Chapter Text
Ace in this moment in time was questioning his sanity for more than one reason. All of them involved a certain housewarden of his that’s wormed his way into each and every single crevice of his thoughts. On more than one occasion these past few nights, he was forced to stay awake past three in the morning just being shown more and more absurd fantasies Riddle involved him in. There were some sweet ones in theory, namely dates or being domestic in each other’s dorms, but other times he was left having to go to the bathroom to try and calm himself down from the other’s… vivid imaginations.
Without his consent! He would think this was the worst part of it all, but the harsh reality was actually yet to come when he would go to his potionology classes to see Crewel raise an eyebrow his way and immediately shake his head in response as a negative.
It’s been close to a week of being unintentionally harassed by Riddle and he really doesn’t know if he can handle any more of his rapidly escalating delusions. He still remembers today’s morning introductions.
As he walked out of his dorm earlier than usual (namely to avoid the wave of other students overwhelming his barely awake brain), Ace wandered into the washrooms to see someone else occupying the sink area. A mop of red hair sticking up in absurd angles was a surprising sight to see, but his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat when he noticed the redhead turn his way and blink slowly as if he was also waking himself up. With two blinks, the hazy vision cleared up and the other’s eyes widened in recognition, and a soft smile graced his features.
“Ah, good morning Ace. It’s not often I see you awake this early. I commend you for being so studious recently, I’ve heard Deuce mention that you’ve been going to the library more often in your free time, good job.” Riddle smiled in his direction and Ace couldn’t hide his shock from his face, which made the other laugh at him.
“Hey I’ll have you know I’m always trying to be a good student! I don’t plan on ruining my brother’s legacy here ya know?” The younger grumbled out while walking to the sinks and preparing to wash his face, but had to stop himself for a brief moment to see if the older would be exploding with thoughts like usual. Putting his hair back, he turned on the faucet and let the water run until it was slightly warmed. Turning towards Riddle, he braced himself to receive another brief flash of himself in a compromising position, but-
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Was he finally free after four days of his personalized torture? He couldn’t help but fist pump with the hand Riddle couldn’t see from his angle and began to splash his face with the running water with more enthusiasm than usual. A few droplets reached Riddle’s arm and he heard the other sigh.
“Ace don’t act like an overexcited puppy, you’re getting water everywhere…” Riddle squinted in his direction while adjusting the faucet.
“Mn, he looks even better than usual soaked like that. His hair being pulled back also lets me see his cute forehead, a shame he tries to hide it with his bangs. Maybe we can try hosting another formal event and I can have Cater style it for him.”
His hands jerked slightly as he blinked owlishly towards Riddle and wanted to squeak out a rejection to his plans. When he saw the other jolt in surprise, he could only apologize for startling him before grabbing his towel and rubbing his face so harshly he knew he had reddened his skin with the force. He needed to get out now before things started becoming more absurd.
“Haha yeah you know me, just a little eager to start the day… I guess?” Smooth, real smooth Trappola.
“Well I really need to get started on my um… early start so I guess I’ll see you later housewarden alright?” Ace said while quickly picking up his towel and taking off his hairband, wetting his hair and styling his hair without much care. He felt sweat begin to drip from the back of his neck as Riddle only tilted his head in confusion and offered one nod in response.
“…My apologies, best of luck to you then…” Riddle awkwardly responded back, tucking his own hair into its usual position before collecting his belongings in his basket and making his way out with Ace.
Ace could only mentally apologize as he power walked back to his dorm and change out of his pajamas, screaming to himself as he remembered how Riddle looked like HE was the kicked puppy here. He must have really been trying to praise Ace for being earlier than usual.
Sorry Riddle-
When he came back to his senses, he took one quick glance towards Yuu and lower down to see if Grim was with him. Not seeing the usual suspect, he quirked a brow up and Yuu could only give him a deadpan expression back, ‘He slept in and so we’re safe… for now...Crewel and I talked and he gave him permission to just for today since it involved making another potion blueprint, but I do have to help him write out a report for this.’
It wasn’t much of a positive knowing he’d be stuck hearing Grim whine later on how hungry he was, but for now he was glad he didn’t have to become a victim in his mishap again. So he took what he could as a win and braced himself for another hour of trying not to think about the horrors of later.
-
“So I heard from a little bluebird that you’ve been avoiding a certain… canary recently.” Yuu hummed out after class, giggling to himself at his own joke.
Ace groaned in response, because of COURSE Deuce would blab to the worst person in all of this, and worst of all was knowing that Deuce had zero idea on what was actually affecting Ace. He would only get smacked with a pillow in response for all the times he would even think Ace was acting weird, but never voiced out what he thought was off.
Bless his patience because if he let it slip, the goody two-shoes would definitely have gone to Riddle and asked how to fix it, and that would have lead to Riddle finding out why Ace was sort-of-but-not-really-avoiding him (okay he was avoiding him hardcore, but he didn’t want to sound mean over it, sue him).
On one hand, ignorance was bliss, but in the other, it was hell knowing the only two people who knew what he was afflicted with were his professor, and a brat who loves to pry into his every thought like a therapist. He hated how much of a comfort it was to have Yuu be the only one to really understand him right now.
With a light shove he could only grumble and try to step on Yuu’s foot.
“Oi oi- Just wanted to figure out that’s got my buddy all wound up~” He easily dodged the other’s assault to place his arm around Ace’s shoulder to bump their heads together.
‘No seriously dude you look like shit today, I noticed your eye bags from when you first came into class so how about we hangout in my dorm today and you can actually tell me what’s up.’ Ace narrowed his eyes because leave it to Yuu to go all big brother mode on him and notice the minor details like his complexion.
“You’re so gross trying to act all nice with me.” Ace slapped his hand away to try and walk faster in front of him and hope he lost him in the sea of students going to their next lectures. He heard the other huff before repeatedly apologizing to others as he tried to catch up.
“My dear darling Ace! It’s the power of love that makes me worry for you!” Yuu sing-songed back and Ace could only smack him on the chest once he said that, once again cementing the fact that he really was such a lost cause for thinking that Yuu was actually looking out for him. Of course it was at his own expense- public humiliation with Yuu orchestrating the worst theatrics for added effect.
“Shut up!” Ace barked back, stomping away and in his anger, didn’t realize that the person he was avoiding had seen them together.
In his fit, there weren’t any tiny voices muddling themselves in the crevices of his mind, and he had just missed out someone’s heart nearly breaking.
-
“Alright mister grumpy pants, what’s been making you clench so tightly recently around Riddle? Don’t think I haven’t noticed his kicked puppy eyes in your direction when you avoid eye contact with him.” Yuu sat cross-legged on his room’s floor while hugging a pillow and looking up at Ace who was staring at the new stain on the wall. Must have been a can of tuna with the way it’s so perfectly…circular. Ace mused to himself, zoning out on the bedding.
‘Oi oi I’m not here as decoration you know?!’ A hand jabbed at his rib cage and he yelped as he rolled on his side to glare down at Yuu.
“Dude?! That was uncalled for!” He bit out, wiggling deeper into the bed to avoid another surprise attack. Yuu rolled his eyes before he braced his elbows on the mattress and pouted in his direction.
“You weren’t listening to me! I was asking about your problem with your housewarden!” He furrowed his brows at the memory and made sure to think even harder for Ace to materialize the instances of avoidance he had in mind. With the images flashing in his mind, Ace could only frown deeper as he realized just how badly it had gotten and he shooed Yuu away from his bed.
“It’s pretty creepy seeing how often you look at us to have those things automatically on-hand -” He started.
“-Well why wouldn’t I? I’m the all-seeing being hereeeee, I see what others don’t want to acknowledge~” Yuu snapped his finger guns in Ace’s direction and giggled when the younger gave him the most soured expression he could muster on three hours of sleep.
“Why did I even bother following you here if all you’re going to do is keep annoying me? I should just go back to my dorms and make Riddle feel even worse for thinking about me so much, wait-” Ace realized he misspoke the moment the finger guns went down and he heard Yuu scramble to his feet, dropping his pillow in surprise.
“No shit really?”
“Um…” Ace could only try to flip the other way so he couldn’t see the other’s shit eating grin, but he knew he was in the lion’s den by the way Yuu easily grabbed his shoulder to keep him in place. Damn his strategic bed placement making it easier to do that.
“So you’re telling me… you’ve been avoiding Riddle because of how often he thinks of you when you’re… around him?” He heard Yuu hum out, the silence afterwards feeling damn near suffocating to him.
With a sigh, he lifted his upper body off the bed and shooed Yuu back onto the floor and scratched the back of his head as he figured out a way to string his thoughts together. Flashes of Riddle being mortified stuck in his brain as he looked down at his legs flayed out on the bed.
“You wouldn’t get it man, he’s practically obsessed over me and I have no idea on how to tell him ‘Hey housewarden, can you tone down that imagination of yours at night, it’s so loud in my brain that I can’t sleep since I’ve been able to read all your thoughts this past week, thanks!’ I’d rather not get kicked out of my dorm because he gets that embarrassed realizing the truth, thank you very much.”
Thinking back to the mortifying thoughts of Riddle and him sharing a bed together after… a lively and intimate night together was oddly enough one of the better thoughts he was shown in these past few days. It was just them laughing and Riddle poking his cheek as Ace tried to hide his expression in a pillow. Just remembering Riddle’s expression was enough to make Ace’s cheeks redden and flop back into Yuu’s pillow in mortification. He groaned and could only feel Yuu’s weight dip next to him and ruffle his hair, giggling like an annoying schoolgirl all the while.
“Aww you guys really do fit the married vibe~ You’ve just been playing hard to get then, I can tell by the way you didn’t say it was a gross thing to imagine~” He teased, laughing when Ace could only bury his face deeper into the pillow. He didn’t hear Yuu’s camera shutter nor him saying he was going to step out for a bit. He could only continue to sink his head deeper into the pillow as he continued to spiral downwards as he finally let what Yuu said sink into his brain.
Maybe a nap is what I need to clear up my mind.
With that, Ace closed his eyes and let sleep wash over him, maybe he had a dream where a red-headed queen and his card soldier share a moment together in a rose-filled garden.
-
“-Ace?” A voice spoke while gently nudging his shoulder. He continued to snore as the voice grew a bit louder. “Ace!” A sharper tone came out and Ace jolted awake, blinking away his fatigue as he looked at his surroundings. He was somehow back in Heartslabyul, but not in his usual dorm’s bed. This one was a bit fancier than what he was used to, but it had a familiar scent to it, roses was it?
“You finally woke up? Yuu texted me telling me to pick you up since you slept far longer than Yuu was willing to let you stay.” A voice next to him spoke in a leveled tone, and Ace could only swallow his spit as he saw Riddle staring at him from the desk near his bed, one leg crossed over the other and hands clasped together on his upper knee.
Even without the afternoon lighting creating an ethereal look to Riddle, Ace could once again acknowledge his housewarden’s attractiveness.
“Good afternoon Riddle?” He lamely said, avoiding the other’s sharp gaze at his figure.
“I’d tell you to not bother others with your issues, but this is the one time I’ll let it pass since Yuu told me specifically to ask you on the details. He said it had to do with the… situation between you and I recently.” Riddle’s voice softened at the end of his statement as he looked back at Ace with an awkward smile, the expression making something in Ace’s lower stomach tangle uncomfortably.
I hate seeing him look so vulnerable like that. He gripped the sheets underneath him while holding his breath.
We’re… friends. He was honest with me so I should do the same for him-
Ace couldn’t help himself from speaking up immediately afterwards.
Here goes nothing.
“Well he can’t seem to keep his mouth shut so I’ll just tell you what’s up. I’ve been able to read every single thought you’ve had this past week and first off: wow. Your imagination’s insane housewarden. I really didn’t want to know that you thought the dorm uniform made me look delectable. I also didn’t want to be forced to listen to your made up songs about me, I’ve tried really hard not to sing ‘Lips as fair as cherries, drinking away the summer fatigue.’ around you because what the hell? I’ve been wanting to ask you what the fuck you meant by that but I would have sounded even more insane than I usually do. There’s also the fact that you’re practically undressing me in your mind when I come back in the afternoon after classes are over, and making us wear matching loungewear? I really don’t want to think back on the times you have those vivid nights, I can’t believe you’d do all those things to me and think I’d be a pillow princess-” He continued to ramble, lips just continuing to speak as he for sure felt his face reddening in realization that he was telling Riddle what he’d been dealing with. He closed his eyes as he continued to recite each and every fantasy, the faucet was already left open so why not let the water run all the way out.
“-So that’s why I need to strangle Grim the next time I see him because he basically forced me to hear people’s thoughts, but it was only really limited to people I was closer to and you, for some reason, seemed to really occupy my brain’s bandwith…” He finished off while flopping down and starfishing on the other’s bed, letting the plushness of the pillows and quilt hopefully absorb him.
Riddle for his part, never broke his stream of consciousness and sat still on his chair, merely absorbing each and every word Ace spoke.
He heard the other sigh for a moment before the wood of the chair squeaked on the floor and footsteps neared his side. Ace turned his head to the side to see Riddle look down at him with an indescribable expression, but with reddened cheeks. He tried to open his mouth and speak, but nothing came out other than a puff of air. Closing and opening like a goldfish, he growled in frustration before pushing Ace to the side to lie down by his side.
Ace nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Riddle reach for a pillow to yell inside of it.
‘YOU DIDN’T PLAN ON TELLING ME ANY OF THIS AT ALL UNTIL THE CURSE WORE DOWN?!’ Riddle’s voice echoed in his mind and Ace winced as he heard the other’s voice boom.
“Ah, well that was the initial plan since I had thought the spell would only last like two days.” Ace said, mentally face palming himself at his own confession.
“Ugh, you’re the actual worst.” He heard Riddle’s muffled voice from the pillow speak up.
“Well I’m not the one making googly-eyes at a card soldier!” Ace refuted, blushing again at his words.
A hand smacked his shoulder.
“Ow?! What was that for?” Ace whined out as he rubbed the sore spot.
“That’s for making me even more worried than usual over you! I would have tried to help Crewel find a cure if you actually told me the truth from the start!” Riddle growled out, his face completely reddened in mortification. He continued his assault on Ace with the pillow, hitting him on the side without care for the younger’s whines telling him to stop. At some point, Riddle had pushed Ace down and held his hands over his head.
Ace felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead onto the pillows underneath him.
Oh no.
“So you had more or less heard my innermost thoughts and never once thought to tell me about them hm? Never once did it cross your mind to be honest? I think the most telling thing I’ve heard right now is not an ounce of disgust of my object of affection towards you, but fascination in your voice as you listed each and every single one of my desires. Now my dear heart soldier, what does that mean for you? Do you… crave my attention?” Riddle spoke lower, leaning into Ace’s personal space and the ginger could feel his heart thudding in his ears as he locked his gaze with the other boy. Ruby reds staring up at stormy greys, with desire clearly expressed in them.
He felt himself whine underneath Riddle’s grip and gasped when Riddle released one hand to hold the underside of his chin.
“What is it Ace? Cat got your tongue now?” Riddle teased, licking his lips like a cat who got its milk.
He could only accept his fate as he stared back into Riddle’s grey eyes and then down at his lips, not missing the smirk slowly forming on the other’s expression as he leaned down to kiss Ace’s cheek.
“Good boy.” Riddle smiled down as he saw Ace’s flushed face and dazed eyes, once again focused on his lips as he went back down to leave another kiss by his neck.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad keeping the truth a secret.
Maybe he was nice enough to let Riddle play out his wildest fantasies tonight, even if it meant Ace would have to deal with Yuu’s teasing tomorrow morning.
He didn’t want to admit desperation and hunger looked good on his housewarden.
Especially once it concerned him.
-
When morning would come and Ace woke up to the sound of nothing, he preferred to keep that to himself just for now. He curled himself more into Riddle's hold and closed his eyes again, glad that it was a weekend. Nuzzling into the other's hair, he didn't catch Riddle smiling in his sleep.