’ve already started on some of the boxes,” Kalim plucked a chair from by the windows and sat it down opposite his own at the table, “These ones here on the floor by the table are already sorted. I’ve tried to put receipts on their own by year. Contracts by company, date, and expense. Employee documents are in another. Did you know NRC once had three potions masters in under a year? Oh! And there’s a miscellaneous box for all the stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere…”

Kalim kept talking as he and Ace sat down on the table, each taking a stack of papers from the first box on the table. Ace couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed as Kalim continued on happily about his organization system. It was like listening to Riddle gush about homework, but without the fear of being collared if he made a sarcastic comment.

Honestly… it was kind of impressive. He’d almost forgotten how ridiculously rich Kalim’s family was, merchants or something, but somehow he’d never thought about the fact that Kalim would have at least some clerical skills.

He looked down at the stack of papers he’d taken for himself and started to flip through them. The receipts were easy enough to spot and separate, but the rest of it was a long jumble of jargon and written formalities. Ace shuffled through them blindly, guessing where they went more often than not, before he finally gave up and asked Kalim to double check the thin stacks he’d managed so far.

“These are all good,” Kalim put his receipt pile down on the floor in their appropriate box, before he rifled through the other stacks, “But this one right here is actually a work order not a contract, super close though!”

“How can you tell?” Ace couldn’t help but feel curious as Kalim showed him another paper he’d sorted wrong.

“I’m so glad you asked!” Kalim was out of his chair in a flash as he picked it up and plonked himself back down on Ace’s side of the table, “First you want to check here under the date to see if there’s an order number or not. Then…”

The day’s lunch hour came, and still there was no sign of him.

To say Jamil had begun to panic was an understatement.

He’d gone through all the people Kalim knew in Savanaclaw, Pomefiore, Octavinelle, Diasomnia, Ignihyde, AND their own dorm. That just left-

Heartslabyul.

He slammed his hands down on the table in front of Cater, his hair frazzled in his braids from where he’d had his hands on his head. Their trendy upperclassman blinked once, before he winced as Jamil shouted.

“Have you seen Kalim?!?” He was losing his composure, but he didn’t care.

“Kalim?” Riddle raised an eyebrow at the Scarabia Vice as Cater tapped a hand against the side of his deafened ear like a broken TV. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen him.”

Trey nodded beside him as Cater recovered with a “Sorry man.”

Jamil was about to pull out his own hair, or start a full blown search party, before someone spoke up from behind him.

“Are you looking for Kalim?” It was Yuu, and Jamil snapped his gaze to them and Deuce as they approached the lunch table.

“You’ve seen him?” Jamil wanted to take the Prefect and shake them by the shoulders, as though Kalim might fall out of their pockets somehow.

“Oh, no, sorry,” Yuu apologized, “But you haven’t happened to have seen Ace have you?”

“No.”

“Oh, well we haven’t seen him since first period…”

The look that crawled onto Riddle’s face suddenly made Jamil feel a great deal more sane.

“Yes, that’s right!” Kalim hugged him, actually hugged him, as he reviewed Ace’s latest stacks of forms. “You’re so good at this! Hey, if you need a job after graduation-”

“Woah, hang on now.” Ace snorted as he peeled his way out of Kalim’s grip, “Geez, what is this an interview?”

His animosity towards Kalim had vanished over the course of their organizing. Really, Ace didn’t have a clue why he’d felt so burned by the guy. Sure, he was kind of an airhead with most things but it was hard to not respect him as a mentor. Kalim was full of knowledge on things Ace had never even thought about. Beyond that, the dude was genuinely nice. Not polite nice like Jamil and most of the other upperclassmen. He didn’t make Ace feel the least bit idiotic for not knowing something, or attempt to drown him in planners and schedules, it was… nice.

Ace actually felt like he’d learned something. Something that made sense in his brain, instead of ending up like alphabet soup. It felt good.

They’d gotten through enough of the boxes to have their own organized mound forming on the floor beside the desk. Kalim seemed like he could keep going all day, but Ace had started to see the words on the paper swim before his eyes. His tongue dry in his mouth like he’d just crossed the Scalding Sands. He glanced at the clock to see how close they were to the next period and-

“Holy sh*t, it’s twelve already?” He blinked again, sure enough his phone wasn’t lying.

“Huh? Is it really?” Kalim peered over his shoulder and let out another gleeful laugh, “Heh, guess time does fly! Let’s take a break for lunch and-”

“KALIM, HOLY f*ck!” The classroom door was kicked open to reveal a shouting Jamil, his hair a mess as though he’d gone bush hopping with Rook.

“Oh, hey Jamil!” Kalim waved with an easy smile, but perked up as he glanced behind his frazzled Vice, “Hi Riddle! Hi guys!”

Ace tensed at the sound of Riddle’s name and shrunk down in his chair as he looked up in time to meet his Housewarden’s narrowed gaze. Despite his height, he felt much smaller as Riddle stormed up to them in his best attempt to tower over Ace.

“Where have you been? Are you injured?” Jamil seized hold of Kalim by the arms to look him over.

“Skipping are we, Trappola?” Riddle asked coldly.

It was so over. At the sound of his last name, Ace started praying in preparation for his final moments.

“Skipping?” Kalim turned as far as Jamil’s grip would allow to look at Riddle, “Don’t be silly! I asked him to help me with a task from the Headmage! It’s extra credit if you guys wanna hop in!”

“Ace doing extra credit?” Cater had his phone out as if he hoped to catch Ace’s demise in 4k, “Are we sure this isn’t clickbait?”

Trey, Deuce, and Yuu with Grim on their shoulder had trickled in after Jamil and Riddle. Ace felt exasperated by the crowd, but couldn’t keep a gloating smirk off his face as he faced Riddle.

“Well, Housewarden, are you gonna execute me over extra credit?” He asked as innocently as possible, a hand on his chest in mock hurt.

“I would like extra credit.” Deuce raised his hand, ignored as the rest of them watched Riddle invent new shades of red.

At last, he seemed unable to find an argument with what Kalim had said and reverted to his normal shade. Even as fearsome as Riddle may be, Kalim held just as much power. Moreover, the Headmage wouldn’t care to hear anything against his own tasks being completed that much faster. For once, he was unable to find fault with Ace’s actions.

And boy was Ace on cloud nine over that. He could have kissed Kalim, if he didn’t value his life around Jamil.

“Guess I’m off the hook then, yeah?” He hopped up out of his seat to slouch over Riddle with a grin worthy of Floyd. “Thanks a ton for being understanding.”

“Yikes, don’t push it Ace-y.” Cater warned with a nervous smile.

“Well, if we’re all done here, I think I’ll head back before lunch is over.” Trey glanced at Jamil, who nodded with his hands still glued to Kalim’s biceps as though he might dissolve the minute he let go.

“Human, if we get back first can I eat Deuce’s share?” Grim asked from Yuu’s shoulder as they followed Trey out of the classroom.

“Sure.”

“Hey!” Deuce whined and darted after them with Cater on his heels, cheering for Yuu to run faster.

“Kalim, let’s go,” Jamil, pulled him after the Heartslabyul cards, “You’ll get sick if you don’t eat before dinner.”

“Aw, okay. Hey, do you wanna help me sort through this afterwards?”

“Sure.” Jamil sighed as they disappeared from sight.

Ace watched them go and made to follow, he really was hungry, before sharp fingers caught his uniform sleeve. He winced as he found Riddle at his elbow, resigned to the fact that he had once again missed his perfect exit.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Riddle asked with a smile that held nothing good, “We need to get you an excuse note for your morning classes. Since I’m certain Kalim forgot.”

“And you’re coming with me for that?”

“Of course.”

“Yay.”

Ace was still rubbing the bruise on his arm when they left Professor Crewel’s office. His excuse notes in hand for the classes he’d missed that morning. With order restored, Riddle was a great deal calmer. A jaunty tune in his throat that Ace couldn’t name as they walked the hall.

“You’re awfully cheery.” Ace, it seemed, didn’t know when not to push his luck.

“Am I?” Riddle hummed on without so much as a glance up at him.

“Oh look, here comes Floyd.”

That one earned him another punch.

“Ouch, this is abuse you know.” He grumbled as they reached the stairs, where he hoped to lose Riddle as the time ticked closer to their next classes.

Riddle only sniffed as they started up the stairwell, “It’s not polite to lie.”

“It’s not polite to punch either,” He muttered, only to throw his hands up in surrender as Riddle turned back to face him, “Kidding! Just kidding!”

Riddle gave him a doubtful look, but seemed willing to put the matter aside as they reached a landing on the stairs, “My next class is on this floor, can I trust you to actually attend the rest of your classes today?”

“Sure can,” Ace saluted dramatically, trying to put on his usual carefree persona, “Don’t you know I’m a model student?”

“Nevermind, I’ll walk you.”

“Oh come on!” Ace whined as Riddle started up the stairs again.

Riddle haunted him the rest of the afternoon.

Ace tried to not feel like prey as Riddle tailed him from class to class, making sure he entered each one before he disappeared to attend his own. It was a little frightening how well Riddle knew his schedule, did he memorize the schedules of everyone in the dorm? Or did Ace just warrant that level of oversight?

Both seemed plausible, he thought, and tried to put it out of his mind.

He had no better success focusing on his noon classes than he’d had that morning. Part of Ace almost wished Kalim would wander in and go over the material with him, before he remembered the comments Jamil made at practice about correcting Kalim’s homework for him. Suddenly, he felt more assured in his own ability to make passing grades.

The final bell of the day rang, and Ace was surprised to find Riddle nowhere to be found. He’d half-expected to be frog marched straight back to their dorm, stripped of the privilege of his club in some small reminder of the tyrant Riddle used to be. Yet, as he tentatively walked the path to the gym, he saw no sign of his Housewarden. Vindictive or otherwise.

That sense of security vanished as he opened the double doors of the gym and slipped inside. Only to find Riddle stood by the bleachers, absorbed in conversation with Floyd of all people.

Well, conversation was a strong word.

Floyd had slouched over to put his weight on Riddle’s head, his arms dangled loosely as he snickered at the redhead’s attempts to make him stand upright. The struggle continued, before a hand touched Ace’s shoulder. He jumped, attention pulled from the strange exchange as he found Jamil behind him. His eyes dark.

“What’s up?” He asked, brow quirked at his clubmates' tense expression.

“Did Kalim actually ask you to help him?”

“What?” Ace blinked and attempted to shrug him off, but Jamil only held on tighter, “What do you mean, of course he did. I mean- I may or may not have been trying to get out of class too but-”

“I see,” Jamil visibly relaxed as he let go, “So you were trying to skip. Nothing more.”

“Yeah, please don’t tell Riddle- wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, let’s get started.” Jamil walked onto the court and clapped once to gather the rest of their team.

Weird.

This felt weird.

Jamil refused to pass to him the entire first half of practice. What’s more, Floyd wouldn’t leave him alone. Even when the ball was on the other side of the court, he was at Ace’s side. Shouldering him, tripping him where he could get away with it, and generally being a menace. It wasn’t too far of a departure from their usual interactions on the court, besides the fact that Floyd refused to let up. His eyes on the bleachers more than the game as he continued to treat Ace like the ball. He was half convinced Floyd would actually pick him up and dunk him in the net, if Coach Vargas hadn’t at last blown the whistle and called practice done for the day.

The whistle was blown, and Floyd vanished from his side like a ghost from Ramshackle. Ace felt the side of his ribs and groaned, already predicting exactly where he was going to be bruised tomorrow. By the time he made it to the locker room, Floyd was dashing back out the door. His hair soaked wet as he nearly ran over him. Ace tried to shrug it off, not eager to give Floyd another reason to make him the target of his antsy mood as he ducked into the locker room.

He was out of his gym clothes and halfway done with the button up of his uniform when Jamil found him at his locker. Face unreadable as he waited for Ace to meet his eyes.

“I wanted to apologize,” He said flatly, “It seems I was being… invasive with my questions earlier.”

Ace noticed the phone in his hand with a notification from Kalim, but said nothing as he looked back up at him with a silent shrug. Jamil frowned at his lack of response, but relented as he glanced back at the locker room door.

“Ignore Floyd,” Jamil told him in an odd tone of voice, almost… wistful, “He’s being defensive, for the wrong reason I think. You’re a better friend than he allows himself to believe.”

With that, Jamil vanished, and Ace was left to tie his shoes in peace.

Seriously, since when was he friends with any of these wackos?

“There you are.”

Ace just groaned as he heard Riddle’s impatient tone, his hand still on the locker room door as he pushed it open to find his Housewarden and Floyd waiting just outside.

“I’m pretty sure classes are over for the day.” He informed Riddle in a dead voice.

“Crabby doesn’t check his phone during practice.” Floyd slouched down to rest his forearm on Riddle’s head.

“Is that so?” Riddle mused, and made no move to detach himself from Floyd.

Again, weird.

Ace, unable to shake Riddle’s watchful gaze, pulled out his phone to find that he did- in fact- have new messages. In the Heartslabyul group chat, Yuu had sent a selfie taken at length to show a flustered Deuce in the background as he talked with Epel in the aisle of Sam’s shop. Followed simply by the words ‘anyone up for the Mostro Lounge?’

He backed out of the chat to find a duplicate message in their first-year chat, and frowned.

“Okay,” Ace forced himself to shrug, “And, why should I go?”

Riddle and Floyd responded at the same time.

“Because you were invited by a good friend.”

“Because Azul told Shrimpy they could eat for free tonight,” Floyd let out a wheezy cackle, “He’s gonna be soooo mad…”

At the mention of Azul, Ace was resolved to not attend.

“I’m good, thanks.” He said, and made to walk past them.

“Floyd.” Riddle said, and Ace was yanked back in a second.

“Shove off,” Ace growled as Floyd held him by the back of his collar, scruffed and indignant like a kitten, “I’m serious, I’ve got homework-”

“That you will have plenty of time to complete after dinner.” Riddle assured him, his gaze stern as he forced Ace to meet his eye, “You were already RSVP’d, it would be unkind to your classmates to not attend.”

“Great, I’m guessing you reserved my seat?” Ace was beginning to suspect more and more that this was Riddle’s revenge for him skipping his morning classes.

“Deuce did, actually,” Riddle replied smoothly, and gestured for Floyd to take the lead, “Now let’s go, a member of Heartslabyul should never be more than five minutes late to any informal event.”

Ace was 90% sure Riddle made that one up on the spot.

“Ah, Riddle!” Azul’s smarmy smile greeted them at the doors of the Mostro Lounge, his gloved hands clasped together politely, “Welcome, please make yourselves comfortable.”

“Thank you for allowing us as guests.” Riddle was ostensibly polite as he offered Azul a short nod and motioned for Ace to follow after him.

Floyd peeled off from them once they were inside the lounge, hopping empty booths to reach the kitchen. Ace didn’t miss how Riddle had no longer allowed Floyd to hang off of him once they had reached the Octavinelle dorms. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something.

Ugh, was it too late to call Rook up for some sleuthing? Probably.

The Mostro Lounge was nice, fine dining on a student budget, and the space reflected that. The dark flooring blended well with the rich purple drapery on the walls, the heavy colors lifted from the point of being suffocating by soft ceiling lights and a far wall made entirely of glass to reveal a deep body of water beyond. Ace couldn’t see many fish, but he also didn’t look very long. He didn’t care much for the ocean to begin with, but lately it just made his stomach turn to think about. He told himself the feeling was equated to hunger, and let Riddle lead him to a populated corner of the lounge.

A wide booth held Trey, Cater with Grim on his lap, Jack, Epel, and Deuce from right to left. Riddle took an empty space beside Trey on the right end, and Ace flopped down beside Deuce. Eager to spend as little time near Riddle as possible after the day he’d had.

“Yo,” Ace said at the same time Riddle asked, “Is this all of us for the evening?”

“Ortho and Sebek couldn’t make it,” Epel said, unusually nervous as he shifted his phone in his hand, “And… I told Yuu not to invite Rook and Vil.”

Ace watched Epel suppress a shiver, before casting his gaze around the lounge. In search of what, he couldn’t say.

“Sorry about that,” A breathless Yuu came up behind the booth at Ace’s shoulder, “A jellyfish came through the bathroom sink, Jade told me not to worry but…”

The Prefect slid into the booth beside Ace, who unconsciously lifted his arm to the back of the booth seat to give them room. They were saying something to Riddle, who responded sternly as a blush blazed across his face. Ace couldn’t bring himself to pay attention, sore and exhausted, as he stared listlessly into the blank space between them.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Yuu turned to smile at him, a playful punch aimed at his shoulder, “Feels like I haven’t seen you all day.”

“Yeah, well,” Ace glossed over the idiomatic saying to glare at where Floyd had disappeared into the kitchens, “I’m fine.”

“Yep, totally in tip-top shape.” Cater enunciated beside Trey, who gave him a warning look that was not missed by Riddle.

“What about shape? Trey, am I missing something here-”

“Oh, look!” Trey stood up in his seat to point at an approaching Jade, “Our waiter’s here! Isn’t that great!”

“Well now, I certainly feel appreciated.” Jade gave a dry smile as he approached their booth, his predatory gaze lingering on the fine cuts across Ace’s hands. “Welcome to the Mostro Lounge, might I offer you all today’s special? It’s filet.”

Ace just scowled as Jade made a point to look back at him, his expression missed as everyone took the time to glance back down at the menu. Despite how his stomach turned, he didn’t feel particularly strong about any menu items. He decided to just copy Yuu’s order, knowing that they would at least be able to eat off his plate in the eventuality that he lost his appetite. Jade made his way around the table, jotting down everyone’s orders, before he disappeared back towards the kitchen.

“So, uhm, I just wanted to say,” Deuce started awkwardly beside him as their waiter left, his gaze locked onto the table as he picked at the woodgrain, “That is- I wanted to thank you all for-”

“Aw, Deucey!” Cater fawned, “Take your time!”

“Don’t patronize.” Trey scolded lightly, but Cater was unimpressed.

“Oh boo, you know I haven’t gotten to hear one of these in ages...”

“One of what?” Riddle asked what Ace was thinking, his expression politely confused.

“Riddle, I hate to say it, but you should be one of the last people asking that-” Cater started again, before Yuu leaned forward to tap the center of the table lightly.

“I think we’re getting off topic,” Yuu said and turned to look past Ace, “Deuce?”

“R-right! Thank you…” Deuce cleared his throat, “But maybe before I continue, uh-”

He turned in his seat to face Ace, who looked back evenly. Fantasizing about the point in the evening when he’d finally be allowed to sleep. Still, he gave his best friend the best ‘get on with it’ look he could muster and waited for him to continue.

“Listen, you’re one of my closest homies- I mean friends- so I wanted to tell you this sooner but,” He breathed in deep, “I’m gay.”

Ace could feel Epel and Jack death-staring him over Deuce’s shoulder, and forced himself to keep his attention on Deuce. He had a very strong feeling he was the last to know as far as anyone at the table was aware, so he let the silence stretch a little before at last-

“Really?” He said flatly and leaned forward, “So lackluster, where’s my rainy day confessional? Tell me you at least brought flowers.”

“Ass….” Jack muttered as Ace brought a hand up to wipe away invisible tears.

“I’m hurt I tell you,” Ace continued dramatically, “I would have expected this from Cater-”

“Hey!”

“-But you, Juice?” He continued like he hadn’t heard Cater’s indignant yelp, “I thought our trust went deeper than this- Ow!”

Deuce smacked him on the arm, his smile infectious, “Take this seriously, jackass!”

Ace poked him back, “How can I? Do I really look that dumb?”

“Well…” Yuu trailed off, and Ace gave them a playful shove.

“You stay out of this,” He warned in a light-hearted way, “Now Juice, I feel it’s time I told you about the birds and the bees…”

“Okay, I think we should stop talking until the food comes!” Trey spoke up sharply as Epel snorted his drink.

“What does this have to do with birds and bees?” Riddle wondered aloud, and Trey put his head in his hands as Cater patted his shoulder.

“Ugh, you’re impossible.” Deuce complained, embarrassed as he shoved Ace back over into Yuu.

“This is friendly fire.” Yuu complained as they grabbed the end of the table to keep them both from tumbling into the floor.

“You’ll always catch me,” Ace simpered and went slack as Yuu pushed him back upright, “My hero…”

“I’m saying this in the most caring way,” Yuu prefaced, “But you’re spending too much time with Floyd.”

Okay, that one kind of stung.

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Ace put his hands up and sighed loudly, “Geez, everyone’s jumping my case today…”

“Could it be your overall personality?” Jack asked and Epel choked on his drink once more.

“Since when do you have a sense of humor?” Ace griped, but let it go all the same as he leaned his head back on the booth.

With Ace ‘informed’ Deuce went back to his original tangent. Something about being grateful for everyone’s support, that he was glad to have such good friends, yadda yadda. Ace was admittedly not paying attention as he sprinkled in a few smiles and light smacks on Deuce’s shoulder. Riddle shot him a glare a few times during the speech, but really- Ace thought he knew better than to expect Ace to pay attention to anything for longer than a few minutes at a time. He was doing good to even be awake, a battle he was swiftly losing as the lounge dimmed and grew warmer in preparation for its rush hour.

Their food came, though it was not Jade that returned with the plates. Instead it was Floyd, who served them all in the wrong order and promptly flopped down beside Riddle.

“Tonight blows, oi, Goldfishy,” He gave Riddle his best, sharp, grin, “You’ll feed me won’t you?”

“To the sharks maybe.” Ace muttered as Riddle gave his own exasperated refusal.

Floyd flicked his gaze to Ace, before he peeled off the back of the booth to lean both of his elbows on the table. Ace regretted his sass the same instant, but remained stubborn as he crossed his arms. His skin still ached from basketball practice, he wasn’t in the mood to back down at Floyd’s demand. He glowered at the merman as the other’s began to pick at their food, waiting for whatever threat was about to be thrown his way.

Floyd just smiled, which told Ace nothing about his mood, and said, “So crabby, Crabby. Scared you’re gonna be left with the leftovers?”

Ace slammed his hands down on the table as he stood, “Say that again, I dare you!”

“Ace!” Riddle scolded and whipped around to snap at Jack as he began to stand, “Sit down, both of you.”

At least somebody had his back, but Ace wasn’t in the mood to give Jack any praise. He stayed standing, glaring daggers at the thorn in his side.

Floyd just let out a smooth whistle, “Touch-y…”

“Floyd-” Yuu started carefully, but Ace cut them off.

“Stay out of this, Prefect, it’s not about you.”

“So boring.” Floyd chirped, “No backbone, just like a real crab-”

Deuce had an iron grip on Ace’s arm the next instant, not quite out of his own seat as he held him in place. Epel and Cater did the same to Jack. Though he had sat down at Riddle’s insistence.

“You’re such a prick,” Ace snarled, “Why can’t you just let it go. Do you enjoy being wrong so much that you had to beg your big brother to let you come out and piss me off instead?”

“Ace-” Riddle started sternly.

“Jade’s not older.” Floyd told him in a bored tone as he picked aimlessly at his ear, before his face split in a pointed smirk, “But yeah. I enjoy our game, Crabby.”

“Floyd-!” Riddle butted in again.

“Good evening!” Like the start of an infomercial, Azul slid up to their table with a showman’s smile, “How are you all faring this evening? No qualms with the new menu, I hope?”

“It’s great!” Trey spoke before anyone else could as Deuce yanked Ace back down into his seat, “Really, I’ve never had chicken this tangy-sweet.”

“The vegan menu is straight fire, fam. No cap.” Cater threw up a peace sign, clearly stressed as his language grew offensively more cringe.

“Wonderful!” Azul let his smile grow just a smidge, his eyes shifting to Floyd, “Our chef’s worked hard on this menu for you all. Though if you find anything is… overworked, please, inform me or the staff at any time.”

Ace sunk down into his seat, his frustration no less intense as he watched Floyd deflate. The merman didn’t keep Azul’s gaze as his smirk fell away and he stretched.

“Whatever,” Floyd yawned as he stood to leave the booth, “I’m out.”

He slinked off like a scolded cat, and Azul turned his smile back onto the table without a single falter.

“I do apologize for Floyd’s behavior,” Azul didn’t so much as glance at Ace, his attention instead on Riddle as he made the apology for his dorm member, “I’m afraid he has been rather sour these past few days. Jade was meant to keep a handle on him, but it seems they find themselves rather amusing.”

“Right,” Ace growled as he felt bruises form under his shirt, “Real amusing.”

Under the table, Yuu felt for his arm. Their fingers brushed against his wrist as he pulled away to grip his lower ribcage. He put his gaze firmly on the tips of Jack’s ears, willing his mind to think of nothing but how they moved to listen to the rest of the table talk. He was at his max for the day, one more push and his temper would get the better of him.

He drowned it out as Azul continued to make conversation with their table, clearly eager to smooth things over as the conversation steered towards safer topics. With Ace shut up in his own head, it wasn’t hard for the vibe to turn pleasant again.

Despite having a whole lounge to attend to, Azul ended up in the seat Floyd had vacated. His smile was a touch less fake as he engaged Deuce and Epel of all people in pleasant chatter. Ace felt a little confused by that, before his memories prior to Floyd’s antagonism returned and he remembered why they were all even there.

sh*t. He thought. He’d definitely need to apologize for this one.

Ace tuned back in on time to watch Azul continue his way down the table. His smile a little sharper as he glanced over Ace to land his gaze on Yuu. Gloved hands clasped together as though he’d thought of something particularly delightful.

“Dear Yuu, while I have you here might I inquire about a commission?”

“A commission?” Yuu repeated, politely interested.

“I am aware that the Headmage entrusted you to head the photography for the school paper, yes?” Azul leaned forward a little too quickly, “As the proprietor of the school’s sole restaurant, I would very much like the opportunity to engage in school spirit here in the lounge-”

How could someone tag so many words onto a request for free advertisem*nt? Azul could, apparently, and Ace listened with growing distrust. On top of all of his usual distrust for the slimy merman.

“-I believe the school newspaper could bring in plenty of readers with articles on events here in the lounge. So, if the opportunity interests you, I would be very glad to grant you special access in exchange for any photos you take here. Photos you retain exclusive rights to unless purchased by myself or another artistic admirer.”

Admirer. Ace’s mind stuck on that word as his stomach turned.

“That’s very generous of you, Azul.” Ace wanted to cringe at how Yuu said his name, “But I can’t accept that offer. It would be exploitative. Not that I won’t take requests, but I’ll cover events at the lounge like normal. Journalists are like politicians, gifts will always be painted as bribes to those that disagree with the publisher.”

“I agree,” Riddle cut in, oblivious to how Azul’s serene expression twitched, “It would reflect poorly on our school’s image to have any sponsored content. Even from an establishment within the school.”

“How right you both are, I apologize,” Azul, for what it was worth, had improved in his reaction to a deal falling apart, “I merely hoped to bring more attention to time-honored events and traditions. As you said, Yuu, you are always free to pay admission for the chance to document events here at the lounge. Although it pains me to charge you for anything.”

It was hard to tell if that last part was flattery. Though Ace felt a lot less sick at the idea that it was.

Azul left them a few minutes later after he had done his best to seem like he wasn’t retreating from defeat. With the Housewarden of Octavinelle gone, conversation slowed just enough to bring up the one topic Ace really didn’t want to hear about.

Himself.

“By the way, how are your scratches healing?” Trey asked Ace suddenly, his attention veering away from the rant Cater had been on about MagiTok’s algorithm.

“Scratches?” Riddle interjected, and leaned forward a little to squint at the fine white lines still visible on his arms and face.

“They’re fine.” Ace answered a little too fast as the rest of the table, save for Cater who hid behind his phone, took the time to search him, “I just fell is all.”

“Has Rook asked after you? I mentioned to him that he should after dragging you along like that.” If Trey had any idea what he was doing, it was well-hidden behind a mask of concern.

“Rook?” Epel and Yuu spoke in unison.

Like an overbearing mother, Riddle honed in on the prospective bad influence, “What could you have been doing with Rook that could have possibly left you injured?”

“First of all,” Ace swatted away Deuce’s hand as he poked at a fine scratch on Ace’s cheek, “Not actually injured. We just ran into each other after practice the other day, we talked, I tripped and fell like an idiot, that’s it.”

“You never call yourself an idiot.” Yuu pointed out almost instantly as Grim nodded, back in their lap.

Leave it to the armchair detectives. Ace groaned in frustration, very much over being interrogated everywhere he went.

“Look, it's fine. I ran into a Pomefiore lackey, no offense Epel, then we parted ways. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You said this was after practice, does this have anything to do with Floyd?” Riddle looked deeply displeased as he pressed further.

“Sure, yeah, whatever.” Ace regretted getting boxed in between Deuce and Yuu. “Listen, I got my sh*t rocked in practice today. I’m gonna head out-”

“What was Floyd talking about earlier anyways?” Yuu mused aloud to the table at large, their hand scratching between Grim’s ears as they remained firmly in their seat.

“Who knows!” Ace wanted to throw his hands up in frustration as he pulled his knees up in his seat and hopped over the back of the booth, “Anyways congrats and all, see you guys tomorrow!”

He didn’t waste another second as he made his escape and darted out of the lounge.

“He really has been spending too much time with Floyd.” Yuu grimaced.

Floyd had pushed too far.

Ace never showed up for practice the next day. Something that threw a wrench in Jamil’s line up as he instructed the other’s as team captain. Floyd didn’t show remorse, of course, instead he seemed to be in a better mood than before. As he went through the usual motions, a tune hummed under his breath.

“Crabby’s gonna crack through that thick shell of his.” Was all Floyd said when Jamil confronted him about his heedless teasing, a satisfied sort of smile on his face.

Jamil didn’t push the subject, but the freshman didn’t leave his mind. He was at odds for what to do. Being team captain had been the first taste of true control in his life. Outside of Coach Vargas, the team was his to monitor and control. What did a leader do in this sort of situation?

He wrestled with the thought all the way back to his dorm. His hands tangled in their work as he scowled into the middle distance.

“Are you upset?”

Kalim’s voice was pathetically small as he interrupted Jamil’s internal dilemma. They didn’t speak much anymore when they were alone like this. Jamil had specifically requested it be so after his Overblot. So Kalim was careful with what he thought was important to discuss when there was no one else around to hear.

Which meant, this must have been bothering Jamil more than he had thought. If even Kalim found it clear enough to break their tender silence.

“No.” Jamil replied a little too sharply, and forced himself to take a flatter tone as he continued to rake his fingers through Kalim’s short hair. “No, I’m not upset. Just, considering a problem.”

He looked down in the wake of Kalim’s silence to find his red eyes downcast, focused on the threadbare knees of Jamil’s pants. He’d need to mend those soon.

“It's about Ace,” Jamil sighed into the space around Kalim’s silent prompting, “He skipped practice, and I’m worried Floyd will have made that a habit.”

“Why would he do that?”

Jamil felt his hands spasm in annoyance, but he was careful to still them before he scratched Kalim too harshly, “Because they’re both total idiots.”

“How?” Kalim’s lack of defense for the two made Jamil smile as he watched him roll over in his lap to meet his eyes.

“If I tell you, you’re going to get involved.” Jamil couldn’t wrench the smile from his face in time as Kalim smiled in turn.

“I think you want me involved.”

Ace found that, without club practice in the evenings, he had a lot more time to do his homework.

He’d managed to churn out a whole essay for potions class in the time it took Deuce to return to their dorm room after practice. And while Ace still felt a lingering regret for his behavior the night before, he was in high spirits when Deuce emerged from the shower.

“So, how was the view at practice?” He teased, and earned himself a face full of Deuce’s track jacket.

Deuce decided against the extra few feet to his own bed, and face planted down onto Ace’s bedspread. He laid there like a corpse as Ace finished off the final line of his homework, only to roll over and watch as he stuffed the papers back into his bag.

“Since when do you do homework?”

“Since I value my life,” Ace replied, chipper as he left his desk to sit cross-legged at the head of his bed, “I had time to kill, so I did. End of story.”

“Right,” Deuce mumbled into the covers, “So I’m gonna ask- and don’t hit me- since when are you scared of Floyd?”

“Everyone’s scared of Floyd.” Ace shot back. “Except for Riddle.”

“And Azul ‘n Jade.” Deuce sighed in a way that told Ace he was already half-asleep, “But you’ve never backed down from a fight before, I just don’t get it.”

“Yeah, you don’t.”

“Yuu’s worried about you, you know,” Deuce continued, “Say’s you’ve been avoidin’ them- but really you’ve been avoidin’ all of us…”

The rest of his sentence was unintelligible as he passed out on Ace’s bed. Ace sat there for a few minutes, eyes locked onto the black screen of his phone, before he dropped it onto his bedside table with a sigh.

“Whatever,” He leaned over to turn off the lamp beside his bed, “Goodnight, you big idiot.”

Ace was not avoiding his friends.

To prove it, he sat with them at lunch. Like he always did, because they were his friends and Ace always sat with his friends.

Yes, today was definitely not the first time in the school week that he’d shown up in the lunchroom.

Ace found that his usual spot beside Deuce had now been claimed by Epel, an expected change. For some reason what he had not expected was that the change in relationship status left the only available seat next to Yuu.

Something Ace was totally cool with, because they were his friend and- as he was proving right then and there to Deuce- he always sat with his friends.

“What’s with that sleazy smile?” Grim asked as Ace sat down next to them, lost in his own world.

“He says he’s proving me wrong.” Was all Deuce said before he started eating.

“Well make him knock it off, he’s givin’ me the jeebies.” Epel drawled as a familiar figure approached their table, “Hey Sebek.”

“Good noon to you all, my human companions- and Jack!” Sebek announced as he sat down between Jack and Yuu, “I apologize for my lateness, his majesty required my aid. Tell me, have I missed anything of importance?”

“Ace is on the verge of a mental breakdown.” Yuu told him with all the concern of someone describing the weather.

“Ah, so nothing has changed then in my absence.” Sebek nodded, “That is good to hear.”

“Do I need to hit him?” Jack asked some time into their lunch, “He looks broken.”

“I can hear you all, you know.” Ace responded at last as he pulled himself out of his own head, “Assholes.”

“A crude remark,” Sebek leaned into Yuu as he attempted to whisper, “I believe he is recovering.”

“For the last time, I am not injured.”

“Tell that to the limp that walked in after ya.” Epel shot back, and Jack covertly covered his laughter behind a cough.

Ace put his head in his hands and groaned, “Is my suffering really so amusing? I might just cry.”

“Sarcasm.” Sebek noted dutifully, “He should be healed within the week at this rate.”

“Your concern for my well being is touching.” Ace continued to talk to the table between his hands, “Maybe the power of friendship will get Floyd off my ass.”

“If he is ‘on your ass’ as you say, should you not be seeking support for this foe?” Sebek asked with a sharp sniff, “Clearly, your physicality alone is not a guarantee of victory. Allies would be a wise choice.”

“Wow, thanks Shakespeare, I’d never thought of that.”

“Who’s Shakespeare?” Epel and Jack asked at the same time.

“I know this!” Deuce snapped his fingers, before his confidence left him as quickly as it had come, “He’s a, uhm, a King?”

Deuce looked at Yuu for confirmation, only to exclaim his disappointment as they shook their head.

“Actually he’s a poet, but you were close this time!” Yuu gave an encouraging smile.

“Fear not, Deuce. The figures of Yuu’s homeland evade even my scope of knowledge.” Sebek offered him a consolatory clap on the shoulder as he shook his fist in frustration, “At this rate, I fear I shall never memorize the many great feats of Kanye West.”

“Isn’t that guy a politician?” Epel muttered as he picked cherry tomatoes off of his plate.

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” Yuu sighed.

Ace’s last class of the day was potions. Which meant that, once again, he was surrounded by arguments.

“Your feeble human mind is wrong,” Sebek asserted, “This so-called Swift Tailor could not possibly hold a candle to his majesty.”

“Well you ain’t heard Yuu talk about her yet then.” Epel snapped back as he stirred their shared cauldron, “Yuu says billions listen to her every year. That’s gotta account for something. When’s the last time you saw over a couple hundred thousand at a royal coronation?”

“Hah! I have not lived long enough to witness a coronation in the Briar Valley! Your weak human lineages could never inspire their people as our queen has!”

Ace decided to tune them out as he re-read a passage in the textbook on the table. His own cauldron was shared with Yuu, who had put Grim on stir duty so that he would not eat their ingredients. They were silently chopping up mandrake root to add next, patient as Ace read the same passage one more time.

“I don’t think the page can turn on its own.” Yuu teased lightly.

“Really? I was gonna try asking nicely next.”

Yuu smiled at that, and returned to adding the mandrake root one at a time. They were methodical in the action, adding each root piece evenly in a clockwork motion as the textbook had said they should. Ace waited until they had the last piece in hand, before he flipped over to the next page in their book.

“Okay, now we wait for it to yellow. Then add glovewart.”

“How much?”

Ace scanned the passage again and sighed, “It doesn’t say. Maybe-?”

A muted boom rang out around the classroom to shake the workstations. Ace caught his phone as it rattled off the edge of the table, and looked back up in time to find Yuu holding Grim by his ears to keep him from falling into the cauldron. He pocketed his phone and grabbed Grim by his middle to sit him back down on the desk.

“Thank you, Ace.” Yuu breathed as they dropped back down from their tip-toes.

They both looked over with the rest of the class to locate the defective potion. Professor Crewel was already at the workstation, impatient as he waved a hand to clear the smoke. Jack and Deuce were revealed from the smog, their goggles covered in a black film. Jack had his ears pinned back, a pinch of glovewart in his hand still, as Deuce doubled over coughing.

“Okay, so not that much.” Yuu said, and Ace snorted.

“Hah! Our station would never make such a foolish mistake!” Sebek emerged back from behind his own workstation, Epel shielded in his arms and desperately trying to escape his grasp.

“Hands off, knight boy.” Epel snarled, squirming to freedom like a caged possum. “I’m a taken man.”

Ace tuned them back out again as he and Yuu managed to scrape together a passable potion and high-fived over the solid B- they received from Professor Crewel as he made his final rounds about the room. The bell rang as they finished returning the ingredients and protective gear to its place in the class. Ace could feel the indent in his hair where the goggles’ band had been, and raked his fingers through his hair erratically as he followed Yuu to where Deuce and the others lingered by the door.

“Guess you’re skipping practice again?” Deuce asked, arms folded across his chest.

“What’s it matter?” Ace replied, defensive, before he toyed with the strap of his bag, “But yeah, probably.”

Deuce looked like he was going to press the issue, before Yuu cut in.

“If you’re not busy, me and Grim were gonna do a grocery run today,” Yuu smiled, “Wanna join? We could use the extra hands.”

“Sure.” Ace shrugged, attempting to be nonchalant as he received disappointed looks from the other guys.

Their group split at the main entry hall of the school. With Sebek headed west for his equestrian club and Jack, Epel, and Deuce headed south for the sports field. Ace lingered at Yuu’s shoulder and busied himself with his phone as they waved their friends off and headed down the main street for Sam’s shop. They walked in silence for the most part, until they passed the statues of the great seven and Yuu stopped to let Grim jump down from their shoulders.

“Are you okay?” They asked quietly as they watched Grim walk ahead, his fiery ears flickering as he bounded along.

“Peachy.” Ace responded, harsher than he meant to.

Yuu stopped on the street just ahead of him and turned around. Hands on their hips.

“Okay, I’ve had it.” They started in that tone that warned him they were about to go full counselor mode. “You’ve been dodging that question all week- ah, don’t start and say you haven’t- I know you.”

“Come on, Prefect, you’re not gonna lecture me are you?” He gave a nervous chuckle, a hand back against his hair as he gave it a ruffle.

“I’m not trying to lecture you. I’m trying to talk to you.”

They stepped forward and reached as if to grab his wrist. He took a step back.

“I’m fine, seriously, it’s not a big deal.” Ace tried to hide his sigh with a smile as he gestured vaguely, “Floyd’s just being pissy, like usual. He’ll get over himself eventually, but in the meantime I’d like to not walk around campus like a bruised orange. So I’m giving him space, isn’t that what you would tell me I should do anyways?”

“And what Trey said about Rook?”

“He cornered me after practice to tell me- well, show me- about Deuce and Epel.” Ace could at least be honest about that with Yuu. “Creepy, I know, twist my arm over it later, but I think he thought I was worried I resented him or something.”

Yuu gave him a look.

“Which I obviously don’t!” Ace put his hands in front of him as if to block a hit, “Yikes, don’t tell me I seem like that much of an ass…”

They resumed their walk as Grim stopped some feet ahead. The reason for his stop revealed as a familiar figure stepped out from the narrow path they intended to take to Sam’s.

“Grim!” Kalim bounded over to the little monster to scoop him up into an embrace, his ruby eyes cast out to snap onto them both, “Yuu! Ace! Wow, this is awesome timing!”

“Hello, Kalim,” Yuu smiled as they both neared where the Housewarden had Grim trapped in a hug, “Were you just at Sam’s?”

Ace wanted to say the timing was too convenient. He wanted to be suspicious that Jamil had enlisted Kalim to catch him skipping practice and distribute some sort of punishment. After the morning he’d shared with Scarabia’s Housewarden the day before, however, he just couldn’t bring himself to think of Kalim as nearly so underhanded. Like come on, the guy was way too nice for that.

“Yep!” Kalim’s voice pulled Ace back out of his own head as he continued the conversation with Yuu, “Jamil was all like ‘if you want to throw a surprise party you’re setting it all up this time” and so I-”

“Wait,” Yuu tilted their head to the side, “Surprise party?”

Ace pulled out his phone, eager to escape what he suspected was an approaching invitation to help. He had a notification from his group chat with Floyd and Jamil. The message was from Floyd. On a whim he opened it, glanced at the photo, and abruptly fumbled with his phone as he backed out to stare holes into a meme from Cater instead.

“Okay! Sounds great!” Kalim began to walk away, hands in the air as he waved them goodbye, “See you guys tomorrow then!”

Wait. What?

Ace could not recall accepting Kalim’s party invite, and yet he found himself inside the Scarabia dorm that next evening. Yuu, being the titular Prefect that they were, had strong-armed him into attending in a guilt-trip worthy of Riddle. Seriously- those two were such pains when it came to formalities.

So there he was, leaned against a far corner of the room with his eyes on the silk banners and paper lanterns strung across the ceiling overhead. The many open-air arches and windows of the dorm let in the stars strewn across the inky night sky outside. Though the warm orange glow of the great-room drowned out their winking glow. Still, if he squinted over the crowd of guests and Scarabian dorm members, he caught glimpses of a full moon.

Ace regretted coming at all. Jamil, despite his words to Kalim, was busy serving food at the banquet table and fixing decorations to pay him any mind. He hadn’t seen Deuce or Epel at all. Honestly, he was pretty sure they’d both ditched the crowds already. Jack was serving as their distraction for Vil and Rook, and Sebek had last been seen hauling his unconscious upperclassmen back to their own dorm. Which left him alone in his corner like an imitation Shroud as he rolled a can of energy drink between his hands.

He could see Yuu through the crowd, stood by one of the banquet tables, their smile no longer just polite as they laughed along with Riddle at something Kalim had said. He watched for a while longer as solitude chafed at his patience for the whole night. How could they do it so easily? Talk and laugh like there wasn’ anything wrong-

Right, because there wasn’t anything wrong. Not for them. Not for anyone but Ace.

Floyd sidled up behind Yuu and Riddle, only to part them with a hand on each respective shoulder as he broke Riddle from the small circle to pull him onto the dance floor. Riddle’s place was swiftly overtaken by Azul, who murmured something in Yuu’s ear that was unintelligible from where Ace glowered across the room. Unnoticed.

He looked away and sat his untouched drink down on a nearby table as he pushed off the wall and slipped away through the crowd. He shoved his hands in his pockets in time to shoulder one of Cater’s clones, but when his upper classmate's copy called after him, he ducked his head and ran until he found himself out of the room and down an empty hallway.

He slowed, but kept going until the party behind him was barely a sound in the air. He wandered aimlessly down another hallway that opened at the end into a carved balcony, and stepped out into the night air. His elbows on the stone rail as he hunched over to run his fingers through his hair.

Floyd was right, as much as Ace wanted to vomit at the thought. His clubmate was more observant than he gave him credit for. Or maybe Ace was just that obvious in how totally delusional he was.

He had it bad for his friend, one of his best friends, and there was no way in hell he could act on it.

How could he? Yuu was perfect. A model student. A prefect on par with a Housewarden. They were calm, dedicated, and intelligent. They were everything, and he was just… Ace. Some background idiot just barely sane enough to recognize he didn’t stand a chance against a guy like Azul.

His hands untangled from his hair to cross on the balcony railing as he leaned forward, his gaze distant as he stared into the dark horizon that rose and fell with the sand dunes. Ace could have sworn or kicked something out of frustration, but he couldn’t bring himself to do either of those things. He couldn’t even laugh himself out of his own pity as he leaned forward in an effort to not slump over. Exhaustion and self-loathing equal weights against his back.

Right, he’d hit the nail on the head. He wasn’t anything special. He couldn’t be all-powerful, or rich, or even all that nice. He was average, but he knew one thing. He wouldn’t compete for Yuu, not ever.

He wouldn’t allow himself to put that burden on them. Not when he knew he would get over himself eventually. If he gave it enough time and space, he might even be happy for Yuu- and whoever they picked.

Maybe.

Ace groaned into his hands at the thought. He wished that it wasn’t so late, or he’d just call his brother. It would give Pip a chance to ease off his studies for university, a chance to laugh at his younger brother for putting his heart before his head like always. Pip would know what to do, he’d be able to give Ace some advice to get over this little crush before it ruined one of the closest bonds he’d ever had.

Ace reached for the phone in his pocket and turned it on. His thumb hovering over his brother’s contact as footsteps clacked against the stone hallway behind him. He turned the screen off, but did not turn as someone came up behind him. He half-expected Cater from how he’d ran him over, or maybe Floyd coming to gloat, but instead it was the last person he wanted to see.

“Didn’t think I’d find you out here,” Yuu gave a small sort of smile as they leaned against the railing beside him, “Floyd?”

“Nah,” Ace resisted the urge to rub his forearms as he trained his eyes back on the horizon, “Just felt like getting away.”

“I feel that.” Yuu sighed and put a hand on their chin, “Azul’s gotten so intense about sponsoring the school paper, I had to throw Jamil to the wolves just to escape.”

“Mm, wonder why.” Ace tried failed to keep the resentment out of his tone.

He almost expected Yuu to reply. Whether in an oblivious remark or a confession for the sea-bound Housewarden, he could not say. Yet he was surprised with silence as they stood there, inches apart at the shoulder. The air full of unspoken things Ace knew better than to say.

Warm fingertips pressed against the center of his wrist to pry his hand from where it gripped his other arm. He startled, but Yuu slipped their hand into the space against his before he could think to pull away. Their fingers locked with his in a gentle squeeze that pulled for his attention like fire. Their smile twinkled like the stars.

“Thank you, by the way,” Yuu started softly, “For showing restraint for Epel and Deuce. That was what I wanted to say, before Kalim showed up.”

“Come on,” Ace felt his hand spasm as he cracked a hint of a smile, “I’m not that bad.”

“You literally punched Riddle in the face during a magic duel.” Yuu refuted with a slight snort.

“He insulted you.”

“Is that all it takes?” Yuu let out a near silent laugh.

“Yes.” Ace said in a low tone, his response immediate.

Every breath between their words seemed to stretch an eternity as Ace counted down the seconds until Yuu would speak again. They didn’t and instead pulled away, hand still molded to his, until they both stood in the center of the balcony. Ace felt his heartbeat hammer in his throat as he realized it was too late to pretend there wasn’t a leash around his heart when it came to Yuu.

They take his other hand, and he does not pull away.

Yuu looks almost ethereal in the moonlight. Their appearance is not noticeably different from anyone else, yet the otherworldly aura around them seems intent to never leave their eyes as they hold Ace’s gaze.

“Oh, you’re going to hate me for this.” Yuu sighed and closed the distance between them.

It wasn’t as though Ace lacked experience. He’d had his first kiss in middle school. That hadn’t been anything special, more awkward than anything. The way all things between two dumb, inexperienced, middle schoolers were. He realized now however, with Yuu so close he could feel their breath on his skin, that he wasn’t prepared at all for how it felt to not just want to kiss someone- but to need it.

Ace couldn’t think. His mind was nothing but a static buzz as he fell away into the anticipation. His hands pointlessly empty as Yuu let go to reach up for his shoulders. He wanted to touch them again, to throw all caution to the wind and truly hold them, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. As if the moment might break apart if he reminded Yuu who he was. That he was nothing but their stupidly average best friend.

“SHRIMMMM-PY!”

Thunderous footfalls shattered the Ace over the head with hyperawareness. His hands found Yuu’s shoulders in the same moment they moved to pull away, which left them in a sort of deadlock less than a foot apart. Though it felt like miles in comparison from the centimeters that had just been between their lips and his.

Ace glared at the rapidly approaching blur of blue and black. Floyd sprinted down the hallway in record time to lunge at them both, his gangly arms deceptively strong as he snatched them both into an embrace that was half-hug half-chokehold.

“Ack! Get off you big idiot!” Ace slapped at the arm around his neck, tempted to bite Floyd’s shoulder in some sort of retaliation for his man-handling.

“Awwww! You’re welcome, Crabby!” Floyd giggled as he picked them both up off the ground and dropped them back down.

With both of his hands free, Floyd turned them onto Yuu. His fingers intent to ruffle and tease their hair into a tangled mess as he continued on in his scratchy tone, “Hey, hey, Shrimpy. I told you so, right? I told you little Crabby was turnin’ green when he should be red-”

“Floyd,” If Yuu was embarrassed, the expression was hidden behind a curtain of mussed hair, “I didn’t get an answer yet.”

“You told-” Ace could feel his brain reeling back from where it had landed some feet away, “You told HIM? How come Floyd got to know- uh, know-”

By the Seven, he was just as bad as Deuce when it came to this, wasn’t he?

He was spared from floundering his own words, by Floyd of all people. As the merman leaned against Yuu’s head with a single elbow and gave him a disbelieving look.

“You don’t tell your squishy that they're your squishy first, dummy.”

“It's called a crush on land, Floyd.”

“Awe, but that’s dumb.” Floyd shrugged off Yuu’s teachable moment with a slight smirk, “Goldfishie likes being called my squishy. Say ‘is cute.”

Ace decided to move right past that key bit of information, distracted by his own dilemma. That being that Yuu had called what they had a crush. A crush on him, Ace. Like a caveman rubbing two sticks together, he steamed over the thought until it burst into flames in his mind.

“Look! Look! Crabby’s red again!” Floyd pointed and pumped a fist into the air, overjoyed to watch Ace’s meltdown.

He wanted to strangle the man. At that moment, Ace had mentally signed up for a life sentence. Just to rid himself of the invasive merman before him.

More footsteps echoed off the stone around them, one pair methodical and the other infrequent- as though the person was skipping.

He was.

“There you are! Yuu! Ace!” Kalim bounded over, his hands a blur as he clapped excitedly, “Awe, looks like Floyd found you first! And here I thought you were gonna miss your own party!”

“Huh? This was for us?” Yuu blinked, visibly startled at last as they looked between Kalim and Jamil.

The Vice-Housewarden looked less than pleased to join the crowd on the balcony. His arms crossed as he shot Ace a look that told him he would not get away with throttling Floyd that night. A shame, since the freshman was still seriously considering the idea.

“Well of course it was, silly!” Kalim laughed, his hands behind his head as he gave an exaggerated stretch, “I wanted to throw one for Deuce and Epel, but they told me they didn’t want anything flashy. So I picked you two! Isn’t this exciting? We almost never get so many new couples in a year!”

“We’re not a couple!” Ace snapped at the same time Yuu said, “Floyd! You told him?!”

“Eh? Why would I tell Sea Otter?” Floyd stuck out his tongue at Yuu, “It’s no fun to tease someone who’s not involved.”

“Huh? You’re not?!” It was Kalim’s turn to look startled as he glanced between them, “But when you kiss someone-”

“Not everyone dates their first kiss,” Jamil sighed into his hand as it pinched the bridge of his nose, “So naive…”

“Actually,” Yuu raised their hand, polite to a fault even as what was supposed to be a private moment imploded in their face, “We didn’t get to that part yet.”

“WHAT?!” Kalim jumped, genuinely shocked.

“Eh? But I saw you.” Floyd whined and Ace felt his temper pop like a balloon.

“WE DIDN’T GET TO BECAUSE YOU INTERRUPTED, DUMBASS!” Ace shouted at the merman as he threw his hands up in frustration, fueled by the embarrassment that burned beneath his skin.

“So this misunderstanding is your fault, Floyd.” Jamil continued to seek comfort for an oncoming migraine as he shook his head, “What a wasted evening…”

“Hey! It ain’t my fault Crabby’s beyond help!” Floyd defended with a scowl and pointed at Ace as if to accuse him, “My help’s the whole reason dummy here even knew he’d be sad if Shrimpy didn’t like him back.”

“Untrue, Ace has been sulking ever since Azul-” Jamil started as he let go of his face to also point an accusing finger at Ace.

“What’s this have to do with Azul?” Kalim and Yuu asked in tandem.

It was Ace’s turn to put his face in his hands, where he pinched himself between the brows to make sure this was not a particularly horrible nightmare. “I’m going to jump off this balcony. I’m serious, don’t catch me. I want the world to know you’re all to blame.”

“Oh, don’t be sad!” Kalim stepped forward to pat him on the arm in sympathy, “You can try again!”

“Yeah, yeah, go for it Crabby!” Floyd cupped his hands over his mouth to be even louder than normal.

“YOU DON’T GET TO WATCH!”

If you saw the Ramshackle Prefect and Heartslabyul's most notable slacker sneaking out of Scarabia, no you didn’t. And if it was Riddle Rosehearts who asked- you definitely didn’t.

If you saw the left-hand man of Azul Ashengrotto proudly barge back into Scarabia’s party with their Housewarden and Vice in tow to declare himself a miracle worker, yes- you probably did.

The mirror hall was empty when the pair stepped through from Scarabia and out into the dark chamber. Ace was still reeling from the chaotic jumble that was their upperclassmen, and Yuu was silent beside him as they squeezed his wrist. Content to not let go even as the two took careful steps to not trip down off of the mirror’s dais.

Ace cursed himself for the awkward silence. It made him realize how unusual this was for both of them. They never had a gap of uncertainty between them before, usually content to fire off teasing insults and quick jibes until Deuce or someone else broke in to pull them back into the people around them. He wanted to say something to break the tension in the air, but he didn’t trust himself to not turn it all into some stupid joke. He didn’t want to hide from this.

Sometimes, it felt like all he’d ever done was hide. From himself and others. Trapped in the background as nothing but a pierrot while everyone else took center stage.

“I’m sorry.”

Yuu’s voice was barely a whisper, but it echoed off the stone walls around them to rattle in Ace’s head like a clanging bell. He frowned at the sound and looked their way. Yuu had their eyes on the toes of their shoes as they dragged invisible shapes and lines across the cobblestone.

“What makes you say that?” He cringed at the slight crack in his voice, and cleared his throat.

“This was selfish of me,” Yuu stated like it was obvious, as their eyes flicked between his and the floor, “I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t beg for your attention. Not when I could be sent home any day now and-”

Ace might have been an idiot, but in that moment he allowed himself to be completely stupid.

His free hand found the Prefect’s chin, his grip firmer than he intended as he pulled them close and silenced their ramble with a kiss. His mind a blind rush of white noise that only soft, shaky, lips registered against as the world fell away. He broke away long enough to breath out a week's worth of anxieties, before he dove back in for the chance to savor the next with a clear head. All hesitancy tossed aside as he let go of their hand to cup their other cheek as he deepened the kiss. His teeth teasing out a startled noise from the Prefect as he pulled for their bottom lip.

They returned the invitation in earnest, their fingers raised to rake through his hair as arms wrapped around his neck. Electric thrill chased their fingertips at the light touch and made him desperate for more. His hands slipped from their cheeks to thumb along their jaw, fingers fanned out to caress the subtle dip beneath their ears as greed pushed to deepen the pair's embrace.

A treacherous burn in his chest for air pulled them apart, his hands dropping to linger at their collar as he toyed with the fabric. Ace let himself linger on the feel of the fabric for a moment, before the Prefect opened their eyes beneath dark lashes to meet his deep ruby gaze.

“Well,” He smirked, “What do you think? Amazing, I know. Some might even say showstopping-”

“Shut up.” Yuu sighed through a poorly disguised smile.

“Shut me up yourself, coward,” Hand in hand, he pulled them towards a rose-covered mirror, “As long as you’re around I’m your problem, got that?”

“Yeah,” That look in their eyes was something he wouldn’t forget anytime soon, “Got it.”