Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The late night air was cold against your skin, and each step down the Ramshackle stairs made you feel worse and worse. Damn that bastard Azul for making such a terrible deal with you, and damn yourself for even AGREEING to such an absurd contract. A simple picture for the price of your entire dorm and freedom? It just screams “scam”. Whatever, the deed was done and couldn’t be changed. No use dwelling on it now.

“Nngh, (Y/N), this totally sucks!” Grim complained.

You know. You know it sucks. You know that getting kicked out of your only home in a strange world sucks...is what you’d like to say, but the moon was high in the sky and you were just too tired to argue with your monster friend tonight.

So, you nodded to Grim as a reply and plopped on the ground outside your dorm. Even though you weren’t there for long, seeing Ramshackle Dorm so empty made you distraught. Guilt and regret filled your mind, the thoughts growing the longer you sat. Maybe this was a terrible mistake and you were just setting yourself up for failure? You were just trying to do the right thing. Hopefully, the task Azul asked you to accomplish wouldn’t be too difficult.

“Hey, Grim and (Y/N)!”

You glanced up at the voice calling you, and saw Ace, Deuce, and Jack barreling towards you. They stopped before you two, out of breath from running such a long distance.

“We heard what happened,” Deuce started, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright, so is Grim,” you replied. Your furry friend smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Do you need a place to stay? Even though there aren’t any open dorm rooms, I asked Riddle and he said it was fine to have you stay in our room!” Ace said. He then put his hand behind his head, “You’ll probably have to sleep on the floor, unless you wanna sleep with...one of us.” With that, he quirked an eyebrow and gave you a smug smirk.

What a prick.

You grimaced, refusing his suggestion.

“Actually, erm,” Jack started, holding his hair back nervously, “I could ask Prefect Leona if you could stay the night at Savanaclaw. I’m sure we have a spare room.”

Relief flooded your system, and you looked at Jack and smiled. “That sounds like a better suggestion.” In the corner of your eye, you saw Ace and Deuce look mildly offended and chuckled.

“I don’t care where I sleep, I just wanna SLEEP!” Grim whined.

“I’ll have to agree with Grim on this one, it is getting pretty late after all.” Deuce stated.

“Hmph, I suppose it’s settled then. (Y/N) will stay in Savanaclaw for the next three days.” Ace pouted.

You gave a thumbs up, said your farewells and good nights to the Heartslabyul students, and began walking to your temporary home with Jack.

The brisk night air was sharp, and the school uniform you were wearing wasn’t exactly the warmest. You shivered, but quickly recovered, hoping the wolf wouldn’t notice.

“You cold?”

You peered you at Jack as his voice broke the silence. Crap, he did notice.

“Only a little, it’s alright though. I’ll live.” You gave a reassuring smile.

“Well, at least Savanaclaw is warm, since it’s, y’know...in the Savana.”

“Yeah.”

The awkwardness did nothing but fill the space around the two of you. It made you wish talking to Jack was easier. Ever since you two met at the Magift Tournament, his character left you intrigued. He was freakishly tall for his age, good at sports and academics, honest, the list goes on. However, none of those traits could beat his unending kindness.

Jack was always very nice to you. Though, it didn’t seem that way on the outside. He had a unique way of showing that he cared, what with small gestures like listening when you talked, or even smaller gestures like letting you borrow his pen during class. Strangely enough, you actually grew quite the crush on him because of this. You’ve never met anyone like him (quite literally, there aren’t any six-foot-three wolf people where you’re from) and it made you want to get closer.

As you were thinking, Jack stopped walking, which led you to do the same. It seemed you arrived at the Hall of Mirrors. You both walked up to the Savanaclaw mirror, which was decorated with the dorm emblem, name, and a few trinkets that really said, “Hi, this is Savanaclaw”.

Jack breathed in and out slowly, “Let’s just hope Leona lets you stay.”

“Wait, you didn’t ask beforehand?”

Before he could answer, he grabbed your arm and took you through the mirror.

Chapter Text

“No.”

You, Jack and Grim stood in the dorm lounge dumbfounded at the Savanaclaw Prefect’s simple rejection.

“‘No’? What do you mean ‘no’?!” Jack raised his voice.

“I mean no.” Leona stated, pinching in between his eyebrows. “You can’t just bring random people here and expect me to just...let you do that.” Other Savanaclaw students nodded in agreement, making sure to get on Leona’s good side.

“Leona, (Y/N) doesn’t have anywhere to stay for the night. I thought you changed!” Jack said.

“Y-yeah! We’re basically homeless!” Grim stated.

“Hey, Leonaaa~,” Ruggie interjected, “I think we should just let them stay. It’s only for three days, y’know?” Hearing this, Leona rolled his eyes. You couldn’t tell if it was out of annoyance, exhaustion, or both. “Plus, it’s really late, anyways. We’re all tired~.”

Leona grumbled to himself and thought it over. You bit your lip, anticipating his answer.

“Tch, fine.”

That was all the confirmation you needed before sighing and smiling, the three of you grinning form ear-to-ear. Leona interrupted your mini-party, “We don’t have any spare rooms, though.”

The smiles on your faces fled as quickly as they came.

“Why’d you agree, then?” You asked.

“Because you guys are annoying. Anyways, the spare rooms are being used as storage. If you wanna clean it out and use it, be my guest.”

“Kishishi, Leona, I’ve got a REAL good idea~.” Ruggie stated. Leona rolled his eyes and reluctantly asked him what it was.

“Why don’t we let them sleep in your room?”

One collective gasp escaped from the other students in the lounge. Such an idea was unheard of! Leona gave an angry glare at his underling. Like the others, you were just as shocked at the suggestion. Sleeping in the same room as Leona Kingscholar sounded like a dilemma waiting to happen. Alas, you were exhausted, you’d take anything at this point.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” Leona asked before turning him and Ruggie around to discuss his suggestion.

After a couple minutes, they both turned back around. Clearing his throat, Leona took a breath in.

“...Fine. You and your raccoon can stay in my room.”

You high-fived Grim before thanking the dorm prefect. Turning to Jack, you smiled gleefully. Though, you swore you saw his face turn a light red. Maybe it was just the lighting, though.

“C’mon, I’ll take you to my room.” Leona grumbled and gestured for the three of you to follow him and Ruggie.

You hoped Leona didn’t snore.

~~~~~~~~~~

You stood in the doorframe of Leona’s bedroom, in awe at the sight of it. It had a wild vibe to it and reminded you of your world, in a way. There were tapestrys depicting different patterns of reds and yellows hanging on the rocky walls. Leona’s bed was huge, probably king-sized, you assumed. Plants covered some of the room’s corners, and there was a beautiful view of the desert outside of the dormitory. It smelled lightly of the outdoors and sand, and perfectly fit Leona’s image.

You didn’t have much time to admire the scenery, however, as Leona told you to set up your sleeping area. You gathered a large amount of blankets and formed it in a circular shape for Grim to sleep on. The monster flopped on the makeshift bed quickly, stretching before falling fast asleep.

“Jack, go get a spare bed for (Y/N).” Leona ordered. “Ruggie and I’ll get more blankets since that damn raccoon stole them all.” You stiffened at his last comment.

“Yes, sir.” Both then hurried away to grab what they needed. You felt too awkward standing there in front of a sleeping monster, so you followed Jack, since he might need some help with your bed.

You walked in to find Jack moving various boxes and bags around the “storage room” in order to find a suitable sleeping pad for you.

“Need any help?” You asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Jack jolted a little, not expecting your presence. “I got it. Thanks, though.”

“You sure? There’s a lot of stuff here.”

“I can do it alone.”

You sighed, feeling slightly dejected, “...Alright, suit yourself then.” You said, walking away.

Jack paused what he was doing and turned around, “Actually-“

You whipped your head around, tilting your head to the side in curiosity. Jack slid his hand in his hair and looked away, “-you can help if you’d like.”

“Cool.” You smiled softly and walked into the unused dorm room, searching for a sleeping pad, inflatable mattress, anything, really. A calm and less-awkward-than-usual silence grew between the two of you as you searched. Occasionally, you’d find a strange object and ask Jack why in the hell Savanaclaw owned it, and he’d shrug at you because he actually had no idea either. You’d both then chuckle a bit and turn back to your work. Silence would accumulate again.

“You sure you’re okay sleeping with the Prefect? He’s not exactly the nicest person.”

You turned to Jack, “I mean, yeah. Plus, his bedroom is big enough to fit the both Grim and I,” you closed another box, “so that’s a plus.”

“Hm.”

“Why’d you ask? It’s not like he’s unsafe to be around.”

“You know how I feel about him, (Y/N).”

“Someone getting a bit...jelly~?”

Jack gave you a confused look. You forgot they don’t really use lingo from your world. You’re probably scaring this poor boy.

“I mean, jealous. You’re not jealous, are you?”

With the clarification, Jack’s face filled with pink. He looked down at you to cover it up, even just a little. A part of you thought it was rather cute.

“N-no, I just...don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

You put a hand on his shoulder gently, reassuring him that you’ll be okay. You were grateful for how much he cared, but really, Leona wasn’t that bad. Jack turned to look at you, and your eyes met. Although it was a bit dark, you could still see Jack’s features perfectly. His golden eyes shone in the darkness, and it made you a bit flustered. The gaze he held was strong, but it was made of adoration and love. At least, you hoped it was.

“Can I, uh...tell you something?”

You were snapped out of your trance by Jack’s calming voice. “Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

Jack put down the box he was holding gently. He let out a deep breath and fiddled with the necklace he was wearing.

“If I’m going to be honest, yes.”

“...Yes? What are you ‘yes’-ing to?”

“Your question from earlier.”

Oh.

Oh.

A small blush formed on your face, and you broke eye contact. “...May I ask why?” you said carefully.

Jack paused for a lot longer than you would’ve liked. He scratched behind his ear in thought. You wondered if you were being rude. Hopefully you weren’t.

“...It’s because I like you.”

Your eyes went wide at his answer. Blood rushed to your cheeks as you realized what he meant by “like you”. Your heart felt so light as you were flooded with happiness, shock and relief. Jack actually liked you back? You almost asked him to pinch you in case you were dreaming, but refrained because if this was a dream, you didn’t want to wake up.

Your hand reached to your other arm and rubbed it bashfully, “I like you too, actually.”

Jack’s ears and tail stiffened in surprise, and the sight was too adorable to bear. A soft grin adorned his face as he slowly took your hand in his. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and moved with care. The air grew still as you both took in the amazing but shocking news you shared.

Jack suddenly let go of your hand, a gesture you knew you could never get used to. He looked away sheepishly and held the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry if this is awkward or anything. I’m not really the best at romance.” he said.

You held the side of his face in your hand and caressed it, giving him a reassuring grin. He nuzzled his face into your palm, relishing in the warmth. He was like a big puppy.

“Don’t worry. This is nice, actually.”

He grinned and took both of your hands in his. Suddenly, he leaned down and closed his eyes. You had a feeling you knew where this was going and followed suit. Your suspicions were confirmed to be true as he placed his lips on yours.

The kiss wasn’t deep, and it sure as hell wasn’t perfect, but it was filled to the brim with love and affection. You could feel the adoration Jack held for you in it, and you tried to return the feeling tenfold. His lips felt right against yours, and you wondered if that was a soulmate thing. Whatever it was, you never wanted it to end.

Jack pulled away before you could kiss him again. A wide grin was plastered over his blushing face. You both stared at each other for what felt like hours. Jack then leaned in again to hug you tightly. He held you in his arms as if you were a tiny animal, and he was protecting you. You felt safe and warm, and you never wanted him to slip away. It felt so comforting being with him.

Jack pulled away again and rested his hands on your shoulders, “Well, lets go back. I’m sure the others are waiting.”

“Wait, don’t we need to find a bed?” you asked.

“About that,” Jack awkwardly smiled, “I found one a while ago. I just wanted to talk to you. I’m sorry for lying to you.” Jack then frowned, and you could tell he was genuinely very sorry. How could he be this cute?

You paused and let out a haughty laugh, playfully nudging him.

“Was that it? Damn, and here I was searching random boxes for nothing.” You said, fake pouting.

Jack chuckled a bit at your expression while grabbing a box off the floor (which you assumed had your temporary bed inside). He took your hand in his as he led you out of the unused bedroom. His tail swung behind him happily, and if you had a tail you’d think it’d do the same.

A comforting and calming silence fell between you two as you returned to Leona’s quarters, bid each other good night, and had lovely dreams about your future with one another.