Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Today was going to be a great day

One of the best days of his life

That's what Deuce Spade was thinking when he approached the sofa at the Heartslabuyl common room, the sofa where his best friend and crush was sitting, none other than Ace Trappola. Now, some would say, Deuce, what do you see in him? And well the blue haired boy will get nervous, not because he doesn’t know, but because he doesn't want other people to get on his business. Deuce fell in love with Ace the same day that he screamed at him for getting in the way of Vil's attack without knowing fully if his UM was going to work. That same night Ace had crawled into his bed and hugged him, telling him to never do that again. Deuce woke up the next day feeling fuzzy and weird, later he realized, that he felt that whenever he looked at the Heart.

Deuce might be a bit oblivious (VERY IN SOME PEOPLE'S OPINION) But he actually knew how to read signs... most of the time....
.....

OKAY, scratch that, some times. But he was painfully sure that Ace felt something more than friendship towards him. The same boy that always helps him with homework, even if he doesn’t fully get it himself, the same boy that always asks him how he's doing after track practice, the same boy that gets him something to eat when he forgets, because, as the new Vice housewarden of Heartslabyul, he has to make sure that everything is perfect, and it gets tiring. But Ace is always there for him, and the Spade is not that far behind.

Deuce is always looking out for Ace, he's there everytime the heart wakes uo in the middle of the night because of his nightmares. The spade helps him calm down and allows Ace ti drag him to his bed to cuddle, Ace swears he does it because the spade is Nightmare-proof and Deuce loves the feeling of Ace's heart against his back. He knows that Ace is one of the most important people in his life, and he wants that to last a long time.

Deuce stands a bit behind the couch, inhales deeply and looks at the redhead

-Hey, um.. Ace?-

-Yeah, Juice?- Deuce smiled at the nickname, he claims to hate it, but it made him feel warm, because Ace chose that nickname for him.

-Would you like to go out tonight?-

- Uh-Huh, sure - Deuce smiled.

- Great! Let's meet at 8pm in that restaurant you told me about - Deuce couldn’t contain his excitement.

-Okay - Ace didn’t look at him, but Deuce scratched it as him being embarassed that the spade had made the first move.

- Okay! I'll head out to class now, see you later! - Deuce knew he was red, but he was too happy to care, he began running to his room to grab his things.

He didn’t notice the trio of upperclassmen walking towards him until he crashed into Trey. As both fell into the floor into a tangle of limbs, Riddle went to help him up while Cater laughed and helped the clover up.

-I'm so, so sorry, Trey-senpai, i wasn’t looking.-

-It's fine Deuce, don’t worry - Trey said with his classic "Big Brother" smile, that became a grin soon after - We know that inviting your crush on a date can get you a bit flustered.-

-Trey, stop harassing my Vice - said the housewarden with a smile. Deuce was now well aware of how probably his face was as red as the roses in the garden.

- Awww, Deuceyy!! You're so cute RN!!- Cater side-hugged him while taking a picture of both of them. When he saw the Spade's nervous face he smiled warmly - Don’t worry, i'm not going to post it, i'll just keep it as a reminder of the day Adeuce finally got their shit together!- Deuce was pretty sure his face reached a new shade of red capable of putting the housewarden's hair to shame.

-You guys heard me? You heard it?- Deuce asked once he regained his senses, not sure of the answer he wanted to hear.

-Yes-

-Yup!-

- Every word-

The spade put his face in his hands as he moaned from embarassement, not wanting to look at his senpais in the face. He had to grab his things and head out to class, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He wanted to ask them something, something that could maybe let his insecurities calm down just for one day. He wanted everything to be perfect tonight, he wanted Ace to enjoy himself, and to love him.

-Do you guys think.... Do you think he'll enjoy it? The date?- Deuce finally looked them in their eyes, and saw the surprise in their faces, but it was no surprise that Trey was the first to move towards him.
-I'm sure he will, It's Ace, everything that has YOU in it will make him happy - Deuce felt his cheeks go warm.

-Look, Acey likes you, of that i'm 100% sure, and this pining has gone for ages now, but i know he'll like it, no, he won’t like it- He'll love it! - Cater's joy was always contagious, Trey grabbed his hand and brought in to his lips, Deuce smiled at the couple' show of affection and looked at the remaining person in this conversation.

-Deuce, I want you to know that i'm proud of you, Both of you, and i don't mean this lightly, but if you do it from the heart, he will love it, just as i know that you love him. - The housewarden's smile was warm and full of pride.

Deuce hugged Riddle, who froze at first, but gave in at the end. He thanked the three and ran to his room to get his things. A part of him was still unsure and worried about everything, but he decided to ignore it for the day, he had a date tonight, A DATE WITH ACE! -Take that, past me.- he said under his breath while heading to the mirror.
________________

As he walked on main street he looked at the statue of the Queen of hearts, if it wasn’t for Grim and Ace burning it, he may have never met Ace the way he does now. He smiled at that,who would have thought he would end up falling for the boy he had summoned a Cauldron at?.

He was in his own world and didn’t hear the lavander-hair boy walking towards him.

-Good Morning Deuce, Fancy seeing you here- Epel looked tired and annoyed - Save me - he whispered once he was close enough.

Deuce nodded and grabbed his arm and started to walk with Epel towards the main building while covering him from the line of sight of the trees -Let me guess, Rook?-

-Rook. Vil made sure to get him to follow me to make sure i was acting as a "proper Pomefiore Housewarden"... Proper... PROPER MAH BUTT, AH DO WHAT AH WANT, ermm, well.. Dang it.- Deuce laughed at his friend's antics.

-Epel, Guess what?-

-Don’t tell me, you asked Ace on a date?- the Housewarden laughed at Deuce's shocked face.

-HOW!? it happened at least an hour ago.. if Ortho put cameras in the dorms again...-

-Nah, don’t worry about that, Silver made him deactivate all of them. Cater is the one to Blame in here. He told the other fourth years in their groupchat and Vil was very happy for you, believe me. -He patted his shoulder - Oh, he told me to tell you to call him after class, your brother wants all the details. - Epel laughed again at the spade's horrified face, and Deuce found himself mirroing that expression.

It was a surprise when his mother had told him she was seeing someone on winter break in his first year, and more of a surprise when she told him they had arranged a dinner for them to meet each other's kid, he was afraid that he would mess it up for his mom, so in the middle of his breakdown,he called Ace.

The Heart helped him calm down and forget about his problems for a while, he helped him get ready and put on a nice outfit, and orepared him for different conversation topics, which ended in more laughing than talking. Deuce was even more nervous when his mother told him the guy she was seeing was a bit famous he felt his soul leaving his body a bit. Ace helped him all night, they texted until they had reached the restaurant and before saying goodbye, Ace told him he would always be there for him, Deuce had felt his heart beating faster, and this time it wasn’t because of the dinner.

When they reached the table he almost passed out rught there. The one in the table was none other than Eric Venue, and the one at his side, his son, was his upperclassmen, the same one that had almost killed him (he alredy forgived him) was none other than Vil Schoenheit.

Eric stood up and kissed his mom on the lips (ON THE LIPS), and guided her to her seat. He got infront of him and stretched his hand, he introduced himself but Deuce couldn’t hear anything he was saying, he was more busy staring wide-eyed at Vil, who mirroed his expression. But after a while, when both where sitting and a bit out of shock, they began laughing at the situation.

When they told the couple they laughed too, they also joked about how small the world was, and all four of them where laughing for a while, both Vil and Deuce shared things about NCR and their experiences, their parents faces went trough a lot of different emotions, Shock, Horror, Happiness, Sadness and the most important one, pride. After the dinner, before leaving both parents asked the boys what their thoughts on the relationship were, and Vil and Deuce looked at each other and accepted it, both of then wanted the best for their parent and if this made then happy, they would accept it.

After the okay, and another dinner the following day, Eric invited Dylla and Deuce to live with them. After a long talk between mother and son, they accepted, but they wouldn’t deny that leaving their home was hard, but the memories would always be with them and in the countless of pictures Dylla had.

And after moving with the famous Father-Son duo in the shaftlands, even if they weren’t there most of the time, was nice. Eric took a break from acting to get to know Deuce, and after the summer, the spade saw the man as a father figure. Vil and Dylla had a lot of fun together too, and became close too. At the end of the summer, Vil and Deuce saw each other as brothers, even if it was a bit weird to get used to, they accepted their new dynamic. But Deuce still couldn’t understand from where Vil got his mean side, and that earned him a slap at the head from the blonde young man.

Before coming back to class he asked Vil to hide the fact that they were family, and that their parenst were getting married soon (Which still shocked him). At first Vil thought that he was embarassedz and he was preparing for tearing him a new one, but when Deuce told him it was because he didn’t want to damage his reputation he got mad, not at Deuce, but at whatever thing made him think like that. And after a long fight they reached an agreement, they would hide it from everyone except Riddle and Epel. Riddle, so he could tell him if something happened to Deuce, and Epel in case Riddle was indisposed and because Deuce wanted to annoy him.

Well, back to the present.

Both boys were walking in comfortable silence until Epel'a phone began to ring. The Pomefiore housewarden saw who it was and answered the call with a smile on his face.

-Hey, Sweetheart, How are ya?- Deuce couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but he could imagine Jack's red face and wagging tail while he talked.

-R-really? All four? WITH US!? - Epel was pacing a bit and the card soldier was trying to contain his smile at seeing his friend panicking.

-O-okay, okay. But after it, we'll have some bery deserved alone time, alright?- Jack talked a bit more before saying something that made Epel's face get red as an apple. -I love you too, Jack. Bye- he hung up and looked straight at Deuce's face -Not.A.Word.- The blue haired boy began to laugh at his words -Yeah, Yeah, laugh all you want. Vil 'n Rook invited us along with Leona and Ruggie on a Triple date at the Mostro Lounge. Jack texted our groupchat alredy, he's happy that Leona decided to come today, i am too.- Epel's face was full of admiration, it was no secret that he admired the previous Savannaclaw housewarden, but he also held great respect for the current one, Ruggie Bucchi.

-I'm happy for all of you, I hope you have a good time - he hugged Epel, whose classrom was behind them -But don't forget to tell me if Vil does something embarassing. And you tell us how it went later. - Epel nodded and they parted ways.

Once he reached his classroom, he saw Yuu at the door, they were carrying a note and looking at the sides, they were clearly waiting for something, or someone.

-Hey Yuu, What are you doing?-

-Hey there, Deuce- They didn’t even spare him a glance - I'm waiting for- - Before they could finish the sentence, a flurry of green linghts appeared in front of them , and standing in the middle of them was Malleus Draconia.

-Greeting, Child of Man- the face he had when looking at Yuu was the same one he had when looking at Ace, he knew that the relationship these two have is something beautiful, and he wishes to have the same thing with Ace. -Spade, Greeting to you too-

-Hello, Malleus-Senpai, nice to see you here-

-Horntorn, What did you want to tell me?- Yuu didn’t waste anytime, right to the point. Malleus laughed at their words and began to talk, but Deuce tuned them out. His head was filled with what-ifs, what if the date was a disaster? What if he did something that Ace found stupid and pushed him away? What if he fucked up again and Ace saw that he was nothing more than a delinquent?... but his head also filled with positive things, What if Ace accepted his confession? What if Ace said he loved him back? What if tomorrow, they stopped being only best friends and became boyfriends?

He smiled at that though and saw from the corner of his eye Ace approaching them and freezing upon seeing Malleus, which was a validar reaction. The hearts looked at him and Deuce looked away when he noticed his face was getting warm, he wouldn’t give Ace the pleasure of seeing embarassed.

While both of the boys were each deep in thought, Malleus gave his farewell and just like the way he appeared, he left. He started to walk towards his classroom while Ace and Yuu were behind him catching up. He saw Trein entering the classroom and prepared himself to try and understand everything the teacher would explain.

________________

When the lunch bell rang, he sat down at his table with his friends, ignoring all the couples around. Trey and Cater greeted them while Riddle was deep in a conversation with Floyd. Yuu was sitting beside him with Ace in front of them, Grim was in the prefect's lap munching on some bread.
-So- Began Yuu while looking at him - it looks like we'll have a lovely night, right? - they gave the card soldiers a wink. Deuce looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks.

He was getting pretty nervous and didn’t want to make Ace feel like that too, so he decided to get something to drink. As he stood up he looked for any vending machines not too far from them, and found one near the entrance.

— I-i'm going to grab something to drink— then he looked at the heart - you want something,Ace?-

- Nah, i'm good, Loosey-Deuce - the spade felt his face getting hotter and left quickly, leaving Yuu and Ace to talk between them.

Once he reached the vending machine, he was met with Rook, His brother's boyfriend. Rook grabbed his drink and turned to look at him before leaving.

- Bonjour, Monsieur Spade. I heard about your night plans, i wish you the best of lucks- he gave him a pat on his shoulder with his signature smile on his face and went back to his table, where his queen was waiting for him.

After getting his drink he went back to his table. Rook and him weren’t the best of friends, but they were a bit close thanks to Vil, he knew that he could go to him if he needed something, and he would help him without asking. Once he reached the table he decided to sit beside Ace, and from the corner of his eye he could see the boy getting a bit flustered, and Deuce found himself mirroing that expression.

He looked at Yuu and wanted to do something to fill the silence, so he asked - Soo, where will you go tonight, Yuu? - Yuu's smile got wider (if that was even possible), it was nice to see them smile after everything they went through, and thanks to Trein and Crewel, the teen was finally getting some therapy, which helped them a lot. But those moments were their face went brighter were enough to make the people around them happy.

-Oh, You wouldn’t believe it! Me,Horntorn and Grim will go to a restaurant with Lilia, Silver, Idia, Skully, Sebek and Ortho firstly, and after, me and Mall will go to see gargoyles around town with only the moon as our witness.- Yuu's dreamy face made Grim yucked, and Deuce could understand that feeling, seeing your parent (Pseudo-parent in the direbeast's case) acting all mushy was a bit gross.

-Oh shit-

-Language, Ace - Riddle's voice cut throught Floyd's rant, who laughed a bit at Ace, it was clear the heart had forgot the housewarden was there.

- I have to help Crewel-sensei prepare the classroom as punishment for yesterday's class - He got up and with a quick wave he left running.

- Sooo, how are you preparing, Deuce?- asked Yuu.

-Yeah! Tell us! - Grim being nosy as always.

-Great, honestly. I have everything ready, the place is alredy booked, i alredy know what the menu is and know that Ace will enjoy it, the topics for conversations and... if all goes well, i'll confess.- Deuce wouldn’t deny being worried, his face said it all.

-Awww, i'm so happy for you guys!! Watching you guys pinning for each other was torture, if it went for another year, i swear i would find a way to trick you both into confessing- they giggled a bit while grim laughed.

-It wasn’t that bad- Deuce pouted while Yuu laughed.

-It was!! You guys are just blind-

- Grim, if you don’t shut up, i'll-

-You are a bit blind, Deucey. And also, um... oblivious- Cater joined the conversation with Trey's head on his shoulder. -You remind me a bit of Trey-Trey - he laughed at Trey's offended face.

-I wasn’t oblivious, or blind, you just- You didn’t put enough signs - Cater looked at him, his smile vanished from his face.

-It took you a year, A WHOLE YEAR to notice i liked you too, not even my letters, the flowers, the dates, Not even the chocolates, Trey. I had to grab you by your shoulders in the middle of my Breakdown, shake you and then tell you i was deeply in move with you for you to finally realize i felt the same! - Cater pushed the Clover playfully and turned away from him with a pout on his face.

Trey sighed and looked at Deuce -Maybe, i was a bit blind- Yuu, Grim and the spade gave him a "Really?" Look -Okay, i was blind, but we managed to get together at the end, right? - he went to hug the diamond from behind, who smiled at the gesture.

-I can’t argue with that - Cater turned around and grabbed his face, he planted a kiss where the painted clover was. Even if they weren’t forced to paint them as fourth years, they wanted to, they said it held a sentimental matter more than anything, and Deuce wasn’t going to say anything. Seeing both his senpais being together and happy made him feel more nervous, he wanted to have that with Ace, but he couldn’t put aside his insecurities and fears, he truly didn’t want to mess it up.

-H-How should i act tonight? - Everyone turned to look at him, he didn’t notice that Floyd and Riddle had left, but he didn’t want to keep bothering his housewarden with his problems.

-Aww, Deucey, don’t worry. Listen to him, make him laugh, and laugh at his jokes, even if they're dad humor-

-Hey!-

-Shush!- he put a hand over Trey's mouth- but most importantly, be yourself!- Cater gave him a rare soft smile- be you, and everything will go perfectly.- his smile went back to his usual playful one- Trust your elders on this, we know best.-

-I disagree with what he said about MY humour, but- he smiles at Deuce- he's right, just be you.-

Yuu nodded in agreement while Grum ate everything left on his plate and gave him a thumbs up (which was a bit weird for a creature with no thumbs). He got up and went to hug his two upperclassmen, who hugged him back without a second thought. Yuu also got a hug while Grim screamed about being squished, which got a laught out of the two second years.

After talking a bit more about other things they all got up to leave, not without Cater making him promise go tell him every detail later. Yuu, Grim and him walked back to the rest of their classes.

________________

Deuce is running as fast as he could, he was late for track practice, and after it, he had to go and prepare. He was a bit more positive now that it would be alright, and even if it didn’t, he would do everything to fix it.

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice who was in front of him until they crashed (Okay he seriously needed to start to pay attention to his surroundings). He fell onto the other's legs, he was about to get up and apologize to whoever it was until he heard a laugh, one that he recognized all to well. And following the laugh, he heard a growl from the person ont he ground with him, he realized who it was and stood up as fast as his body allowed him.

-Shyehehe, what a glorious fall, Leona- Ruggie kept laughing while Deuce apologized, the lion not moving fron his spot on the ground.

-Great. Just great. Oi, Ruggie, quit laughing and help me up.- Ruggie helped the lion, the smile never leaving his face.

-I'm so, so so sorry, Leona-Senpai, i wasn’t paying atten-

-Worried about your Date?- the spade's face went red at the smirking lion's question.- Thought so-

-Leona, don’t bother the poor kid- Deuce was gratefull for the hyena- Don’t you see he's alredy having enough with his fear of fucking up his chances with the other card soldier? - Deuce takes it back, Ruggie can burn.

-I'm sorry for crashing onto you, Leona. But i need to get to practice now - Just as he was leaving, a hand granbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back

-Wait a second, what are you even nervous about? It's spikey, it's so stupidly obvious that you guys feel the same. -Deuce looked at him, a small part of him told him they were wrong, that Ace would never love and ex-delinquent like him, that Ace would never love him.

-Oiga, kid, don’t go deep into your mind. Believe me, not worth it- Leona looked at him and his eyes softened.

-Look, Deuce, the first and most important thing you must do, is not dwell in the What-ifs. You gotta live in the moment, and be present, not buried in your thoughts- he looked at Ruggie and smiled, the hiena grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

-Th-thank you, very much. But i've got a question.-

-What.-

-Yeah?-

-What are you guys doing here?-

Ruggie and Leona looked at each other for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter, leaving a confused Deuce behind.

-Hahahhaa-sorry, it’s just- The hyena giggled a bit- I was going to spelldrive practice, and this lazy-ass right here-

-Excuse me?-

-Wanted to see how much the team improved since he left and made me the captain. He said he wanted to see the newbies and how they played, and perhaps, play with them for a while, but between us, Leona's definición of playing is-

-Making them feel like the preys and teach them how feeling weak is- the lion gave him a grin, he was wearing his P.E uniform while Ruggie wore his Spelldrive uniform.

-Okay, don’t even know why i asked...- Deuce turned to leave.

-Wait! Leona alredy gave you his advice, now i'll give you mine- Ruggie got in his face - Open the door for him and act all gentleman-like and all that yada yada. But most importantly, PAY FOR THE FOOD.- He looked at Deuce's face and laughed - Joking, well, the last part was a joke, even thought it worked for him- he pointed at the older, who shook his head and put an arm around the hyena's shoulders.

- Remember, don’t get stuck in your mind or it'll drag you down, talking from experience - Ruggie gave the lion a sad smile - but thanks to the people around i got better. Now leave, Herbivore, or you'll never get to your practice. - Leona and Ruggie started to walk away from him towards the spelldrive stadioum while Deuce went back to running.

-Say hi to Jack from us! - Ruggie screamed at him.

It would be alright, everything would be alright.

________________

Nothing would be alright, it was a whole lie.

He was late, so, so late, it was alredy 6pm, which meant he only had an hour and a half left to prepare and fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant.

The blue haired boy ras as fast as he could (again) to the mirror chamber, not noticing the couple that was admiring some mushrooms on the floor, and he also hadn’t noticed his untied shoelaces until he fell flat on his face because he tripped with them.

-Wha- Oh, Deuce, Hi! Are you okay? - Kalim went to help him um, with Jade following suit.

-Are you alright? That was quite a fall - Said the mer between giggles.

-It's been happening more than you can imagine thanks for the help, but i need to go to prepare.- Jade gave him one of his creepy smiles.

-Are you perhaps preparibg for your dste with Ace Trappola?- Deuce stared at him, Shock evident on his face.

-Jade! Don’t scare the underclassmen. Don’t worry, Deuce, Floyd told him and Jamil told Me! That’s how we know.- Kalim's cheery attitude did nothing to make Deuce feel less embarassed.

-Okay, Great, everyone knows. Yes, i need to prepare flr my date, I thank you for helping me, but if i don’t hurry i'll be late.-

Before he could leave Jade grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him around to face the couple, they were both smiling at him, even though one's smile was a bit more scary than the other.

-Deuce, Deuce, Deuce... what are you planning to give him tonight? You do know that you have to gift him something, right? - Jade's mismatched eyes were full of mischief.

Kalim looked at Jade and slowly turned to Deuce. His face slowly filling with excitement, and a massive smile took place.

-YOU HAVE TO GIVE HIM THE BEST.GIFT.EVER!!! Something shiny and beautiful... OH! LIKE GOLD EARRINGS!! OR A NECKLACE OR, OR...- Deuce tuned the Scarabia housewarden out as he slowly filled with panic.

He hadn’t thought of that, a gift for Ace. He was so worried about the date that the idea of giving him something slipped fron his mind. He knew that he could never give him the things Kalim was listing, not only did he not have the money for them, but also, because he knew Ace wouldn’t care for something like that. If he was going to give Ace something, it had to be of sentimental value.

-My, My, you did not think of that, right?- The eel's teasing was enough to drag him back to reality.

-No, but now i have to think of something to give him- Kalim stopped rambling and grabbed his hands.

-I'm sorry for getting Carrier away, i also had trouble over what to give Jade on our first date, and after messing up -Jade laughed at that, and hugged the shorter boy from behind - I gave him something from the heart and he accepted it. Give him something that will remind him of you and he will like it.-

-And don’t be do nervous all the time, or you'll end up like Idia - Said the mer with a laugh.

Deuce smiled at the advices -Thank you, both of you, for the help, but i need to get going now - Jade nodded while Kalim smiled and hugged him. They bid their goodbyes and Deuce began to run again to the mirror chamber.

When he arrived he didn’t expect to see Silver and Idia there, he went over to say hi to Silver, Diasomnia's current housewarden, when he saw Malleus going to stand behind Silver. The spade froze at that and decided to go slowlybtowards the Heartslabyul mirror and don’t approach, but the universe had other plans.

-Oh, Spade, nice seeing you here.- Malleus Draconia had just acknowledged his presence and motiones for him to approach. -Sebek told me plenty about your plans with Trappola tonight, and i wanted to wish you luck and give you my advice.-

-Malleus, i don’t thi- Silver tried to intervene.

-First, act like someone he would like, Second, be careful with your stren-

-Stop it! You're going to confuse him-

Malleus pouted and looked away like a child getting reprimanded, which left Deuce shocked. After his overblot, and losing one of his horns, he started to show more emotions.

-Look Deuce, just make sure that everything goes well and-

A snort cut him off, and Silver stared at Idia, the one that made the sound, with something akin to annoyance.

-Something wrong, Idia?-

-Ah, umm, We-Well, you see..- he inhaled and exhaled and looked at Deuce- Listen here, it isn’t 100% given that everything will go well just because you wish it to be, something will probably go wrong, and don’t get me wrong, i'm not saying it to drag you down, i'm saying it to prepare you, take it as a tutorial chat.-

Malleus, Silver and Deuce blinked at him, and it was clear he was getting a bit frustrated, if the orange tips of his hair were anything to go by.

-Okay, let's put it like this. Something goes wrong, what will you do?-

-...I try to fix it?-

-Bingo! You try to fix it, even if there's a possibility that it can’t be fixed, at least try to do it. Take this as an example, the restaurant overbooked and your reservations aren’t valid, what can you do?-

Deuce paused

-You go somewhere else?-

Idia smiled at him

-You do just that-

Silver smiled at his boyfriend and went to kiss him. Malleus smiled fondly at them while Deuce giggled at Idia's now pink hair.

After they separated, Silver looked at him and gave him a smile.

-Don’t forget, don’t change for him, always remain loyal to yourself.-

-I agree with Silver, and Shroud- The way he said the other fourth year's name made it clear that he was still a bit angry at him, and, well, if the guy did not only break one of your magic antennas, but also started to go out with your little brother, it would make some people mad. - Even if my advices weren’t well received, I shall gift you this- he extendido his hand towards Deuce and in his palm was a small ruby -I believe it manches Trappola's eyes.- Deuce was shocked, he slowly grabbed it and stared at it.

-Th-THANK YOU SO MUCH, MALLEUS-SENPAI- He bowed to him before looking at the couple- Thank you both too, for your advices.- Silver smiled at him while Idia hid his face on his hood to not let anyone see his flushed facem

After that interaction the couple and the dragon left through the Diasomnia mirror to go and prepare for their night, leaving Deuce alone. He looked at the ruby in his hand and began to think of a gift for Ace. He went through the Heartslabyul mirror and once he crossed he ran towards the dorm.

Once there, he went to his room and grabbed a box from under his bed, there he had a lot of previous broken things, he had found them and fixed them. One thing he had fixed was a bracelet, it was made of some kind of metal with an empty space in the middle, perfecr for the ruby to be put there. Deuce had alredy repaired and cleaned the bracelet, so he only needed to put the ruby in the empty spot.

After mending it, he grabbed a nice little box he had and put the bracelet there. He left the box beside the clothes he was going to wear and went to take a shower.

________________

It was 7:55 and he had just arrived to the restaurant. He had the box in one hand and a bouquet of roses (courtesy of Riddle) in the other. He put the box in his pocket and grabbed his phone to look at the time. He calmed a bit after realizing that he was okay with the time, but nothing could be done about the nerves.

He started to repeat all the advices he had received in his head, making sure to not forget anything he had planned. But as the minutes went by and the time they had agreed came, there was no sign of Ace.

Okay, he can be a little late, there's no problem with that. Maybe he got held back at Heartslabyul by a fellow dorm member, or maybe he had ran into a friend and entered a quick chat, or maybe he didn’t have a way of looking at the time, or maybe....

-Deuce, stop it.- he told himself while looking at the flowers.

He can’t get lost in his thoughts, he needs to live the moment, and he needs to remain calm. If a problem arises, he would fix it.

So no matter what, Deuce decided to remain calm and wait.

________________

He repeated those words as he looked at the time, 8:20. Maybe Ace was a bit late! Maybe he got stuck doing something in the dorm or hopefully he was already on his way, but Deuce couldn’t stop that little voice in the back of his head telling him that Ace would not come, that he would never spend time with someone like him.

He tried so hard to ignore that voice, but he was slowly starting to crack. He took a deep breath and tried to think of other things, he went through everything he had been told that day, and thanked each person in his mind.

 

Vil had also given him and advice, one that almost made him tear up. Normally, advices coming fron Vil were sharp and reprimanding, but not this one, this one was full of love and apreciation. Vil had told him to forget this was a date and act as they do normally, just to add a bit more of romance through the night. It took Deuce a bit to understand, but he quickly realized that Vil meant that Ace and him normally acted a bit like a couple.

Deuce had never realized that until the blonde had pointed it out at him. After their talk, Vil gave him a hig and told him to remain calm and confident, but right now, at 8:35 it seemed a bit difficult to do so.

________________

It was 9:55, the reservation got taken over, Deuce was sitting on the side walk, he couldn’t think of a good excuse for Ace, even though he wanted to.

He grabbed his phone and opened their chat, he pressed the call button and waited for Ace to pick up....

He didn’t.

Well, maybe he had his calls muted for some reason, or he had left his phone somewhere and couldn’t find it.

Deuce remembered that Ace didn’t have his magicam notifications on silent, so he went to try and send him a message therez but when he opened magicam, he almost dropped everything he had on him.

He saw a post, one made by a Heartslabyul second year, it was a photo of them in the common area, he tried so hard to pay attention to them, but all he could see was Ace on the background, laying comfortable on the sofa, playing videogames on the TV that was installed that year.

He couldn’t think, and he didn’t want to anymore. That voice took over, and he started to believe it, he didn’t even notice there were tears falling from his eyes until he heard a little splash on the floor. He didn’t know what to do, and he began to sob, he felt awful, he felt like he was going to die and he felt-

Heartbroken

________________

Something had happened, something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was, maybe he was spiraling, or maybe he was right. He wasn’t sure which one it was, and at this time of the night, 10: 30 he couldn’t possibly think of sonething wrong, not when he was by his boyfriend's side, the one that was currently buyimg them something for dessert, after the triple date they had.

 

Jack and Epel left first, they said they were tired and wanted to sleep. They all knew it was a lie, but he didn’t want to call them out, but before they left the table, Leona looked at Jack in the eyes and said with a smirk "Don't forget to use protection."

 

If looks could kill, Epel would have killed Leona at that moment, and Jack's face was red as a strawberry. Epel grabbed Jack's hand, say goodbye and left while Ruggie laughed and Rook smiled, Vil was laughing a bit, he wouldn’t deny it, but he tried to have some mercy on his friend and his poison apple.

After that, Leona and Ruggie left too. They wanted to go on a walk through town and talk, and the remaining couple wasn’t going to stop them. And so they stayed for a bit more and then left, they were going to buy something sweet to eat when Vil got a bad feeling on something, something he couldn’t quite place. While he was thinking on what could be possibly causing that feeling, he didn’t notice Rook getting behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

-Ça va, Roi du poison? Is something wrong?- Rook looked at him with worry in his gaze, Vil shaked his head and took the ice-cream Rook had got for him.

-I'm fine, i just got this weird feeling, like something bad is going on, but i can't quite place why. - as they were walking, he looked at his outfit, he was wearing purple dress trousers and a white shirt. he also had a a black mint coat that his father had got him for his birthday, and he looked down and catched the glint of the necklace Deuce had bought him for the same ocassion...

THAT WAS IT

DEUCE!

-Rook, i know you casted your UM on Deuce today, could you check where he is right now? I think that this feeling is because of him, and i very much want it to stop.- of course, if something bad had happened to him, he was going to find the second year and help him with anything he needed, but he wanted that feeling to just be him being protective of Deuce, not that something had happened to the boy.

-Of course, give me a moment.- Rook looked in front of him at nothing in particular and his eyes became fogged and he frowned. -C'est étrange.-

-What's strange?-

-He's still at the door of the restaurant, he's not inside.- Vil didn’t want to panic, he didn’t want to look invasive or anything, but he was starting to get worried.

-Maybe he just got out with Ace, and they are planing to take a walk.- he wanted to sound positive, but it was clear it didn’t work, because Rook took his hand, he had noticed the worry in his voice.

-Why don’t you give him a call, mon cher? That way you can clear your worries.- Rook smiled at him, his eyes back to normal, so full of love. Even if it had been more than a year since the day he had hurt his hunter, Vil could still not forgive himself.

-You're right, Mein Schatz.- he grabbed his phone and dialed Deuce.

It rang five times before he had picked up, and what he heard was something that he wouldn’t want to hear never again. The sobbing and rapid breathing on the other side of the phone sent alarms through his head, and it was clear that Rook had heard because of the alarmed look he gave him.

-Deuce, are you alright? Did something happend?- all he could hear was crying, and he could imagine that the spade could bring himself to talk no matter how much he wanted to, after all, he had been in a similar state a couple of times before.

-Deuce, listen to my voice, concentrate on it, please- he heard a sound on the other sound and hoped that it was a confirmation -Breathe in, hold for five, release in four.- after he heard Deuce finish those steps, he repeated it.

It went like that for a while, and when he heard Deuce's breathing back to normal, he asked again.

-kleiner Bruder, what happend?- Vil had told Deuce that nickname meant little spudling, and he had believed in what the blonde told him, and he was never going to reveal the real meaning behind those words.

-Vil..- he heard Deuce inhale sharply - He never came...- his voice broke on that last sentence.

VIL.SAW.RED.

-What?- he knew those words were sharper than he wanted them to be, and the hunter looked at him and made a look that made Vil realize that he was showing his anger, something he didn’t need to show Deuce at that moment. He put the phone away for a moment and tried to control his breathing. After a couple of seconds he put his phone back on his ear. -What do you mean he never came?- it didn’t work, his voice were dripping poison, and right now he couldn’t care less. - Are you still at the restaurant?-

-Y-yeah, i am...-

-Good, stay put, we're going.- before Deuce could protest or say something he hung up. He looked at Rook who was already walking to the restaurant and looked back at him.

-Let's go, mon amour. Ton petit frère attend.-

Vil went to his hunter's side and grabbed his arm, as they went to the restaurant where Deuce was. The actor didn’t know what to say, he was too mad to even talk, and if he opened his mouth, he knew it would only say horrible things, so he was going to wait until he was alone with Rook in the safety of their room.

His mind went back to the talk he had with Ace that same day, he had warned him, he had threatened him, and he had still stood up Deuce. He didn’t know what to think of him, so he went to concentrate on the important thing right now, calming Deuce.

________________

He didn’t know what to do, he did not wish to move, he inew it was bad, his thoughts right now were bad, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop them. He had lost track of time, he did not care anymore about it, he wanted to stop caring. He knew he was supposed to get mad at Ace for this, but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry, all he was feeling was emptiness. Why would Ace like him back? He was just a dumb student, an ex delinquent who would never erase his past, someone like him would never be loved.

He started to hear a voice, he couldn’t fully make out what they were saying, but it sounded a bit like his name. He opened his eyes (when had he even closed them?) And sure enough, kneeling in front of him were Rook and Vil.

Vil, his brother, the one that did everything he could to help Deuce for the date. It only made him feel worse, he had failed him. He was a mistake, he would never be good enough-

A hand on his cheek stopped his thoughts.

-Deuce? Can you hear me?- he felt Vil stroking his cheek, wiping his tears, he hadn’t even realized he started to cry again.

-mhm-mhm- Vil smiled at him.

-Good, because i want you to know that this is not your fault. You are not a mistake, you did not fail me or anybody.- when he tried to protest, Rook hushed him with a sad smile.- you are amazing, and in my opinión it's a bit dumb that everyone except you realizes that. You are imperfect, yes, but everyone is, even i am. Your past doesn’t define you, what you do now does.- he put his other hand on the other cheek and wiped the tears that kept falling, after a couple of seconds he hugged him.- You are the best little brother i could ever ask for.- and that broke the dam.

Deuce started to cry, full on sobbing, but it didn’t matter to the two blondes in front of him, they just kept comforting him, and after a while, when the tears had drained, his eyelids were starting to drop, he couldn’t keep his eyes open for much longer. His head was resting on Vil's shoulder while Rook rubbed his back, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He felt safe and that was enough for him. He didn’t even realize the moment he lost conscience.

________________

After Deuce had fallen asleep, the walk back to Pomefiore was quiet. Rook carried him on his back, while Vil walked beside them, looking at the ground. He had Deuce's phone on his hand, the flowers were being carried by Rook on his bag, and Vil had the little box that Deuce had prepared in his pocket. He hadn’t opened it, and wouldn’t unless Deuce gave him permission which he doubted he would be able to give at this moment. He opened the phone and saw the post made by the Heartslabyul students with Ace on the background. It filled him with rage, but until Deuce was on a bed far from him, he wouldn’t talk. Rook gave him glances now and then, it was clear he was worried, not only for the Spade, but also for his boyfriend, who was now possibly getting mad at the situation.

Don't get him wrong! He was also furious, but he knew better, they couldn’t interfere. They could only help and watch from afar, and nothing more. No matter how much he knew Vil wanted to intervene, he was going to make him realize that it would be wrong of him.

After walking a bit more they finally arrived at the school, and went straight to the mirror chamber. After getting into Pomefiore and going to the room they were asigned by the Headmaster for this week, they put Deuce on Vil's bed, and after checking for signs that he wouldn’t wake up soon, they left and went to the common room.

After getting there Vil got his phone out and looked at the time, 11:48. He couldn’t help but feel bad, this morning Deuce was happy, excited and had a smile on his face and now....

He sat down and put his face in his hands. Rook walked and got in front of him on one knee and grabbed both his hands with his and got the down.

-Mon roi du poison, ne t'inquiète pas, tout s'arrangera.- Vil looked at him, there were tears in his eyes, but they were not falling yet, and Rook would keep it that way. - We can only help him to get better, but we cannot interfere on their problems, and we cannot try to fix them. We can only help him and comfort him, but their problems are for them to resolve. We can only watch from afar and wish for a positive outcome.-

Vil looked at him in awe and then laughed.

-Oh, mein süßer Jäger. You are right, let's hope this ends well, or i'll make sure that potato number°1 never sees the light of day again.-

Now it was Rook's turn to laugh at his boyfriend's words, he then looked at Vil with awe.

-You manage to get more beautiful each day, Mon cher. It makes me excited to keep being able to wake up by your side each day and be a witness of your growing.- Vil smiled at that and grabbed Rook by his arms and pulled the hunter towards him, and managed to get him an his lap.

-You always know what to say to make me smile, and i also can’t wait to see that beautiful smile of your each day. I hope you know that i don’t plan to let go of you ever, you are mine, Rook, don’t forget it.- he went to claim the lips of the blonde in his lap, who just closed his eyes and put his arms around his queen's neck. Vil went to deepen the kiss and put one of his hands on the hunter's waist, who just blushed harder and whined.

They kept at it for a while, exchanging kisses, touches and looks at each other when suddenly Vil's phone rang.

-Who dares to call at this hour?- it was now 12:40, and he looked at the caller, Riddle Rosehearts. Rook looked at his phone and then at him, both of them had an idea of what this was about and didn’t want to drag it further.

Rook stood up from his lap and Vil missed the feeling of the hunter on him. He went to accept the call and all he could was screaming on the other side, he put some distance between the phone and his ear until he heard a small voice say

-Vil?- he put the phone to his ear again and relaxed his shoulders.

-Yes, Riddle?-

-Something happened, something with Deuce, and Ace went to look for him and we don’t knoe where he is an-

-He's with me, with us.-

-Oh-

-Yes, he's sleeping right now, and after the night he had, i would wish to wake him up.-

-Is mackerel okay?/Floyd, stop it, get off-

-Yes Floyd, he is fine. But Ace won’t be for long.-

-Crabby fucked up pretty badly, didn’t he?/Floyd, give me my phone back.-

-Yes, he did. And i don’t want to talk about him right now, just to let both of you know, Deuce is physically okay.-

Vil heard a sigh from the other side -and mentally?-

-it took me a long while to get him to stop crying. At one point he started to say out loud what he was thinking and believe me when i say this, i wish to never hear anything like what he said again in my life.-

-i understand. Just... take care of him, please.-

- I will. Goodbye, Riddle.- he didn’t wait for an answer and hung up. He looked over at Rook who was looking at him, and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

-It's late, let's go to sleep.-

-I don’t want to bother Deuce..-

-And you won’t, Monsieur Pommette gave us permision to sleep in his room, he only told us to not engage in any funny business.- Vil smirked at those words.

-As if he didn’t do any of that "Funny business" with Jack this same night. Make sure to thank him on my part.-

-Already did.-

-Good, let's go. Tomorrow we'll have to make sure Deuce is fine.- he grabbed Rook's hand and guided him towards the Housewarden room, it brought a deja vu to the both of them, one that resembled countless nights from last year. -One more thing.-

-Yes, Mon Roi du Poison?-

- Make sure that Ace doesn’t come anywhere near Deuce tomorrow, and before you say anything, just for tomorrow, after it, let's see what fate has in store for these two.-

-As you wish, l'amour de ma vie-